New Code Geass Trailer - release scheduled for August

The official website for the new Code Geass film which Maaya will be both voice-acting for AND providing the theme song ('More than Words' - a collaboration with Yuho Iwasato and Yoko Kanno) has updated the official site with a promotional video for the show here.

No voice-overs or music apart from some pretty chaotic Jazz but it seems the OVA will air in August with the soundtrack CD scheduled for the autumn.

Although I would expect the song to be released as a single (hopefully!)

New role and opening song decided for Code Geass OVA

Maaya has not only landed the role of Leila Malkal in the new Code Geass OVA 'Akito the Exiled', she will also be singing the opening theme song composed by none other than Yoko Kanno with lyrics by Iwasato Yuho.

Yes, you read the right, the original Maaya Sakamoto production trio from Maaya's debut have returned. The song will called 'More Than Words'. What a great start to the new year! On that note, happy new year! Or, A Happy New Year.

Official announcement.

Maaya's official site releases previews of both singles

I think they took pity on us! Listen to the two songs from the okaerinasai single here, and listen to the two songs from the buddy single here.

The okaerinasai single sounds beautiful, two thumbs up for Yumin being involved. Both songs are lovely. buddy is pretty good but something little sounds like a filler track. I know it's a b-side, but still! A big thank you to Flying Dog for uploading the previews!

I have the okaerinasai previews on repeat ^^;;

By the way, a couple of goodies for this release are floating around at various shops. Some are giving away reversable covers if you pre-order both the Tamayura OP and ED singles (the opening is by Megumi Nakajima) whereas the freebie being offered for Last Exile is a stamp card...whatever that is.

Enjoy the previews!

Usagi Drop Essay - Playing Masako by Maaya Sakamoto

Last week or the week before, the Usagi Drop anime website unveiled a collaboration between Maaya Sakamoto and Gekidan Inu-Curry (the illustrator for the universe music video and Maaya’s Newtype column) as one of their website’s special sections. It was an interesting essay but parts of it were a little tricky! Anyway, here it is.

The original can be found here.

EDIT: This post is getting a lot of traffic, I'm glad people found it interesting! Enjoy!

Maaya Sakamoto: Playing Masako in Usagi Drop

Ayu Matsuura, who plays Rin, always stands straight in front of the microphone, her voice cool and relaxed. When I look at her I feel nostalgic, reliving my own days as a child actor, and strangely, I start to want to tickle her. She’s asked question after question from the adults around her, “What year are you at school?”, “Which school lunch do you like best?”, “How is your summer vacation homework coming?” And even this is somehow very familiar.

I wonder, when exactly did I become ‘an adult’?

I started this work when I was eight years old. It’s been twenty-three years from then until now and I’ve never done any other sort of work.

When I was a child acting and singing were simply fun, nothing else. But one day, there was a moment when I thought, “huh?” Wait a second, how did I did I do this acting thing up until now? For some reason I suddenly became unable to do the thing I had always been able to do without thinking. Despite enjoying it, or maybe because I did enjoy it, work stopped being just ‘fun’. And it was because of that I was no longer able to quit doing it. It’s difficult, I want to get better, I want to learn more…Those desires became the driving force for why I have done this for so long, and maybe they pushed me towards adulthood. It’s ironic but if it had just been ‘fun’ I probably wouldn’t have come this far. That’s how I feel now I’m 31 years old. For me, everything that happened was one thing in a long, continuous period of time with no relation to my age or experience, I never feel like I’ve become an adult. .

In Usagi Drop I play Rin’s mother, Masako. Even though she’s a mother Masako is still young and mentally very immature. She’s got a unique point of view and viewers might frown a little thinking, “What’s wrong with this woman?” A childish way of talking, her actions and words showing a lack of common sense…There are probably few people who can emphasise with a woman who has made the decision to keep her own daughter at a distance. She’s an elusive, difficult character. But it’s because she’s difficult that from an acting point of view she caught my interest. I feel like there’s a mysterious link between someone like me who was a child actor playing the role of mother who can’t become a true adult.

I know it’s a little presumptuous of me to put this in as an example in this essay but on this production I worked with Takkou Ishimori for the first time in a long time, and while we were looking at the children in the cast he commented offhand, “I was also a child actor and I started out at about their age. It’s difficult growing up, you know. It was really tough turning from a boy into a man.”

Those words where somehow really deep, and left an impression on me. As a pro he is on a completely different level to me so I was too shy to say ‘I know what you mean’, and could only stand there and nod silently but…Wow, so Takkou-san was also brought up with these two personas, the actor and the normal boy, and with time grew up into this wonderful person…it was a dazzling revelation.

Everyone starts to live as an adult without really noticing when it happens. Even though there are still lots of things you don’t understand or don’t know how to do, there are less and less people who will teach you or get angry with you. Even though you’re busy with your own problems people will rely on you. How others see you and how you see yourself…there’s so much you don’t understand.

