//Made in Kobe\\ an IKK blog

Happy (belated) NEW YEARS!!!!!!

2009-01-02T13:01:00.005-05:00

I'm late I know, suck it up! As 2008 is officially over it has come to my attention that it's (finally) 2009! There are major changes coming to IKK so brace yourselves for these upcoming announcements.

01. The blog is now closed. I know, I know, I know, so if the blog closes then what's happening to IKK? Well it's going to go bye-bye for a little bit while I learn how to use Dreamweaver and div layers. That, and balance school and work. I'm sorry to say it may very well be months until it is back but it WILL be back with a vengeance and in ways that you will barely believe.

02. The forums will remain open. There is but one factor keeping me from trashing the forums entirely, and that's Ryuus translations so thank him profusely for it. No offense but the forums have become this form of annoyance that I really don't need right now, and there are not enough active people. Honestly the Keiko fan base has become exhausting and I'd rather focus on Keiko herself. True she's become famous enough that she doesn't need a promoter, but she's still my favorite so if anything I will continue to spread the love. Her English speaking branch isn't nearly as powerful as her Japanese branch and I would love to be the one to help change that. If that's the case than the forums might as well be useless in the sense that it can never be as focus on her as the site would be. Granted, it would alienate anyone who isn't all that fond of Keiko and just likes the community and I would be sorry to lose that. But it IS less drama so....the future of the forums is unclear but it's there so enjoy it.

03. I'm leaving the country. While the original intent was for me to be in Tokyo, money is of course an issue, so that's not going to happen. So the next best thing? Going to another design capital in the world! As of January 12, 2009 to April 28, 2009 I will be studying abroad in Rome, Italy! I will also be studying a bit in England, Switzerland, France, and Greece so if any Keiko fans live there---let me know! I will be taking Italian (since it's mandatory--wonder why..lol...) an Italian Design class with a three day excursion to Milan, a Roman Literature class, Advanced Drawing (which is Junior level so I will have to work hard) and Digital Photography!

03. I will be opening an artist blog. Yes, you'll be able to follow me all over Rome through entries and video streams. From flea markets, to vineyards, museums, opera's, and fashion shows! I'll put up photos and my artwork and you'll get to know me and my friends better! The page is under construction now but I'll alert (via the forums) with a link when it's ready. Bookmark the page! And comments are more than welcome.

04. I'm not Keiko. Stunning revelation, I know, but I still get e-mails addressing me as if I were! That being said, I hope you guys will still keep me posted on Keiko activities even though I'll be removed from them. More often than not I won't know what's going on since I'll be busy trying to adapt to the Italian culture. Whatever Keiko stuff I stumble upon (scans, media, ect) I will keep until I update again, so be prepared to be overwhelmed by a stellar return.

Thanks so much to everyone who's supported IKK this year through all the ups and downs. You don't know how much I truly appreciate it and although it may not always appear that way I am very, very thankful! So let's make 2009 an awesome year even bigger and better than 2008! God bless you all! See you in...goodness...MAY!

Love, Sade

Oricon: Who do you want as your lover?

2008-12-15T12:39:00.006-05:00

I never thought I'd live to see the day when Keiko would rank on one of Oricon's ridiculously wonderful polls. Nope, never thought I'd see it. And boy, did this just liven up my already ridiculously stressful day. A testament to her rising popularity Keiko, ranked 9th on Oricon's annual, "Who do you want as your lover?" poll. See if you can find the similarities between the Nifty Ranking and this one!

Celebrity (Male)

01. Masaharu Fukuyama

02. Takuya Kimura

03. Hiroshi Tamaki

04. Sho Sakurai

05. Teppei Koiki

06. Koichi Domoto

07. Yusuke Kamiji

08. Haruma Miura

09. Shun Oguri

10. Takeru Sato

Celebrity (Female)

01. Aya Ueto

02. Masami Nagasawa

03. Haruka Ayase

04. Yui Aragaki

05. Erika Toda

06. Saki Aibu

07. Maki Horikita

08. Aoi Miyazaki

09. Keiko Kitagawa

10. Ai Otsuka

It's nice to see Keiko ranked with some of the biggest young stars in Japan right now! Men in their 20s were especially loving Keiko's seemingly charming personality, noting that she's beautiful, and a sort of sweetheart they'd have fun spending time with. Oricon predicts she'll continuing charming many more and climb in the ranks for next year.

