Japanese music streaming site RecoChoku has announced the top song and album rankings for January 2022!   In the Single Ranking category, Aimer’s Zankyosanka was ranked #1 for the second consecutive month. The song is the opening for the newest Demon Slayer anime arc which began airing on December 5, 2021.   The ending theme for Demon Slayer, Asa ga Kuru, was released on January 10, and quickly climbed the ranks. Aimer is currently celebrating the 10th anniversary of her debut, and this is a powerful start to the year for this talented singer.   As for the Album Ranking, the top spot was clear for January. Ado’s 14-song debut album ‘Kyogen’ sits in the top spot, and includes many of her smash hits. From Usseewa to Aitakute, the album also contains seven new songs which are steadily gaining popularity. Six days after the album’s release, it was ranked #1 for the month of January.   Ado’s 8th single ‘Kokoro to Iu Nano Fukakai’ also ranked 5th on the Single Ranking. Written and arranged by Mafumafu, the song is the theme for the drama series Doctor White starring Minami Hamabe. Ado will also be holding her first solo concert at Zepp DiverCity on April 4, 2022!

Aniplex released a creditless video for the ending theme of the Japanese dub version of the Chinese animated series Mo Dao Zu Shi on Sunday (January 10). The dubbed series was also released in Japan on the same day.   The ending theme is Kiro by Aimer and captures the immense scale and beauty of the series. The video was created by 10GAUGE who was also in charge of the opening video.  

About Mo Dao Zu Shi

Mo Dao Zu Shi is an anime adaptation of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's Chinese web novel of the same name. The story follows Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, two men who journey to unravel the mysteries of the spiritual world where they must fight demons, ghosts, and other beings. At the beginning of the story, Wei Wuxian ends up experimenting with Mo Dao, or the 'demonic path,' a dark energy that lies underneath Xian, or immortality, something that all cultivators strive to achieve. He rises in power but is ultimately killed and reincarnated. He reunites with Lan and so their adventure begins.   Japanese Dub Creditless Ending Video:

For more info about the series, visit its official website below.   ©2020 Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited

Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel III. spring song will be released on August 15, 2020 and will serve as the final entry to the ongoing anime film trilogy. The previous film Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel II. lost butterfly was released last year and was seen by over 1.09 million people in Japan, grossing over ¥1.67 billion in the box office. A new commercial for the upcoming third and final film was shown on TV in Japan on August 8 featuring new cuts of the main characters. It can be seen below.   "Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel III. spring song" CM

A special live viewing is scheduled to take place on August 15, 2020, the same day the film releases. This viewing will showcase a section from the film as well as feature a talk by the film's director Tomonori Sudō, who has directed the entire trilogy, as well as the main voice cast. Aimer will also perform live on the stream. Those who attend the live viewing in Japan will receive a free Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel III. spring song holographic poster. Tickets are now available to buy via the official website.   ©TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC

The music video for Aimer's new song Haru wa Yuku has been posted on the singer's official YouTube channel. The song will be used as the main theme for the upcoming anime film Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel III. spring song which will release on March 28, 2020 as the final film in the planned trilogy. Aimer also performed the main themes for the previous two films, Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel I. presage flower (2017) and Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel II. lost butterfly (2019). Takahiro Miki was the director for Aimer's previous two main themes for the first two films, Hana no Uta and I beg you, which both have over 10 million views on YouTube. They star Japanese actress Minami Hamabe.

Both Takahiro Miki and Minami Hamabe have returned for the final music video too, completing the trilogy. In the video, we see Minami Hamabe in two different outfits, black and white, standing underneath a cherry blossom tree in full bloom. Its beauty is a faint allusion to the Fate/stay Night: Heaven's Feel movie story line, mixed together with chaos. We also see Hamabe appear as she did in the Hana no Uta and I beg you music videos too.   Seeing an actress star in a long-term music video project like this, which has been ongoing since October 2017, is a rare thing indeed. The current version of the new music video is just a teaser, but the full version is scheduled to be released on Aimer's YouTube channel in the near future. The artwork for Aimer's 18th single Haru wa Yuku/marie was also posted on her official website and features Aimer herself sat under a fully-bloomed cherry tree.   Aimer said: "I'm so incredibly happy to have been able to weave this story together into one from three songs with [Yuki] Kajiura and three music videos together with director Miki and Minami, finishing with 'Haru wa Yuku.' I'm filled with gratitude for the both of them [Miki and Minami]. I want everyone to watch this final piece while thinking about 'Hana no Uta' and 'I beg you.' I hope this music video and the song 'Haru wa Yuku' resonates with people deeply."   ©TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC

Japanese singer-songwriter Aimer, known for her deep and husky voice, is currently on her sold out 24-date tour Aimer Hall Tour 19/20 "rouge de bleu" which is taking her to 17 locations across Japan. Aimer revealed at her concert on Saturday 14th in Sendai that she will perform the main theme song for the upcoming anime film Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel III. spring song which will release as the final film in the planned trilogy in 2020. Aimer also performed the main themes for the previous two films, Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. presage flower (2017) and Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel II. lost butterfly (2019). The title of the song is Haru wa Yuku ("Spring Continues"). It will be produced by Yuki Kajiura who also produced the previous two main themes by Aimer, Hana no Uta and I beg you.   I beg you peaked at No. 1 on Oricon's Weekly CD Singles charts, so excitement is high to hear Aimer's next collaboration with Kajiura.   Haru wa Yuku will release on March 25, 2020 as Aimer's 18th single. It will include a new song entitled marie which is being used as the image song for "The Habsburg Dynasty 600 Years of Imperial Collections," an exhibition currently taking place at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo from until January 26, 2020 in commemoration of Japan and Austria's 150 years of friendship. Aimer said: "I am both happy and privileged to be able to sing all of the main theme songs until the final film like this. I would like to thank Kajiura, as well all of the people associated with the series, and all of the people who love the series, from the bottom of my heart. I was overwhelmed when Kajiura presented me with this song. I knew we'd have to perfect it down to the tiniest details. But I also wanted to sing about love, and all of the emotions it comes with, succinctly in one answer, and so I sang with everything I had. I cannot stop hoping that 'Haru wa Yuku' is a sing that the people who have watched the story to the end will love." Yuki Kajiura said: "I am so happy from the bottom of my heart to have been able to work on the three main theme songs of Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel with Aimer. Over the course of the series, her voice has added to its flavour, and has consistently tied together everything from the sound to the world and how the heroines are portrayed. And she has once again poured her soul into 'Haru wa Yuku,' the song of the final chapter. I hope people enjoy it."

Japanese singer-songwriter Aimer, who is known for her iconic husky voice, released two albums simultaneously back in April―Sun Dance and Penny Rain―which served as the first albums she had released in two and a half years. Without time to even catch her breath, she immediately dropped a brand new track the following month entitled STAND-ALONE, which was used for the Japanese drama Anata no Ban Desu, and reached No. 1 across Japanese music charts.   Her 17th single Torches was released last month, and served as the ending theme for the ongoing TV anime series Vinland Saga which began airing in July.

Marie Antoinette in Court Dress by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1778 (Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien)

"The Habsburg Dynasty 600 Years of Imperial Collections" is an upcoming exhibition set to take place at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo from October 19, 2019 to January 26, 2020 in commemoration of Japan and Austria's 150 years of friendship. The exhibition was taking requests for musicians to create a theme song based on someone from the House of Habsburg for the event. Aimer wrote her new song marie based on Marie Antoinette, and it has been selected for the exhibition.

It has yet to be announced when marie will be released, but a TV ad for the exhibition has been posted on TBS's official YouTube channel and contains a snippet of the track.   Speaking on the occasion, Aimer commented: "The stories of the live of those in the House of Habsburg are filled with conflicting emotions of joy and sadness, privilege and downfall. I received a request to write a song based on any one of theme, and I was immediately reminded of Marie Antoinette."   She continues: "I drew on her life in my own way in the song marie, from her getting married in France at the age of 14 to the grand final moments of her life. I hope people like the fusion of my voice with the sublime sound of the strings, and I hope it adds something to the Habsburg exhibition for those who are going."