Yubiwa

"Yubiwa" served as the theme song for the theatrical film adaptation of the television anime series The Vision of Escaflowne, which originally aired on TV Tokyo in 1996.^[3] It became Sakamoto's second single associated with the Escaflowne series, following her debut single "Yakusoku wa Iranai," and notably marked the first time she was commissioned to provide the theme song for a theatrical film.

"Yubiwa" debuted at number 30 on the Oricon Singles Chart,^[1] selling 12,020 copies on its first week.^[5] The single charted for three weeks, with reported sales totaling 19,310 copies.^[5]

"Yubiwa" made its first album appearance on the original soundtrack for the Escaflowne film, titled Escaflowne Original Sound Track, released by Victor Entertainment on July 5, 2000.^[6] This album included the movie version of "Yubiwa," and also the English version of the song, entitled "You're Not Alone" (Hitomi & Sora duet Version), performed by Sakamoto and Shanti Snyder.^[6] An acoustic version of "Yubiwa" was later featured on the drama CD Escaflowne Prologue 1 – Earth, released on October 21, 2000.^[7] The song was re-recorded for Sakamoto's second singles compilation, Single Collection+ Nikopachi, released by Victor on July 30, 2003. This new version was titled "Yubiwa (23 Carat)."^[8] Sakamoto explained that the subtitle reflects her age at the time of that new recording—as she was 23 years old.^[9] The '23 Carat' version was later also included on Sakamoto's best-of album Everywhere.^[10]

In 2011, "Yubiwa" was covered by Japanese singer Chihiro Yonekura on her album Nakeru Anison.^[11]