Nifty's "Most Searched Names" 2008

2008-12-13T15:41:00.006-05:00

Nifty's annual search rankings for 2008 are here! And on the female list for most searched entertainer, Keiko ranked 7th overall! Amazing! She and fellow ranker SHIHO (in 9th place) are new faces to the list expected to rank higher next year. The list goes as follows:

Most Searched Names (male) 2008

01. Arashi (boyband)

02. Yusuke Kamiji (actor)

03. EXILE (manband? the boys of EXILE are pretty old, lol)

04. Tohoshinki (possibly the best boyband in all of asia)

05. Kobukuro (band)

06. Ryosuke Yamada (member of HEY! SAY! JUMP!)

07. Takeru Sato (actor)

08. Shun Oguri (actor)

09. Porno Graffiti (band)

10. Masaharu Fukuyama (actor/ singer)

Most Searched Names (female) 2008:

01. Mai Tian-Ri (singer/idol)

02. YUI (singer)

03. Shokotan (singer/ idol)

04. Suzanne (actress)

05. Ayumi Hamasaki (singer)

06. Rie Tomosaka (actress)

07. Keiko Kitagawa (actress)

08. Saeko (actress)

09. SHIHO (model)

10. Aki Hoshino (gravure model)

Oh, and as of right now, she's 9th on Yahoo! Japan's most searched and 17th on Oricon. ^_^

VoCE- January 2009 issue

2008-12-11T23:23:00.002-05:00

Vivid Moon Unveiled!

2008-12-04T18:29:00.005-05:00

Finally a little loving as SEED released a little teaser of Keiko for the Vivid Moon campaign. Wish there was more though, right now I'm being distracted by the coolness of Shun Oguri x Plusmix. My oh my, he can sure wear some specs! Anywho, look forward to more Vivid Moon goodness coming soon this month.

COFFRET D'OR: Winter Campaign

2008-12-04T12:07:00.008-05:00

COFFRET D'OR is back again and this time Keiko shares the spotlight with Kou Shibasaki and Miki Nakatani. Under the theme "Best Make x Best Time" COFFRET releases its newest line of cosmetics with TWO brand spankin new commercials you can see here! Modeling "Airing Shine" Keiko looks gorgeous in soft grey and natural tones. It really brings out the color of her eyes!

You'll notice that Erika Sawajiri still isn't present and hasn't been for the past seasonal campaigns. Story is that she's still in London. No telling how long until the COFFRET D'OR campaign ends but the year is coming to a close! Let's see what 2009 has to offer!

JILLE- December 2008 issue

2008-11-29T14:51:00.002-05:00

Vivi- January 2009 issue

2008-11-24T15:53:00.003-05:00

Look!s- Winter 2008 issue

2008-11-22T01:35:00.004-05:00

Keiko in VoCE

2008-11-21T16:53:00.006-05:00

Now it's very rare that I would do a feature on a magazine that Keiko is appearing in but she looks SO STUNNING in the latest issue of VoCE that I just HAD to write about it. Next to An*An, VoCE has to be one of my absolute favorite Japanese women's magazine. The two of them are like Cosmo, Redbook, and Lucky combined into one. I LOVE IT!

VoCE in particular always uses clean make-up and elegant clothing for their photo shoots. When I saw that Keiko would be appearing in it I could only hope it would be a cover shot. And lo and behold, Keiko doesn't just shine, she DAZZLES on the cover of the January 2009 issue! She's a woman indeed!

