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TWS' ‘Hajimemashite' Debuts at No. 1 as ORANGE RANGE's ‘Ikenai Taiyo' Enjoys a Resurgence on Japan Hot 100

TWS' ‘Hajimemashite' Debuts at No. 1 as ORANGE RANGE's ‘Ikenai Taiyo' Enjoys a Resurgence on Japan Hot 100

Yahoo3 days ago
TWS' 'Hajimemashite' blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, on the chart dated July 9.
The debut single by the six-member boy band billed as SEVENTEEN's 'younger brother group' launched with 186,554 CDs to top sales, while coming in at No. 33 for radio airplay.
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Debuting at No. 2 this week is Morning Musume. '25's 'Kininaru sonoki no uta.' The single sold 109,594 copies in its first week to hit No. 2 for the metric, and also comes in at No. 10 for downloads and No. 52 for radio.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE's 'KUSUSHIKI' rises a notch to No. 3, with downloads and streaming up to 131% and 102%, respectively, compared to the week before. The three-man band's 'breakfast' is at No. 5, while 'Carrying Happiness,' the theme song for the special event called Summer Cool-Off at Tokyo Disney Resort, bows at No. 8 on the Japan Hot 100. The latter debuts at No. 1 for downloads with 9,349 units, while hitting No. 8 for streaming, No. 91 for radio and No. 39 for video. The 'I'm Invincible' hitmakers recently became the first act in J-pop history to sail past 10 billion streams with their catalog in the country, and currently have six tracks charting on the streaming list including 'Lilac' at No. 1 (No. 10 on the Japan Hot 100 this week).
aespa's 'Dirty Work' follows at No. 4, coming in at No. 4 for sales (29,005 copies), No. 37 for downloads, No. 10 for streaming, No. 55 for radio, and No. 10 for video. The four-member girl group collaborated with Apple on this song and released a video produced as part of the 'Shot On iPhone' campaign.
At No. 7 is BE:FIRST's 'Muchu,' up two ranks from last week. The group performed the song on the music program CDTV Live! Live! on June 30, and streaming is up to 116%, radio to 150%, and video to 111% week-over-week. The track is at No. 8 for downloads, No. 3 for streaming, and No. 12 for video.
Elsewhere on the chart, ORANGE RANGE's 'Ikenai Taiyo' (released in 2007) is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, soaring to No. 17 this week. The band hit No. 1 for video this week with its renewed, 'Reiwa Era' version music video starring the popular comedy duo Mayurika and featuring numerous Japanese pop-culture references from the aughts.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from June 30 to July 6, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan's English X account.
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Gen Z men are still obsessed with Pokémon cards—using ‘boy math' to argue that they'll beat Nvidia stock and the S&P 500. But there's a catch
Gen Z men are still obsessed with Pokémon cards—using ‘boy math' to argue that they'll beat Nvidia stock and the S&P 500. But there's a catch

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Gen Z men are still obsessed with Pokémon cards—using ‘boy math' to argue that they'll beat Nvidia stock and the S&P 500. But there's a catch

