Back-on’s TV Size mp3s for Air Gear, Murder Princess and Eyeshield 21

I read somewhere that it’s good for sites to do summary posts sometimes, and although I’ve been tempted to try it several times, it’s taken me a while to think of a good summary theme to post about!

This is actually sort of in-conjunction with Sowon‘s Back-on Music Competition on the Forums, where each time, participants have to sing one particular song (TV size version) from Back-on‘s repetoire. (Please consider entering the competition, minna! :D) Usually, it does help to ‘record’ with the song in question playing in the background, which brings me to the main topic:

where can I find TV size mp3s of Back-on‘s songs?

It would probably be helpful to first provide a list of the songs, so without further ado in the order of Anime Title | Type | Song Title :

Aside from Chain, most of the mp3s are available for download somewhere on Back-on Online, and since this is a summary post, you can find the direct-links to the posts in question below:

• ヒカリサスホウ Hikari Sasuhou (FK Metal ver.)
• BLAZE LINE
• a day dreaming…

But where can you find Chain? This only happens to be one of the most popular Back-on songs ever. The answer is simple: visit Japtard.com. Or more specifically,

view the post Air Gear OST – What a Groovy Trick!

You can the entire OST available for download (at 320kbps) – either as a zip file, or individual mp3 files. Chain (TV Size) is the first song on the 34-track album. The download has kindly been provided by Frox, who has credited Nipponsei for the original release.

Hopefully this post will be helpful to those searching for ‘that’ opening/ending theme by Back-on. Almost every single one so far also has their corresponding lyrics posted on the site somewhere, so take a look at the Lyrics section if you’re interested, particularly if you’d like to participate in the competition!

BACK-ON – BLAZE LINE | Lyrics

Out of all the songs on the single, BLAZE LINE/a day dreaming…, BLAZE LINE probably uses the most English (particularly for the rap part sung by TEEDA) and it’s obvious that it was written for the American-football anime, Eyeshield 21, evident from the lyrics as well as the interlude with cheerleaders.

The song also features an interesting bridge where Kenji03 actually sings along with TEEDA in ENGLISH! This probably has happened before, but I was particularly struck by this one! All in all, BLAZE LINE is a great song, and imho, the TV size OP just do it justice, although the opening credits are pretty good!

As always, if you spot any mistakes, please let me know either by commenting below or via the contact form. If you would like to post these lyrics elsewhere, please link back to this page. :)

Back-on’s Interview in pam! magazine!

Back-on has recently been on a whirlwind ‘tour’ of media activity! Their latest news post (which I will post about later on) lists all sorts of appearances on TV, radio as well as magazine interviews! The first of which we’ve managed to obtain is pam!, a (free) magazine that’s released monthly by Avex with information about the hottest anime of the season.

For instance, the latest issue (085) was released today (June 1st 2007 ) and features Code-E. You can view the 16-page issue by visiting http://www.avexmovie.jp/pam/ and clicking on the button as indicated below:

The interface is a funky-as flash-based reader, which is so intuitive that even yours truly could use it from her first visit. But uh… let me focus on the actual interview! You can find it on page 13 as part of ‘New & Topics‘ taking up half a page spread. You can also click on the thumbnail below to load the article in it’s full glory!

The article is quite short, but the band reveal alot in just 4 questions! I’ve made a small stab at translating the text, but full credit must go to Soph for her wonderful help in translating the bulk of the interview!

Q: What were your first thoughts when you found out about that you would be writing the opening and ending theme for Eyeshield 21?

We were extremely happy as it’s a production that we all like. Especially as we’re part of the ‘Slam Dunk’ generation, so writing an OP and ED for an anime from a sports genre is quite enjoyable.

Q: Please tell us about the highlight of BLAZE LINE.

As you can see, the lyrics “支えてくれる君がいるから” (note: second line of the chorus) or “because you are here supporting me” are the high point of this song, and my, or our success is due to the people who support us, so we overlapped our feelings of “Ah, what we are now is thanks to you all!” to the lyrics when composing this song.