Keiko was chosen as the beautiful face to ring in the new year and mark it as 5 years since her debut as an actress. Absolutely amazing! For the interview they asked her, "What kind of woman are you?" and Keiko responds, "The woman who has nothing." And what does she mean by that? Well, you're just going to have to get your hands on the issue to find out, ne?

Keiko x ANA and Kanaflex

2008-11-20T13:50:00.005-05:00

Okay, I'm a thousand times late. It's just that I hoped to have a nice quality available for download, but I guess that's just not going to happen. Time for me to play media catch-up! (ketchup? lol)

ANA is short for All Nippon Airways, an airline with headquarters in Tokyo. Their latest ads featured Keiko, the smoking hot Satoshi Tsumabuki (who was Keiko's co-star in the DoCoMo 2.0 TV-CMs), and Hidehiko Ishizuka.

30 sec TV-CM

catch the rest of them here!

Now, Kanaflex, appears to be some sort of wildlife preservation company, particularly for orangutans. Yay for Keiko going green!

30 sec. TV-CM

"Handsome" Still Holds On

2008-11-20T13:22:00.007-05:00

Results for this week shows Handsome Suit's third consecutive week in the Top 5 of the Japanese box office. It dropped down to the number 5 spot but it is holding on really well! This is the longest any movie Keiko's been in has lasted in the Top 5 let alone the Top 10. There aren't any real major movies coming out this weekend but there are A LOT if you include the American releases with the Japanese ones. We'll see how Handsome Suit fares by next week.

The strength of "Handsome!"

2008-11-14T14:49:00.005-05:00

The latest box office reports are in! As you know, Handsome Suit premiered in the no. 3 spot dropping down to the no. 4 spot and holding its own against big name movies like Red Cliff and Galileo. Well this week, it survived the onslaught of movies coming out; retaining it's position at the no. 4 spot. This makes it the 2nd week Handsome Suit has held a Top 5 spot! We'll see how well it fares against the movies coming out this weekend, like the highly anticipated star-studded, GS Wonderland.

For those of you who don't know, Handsome Suit also had the luck of being one of many films to be shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF). It was warmly received! According to Keiko's latest blog entry it's rights are being reviewed for the movie in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Taiwan!

I'm so happy with the success of Handsome Suit! Congrats to the cast and staff and most of all Director Hanabusa for pulling off such a successful blockbuster! Read reviews of the movie here and here. (thanks DB!)

mini- December 2008 issue

2008-11-14T14:38:00.007-05:00

and bonus shot of Keiko's co-star from her 2007 DoCoMo TV-CM campaign, Anna Tsuchiya who I believe is probably one of the best things that's ever happened to changing the way women are viewed in Japan. GO ANNA!

Keiko x Vivid Moon

2008-11-12T13:13:00.009-05:00

Keiko is now the new face of the famous Japanese eye glasses brand, Vivid Moon by SEED, and rightfully so! She looks GORGEOUS is glasses! The theme is "sexy intellectual." When looking for an image model Keiko was chosen because of her natural charm and beauty. And because of her "cool" style and mature way of thinking as displayed through her blog. The campaign is expected to be unveiled later this month.

[source]

In the meantime, check out Keiko modeling spectacles in the 2007 volume of Bijou Megane.

and the February 2007 issue of Digimono Station

Sailor Moon Makes the World Go Round!

2008-11-11T16:42:00.004-05:00

I saw these scans and I laughed until I cried---OUT OF JOY! God, does anyone else miss this manga/anime/musical/live action series?! I know I do! And this is how Keiko got her first big break! For those of you who don't know she played Sailor Mars in the live action version of Sailor Moon, "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon" It's been five YEARS since that fateful sentai aired and turned me into a Keiko fan. Ah....and I've never looked back once.

From the September 2008 issue of Ageha! Too bad there's no Sailor Saturn. =(

Coming Soon!

