Who would have known the two would ever been seen together ever again? MBC’s Gayo Daejun brought together king JYP and baby Rain for an epic dance battle.

If you pay attention to JYP’s solo, you’ll remember the same dance from a previous Youtube video only this time he’s wearing his shirt. Setting aside the lack of free styling, JYP actually pulled off a bad ass performance which is surprising for a man of his age (36).

Unfortunately, Rain couldn’t stand up to JYP (as usual) but nonetheless, the battle is still entertaining. More »

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Joe Inoue’s (井上ジョー) new single “Closer” finally went on sale December 17. It debuted on the Oricon sales chart at #22. The song has had an incredible YouTube run of almost 800 fan uploaded videos before its official release. Propelled by the release of the Naruto Shippuuden Opening trailer, “Closer”-themed fan subs, karaoke, fan cover versions, and slideshow videos quickly spread across YouTube.

Born in Los Angeles, Japanese-American Joe Inoue grew up to be fluent in three things: English, Japanese, and music. Joe plays every instrument in the songs he writes: guitar, bass, drums, and finally the vocals.

In 2005, he signed a record deal with Ki/oon Records in Japan. Joe released his debut e.p.”IN A WAY” in 2007, followed by his first single “HELLO!”.

“CLOSER” is his second single. It comes packaged with a 2009 Naruto Shippudden calendar and sticker as a sweet (pronounced suh weeet!) bonus!

Visit Joe’s website here. More »

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Right now, I am currently addicted to the main theme from the film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, which is composed by Sakamoto Ryuichi. To me, it’s one of those songs I hear all the time, and I know I have heard this somewhere . . . but regardless, this song is so pretty. I just discovered the composer and the title of this song a mere few weeks ago, and I’m glad I did. Just in time for the end of the year. This song has this hopeful and optimistic feel to it that actually lifts up my spirit. Right now, the world’s all suffering from the financial troubles. I hope by the end of next year, it will be somewhat stabilized.

Anyway, I hope 2009 will be a great year for everyone! To the world and to us at Ningin! More »

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First Dissidia, now this? I haven’t even finished Star Ocean… my PSP has been working overtime lately, no thanks to the newest installment of DJ Max Portable, titled “Black Square”. And let me tell ya… it’s incredible.

Clazziquai Edition just came out a month ago, so the timing of this release may seem a bit early - but remember that CE was a sort of beginners-only release to introduce new players into the frenzy that is DJ Max, and BS is the “official” next game in the series. More »

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SBS’s much awaited Inkigayo episode premiered last night. As expected, the performances were awesome, one of which was the piano battle between DBSK’s Junsu and Big Bang’s Tae Yang.

While their English could use a little work, the overall performance was still enjoyable. Tae Yang went first with Frankie J – Don’t Want to Try while Junsu with 98 Degrees – My Everything.

I think it’s safe to say Junsu won? More »

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Ok, please mark this under I-Bet-It-Hurts-More-Than-Getting-My-Balls-Kicked, some 39 year-old Thai woman named Kanchana Kaetkaew, who is also known as the “Scorpion Queen“, has set a Guinness World record by putting a scorpion in her mouth for over two minutes. Her royal Scorpionida-highness carried out this weird feat in Pattaya and was assisted by her husband, Bunathawee Siengwong. Interestingly, her hubby is known as the “Centipede King“. The two were married in a haunted house on 2006. Hmm, wanna take a guess at what food items they served their guests at their wedding reception? I bet this was the liquor of the evening. More »

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Yunho was one of the four selected to do a dance battle for SBS Inkigayo. While he did perform well, the lead DBSKer suffered a wardrobe malfunction early in his performance.

No there was no boob action (although I wish there was), his hat actually just fell off. He did look a little embarrassed but like a trooper he just kept going.

However to make up for the lack of boobage, DBSK later performed their original Mirotic (the one that says “under my skin”) and took off their shirts despite all the governmental issues earlier. How do you like them apples? More »

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Or so says this article. But then I read this article and go HUH . . .

I can understand the reluctance from South Korea’s side. I can sort of understand how some South Korean officials do not want everything to be “Japanised.” However, I can’t help but think, uh, sorry South Korea, but Japanese mangas, novels, and etcetera intrigue me more. Heck, even this entry just sort of proves from my side of the world that Japan rocks in certain areas. I admit that I am more biased towards Japanese products and media than I am towards South Korea’s, but I’ll blame that on my Japan-oriented hobbies. More »

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Who needs pageants when you’ve got boxing gloves?

Soju princesses Lee Hyori and Kim Tae Hee are fighting to be dubbed the Soju CF queen. While we all know that Hyori is more qualified (since she’s got more junk in the trunk), Kim Tae Hee puts up a pretty good fight against Hyorish.

Btw, I know this is really old but I can’t help to ROFL. It would have been better though if they were actually wearing boxing outfits. More »

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With the debut date coming closer and closer, KBS has released more teaser photos of the hit remake Hana Yori Dango.

So far we know that there’s a island vacation, school girl outfits and a shooting range involved. It’s definitely a step up from previous HYD remakes and I’m sure fans every where are screaming for joy (like me).

Source: ljphantom and huangsy via Soompi. More »

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According to my dad, I’m living my third childhood because I went to Gyobo book store at Gwanghwamun today to look for Boxcar Children and The Baby-Sitters Club books. Well, I didn’t succeed in that department, but I did see this sexy looking thing.

