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Sensational Hong Kong boy band MIRROR has been all over the Hong Kong entertainment industry in recent years, and not just in music. The group members are also making their marks in Hong Kong cinema from solo film appearances to their recent full-lineup group movie WE 12. Let's revisit all of MIRROR's movie appearances since 2018! WE 12 (2024) MIRROR members assemble in WE 12, the group's first movie with all 12 members in the cast! Produced by Makerville, the heist comedy follows MIRROR as the members of the underground "n Association." Each with their distinctive skills, the Kaitos gather at headquarters to receive a mission from the boss – steal the award-winning "multiverse zapper" to... [read more]
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The below rankings are based on sales of movie, music, TV and book releases on YesAsia.com from January 1 to June 30, 2024. Sales of all editions and versions of the same title are summed up to determine the total sales and ranking of each title. BEST-SELLING K-POP RELEASES Dropping her first record in three years, IU not only took over digital music charts, but also our K-pop bestseller chart with her sixth mini-album The Winning! (G)I-DLE and Twice secure the #2 and #3 spots in the top ten, while Loossemble and ARTMS – both composed of former Loona members – follow at #4 and #5. ATEEZ, IVE and NCT DREAM all sold well in the first half of 2024, and Mamamoo's Moon Byul and Astro's Cha Eun... [read more]
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So many dramas, so little time! From the long-awaited second seasons of hit shows (Squid Game!) to highly anticipated remakes and adaptations, here's a watch list of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai TV dramas to enjoy in the second half of 2024! The Legend of Heroes (Mainland China) Release Date: June 17 (Tencent/WeTV) Jin Yong's seminal wuxia novel The Legend of Condor Heroes gets a shiny new Tencent adaptation that premiered in mid-June. The 60-episode drama is titled "Jin Yong's Wuxia World" in Chinese, signaling Tencent's intention to create a Jin Yong universe of martial arts dramas. As the first installment of this ambitious project, The Legend of Heroes is divided into five... [read more]
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Is there a K-Drama theme song that calls up scenes in your mind the second you hear it? Korean TV dramas have been popular around the world for over two decades, and a part of that enduring popularity goes to the music. Korean drama productions put great effort into high-quality original soundtracks tailor-made for the characters, stories and themes. Some K-Drama OST songs and scores are so instantly recognizable that they have become as famous as the dramas themselves. Take a trip down memory lane with 15 iconic Korean drama soundtracks selected by our editors! Be Melodramatic "In the swaying flowers, I felt the scent of your shampoo…" There's no better song to get us to Be Melodramatic... [read more]
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Performing at Coachella is considered a milestone for any artist. As Asian pop – mainly K-pop, J-pop and C-pop – emerges in the global music scene, more Asian musicians have been invited to the world-renowned music and arts festival in recent years. Last year, BLACKPINK made history as the first Asian act to headline at Coachella. The 2024 Coachella festival, held on April 12-14 and 19-21 in Indio, California, featured various Asian performers, including an "88rising Futures" set showcasing the label's Asian artists. Let's have a recap of the Asian acts at this year's Coachella! ATARASHII GAKKO! Tokyo calling! Breakout Japanese girl group ATARASHII GAKKO! has been racking up firsts both... [read more]
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The Asian Film Awards (AFA), an annual film event celebrating excellence in Asian cinema, enters its 17th edition in 2024. The 17th Asian Film Awards ceremony will be held on March 10, 2024, at the Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong. This year, 35 films from 24 regions are nominated in 16 award categories. Korean film 12.12: The Days and Japanese film Evil Does Not Exist lead with six nominations each. Japanese auteur Kurosawa Kiyoshi, director of AFA Best Film winners Wife of a Spy and Tokyo Sonata, serves as the Jury President. Korean actress Lee Young Ae and Japanese actor Suzuki Ryohei have been announced as the recipients of this year's Excellence in Asian Cinema Award. Chinese actress Zhao... [read more]
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If there is Slam Dunk for basketball and Captain Tsubasa for soccer, then the one true manga/anime for volleyball would definitely be Haikyu!!. Hailyuu!! has been an iconic title since the manga began in 2012, but its popularity rose to the next level with Season 4 of the anime, Haikyu!! To the Top, which was launched in 2020 during the pandemic. It even brought attention to Japan's real-life national men's volleyball team. After over three years of wait, Haikyu!!: The Dumpster Battle, the long-awaited first film (and one of the last adaptations) of the beloved volleyball anime finally opened in Japan on February 16, 2024. Before enjoying the fateful battle between Karasuno High and Nekoma... [read more]
