J-Dorama: Nobuta wo Produce

Nobuta wo Produce


Details
Title: 野ブタ。をプロデュース
Title (romaji): Nobuta wo Produce
English Title : Makeover
Format: Renzoku
Genre: School drama
Episodes: 10
Viewership rating: 16.89
Broadcast network: NTV
Broadcast period: 2005-Oct-15 to 2005-Dec-17
Air time: Saturday 21:00
Theme song: Seishun Amigo by Shuuji to Akira (Kamenashi Kazuya and Yamashita Tomohisa)

Plot Overview

Introducing Nobuta

Shuuji Kiritani (Kazuya Kamenashi) is a very popular high school boy whose girlfriend is Mariko Uehara (Erika Toda), the most popular girl in school. Akira Kusano (Tomohisa Yamashita), his classmate, does not really have any friends - something that is attributed to the fact that he cannot read the atmosphere well. One day, a very shy girl, Nobuko Kotani (Maki Horikita) transfers to their school and is instantly picked on by a group of girls for her shyness. As a testimony to their youth, Shuji and Akira team up and decide to "produce" her, to make her popular. They nickname her "Nobuta".

Production of Nobuta

The various episodes deal with the pair's attempts at making Nobuta popular by making her more appealing. Amidst this, a mysterious person insidiously attempts to waylay all of Shuji's and Akira's efforts. Fortunately, the trio always manages pulls through with ingenuity.

Finale

Shuuji has to cope with his loss of popularity after he is caught out lying about Mariko and does not assist when a classmate is beaten up. Despite this, with the knowledge that his two true friends, Akira and Nobuta, will always be there for him, Shuuji gets over it. There is also the revelation of Aoi, Nobuta's first friend besides Shuuji and Akira, as the mysterious antagonist of the story. In the final episode Shuji discovers that he and his family must move out of Tokyo because of his father's job. Akira follows Shuji to his new home town and surprises him by showing up at his new school. Nobuta is left alone in Tokyo, but she has overcome her shyness, and is finally able to smile. She also becomes popular among the other students, and is no longer bullied. The end of the drama sees all three characters being able to "live wherever [they] are", having learnt the meaning of friendship and love.

Main Characters

The drama centres around 3 main characters namely Shuuji, Akira and Nobuko.

Kamenashi Kazuya (亀梨和也) as Shuuji Kiritani

Shuuji (桐谷修二) treats everything in life as a game, and thus, lives his life as a little white lie. He believes that by keeping up a "cool" façade, he can get to his goal without getting hurt. Because he chooses to hide his true self, Shuuji is, on the inside, a truly lonely person. Although he does not like Mariko romantically, he has lunch with her everyday in a bid to boost his popularity. He is only truly open to Akira and Nobuko, and considers the two as his only true friends. Always putting the feelings of others before himself, Shuuji does not have the power to say "no". He always bottles up his own feelings, and never complains.


Yamashita Tomohisa (山下智久) as Akira Kusano

Unlike Shuuji, Akira (草野彰) is not popular. Constantly on a soy milk high, Akira always finds ways to get on Shuuji's nerves. Despite this, they become good friends by the end of the series. With much money to dispense of, Akira finances most of their escapades. With no intention of following the footsteps of his father, the president of a company, Akira is a free spirit who would rather live his a life as a "dime in the street" and enjoy his youth. At one point in the story, it is revealed that Akira has affections for Nobuta. However, he does not pursue his feelings knowing that he will not be able to make her happy. He demonstrates a high prowess in karate easily beating up a bully and smashing through a set of tiles. Naturally forgiving, he is ready to forgive and forget, as long as it preserves his friendship with Shuuji and Nobuta.


Horikita Maki (堀北真希) as Nobuko Kotani

Nobuko (小谷信子) is painfully shy after initially being rejected by her stepfather at a young age. Following this, due to the fact that she finds it difficult to mix around and relate to other students, she has been continuously bullied through her school life. Because of the painful experiences she has undergone, Nobuko is cynical to the world. She believes that no matter where she is, or no matter how hard she tries, the world will still reject her. With Shuuji and Akira's help and encouragement, she begins to open up more to others. Nobuko considers Shuji and Akira as the two people who are the most important to her. At the end of the series, she has finally gathered enough confidence to smile and continue socialising, even without Shuuji and Akira.


