Last month, Megumi Hayashibara announced that she will be having a 30th anniversary album which will release on her birthday, March 30th, 2021. She also previously announced that she would contribute to the Shaman King anime’s new opening and ending themes along with the voice of Anna. Within her 1500th episode of her weekly radio talk show “Tokyo Boogie Night” she announced the title of the album to be called “VINTAGE DENIM.”
Yesterday she showed off the CD cover which is shown below. She notes that this is a natural blue sky as the backdrop for the photo.
With the first printing of the CD there is also a photobook featuring 30 photos of pieces of denim she has worn for concerts and events over her career. A sample image was also posted.
Included in this album are two completely new songs. The first is “DENIM” which will have it’s debut on her Tokyo Boogie Night radio show this weekend. A recording of this episode will be available for streaming for one week the following Tuesday via her website. A music video featuring fan submission of denim-themed items will be released in the future.
The second new song is called “Good Night.” Finally, she recorded a new remix of Shūketsu no Sono he ~AYANAMI ver.~ (集結の園へ – literal translation is “To the Garden of Concentration”). The new version is called the “Float mix”. The original song was the main theme song for the “CR Neon Genesis Evangelion” pachinko machine. She also was the voice of Ayanami Rei in the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series and movies.
It is possible that she may play the other news songs on future episodes of her weekly radio show Tokyo Boogie Night. This could include her new opening and ending theme songs for the Shaman King (2021) anime which have not been named. Two songs from the 2001 Shaman King anime have been included on this “VINTAGE DENIM” album.
From her blog, she collected the the songs in the 3-disc album based on various themes:
Disc 1: “do your best” – Upbeat and fast paced songs that are synonymous with her characters, specializing in the anime opening theme songs.
Disc 2: “everyday life” – Songs that could be a scene from your everyday life.
Disc 3: “good sleep” – Songs that invite you to drift asleep.
The following is the complete tracklist for the album:
Disc 1 “do your best”
| Track # | Name (Japanese) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Give a reason | Slayers NEXT Opening Theme |
| 2 | Over Soul | Shaman King Opening Theme 1 |
| 3 | Northern lights | Shaman King Opening Them 2 |
| 4 | Cherry Blossom (Sakura Saku – サクラサク) | Love Hina Opening Theme |
| 5 | Successful Mission | Saber Marionette J Opening Theme |
| 6 | Happy Birthday to Me (Watashi ni Happy Birthday – 私にハッピーバースデイ) | All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku OVA Opening Theme 1 |
| 7 | Fine colorday | All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku TV Opening Theme |
| 8 | Faint-hearted Devotion (Usurahi Shinjū – 薄ら氷心中) | Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū Opening Theme |
| 9 | KOIBUMI | Shrine of the Morning Mist Ending Theme |
| 10 | 〜infinity〜∞ | Lost Universe Opening Theme |
| 11 | raging waves | Slayers Gorgeous Main Theme |
| 12 | don’t be discouraged | Slayers TRY Ending Theme |
| 13 | To the Garden of Concentration (Shūketsu no Sono he – 集結の園へ) | CR Neon Genesis Evangelion ~The Last Person~ Pachinko Machine Main Theme |
| 14 | The Concentration of Destiny (Shūketsu no Unmei – 集結の運命(さだめ) | CR Neon Genesis Evangelion ~The Gospel of the Beginning~ Pachinko Machine Main Theme |
| 15 | Shooting Star at Dawn (Yoake no shooting star – 夜明けのShooting Star) | Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket Image Song |
| 16 | two thumbs up! | Slayers 30th Anniversary Image Song |
Disc 2 “everyday life”
| Track # | Name (Japanese) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DENIM | New song |
| 2 | Tokyo Boogie Night | Megumi Hayashibara’s Tokyo Boogie Night Radio Show Ending Theme |
