The four of them came together in the music club of their university in 1996; for Gotoh, Kita, and Yamada, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION was the first band they ever formed.
After a while, they began to perform at the school and in the local Yokohama area. Interestingly, their first songs were all written in English and, in fact, their first independent 6 track album (released in 2000) was entirely sung in English. The CDs were sold at concerts and over the internet.
In 2001, beginning with "YMD" they held many self-planned events at Yokohama's CLUB24.
Once "Konayuki," the first song in which they used Japanese lyrics, was completed, they sent copies to all the independent shows on the FM stations, and were consequently able to get their music played for the first time on FM radio.
After that, they released their second CD of original works, this time using Japanese lyrics. It achieved great success within the region and at all the Live Houses.
From this time on, starting at Shibuya, Shimokitazawa, Kichijouji and other places, they started putting on shows famed for their energy.
In 2002, they submitted a track to the Underflow Records Compilation CD. In November of the same year, they released "Houkai Amplifier," their first Mini Album to be produced professionally. This album, which would decide their future, debuted in the number 1 spot of Highline Records weekly charts, and also made it to the number 35 spot in the Oricon Indies Chart.
On April 4, 2003, "Houkai Amplifier" was re-released under Ki/oon Records. That summer, they appeared at FUJI ROCK (on the "ROOKIE A GO GO" stage), and at SUMMER SONIC '03 in Osaka.
Following their October 16, 2003 single "Kimi to Iu Hana," their first full album "Kimi Tsunagi Five M" was released on November 19.
From January 19 to February 25 2004, they went on the "five nano seconds" tour. All shows immediately sold out and were a massive success.
In 2004, their first proper single "Siren" and their second single, the iconic "Loop & Loop," were released, the former on April 14th and the latter on May 19th.
Their self-planned event ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION presents "NANO-MUGEN FEST" took place on July 1st at Nihon Budoukan and, that summer, they appeared live at festivals in areas all over the country. On August 4th, their new single "Rewrite" was released, followed by "Kimi no Machi Made" on September 23rd.
On October 20, 2004, their long-awaited new album "Sol-fa" was released and this really pushed the band to the forefront of the J-Rock scene. Then, on November 2nd, they started their second national tour: ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Tour Suihai No!
June 8 2005 saw the release of "NANO-MUGEN COMPILATION," an album composed of songs from various acts, both Japanese and English-language alike. Included was their first single after "Sol-fa": "Blackout." Later, the band released their first real single in over a year; "Blue Train."
In 2006, the band released another single "World Apart," followed by their third album, "Fanclub." A month later, they released their latest album "Feedback File," which includes live versions of some of their most popular tracks.
Their song "Haruka Kanata" was chosen to be a theme song for the anime series "Naruto," and the popular single "Rewrite" was selected as a theme song to the hit anime series "Fullmetal Alchemist." The song "Aru Machi no Gunjou" was used in the animated movie "Tekkon Kinkreet," and the song "After Dark" was used as a theme song for the animated series "BLEACH." The song "Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat" was used as the opening theme for the anime "The Tatami Galaxy".
A Town in Blue
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
朝の匂い 街が動き出す
画面の天気予報
日々に願い 求め 奪い合って
世界はダッチロール
巡り会い触れる君のすべてが僕の愛の魔法
ネズミ達の濁るブルー
ぼやけた鈍い鼓動
胸に残る僅かな白さよ
足りない心を満たしたくて駆け出す
はじめの一歩目で景色さえも消えるよ
見上げた空から
跡辿って追いかける
気まぐれな雲に君の顔が浮かぶよ
嫌になって投げ出した全部
黒くなって崩れ落ちたよ
寂しくて塗りつぶした
全部 怖くなって闇に落ちたよ
異次元ヲ回遊
青ク深イヨル
セカイヲカエヨウ
ソコカラナニガミエル?
開いた両目から
堰を切って流れるすべてを集めて
君と僕で浮かべよう
助走もつけずに思い切って飛び乗る
蹴り出す速度で
何処までも行けるよ
きっと きっと
光だって
闇だってきっと
光だって
闇だってきっと
光だって
闇だってきっと
光だって
闇だってきっと
The lyrics of "A Town in Blue" by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION describe a city that is grey, gloomy and full of rats. The song opens with the line "A dream that has not yet awakened touches me at my bedside." The singer wakes up to the smell of morning and sees the city starting to come to life. The weather forecast on the screen predicts rain, adding to the already gloomy atmosphere. The world is depicted as a Dutch roll, a term used to describe a sort of unsteady, unbalanced flying. The singer is competing with the rest of the world to achieve their dreams, with a belief that everyone they meet is part of their "love magic". The city is grey, the rats are dirty and blue, but amidst all the darkness, there are glimpses of something brighter, like a tiny white light in the singer's chest.