Cast 
Kamenashi Kazuya as Kiritani Shuuji
Yamashita Tomohisa as Kusano Akira
Horikita Maki as Kotani Nobuko
Toda Erika as Uehara Mariko
Nakajima Yuto as Kiritani Koji
Ukaji Takashi as Kiritani Satoru
Fukaura Kanako as Kiritani Nobuko
Okada Yoshinori as Yokoyama Takeshi
Kimura Yuichi as Sebastian
Fuwa Mansaku as Iehara Yasuo
Takuma Seiko as Kuroki Hiroko
Imawano Kiyoshiro as owner of the Gooyoku diner
Takahashi Katsumi as Hirayama Ippei
Natsuki Mari as Catherine
Yanagita Erika

Production Credits
Original writing: 『野ブタ。をプロデュース』 by Shiraiwa Gen ISBN 4-309-01683-9
Screenwriter: Kizara Izumi
Producer: Kono Hidehiro
Directors: Iwamoto Hitoshi, Sakuma Noriyoshi (佐久間紀佳)
Music: Ike Yoshihiro

Awards
- 47th Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Drama
- 47th Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Actor: Kamenashi Kazuya
- 47th Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress: Horikita Maki
- 47th Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Director
- 47th Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Script
- 47th Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Music
- 9th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (2005-06): Best Actor: Yamashita Tomohisa

Doraemon The Movie

Nobita and the Green Giant Legend 2008
 

Nobita and the Green Giant Legend 2008 (Eiga Doraemon Nobita to Midori no Kyojinden, 映画 ドラえもん のび太と緑の巨人伝), is an anime film that was released in Japan on March 8, 2008.

The story is based on the story in volume 26 "Forest is living" and in volume 33 "Goodbye Ki-bō". This movie is not a remake, however, Ki-bō has appeared already in the 1992 film, "Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds". The name Ki-bō comes from the words "Ki" (木) meaning tree, and "Bō" (棒) meaning a wooden stick. The word Ki-bō also comes from the word "Kibō" (希望), which means hope. The catch phrase of this movie is "僕らの希望が未来を動かす" (our hope moves the future), which Ki-bō's name can be referred to. Voices of Roku-chan and Moya-kun were done by anonymous children who were chosen.

The film was illustrated as manga on the February and March edition of CoroCoro Comic. Then it was released as the 25th film tankōbon, which may be bought at the theater. As the 4th "Sega=Doraemon" project, an action-adventure game was also released on March 6, 2008 entitled, Doraemon Nobita to Midori no Kyojinden DS (ドラえもん のび太と緑の巨人伝).

Music
Opening song: "Yume o Kanaete Doraemon" (夢をかなえてドラえもん), sung by MAO.
Theme song: "Te o Tsunagō‎" (手をつなごう), sung by ayaka.


Cast
Wasabi Mizuta - Doraemon
Megumi Ohara - Nobita Nobi
Tomokazu Seki - Suneo Honekawa
Yumi Kakazu - Shizuka Minamoto
Subaru Kimura - Giant
Chiaki - Dorami
Maki Horikita - Princess Rire
Takuya Yoshikoshi - Ki-bō
Chikao Ōtsuka - Shiraa
Yuji Miyake - Jii
Teppei Arita - Paruna
Yoko Tsuchiya - Roku-chan
Jinbei Watanabe - Moya-kun

Hey! Say! JUMP

Hey! Say! JUMP

Hey! Say! JUMP is a J-pop group under Johnny & Associates, made up of ten members. Hey! Say! JUMP is considered an expansion of the original Hey! Say! 7. The name Hey! Say! refers to the fact that all the members were born in the Heisei period and JUMP is an acronym for Johnny's Ultra Music Power.

