Ame ga furu PV and TV Version
Maaya's official site was recently updated with a splash page for her upcoming single. If you click on the umbrella, there are additional links for the Ame ga furu promo video and a video message from Maaya. I'm surprised there is a PV for Ame ga furu. After listening to the full version of the song, I'm totally hooked. The music composition is superb and of course Maaya sounds great. Here's an embedded video of the PV someone already uploaded to Youtube.

On a related note, Kurogane no Linebarrels episode 1 just aired in Japan and I've also listened the TV version of Ame ga furu. It sounds mostly the same as the full song, but the differences between the two are quite obvious. I've posted mp3 and streaming versions of the TV edit below.

Ame ga furu TV mp3

Ame ga furu Sample Clip
Maaya's new ending theme song for Kurogane no Linebarrels was recently played on her Vitamin M radio show. I found a recording of the show on the net and cropped out the song. The radio clip is just under 2 minutes in length. The song sounds beautiful in my opinion; I've been listening to it all morning. Here's download and streaming versions of the clip.

Ame ga furu Radio Clip mp3

Kurogane no Linebarrels ED Single Details
Maaya's official site has the full track list and cover art for her upcoming single. As with Triangler, the two songs on this cd are composed by two different people (albeit Maaya wrote the lyrics for both). The 3rd track is the karaoke version of Ame ga furu, however the 4th track is named Purarine (1+1). There's a note on the Kurogane no Linebarrels official site that states "1+1 = one plus one, version with piano and vocals only".

• Title: Ame ga furu
• Catalog #: VTCL-35045
• Release Date: 10/29/08
• Price: ¥1,100
• Song List:
  1. Ame ga furu
  • Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto
  • Composition:
  • Arrangement: Saito Neko
  2. Purarine
  • Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto
  • Composition: Taiyo Yamazawa
  • Arrangement: Seiji Muto

Here are a couple preorder links.

• CD Japan
• Amazon.co.jp

New Anime Single Out in October
Victor Entertainment / flying dog posted news on Maaya's official site about a new single coming out at the end of October. The main track is the ending theme song for an upcoming anime titled Kurogane no Linebarrels (Linebarrels of Iron), which is also scheduled to air in October. The anime is a mecha show produced by GONZO and is based on a manga. Here are some details on the single.

• Title: Ame ga furu
• Catalog #: VTCL-35045
• Release Date: 10/29/08
• Price: ¥1,100

Maaya's official site also has news of her first concert hall tour starting in January 2009. First pressings of Ame ga furu will include info on early ticket sales.

Maaya returning to Les Miserables,
Macross Frontier OST 2 Forthcoming
Maaya's official web site mentions that she will be reprising her role as Eponine in the 2009 run of the Les Miserables musical in Japan. She performed in the musical for a couple years starting back in 2003. Maaya has been quite busy with her voice acting career recently, but it's likely this will change next year. When she was performing in Les Miserables before, she didn't have much to dedicate to her voice acting. Hopefully this new run won't greatly affect her singing career. It has been a long time since she released a full length album (almost 3 years).

In Yoko Kanno related news, Macross Frontier OST 2 is coming out on October 8. I doubt there will be any new songs by Maaya on it, but one can wish (Maaya version of Aimo please?). Here are a couple preorder links.

• CD Japan
• Amazon.co.jp

New Anime Role in Kuroshitsuji
Maaya is starring in another anime show scheduled to air on TV in Japan during the Fall (October). The show is titled Kuroshitsuji and is based on a manga. Maaya provides the voice of the lead male character named Ciel. This isn't the first time Maaya has played a male character in anime, however it's the first male lead. She had a small role in Fantastic Children. Here's a trailer for Kuroshitsuji in which you can hear Maaya in a couple scenes. The official web site for the anime is here (Japanese language).

Hellsing Ultimate 4 on R1 DVD,
Macross F Cameo and Other Anime Roles
During Anime Expo a couple weeks ago, Funimation announced a partnership with Geneon Entertainment USA. As a result, Funimation will be releasing Hellsing Ultimate OAV 4 on dvd in N. America on 9/16/08. This is great news for Hellsing and Maaya fans. Funimation also plans to release the first half of the Ouran High School Host Club anime on R1 dvd in October.

In other Maaya related news, she's been spotted in the Macross Frontier anime. She provides the voice for Ranka Lee's mother, Ranshe Mei. Her character has shown up briefly in episodes 13 and 14, and even sings in ep 14. Maaya continues to keep busy with her voice acting career and appears in a number of new anime shows this summer in Japan. As I have mentioned before, she voices the main female character in World Destruction. She also has supporting character roles in Birdy the Mighty Decode and Blade of the Immortal.

Macross Frontier Music Tidbits
I received my copy of Macross Frontier OST 1 from CD Japan last week and have been enjoying it immensely. The full version of Triangler is indeed on the cd, along with the full ending theme and many other songs. Yoko Kanno has done a fantastic job with the music. Maaya and Gabriela Robin are credited for the lyrics of a song titled Aimo~Tori no Hito, which I thought was pretty interesting. No other tracks on OST 1 are performed by Maaya. The 2nd opening and ending theme songs for Macross F have been revealed on the net, but unfortunately they will be performed by other singers involved with the show. It's highly unlikely Maaya will work on any other songs for the anime. I guess her fans will have to be content that she recorded Triangler.

World Destruction Anime Trailer
A promotional event for the World Destruction videogame and anime was held recently in Japan, as reported on Famitsu's web site. Maaya voices the same character in the anime and game since the voice cast is identical for both. There are trailers for both on the same page I linked. Maaya actually narrates parts of the anime trailer, which I've also embedded below. The anime is scheduled to start airing in Japan on July 7 and will total 13 episodes.

On another note, Maaya's official site has been updated with some pictures from a trip she took to Egypt. There's 3 pictures linked from the Triangler page (click on the pink triangle in the bottom right). Maaya also wrote a new entry for the ID (diary) section, which covers her Egypt trip and includes a few more photos.