aoppella, a new vocal multimedia project from KLab, tells the story of eleven high school students discovering the art of a cappella. On January 23, KLab released the music video for the group’s third a capella J-pop cover of UNISON SQUARE GARDEN’s Sugar Song and Bitter Sleep on YouTube.

 

In addition, the project will celebrate its second anniversary with an event on Mary 27 and 28.

 

Sugar Song and Bitter Step - UNISON SQUARE GARDEN (J-Pop Cover)

The cover transforms the popular track into an unbelievable a cappella performance highlighting the unique lyrics with the member’s powerful voices.

 

The music video shows the members of FYA’M’ walking around the city in their personal fashion. As mature as each of the boys may be, they’re still high schoolers with their own youthful personalities!

Story It was on that unforgettable day that the boys found themselves changed.

In front of them were ordinary high school students just like them. There were no flashy costumes or musical instruments.

But the moment they began to sing a surreal harmony filled the air and the crowd went wild.

 

"We want to sing like that! We want to shine, too!"

 

High school students captivated by the art of a cappella aim for the top in the exclusive high school a cappella contest called ‘aoppella.’ Watch as they try to perfect their pitch–the show is about to begin!

©KLab

Netflix will begin streaming the sci-fi anime series Make My Day on February 2, 2023. The series is an adaptation of an original story by manga author Yasuo Ohtagaki, known for Moonlight Mile and Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt. Shoji Kawamori, the mechanical designer on the Macross series, and Kiyotaka Oshiyama, known for his work on DEVILMAN Crybaby and Chainsaw Man, are acting as mechanical designers for the series.

 

The sci-fi action series follows a collection of characters on a tough mission across an icy planet where terrifying creatures suddenly appear to attack humans.

 

A gripping trailer and collection of screenshots have been revealed ahead of the series premiere. Fans can anticipate voicework by Masaomi Yamahashi (Jim), Ayahi Takagaki (Marnine), Kazuhiro Yamaji (Walter), and Akio Ohtsuka (Commander Bark).

 

Netflix has also announced that Atsuko Tanaka, known for her role as Motoko Kusanagi in the Ghost in the Shell series, will be playing the role of Cathy Beck, a government officer on the planet Coldfoot.

 

The writer of the series, Yasuo Ohtagaki, has stated that James Cameron’s Aliens was his inspiration for the work, remaking that the horror film challenged the 80s industry standard of splatter movies.

 

The snowy, ice-covered planet Coldfoot is home to a precious energy-rich ore called “Sig.” On the surface, the planet seems to be a crime-free utopia, but in reality, prisoners are used for back-breaking Sig mining. Jim, a young prison guard, rushes to the site of a sudden mining accident to find a mysterious creature attacking the humans.

 

In the trailer, Cathy explains that the planet’s atmosphere is poisonous and the surface is completely frozen. “This is a white hell that rejects living beings,” she continues. “Only those who are suicidal should consider escaping.”

 

When the swarm begins attacking with abandon, viewers are left asking one question: can people survive such a desperate situation? Walter claims that their actions have “opened up the cauldron of Hell,” and it’s hard to imagine so many different people coming together to combat something so terrifying and unknown.

 

“When crafting a story around the sudden appearance of monsters, I was constantly thinking about Aliens 2,” Ohtagaki commented. “It challenged the expectation that every sci-fi horror film in the 80s needed to be a splatter-fest.”

 

The series is a love letter to the science fiction genre. Cameron’s Aliens was far from his last mega-hit, with the current Avatar sequel making headlines around the world.

 

“When I was developing the story, I focused on not taking the viewer’s perspective off of Jim, the main character,” Ohtagaki continued. “I wanted people to become emotionally involved in this story by experiencing it through his eyes and ears. I was influenced by first-person action RPGs.”

 

To combat the swarm of monsters, humanity must rely on science and technology.

 

The eye-catching design of the mecha seen in the trailer is reminiscent of Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt and Macross while also being more modern and realistic.

 

“Logical and realistic mecha design is my forte, and that’s the direction I wanted to take in this work,” said Ohtagaki. “In Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt, we set the stage and carefully went through a creative process to find out what kind of human drama could evolve on that stage. We did the same thing here, creating Coldfoot and imagining what kinds of people might live there. That process makes things more realistic.” Will the mecha in this series be a help or a hindrance to humanity?

