The next Ni-Ongaku Spotlight features Jero (ジェロ), who made a strong impression among young and old Enka fans alike — even overseas. Enka is a style of music in Japan that is similar to country music in the United States. When a Enka singer preforms, he/she wears a kimono. Jero’s choice of clothes is special since he’s not from Japan. He wears everyday streetwear of what you see in popular Hip-Hop music videos. He is also the first non-Japanese–and African American– Enka singer on the scene. He became a Enka singer after a promise to his Grandmother at a young age.

You’ve tried Pocky, now try Ramune! Ramune (ラムネ)–not to be confused with the Eroge turned anime series of the same name–is a carbonated soft drink from Japan. That’s right…Japanese Soda! The one seen in this picture is Strawberry flavored Ramune. There’s also Melon, Peach, Orange, Mango and regular Ramune (I have yet to try the regular flavor, but it could taste just like 7UP).

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Web Technology blog ReadWriteWeb posted an interview with upcoming entrepreneur, Jane Fong, the founder of Akibanana. Akibanana is a blog centering on everything that brings Akihabara together, such as Anime, Cosplay, Maid Cafes and Games (that sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it?). Not only does she keep fellow Otaku updated with the current events in the anime town that never sleeps, she also aims to bring anime to the online driven masses, and to provide tours of Akiba to fans who have yet to master the Japanese language. The article also highlights the status of female entrepreneurs all over the world, and especially in Japan. This article is a must read for those (especially women, such as myself) who want to get into the Otaku market.

Japanese Soft Drink manufacturer, Suntory, made a commercial earlier this year for their Coffee drink, “BOSS”–featuring American Actor, Tommy Lee Jones. It seems that Alien Jones, Mr. Jones’ character in the commercial, is working for a local Otaku television station. The end of the commercial is cute, yet a bit disturbing. This isn’t the only commercial starring Jones, it appears there’s a series of them.

This could be the answer to the decade old question we’ve been looking for! To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Weekly Shounen Jump in Japan, two anime series, including two unconfirmed series, will be getting all new specials as part of the “Jump Super Anime Tour” that will visit 10 Japanese cities to mark the 40th anniversary. The series that will be getting specials are One Piece and Dragonball (no further information on whether it will be Z or GT). There is no word as of yet on the unannounced series, but rumor has it that they could be Bleach and Gintama specials. Specials of Bleach, One Piece, and Gintama are really exciting, but what’s really important is that we get to see more Dragonball for the first time in 12 years, and not just in the video games! I wonder if it will be a Dragonball Z special…*keeps fingers crossed*

[Source: Anime News Network]