2008-11-09T20:59:00.005-05:00

I've finally sat down and beefed up my arsenal of online stores to help me piece together my first "dress like Keiko" segment. Unfortunately, this will only be useful to her female fans but I think I reserve the right to play favorites here. ^_^

For inspiration I'll be using Keiko of course, the clothes she wears going out on her blog and outfits that fit her well as displayed in magazines and press conferences. I'll also be doing a cover on make-up, accessories, shoes, and hair. Please, keep in mind that I'm limited with what I know. Even though I know a lot on this kind of stuff, suggestions are welcome. Any time I can point directly to the store for the EXACT article of clothing Keiko has, I'll do so, but for the most part the stores I'm using are in America. And since I'm cost conscious, I'll try my hardest to find decently priced articles to match up with Keiko's style the best that I can.

Below are a list of the stores that I'll be matching these outfits up from. I'll put a star next to the ones I actually shop at. ^_^ Forever 21 is top on my list---it's a Korean based store, my absolute favorite, and matches Keiko's style PERFECTLY.

01. Forever 21*

02. Old Navy*

03. Charlotte Russe

04. Wet Seal

05. Against All Odds*

06. Urban Outfitters

07. Bare Feet*

08. Diesel

09. Free People

10. H&M* (unfortunately H&M's online store does not come in english. But if you ever get the chance to shop there, SHOP THERE)

And these are my 10 picks. So you can save the links now for your own reference, but I will include the links in the posts that I make. Stay tuned for vol. 1 of "That Kei-chan Style."

Zipper + December 2008 issue

2008-11-09T00:26:00.003-05:00

Ray + December 2008 issue

2008-11-07T21:08:00.002-05:00

COFFRET D'OR: Fall Campaign

2008-11-06T23:15:00.010-05:00

FINALLY! COFFRET D'OR has released its newest campaign starring Keiko! Unfortunately there is no commercial to go with the goods but doesn't she look stunning?! There is even a special section covering all the glitz and glam of the Sweet Dressy and Noble Dressy style. PLAY THE PARTY!

Woman's Journal Vol. 10

2008-11-06T22:48:00.013-05:00

Soooo...remember when Keiko appeared in the first volume of Oricon's Women's Journal as no. 1 face to watch for 2008? I almost died when I saw the article on it but finally they returned to interview Keiko in Vol. 10 of the edition to promote Handsome Suit. Those blonde locks are interesting. Has Keiko's hair ever been that light before? Makes me wonder how she'd be if she went Ayumi blonde....

Handsome Suit Premieres!

2008-11-03T19:47:00.010-05:00

FINALLY! The day came and went but Handsome Suit had a successful premiere! For his first movie role, Tanihara-kun did a fantastic job. The movie was SO very well received debuting in the no. 3 spot in the Japanese box office, fairing well against Red Cliff (1st place) and Galileo (knocked to the 2nd spot). SUPERB work by the Handsome promotion group, they did an fantastic job getting the word out there and made following the weeks up to the premiere very delightful. And to Director Hanabusa as well, Handsome Suit is expected to hold on to its Top 5 spot, strong! It's been a year since Keiko's touched the script, but isn't everyone glad she decided to do it? I think she's proven that she can hold her own as a lead actress and whatever skepticism Homeroom on the Beachside may have brought up, her performance in Handsome Suit easily shot it down. Average rating is 4/5 stars, and there is nothing but love for the movie all around. Can't wait to see the movie myself!

Welcome, Winter!

2008-11-03T12:39:00.007-05:00

So in case you haven't noticed, the layout has changed two times before now. That was me just trying to get a better control over which template would work best with the way the information is set up and how I would be using certain images. I've settled on this template and finally settled on using this image. It features Keiko from her December 2008 appearance in non-no magazine (see the scans tag). Normally I steer clear of pink but it ended up looking so soft and inviting that I decided to give in and just let it be instead of shifting it to look more purple.

While creating this layout it has come to my attention that the scans that I've been distributing aren't exactly the best quality they can be. As a result I will try to go and properly clean up the scans UPON REQUEST. If you really want a set of scans cleaned up, simply leave word in the comments section of those set of scans.

