\n\tFurui Riho released her new single \u201cHello\u201d on July 30. The eponymous title track on the single is the opening theme song for CITY THE ANIMATION<\/em>, a new TV anime (and the first from Kyoto Animation in some time) which began airing on July 6. This is Furui Riho\u2019s first-ever anime tie-up song. \u201cHello\u201d is a brisk, exciting song whose theme is \u201creunion,\u201d but it also has a lot of depth. The artist has said that she wrote the lyrics while struggling with the question of what kind of relationship she should have with the process of creating music. That\u2019s why she made it a song with a positive message that would immediately resonate with listeners. Billboard JAPAN<\/a> recently had the opportunity to talk with Furui Riho about her music.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n\tYou\u2019ve just released your new single, \u201cHello,\u201d<\/strong> the theme song to <\/strong>CITY THE ANIMATION<\/em><\/strong>, a new anime from Kyoto Animation.<\/strong> I know a lot of people have been waiting for this anime for a long time, so I\u2019m sure that there\u2019s also a tremendous amount of attention being paid to the theme song.<\/strong> How did you feel when you were chosen for the song?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tHonestly, I was like \u201cMe? You\u2019re really okay with that?\u201d Of course, I was happy, but when I heard I\u2019d been chosen for the theme song, and the opening theme song, no less, I also suddenly felt an immense amount of pressure. I was like, \u201cWhat should I sing?\u201d This is Kyoani\u2019s first anime in a long time, so I\u2019m sure that they thought a lot about what kind of anime to make before deciding on CITY<\/em>. So that made me vaguely anxious about what kind of approach I should use\u2014what kind of lyrics I should write and what kind of message I should convey. I couldn\u2019t just go with a carefree approach, singing \u201cKeep your head up and keep on pushing forward!\u201d That would just feel irresponsible.<\/p>\n \n\tDid the Kyoani staff have any requests about what kind of song they wanted?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tYes. First, we had a meeting, and they played me a few Western songs for reference. Then they said \u201cThe feel of your song \u2018LOA\u2019 perfectly matches what we\u2019re looking for.\u201d But I can\u2019t remake the exact same song, so I decided to make an even better song that incorporated the qualities of \u201cLOA.\u201d But, you know, at the same time, I realized that I was just setting the bar higher for myself (laughs). Keiichi Arawi, who wrote the comic the anime is based on, said he wanted to express \u201chis memories of childhood, just laughing away without a care in the world and experiencing pure joy.\u201d I wanted to write lyrics that depicted that same childhood purity but blended with the reality that, as an adult, you can\u2019t really live your life that way.<\/p>\n \n\tDid you get any inspiration for the art style or the way the characters moved?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tFirst, I read the entire manga and developed my own mental image. The word \u201cfun\u201d encompasses a lot of different types of fun. CITY<\/em> is kind of surreal, and it makes you giggle. Also, the characters are running around a lot, so I expressed that feeling of running around in the music. For example, I thought that a chugging beat would convey the feel of the anime.<\/p>\n \n\tSo you decided right away that the tempo would be important.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tRight. And CITY<\/em> is about the people of the city, so it has a big cast. I put in clapping and a chorus, like lots of different people clapping and the people of the city all singing along. It was like I could hear that music coming out of the pages of the manga.<\/p>\n \n\tSo after you got this mental image of the sound you wanted, how did you come up with the melody?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tThe whole structure\u2014verse, bridge, chorus\u2014all came to me at once. I was getting ready to go out, and boom! It feels strange even to me, but when I\u2019m not planning to create a song, one will just come to me. So I made a voice recording of my ideas right away.<\/p>\n \n\tIs this something that\u2019s happened to you in the past, too?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tYes, several times. But they\u2019re not always winners. Every once in a while it\u2019ll just be terrible (laughs). So I was lucky this time. Plus, the melody fit right in with the kind of sound I was imagining, so it surprised even me. Like I said earlier, when they first approached me about making the theme song, there was a lot of pressure and I was really nervous, but when the song came to me, I was like \u201cYes, this is it! I\u2019ve got this!\u201d I felt so relieved.<\/p>\n \n\tThe theme of this song, whose lyrics include \u201clet\u2019s go meet again,\u201d is \u201creunion.\u201d<\/strong> This has a lot of meanings, right? Reuniting with your childhood self, back when you\u2019d laugh without a care in the world, or meeting friends again, or even meeting yourself again, as a \u201cnew you.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tRight. The song is about the desire for reunions like that. Wanting to reunite. Wanting to meet again. Those were the kinds of desires I had in mind when I wrote the song. I wanted it to have that spirit of meeting up with everyone, reminiscing about childhood, laughing, and getting through the hard times and the loneliness together to approach the future with optimism.<\/p>\n \n\tThe first line of the song, \u201cHello, Dear my friends,\u201d has that same spirit of reunion, and it makes it clear who you\u2019re singing to.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tThis line came to me together with the melody. Then I wrote the rest of the lyrics by working forward from this first line.<\/p>\n \n\tIn the chorus, you sing \u201cThe rain has stopped, let\u2019s sing together.\u201d<\/strong> It points out that the rain always stops sometimes. The night is always followed by the dawn.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tExactly. And this anime is set at the end of the rainy season, going into the hot midsummer months, so I thought this matched up with what I was trying to express. If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of rain during the bridge. So the song links up to the anime in these subtle places, too.<\/p>\n \n\tThe song starts with piano, and then the beat and the singing start right in, and then the horns come in. The song has a very physical, band feel.<\/strong> It felt like this was another conscious decision.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tI think having that live feel is important. Warmth is important. I also wanted there to be a sense of wistfulness in the middle of that joy.<\/p>\n \n\tYou mentioned the clapping and chorus earlier. It gives the song a bit of a gospel-like feel.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tI guess my own gospel roots just kind of come out unintentionally. They pop out in all kinds of places.<\/p>\n \n\tThat said, it\u2019s not like it\u2019s smothering.<\/strong> The amount of emotion you put into the singing is perfectly balanced. Is that something you\u2019ve consciously thought about when singing?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tI don\u2019t want to write the kind of stifling song that is like \u201cListen to me, I\u2019m going to share what I\u2019m feeling.\u201d I could\u2019ve sung the chorus with more force, but that\u2019s not the feeling I was going for. When recording it, I was picturing more the image of everyone coming together, laughing together, and at the same time crying together.<\/p>\n \n\tThere are a few times in the song where you hear shouts of \u201cHey!\u201d<\/strong> It felt like those were cues to throw off the dark cloud over you when you\u2019re feeling down. I really liked that aspect of the song.<\/strong> Thinking back on it, you have a few songs with those kinds of calls in them.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tTrue. When I put calls like that in my songs, I feel like it gives them a bit of a freer, more innocent feel. That\u2019s what my own personality is like. I\u2019m not pretentious, I express things as they really are. What\u2019s fun is fun. So that\u2019s why I use that technique a lot.<\/p>\n \n\tSo being true to yourself, not trying to come across as cool, is important to you.<\/strong> I think that comes across in the lyrics to the song, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tWhen I met with the people from Kyoani, they said they were making an anime that everyone could enjoy, whether they were children or senior citizens. So I wanted the lyrics, especially in the chorus, to use simple words that everyone could sing along with together. Also, that\u2019s all I myself was capable of expressing. I couldn\u2019t go deeper, and I didn\u2019t want the song to be shallower. The lyrics express my full desire. My prayer.<\/p>\n\n
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