Escaflowne: The Movie has finally arrived in Japanese theaters on June 24th. It's being shown in select theaters around Japan, and some cute keychains have been released for the occasion!

Today we have news about the soundtracks for the movie!

Performed by Maaya Sakamoto, voice actress of Hitomi and vocalist of the TV opening song, the single of the movie's theme song "Yubiwa" ("Ring") was recently released on June 21st. The single contains a second song called "Vector," as well as the karaoke versions of both songs; for those who may want to buy it, the reference number of this single is VIDL-30497. Be aware that there are two versions of the song: a "single version" and a "movie version," the latter being available only on the Original Soundtrack. Also, the CD's publisher's official site JVCmusic.co.jp has a real audio clip of the song. Isn't modern technology great?

Secondly, coming on July 26th is the movie's Original Soundtrack (click the thumbnail to enlarge the picture). Simply entitled "Escaflowne Original Soundtrack" (ref. VICL-60590), the CD has 26 tracks of music composed by, needless to say, Yoko Kanno. Check out the beautiful CD cover by Nobuteru Yuuki! The CD includes the background music, as well as a few vocal songs:

• Yubiwa - Movie version (Ring), performed by Maaya Sakamoto, composition / arrangement by Yoko Kanno
• Sora (Sky), performed by Shanti Snyder, lyrics by Gabriela Robin, composition / arrangement by Yoko Kanno
• Sora's Folktale, performed by Midori, lyrics by Gabriela Robin, composition / arrangement by Yoko Kanno
• You're not alone (english version of Yubiwa), performed by Maaya Sakamoto & Shanti Snyder, lyrics by Shanti Snyder, composition / arrangement by Yoko Kanno

Yes, you read correctly! There will be both a Japanese and English version of the Escaflowne: The Movie theme song on the CD. Also, note the presence of Gabriela Robin, one of the usual collaborators of Yoko Kanno (rumored to be none other than... herself) who doesn't sing on this CD though.

Also available for your viewing pleasure, we have 10 screen shots from Escaflowne: The Movie, and some new artwork!

For those not familiar with the movie, it is a retelling of the story of the TV series. Made by the same staff, the movie is different from the TV series in the fact that the atmosphere is darker, the design was revamped, etc. The characters looks much more serious and realistic. The movie was supposed to premiere at this year's Anime Expo, and it looks like the premiere will happen despite of the Japanese delay.