- Author: jinstevens
- Categories: International, News
- Date: Mar 14, 2009 19:32 JST
- Tags: Actress, Celebrities, Crime, Hana Yori Dango, Idol, Korea, Rape, Suicide, TV

The recent suicide of popular Korean actress Jang Ja-yeon, known for her latest role in a Hana Yori Dango drama, is revealed to have been prompted by her shocking treatment at the hands of her agency; it emerges she was treated as little more than an indentured prostitute, being forced to have sex with the rich and powerful and being beaten if she displeased her masters.
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Solbi (솔비), host of the popular Korean show Music Core, has been roundly criticized by fans for having the audacity to show up too soon after plastic surgery.
In the latest airing of Music Core, Solbi appeared with a face that was clearly swollen; MBC message boards were flooded with negative messages, with many “fans” comparing her to a steamed dumpling that had swollen in size.
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Rising actress Jang Ja-yeon, who was currently starring in the Korean drama adaptation of Hana Yori Dango (Boys over Flowers), was recently found to have committed suicide at her home in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province.
Jang’s death marks the third celebrity suicide to hit the Korean entertainment industry in the past 6 months.
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A recent preview of the upcoming Dragonball Z HD remastered TV series, entitled Dragonball Kai, reveals a good glimpse of what the updated animation will look like once the rebranded show airs next month.
Most noticeable is the change from 4:3 scale to 16:9, which unfortunately results in a cropping of the original frames…
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Outrage from TV viewers has resulted in angry letters being sent to Japan’s Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization, with regard to a show where celebrities leisurely indulged in food far too expensive for any normal person.
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The Blu-ray and terrestrial digital broadcast editions of the second season of sensitive martial robot anime Gundam 00 are compared in the above image. The differences are subtle, but certainly far from invisible…
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Classic martial-arts shonen series Dragonball Z will be receiving a extensively remastered HD re-broadcast this April. The rebroadcast will include newly recorded dialog by the original seiyuu, new sound effects, new OP/ED sequences, and a brand new HD video transfer.
That this re-broadcast is airing on the 20th anniversary of the original broadcast shows the impressive longevity of the franchise, and should be a big comfort for most Dragonball fans who would rather see the original instead of the notorious upcoming Hollywood adaptation.
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Sage Horo is with us in a special limited edition Blu-ray box set, and to see just how much detail it is now possible to ogle her tail in, 2channers have provided this fine comparison image.
The top is the Blu-ray, below that is the terrestrial digital, below that the “up-convert”, and finally the abominable up-sized standard definition. Obviously you will need to scrutinise this completely expanded.
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The official website for the Lupin vs Conan TV special has launched, promising a clash between the “greatest thief of the century and the detective who can solve any crime”, to be produced under the collaboration of the series’ original creators Monkey Punch and Gosho Aoyama.
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The Natsu no Arashi! official website has recently updated with full staff and cast information, listing the production studio as Shaft (Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei), and Ryouko Shiraishi (Kemeko Deluxe‘s sword-wielding Ryouko) as the female lead Arashi.
The Natsu no Arashi! manga is Jin Kobayashi’s second published manga serialization and his follow-up to School Rumble, which recently finished in 2008.
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A leaked photo (shown below) from the upcoming Weekly Shounen Sunday manga anthology magazine apparently reveals an announcement of a crossover TV special featuring Lupin (Lupin the 3rd) and Conan (Detective Conan).
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To be fair to the child, it does seem from the subtitles that she was asked to touch the lady, and thanked for her trouble, but this in itself raises even more questions…
Another inexplicable case of TV chaos?