“It was really tough turning from a boy into a man.”

Yes, it is difficult, really difficult. Even though I’m pretty much an adult at my age I still can’t catch up with who I want to be. In acting, in life. I think until I can say something like Takkou-san with the same gentleness, I think I will try one thing at a time..

Working on Usagi Drop, it seemed like I was looking at the distant future and the distant past at the same time. Then I came back to myself in the present once again and took a deep breath. I came to work on this show thinking, ‘ok, let’s take a step out into this new scenery’, in full knowledge of my immaturity, and giving it everything I had. Standing next to Rin, I think I started to understand Masako’s restlessness and passion. 

Fin.

  

'Kara no Kyokai' Interview with Maaya Sakamoto

Roxfan over at Maaya's has posted up a great big translation of an interview that was included in the Kara no Kyokai anime BluRay boxset. It's uploaded to his site here.

The following (P26-29) is an interview between the Garden of sinners Co-creators Takashi Takeuchi (Character Concept) and Kinoko Nasu (Original Story) along with Voice Actress Maaya Sakamoto (Shiki Ryougi). The three provide insight and introspection to the novels and the theatrical chapters, as well as reflect back upon their experiences during the movies' various production stages.

Let's all say thank you!

New song 'Buddy' for Last Exile series announced

Well, 'I.D.' the re-issue went on sale today and, almost as if to celebrate, Maaya's website went and announced a new song - and it's not even Friday! That's how lucky we are.

TVアニメーション「ラストエグザイル―銀翼のファム―」オープニングテーマ
「Buddy」
作詞:坂本真綾　作曲:School Food Punishment,江口 亮　編曲:江口 亮　
ストリングス編曲:江口 亮, 村山達哉

The song is going to be the theme to the new Last Exile series, due out on TV in Japan in October. The title is 'Buddy' and it's actually a collaboration with School Food Punishment. Wow. That's something I didn't expect. The opening to the original Last Exile series is one of my favourite anime OPs (even if the series left me going 'wut?')

I wonder if these two songs are going to be included on the concept album or released on a seperate double a-side single.

Source: Maaya's official site

Maaya will sing new song for Tamayura ~hitotose~ OP composed by Yumin!

Well, I made it to my new home safely and got the internet up and running today. Just in time for all the Maaya news on this lovely (and hot!) Friday afternoon. The news is already around here and there but I thought I’d round up some of the stuff out there.

There are several articles up in Japanese at the moment on the internet about Rasmus Faber, as he has a new EP up on the iTunes website apparently. Victor Music also have a nice website for him where you can listen to samples of his music (the news that he’s working on Maaya’s new CD has been announced there as well) here.

Read the articles on Excite Anime News, CD Journal or Oops Music.

Maaya’s live in September has also been given the title ‘Open Air Museum’. This is the concert that will be held at the Tomioka Silk Mill, a World Heritage Site. The tickets are also on sale now if you think you’ll be in the area. More details are available on Maaya’s official site.

Then there was the big news: Maaya will have a new song as the opening to the new series of Tamayura ~hitotose~ which starts in October.

The song’s title is ‘Okaerinasai’ and was composed by none other than the famous of Matsutoya Yumi!! Matsutoya, you might recall, was the original singer of ‘Yasashisa ni tsutsumaretara’, which Maaya covered for the first series of Tamayura last year.

Articles and news for Okaerinasai: Natalie, Maaya’s Official Site, Tower Records

EDIT: According to twitter, Maaya will be talking about the collaboration on Vitamin-M tonight (^^V

Maaya at APPLESEED X III press conference

An excuse to post a picture, rather than to post this as a news item as I don't know much about Appleseed at all.

Maaya is starring in the new APPLESEED X III project as the leading lady Deunan Knute. There's a trailer and lots of information in English if you'd like to find out more about the project on the Appleseed Wikia website.

There are a lot of photos and news articles in Japanese about the press conference floating around the internet but this was my favourite image. You and see this and the other photos, along with a report (Japanese) on the event on Moca News.

© moca news

By the way, this blog is almost at 10,000 hits. Thank you very much for visiting, and please don't be scared to comment on the entries more (^^)V you are also all very welcome to join the discussion over at Maaya's if you're looking to chat more about Maaya!

New Marvel Blade anime role

Am I the only one who thinks the character designs in Blade, an anime-fied version of our favourite Marvel vampire killer, are ugly?

Maaya is playing knuckle-dusting, vampire-hunter Makoto. Makoto's father was also a vampire-hunter, but he was turned into a vampire by the evil (I'm assuming from his creepy character design) Deacon Frost before being staked by Blade. Her anger towards Blade eventually softens and they end up as partners in crime, according to the character summary on the official site here.

Well, the character designs don't look up to much but a preview screen shot of the first episode here makes Makoto look a lot prettier.

So, butt-kicking vampire action ahead.

Source: Blade Official Anime Site