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1st Kingrun Anime Songs Kōhaku TV Event Announced

The Nippon BS Broadcasting Corporation satellite television company has announced on Monday that it will hold the first ever Kingrun Anime Songs Kōhaku event on December 31. The event is loosely inspired by NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle), the New Year's Eve singing contest that is Japan's most viewed music television program every year.

Unlike NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen event, the Kingrun Anime Songs Kōhaku event will focus on "animation industry activities throughout this year, from the current anime songs which have been much talked about to the successive famous pieces of anime music." Radio personality/announcer Akihisa Sōguchi and voice actress Mika Kikuchi (Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, XXXHOLiC, My-Otome) will host the event's White and Red Teams, respectively.

Performing for the White Team will be the following:

• Akira Kushida (Kinnikuman, Sentou Mecha Xabungle)
• Takayuki Miyauchi (Chōdenshi Bioman, Ginga Nagareboshi Gin)
• Isao Taira (Densetsu Kyojin Ideon, Galaxy Cyclone Braiger)
• Ken Narita (Cyborg 009, Denshi Sentai Denjiman)
• Shinichi Ishihara (Red Baron, Kamen Rider Agito)
• Takayoshi Tanimoto (Dragon Ball Kai, Zatch Bell/Konjiki no Gash Bell!!)
• Psychic Lover (Tytania)
• T-Pistonz (Inazuma Eleven)
• Anison Singers (Toei Animation Medley)
• Ichiro Mizuki (Mazinger Z, Babel II) via video tape

Performing for the Red Team will be the following:

• Satoko Yamano (Doraemon, Maple Town Stories)
• Takako Ohta (Magical Angel Creamy Mami)
• Azumi Inoue (My Neighbor Totoro, Before Green Gables/Konnichiwa Anne)
• Rica Matsumoto (Pokémon)
• MIQ (Aura Battler Dunbine, Heavy Metal L-Gaim)
• Mayumi Gojo (Futari wa Pretty Cure, The Sacred Blacksmith)
• Sister Mayo (Pururun! Shizuku-chan)
• Choi Sun Duk (Elementhunters' Korean version)
• Anison Singers (TMS Entertainment Medley)
• Mitsuko Horie (Candy Candy, Hana no Ko Lunlun) via video tape

Voice actors Atsuko Enomoto, Nozomi Sasaki, Azusa Kataoka, Tomokazu Seki, Sayaka Narita, Wataru Hatano, Madoka Yonezawa, Tomokazu Sugita, and Emiri Katou will also appear at the event. Sugita and Katou will perform in an "anime song drama" for which more details will be announced later.

Joe Hisaishi, the composer of My Neighbor Totoro and most other films from Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki, will write a song for the 60th anniversary outing of Kōhaku Uta Gassen this year.