Speaking of comments, once again I'm running into the issue where people are taking, taking, taking, and not thanking, thanking, thanking. This isn't easy for me. And it's not making me happy that the chances of me having to rebuild a lot of IKK from the ground up is increasing drastically. So please leave some words of encouragement or input on the information that I put up for you. Ask questions, I will answer! That is all I ask in return. And for those (very few) of you who have left comments, I sincerely appreciate it.

I'm away from my computer right now, so I can't update fully on what I want to. Too busy dressing up as a goddess and parading around New York and now I have a crapload of homework to catch up on. I don't regret it (boy did I have fun! ^_^) but I wish there were more hours in the day for me to finish homework AND work on IKK! I put this layout together during my Digital Imaging class! O_O. I know, bad, but I have zero interest in learning about LightBox. Happy be-lated Halloween!

<3 Sade

PINKY + December 2008 issue

2008-10-30T14:03:00.003-04:00

Sweet Rewards for Tsukagi and Tanihara!

2008-10-30T13:17:00.010-04:00

Today, Keiko appeared with "Handsome Suit" co-stars Shosuke Tanihara, Muga Tsukagi, Mayumi Sada, Manami Honjou, and Director Hanabusa.

During the stage show the stars were asked numerous questions, the most popular being the ones directed to Tsukagi and Tanihara about their ideal date. How would they confess their love, where they would take her, ect. Of course Keiko agreed with Tsukagi's movie night option and rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. Filled with giggles no doubt---the Handsome cast look like they have so much fun together! Check out the "Handsome Channel" on Yahoo! Japan.

source

non-no + November 2008 issue

2008-10-25T14:54:00.002-04:00

"Handsome Suit" Stage Greeting

2008-10-23T16:55:00.017-04:00

"Handsome Suit" has an incredible promotion team. In case you haven't been reading her blog, Keiko has been traveling all over Japan with her "Handsome" co-stars cracking jokes and adding to the anticipation for this comedy romance due to hit theaters November 1st. Yesterday, Keiko attended a major stage greeting before a preview of the movie with Shousuke Tanihara, Muga Tsukagi, as well as the rest of the "Handsome" cast and staff who were rocking suits and---Shousuke's face?! Lol, Handsome Kamen (Handsome Mask)!

The "Handsome Unit" flanked behind Keiko and the leading men in a conference overflowing with press and fans. Muga kept everyone laughing with his crazy antics and the overall show was deemed a success. Positive reception already makes this movie a hit but be aware of box office competition! "Handsome" is going head to head with the highly anticipated "Red Cliff" and "Ichi." The Japanese box office is currently being dominated by "Galileo" who is holding on to the no. 1 spot against American films like "Eagle Eye" and "P.S I Love You."

If Handsome Suit debuts in the no. 1 spot it will be Keiko's first top ranking movie in her career. Keiko's highest ranking movie to date is Sono Kare which debuted in the no. 3 spot. But being that Keiko only appears for three seconds in that film, I'm hesitant to count it. So that movie disregarded, none of Keiko's movies has appeared in the top 10 of the Japanese box office. Here's looking towards a career first!

source

Stardust Press Vol. 3

2008-10-21T14:13:00.011-04:00

So this is what happens when you're bored and have some time before class! You stumble upon new things! Stardust recently started releasing its own webzine called "Stardust Press." It's cute, and caters to women, featuring fashion, health, and styling information modeled by Stardust talents themselves. In this volume, Keiko does a special with the L.A. Resort fashion line from Cavalier Inovae. Still can't let that Hollywood thing go, can they? I can't find back numbers for Vol. 1 and 2 so you're just going to have to settle on what you see here. The next volume features COFFRET D'OR co-star Takako Tokiwa on the cover with video messages from K, Kou Shibasaki, and other Stardust....stars!

1,400 rush to see Keiko!

2008-10-20T13:26:00.015-04:00

Yesterday, Keiko was in her hometown of Kobe to promote Handsome Suit with the director Tsutomu Hanabusa!

