Magic Number TV Version
The first episode of Kobato just aired on TV in Japan, and the opening animation has already been uploaded to youtube. I feel Maaya's new song fits perfectly with the animation, and I think many of you will agree.

Maaya Related Anime on R1 DVD,
New Final Fantasy XIII Trailer
Maaya fans in North America might be interested to know that Sands of Destruction (aka World Destruction) is scheduled for release on R1 dvd by Funimation on 1/26/10. All 13 episodes will be released in a single set for $50. Funimation also licensed Linebarrels of Iron some time ago, and the first half of the anime is coming out on dvd on 1/19/10. Maaya performed both ending theme songs for the show, Ame ga furu and Remedy (the latter released on her latest album Kazeyomi). Here are preorder links to both dvds on my favorite on-line anime retailer.

Sands of Destruction DVD Complete Series

Linebarrels of Iron DVD Part 1

In other Maaya related news, Square Enix released a new trailer for FF XII during Tokyo Game Show last week. The game comes out in Japan on 12/17/09, and next year for other countries. Square Enix has stated there will not be Japanese dialogue on any of the localized versions of the game. So if you want to hear Maaya's voice acting, you'll have to buy the Japanese PS3 version. Here's the new trailer with English subtitles.

Kobato Promo Video
Kadokawa recently posted a trailer for the upcoming Kobato anime on Youtube. The promo video is only half a minute long, but Maaya's new song Magic Number is played in the background. I've embedded the video below.

The full version of the song was also recently played on one of Maaya's radio shows. I won't post a link here, but it's very easy to find on Youtube if you want to "spoil" yourself.

Birthday Concert in Budokan
The latest news update on Maaya's official site announces she will be performing a live concert on her 30th birthday (3/31/2010). I can't think of a better way to celebrate Maaya turning 30.

Magic Number Single Preorders
Looks like on-line retailers are starting to list the upcoming Kobato OP single. Here are a couple preorder links.

• Preorder from CD Japan
• Preorder from Amazon.co.jp

Kobato OP Single Details
Victor Ent. / flying dog updated Maaya's official site with more info on her upcoming single, including the track list. The 3rd and 4th tracks are actually the live versions Maaya performed at her concert in Tokyo on Janaury 24 during the We Are Kazeyomi tour. This is a nice bonus for people who didn't buy the Kazeyomi concert dvd. However, I still think the concert dvd is a must have for any dedicated Maaya fan. Here are the details on the Kobato OP single.

• Title: Magic Number
• Catalog #: VTCL-35077
• Release Date: 11/11/09
• Price: ¥1,200
• Song List:
  1. Magic Number
  • Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto
  • Composition: Katsutoshi Kitakawa
  • Arrangement: Katsutoshi Kitakawa
  2. Private Sky
  • Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto
  • Composition: TABO
  • Arrangement: Taichi Nakamura
  3. Kazamidori (Live Version)
  4. Pocket wo kara ni shite (Live Version)

Upcoming Single for Kobato Anime
Maaya is performing the opening theme song for the upcoming Kobato anime (official JP site, wikipedia) according to the latest issue of Newtype magazine (thanks duckroll). The show is based off a CLAMP manga and is scheduled to air in Japan this Fall. Maaya's official web site does not have any info on the cd single, however her IDS fanclub sent an e-mail stating that the cd will be out on 11/11/09. I was hoping the next song from her would be for the upcoming Macross Frontier movie (or something else non-CLAMP related), but instead the Maaya x CLAMP "tryst" continues. Oh well, I'm still happy that she is releasing a new single this year. As you've probably noticed, Maaya news has been very sparse recently.

It has been a while since I've updated this site, so I might as well post some other Maaya related news. Back in July during Anime Expo, Funimation announced the N. American license for Sands of Destruction (aka World Destruction). Maaya voices the lead female character Morte Ashela in the anime and videogame. And her latest anime show, Canaan, is currently airing in Japan.

Napple Tale OSTs Reprints out in July
Victor Entertainment is reprinting the soundtrack cds for the Napple Tale Dreamcast game. A different music company originally released the cds in 2000, which have been out of print for quite some time. For fans that don't know or maybe forgot, Maaya voiced the main character in the game. She also performed a few songs including the opening and ending themes (Shippo no Uta and Midori no Hane respectively, both also available on the Shippo no Uta single and Nikopachi). Napple Tale OST 2 includes the song Dreams in a Pie, which is an English version of Koibito ni Tsuite from Hotchpotch. Here are the details and some CD Japan links for the Napple Tale cd re-releases.

• Title: Napple Tale OST 1: Yosei Zukan
• Catalog #: VTCL-60159
• Release Date: 7/01/09
• Price: ¥2,500
• Preorder from CD Japan

• Title: Napple Tale OST 2: Kaiju Zukan
• Catalog #: VTCL-60158
• Release Date: 7/01/09
• Price: ¥2,500
• Preorder from CD Japan

On a side-note, Maaya's "We Are Kazeyomi" concert dvd is out tomorrow. CD Japan just shipped my copy and I'm highly anticipating watching it.

Kazeyomi Concert Sample Clips
Maaya's upcoming concert dvd is out in less than 2 weeks and Victor Ent. / flying dog has posted some sample video clips on her official site. There are also details about the concert and an image gallery on the same splash page. The video clips seemed to have been leaked because they were uploaded to Youtube several days ago. The audio in the Youtube clips isn't that good (and I know some people don't use Windows Media Player and/or simply prefer flash video format), so I've posted my own flash converted clips to MS.net. There are samples for Maaya's performances of Triangular, Kiseki no umi, Hashiru, Mameshiba and Kazamidori. The clips actually are slightly bigger than the layout of this site, so I've added a separate page for people that want to watch the videos in their original size.

Click here to view videos in original size

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

For people living in Japan, there is a video clip of the entire Mameshiba performance on Yahoo Japan. For folks in other countries, well you are in luck as well because someone uploaded the clip to Youtube.