Singer Vickeblanka has released a live performance video of Black Catcher, the opening theme song for the anime series Black Clover. On January 25, 2023, the singer will release Vickeblanka presents RAINBOW ROAD -Ki- on Blu-ray and DVD.

 

Black Catcher - Vickeblanka (from「RAINBOW ROAD -Ki-」LIVE DVD＆Blu-ray on sale January 25, 2023)

Black Catcher serves as the 10th opening theme for Black Clover. The song has been ranked in Spotify’s Top 10 Most Played Japanese Songs Overseas for three consecutive years and has been streamed over 160 million times. The accompanying music video has been viewed over 50 million times.

 

Vickeblanka appeared in the recent Shochiku Tokyu New Year’s drama series Kaden Samurai Special Stop! Chuushingura. At the start of the series, the main character Shijuro Kanenashi plays a yakuza in prison after being falsely accused of a crime. The series co-stars Kenichi Takito who was surprised by Vicke’s powerful performance.

 

Treasure, the theme song for the regular drama series, is also being used as the theme of this special.

 

Vickeblanka presents RAINBOW ROAD -Ki- will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 25, 2023. This was the singer’s first arena concert, featuring a rare 19-track setlist including encores.

 

The live show includes signature tracks like Masshiro, Ca Va?, and ULALA, as well as an encore performance of the song Changes. The concert release also includes a 2-CD set of live recordings from the performance. The asymmetrical stage featured a unique acoustic setup that is fully captured in this incredible set.

 

In addition to the standard edition, a Limited First Edition will include a 52-page photobook with rare images from the rehearsal.

 

Those who preorder through the French Link fan club will receive a special rubber band, and an A3-size calendar poster on a first-come, first-served basis. 55 people who preorder by midnight on January 6 will win an A3-size calendar poster autographed by Vickeblanka himself.

A new trailer for the upcoming Fruits Basket -prelude- compilation film is highlighting the movie’s theme song, set to be performed by Trio Ohashi. The film will release in select theaters on February 18, 2022.   The film will center around Tohru’s parents Kyoko and Katsuya. The theme song, Niji to Kaito (Rainbow and Kite) will be sure to pull at the audience’s heartstrings. The track will also be included on Trio Ohashi’s 15th-anniversary album scheduled to release on February 16, 2022.   Trailer: https://youtu.be/G3W_3EEzzSgFruits Basket initially ran in Hana to Yume magazine from 1998 until 2006 and was written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. The manga series has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. In April 2019, a new anime adaptation was broadcast on TV Tokyo, running for three years. A Fruits Basket stage show is scheduled to start on March 4, 2022.   Ⓒ高屋奈月・白泉社／フルーツバスケット製作委員会  

Japanese-Chinese boys collective WARPs UP's Chinese members LANGYI and MINGJUN have started covering songs in Chinese. The project has started with a self-cover of Pleasure, the opening song for the Fruits Basket The Final anime that was announced in April. "You, yourself, can change the future, regardless of your destiny or environment" is the theme of the original song, which has been transformed into an acoustic version, centring around on the piano. The arrangement has been adjusted to add a summery vibe, allowing the listener to imagine a warm and bright future. The music video has been shot in a similar style to LANGYI's WARPs UP Vocal Club cover in May, focusing on the two members singing into their microphones.The video reflects the original meaning of the song, filmed carefully to capture a midsummer feeling.   The music video premieres on the WARPs UP YouTube channel on August 12, at 22:15.   「Pleasure (LANGYI & MINGJUN ver.)」Music Video

  Pleasure (LANGYI & MINGJUN ver.) will be available on streaming sites from August 12th. The trilogy of acoustic covers being released this summer is made up of songs specially selected by the two Chinese members, covered in Chinese. The second and third songs are confirmed to be covers of hit songs that everybody will recognise.  

The anime-themed cafe brand OTA★LAB CAFE will open its first permanent cafe, "Cheer fancle cafe," in Awajicho, Tokyo on April 1, 2021. The cafe's first collaboration will be with the hit series Fruits Basket whose manga has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. It will run from April 1 to May 9 and will feature a range of dishes and drinks inspired the series as well as merchandise, new and exclusive artwork drawn by the author Natsuki Takaya, and more.  

