New Illustration book + new song from Ai Otsuka

This is the 100th post on Ai Otsuka Love Blog, yay! :D Let's celebrate! Especially because this post brings you very exciting news about Ai-chan :)

According to the information on her official website, Ai Otsuka is publishing a new illustration book called "Neko ga suki ni natta kirai na neko". Along with the book, there will be a new song "Gomen ne" released, probably as a digital single.

The book and the song will be available on March 30, 2012, but you can already pre-order :)

It's a great news, isn't it? :) We've been waiting so long for anything new from our beloved Ai-chan!


UPDATE: Here is the cover:

Can't wait for the book and for the new song!


UPDATE 2: According to information on Ai Otsuka's official website, the book is going to be published as planned (March 30), but the release of the song has been postponed. The new release date is April 27, 2012.
We'll wait patiently :)

SOURCES: Ai's official website | Channel-Ai

Illustration book by Ai Otsuka: "Neko ga Mitsuketa Akai Fuusen"

It's sort of old news, but still a nice thing to know about :) Our multi-talented Ai Otsuka published a picture book titled "Neko ga Mitsuketa Akai Fuusen" (「ネコが見つけた赤い風船」- "A red balloon found by a cat"). The book was released on March 31, 2010 and it turned out to be a big success.

What is this story about? "A cat is fed by a shopkeeper of a bookstore. One day, the shopkeeper leave behind the cat, and a feed and an air ball are left for the cat. The cat goes for a long walk with the air ball, and finds out that it changes every time something happens. . ." (blurb from CDJapan).

The story, pictures and handwriting were created by Ai-chin herself. The simplicity of the book makes it a good book for kids. For sure Ai knows very well how to create stories for children, as she must have been trained in storytelling during her kindergarten teacher practice. I wonder if Ai will read this story to her baby... That would be sooo cute :)

As you problaby noticed, the idea bears strong resemblance to "Neko ni Fuusen" song :) 

If you'd like to read the book, you can click here to view the scans of the book provided by LittleBigHeart from Channel-Ai. If you download, don't forget to thank that person :)

@ LittleBigHeart: Thank you very much for giving me permission to publish your scans on my blog :)

Of course, you can still buy the book on CDJapan.