Interest
Megumi Hayashibara's 1st Album in 7 Years Includes Shaman King Song
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Megumi Hayashibara will release her first original album in about seven years on her birthday, March 30. The album will be Hayashibara's 14th, and it will include a variety of anime music and new songs.
In particular, the inclusion of the Shaman King manga's song "Osorezan Revoir" is causing a stir among fans online. The song's complicated history began with its appearance in Hiroyuki Takei's original Shaman King manga. An arc of the story and the manga's 19th compiled book volume share the song's title.
The song's name references Osorezan (Mount Osore), a real-world mountain on the northernmost peninsula of Japan's largest island. The mountain is home to a Buddhist temple, and some people believe the area serves as a gate to the afterlife. In the manga's story, Anna Kyōyama, whose surname also derives from "Osorezan," is left on the mountain as a child. Osorezan serves as an important location in the story as Yoh and Anna try to defeat the Oh-Oni.
Shaman King fan Capitaro created a Vocaloid version of the song performed by Hatsune Miku. The song debuted on Nico Nico Douga in 2010, and Takei praised it. A new version of the song attributed to Anna Kyōyama, whom Hayashibara voices in the manga's anime adaptation, debuted on Nico Nico Douga in 2011. The song's video featured an illustration (seen left) of Anna by Takei. The video gained a large number of views in a short period.
When the video debuted, fans questioned whether the art was actually Takei's and whether Hayashibara was really singing the song. However, Takei confirmed that he had requested Hayashibara to perform the song to mark the manga's revival.
Shueisha's Jump X magazine, which published the manga, held a lottery to give away 500 CDs with Hayashibara's version of "Osorezan Revoir" in 2011. The song then received its first wide release last December as part of a digital album featuring music from Hayashibara's first solo concert, which was held in June. Hayashibara's upcoming album will mark the song's first regular CD release.
In addition to "Osorezan Revoir," the new album will mark the first CD release for the "Shūketsu no En e ~Second Impact~" song featured in an Evangelion pachinko machine. Hayashibara played Rei Ayanami in the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime and is reprising her role for the remake films. Hayashibara wrote the lyrics for the new song "Fifty," which will debut on the CD. The release will also include the unreleased song "Mint" by Ritsuko Okazaki. Other anime songs on the 12-track CD will include Mardock Scramble: The Third Exhaust's "Tsubasa," Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū's "Usurahi Shinjū," and Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju's "Imawa no Shinigami."
The album has yet to receive a title. The regular CD will cost 3,000 yen (about US$28), and the limited-edition version will bundle a Blu-ray Disc with music videos for 3,500 yen (about US$32).
[Via Nijimen]
