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Ichizu/Sakayume
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Wikipedia article
, is a Japanese double A-side single released by King Gnu. Both songs served as theme songs for the 2021 MAPPA film 'Jujutsu Kaisen 0', with "Ichizu" serving as the opening theme and "Sakayume" as the ending theme.
Both songs were performed by King Gnu who aimed the theme songs to focus on the chaotic relationship between the leads, Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto with "Ichizu" having strong starting point and "Sakayume" being more mecaholic. While the theme songs were released together, a blu-ray video was also released. The theme songs have been popular in Japan, appearing in several charts from Billboard Japan and Oricon.
Background
In November 2021, Toho revealed that King Gnu would be providing the theme to the then upcoming MAPPA anime film 'Jujutsu Kaisen 0' in December. An instrumental version was released on separate. In late December before the film's premiere, the staff revealed that the same band would provide the ending theme . The two songs were released together in a CD featuring artwork of the character Yuta Okkotsu. An alternate Blu-ray containing several more tracks from the same band was also released on December 29, 2021 instead featuring artwork of Rika Orimoto, a cursed skeleton that follows Yuta in the narrative.
Overview
"Ichizu" places focus on the relationship between the 'Jujutsu Kaisen 0' protagonists Yuta and Rika. Vocalist and guitarist Daiki Tsuneta wrote "Ichizu". There was pressure to make the ideal masterpiece that the audience have been waiting for, but Tsuneta thinks that it was a straight song with a tingling and punch that is perfect for the world view of the franchise of 'Jujutsu Kaisen'. "There is no extra decoration, a sense of speed of gale and rage, and although the middle part is colored with chorus and harmony, how to carry the main melody that dares to return to the first rugged melody, etc. It has a strong impression of being stoic". The music video was made by Taichi Kimura, who aimed to fuse the rugged nature of rock with a sophisticated world.
"Sakayume" was supposed to be recorded simultaneously on the CD single released on December 29 as a coupling song of the movie's theme song "Ichizu", but until the whole picture including lyrics and melody were wrapped in a veil. It conveys a sad voice and a gentle and rocky melody. While the focus of the themes are that of Yuta and Rika's relationship, Human Tokyo also commented that there seem commentary on the characters of Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto. Just like Yuta and Rika, this duo originally had a stable relationship and a tragedy explored in flashbacks led to their downfall. As a result, the website claimed that "Sakayume" is the opposite of dreams people tend to have. The music video was directed by OSRIN who wanted to see King Gnu from a different point of view and give them an outstanding appeal.
Length
TV show
Critical response
Eriko Ishii mentioned that the single package "One is a high-speed rock tune with a lot of words and the other is a moist ballad". He pointed out and reaffirmed King Gnu's appeal of "coexistence of avant-garde and classic, aristocratic elegance and enthusiasm on the verge of riot." Music writer Tsutomu Matsumoto describes it as "a love song that is so fiercely straight and can no longer be considered catastrophic, even if you look back on the long history of J-POP." 'Rocking On' stated that "Sakuyayume" does a good job at explaining Yuta and Rika's chaotic relationship based on certain lyrics that focus on the former's predicament in regards to his love for the latter. Voice actress Megumi Ogata (Yuta) said that she found "Ichizu" cool.
Sales
"Ichizu", which was pre-delivered on December 10, 2021, was be downloaded at 29,545 DL on the Billboard Japan Songs Chart released on December 15. 2nd place, recorded 22nd place in streaming with 4,163,066 playback. In other indicators, he made his debut in 4th place overall, marking high points such as 10th place for video playback, 18th place for Twitter, and 29th place for radio. In the chart for the following week, it has risen from 4th to 3rd overall with 3rd for download, 4th for streaming, 2nd for video playback, and 2nd for radio.
"Sakayume", which was pre-delivered on December 24 when the movie was released, is the top download (28,308DL) on the chart released on December 29, 2021. Other than that, it recorded 45th place in streaming, and first appeared in 12th place overall. In the chart of the week following the release of the physical CD, "Ichizu" sold 47,292 copies and recorded the number one single, the number one streaming with 9,696,001 playback, and the number one video playback with 2,098,622 playback, winning a total of three crowns. He was the first in the band (as of January 2022) to take the overall lead. "Sakayume" moved up from 12th place last week to 3rd place overall, which was driven by the 1st place download, which marked 24,637 DL. In the chart of the next week, "Sakayume", which was released on January 5th as a MV, ranked first in download (three weeks in a row) and second in streaming to second overall. "Ichizu" also achieved a one-two finish with 3rd place for download and 1st place for streaming. "Sakayume" won the streaming top (10,032,427 times) on the chart the following week, and King Gnu achieved a streaming one-two finish again with the 1st and 2nd places swapping.
Certification and sales
References
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