This past Saturday, the Mixr Media family celebrated the holidays at the first Ningin-GirlyBubble Holiday Mixr in New York City!

Our bloggers often work on their own time and far apart, so the Holiday Mixr was a great opportunity for everyone to get together offline. Some of us even met for the first time in person! We shared drinks and karaoke over a yummy Korean dinner of Squid Bokum (spicy!), Budae Jigae and grilled Kalbi. Some of us showed off dance moves straight from the Wonder Girls and BoA. This resulted in some of us getting free dance lessons. More »

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The first Music Round Up of the year! I’ve kept this going strong for the past year and I’m so happy that we’re finally in the new year.

But before the year could end, Apop stars put on their last performances of 2008. Here’s a few that I found the most entertaining; however, this is only a handful of them. There are plenty more!

Enjoi. More »

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Happy New Year from Ningin! 2008 has been a year for us to remember. Who would have guessed we’d have so many exclusive interviews, great contests, special events, and above all, Asian entertainment news! Check out out Ningin End of the Year special page right here. 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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There’s only two weeks left till it’s 2009! I hope you enjoyed our recap of 2008. In case you missed it, you can review the articles below, or visit the End of the Year 2008 Special microsite. Can’t wait to see how next year turns out!

Here’s your wrap up: More »

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A picture is worth a thousand words, but I only can think of a few for these. As David has blogged earlier, 2008 is full of memorable moments that can continuously be remembered with photos.

Here are a few from the year that can make me smile, cry and laugh. More »

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This year has proven to be successful for many artists. Not only have they sold millions of records, but their singles have become chart toppers and award winners. As such, I have compiled a list of the most prominent artists of the 2008 year. Some have just debuted, some have made impressive comebacks but all have achieved something great. More »

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There’s just no end to the ever-increasing number of actresses swimming about in Asian media. Many are fluffer, some are passable, and few are the real deal. It was nearly impossible to whittle down, but based on standout performances of 2008, here is my list of the top three actresses, each representing China, Japan, and Korea. More »

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This year was especially plentiful in well-written dramas, and while I’m a fan of many, four of them left a lasting impression on me for various things ranging from original themes and innovative perspectives to straight up fan girl appeal. While this is by no means a definitive list of the best of the best, here are my favorite dramas of 2008: More »

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Two things I love to do - watch anime, and rank things. Naturally, ranking anime is just my cup of お茶, so I figured I sum up some of my favorite anime of the year, and maybe give you a heads up in case you didn’t get around to watching a particular series. I’ve taken into consideration all regularly-airing TV series that have had at least one episode air in 2008 (no straight-to-DVD, no OVAs), and I’ve limited the number to 15 because we’d be here all day if I didn’t stop there. More »

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It’s the end of the road for 2008. Goodbye Samurai Girl, Edison Chen and your photos, and of course goodbye to George W. Bush. Special thanks to Beijing Olympics, the cast of Hana Yori Dango, and Barrack Obama. You’ve been great!

If this year was good to you, then you’ll probably look back on it with fond memories. If this was a rough year for you, I’m talking to you American economy, then it’s a good thing 2008 is just about over. As a wise turtle once said, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” (5 points to the first person who correctly guess where that’s from.) More »

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With this year’s grand finale inching nearer, so too does the season of the retrospective. Spearheading this year in drama is 2008’s most eminent trend: did any of you wonder where Salaryman Kintaro was this year? I can say with a fair amount of certainty that he was probably underneath the rush hour stampede of Hataraki Women. Even NHK’s annual yearlong taiga drama featured a female historical figure as the lead: Atsu-hime, Tokugawa Iesada’s wife and—upon his death and at his request—the political leader of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It’s safe to say the ladies ruled the drama realm this year. More »

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Q: Who are you here for?

A: (by Time Square BoA Fan) BoA! BoA Kwon!

So we promised some extra BoA content. Ningin film crew members David Hou and Amy Chang interviewed BoA fans outside of Time Square New York on December 3rd right before the BoA performance there.

I have to say, it’s pretty cool to see BoA’s name and face as part of the neon landscape of Time Square. That makes a great statement to me.

Anyway, get to know other BoA fans with this video. Expect special performances by Dancing BoA Fan Guy and Singing BoA Fan Guy! Also, I’ve been told four Boajjang people were in attendance.