Pokémon and sports trading cards are outperforming the S&P 500 with upwards of 46% annual returns, and it's driving mania among Gen Z and Millennial men to collect top cards. While most fans aren't getting rich off a reselling side gig, there's no sign the boom is letting up—especially with big names like Logan Paul joining in on the frenzy. Gen Z and Millennials are in agreement: their obsession with Pokémon may never let up. Despite the Japanese franchise nearing its 30-year anniversary, young men in particular continue to be on a lifelong mission to 'catch 'em all'—and are spending hundreds, sometimes even millions of dollars, collecting trading cards. Part of the 'boy math' is that investing in cards could yield significant returns, and there might be some truth to the matter. Pokémon cards have seen the largest long-term increase in value among all card categories: up 3,261% over 20 years, according to data provided to Fortune from Card Ladder. Even looking at a one-year investment, the average Pokémon card is increasing at nearly 46%—a pace far exceeding hot stocks like Nvidia so far in 2025 or the S&P 500's average 12% annual return rate. While cards have to be rare and in pristine condition to make significant profit, the industry frenzy has left the shelves of retailers like Walmart and Target bare—and even caused some stores to enact limits or pauses on selling altogether. And online, it's pushing the resale market to new heights. Users on eBay searched for 'Pokemon' nearly 14,000 times per hour in 2024, according to Adam Ireland, VP and GM of global collectibles at eBay. And pairing the Pokémania with continued demand in the sports card world (thanks to athletes like Caitlin Clark and Michael Jordan), it's created a perfect storm of opportunity for the trading card industry. The total gross value of cards on eBay has increased for nine consecutive quarters. This embedded content is not available in your region. 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In 2022, he broke a Guinness World Record for the most expensive Pokémon trading card sold at a private sale with the purchase of a PSA Grade 10 (essentially perfect condition) Pikachu Illustrator card for $5.275 million. 'This card cost me more than my ranch. My 84-acre ranch,' Paul said at the time. Other social platforms, including TikTok, are full of content creators who have dedicated their lives to the purchasing, opening, and reselling of cards. But for some, the joy of collecting or making a profit doesn't work out as much as planned, with a recent call into Dave Ramsey's personal finance vodcast showing just how bad the obsession is gotten for some young men. 'I messed up big. I went behind my pregnant wife's back and racked up $26K in credit card debt in four months,' the caller said. 'What did you jack up $26K on?' Ramey asked. 'Pokemon cards—trying to buy a bunch and sell them online, but it didn't work out.' 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'It doesn't matter how old you are, when you get a pack of cards in your hand, the first thing you want to do is rip it open and you hope that you're going to get that hot rookie, or you're going to get a player from your favorite team,' says Panini's Howarth. 'If any one of those things happens, you're ecstatic.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Saturday Morning Webtoons: THE LONE NECROMANCER and THE PRIMAL HUNTER
Saturday Morning Webtoons: THE LONE NECROMANCER and THE PRIMAL HUNTER

Geek Girl Authority

time6 hours ago

  • Geek Girl Authority

Saturday Morning Webtoons: THE LONE NECROMANCER and THE PRIMAL HUNTER

Good morning, fellow WEBTOON readers and welcome to this week's installment of Saturday Morning Webtoons! This is where we shine a light on two Webtoons we are thoroughly enjoying. These stories have had us captivated chapter after chapter each week, and we couldn't pass up sharing them with you! So grab your favorite snacks, an electronic device and settle into these sensational stories. DISCLAIMER: This article contains spoilers for The Lone Necromancer and The Primal Hunter . RELATED: 10 Best WEBTOON Series Released in 2024 The Lone Necromancer The Lone Necromancer WEBTOON Original Series. Kicking off our action-packed weekend reads is JJJ, Kim Kyoung-Yeol and Kim Dong-Jun's The Lone Necromancer . The series follows former special forces soldier and college student Seongwu. One minute, he thinks life is going to be easy; the next, he has to pick a new role and face off against terrifying monsters that have popped up around the world. Equipped with his newfound abilities to control he dead, he only has one goal in mind – to make it out alive. We love a good action series on WEBTOON. And The Lone Necromancer isn't just action, it's fantasy too – a double win in our book. It has the same vibes as Sword Art Online but with a more serious tone. Like other action series, the art plays a huge role in the storytelling. Watching the fight scenes dance down the page gives everything a unique and beautiful flow. It does an incredible job adding excitement and suspense to the story. For action and fantasy fans, this is a must-read in our book. The Lone Necromancer updates every Friday. Readers can find it on the official WEBTOON page. RELATED: 5 Tyrants that WEBTOON Made Me Fall in Love With The Primal Hunter The Primal Hunter WEBTOON Original Series. Our next action-packed WEBTOON comes from Magnozz, Zogarth, Aethon and WmW. The Primal Hunter is a series that follows Jake, an everyday average office worker who struggles to make friends with his coworkers. Then out of nowhere, he is thrust into a world filled with monsters and mystery. But instead of succumbing to fear, Jake thrives here. Using what skills he has, Jake fights to survive and shed his past and become a true apex hunter. Keeping up with the action-fantasy and thrown into another world theme, The Primal Hunter is a must-read overall. We found that this series, while having a similar premise to the iconic Sword Art Online , actually feels more like Log Horizon. And if you have ever had the pleasure of reading that series, you know this is going to be good. The suspense and mystery will have you struggling to put it down. Add in that we love Jake's character and want to watch him succeed to the end, and this makes it the perfect choice for an action-packed weekend. The Primal Hunter updates every Monday. Readers can find it on the official WEBTOON page. 6 Slice-Of-Life Webtoons That Will Help You Chill