Original Merchandise

Cheer fancle cafe Original Fruits Basket Pins (30 Designs) | ¥495 (Tax Included)

Cheer fancle cafe Original Fruits Basket Acrylic Stands (15 Designs) | ¥1,430 (Tax Included)

Cheer fancle cafe Original Fruits Basket Mini Acrylic Stands (15 Designs) | ¥1,000 (Tax Included)

Cheer fancle cafe Original Fruits Basket Acrylic Key Rings (15 Designs) | ¥715 (Tax Included)

Cheer fancle cafe Original Fruits Basket Postcard Sets (30 Designs/2 Included) | ¥385 (Tax Included)

Food Menu

Veggie Pasta ¥1,320 (Tax Included) / Omurice ¥1,320 / Egg Sandwich ¥880 (Tax Included)

Niratama Donburi ¥1,100 (Tax Included) / Hamburger ¥1,320 (Tax Included)

Dessert Menu

Strawberry Shortcake ¥990 (Tax Included) / Pancake ¥1,100 (Tax Included)

Coffee Milk Jelly ¥990 (Tax Included) / 3 Dango Set ¥880 (Tax Included)

Limited-Time Drinks Menu ①

Serving: April 1, 2021 - April 20, 2021

Onigiri White Smoothie ¥715 (Tax Included) / Starry Sky Latte ¥715 (Tax Included)

Cassis Berry Soda ¥715 (Tax Included) / Berry Drink ¥715 (Tax Included)

Limited-Time Drinks Menu ②

Serving: April 21, 2021 - May 9, 2021

Orange Soda ¥715 (Tax Included) / Milk Tea ¥715 (Tax Included)

 

Matcha Milk ¥715 (Tax Included) / Blue Soda ¥715 (Tax Included)

Present Campaign

Win one of two possible signed coasters

Three lucky customers who collect all five stamps at Cheer fancle cafe can win one of two possible coasters signed by the author of Fruits Basket.  

Arrival Campaign

All customers who go to the cafe will receive one of 15 possible original book covers.  

Dining Campaign

For every menu item order, customers will receive one of 32 possible coasters. There are 15 chibi designs, 15 completely original designs drawn by the manga author, and two rare designs.  

Spending Campaign

For every ¥2,500 spent at the cafe, customers will receive one of 15 possible postcards.Additionally, those who follow OTA★LAB CAFE on Twitter and retweet the campaign Tweet that will be posted on March 29 will have the chance to receive a set of all the above campaign items. This is available for five people from March 29 to April 5.   ©高屋奈月/白泉社

Vickeblanka has announced that his 5th single Ponytail will be released on March 17, 2021. It features two songs: the title track which is a ballad themed on spring that sings of melancholic love, and Ten, an uplifting pop song aimed at helping you to take the first step towards something.   The single's Blu-ray edition features Vickeblanka's Billboard Special Live performance from 2020 as well as a documentary entitled SPECIAL LIVE edit.   The fan club "French Link" edition come sin a special box together with the Blu-ray as well as an original bath towel and hairband. This edition also includes Vickeblanka's "French Link Live' fan club performance held at Billboard Live YOKOHAMA. Early orders of the fan club edition will also come with a signed photo.   Vickeblanka's postponed 5-date tour, "Tour de Devil 2020," will finally kick off at Nagoya Congress Center in Aichi on February 12, 2021. Details can be found on his official website.

Masked music duo AmPm released a remix of Ai Otsuka's song Chime on music download and streaming services, along with a music video, on Wednesday (October 7).   Since August, Ai Otsuka has teamed up with music producers and track makers of various genres to release a remix of one of her songs per month. Chime comes as the third of hers to receive a remix. The first was PEACH which was remixed by Tomggg and the second Kingyo Hanabi by ANIMAL HACK. AmPm have produced music for a whole range of Japanese artists such as V6  and Ken Hirai, and have remixed for the likes of Afrojack and Nicky Romero outside of Japan.   Chime is used as the second opening theme for the first season of the 2019 TV anime adaptation of Fruits Basket. The song is hugely popular within anime community both inside and outside Japan. Check out the colourful music video for the remix below which is inspired by the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling.   Ai Otsuka - "Chime (AmPm Remix)" Music Video

 

AmPm | Comment

"We've had the chance to remix a lot of different songs, but this one was the hardest to remix. The original track is fast-paced, and Otsuka's voice is persistent. We went through a lot of trial and error which is unusual for us. We wondered things like, 'Can we tamper with this part' and 'Have we finished?' The original song was written as the second opening theme for season one of the Fruits Basket anime, but this remix feels more like and ending theme. If the original is the chime to start the day, then the remix is the one to signal the end of it. But we want people to think of it more as an ending that connects to tomorrow, rather than a cut off. We also think that although it's the same song, you can take the lyrics differently between both versions, so we hope that makes the existence of a remix more fun for people so they can listen and compare!"