 

“Although this is a sci-fi monster tale, Make My Day is also about Jim’s growth as a person. In the process of battling through this terrible situation, he learns about friendship and love. He becomes stronger, he takes on more responsibility, and he creates his own family-like bonds,” Ohtagaki concludes.

 

Tune in to Make My Day when it premieres on Netflix early next month!

The popular Netflix animated series Aggretsuko will return to Netflix for Season 5 on February 16, 2023. Ahead of the show’s premiere, a new visual and trailer have been released.

 

Official Trailer

Aggretsuko follows a 25-year-old red panda named Retsuko who hates her job and is easily stressed. She only feels true peace while singing karaoke, where she transforms into a death metal star. The series originally launched on Netflix in 2018 and quickly became a global sensation.

 

Season 5 will be the final season of the series and will focus on the relationship between Retsuko and Haida following the events of the fourth season. Haida is now living a reclusive life and spending his free time playing games and hanging out online. On the other hand, Retsuko is trying to deal with her newfound fame and the many expectations people have of her. One day, a suspicious man who claims to be a member of the Diet comes to recruit Retsuko.

 

Be sure to tune in for the exciting conclusion!

To celebrate the release of the final season, the OTMGirls girls will perform at Sanrio Puroland.

An advance screening and chat event for the upcoming anime series Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, set to begin airing in April 2023, will be held at Shinjuku Wald 9 on February 11.   Those lucky enough to get tickets will be treated to the first two episodes of the series followed by a chat with select cast members including Kana Hanazawa (Sariphi), Satoshi Hino (Leonhart), Yuka Nukui (Cy), and Natsumi Fujiwara (Clops).

The ticket lottery is now open on e+, and general ticket sales will open on February 3 if any tickets are left!   Be sure to check out the series when it airs this April!

The CrosSing cover song project brings together popular voice actors to sing classic songs in their own unique style. Launched in March 2022, the YouTube channel has amassed over 150,000 subscribers and upon each song’s release, the project continuously trends on Twitter and other social media sites.   On January 18, 2023, the official CrosSing YouTube channel uploaded a recording video of voice actress Nanaka Suwa performing the song Fantastic future.   Nanaka Suwa is best known for playing Kanan Matsuura in Love Live! Sunshine!! The actress has also released two studio albums. In this new video from CrosSing, Suwa is seen performing Yukari Tamura’s popular song Fantastic future, used as the opening theme for the anime series The “Hentai” Prince and the Stony Cat.  

Fantastic future - from CrosSing - Nanaka Suwa (Recording Video)

The track is now available on numerous streaming sites and those purchasing the high-res version from mora will be able to access a special mini-interview with Suwa herself. LINE MUSIC has also started a playback campaign, and fans listening to the track over 300 times will be entered to win an autographed image!   A retweet campaign is also underway, with two lucky winners receiving Nanaka Suwa’s autograph. For details, check out the official CrosSing Twitter.   The CrosSing project released its first compilation album, CrosSing Collection Vol. 1, in September. Kana Hanazawa’s cover of Rain from Makoto Shinkai’s short anime film The Garden of Words is included as a bonus track. The track is also available on YouTube.

CrosSing Collection vol.1

TrySail is a popular girl group consisting of three popular voice actresses: Momo Asakura, Sora Amamiya, and Shiina Natsukawa. Since their debut in 2015, the girls have performed incredible live concerts, managing to hold successful events at Yokohama Arena and the Yoyogi National Gymnasium. TrySail’s latest album, Re Bon Voyage, was released in September 2021, reaching the #5 spot on the Oricon Weekly Ranking.   The group’s newest song, Karei One Turn, will be used as the theme song for the 2023 anime series My One-Hit Kill Sister. The happy-go-lucky track can be heard in the second teaser trailer for the show.

Along with this exciting anime tie-up, TrySail has announced the song flower. The song will be used to commemorate the group’s upcoming event ‘LAWSON presents TrySail Arena Live 2023 ~Ai ni Yuku yacht! Minna de Aso-boat!~’ Be sure to watch out for what else TrySail has in store for fans in 2023!