‘Front Mission 3: Remake' Switch Review: Wanzers On A Budget
‘Front Mission 3: Remake' Switch Review: Wanzers On A Budget

Forbes

time8 hours ago

  • Forbes

‘Front Mission 3: Remake' Switch Review: Wanzers On A Budget

'Front Mission 3: Remake' has had a substantial makeover compared to the original PlayStation game. Originally, the first Front Mission game to come Westward, this remake of Front Mission 3 has a lot to live up to. If you're not unfamiliar with the Front Mission games, these are tactical role-playing games where you control 4-5 meter tall mecha called wanzers. Each map is grid-based and has a large variety of locales and enemies you face, from tanks to helicopters, and of course, enemy wanzers. Despite the fact that the name for mecha in this setting is the obviously comical wanzer, its influences are very clearly from mecha anime such as Armored Trooper VOTOMS. Like the ATs in that anime, the wanzers can also zoom along the ground at high speeds and are roughly the same height. Your wanzer customization options are extensive. The big difference with wanzers is that you can customize their bodies as well as their weapon loadouts, which is closer to the setup in Armored Core, although arguably Front Mission got there first. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder In this iteration of Front Mission series, you can also target the pilot and force them to eject and surrender. It's a neat little thing, and naturally, your own pilots can jump out of their wanzers, too. The only oddity with specificity in targeting is that you can't target specific limbs in this game. It seems like a very obvious omission and would actually be very useful in combat from a strategic standpoint. Instead, we are left with a random chance of what limbs will be attacked, which can be a tad frustrating. As for this remake, from a visual standpoint, it's not bad. The game is using Unity, which is arguably better suited for 2D games, but the wanzers and the environments here look good in their updated form. Some of the game's 2D art appears to be AI-generated. However, it seems that a chunk of the 2D art has been AI-generated or modified by AI in some way. This feels like a budgetary constraint more than anything else, but it does make the game feel cheap in places. Which brings me to my main point: this game feels like it was done on too tight a budget. Not only in a visual sense, with the use of AI-generated art, but also some of the obvious quality-of-life features, such as targeting of specific limbs, that could have been added in if the team had had more time. The other thing here, and this is more of a criticism of the developer when it comes to their library of remakes, is that they are in many ways too faithful to the host material without thinking of what modern gamers would expect. If this were a straight-up retro port of the original game, of which many exist, that would be fine. However, this is meant as a remake, and that means taking into account the games that were released after the original game and potentially implementing functional features that modern gamers would naturally expect to be there. Overall, Front Mission 3: Remake is a solid update to a classic mecha tactical role-playing game from the PlayStation era. It does feel rushed in places, and here's hoping the game receives some patches to fix some of those issues, much like the previous remakes in the series have. Front Mission 3: Remake Platform: Nintendo Switch Developer: MegaPixel Publisher: Square Enix, Forever Entertainment Released: 26th June 2025 Price: $34.99 Score: 7/10 Disclosure: Forever Entertainment sent me a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.

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