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Jacky Cheung effortlessly climbs back to #1 of YesAsia's overall best-selling C-pop artists list despite not having a single entry in the album or concert charts! He is followed by Leslie Cheung, who also tops the best-selling album chart with the best-of album REMEMBRANCE Leslie commemorating the 20th anniversary of his passing. Priscilla Chan and Teresa Teng are crowned our top two best-selling female artists again with their old and reissue releases. MC Cheung breaks into our annual bestseller charts for the first time with his album This is MC and his concert with Hung Kaho, while Terence Lam again guards a spot in each category. Hins Cheung, Hacken Lee and Eason Chan each secure... [read more]
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Stray Kids are not only YesAsia's best-selling male artist in Korean music but also our top-selling artist in Japanese music! The popular K-pop group has the top two Japanese albums of 2023, and their JYP labelmates also make a strong showing. Twice ranks sixth among artists, and MISAMO, formed by Twice's three Japanese members, attains top ten artist ranking on the strength of only two releases, including the overall #3 album and #3 concert. ITZY's first full Japan album and first concert in Japan are both in the top ten. NCT Dream is the #2 highest-selling artist with their first Japan single topping Japanese music sales. ATEEZ, LE SSERAFIM and STAYC each claim dual top ten singles and a... [read more]
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Following 2021's Don't Call Me, SHINee tops our YesAsia K-pop bestseller album chart again with HARD in 2023! Besides the group release, Key, Tae Min and Onew each secure spots in the album and the bestselling artist charts with their solo releases. Twice is the overall #1 bestseller among K-pop artists with their #2 top-selling album READY TO BE, while Stray Kids continue to reign over the best-selling male artist list as well as the K-pop video chart. Besides SHINee, other SMTOWN artists dominate the bestseller charts – EXO is in third place with their seventh album EXIST, Red Velvet comes in second among female acts with their third album Chill Kill, and NCT 127 grabs a spot in the male... [read more]
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The below rankings are based on sales of television/drama releases on YesAsia.com from January 1 to December 31, 2023. TOP 10 TV DRAMAS (OVERALL) 1. Love in the Air 2. We Best Love 3. A Shoulder to Cry On 4. HIStory3: Trapped 5. My Beautiful Man Season 2 6. My Tooth Your Love 7. Semantic Error 8. HIStory5: Love in the Future 9 (tie). About Youth 9 (tie). My Beautiful Man OTHER ASIA TV BESTSELLERS BL dramas have completely taken over our TV bestsellers charts, and the alpha spot goes to Love in the Air, which is also the only Thai series in the overall top ten. In the Other Asia TV category covering titles from Southeast Asia, Love in the Air is followed mainly by other productions from... [read more]
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The below rankings are based on sales of Chinese-language books (excluding horoscope books) on YesAsia.com from January 1 to December 31, 2023. TOP 10 CHINESE BOOKS Yi Shu continues to be the best-selling Chinese writer with three novels in the top ten. Collectible books by and about celebrities are popular, including books commemorating legendary Hong Kong bands Beyond and The Wynners, Priscilla Wong's travelogue and Jet Li's spiritual healing book. With THE FIRST SLAM DUNK being a blockbuster hit across Asia in 2023, the anime film's behind-the-scenes book has also become a bestseller. Works by BL novelist Mo Xiang Tong Xiu continue to have an enthusiastic following both at home and... [read more]
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The below rankings are based on sales of movie releases on YesAsia.com from January 1 to December 31, 2023. TOP 10 MOVIES (OVERALL) 1. Born to Fly 2. Sakra 3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 4. Hidden Blade 5. Table for Six 6. It Remains 7. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 8. Hong Kong Family 9. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 10. Limbo BEST-SELLING CHINESE MOVIES Wang Yibo soars to the top of our movie bestsellers in 2023 with the aerial action drama Born to Fly surging past Donnie Yen's wuxia actioner Sakra for first place. The popular idol's period espionage drama Hidden Blade with Tony Leung is also in the top five. Hong Kong's new box office king Dayo Wong has two blockbusters in the... [read more]
