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Anna once again returned to the music scene after the disbanding of Spin Aqua due to her pregnancy and marriage, though not as an indies artist. Anna debuted as a solo artist under the MAD PRAY RECORDS label of Avex. It was announced that her debut single was under wraps, though later the announcement was changed as the single turned into an entire mini-album, later to be titled Taste My Beat. Three tracks would be promoted from the album; the semi-eponymous track Taste My Skin was used as the radio single for the release, the song in my hands was used in a commercial and Anna's cover of Full Blown Rose's Somebody Help Me would be used as the theme song to Tru Calling for it's Japanese release. The mini-album even featured help from such successful foreign artists as Josh Freese, the drummer for the band A Perfect Circle. This release was a lot more successful than her previous releases under Spin Aqua, breaking the top 30 albums at #27.
Anna followed up this mini-album with two single releases and a remix album. The singles fared slightly worse than her mini-album (despite one of the tracks, My Fate, being used as the ending theme for the anime Rean no Tsubasa).
For Anna's third single, she would finally receive some major promotion. Her single rose would be used as the opening theme song for the anime adaption for the manga Nana, alongside fellow Avex rock artist OLIVIA who would be singing the ending theme song. The hype brought from this release boosted Tsuchiya Anna's music career a lot, as Rose managed to reach a position of #6 on Oricon charts (her first top 10 placement, and 21 placings above her next best placing product at the time).
To reinforce her growing popularity, Anna's debut studio album was released shortly afterwards. The album, strip me?, features a growing number of commercial tie-up songs (including ones for WHITEEN, Kirin and Kosé Visée). If current estimates are correct, more than half of the album's songs will be used as a theme song for some commercial or some product.
Tsuchiya Anna returned in early 2007 with a new single called Kuroi Namida, which was used as the new ending theme song for the NANA anime. This single was to be released on the same day as Shiina Ringo's Kono Yo no Kagiri, which is the ending theme song to Sakuran, the latest film that Tsuchiya Anna stars in with a leading role, however Kuroi Namida was put forward a week. This was quickly followed by the third NANA OP single, LUCY in early February which directly preceded the release of a special self-titled NANA album billed under "ANNA TSUCHIYA inspi' NANA (BLACK STONES)".
Juri Ueno (上野 樹里; born 25 May 1986) is a Japanese actress from Kakogawa, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. She won the ‘Best Newcomer’ prize at the Japanese Academy Awards in 2005 for her role in Swing Girls.
She is also known for her starring role as the title character in the live-action adaptation of Nodame Cantabile for which she won "Best Lead Actress" at the 51st Television Drama Academy Awards in 2007, and as Ruka Kishimoto in Last Friends for which she was voted "Best Supporting Actress" at the Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix and the 57th Television Drama Academy Awards in 2008.
Career
Ueno made her television debut in 2002 at the age of 16 in NHK series, Seizon, before making her first film major appearance in 2003 in Chirosoku no Natsu which won her the Sponichi Grand Prize New Talent Award at the Mainichi Film Awards along with her performance in the 2004 film, Swing Girls. Swing Girls proved to be a breakthrough when she received critical acclaim and awards for Best Newcomer at the Yokohama Film Festival (she was also honored for her performance in Joze to Tora to Sakana Tachi) and the Japanese Academy Awards.
In 2004, Ueno took on a supporting role in TBS's romance drama, Orange Days, and co-starred in 2005 with Takuya Kimura in Fuji TV's romantic comedy, Engine, as Misae Hoshino. She also appeared with Kazuya Kamenashi in the special television movie of Kinda'ichi Shōnen no Jikenbo the same year taking over the role of Miyuki Nanase from Anne Suzuki.
Ueno's popularity rose further when she was cast as Megumi Noda ("Nodame") in the 2006 live-action television adaptation of the popular manga, Nodame Cantabile. Co-starring opposite Hiroshi Tamaki, the series' 11-episode run was a success with an average viewership rating of 18.79% with the season finalé garnering 21.7% of the viewership share for its timeslot. Ueno's portrayal as the eccentric and disorganized but yet extremely affable and talented pianist won her "Best Lead Actress" at the 51st Television Drama Academy Awards while the show won "Best Drama". The show was also recognized overseas at the 2nd Seoul Drama Festival where it was awarded "Best Miniseries". Ueno and Tamaki reprised their roles in 2007 in the two-part special, Nodame Cantabile Shinshun Special in Europe, which chronicles their individual struggles to achieve success on Europe's storied classical music stage whilst being away from each other.
