There have been many announcements regarding *The Idolmaster* series since Feb. 4, 2013. The latest announcement is that the game service *THE IDOLM@STER Million Live* will begin soon for GREE smartphones and feature phones.
“Macross Crossover Live 30” will be held on July 13, 2013 at Makuhari Messe in celebration of the *Macross* series’ 30 year anniversary.
This year’s Sakura-Con in Seattle, Washington will again boast big names! Sakura-Con is one of the largest Japanese anime and manga events held in the US. The event will run from March 29-31.
The anime goods retailer Animate, along with the cosplay goods retailer ACOS, will hold the event “Jump Fair in Animate 2013” from March 23 to April 14 in Animate and ACOS shops all over Japan.
It has been announced that a sequel to the anime movie *Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha*, which is based on the great Osamu Tezuka’s original manga, will be released this fall.
On Feb. 10, 2013, a live event titled “THE IDOLM@STER MUSIC FESTIV@L OF WINTER!!” was held for the anime *The Idolmaster* (stylized as *THE IDOLM@STER*) at Makuhari Messe in Chiba.
The super unit ClariS made their striking debut in October 2010 with the opening theme song “irony” for the TV anime *Oreimo*, and are now working with *Oreimo* again!
*Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Secret Gadget Museum* was released in Japan on March 9. As part of its country-wide campaign, Shuzo Matsuoka has been brought on as the head of the squad to promote the movie.
In January 2013, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) compiled information regarding the American marketplace in their latest investigative report “American Contents Market Research 2011-2012 (January 2013).”