| 3 | Rainbow Colored Sneaker (Nijiiro no Sneaker – 虹色のSneaker) | Megumi Hayashibara’s Heartful Station Radio Show Opening Theme |
| 4 | Don’t lose, don’t lose… Makenaide, makenaide… (負けないで、負けないで…) | Megumi Hayashibara’s Heartful Station Radio Show Ending Theme 2 |
| 5 | Even from a distance (Hanarete ite mo – はなれていても) | “bertemu” album |
| 6 | – Life – | “Touch and Go!!” single |
| 7 | Happiness is a Series Tiny Steps (Shiawase wa Chīsana Tsumikasane – 幸せは小さなつみかさね) | All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku OVA Ending Theme 1 |
| 8 | ~And then~ 〜Sorekara〜 (〜それから〜) | “question at me” album |
| 9 | Rain, then clouds, then sunshine… (Ame nochi kumorinochihare… – 雨のち曇りのち晴れ…) | “Fuwari (ふわり)” album |
| 10 | I’m Glad I Met You (Kimi ni aeteyokatta – 君に逢えてよかった) | “Fuwari (ふわり)” album |
| 11 | feel well | Slayers Premium Main Theme |
| 12 | Thirty | “Iravati” album |
| 13 | Forty | “Plain” album |
| 14 | Fifty | “Fifty〜Fifty” album |
| 15 | JUST BEGUN | Slayers Evolution-R Ending Theme |
Disc 3 “good sleep”
| Track # | Name (Japanese) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BECAUSE | “Half and, Half” album |
| 2 | HOW HOW BEAR | “Perfume” album |
| 3 | Eye on the Galaxy (Hitomi ni ginga – 瞳に銀河) | “Perfume” album |
| 4 | Heart Planet <Nuku Nuku Version> (Kokoro no puranetto – 心のプラネット <NUKU NUKU Version>) | All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku OVA Image Song |
| 5 | Rousseau’s Forest / Chagall’s Sky (Rusō no mori / shagāru no sora – ルソーの森／シャガールの空) | “Sphere” album |
| 6 | Festival Song (Matsuri uta – まつりうた) | Blue Seed Insert song |
| 7 | Illusion (Maya) (Gen’ei (māyā) – 幻影(マーヤー)) | “Irāvatī” album |
| 8 | Red Shawl (Asai wa hi – あさいはひ) | “Fuwari (ふわり)” album |
| 9 | inner heart | “Irāvatī” album |
| 10 | I. Love. You. (Da iki-ra i – だ・い・き・ら・い) | “center color” album |
| 11 | FLY ME TO THE MOON <AYANAMI Version> | “bertemu” album |
| 12 | Heavenly Memories (Tengoku no kioku – 天国の記憶) | “Plain” album |
| 13 | To the Garden of Concentration ~AYANAMI ver.~ float mix (Shūketsu no Sono he 〜AYANAMI ver.～ float mix – 集結の園へ 〜AYANAMI ver.～ float mix（新録曲）) | New song |
| 14 | Good Night (Oyasumi – おやすみ) | New song |
She also included the sample images for the album bonus items depending on which retailer you purchased them from in Japan. The Animate store will also have additional bonuses if you purchase this album and the Shaman King Theme Song single in April as well.
Megumi Hayashibara will also have a new memoir, Megumi Hayashibara’s The Characters Taught Me Everything: Living Life One Episode at a Time, releasing on February 20th in Japan. Yen Press has licensed the book for an English digital release the same day. The book will also feature a drawing and potentially a comment from Hiroyuki Takei. On her blog she mentioned that some stores have already sold out of their pre-order allotment. This is reminded her of the time when her first CDs were released and not many stores carried it so it was hard to find. Now this conflicts with the internet age when things should be easy to get. She recommends to her fans that the book won’t disappear and they’ll be able to get it and enjoy it at their own pace.
As part of the promotional campaign for the book, she had an interview in Newtype magazine. During the interview she made this comment about all of the new releases she has in 2021 (this is a rough English translation):
“[With many things happening in the first half of the year] I think I can finally get a rest in June. But Shaman King will continue for a full year (laughs).”
The length of the Shaman King anime has not been announced yet. This comment does fall in line with previous hints that it will run more continuously (rather than taking a break after 13 or 24 episodes). It doesn’t mean that the series will only be 52 episodes (or less), but likely just the length the initial contract for starting the series.
