Take a beautiful Japanese female artist and it's always going to be a fun day out.
Then she starts to make a series of beguiling, sensual images of hot Japanese female models, actresses and celebrities for magazines, adverts and exhibitions, and you have a truly great combination, popular with men and women alike.
That's what Asami Kiyokawa does, working with the likes of AKB48's Atsuko Maeda and Yuko Oshima, and Yoko Maki, Masami Nagasawa and Asami Mizukawa.
A lot of CG work goes into the final images, transforming the beautiful women into peacocks, forest settings, or ...
It might seem more than a tad cruel to publicly name and shame the least popular members of your group while vaulting others onto a pedestal to flaunt at the head of your column (at least until the next election rolls around).
Then again, with 48 members to keep track of, the marketing team over at AKB headquarters are probably grateful for any help at all in that department - hate to put a dud on the next single cover, after all. Thus, we have the results of the 3rd Senbatsu Election to mull over.
The divine Atsuko Maeda has, somewhat predictably, nabbed the top spot in this year's ...
AKB48's ever-lovely Atsuko Maeda is set to make a welcome return to our screens this July, playing the crossdressing lead character in a brand-new adaptation of Nakajo Hisaya's popular manga series Hanazakari no Kimitachi e.
Originally adapted as a TV series back in 2007, "Hana Kimi" is the story of Mizuki Ashiya, a Japanese high-schooler living in the USA, who, having fallen in love with troubled young sports' star Izumi Sano after seeing him on TV, moves to Japan and enrolls in his boys-only high school in order to get close to him. Fuji TV has announced that this will be a brand-new ...
Creator and marketing mad scientist behind AKB48, Akimoto Yasushi, was quoted as saying, "The least popular members are holding us back and we need to get rid of them." due to the less than stellar turn out for Oku Manami's graduation announcement event.
Of course you know Atsuko Maeda, Tomomi Itano and Yuko Ohshima. He's not talking about them. He's talking about the huge chorus of unknowns behind them who do little more than create a cheerleader effect that gets so many otaku hearts fluttering.
Upon hearing this news, quite a few of the "unpopular members" as they are referred ...
Which of these barely legal Japanese Idols would you pick to bark for you?
That's the theme for the new Wonda coffee campaign staring our favorite future porn stars. The rules are simple. When you buy a Wonda coffee, remove the campaign sticker and go to the website and "place your bets" on a roulette wheel full of, you guessed it, the AKB48 girls. If you choose the correct girl, she will say "wan wan!" (woof woof) and you win a dog strap for your cellphone (lame) and a limited edition AKB Wonda coffee with a picture of one of the members on the can.
The winning girl changes ...
AKB48 members Oshima Yuko, Maeda Atsuko, Kashiwagi Yuki, Itano Tomomi, Kojima Haruna, and Watanabe Mayu recently appeared on the cover of Young Jump flaunting their young supple swimsuited bodies in the middle of Winter.
During the photo shoot, Yuko Oshima relayed to J Cast.com that even though it's the middle of winter she wasn't against wearing the swimsuit, rather she was quite happy to wear it. The reason she gave was health.
"Everyone should take a picture in a swimsuit once a month in order to make sure they are taking good care of their bodies," elated Oshima, "that will ...
It's that time of year again to order your AKB48 calendars! This year your favorite sexy little ladies are taking it up a notch with lingerie and cheerleader costumes.
As is standard operating procedure in Japan, there are bonuses to be had for all those who fork out the yen for this premium product. The bonuses include 3D shiny stickers and 14 premium clear file folders. These are of course only available for those who pick up their AKB48 Official Calendar Box 2011 before November 4th.
There are also some pictures of the making of the calender available on the official ...
Do you get bored when you're scanning your computer for viruses after all the porn surfing you've done? The ingenious team over at Kaspersky Labs have the answer for that boredom. AKB48 and Atsuko Maeda.
It has been announced recently that Atsuko Maeda would be the face of the new Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 advertising campaign. Not only has she begun appearing in television commercials and on billboards all over Tokyo, she (as well as other AKB48 members) will actually be appearing in one of the versions of the security suite itself.
The official AKB48xKaspersky Labs ...
A series of mouse pads made to feel like you are moving your mouse between the generous busts of idol group AKB48's members has been causing shockwaves through the otaku and idol-loving community.
The mouse pads made their first appearances recently at game centers in claw game arcades.
The makers have stopped short at producing all 48 girls, instead just going for the four most popular: Yuko Oshima, Atsuko Maeda, Mariko Shinoda, and Tomomi Itano.
We think, looking at pics, that there has been some artistic license taken with the young lasses' busts, though!
Yuko Oshima seems to be ...