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Here are our editors' picks for the best Asian films released on DVD or Blu-ray in 2023! SANWEI'S PICKS Blue Giant Based on Ishizuka Shinichi's manga, Blue Giant is a classic making-of-the-band story with buoyant jazz and shonen spirit to spare. Produced by NUT and directed by Tachikawa Yuzuru, the stirring animated feature follows teen wunderkind Miyamoto Dai, who heads to Tokyo with little more than his saxophone and a dream to become the best in jazz. With his sheer talent and tenacity, Dai motivates his roommate Shunji to take up drums, and convinces piano prodigy Sawabe Yukinori to form the band JASS and together take the jazz scene by storm. Though a story of youth passion, Blue Giant... [read more]
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Our editors' picks for the best physical Japanese albums of 2023! ano - Nyang Nyang Oeeee Please enjoy the musical equivalent of a cat puking rainbows in this ridiculously cute, deceptively upbeat and unequivocally entertaining album from ano. Titled Nyang Nyang Oeeee meaning "Cat Vomiting," the album gets straight to the feline point in the wild kawaii rock explosion Nyang Oeeee Gokurako Ondo. There's plenty more high-speed, high-energy and high-pitched cuteness delivered in ano's unique singing style, but the perky songs drenched in furious beats are far from happy and innocent. Smile Agenai seems like fast-food nonsense – "I ate lunch while watching TV / That potato / I can't move from... [read more]
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Our editors' picks for the best Chinese albums of 2023! Accusefive - We Will Be Fine Fasten your seat belt, because Accusefive is taking us on a wondrous trip of magical sounds accompanied with their healing voices! In their third album, the trio wanders between indie rock and mainstream pop in ten pieces of diverse genres, ranging from synthpop, folk and Latin to Motown and adult contemporary music. The band ushers us to comfort zone with relaxing music, including "We Will Be Fine," the groovy disco-pop "How To Do," the upbeat "Your Guilt-trip" and "Aaaaah!," "Wish You Were Here" about long-distance relationship, and the loving serenades "In The Clouds" and "Can't Live Without You." Though... [read more]
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Our editors' picks for the best Korean albums of 2023! aespa - MY WORLD Welcome to aespa's world! aespa unfolds a new chapter of their musical worldview through their third mini-album MY WORLD! Almost a year after Girls, the girls record their journey returning from KWANGYA to the real world in six new tracks. The album starts off with the dreamy alternative pop intro Welcome To MY World (featuring nævis) that brings us on a sweet escape. With dynamic beats and intense synth bass sounds, metallic dance plug Spicy showcases a confident, lively and freewheeling kind of energy that aespa has never shown before. They continue to delve into soft emotions with the R&B hit Thirsty, as well as the... [read more]
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Herea are our editors' picks for the best Japanese dramas of 2023! 0.5 Man Matsuda Ryuhei is in very Matsuda Ryuhei mode in this WOWOW comedy-drama written and directed by Okita Shuichi, the master of quirky, meaningful life stories. Protagonist Tachibana Masaharu is a hikikomori who spends his days gaming in his room, with occasional visits to the convenience store. Life is hunky-dory like this, but change arrives with his married sister moving back into the family home. The residence gets converted into a "2.5 family" house for his supportive parents, his sister's family and himself as the "0.5." Masaharu's awkward but earnest efforts to interact with his grumpy niece and screamy nephew... [read more]
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Our editors' picks for the ten best Korean dramas of 2023! D.P. Season 2 Webtoon-based military drama D.P., which made our year-end list in 2021, returned this year with a gut-wrenching second season again helmed by writer-director Han Jun Hee. Though less intimate than the first Netflix series which told smaller stories of what drives desperate conscripts to desert, Season 2 is even more daring and disturbing by starting with the army barrack shooting that ended Season 1. When shocked protagonist An Jun Ho (Jung Hae In) questions how this could happen, the reply from a fellow soldier cuts straight to the terrible truth: it could happen to anyone. In this season, the D.P. unit not only... [read more]
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As 2023 draws to an end, we kick off the year-end lists with our editors' picks for the best Chinese dramas of the year! Living Living ain't easy. Produced by Ruby Lin and co-written by Ryan Tu, this Taiwan drama is often warm, familiar and funny as it captures the interactions and arguments of a normal family. The five-way bickering of the irritable Gao family members in a house barely big enough to hold them all could be straight out of a sitcom, but the drama is actually set in motion by eldest prodigal son Jia Yue (Wu Kang Ren) hitting rock bottom and pondering ending his life. He decides to return home to see his family a last time, only to find they're all going through troubles of... [read more]
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