The ongoing TV anime series Back Arrow, which has been airing since January, has released a new key visual and promotional video and confirmed that Eir Aoi and FLOW are performing the new opening and ending themes respectively.

Back Arrow 4th Key Visual

The series is licensed by Funimation outside Japan. Check out the new promotional video below.

Eir Aoi is perform the second opening theme Kodou

Eir Aoi | Comment

“The lyrics of this song are about how the sadness you cannot bare alone can be half-bared if you’re with another. How the choices you have made, the things you are lost on, and your continued worry aren’t meaningless, and how we should be positive about our struggles as we live our lives. Let’s overcome the time we have been unable to see one another and start a new chapter going into the future.”

*Comment translated from Japanese by MMN

FLOW are performing the second ending theme United Sparrows

FLOW | Comment

“We have tag-tamed with the directed, Taniguchi, since Code Geass, so we were naturally confident going into recording. Arrow and the gang are at the half point of the story so it’s only going to get more exciting. For the ending song, we were given the themes of ’embraced kindness’ and ‘a song flowing with emotions,’ so we took that and shared ideas amongst our band to transform it into sound. The result was a soundscape that FLOW hasn’t explored before, and I believe it resonates with the show in a big way. We hope people enjoy our song together with the run up to the climax of the story.”

*Comment translated from Japanese by MMN

The anime series is holding a vote for fans to choose their favourite scene from the first 12 episodes. The vote is open to everyone and can be cast here. Please note that the website is in Japanese, but all you need to do is click on the scene and choose ‘vote’ at the bottom.

Sword Art Online: Alicization War of Underworld started airing its final chapter on July 11, 2020. The ending theme song I will... by Eir Aoi was revealed in the final chapter’s second trailer video. In just one week of airing, it has already amassed over 13 million views.

Regular Edition Visuals

Sword Art Online: Alicization War of Underworld  Final Chapter 2nd Trailer

Eir Aoi has also revealed the tracklist and visuals for the album. Alongside the title song I will…, the album also includes Unreal Trip which was produced by Wednesday Campanella’s producer Kenmochi Hidefumi. This abstract and futuristic song will send your brain on a wild and interesting journey. The emotional rock song MY JUDGEMENT, which was produced by fellow band member and DISH//’s producer Hiroki Arai, is also on the album.

Limited Edition Visuals

The music video for I will… is set to premiere on YouTube ahead of the anime on July 17, 2020 at 22:00.

Eir Aoi’s Japan tour Eir Aoi LIVE TOUR 2020 I will…has been postponed until July 24, 2020. The performance is scheduled to take place at Kobe International House.

The final season of the Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld anime series is set to begin airing on July 11, 2020. The Alicization arc began airing back in October 2018. The anime is an adaptation of the popular light novel series Sword Art Online by Reki Kawahara. A film, Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, was released in 2017 and earned ¥4.3 billion in the Japanese box office.

A new trailer for the final season was released on Aniplex US’s YouTube channel which features the ending theme I will… by Eir Aoi. Check it out below.
©2017 Reki Kawahara / KADOMAWA ASCII Media Works / SAO-A Project

The popular mobile game Super Mecha Champions welcomed a yet another new roster of names on May 14: the super strong mecha and popular characters of the anime series Granbelm.

Super Mecha Champions is a mobile mecha battle game developed and produced by NetEase Games. Available in over 100 countries and regions worldwide, the game features as a recommended app on the App Store. Its popularity earned Google’s “Game Creative” award, and it enjoys seasonal content at Christmas, New Year, and more.

Granbelm is an anime series created and produced by Nexus which aired between July and September last year. It follows a group of magical girls who pilot mechas called Armanox in which they fight battle royale-style to win the title of “Princeps Mage” which will enable them to wield all the magic power inside the Magiaconatus, a device created by a group of wizards in which is sealed all of the world’s magic.

The Super Mecha Champions and Granbelm collaboration event will run over a period of four weeks and see the arrival of new modes, new events, and more.

New Mode: Fight Under the Moon

Players will be able to match into the new Battle Royale game mode “Mangetsu no Tatakai” (Mangetsu Battle). Mecha City is transformed for this game mode, with portals and rune fragments appearing on the map. Collecting rune fragments gives players the chance to unlock an amulet which can be used to select unique skills such as cooldown reduction or protective shields.

New Mangetsu & Shingetsu Skins

In the new collaboration, the main characters of the anime series Granbelm have travelled in time to Mecha City. Mangetsu and Shingetsu will be available in the Premium Lucky House, as will Viola Katze. Unlock them and see them battle it out in the city.

Even more new mechas, characters, and systems are scheduled to roll out in the game soon.

Japanese singer Eir Aoi’s song I will… will be used as the second ending theme for the ongoing TV anime series Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld starting from April 25, 2020.

