Kumai Yurina and Suzuki Airi’s “Ousama Game” Navigate DVD Cover Released

The cover for the Navigate DVD for Kumai Yurina and Suzuki Airi’s upcoming movie titled Ousama Game has been released.

First I would like to remind everyone that this is only the Navigate DVD, which means that it’s the making of showing scenes of how the movie was made, not the movie itself, but it’s safe to say that the movie DVD will have a similar look.

That being said I really like the way the cover looks since we get to see the main stars of the movie (the guy next to Kumai, Kumai and Airi) along with the other actors in their roles, with a strong focus on Berryz Koubou and C-ute members in the first two rows. Apart from the normal school lineup of the actors they added a red tint over most of the cover, which is a pretty cool effect since it adds to the horror theme.

I’m not sure if the members that are in the white space have any kind of significance to the story since it might refer to them as being among the few who have a large role in the story, but what I do know for sure is that the white outline of a person behind Risako will probably be important since it suggests that the main antagonist of the story is a member of the class, although I don’t know much about the story so I don’t know for sure.

The title is in gold and really easy to see, with the words “Navigate” in white at the bottom, so it’s safe to say that this is a very eye catching cover, although the only complaint I can see is that the red tint is a bit overpowering since it’s somewhat hard to tell who is who at a glance (everyone in the middle is recognizable, but since Chisa is at the end of the row I couldn’t tell if it was her or someone else).

Despite that the cover is impressive and perfect for this horror release, and while the horror theme is a bit overused I am really looking forward to this release since it has an interesting story, but hopefully anyone who is interested in finding out just how the movie is made will get a copy of this release since we will probably wait for the movie a few months more.

The release date is set for 11/3.

Amazon.jp Site

“LIVE NEXT!! Featuring Hello! Project” Event Announced

Two one day events featuring a selection of members from Berryz Koubou and C-ute along with S/mileage titled LIVE NEXT!! Featuring Hello! Project have been announced.

The selection for members from Berryz Koubou and C-ute include Shimizu Saki, Tokunaga Chinami, Kumai Yurina, Yajima Maimi, and Nakajima Saki.

The clear details about what the members will do at the event have not been revealed but the site mentions that they will appear alongside a member of the Nankai Candies and there will be a live chat with girls and more live fun.

It’s always fun to see events where members from two groups can appear, and with what appears to be a unique theme this event will most likely be very interesting for fans since the focus seems to be not on performing but on a chat with girls and other activities, for example the page mentioned the making of a stage director.

I’m not that clear on what the event will be but I encourage fans in the area to attend one to find out for sure since the appearance of both Berryz and C-ute members in a five member team along with S/mileage the next day will be fun to see.

The events will start at 18:00 (JST) and will feature members from Berryz and C-ute on 9/3 and S/mileage on 9/4 at the Nippon Seinen Kan in Tokyo.

Official H!P Page For LIVE NEXT!! Featuring Hello! Project

Kumai Yurina And Suzuki Airi To Appear In A Horror Movie Titled “Oosama Game”

Berryz Koubou member Kumai Yurina and C-ute member Suzuki Airi will both star in a new horror movie titled Oosama Game (King’s game).

From the tokyohive translation of the article about the movie, the movie is basically a reproduction on film of a cellphone novel from the same title, and the story is mainly about 2 mysterious high-school students and a cell-phone.

Kumai is playing the lead role of Honda Chiemi, while Airi plays the role of Honda’s mysterious classmate Iwamura Ria.

I have to say that when I first read the description of the movie, I immediately though of Airi’s recent straight-to-DVD movie Keitai Kanojo which also had something to do with cellphones, and even though Airi has appeared in Keitai Kanojo and her most recent movie Vampire Stories – BROTHERS,  I’m really happy to see that she will be appearing next to Kumai in this movie since the main spotlight will be on Yurina, with the accompanying role going to Airi, which is always great to see since we never had the chance to see those 2 interact together in a real movie.

Another interesting mention in the description of the movie is that many other artists will be appearing in this movie, such as Yoshizawa Hitomi, as well as small appearances from every single C-ute and Berryz Koubou member, which is something I really didn’t expect, and this makes me really impatient to see what the final result will be like since the producer of the movie who picked both Airi and Kumai himself  is positive about the release saying that “it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that a masterpiece of high-school horror has been made”.

Overall, I’m really excited about this release since it will be an interesting mark in the year of 2011 for both groups, and specially to Kumai since it will be her first leading role in a good movie for a while, so hopefully more details will be out soon!

The movie will be released next winter.

Tokyohive article about movie (English)

Oricon.jp article about movie

Barks.jp article about movie

Bijo Gaku Vol 3 & 4 DVD Announced

Bijo Gaku’s 3rd and 4th DVD volumes have been announced.

I’m glad to see that after the first two volumes for the series were announced we get a chance to find out when the next two volumes will be released since it gives fans of the series a chance to check out the episodes again in DVD.

It seems that the 3rd volume will feature Mano content since she seems to be the only H!P member on the cover, while the 4th volume will feature Maimi, Sayu, Mitsui, Maimai, Captain, Kamei, Jun Jun, and Kumai, which is great since we get to see another exclusive DVD with one member and another with the groups doing various activites.

Hopefully fans of the series reserve their copy of the DVD since it seems like a great way for fans to enjoy the episodes once again.

The release date is set for 2/2.

E-Lineup Page For Bijo Gaku Vol 3

E-Lineup Page For Bijo Gaku Vol 4

Kumai Yurina – “Kumaspo!” DVD Preview Released

A DVD preview for Kumai Yurina’s 1st Alo Hello! PB’s Making Of DVD titled Kumaspo! has been released.