With regards to the music, we played the guitar by strumming it hard at a fast-paced rhythm to express a sense of sprinting or speed, but we put in some fun (lyrics) for the rap part to try and express enjoyment.

Q: Please can you now tell us more about the highlight of ‘a day dreaming…’

The lyrics for this song came to me as (I) was daydreaming and thinking about family, friends and the people that are important to me. How would I describe it? A natural feeling? “What can I do for the people that I care about?” Or “I just want to be with them, and be around for them” and so on. Although it isn’t anything special, I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. The music and the lyrics of the song makes the listener feel a sense of geniality.

Q:Finally, what message would you like to share with pam! readers?

Our latest work covers extremely different types of music, one is an aggressive song with a mixture of metal and electro rap, and the other is a calm and gentle ballad. However, both songs are about the honest “feelings of gratitude (appreciation) that are usually forgotten” and the songs will definitely touch your heart. Please do listen to them! They will resonate (within you)!

I would like to thank Soph again for her help with the translation! Hope you enjoyed reading the article! :)

BACK-ON – BLAZE LINE (Eyeshield 21 OP version) | Lyrics

These lyrics are taken from the raw version of Episode 104 of Eyeshield 21, courtesy of [l33t-raws]. You can also watch a video of the opening credits or even download the TV-size version of the song.

If you decide to post the lyrics else, please do link back to this page and give us some credit! :)

Download the OP version of BLAZE LINE from Eyeshield 21 Episode 104

This time, we have to thank [l33t-raws] for providing the raw version of Eyeshield 21, Episode 104 so that Back-on Online could provide the TV Size version of BLAZE LINE. I have already briefly mentioned my initial impressions of the song, but in the meantime… what do you think?

With regards to the accompanying opening credits video uploaded by Back-on Online, unfortunately despite the original file being fairly high quality,with a recommended 4:3 ratio, the way Youtube has compressed the file has had a devastating effect on its quality, so apologies. We will continue to experiment with the output for a better quality picture!

BLAZE LINE/a day dreaming… news – single cover released and the title of the third song!

Back-on have released the CD single cover for BLAZE LINE/a day dreaming…! It appears to be inspired by Eyeshield 21 as it features a picture of an American Football player(s) on the field, which is understandable considering two of the three songs are currently known to feature in the anime as the opening (OP) and ending (ED) theme!

I really love the single cover (gorgeous colours and such an appropriately themed design!) – although I do wonder who’s back we’re looking at? I’m fairly sure it’s not Gori as he doesn’t appear to have tattoos on his arms (see picture from the KERA inteview) The most likely candidate is TEEDA (who’s arm I think is found on the cover of Chain… hmm I say the weirdest things) and the best example I can find to support my hypothesis is a screenshot from the New World MV of Teeda‘s back.

I could use another picture to demonstrate the tattoo at the front of his right arm, but even I think that’s going a bit overboard, wouldn’t you agree? :p

And equally important piece of news is that Back-on have also released the title of the third song on the single, called EYES. So the tracklisting of the entire single is as follows:

1. BLAZE LINE
2. a day dreaming…
3. EYES

I wouldn’t be surprised if EYES were to feature at a later date in Eyeshield 21. If you didn’t already know it, you can already watch and download the mp3 for the TV-size version of a day dreaming…, which was released on April 11th 2007 as the new ED. BLAZE LINE (TV-size) is due out as the new OP from May 2nd 2007, Episode 104: 一つ欠けたライン (Missing a line), and the single itself will be out on June 6th 2007.

First TV broadcast of A day dreaming…

Today is April 11th 2007, a significant day in any Back-on fan’s diary as it marks the first broadcast of one of Back-on‘s newest songs – A day dreaming…! It featured as Eyeshield 21‘s latest ending theme (from episode 101) and Back-on asks – doesn’t the mellow song and ending visuals work well together to make a fantastic ending?

You can see a screenshot of the ending credits below with Back-on‘s name courtesy of Back-on’s Blog.

I haven’t heard the song yet but I’m very much looking forward to it!