Photo by zakkubalan ©2022 Kab Inc.

On January 17, 2022, beloved composer Ryuichi Sakamoto celebrated his 70th birthday. The artist continues to battle cancer, and as a way to encourage and empower him, the commons label launched a special anniversary website titled 10 Favorites – Ryuichi Sakamoto. The site features appearances from major artists and creators who have cited Sakamoto as an inspiration, listing their ten favorite works by the composer alongside their unique perspectives and thoughts. The 25th and final installment features SUGA of the popular K-pop boy band BTS.

Comment from SUGA (BTS)

「어릴적 부모님 손에 이끌려 ‘마지막 황제’ 재개봉을 간 적이 있었습니다.
그 때 음악에 압도 되었다는 느낌을 처음 받았고 12살 음악을 만들기 시작하며 사카모토 류이치 선생님의 음악을 많이 듣고 샘플링을 하며 꿈을 키웠습니다.
저에게 수많은 영감을 준 뮤지션들은 많지만 사카모토 류이치 선생님은 더 많은 꿈을 꾸게 해주신 분입니다 (저는 참고로 코다 다큐멘터리의 재해대피소에서 연주한 Merry Chistmas Mr. Lawrence live 버전을 가장 좋아합니다)
부디 건강하세요 선생님.

“When I was young, my parents took me to see The Last Emperor. That was when I first experienced the feeling of being awed by music. I began composing music when I was twelve and dreamed about my future while listening to your music, even sampling some of it.

There are many musicians who have inspired me, but you are one of the people who has influenced me the most. (For reference, my favorite Sakamoto piece is the live performance version of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence that was performed in the area impacted by the 2011 earthquake, which appears in the documentary CODA). Mr. Sakamoto, please stay healthy.”

Previous contributors to the project include Shinro Ohtake, Goro Inagaki, Banana Yoshimoto, Shiro Takatani, Yukihiro Takahashi, Akira Asada, Kiko Mizuhara, Haruomi Hosono, Yuima Nakazato, Ryu Murakami, LEO, UA, Shin’ichi Fukuoka, U-zhaan, Lee Sang-il, Ryoji Ikeda, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Kei Wakabayashi, Shinichiro Watanabe, Kiichi Fujiwara, Miki Nakatani, Daito Manabe, Taeko Ohnuki, and Hirokazu Koreeda.

Fans of Sakamoto’s works should feel free to peruse the site, which includes English translations of the guest’s selections and thoughts.

Rock band Official Hige Dandism has released a music video for their song White Noise on YouTube.

White Noise serves as the opening theme song for Tokyo Revengers Christmas Showdown Arc which began airing on January 7. The band also performed the previous opening song Cry Baby.

Official Hige Dandism – White Noise [Official Video]

Official Hige Dandism – White Noise

The Official Hige Dandism SHOCKING NUTS TOUR is currently underway, with the band performing in halls throughout Japan. For details on each venue and how to purchase tickets, visit the band’s official website!

©和久井健・講談社／アニメ「東京リベンジャーズ」製作委員会

Popular Japanese band Official Hige Dandism has released behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of their music video for Subtitle, the theme song for the Japanese drama series silent. The video includes in-depth interviews with the band members!

Subtitle – Official Hige Dandism Music Video (Behind the Scenes)
https://youtu.be/XMOIlABPukc

Subtitle was written as the theme song for silent, a drama series currently airing on Fuji TV.

Currently, Subtitle has surpassed 100 million views and has topped the Billboard JAPAN Streaming Songs chart for six consecutive weeks since its release on November 30.

 
Official Hige Dandism will appear at the 2022 FNS Song Festival on December 7 and 14, as well as CDTV Live! Live! 4-Hour Christmas SP on TBS on December 19 and the 73rd Annual Kouhaku Uta Gassen on New Year’s Eve.

The band is currently in the middle of their SHOCKING NUTS TOUR. More details about tickets can be found on the group’s official website.

SEGA’s popular ROMAPI purikura machines nationwide are currently teaming up with BTS! Fans can find some adorable Butter-inspired stamps with their favorite TinyTAN characters, useful for spicing up snapshots. The collab is running until December 12, 2022.

During this event, a total of 39 TinyTAN stamps are available, all inspired by the group’s hit song Butter. Two stamps are also available, and images can also be sent to your smartphone using Purikura ON. 

Fans of BTS shouldn’t miss this opportunity to snag some cute shots!

Official HiGE DANdism released the new song Subtitle on streaming services on October 12, 2022.

Subtitle was chosen as the theme song for the Fuji TV Thursday drama silent. The series follows Tsumugi Aoba, a high schooler who falls in love with fellow student So Sakura. The two love music, and while life pulls them apart, they meet again eight years later at a CD shop. As happy as they are, Tsumugi realizes that So has nearly lost his hearing.

