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Japanese Idol
An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements by talent agencies, while maintaining a parasocial relationship with a financially loyal consumer fan base. Japan's idol industry first emerged in the 1960s and became prominent in the 1970s and 1980s due to television. During the 1980s, regarded as the "Golden Age of Idols", idols drew in commercial interest and began appearing in commercials and television dramas. As more niche markets began to appear in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it led to a significant growth in the industry known as the "Idol Warring Period." Today, over 10,000 teenage girls in Japan are idols, with over 3,000 groups active. Japan's idol industry has been used as a model for other pop idol industries, such as K-pop. Sub-categories of idols include gravure idol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AKB48
AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with its own theater and performing daily so fans could always see them live (which is not the case with usual pop groups giving occasional concerts and seen on television). This "idols you can meet" concept includes teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously at several events and "handshake" events, where fans can meet group members. Akimoto has expanded the AKB48 concept to several girl groups in Mainland China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines. AKB48 have been characterized as a social phenomenon. They are among the highest-earning musical acts in Japan, and are the fifth-best-selling girl group worldwide. For example, their 2012 sales from record and DVD/Blu-ray releases reached $226 million, e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voice Acting In Japan
Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media including anime, video games, audio dramas, commercials, and dubbing for non-Japanese films and television programs. In Japan, and actresses have devoted fan clubs due to a crossover with the idol industry, and some fans may watch a show merely to hear a particular voice actor. Many voice actors have concurrent singing careers and have also crossed over to live-action media. There are around 130 voice acting schools in Japan. Broadcast companies and talent agencies often have their own troupes of vocal actors. Magazines focusing specifically on voice acting are published in Japan, with ''Voice Animage'' being the longest running. The term character voice (abbreviated CV) has been commonly used since the 1980s by such Japanese anime magazines as ' and '' Newtype'' to describe a voice actor associated with a particular anime or game character. Definition and role A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other non-profit membership media organizations such as the Associated Press, in that it was established by an act of Congress. Most of its member stations are owned by non-profit organizations, including public school districts, colleges, and universities. It serves as a national syndicator to a network of over 1,000 public radio stations in the United States. , NPR employed 840 people. NPR produces and distributes news and cultural programming. The organization's flagship shows are two drive-time news broadcasts: ''Morning Edition'' and the afternoon ''All Things Considered'', both carried by most NPR member stations, and among the most popular radio programs in the country. , the drive-time programs attract an audience of 14.9 million and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Korean Idol
An idol () refers to a type of celebrity working in the field of K-pop in fandom culture in South Korea, either as a member of a group or as a solo act. K-pop idols are characterized by the highly manufactured star system that they are produced by and debuted under, as well as their tendency to represent a hybridized convergence of visuals, music, fashion, and dance. They usually work for a mainstream entertainment agency and have undergone extensive training in dance, vocals, and foreign language. Idols maintain a carefully curated public image and social media presence, and dedicate significant time and resources to building relationships with fans through concerts and meetups. Trainee system Inspired by the heyday of MTV in the United States, Lee Soo-man set his sights on laying the foundation for the modern Korean pop music industry. He witnessed New Kids on the Block became very popular in Korea in the 1990s.The K-pop trainee system was popularised by Lee Soo-man, the found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny & Associates
is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as . History 1962–1989 In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rented an office space owned by Watanabe Productions, operating under its management as well. Six years later, Four Leaves, a boy band created by the agency, became successful. Four Leaves left a lasting legacy to the industry because it was produced as a "Group sounds band that does not play instruments", a product of Kitagawa's taste for emphasizing the attributes, personality and physical abilities of a performer. Since then Kitagawa has formed a number of successful acts, such as solo artist Masahiko Kondō, whose song, , won the 1987 Japan Record Award, and Hikaru Genji, the first Johnny group with three singles on the Japanese Oricon yearly chart in 1988. Johnny & Associates played an integral role in the post-war growth of Japanese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Kitagawa