History

As Hey! Say! 7 (Temporary Group)
In a KAT-TUN spring concert on 3 April 2007, 5 members of Johnny's Jr's were named to be part of a new group called Hey! Say! 7. These members were Yuya Takaki, Daiki Arioka, Yuto Nakajima, Yuuri Chinen and Ryosuke Yamada. Initially, the temporary status of the group was unclear, worrying a lot of fans of Johnny Jr's groups J.J. Express as it could mean that the group was splitting up and that Yuya Takaki and Daiki Arioka would permanently be in this group instead.
On 16 June 2007, it was announced that Hey! Say! 7 would release a single, Hey! Say!, which was then used as the opening song for the popular anime Love★Com (Lovely Complex). The single also contains the ending song used for the same anime, titled BON BON. This is the first time a Johnny's Jrs group released a single since Ya-Ya-yah in 2002, and there was uncertainty in whether if the debut is permanent or just a CD release.
On 1 August 2007, the single Hey! Say! was released. The following week, on 8 August 2007, Oricon Style confirmed that Hey! Say! sold 120,520 copies in its first week and this made it top the Oricon Weekly Charts. At the same time, Hey! Say! 7 broke an all-time record by being the youngest group to ever reach the number 1 spot in the Oricon chart, with their average age being just 14.8 years.
In the month of August, the single Hey! Say! topped the Oricon Monthly Charts, outselling even their Johnny's Entertainment seniors, Tackey and Tsubasa and TOKIO. Since then, the Hey! Say! single had been certified gold by the RIAJ

Former Hey! Say! 7 (Temporary Group)


- Yuya Takaki / 高木雄也 - March 26, 1990 (age 18)
- Daiki Arioka / 有岡大貴 - April 15, 1991 (age 17)
- Yuto Nakajima / 中島裕翔 - August 10, 1993 (age 14)
- Ryosuke Yamada / 山田涼介 - May 9, 1993 (age 15)
- Yuuri Chinen / 知念侑李 - November 30, 1993 (age 14)


Transition to Hey! Say! JUMP
The formation of Hey! Say! JUMP was announced on September 24th, 2007 during the Johnny's Jr Hey Say 07 in Yokohama concert, which was broad casted live by Fuji TV. The boys were introduced with reference to other debuted group such as NEWS and V6. This new unit will function in the same sense as V6's Coming Century and 20th Century with the two subunits, Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7, where BEST stands for Boys Excellent Selection Team.
The word JUMP not only stands for Johnny's Ultra Music Power, but also jumping high in the heisei era. Immediately after the junior concert, the boys appeared on the filming of popular program Hey! Hey! Hey!, where they announced the unit officially. The new group draws most of its members from popular junior units Ya-Ya-yah and J.J. Express. The future of this unit is yet unknown but their debut single was released on November 14th, 2007, titled Ultra Music Power, coming in #1 on the Oricon charts for that week. It was the theme song for the year's Volleyball World Cup Relay. Also the unit had already held their debut concert on the 22nd of December 2007 at Tokyo Dome, where very few debuted units have had the chance for a concert, KAT-TUN being one of them. The date for the debut is to match the record set by Tackey & Tsubasa, who had their debut concert on the 38th day of their debut.
It was stated that the idea for the unit came from the overwhelming sales of Hey! Say! 7's single Hey!Say!. The members of the unit only found out about their debut three days before the official announcement. The average age of the unit is 15 with the youngest member being 13 and the oldest 18. Also with the unit having Okamoto Keito as a member, who is the son of Otokogumi's Okamoto Kenichi, marks the first parent-child pair in Johnnys.

Members

Hey! Say! BEST

Hey! Say! BEST (Boys Excellent Select Team) is the older subgroup of Hey! Say! JUMP, consisting of 5 members:
- Kota Yabu / 薮宏太 - January 31, 1990 (age 18)

- Yuya Takaki / 高木雄也 - March 26, 1990 (age 18)

- Kei Inoo / 伊野尾慧 - June 22, 1990 (age 18)

- Hikaru Yaotome / 八乙女光 - December 2, 1990 (age 17)

- Daiki Arioka / 有岡大貴 - April 15, 1991 (age 17)



Hey! Say! 7

Hey! Say! 7 is the younger subgroup of Hey! Say! JUMP, consisting of 5 members. This Hey! Say! 7 should not be confused with former Hey! Say! 7 (Temporary Group), which produced the single Hey! Say!
- Keito Okamoto / 岡本圭人 - April 1, 1993 (age 15)

