Okay she wasn’t really ever the Ambassador of Cute but they actually exist and are officially appointed by the Foreign Ministry of Japan.

They are actress Shizuka Fujioka, Yu Kimura, and Misako Aoki respectively. Apparently they were appointed to help Japan’s reputation and because they stand for all things cute. And why wouldn’t they be? You have your typical school girl, your harujuku babe and your lolita doll. What more could Jerry ask for? More »

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Earlier today I got to speak with Anime Matsuri’s registration director, Theresa Ku.  She gave us the lowdown on what is planned for this year’s convention-fan-faire.  This premiere Anime event will take place April 10th-12th in The Woodlands, Texas and is one of the largest conventions in southern part of the US. More »

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… that The King of Asian Cinema Chow Yun Fat may play him in a new Chinese biopic later this year. The famous Chinese philosopher also foresees Mr Chow going to bed with an itchy butt and waking up with a smelly finger.

The film is backed by the Chinese government, and will be directed by a Mainland Chinese director Hu Mei. It will be shot in Hebei Province. More »

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I was in the kitchen cooking when I heard something about a new robot from Japan on the TV. While I was like yeah, yeah, yeah Japan puts out dozens of those things, I still shrill like a little child when I see their robots. So I mosey on into the living room and my mouth drops down to my knees in complete awe! More »

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The irony here is, of course, you’re likely to die while doing it. And that’s no exaggeration. Located in the 陕西 province (Shaanxi) in the northwest of the People’s Republic of China, 华山 (Mount Hua) is one of the five sacred famous mountains of China, and one of the scariest freakin’ hikes in the world. Imagine Yosemite’s Half Dome, ten times scarier, with wooden planks precariously nailed into the sheer rock face as your only path, some rusty chains your only lifeline. More »

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It was less than a decade ago; does that officially make me a geezer? I could go and ask my close friends if they were interested in grabbing some eats, and as any young adult knows, when it comes to deciding as a group it’s never going to be an easy task. I loved sushi ever since I had it at a function during high school, and I would constantly recommend it only to no avail. That made me a rather sad panda as the saying goes on the net these days. More »

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The live action remake of the anime hit series, Dragonball Z, has become the #1 hit movie over the past weekend in China, Hong Kong, Malayasia, Singapore and Thailand. What?

No idea how but even in Japan the movie is a hit taking the #2 spot on the charts following Yatterman. I’m guessing there were a lot of curious people? I doubt this movie will stand tall here in the U.S. but perhaps I’m being to harsh. I mean, who doesn’t like a white Picoclo. /Sarcasm. More »

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The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco is going to be hit by an Asian American musical storm this Friday — The International Secret Agents Concert! Jin the MC, Far East Movement, Wong Fu Productions, Jessi Malay, Paul Dateh, Passion, a special American’s Best Dance Crew Set (featuring Della and Meme of A.S.I.I.D., Glenda of Fanny Pak, and DJ Virman), and DJ Romeo from San Fran’s Wild 94.9 — like hot damn! How could you not be going if you live in the Bay Area?!

One lucky person is going to get an official International Secret Agents poster, Far East Movement’s new album “Animal”, and a DVD from Wong Fu productions — all autographed — delivered to their doorstep. That Ningin winner is: More »

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Danzo@Soompi tipped us off that BoA will be having a Meet & Greet this Sunday, March 22, at Forever 21 in Pasadena, CA! BoA will be taking photos and signing autographs from 3-5pm. Radio station KIIS FM will be there too from 3-4:30pm. And everyone there will receive 10% off their Forever 21 purchases at the Pasadena store that day! Sweet!