John Hiromu Kitagawa (Japanese name ; October 23, 1931 – July 9, 2019), known professionally as , was an American-born Japanese businessman and talent manager. He was the founder and president of Johnny & Associates, a production agency for numerous popular boy bands in Japan. Kitagawa assembled, produced and managed more than a dozen popular bands, including Tanokin Trio, Hey! Say! JUMP, SMAP, Arashi, Kanjani8, V6, NEWS and KAT-TUN. Kitagawa's influence spread beyond music to the realms of theatre and television. Regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the Japanese entertainment industry, he held a virtual monopoly on the creation of boy bands in Japan for more than 40 years. From 1988 to 2000, Kitagawa was the subject of a number of claims that he had taken advantage of his position to engage in improper sexual relationships with boys under contract to his talent agency. Kitagawa denied these claims, and in 2002 was awarded an 8.8 million yen judgment against the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by Motosada Zumoto on 22 March 1897, with the goal of giving Japanese people an opportunity to read and discuss news and current events in English to help Japan to participate in the international community. The newspaper was independent of government control, but from 1931 onward, the paper's editors experienced mounting pressure from the Japanese government to submit to its policies. In 1933, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed Hitoshi Ashida, former ministry official, as chief editor. During World War II, the newspaper served as an outlet for Imperial Japanese government communication and editorial opinion. It was successively renamed ''The Japan Times and Mail'' (1918–1940) following its merger with ''The Japan M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and social science. The company publishes approximately 1,800 journals and 5,000 new books each year and their backlist encompasses over 70,000 titles. Routledge is claimed to be the largest global academic publisher within humanities and social sciences. In 1998, Routledge became a subdivision and imprint of its former rival, Taylor & Francis Group (T&F), as a result of a £90-million acquisition deal from Cinven, a venture capital group which had purchased it two years previously for £25 million. Following the merger of Informa and T&F in 2004, Routledge became a publishing unit and major imprint within the Informa "academic publishing" division. Routledge is headquartered in the main T&F office in Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfords ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious and highly ranked universities in the world. The university is composed of ten academic faculties plus Harvard Radcliffe Institute. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences offers study in a wide range of undergraduate and graduate academic disciplines, and other faculties offer only graduate degrees, including professional degrees. Harvard has three main campuses: the Cambridge campus centered on Harvard Yard; an adjoining campus immediately across Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston; and the medical campus in Boston's Longwood Medical Area. Harvard's endowment is valued at $50.9 billion, making it the wealthiest academic institution in the world. Endow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escapism
Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant or boring aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or general sadness. Perceptions Entire industries have sprung up to foster a growing tendency of people to remove themselves from the rigors of daily life – especially into the digital world. Many activities that are normal parts of a healthy existence (e.g., eating, sleeping, exercise, sexual activity) can also become avenues of escapism when taken to extremes or out of proper context; and as a result the word "escapism" often carries a negative connotation, suggesting that escapists are unhappy, with an inability or unwillingness to connect meaningfully with the world and to take necessary action. Indeed, the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defined escapism as "The tendency to seek, or the practice of seeking, distraction from what normally has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and other editorial content, forums where readers can discuss current issues and events, and an encyclopedia that contains many anime and manga with information on the staff, cast, theme music, plot summaries, and user ratings. The website was founded in July 1998 by Justin Sevakis, and operated the magazine '' Protoculture Addicts'' from 2005 to 2008. Based in Canada, it has separate versions of its news content aimed toward audiences in four separate regions: the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. History The website was founded by Justin Sevakis in July 1998. In May 2000, CEO Christopher Macdonald joined the website editorial staff, replacing editor-in-chief Isaac Alexander. On June 30, 2002, Anime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akiba-kei
or is a Japanese slang term for Akihabara style. Akihabara is a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo where many otaku, or obsessive anime, manga, idol, and video game fans gather. Definition ''Akiba-kei'' is a Japanese slang term meaning "Akihabara style". It dates back to the early 80s and refers to a subset of otaku who spend much of their time in and around the Akihabara area of Tokyo and are known for their strong interest in "fantasy worlds...anime, manga, maids, idols, and games". ''Akiba-kei'' have also been characterized as being "interested in ruminating about domestic items and creating fan works based on these existing elements." Location The Akihabara area in central Tokyo is well known as a marketplace of technology. It has ties to the Japanese video game industry, as well as to the anime and manga publishers. In addition to patronizing the famous electronics stores around them, ''Akiba-kei'' frequently open their own shops in Akihabara. Many of these shops are run b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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