Sporting shorter locks and looking amazing in a tailored blazer, skinny jeans, and ankle boots, Keiko rocked the crowds of the Marine Pier in Hyogo Prefecture. That morning, as many as 1,400 Kobe natives showed up to support their favorite rising star. "I was surprised!" Keiko said when asked about the turn out, "I seemed embarrassed to promote in front of my parents and friends but really this is amazing." The event was a triumphant success.

Keiko, who is set to graduate from Meiji University this spring, received many words of encouragement from other young women in the crowd who praised her beauty and "coolness." Returning to her hometown, she was overwhelmed with the welcoming response. She joked with the crowd and encouraged everyone to see Handsome Suit (November 1, 2008 roadshow).

source

I'm seriously considering starting a "dress like Keiko" segment. Stylist or no---she looks AMAZING in that outfit! I WANT IT! AHHHHHH! If I'm not mistaken, she's definitely wearing the friendship ring Tomoco got her. Enjoy the extra pictures below. ^_^

Pretty Style (PS) + November 2008 issue

2008-10-20T13:22:00.002-04:00

smart + November 2008 issue

2008-10-19T19:38:00.008-04:00

Sweet + October 2008 issue

2008-10-19T19:36:00.004-04:00

Seventeen + October 2008 issue

2008-10-19T19:32:00.003-04:00

Hana Biyori + September 2008 issue

2008-10-19T19:29:00.002-04:00

steady + September 2008 issue

2008-10-19T19:27:00.002-04:00

More + September 2008 issue

2008-10-19T15:54:00.003-04:00

TV Japan + August 2008 issue

2008-10-19T15:50:00.003-04:00

Weekly the Television + August 2008 issue

2008-10-19T15:29:00.008-04:00

Oh....this is gonna suck

2008-10-19T12:50:00.003-04:00

Learning new things is only fun when you actually have the time to learn it. ^_^ This just means that the layout for this blog will suck bad bad until I'm able to sit down and dress it up nicely. In the meantime---I'm pretty sure it's the content that's going to win you over when all else fails.

Welcome to the blog chapter of IKK. I'm calling it "Made in Kobe: an IKK blog" for now. The name is subject to change and suggestions are most certainly welcome. It's only supposed to exist for how long it takes me to learn and utilize dreamweaver, so let the countdown begin.

In the meantime, enjoy the scans, media, and all other goodies that I plan to throw up here for your entertainment. Thank-you for supporting IKK!

>3 Sade

//Made in Kobe\\ *an IKK blog*

Happy (belated) NEW YEARS!!!!!!

Oricon: Who do you want as your lover?

Nifty's "Most Searched Names" 2008

VoCE- January 2009 issue

Vivid Moon Unveiled!

COFFRET D'OR: Winter Campaign

JILLE- December 2008 issue

Vivi- January 2009 issue

Look!s- Winter 2008 issue

Keiko in VoCE

Keiko x ANA and Kanaflex

"Handsome" Still Holds On

The strength of "Handsome!"

mini- December 2008 issue

Keiko x Vivid Moon

Sailor Moon Makes the World Go Round!

Coming Soon!

Zipper + December 2008 issue

Ray + December 2008 issue

COFFRET D'OR: Fall Campaign

Woman's Journal Vol. 10

Handsome Suit Premieres!

Welcome, Winter!

PINKY + December 2008 issue

Sweet Rewards for Tsukagi and Tanihara!

non-no + November 2008 issue

"Handsome Suit" Stage Greeting

Stardust Press Vol. 3

1,400 rush to see Keiko!

Pretty Style (PS) + November 2008 issue

smart + November 2008 issue

Sweet + October 2008 issue

Seventeen + October 2008 issue

Hana Biyori + September 2008 issue

steady + September 2008 issue

More + September 2008 issue

TV Japan + August 2008 issue

Weekly the Television + August 2008 issue

Oh....this is gonna suck

//Made in Kobe\\ an IKK blog