It was sexy until I saw the price. 48,000+ won. Which translates into about $36. But then, compare that to $27 when you convert the price from 2500 yen. Um. Yeah. I know $36 is about the average price of an imported artbook, but my mind still thinks of June 2008’s conversion rate of 900 won to $1 USD and makes me think this is a $50+ book. Plus, I only had about 60,000 won on me, and I was not going to spend all my money at once like that.

But still! It looked sexy. At least, the cover did. Since it was in the plastic wrap, I couldn’t flip through the book to see if it’s worth that price. Then again, imported artbooks are so expensive. Once again, I ask myself, why must I have expensive hobbies!

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Only 4 days left till its 2009! Hurray! There’s a lot to look forward to this coming year, crossovers, new anime series, etc. I hope you guys have your New Years resolutions ready.

Aside from that, it’s been a normal, Christmasy week here on Ningin. Be sure to check out the following articles and posts to catch up in case you were too busy getting stuffed on food and presents. More »

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The Japanese word zainichi means “staying in Japan,” which is commonly linked to the Korean community’s significant presence in Japan. Here are some of the most famous zainichi artists in Japan.

Jyongri is a very popular artist who was born in Osaka and sings fluently in Japanese, Korean and English. Her song “Lullaby For You” was the theme for the Square Enix game “The World Ends With You,” which was released in both English and Japanese. Currently, she is a student at the famous Waseda University: School Of International Liberal Studies and is signed to EMI Music. More »

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Everyone in China and Japan, come to South Korea! This article shows how weak the won is compared to Chinese Yuan and Japanese Yen. So weak, that right now would be a good time to visit this place. I mean seriously. My friend’s relatives are going to visit here next week from Japan. They are staying for three nights and four days. The plane ticket and the hotel fees all add up to $200 a person.

That’s a real, darned good bargain if you compare $730 to a three-night, four-day trip to Tokyo back in May. Oi. If only it would cost $200 to go to Tokyo . . . I’d be shipping my butt there for my birthday next month!

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Animanga is when a manga series is also released as an animated series. More often than not, an animated version is released after a manga becomes popular. However, sometimes a manga series and an anime are released in episodic unison.

One example would be the love vampire fiction called Vampire Knight, a story loaded with risque, fanged, melancholy-romantic characters. Its addicting mystery about the past of one young girl is also encompassed by the love triangle of its three main characters. Recently, the unrequited love story in Vampire Knight has taken a very strange turn.

Yuki Cross is your average, amnesiac, normal girl who was adopted by a vampire hunter and lives at a private school. Her only memory before her life at the hallowed school halls is of a gorgeous, sad vampire named Kaname Kuran, whom she is deeply in love with. Living with Yuki at this exclusive school are humans who attend classes during the day and vampires who attend classes at night.

**Warning Season 2 Spoilers Ahead** More »

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Pony Canyon, one of the biggest Japanese names in music, movie and anime, has signed electronica artist she to debut in 2009. With this exclusive interview, we unmask the man/woman/people behind the mysterious she…

Spoiler: Proceed only if you want to see the real face of she! More »

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Some of the most popular artists in Japan are not even Japanese. In fact, many of these top selling talents are imported from South Korea.

Teen sensation Younha skyrocketed to stardom with her song “Houki Boshi.” The catchy and clever tune was used as an ending theme for the anime Bleach. Born in South Korea, the talented Youhna started playing piano at age four and taught herself Japanese. Her interests for dorama and for singers like Utada Hikaru influenced her to join the Japanese music industry. She is the second Korean artist, after BoA, to have broken into the Oricon Top 20.

Another Hallyu star is Mink, who auditioned for Avex Trax while studying in Japan. Mink’s stage name is actuality an acronym for Made IN Korea; her real name is Mikyung Lee. She rarely performs using her native Korean tongue, and sings in English and in Japanese instead. Proudly, Mink is one of the first Asian artists to have a single reach No.1 in the U.S. charts. She did so on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart with a remix version of “Glory of Life.” More »

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After many months of depriving myself of this fun (mostly because my throat and sinuses were stricken by some disease), I finally went to a no rae bang (private karaoke room) with a friend. Actually, it was a really long and freezing day. I had to haul myself to Yeoksam-dong, to Gangnam-gu for an errand, and then I waited for my friend in a coffee shop in my neighbourhood. When she arrived, we went to another coffee house/bar to have dinner. Then we decided to go to a no rae bang since we couldn’t go last time due to my sinusitis.

We went to the one we always go to, paid about $9-10 bucks for over an hour and sang our hearts out. Whenever we go, we sing a bunch of weird combinations of songs. Here’s a list of what we sang and of what I can remember. More »

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The beautiful single Yuki no Hana paints a picture of a soft, winter romance. The original writer and singer of the single is Japanese songstress Mika Nakashima. The song has inspired many artists to remake it in several languages, and each cover has found its own success.  As much as I love the original, all the versions have their own special arrangements, and it is very nice to see how each individual artist gave the song their own special touch. 

Here are just a few of the covers of Mika Nakashima’s “Yuki no Hana” (Snow Flower) More »

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Happy holidays everyone! Hope you’re enjoying the final days of 2008. I’m still waiting for winter to be over and someone to invent a time machine.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a regular Weekly Round Up. Been so busy this past month, I’m surprised I still have time to blog!

Anyways, here’s your wrap up. Enjoy! More »

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