The first episode aired on October 6 and trended at the top spot on Twitter worldwide. Following this, people streamed the episode 1.6 million times, and many are calling it the hottest drama of the season. The show set a record on FOD, TVer, and GYAO as the Fuji TV show with the most views in the shortest amount of time. The official audio for the show’s theme is also available on YouTube.

Along with providing the theme for the drama series, Official HiGE DANdism has also been tasked with producing the music for the junior high school team at the 90th NHK All-Japan School Choir Competition. The theme this year is ‘map,’ and the group expressed thanks for being chosen to participate in the festivities in such a major way. “I hope everyone looks forward to the song that we create,” the group commented.

On October 5, the group released ‘one-man tour 2021-2022 -Editorial- @SAITAMA SUPER ARENA’ on Blu-ray, DVD, and CD. Additionally, the Official HiGE DANdism SHOCKING NUTS TOUR is currently underway, visiting 9 cities throughout Japan for a total of 20 shows.

Japanese music streaming site RecoChoku has announced the top song and album rankings for September 2022.

Ado tops both the single and album charts for the second month in a row with her tracks from the movie ONE PIECE FILM RED. The singer provided the singing voice of Uta, the main character in the film which was released nationwide on August 6, 2022. The theme song for the film, New Genesis, ranked top in the weekly rankings on September 7, September 14, and September 28. Back in August, Ado dominated the charts as well, with I’m Invincible and Where the Wind Blows taking the top spots.

Ado also took first place in September’s album ranking with her collection of songs from ONE PIECE FILM RED. A number of other popular artists worked on the album, including Yasutaka Nakata, Mrs. GREEN APPLE, Vaundy, FAKE TYPE., Hiroyuki Sawano, Yuta Orisaka, and Motohiro Hata. The album for the film also ranked top in the weekly rankings on September 7, September 14, and September 28. 

In August, Ado took the top spot for both most popular song and most popular album on RecoChoku’s download ranking, and the singer has done it again in September.

If you haven’t listened to Ado’s collection of songs from the new ONE PIECE film, this is your sign to do so.

RecoChoku Monthly Music Award – September 2022

(Announced October 1, 2022)

Single Ranking
1st Place: New Genesis (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED) – Ado (Released June 8, 2022)
2nd Place: Hitotsuboshi – KOH+
3rd Place: Start Over – THE BEAT GARDEN
4th Place: Velvet – back number
5th Place: I’m Invincible (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED) – Ado
https://recochoku.jp/ranking/single/monthly/

Album Ranking
1st Place: Uta’s Songs from ONE PIECE FILM RED – Ado (Released August 10, 2022)
2nd Place: Luxury Disease – ONE OK ROCK
3rd Place: YUZU ARENA TOUR 2022 SEES -ALWAYS with you- Yuzu
4th Place: Hitotsuboshi ~Galileo Collection 2007-2022 – KOH+ 
5th Place: BE:1 – BE:FIRST
https://recochoku.jp/ranking/album/monthly/ 
  

©尾田栄一郎／2022「ワンピース」製作委員会

BTS fans will want to head to Nagoya! The TinyTAN Licensed Product Special Exhibition is now open at Nagoya Kintetsu Pass’e until October 2, 2022. Tons of new products inspired by Butter are available at an on-site pop-up shop!

The exhibition opened on September 17, and fans of the BTS song Butter are flocking to the event to snag some adorable new merch. In addition to new interior goods being unveiled for the first time, popular products have been released with entirely new designs. 

Many other world premiere products will also be available, including the 4 Season Blanket decorated with TinyTAN characters and inspired by spring, summer, fall, and winter. This will be available in limited quantities, so don’t miss out!

Japanese music streaming site RecoChoku has announced the top song and album rankings for August 2022!

Unsurprisingly, Ado tops both the single and album charts with her new tracks from the movie ONE PIECE FILM RED. The singer provided the singing voice of Uta, a main character in the film which was released nationwide on August 6, 2022.

New Genesis, the theme from ONE PIECE FILM RED, was released ahead of the movie’s release on June 8, 2022. It ranked 4th in the monthly rankings for June and July, and following the film’s release in August, it shot to the top of the charts for four consecutive weeks, continuing to hold the #1 spot.

Ado also took first place in August’s album ranking with her collection of songs from ONE PIECE FILM RED. Released on August 19, 2022, the album features a number of tracks made for the film, with seven different artists helping to produce these now legendary songs.