Eir Aoi’s last collaboration with the Sword Art Online anime series was almost a year and a half ago when she released her song Iris which was the first ending theme for Sword Art Online: Alicization.

A new promotional video was also released for the continuation of Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld which is currently following the “Alicization Awakening” arc. The video features the debut hearing of ReoNa’s new song ANIMA which will serve as the opening theme. Check it out below.

“Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld” – Final Chapter

Eir Aoi | Comment

“I was given the opportunity to sing the first ending theme ‘Iris,’ so I am so grateful to be on board again. The theme of this new song ‘I will…’ centres on being emotionally close to someone you hold dear and walking together with them. It’s a ballad that unfolds into something majestic. I hope it’s a song that holds close emotionally to SAO and those who watch it too.”

Uru’s new song Scenery, which features on her upcoming single Negai―set for release on September 11―was used as an insert song in the ongoing TV anime series Granbelm.

The surprise reveal happened during episode 7 during a major plot point during which the song began playing, tying together with the scene beautifully.

Scenery is a ballad song about the strong bonds between people and was written specifically for the anime series. Uru herself wrote the lyrics and composed the music while rionos was in charge of the song’s arrangement. In the run up to the single’s full release, Scenery is now available to purchase as a standalone track.

A YouTube edit version of Scenery‘s music video was released on Uru’s official channel.

If you’ve yet to start watching Granbelm then you’re missing out.

Full details for Uru’s upcoming new single Negai have been revealed. The song will receive an early digital release tonight at midnight (JST) before its CD release on September 11.

Uru’s 8th single to date, the title track is used as the ending theme for the TV anime series Granbelm. The single will also include the grand ballad Scenery which has been arranged by rionos, a cover of her own song remember which was used as the main theme for Natsume’s Book of Friends the Movie: Tied to the Temporal World, and a cover of Hakujitsu by music group King Gnu who are a standout in Japan’s music scene right now.

The CD’s First Press Limited Edition will include three extra songs―Kiseki taken from her performance at Showa Women’s University Hitomi Memorial Hall in March last year, Nibiiro no Hi which despite being lumped in with other tracks on an album is a fan favourite, and a cover of  Spitz’s Robinson―as well as a DVD featuring the music video for Prologue which Uru performed as the main theme for the Japanese live-action drama Meet Me After School (2018).

The Limited Pressing Anime Edition will include the TV size version of Negai and a Blu-ray featuring the creditless video for Granbelm‘s ending.

Negai‘s full music video is now available to watch on her website. A short version was previously released on YouTube, so now fans get to see the conclusion to the video.

Granbelm‘s fourth episode airs in Japan tonight. If you’ve yet to check it out then you’re missing out. Catch it on Crunchyroll and be sure to listen out for Uru’s new song.

Uru’s new single Negai will be released on September 11 but for now, we get a sneak peek at the stunning single art. Negai is currently being used as the ending theme song for the brand new anime Granbelm, which just went on air this month. 

The artwork for Negai was created by Yuichi Miyashi, who also took Uru’s artist photos. The photo for the single jacket is of a neverending horizon upon which the gentle light of the moon is reflected. This pure image perfectly links to Uru’s artist photos and to her song Negai (Wish).

First-Press Edition

Regular Edition

The First-Press and Regular Editions of the single come with a special edition colourful CD tray. The First-Press edition comes in the same jewell case as the regular edition as well as a limited edition three-sided box case decorated with Uru’s logo pressed into the casing in silver foil. 

Anime Edition

The Anime Edition comes in the form of a Digipak. The illustration features the main characters Mangetsu and Shingetsu, who are gazing into each other’s eyes on the night of a full moon.

Before the CD is released, Negai will be available for downloading and streaming from July 26. We have only ever witnessed the short ending version of the song from the anime. The short version music video was released on YouTube recently, too. Fans are eagerly waiting for the release of the full version of the song. 

Eir Aoi’s LIVE TOUR 2019 Fragment oF took her on a journey across the country, performing at eight different locations to approximately 10,000 wild fans. She saw her final tour performance at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall on July 15.  

The overpowering digital rock song UNLIMITED sent an instant surge of energy through the crowd. Her heart-throbbing setlist included a range of big hits that were used as theme songs for the anime Sword Art Online including Iris, INNOCENCE, Cynthia no Hikari, Ryusei and IGNITE . Her strong vocals and the passion etched onto her face enthralled the crowd. 

For the encore, she performed Tsuki wo Ou Mayonaka, which is the new opening theme song for the anime Granbelm. The urgent beat of the song energised the audience, who were dancing and singing as one. For the last song, she performed AURORA, which she especially prepared for this day only. 

