Chainsaw Man anime has been breaking records ever since its release on Oct 11, 2022. As a testament to how much hype the series is currently enjoying, its opening theme song “KICK BACK” is even taking the charts by storm. The track has reportedly sold 301,000 copies in its first week, securing the top place in Oricon’s latest Weekly Single Ranking released on Tuesday, Nov 9.
Launched on Oct 12, “KICK BACK” is a song performed and composed by Japanese musician Kenshi Yonezu. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Japan Hot 100 upon its release and into Spotify’s Top 50 Global daily song ranking. It’s music video also amassed over 36 million views within a month since its posting.
When asked how he started composing the song, Yonezu told Billboard he begun by meeting with the Director and other key staff members of the anime series.
“I remember the director asking that I “make the song like a roller coaster.” Lots of transitions, with dramatic changes between parts, so it felt like different songs. A song with big differences between the highs and lows. He wanted a song that would fling you around, and before you knew it the song would have ended,” Yonezu shared to Billboard.
“At first, it felt like he was talking about something really difficult, but when I thought about it more, I realized that the word he used, tencho, could be used to refer to both a change of key and also to a change in the tone of the music. I didn’t know which one he was asking for, so I decided to do both,” he continued.
Yonezu is known for writing and composing all of his music. He first made his debut using his real name back in 2012. “KICK BACK” is now his third single to had reached No. 1 on the charts, following “Flamingo/TEENAGE RIOT” in 2018 and “Pale Blue” in 2021. The track also marks Yonezu’s comeback in performing TV anime theme song since 2017. His single “Peace Sign” served as the opening theme for My Hero Academia anime’s second season at the time.
Read More: Is Chainsaw Man a Shonen or Seinen?