More »

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Another year has passed and the MKMF awards are back with a few surprises. Throughout the night, there was a kiss between TOP and Hyori Lee (no big deal tbh) in addition to crying by several celebrities namely Changmin of DBSK. But the biggest surprise of all was not the performances nor the random events in between, but the awards. It was really surprising to hear who won what especially considering the year. More »

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Synopsis/Plot Or otherwise known in Korea as Babo (fool in Korean), the story takes place with the talented pianist Ji-Ho (Ha Ji Won) who returns home from Europe after she gets stage fright. When arriving in her home town, she is greeted by her childhood classmate, Sung-Ryong (Cha Tae-Hyon), who is mentally ill. While Ji Ho may have forgotten him, Sung-Ryong has always remembers and loved her. Along with Ji Ho, he also deeply cares for his sister Jee-In (who is completely ashamed of him; Park Ha-Seon) and Sang Soo (his best friend; Park Hee-Sun). As the story progresses, each of Sung-Ryong’s loved ones are approached with difficult situations where Sung-Ryong saves them in a surprising way. More »

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New York Anime Festival starts in less than 24 hours, hope you bought your tickets already!

As mentioned in several previous blog posts and emails, Ningin will have professional photographers come and take photos of as many cosplayers as we can with all photos being added live to our special NYAF gallery. First 500 cosplayers will get a one-of-a-kind Ningin/NYAF badge as a souvenir. What we didn’t mention was that we will also have a best photo/best cosplayer contest and Ningin users will have the power to decide the winner!

Sometime on Monday 9/29, the Ningin staff will narrow the choices a bit and select their top 20 cosplayers from the weekend for audience award voting. Audience voting will last until midnight Saturday 10/4 and announced on Sunday 10/5. The top three cosplayers will be profiled and interviewed by our Ningin bloggers. The overall best cosplayer will also receive two super exclusive tickets to the private premiere of the Megaman Movie and two tickets to Comic Con next February.

Special Thanks to, Shino, our award winning Japanese photographer friend; Eddie Lebron, Director & Producer of the Megaman Movie; and our friends at Reed Exhibitions. More »

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The video of the Wonder Girls interview is up! It took us a bit to get the translation and sound fixed. The interview area was about 10 feet from the stage in a little tent so yea, not much we can do about that.

Thanks again to JYP and his company! Also thanks to the interviewer, Soyoung Ahn, and the translation/subbing team, Mia Lerda, David Hou, and Cho Soo Dong.

Enjoy the interview! In case you missed it, here’s the link to our gallery from this event. More »

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My favorite little leek spinning princess will now be grazing the screen of the PSP according to a recent announcement by Famitsu magazine. The game is title, Miku Hatsune – Project Diva unfortunately, whether or not it’ll be released in the US is still unknown. I’m keeping my hopes up anyways or maybe I’ll finally get off my arse and learn Japanese.

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If you follow women’s gymnastics, you know that Shawn Johnson finally got her gold medal Tuesday morning, edging out teammate Nastia Liukin with a fantastic balance beam routine. And the man supporting her is her coach, Liang Chow, himself a member of the Chinese national gymnastics team in the 1980’s. He’s the unsung hero behind her success—and her great attitude.

In the extensive news coverage I’ve seen on Johnson, she refers to her Chinese coach and his wife as “my second parents.” Teri and Doug Johnson, Shawn’s parents, appreciate the important relationship. In an article for the August 2008 issue of Guideposts, Teri recounts Coach Chow’s mastery in managing Johnson’s personality. Other gymnastics teachers were frustrated by Shawn’s hyperactive behavior. Chow, who owns a gym in West Des Moines, Iowa, knew how to harness it. “I love her energy. That’s what you need in this sport.” Teri stated, “He kept her interest by keeping her challenged.”

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Hurdler champion Liu Xiang has been the center of attention in recent Olympic news after he had walked away from his most anticipated race.

Liu Xiang has been the center of attention since the 2004 Athens Olympics where he became the first Chinese man to win an athletics gold in the 110m hurdles. He has also set a world record in 2006 and captured a world championship in 2007. Liu then became more than an athlete but a hero to China.

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