“There are times that I just cannot sing this song, but seeing the encouraging and excited faces of my fans gave me the support I needed to sing,” she said.

Eir Aoi: Tsuki wo Ou Mayonaka Music Video

https://youtu.be/haJjUmsJnlw

After the encore was over, there was a surprise for the fans. The music video for Tsuki wo Ou Mayonaka, the new theme song for the anime Granbelm, was played before the crowd. Fans could not contain their wild joy at being the first people to watch the video. The music video was just released on July 16 at 8pm, so please check it out. 

Eir Aoi’s new song Tsuki o Ou Mayonaka was released digitally today ahead of the CD’s release which is set for August 28. A new visual along with the CD cover have also been revealed.

The song is used as the main theme for the TV anime series Granbelm which premiered yesterday.

Speaking about the song and series, Eir Aoi commented: “My new song Tsuki o Ou Mayonaka is speedy and uptempo. The lyrics talk about the many memories you share with the important people in your life that can’t be severed by anyone. The song title is a metaphor and means that even if painful or sad things (midnight) approach us, the moon (the memories we share with those important to us) won’t darken and will continue shining on. I was surprised and pained by the human nature of the characters in Granbelm, but each of them are unique and have their own appeals. I can’t discuss too much because of spoilers, but I think this series will really touch the heart of those who see it.”

 Uru’s new single Negai will be released on September 11 and will be available for downloading and streaming from July 26. The official music video has just been uploaded on YouTube. 

Negai is a down-to-earth song which paints a world of a happy place that is filled with the people most important to you. It contains strong feelings of not wanting to let go. 

Uru Negai YouTube ver.

Atsunari Toushi, who was previously involved in the making of the music videos for Uru’s songs Freesia and Shiawase no Uta, was in charge of making the music video for Negai. The music video contains scenes of a utopia where two young sisters are living a beautiful life together as well as an empty dystopian scene where one of the girls can be seen stood in a plain white dress.

A statement by Atsunari Toushi

Uru’s lyrics perfectly depict the story of two young girls who are forever close. We hope that you will be struck by many emotions when you watch this video. This entire creation is but a beautiful story and music. We hope that viewers who watch and listen will want to hold those precious to them even closer as they enter the world we have created in the new music video. Please take a look and enjoy both the beautiful scenes and the music. 

 Along with the release of the music video, the lyrics for the full song have been released on song lyric website UTA-NET (Japanese only).

Negai has also been chosen to become the ending theme song for the new original anime Granbelm. You can enjoy the new song on air from today. Granbelm is directed by Masaharu Watanabe, who is also known for directing Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World. Original character designs were created by Shinichiro Otsuka and the series was structured by Jukki Hanada, who is famous for many works including directing multimedia project Love Live! There was an advanced screening of the anime a few days ago, which received a great response. This is one of the most sensational topics in the media and is snatching up the attention of many anime fans. 

SACRA MUSIC―a music label under Sony Music Labels―held a music event entitled SACRA MUSIC FES.2019 -NEW GENERATION- at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Saturday May 18 and Sunday May 19. This non-stop live show housed a 360° stage in the centre of the venue on which artists signed to the label dazzled a total of 12,000 fans across the weekend.

This was the first live event of its kind by SACRA MUSIC. The show’s subtitle “New Generation” refers to artists both signed to the label and the new generation of artists leading the music scene into the future. The line-up feature a diverse array of talent and genres spanning voice actors to rock bands, idols, virtual YouTubers and more.

The line-up for both days included ASCA, Ayano Mashiro, =LOVE, Luna Kaguya, GARNiDELiA, ClariS, Soma Saito, SawanoHiroyuki[nZk], Sangatsu no Phantasia, Spira Spica, TrySail, halca, PENGUIN RESEARCH, and ReoNa. A live band of skilled musicians dubbed the “SACRA BAND” also took to the stage to aid in performing various hits songs and anime songs. Virtual YouTuber Luna Kaguya performed as an opener, and EGOIST also made a surprise performance on screen, fusing the 2D world with the 3D world.

Several special collaborations also took place throughout the festival where artists banded together to perform covers as well as perform each others’ songs. This included ClariS x TrySail, Mikiha (Spira Spica) x halca, Soma Saito x Yoji Ikuta & Shota Horie (PENGUIN RESEARCH), GARNiDELiA x Ayano Mashiro, and ASCA x ReoNa.

At the end of the first night, Eir Aoi appeared as a secret guest to perform three songs including her first single Ryuusei. At the end of the second night, LiSA was the secret guest, who performed several songs including her latest number Gurenge. The two also came together to sing each of their respective hits IGNITE and Rising Hope.

A teaser video was also shown for two new SACRA MUSIC projects titled BATON=RELAY and Tenka Soul. The concerts are only set to continue growing bigger and better.