Photo: Apple Music
entertainment

All-time greatest anime song singer releases all albums, 41 singles for online streaming services

6 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

There are a lot of anime voice actresses, but there’s only one Megumi Hayashibara. After making her debut by voicing an unseen (and upset) neighbor in "Maison Ikkoku" in 1986, Hayashibara has been working in the industry non-stop with no ebb in her popularity, currently enthralling viewers of "Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time" as the voice of Rei Ayanami. What’s more, since 1991 she’s also been providing opening and ending themes for several of the series she stars in.

Last Tuesday was Hayashibara’s birthday, and with this year marking the 30th anniversary of her professional singing debut, she decided to celebrate by announcing that she’s made her music catalog available on multiple online music subscription services. The collection includes all 14 of her albums, from "Half and, Half" (released in 1991) to "Fifty~Fifty" (2018), plus all 41 of her singles released between “Nijiiro no Sneaker” (1991) and “Imawa no Shinigami” (2017) and various best-of and compilation albums.

▼ Hayashibara’s newest song, “Denim,” from her latest compilation album "Vintage Denim"

The decades-spanning selection includes a number of themes from hit franchises such as "Slayers," "Shaman King," "Blue Seed" and even "Evangelion," as Hayashibara’s jazz-style “Ayanami Rei covers” of both "Cruel Angel’s Thesis" and "Fly Me to the Moon" are part of her seventh album, "Bertemu."

▼ “Soul Salvation,” Hayashibara’s new theme for "Shaman King," will also be available.

Hayashibara’s catalogue is available for audio streaming now on Apple Music, Spotify, Line Music, Amazon Music, AWA, KKBox, RecMusic, and d Hits, with links to individual services here.

Sources: Ongaku Natalie via Hachima Kiko, Megumi Hayashibara official blog

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© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

6 Comments
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Isn’t this standard practice only? Or the cd giant dinosaurs in Japan still clings to selling cds?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

One of. There are so many great artists who became known due to anime tracks: 志方あきこ, つじあやの, 新居昭乃, 松浦櫻子, 梶浦由記 and much much more. But I think that japanese female vocal deserves to be known to a far wider public.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I'm more of a Yoko Kano fan myself.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Cruel Angel Thesis is probably one of the best Anime songs ever..

but I’d say LiSA is the all time greatest Anime singer

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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