Maaya Marries and Upcoming Photobook
Victor Ent. / flying dog posted a couple updates on Maaya's official site at the end of last week. The first is an announcement by Maaya herself that she married fellow voice actor and singer Kenichi Suzumura on August 8. They have worked together in various anime including Ouran Host Club, Kara no Kyoukai amd Gundam Seed Destiny. A lot of fans are surprised by the announcement, but I'm not for whatever reason(s). I guess I expected Maaya to get married at some point (it's not uncommon for artists afterall). In any case, congratulations to both of them!

In other news, Maaya will be releasing a photobook in October. Apparently this is her first and last photobook, which will cover her You Can't Catch Me concert tour. It will be 128 pages and priced at ¥1800. Here's a CD Japan link.

Preorder Photobook from CD Japan

Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing Trailer
flying dog recently uploaded a trailer for upcoming Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing anime to their Youtube channel. There's a 30 second clip of Maaya's new song "Buddy" starting at the 1:25 mark. I like the sound of this song a lot.

Two New Songs for Last Exile
and Tamayura - Hitotose Anime
According to Maaya's official site, she is performing two new songs for the upcoming fall anime season. The first is the opening credits song for the Tamayura - Hitotose TV show. Maaya previously performed a cover of Yasashisa ni tsutsumareta nara as the opening for the Tamayura OAV.

The second song is the opening theme "Buddy" for Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing. The new Last Exile show is not a sequel to the previous anime, but it does take place in the same universe. Maaya is collaborating with School Food Punishment on this song. I'm very excited to hear it because School Food Punishment is my favorite Japanese music band these days.

There are no details on how or when these songs will be released on cd, but I suspect they will be included on the upcoming concept album or a separate single.

More November Concept Album Details
Victor Ent. / flying dog posted a couple more details on Maaya's upcoming concept album. It will contain 9 tracks and also be released in a limited edition. Maaya is currently filming a short movie in Ireland, which will be included on dvd in the limited edition. I anticipate flying dog will announce the album title in the next few weeks.

New Concept Album out on 11/9/2011
Earlier this month, Victor Ent. / flying dog announced on Maaya's official site that she will be releasing a new concept / mini-album later this year. So far the information they have posted is minimal. The release date is November 9 and the album's theme is winter. Maaya's previous mini-albums include 30minutes night flight and Easy Listening.

Summer Anime Roles
There hasn't much Maaya news lately except for her wrapping up her You Can't Catch Me concert tour. She does have a couple anime roles in the upcoming summer season. The first is a supporting character in the show Usagi Drop. She also has a role in Blade, an anime adaptation of the Marvel comic book. Maaya plays the lead female character named Makoto. Here's a trailer in which you can hear Maaya speak briefly.

In other anime related news, Funimation obtained the N. American license for the upcoming Fullmetal Alchemist: Milos no Sei-Naru Hoshi movie. They also finally announced a release date for the Trigun: Badlands Rumble movie. Funimation will be releasing the movie on both dvd and blu-ray on 9/27/11. Here are preorder links on Righstuf.com.

• Preorder Trigun Movie DVD
• Preorder Trigun Movie Blu-ray

NISA Licenses Arakawa under the Bridge
Last week, NIS America announced they have licensed the Arakawa under the Bridge anime. NIS America is better known for bringing over Japanese games (mostly RPGs) to the N. American market, but have been licensing anime for almost a year now. They will be releasing all 13 episodes of Arakawa with English subtitles in a combo set containing both dvd and blu-ray discs. The set is coming out on July 5, and more details are on NIS America's web site. So far they have only announced the first season of Arakawa, but there is probably a good chance they will license the second season as well.

NIS America's anime video releases are sold only on-line. One of the best places to buy their stuff is Righstuf.com, here's a link.

Preorder Arakawa under
the Bridge from Righstuf.com

New Voice Role in Fullmetal Alchemist Movie, Appleseed XIII Trailer
Maaya will be voicing a character in the upcoming Fullmetal Alchemist: Milos no Sei-Naru Hoshi movie (thanks duckroll). She plays a new female heroine named Julia Crichton in the anime movie. You can see pictures of this character on the official movie site and also in this magazine page scan.

The producers of Appleseed XIII recently posted a trailer on the web. Here's an embedded Youtube video. You can hear Maaya talking as her character throughout the trailer.

Maaya Starring in Appleseed XIII
A new anime adaptation for Appleseed is coming out this summer and Maaya will be voicing the role of the main female character, Deunan. Appleseed XIII is based on the manga by Masamune Shirow and will be released as a 13 episode direct to video series and also as 2 compilation movies. XIII is a new retelling of the story and totally separate from all previous Appleseed anime. More details can be found on Anime News Network.

Maaya Reprising Role in FF XIII-2
Last week, Square Enix announced a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII. Maaya is reprising her role as Lightning in the game, which is scheduled for release in Japan later this year for PS3 and Xbox 360. Here's an embedded Youtube video of the FF XIII-2 announcement trailer. Maaya narrates for about the first 30 seconds.

In a bit of site news, I added discography pages for You Can't Catch Me and the recent cover single.

You Can't Catch Me Release Day,
New Tomita Lab Collaboration
Today marks the release of Maaya's 7th album, You Can't Catch Me. I received my copy today from CD Japan thanks to FedEx's speedy international shipping. I've only listened to the entire album a couple times so far, but Himitsu is definitely my favorite song on it.

In other news, Victor Ent. / flying dog posted on Maaya's official site about a new collaboration with Tomita Lab (aka Keiichi Tomita). Avex is releasing a best collection of Tomita Lab's music titled Keiichi Tomita Works Best - beautiful songs to remember. This collection will include a new song performed by Maaya titled "April Fools". They will also be releasing a limited edition of the album that includes 2 additional cds and a dvd with documentary and commentary on the production of the new Maaya song. You can see a partial track list on Tomita Lab's site. If you aren't familiar with the songs / artists, you can easily find clips on Youtube. Here are the usual details for both versions of the album with CD Japan links.

Regular Edition

• Catalog #: RZCD-46841
• Release Date: 3/02/11
• # of Discs: 1
• Price: ¥2,800
• Preorder from CD Japan

Limited Edition w/ DVD

• Catalog #: RZCD-46838~40
• Release Date: 3/02/11
• # of Discs: 4
• Price: ¥7,000
• Preorder from CD Japan