- Ryosuke Yamada / 山田涼介 - May 9, 1993 (age 15)

- Yuto Nakajima / 中島裕翔 - August 10, 1993 (age 14)

- Yuuri Chinen / 知念侑李 - November 30, 1993 (age 14)

- Ryutaro Morimoto / 森本龍太郎 - April 6, 1995 (age 13)


Original songs

As Hey! Say! 7 (Temporary Group) (3 April 2007 - 23 September 2007)
-Fatalism
-Hey! Say! (Love★Com Opening theme)
-BON BON (Love★Com Ending theme)
-Iをくれ (I wo kure)
-The ONE
-Hey Boys and Girls

As Hey! Say! JUMP
-Ultra Music Power
-Too Shy
-Star Time
-トビラの向こう (Tobira No Mukou)
-心・技・体 (Shin Gi Tai)
-Chance to Change
-Dreams Come True
-HIGHER

As Hey! Say! BEST (Sub-group of Hey! Say! JUMP)
-ス・リ・ル (Thrill)
-BUMP UP

As Hey! Say! 7 (Sub-group of Hey! Say! JUMP)
-ワンダーランド・トレイン (Wonderland Train)

Solos
-麗しのBad Girl (Uruwashi no Bad Girl) by Nakajima Yuto
-パフューム (Perfume) by Yamada Ryosuke
-アジアの夜 (Asia no Yoru) by Yamada Ryosuke
-炎-Flame of Love by Yaotome Hikaru
-Rain Dance by Yabu Kota
-My Everything by Yabu Kota
-俺たちの青春 (Oretachi No Seishun) by Takaki Yuya [Gokusen 3's insert song]
-On The Wind by Chinen Yuuri
-Stars in Heaven by Chinen Yuuri and Yamada Ryosuke
-Ame No Melody by Nakajima Yuto
-Eien Ni by Yamada Ryosuke and Nakajima Yuto

J-movie [L: Change the WorLd]

L: Change the WorLd



L: change the WorLd, directed by Hideo Nakata, is a spin-off film of the Death Note movie series. The series is based on the manga Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, but follows an original storyline. The film was released in Japan on February 9, 2008, Hong Kong on February 7, 2008 and Singapore on February 21, 2008.

Genre: Fantasy/Thriller
Director: Hideo Nakata
Cast: Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note; Death Note 2 the Last name); Yuki Kudo (SAYURI, Rush Hour); Mayuko Fukuda (Sinking of Japan); Shunji Fujimura 
Released By: Encore Films & Golden Village
Rating: PG
Official Website: http://www.encorefilms.com/L.html

Opening Day: 21 February 2008

Plot 
After solving the Kira case, another serious case confronts L and he has only 23 days left to solve it.

A person who obtained the most horrible weapon, "Death God" says the same thing as Kira ... "I am going to change the world". A boy and a girl hold the keys to solving the case and L faces a crisis of global magnitude to protect the kids. He is without his most trusted partner, Watari, and cannot rely on just his superb intellect to solve the case.

The final case is involving a bioterrorist group that aims to wipe out much of humanity with a virus with ten times the infectiousness of Ebola, taking a boy, the sole survivor of its use in a village in Thailand, and a junior high schooler named Maki Nikaido under his wing.

Shunji Fujimura also reprises his role as Watari, though he dies early in the film as per the events of The Last Name. The characters Misa Amane, death god Ryuk, and Light Yagami also all have brief cameos in the film.