We’ll keep updating BoA’s schedule as we get more confirmations! More »

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(That’s to-RABU-ru, for those unfamiliar with Japanese pronunciation) There’s nothing all that special or groundbreakingly original about to-LOVE-ru’s genre (harem romantic comedy) or its relationship dynamics, or even its content - heck, it’s probably one of the most generic manga in publication - but what does make it special is the entire package. More »

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My real life job consists of being in charge of a youth technology lab. I’ve been told in a training to do whatever I want with the lab, claim it as my own, and leave my mark behind. So I racked my brain for a theme I could use to do a slight overhaul with the place. At first I considered doing a theme based off of classical music composers, like naming each computers after them. However, the idea of kids misspelling “Rachmaninoff” on the sign-in sheet turned me off quiet badly. More »

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Youtube is the root of all fame, or so we would like to believe. For this user, Pumashock aka Natatlie White, Youtube has turned her into an overnight kpop celebrity.

Joining the SNSD – Gee craze, Pumashock became widely famous for her rendition of the hit song. It features a completely different melody and is all in Korean. What’s not to like? This of course shot her to the top leading to SNSD actually watching her Youtube video and like all famous international kpop fans, she eventually appeared on Star King to perform.

I can only wonder what’s next for her. Music deal ju say yo? More »

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This summer, Keio Academy of New York will once again host “Digital Media Creation”, a two-week English and Japanese bilingual summer program for American and Japanese students. An impressive lineup of guest speakers and lecturers has already been confirmed, including Yuji Nunokawa, producer of “Naruto” and “Bleach“. More »

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Kpop idol Se7en will be celebrating the release of his first official US single “Girls” this Friday on March 20th at New York City’s premiere Korean hot spot, Circle Nightclub.

While his single “Girls” has been around for awhile, it has been a long time since Se7en has been in the spotlight. The official final mix of the single is available for download on various music networks like iTunes, Zune, Rhapsody, Amazon and Napster today. However, you can always listen to it on his official Myspace page.

All I can say is that it took him long enough. Hopefully no more delays? More »

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Ok I have to admit it. I am a fan of the The Home Shopping Network. I don’t give a shit about the products sold there, but I find the people who tout the products (as well as the hosts) highly entertaining. Trust me, there’s no better drunk entertainment than to watch that crazy ass Paula Abdul tout her jewelry collection while on a vicodin high. More »

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BoA’s first US album debuts today! I’m guessing most of you aren’t really album buyers for one reason or another, but the sales total matters more than anything else if you want to see more US albums from BoA. So I’m saying if you really want to help BoA succeed here, you gotta buy this album and tell your friends to do the same. More »

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Or so he says in this song.

Lee Junki has recently ventured into the music biz with hot lips Sori. Their collaborated song is “Pink Finger” where Lee Junki raps and is quite good. Except for the English which could use a little work. But anyways, the MV for the single was released earlier this week mainly consisting of Sori in various candid areas in addition to Lee Junki in the studio.

This is Lee Junki’s 2nd attempt at rapping, previously working with Hyori on Anystar in 2006. Apparently he has a thing for sexy singers. He also sang for a few commercials in his earlier days. More »

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It is normally said that anime fans are sleepy headed because they like to sleep in during the day after a long night of watching anime and playing Nintendo DS. However, theres not a more energized fan than an anime fan at an anime related event specially early in the morning. Some of these fans even go the extraordinary length of not sleeping just to attend, usually this can be seen by glaze on their eyes as they wait in line for the doors to open and on this day it was no less different. Before the doors opened to Kinokuniya’s in midtown Manhattan, there was a long line that went down the block and around the corner full of eagerly awaiting and at times jittery anime lovers and cosplayers. More »

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You wanted it and now you got it! With only hours left before BoA’s first American album drops, you can listen to nearly five minutes of the new BoA album right here on Ningin! This special sample mix includes “I Did It For Love”, “Touched”, “Energetic”, “Look Who’s Talking” and a little personalized intro from BoA herself for Ningin readers. H-O-T!!! More »

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While some of you didn’t win some of the Wonder Girls merchandise, that doesn’t mean you can’t admire it’s beauty!

While packaging the merchandise for shipment, us Ninginers admired the awesomeness that this particular item had: Wonder Girls hats. They’re not your typical uber girly hats but instead grungy trucker hats that flaunt the Wonder Girls names.

Quite spiffy if you ask me. I envy the fan that gets this. I work here and I only get to see the cool stuff. More »

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