In 2008, Ueno reunited with Nodame co-stars, Eita and Asami Mizukawa, in Fuji TV's drama, Last Friends, as Ruka Kishimoto, a talented motocross racer with a hidden secret she cannot discuss with friends or family. Taeko Asano, the scriptwriter of Last Friends praised Ueno's acting of Ruka, stating that Ueno is a "natural genius" and that she became "the character itself".[1] Ueno won "Best Supporting Actress" at the 12th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix and The 57th Television Drama Academy Awards for her role.[2] She was recognised as "Best Student Voice Actress" at the 2008 MTV Student Voice Awards for her role in Wanko.[3]
Filmography
-Movies
-TV Dramas
Accolades
-Awards won
2008
2007
2005
References
Experience
Born Marina Hara on the sixth of October 1988 in Kiyose, Tokyo, Japan, Maki Horikita is the eldest of three girls. Horikita was boyish during most of her childhood. On holidays during middle school, she enjoyed playing basketball and baseball with her friends; she also preferred playing Dragon Ball Z with the boys than playing dolls with the girls. Despite being boyish, Horikita looked up to her mother. This was revealed when she guested on KAT-TUN's variety show, Cartoon KAT-TUN, after stating that she loved imitating her mother when she was younger.
Movie works
Nakushita Kioku (2009)
ARCANA (2008)
Tokyo Shonen (2008)
Sekai no Chuushin de Ai o Sakebu (2004)
Shibuya Kaidan 2 (2004)
Shibuya Kaidan (2004)
Seventh Anniversary (2003)
Cosmic Rescue (2003)
TV works
Atashinchi no Danshi (Fuji TV, 2009)
Chance! (Fuji TV, 2009)
Danso no Reijin (TV Asahi, 2008)
Innocent Love as Akiyama Kanon (Fuji TV, 2008)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e SP as Ashiya Mizuki (Fuji TV, 2008)
Tokyo Daikushu as Sakuragi Haruko (NTV, 2008)
Atsu-hime as Kazunomiya Chikako (NHK, 2008)
Koi no Kara Sawagi Drama Special Love Stories IV (NTV, 2007)
Galileo as Morisaki Remi (Fuji TV, 2007, ep6)
Deru Toko Demasho! as Shizuka Kamei (Fuji TV, 2007)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e as Ashiya Mizuki (Fuji TV, 2007)
Seito Shokun! as Kimura Juria (TV Asahi, 2007)
Teppan Shoujo Akane!! as Kagura Akane (TBS, 2006)
Densha Otoko Deluxe as Yamada Aoi (Fuji TV, 2006)
Kurosagi as Yoshikawa Tsurara (TBS, 2006)
Tsubasa no Oreta Tenshitachi Live Chat as Yuna (Fuji TV, 2006)
Hontou ni Atta Kowai Hanashi 6-ban no Heya (Fuji TV, 2006)
Nobuta wo Produce as Kotani Nobuko (NTV, 2005)
Densha Otoko as Yamada Aoi (Fuji TV, 2005)
Akechi Kogoro VS Kindaichi Kosuke (2005)
Ningen no Shomei as Koori Sayaka (Fuji TV, 2004)
Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro (怪談新耳袋) 幽霊屋敷と呼ばれる家 (TBS, 2004)
Division 1 Houkago as Michida Mayuko (Fuji TV, 2004)
Dobutsu no Oisha-san (TV Asahi, 2003)
Keitai Deka Zenigata Mai as Zenigata Mai (TBS, 2003)
Densha (2003)
Nakama Yukie is a Japanese actress born on October 30, 1979 in Urasoe City, Okinawa, Japan. She is one of the rare few young Japanese celebrities that have been able to break free from their teeny-bopper image and emerge as one of the country's most popular and well-respected actresses.
She appeared in bit roles until she appeared in "Love & Pop (1998)". She was a 'gravure' (swimsuit photo book) idol for a few years until she got the lead role as Sadako for "Ring 0: Birthday (2000)", which gave her career a big break.
Nakama afterwards starred in several TV Dramas, notably "Trick (2000)" which demonstrated her talent in comedic roles. The program was such a hit that it had two more seasons (Trick 2 (2002) and Trick 3 (2003)). However, the top-rating TV series "Gokusen (2002)", a live-action version of the popular manga (comics), established her as one of Japan's most bankable and popular actresses.
Her notable movies include "Ring 0: Birthday (2000)", "Trick Movie (2002)", "G@me (2003)", "Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005)" and "Oh Oku (2006)"
She has also proven her bankability through commercial endorsements, such as Nissin, Glico, Lotte, Asahi, Shiseido and au by KDDI. Nakama is one the most watched celebrity endorsers, a regular face at billboards and subway stations, and has even served as a spokesperson for the Japanese Tax Agency and Japan Railways. She is managed by Production Ogi (Japanese celebrities are handled by talent agencies, and are rarely independent).