Cast

L: Ken'ichi Matsuyama


Near (Boy): Narushi Fukuda (福田 響志 Fukuda Narushi)


Maki Nikaido (二階 堂真希 Nikaidō Maki): Mayuko Fukuda


Kimihiko Nikaido (二階 堂公彦 Nikaidō Kimihiko): Shingo Tsurumi
Kimiko Kujo (久條 希実子 Kujō Kimiko) a.k.a. K: Youki Kudoh
Koichi Matsudo (松戸 浩一 Matsudo Kōichi): Sei Hiraizumi
Asao Konishi (小西 朝夫 Konishi Asao): Bokuzō Masana
Tamotsu Yoshizawa (吉沢 保 Yoshizawa Tamotsu): Yuta Kanai
Hotsune Misawa (三沢 初音 Misawa Hotsune): Megumi Sato
Shin Kagami (加賀見シン Kagami Shin): Renji Ishibashi
Hideaki Suruga (駿河 秀明 Suruga Hideaki): Kiyotaka Nanbara
Daisuke Matoba (的場 大介 Matoba Daisuke): Masanobu Takashima
Watari: Shunji Fujimura
F (エフ Efu): Kazuki Namioka
Misa Amane: Erika Toda
Naomi Misora: Asaka Seto
Raye Iwamatsu: Shigeki Hosokawa
Touta Matsuda: Sota Aoyama
Sasaki (佐々木): Yōji Tanaka
Ryuk: Nakamura Shidō
Light Yagami: Tatsuya Fujiwara

Hello Project new Unit

High-King


High-King (ハイ・キング) is a Japanese idol group within Hello! Project. The group was created to promote Morning Musume's upcoming rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, titled Cinderella the Musical (シンデレラ the ミュージカル). Their sound is said to have an R&B feel.

The group's debut single, C\C (Cinderella\Complex) (Ｃ＼Ｃ （シンデレラ＼コンプレックス), was on June 11, 2008, under the Zetima label in two versions. The regular version (catalog EPCE-5561) contains the CD-single only, while the limited version (EPCE-5559～60) contains a bonus DVD.A Single V (EPBE-5294) will also be released on June 25, 2008. This single is coupling with Kioku no Meiro

Although High-King has members of varying ages, and are from different groups, reports are that when they are on the same song, they sing and dance well together. It is unknown whether this group will be a temporary unit, or will continue to produce singles after the musical. High-King leader is Reina Tanaka.

High-King are:

Tanaka Reina (18) from Morning Musume


Takahashi Ai (21) from Morning Musume


Saki Shimizu (16) from Berryz Kobo


Maimi Yajima (16) from ℃-ute


Yuuka Maeda (13) from Hello Pro Egg

Single:
C\C (Cinderella\Complex)

Morning Musume Member

Takahashi Ai


Ai Takahashi joined Morning Musume in 2001 as part of the group's fifth generation, along with Makoto Ogawa, Asami Konno, and Risa Niigaki. Her debut appearance with the group was on their single "Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~", and her first appearance on a Morning Musume full-length release was their fourth studio album, the appropriately named 4th Ikimasshoi!. Her first appearance within a Hello! Project shuffle unit release was on the 2002 single "Shiawase Beam! Suki Suki Beam!" under the group name Happy 7.

In 2003, Takahashi replaced Mari Yaguchi in the Morning Musume spinoff group Mini Moni, first appearing in the group's movie Mini Moni ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken! and its accompanying soundtrack. Her best-known nickname amongst non-Japanese fans, "Takitty", was derived from the cat suit (complete with tail) which she wears in the movie.

Later in 2003, she was part of the Morning Musume splinter group Morning Musume Sakuragumi, which performed mainly slower numbers on the group's two EPs, "Hare Ame Nochi Suki" and "Sakura Mankai", and the shuffle group 7Air, an R&B-inspired septet.

Takahashi's vocals became more prominent on the second and final Mini Moni album, Mini Moni Songs 2 (2004), as well as on Morning Musume's singles from their Spring 2004 release "Roman ~My Dear Boy~" onward. She also had a duet with Tsunku on the cover version of Tsunku and Ayumi Hamasaki's duet "Love ~since 1999~" on his solo album Take1.

In 2005, Morning Musume's first single release of the year, "The Manpower!!!", featured Takahashi in a prominent co-lead-vocal role, a role she has retained on subsequent singles since. In the summer of that year, she became part of the 2005 shuffle Group Elegies.