The preview features Kumai at the beach wearing a bikini, running, at the pool, as a cheerleader, doing Yoga, among many other activities and since we get to see her wearing a unique outfit in each scene it does give us a chance to check out what to expect from the PB, and for the most part I am impressed with what we got to see.

The outfits look amazing on Yurina (to say the least) and since each outfit fits in with the sport she is doing, such as a running outfit during the start of the preview and a swimming outfit while at the pool, it does seem like this PB was well planned since in each scene she does a pose related to that sport, most notably Yoga and cheerleading.

Overall the preview is a great way to find out a little bit more about what the PB will contain and I am impressed with the many sports and outfits that the preview contains since it does seem like there are many included.

Hopefully Kumai fans pick up a copy of the PB since it seems like an amazing release.

The release date is set for 12/17.

Video uploaded by: berryzchannel

Kumai Yurina Alo Hello! PB “Kumaspo!” Cover Released

The cover for Kumai Yurina’s 1st Alo Hello! PB titled Kumaspo! has been released.

For the most part I really like the way the cover looks since it features Kumai wearing swim goggles while smiling, and since it is a PB with a focus on sports it seems like a great way to relate the bikini in some way.

The title is simple and pink, which is somewhat usual for Alo Hello releases, but I like the way the font looks since it matches with the exciting sports theme.

Apart from the cover a preview was also released:

Not much to say on the photo apart from how great Kumai looks in a cheer leading outfit while smiling, but if all pictures look as great as this one then it will most likely be an impressive release.

Hopefully fans already have their copy reserved.

The release date is set for 12/17.

Amazon.jp Page For Kumai Yurina’s Alo Hello PB

Kumai Yurina’s Alo Hello! PB Titled “KumaSpo!”

Kumai Yurina’s 1st Alo Hello! PB has been revealed to be titled KumaSpo! (Eng: Kuma Sport).

As the title suggests the PB will be focused on sports, which is interesting since we haven’t recently seen any PBs with a sport theme in quite a while, but since Kumai is athletic I’m not that surprised to see that they are going to try this out with her Alo Hello.

The title is somewhat catchy which is great for fans and Kumai since her PB will most likely stand out among the rest, and even though we haven’t seen a cover yet I wouldn’t be surprised to see that it features Kumai in a bikini with a volleyball or at the beach practicing a sport.

Hopefully we get to see a cover or some kind of preview sometime soon since this PB looks like a great release for Kumai fans.

The release date is set for 12/17.

Kumai Yurina PB Section On Official H!P Site

Alo Hello! Kumai Yurina PB Announced

A PB for Kumai Yurina titled Alo Hello! Kumai Yurina has been announced.

The PB was first mentioned in an insert of the Hello! Channel vol 2 mook and it was later confirmed to be a PB by a UFA staff account tweet.

I’m surprised to see that they will be releasing an Alo-Hello! for Kumai since this would make it the first Alo-Hello! for an H!P Kids group as well as the first PB for Kumai in more than a year, and even though there isn’t much info about it I am happy to see that we at least get a confirmation for it.

Hopefully previews for the PB appear soon since it does seem like it will be a great PB for Kumai fans.

The release date is set for 12/17.

UFA Staff Account Tweet Confirming PB

Happy Birthday Kumai Yurina!

Today is Kumai Yurina’s 17th birthday and since she is among my top favorites I have decided to do a small post to congratulate her in her birthday.

During the last year Kumai has really progressed in many ways, from her talented vocals to even starring in a CM she has without a doubt gotten many chances to show everyone her great talent.

Among the many highlights of the year would have to be the release of her 2nd PB FLOWERAGE which was very surprising since we hadn’t seen a PB from her in a while, and even though it is only her 2nd I do hope that we get many more chances to her in PBs since she is without a doubt one of the cutest members of Berryz Koubou.

Apart from that we also got a chance to see her first solo CM for a Baseball Bears album release, which made her the first member of Berryz Koubou (and possibly H!P) to get a solo CM for a non-H!P product:

Video uploaded by: poporonpop

That among many other events have been great news for Kumai since many more people have gotten a chance to see her cuteness and her talent, and while she usually doesn’t get the main spotlight of the group I am glad to see that this year she has gotten many chances to impress everyone.

I wish the best of luck to Kumai in future singles and hopefully the next year brings even more great parts in future singles as well as more chances to show everyone her great talents and unique voice.

For now:

Happy Birthday Kumai-chan!
誕生日おめでとう 熊井ちゃん!

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*I added larger versions of the pictures after the break*

Shimizu Saki, Tokunaga Chinami and Kumai Yurina Arrive In Thailand

Berryz Koubou members Shimizu Saki, Tokunaga Chinami and Kumai Yurina arrived in Thailand earlier today to promote their first concert in Bangkok. Ticket’s will be on sale to the general public soon (although roughly half of the sets are already booked through presale, especially the good seats).

It is great to see that they are promoting their concert well by sending members over to appear on TV and on radio since it probably means that they are trying their best to make their first concert in Thailand a great one.

There were also many fans at the airport to welcome them and here is one of the many videos that are up on Youtube (check out TIMMII97’s channel for more videos of the girls arriving at the airport).

Video uploaded by: TIMMII97

This is the video of the show they appeared in:

Berryz Koubou on Channel V Thailand Pt 1

Berryz Koubou on Channel V Thailand Pt 2

Videos uploaded by: loveberryzthai

Hopefully the seats for the concert sell well and we get a great concert since it would mean that Berryz Koubou’s first concert overseas was a great success (technically second if you count Korea).

Berryz Koubou’s First Live In Bangkok will occur on 3/27.

ThaiTicketMajor Site To Buy Tickets (Ticket sales up now)

PingBook Page With Information About The Show (In Thai)