For the daily ranking on August 11, the top seven singles were all from this one album. Starting at the top spot, the songs included were: New Genesis, Where the Wind Blows, Tot Musica, The World’s Continuation, Binks’ Sake, I’m Invincible, and Fleeting Lullaby.

In the album ranking, it was number one in the weekly ranking for three consecutive weeks since its release on August 17 and continued its momentum to take the top position in the monthly ranking for the month of August.

Ado had her first top single ranking in February 2021 with Usseewa, and her first #1 album in January and February 2022 with Kyogen.

If you haven’t listened to the singer’s collection of songs from the most recent ONE PIECE film, you’re missing out!

RecoChoku Monthly Music Award – August 2022 (Announced September 1, 2022)

Single Ranking

1st Place: New Genesis (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED) – Ado (Released June 8, 2022)
2nd Place: Start Over – THE BEAT GARDEN
3rd Place: Ame Sansan – King Gnu
4th Place: Where the Wild Blows – Ado
5th Place: Mixed Nuts – Official HiGE DANdism

https://recochoku.jp/ranking/single/monthly/

Album Ranking

1st Place: Uta’s Songs from ONE PIECE FILM RED – Ado (Released August 10, 2022)
2nd Place: M – INI
3rd Place: BE:1 – BE:FIRST
4th Place: Falling into your eyes Record – Aimyon
5th Place: Suki Toiunowa Rock Daze! (Special Edition) – Nogizaka46

https://recochoku.jp/ranking/album/monthly/

©尾田栄一郎／2022「ワンピース」製作委員会

Noritake, a fine china maker, has opened preorders for cup & saucer sets inspired by popular BTS songs! The DNA, MIC Drop, and Dynamite sets are currently available to order, while the Boy With Luv and Butter sets will be available on September 21. If you want one of these gorgeous sets, be quick–preorders will end once all items sell out.

The cups and saucers are made of bone china, a type of porcelain, and are decorated in bright and vivid colors inspired by some of the Korean boy band’s biggest hits. The backs of the cups and saucers are decorated with the BTS logo, so fans will want to add this to their kitchen. 

(C) BIGHIT MUSIC. All Rights Reserved.

Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK has become massively popular worldwide in recent years. On September 9, 2022, the group will release its new album Luxury Disease, and fans will be excited to know that Satoshi Fujihara from Official Hige Dandism will appear on the track Gravity in an incredible collaboration.

Satoshi Fujihara has gone on record to cite Taka as the person who inspired him to become a vocalist. Since then, Taka has appeared as a guest on Official Hige Dandism’s radio show and Fujiwara appeared as a guest at ONE OK ROCK’s live performance at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2022, bringing the two artists even closer together. This collaboration was a long time coming, and Gravity feat. Satoshi Fujihara will only be included on the Japanese edition of the album. Ahead of the song’s release, a portion of it has been unveiled on ONE OK ROCK’s social media accounts, so be sure to check it out!

With the album only a few weeks away, the countdown has begun! Will you be listening?

To celebrate the first anniversary of the animated Studio Chizu film Belle, a special Cinematic Orchestra will be held on August 14 at the Tokyo International Forum. Original merchandise will also be on sale at the venue, with some pieces featuring an incredible illustration of Belle from the feature film and others displaying Studio Chizu’s symbolic blue sky and white clouds.

With only a few tickets left to attend the concert in person, it has been announced that the concert will be streamed online! Viewers can enjoy this powerful performance by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra along with iconic footage from many Studio Chizu works from the comfort of their own homes. 

Studio Chizu’s films are loved around the world. The songs to be performed in this special concert include those from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, Mirai, and Belle.

Which Studio Chizu film has your favorite soundtrack?

©「時をかける少女」製作委員会2006/©2009 SUMMERWARS FILM PARTNERS/©2012「おおかみこどもの雨と雪」製作委員会/©2015 THE BOY AND THE BEAST FILM PARTNERS/©2018 スタジオ地図/©2021 スタジオ地図/©STUDIO CHIZU/©上野隆文

To celebrate the first anniversary of the animated Studio Chizu film Belle, a special Cinematic Orchestra will be held on August 14 at the Tokyo International Forum. The event will feature a number of other beloved Studio Chizu works.

The event will feature a symphony orchestra performing songs from many Studio Chizu films while famous scenes play on an oversized screen. The works to be featured include The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, Mirai, and Belle.

Masakatsu Takagi will be playing piano while Hanako Oku and Ann Sally will be attending as guest vocalists.

Original merchandise will also be on sale at the venue, with some pieces featuring an incredible illustration of Belle from the feature film.

Which Studio Chizu film is your favorite?

Featured Works

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
Summer Wars (2009)
Wolf Children (2012)
The Boy and the Beast (2015)
Mirai (2018)
Belle (2021)