In 2006, Takahashi played the lead role, Sapphire, in the musical "Ribbon no Kishi The Musical" which was a collaboration work of Takarazuka Revue (a famous Japanese all-female musical group) and Hello! Project. The musical was based on Tezuka Osamu's manga and also starred v-u-den, Nozomi Tsuji, Aya Matsuura, and Natsumi Abe, as well as Marcia and Kaoru Ebira of the Takarazuka Revue. Soon thereafter, Takahashi released her first and only solo single to date, "Yume Kara Samete".

Following then-leader Hitomi Yoshizawa's graduation from Morning Musume on May 6, 2007, the current sub-leader, Miki Fujimoto ascended to the leader position, with Takahashi becoming the new sub-leader of the group. However, on June 1, 2007, after Fujimoto's resignation, Takahashi took over as the new leader.

Takahashi is also captain of the Hello! Project kickball team, Metro Rabbits H.P..

In 2008 Takahashi became a member of Hello Project's new unit High-King, a group created to promote Morning Musume's upcoming Cinderella the Musical.




Name: Takahashi Ai (高橋愛)
Nickname: Ai-chan, Lovely, Takitty, Tettekete
Birth date: September 14, 1986
Birthplace: Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, Japan
Blood type: A
Height: 153.3 cm
Hobbies: Watching plays, ballet
Specialty: Flipping her eyelids, bridge
Favorite food: Sauce katsudon, omelette rice
Disliked food: Mont blanc, eggplant, pineapple, musubi, perilla leaves
Favorite color: Black, white, pink
Favorite word: "Tomodachi" (友達 - "Friend")
Favorite season: Autumn
Favorite flowers: Roses
Favorite song: Tsumetai Umi / Start in My Life by Kuraki Mai

Subgroups:
Morning Musume (2001–)
Happy 7 (2002)
7AIR (2003)
Minimoni (2003–2004)
Morning Musume Sakura Gumi (2003–2004)
H.P. All Stars (2004)
Hello! Project Akagumi (2005)
Elegies (2005)
Wonderful Hearts (2006–) 
High-King (2008)

Other:
POCKY GIRLS (2002)
Metro Rabbits H.P. (2006–)

Photobooks:
[2002.08.13] 5 モーニング娘。5期メンバー (5 Morning Musume. 5ki Members)
[2002.12.09] モーニング娘。―高橋愛 (Morning Musume - Takahashi Ai)
[2003.12.18] アロハロ!高橋愛 (AloHello! Takahashi Ai)
[2004.05.26] わたあめ (Wataame)
[2005.06.26] 愛ごころ (Aigokoro)
[2006.01.26] 19
[2006.10.28] 高橋愛 写真集全集 ai (Takahashi Ai Photograph Collection Complete Works ai)
[2007.03.14] ラブハロ!高橋愛inプーケット (Love Hello! Takahashi Ai in Phuket)
[2007.10.26] 水 (Mizu)
[2008.05.23] もうひとつの愛 (Mou Hitotsu no Ai)

Movies:
[2002] とっかえっ娘。 (Tokkaekko)
[2003] ミニモニ。じゃムービーお菓子な大冒険！ (Minimoni ja Movie Okashi na Daibouken!)
[2003] 子犬ダンの物語 (Koinu Dan no Monogatari)

DVDs:
[2007.04.11] ラブハロ! 高橋愛 DVD (Love Hello! Takahashi Ai DVD)

TV Dramas:
[2002] Angel Hearts
[2004] ミニモニ。でブレーメンの音楽隊 (Minimoni de Bremen no Ongakutai)
[2006] 天下騒乱〜徳川三代の陰謀 (Tenka Souran ~ Tokugawa Sandai no Inmou)
[2006] 道徳女子短大エコ研 (Doutoku Joshi Tandai Ecoken)

Radio:
[2003–] ヤングタウン土曜日 (Young Town Douyoubi)

Musicals:
[2006] リッボンの騎士ザ・ミュージカル (Ribbon no Kishi: The Musical)
[2008] シンデレラ the ミュージカル (Cinderella the Musical)

Morning Musume Member

Tanaka Reina
    

Reina Tanaka, member of the famous Jpop group "Morning Musume" was born the 11th November 1989, in Fukuoka. The kanji characters for her name (田中麗奈) are the same as the ones for the Japanese actress Tanaka Rena. To avoid confusion, Tanaka adopted hiragana symbols (れいな) for her first name when she joined Morning Musume.

