Certain songs are powerful enough to transcend generations. Sadly, many of these tracks are hard to find on CD at an affordable price with most being discontinued. In an effort to reissue a number of these popular songs, Tower Records has begun the Masterpieces Revival Series, with the first release coming September 29. This first volume is titled ‘Pop Punk,’ and will be available exclusively at Tower Records, TOWERmini, and Tower Records Online.    

New Project Logo

Volume 1 Cover Art

  A genre which continues to be popular to this day, the pop punk album consists of 40 carefully selected titles from the 1990s and 2000s. Seven of these tracks are being released in Japan for the first time.   From legendary bands who have since disbanded to world-famous groups still at the forefront of the pop punk scene, Universal Music’s extensive catalog offers a lineup of masterpieces from the genre. Which tracks are you excited to hear again?  

Uru's new single Furiko (Pendulum) is set to drop on October 28, 2020, and it's been announced that the song will be used as the main theme for the upcoming Japanese film Tsumi no Koe (The Voice of Sin) which will hit theatres in Japan on October 30, 2020. The film is adapted from Takeshi Shiota's novel of the same name. The story is inspired by the Glico Morinaga case, an extortion case in Japan which took place from 1984-5. The novel has over 620,000 copies in circulation.   The film stars Shun Oguri and Gen Hoshino who will play the two main characters Eiji Akutsu and Toshiya Sone respectively. Shun Oguri is known for the variety of characters he has played, from comical roles to more delicate ones. He will make his Hollywood debut in the upcoming American film Godzilla vs. Kong. Gen Hoshino is an actor, singer-songwriter, and writer who won the Japan Academy Prize for his roles in Blindly in Love and Why Don't You Play in Hell? in 2014. Tsumi no Koe is the first time the two actors have worked together.   Nobuhiro Doi (Be With You; Flying Colors) is directing the movie while screenwriter Akiko Nogi (Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu; Library War) is working on the script. Uru wrote and composed the song Furiko as the main theme for the film which will be released as her 9th single. Below are her comments on the collaboration.   Uru | Comment "When I got the call and went to see the movie, I thought long and hard about what kind of song would be fitting as the main theme. I watched the movie over and over so I could really get familiar with it, and bit by bit the song started to take shape, but when I went to write about hope, the only words and thoughts that came to mind were shallow, superficial ones, so I re-watched it again. That time, I rewrote the song several times from the perspective of the characters. We truly go through a lot in life, but say right now someone's feeling sadness and pain and is in a state of hopelessness, and can't even cry, then this is a song that I pray will give people hope: the pendulum has swung towards the bad side, but will absolutely swing to the side of light next time."

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.

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.

Following the successful film Your Name, Makoto Shinkai has produced yet another masterpiece called Weathering with You (Tenki no Ko), collaborating yet again with RADWIMPS. RADWIMPS' released their brand new album called Weathering with You (Tenki no Ko) on July 19. Until now, their song Ai ni Dekiru Koto wa Mada Aru Kai has made quite a few brief appearances in the promotion in the movie including in the movie trailers and has stirred quite a sensation. 

Today, along with the release of the album, the official music video went public. Each scene of the video has been depicted beautifully. As the weather changes, each scene shifts perfectly in response, portraying the beautiful world of the film flawlessly. The music is filled with the strong and intense yet gentle and kind vibes of RADWIMPS that you absolutely cannot miss. The new album includes a total of 31 songs, consisting of the five main theme songs and the 26 songs that are used as background music in the film. Please check out their emotion-filled album and then see the movie for yourself to see just how RADWIMPS have added colour and emotion to scenes of the film. All songs from the album have been released by major streaming services such as iTunes and Rekchok, so please check it out.    There is also a special bonus scheme running to treat those who purchase the new album from a shop. The bonus involves the free giveaway of a CD-sized card with a special design that represents the five main songs from the album. The pattern on the card varies from shop to shop, so please find out more information about this scheme by visiting their official website if you are interested.    ©2019 Weathering with You Production Committee