She initially auditioned for Morning Musume during the Love Audition 21 auditions for the 5th generation members and was even featured on the MUSIX page. She is the only member to audition twice to get into Morning Musume.
In her first audition for Morning Musume, according to the rules she wasn't old enough to audition. She lied about her age, adding another year to it because she didn't believe she would make it very far. She made it to the boot camp but her true age was revealed and she was expelled from the audition, but then she participated in the 2002 Love Audition and was revealed among 12417 candidates along with Eri Kamei and Sayumi Michishige on the 19th January 2003. (She was the 1803rd candidate) Those three girls formed Morning Musume 6th Generation with the audition of Miki Fujimoto, and Hello! Project soloist. Before her second audition, she believed they wouldn't take her because of her lying mishap.
The audition song was Momusu's "Do it! Now". For the very first time, there was an Internet public pool in which fans could vote for their favorite girl. Reina ranked 8th and Sayumi 6th. Anyway, Tsunku, Momusu's producer, chose Reina, Sayumi and Eri as finalists even if Eri wasn't in the Top10.
The three of them had to practice singing and dancing during four days, so Tsunku could test their abilities. They had to sing on Melon Kinenbi's "Akai Freesia" and dance on their audition song, "Do it! Now. The original idea was to choose on girl out of the three but surprisingly, Tsunku chose them all to join Morning Musume. Reina had always wanted to be an idol and enter the entertainement industry since she is a big fan of Flame.

Reina has always had the reputation of a yankii (a rebel) since her first audition for Morning Musume, when she had blonde hair. The fact that she also wore shirts with skulls and dragons, and had a tendency to wear a lot of purple clothing, also furthered this yankii image with fans and is known as one of the most fashionable members of Morning Musume.

She is known for being the lead vocalist on her debut single. She sang a solo version of "Memory Seishun no Hikari" on the fanclub special Best Shot Vol.4. Since being the center position for "Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii Jan", Reina has gotten several solo lines in songs, and she gradually worked her way up to being one of the lead vocalists in such songs like "Mikan" and "Resonant Blue".

In 2007 she has her own solo radio at a radio show called FIVESTARS and In early 2008, she was announced as the voice actor for Kirara, the main character in Sanrio's Onegai My Melody Kirara☆


First Name: Reina (れいな)
Last Name: Tanaka (田中)
Nicknames: Tanakacchi, Reina-chan, 07 (Rei-Na), Reinya

Hometown: Fukuoka (Japan)

Birth day: 11/11/1989
Zodiac sign: Scorpio
Blood group: O
Height: 1.51 m
Character: Impulsive, energic and always in a good mood. She is also very quiet when she feels                      nervous.
Habits: "I clap my hands when I laugh..., Often saying "Ukeru". Saying "Yabai!" to anything,               Setting up (Crossing?) my legs while sitting down."
Charm point: Eyes/Glance

Hobbies: Karaoke, volley-ball, e-mail, playing piano, watching concerts, writting letters with                  handmade frames

Specialty: Making friends laugh, making funny faces, can make friends easily
Groups: Morning Musume, Otome Gumi, Aa!
Objective: She wants to do her best and use all her energy to succeed her career
Favorite words: Luck, spirit
Favorite seasons: Autumn and Spring
Favorite flower: Sunflower
Favorite colors: Pink, red, orange, yellow, black and white
Favorite food: Yakiniku and fruits
Hated food: Natto and pepper
Favorite subject: Music and physical education
Least favourite subject: Maths and history
Afraid of: Ghosts
Country she would like to visit: Italy
Favorite movie: Harry Potter
Favorite singers: Maki Gotou, Aya Matsuura, Rika Ishikawa
Favorite Morning Musume' songs:
1 - "Say Yeah! Motto Miracle Night"
2 - "Shabondama"
3 - "I WISH"

Subgroups:
Morning Musume Otome Gumi (2003–2004)
Aa! (2003)
H.P. All Stars (2004)
Elegies (2005)
High-King (2008)

Movie:
Hoshizuna no Shima, Watashi no Shima - Island Dreamin'