The city is too suffocating and the singer decides to run away to find something fulfilling, even if it means vanishing into nothingness. The first step is always the hardest as the scenery around them disappears. The singer looks up at the sky and sees the clouds moving and changing shapes, recalling a memory of the person they love. The singer threw away all their possessions due to overwhelming negativity, but in the end, they covered the canvas with loneliness. They then fell into the darkness, struggling to escape their fears. However, they release a sense of hope, leaving everything behind and taking the first step in their journey. The lyrics repeatedly talk about light and darkness, but the constant repetition of the word 'kittto' which means 'surely' in English in the final stanza suggests that hope and determination will always lead to a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
まだ覚めない夢が枕元で僕にタッチした
A dream that is yet to be broken, touched me at my pillow side
朝の匂い 街が動き出す
The scent of morning - the city is up and moving
画面の天気予報
The weather forecast on the screen
日々に願い 求め 奪い合って
Every day, hoping, seeking, and struggling to take
世界はダッチロール
The world is in turbulence
巡り会い触れる君のすべてが僕の愛の魔法
The magic of my love is touching everything about you that comes my way
鉛色の街
A lead-colored town
ネズミ達の濁るブルー
The muddy blue of the rats
ぼやけた鈍い鼓動
The blurred, dull beat
胸に残る僅かな白さよ
The tiny remains of white in my heart
足りない心を満たしたくて駆け出す
To fill up the incomplete heart, I rush out
はじめの一歩目で景色さえも消えるよ
The scenery disappears on the first step I take
見上げた空から
From looking up at the sky
跡辿って追いかける
Following and chasing after
気まぐれな雲に君の顔が浮かぶよ
Your face appears on the whimsical clouds
嫌になって投げ出した全部
Everything thrown away when it became unbearable
黒くなって崩れ落ちたよ
Turned black and crumbled down
寂しくて塗りつぶした
I painted it over in the loneliness
全部 怖くなって闇に落ちたよ
All of it, growing scared, fell into darkness
異次元ヲ回遊
Wandering in another dimension
青ク深イヨル
Deep blue
セカイヲカエヨウ
Let's change the world
ソコカラナニガミエル?
What will be seen from there?
開いた両目から
From both the eyes that are now open
堰を切って流れるすべてを集めて
Gathering everything that flows by the broken dam
君と僕で浮かべよう
Together, let's float
助走もつけずに思い切って飛び乗る
Without taking a running start, I jump in sacrificing myself
蹴り出す速度で
With a kick-started speed
何処までも行けるよ
We can go anywhere
きっと きっと
Certainly, certainly
光だって
Even light
闇だってきっと
And darkness, certainly
光だって
Even light
闇だってきっと
And darkness, certainly
光だって
Even light
闇だってきっと
And darkness, certainly
光だって
Even light
闇だってきっと
And darkness, certainly
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Masafumi Gotou
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rystar1301
Dreams touch upon my pillow as I lie yet to awaken
Smell of morning, the city arises
Weather forecast on the screen
Praying in everyday, Wanting, Struggling
The world Dutch rolls
Our encounter, everything about you is my magic of love
A city colored in lead gray
The murky blue of rats
A blurry, dull heartbeat
Just a touch of unstained white still left in my heart
I run, trying to satiate my unfulfilled heart
The scenery disappears with the first step
From up above the sky
Catching up from behind
Your face appears on the whimsical clouds
Sick of it all I gave everything up
It all turned to black and crumbled away
I blotted everything away out of lonesomeness
Gripped by fear, I fell away into darkness
An excursion into another dimension
A blue and deep night
Let's change the world
What do you see over there?
From our opened eyes
We'll collect all that spurts forth
Let's float in our pool of tears
Take that plunge and just jump without a run-up
The velocity of the push off
Will take us anywhere
Surely...
Even into the light
Even into the dark, surely
@opulrd2238
The dream I’m still having touched me from my bedside
The smell of the morning, the town coming alive
The weather forecast on the screen
Mada samenai yume ga makuramoto de boku ni tacchi shita
Asa no nioi machi ga ugokidasu
Gamen no tenkiyohou
--
Wishing, longing, and struggling every day
The world is in a dutch roll
Everything about you, someone I touched by chance, is the magic of my love
Hibi ni negai motome ubaiatte
Sekai wa dacchi rooru
Meguriai fureru kimi no subete ga boku no ai no mahou
--
A town in lead-gray
The muddied blue of the mice
A hazy and dim pulse
Only a trace of white is left in my chest
Namariiro no machi
Nezumitachi no nigoru buruu
Boyaketa nibui kodou
Mune ni nokoru wazuka na shirosa yo
--
I start running to satisfy my unfulfilled heart
But even the scenery disappears in my first step
Chasing after my tracks
From the sky I once looked up to
Your face appears in the fickle clouds
Tarinai kokoro wo mitashitakute kakedasu
Hajime no ippome de keshiki sae mo kieru yo
Miageta sora kara
Ato tadotte oikakeru
Kimagure na kumo ni kimi no kao ga ukabu yo
--
Everything that I grew sick of and threw away
Became black and fell down
I grew scared of everything I painted over from loneliness
And fell into the dark
Iya ni natte nagedashita zenbu
Kuroku natte kuzureochita yo
Sabishikute nuritsubushita
Zenbu kowaku natte yami ni ochita yo
--
A round trip to another dimension
A deep, blue night
Let’s change the world
What will we see from there?
Ijigen wo kaiyuu
Aoku fukai yoru
Sekai wo kaeyou
Soko kara nani ga mieru?
--
Let’s gather up everything
That gushed forth from my open eyes
And let it float here with you and me
Daringly jumping on without even a run-up
With the speed of our kick
We can go anywhere
Surely
Hiraita ryoume kara
Seki wo kitte nagareru subete wo atsumete
Kimi to boku de ukabeyou
Josou mo tsukezu ni omoikitte tobinoru
Keridasu sokudo de
Doko made mo yukeru yo
Kitto
--
In the light
And in the dark, surely
Hikari da tte
Yami da tte kitto
@phillippedenes610
I can't be the only one who thinks AKG is the greatest band of all time. If I'm feeling down their music makes me feel better and if I'm feeling good then all I can do is shout along to just about any song they've made. <3
@OTAKUBLOCKU
Totally get u
@rodrigodiaslima1_yt
I think their music is so inteligent one. Lyrics, Rythm, melody ... everything
@BlackGirlLovesAnime6
They’re one of my fave bands in general. Their music is indescribable
@shungite3446
They do have a really nice groove and technical feel when they want to
@shondellmcgowan8497
Since '04🙌🏾 and I never understood one word.
@panic--panic--
I can't believe this song is ten years old. AKFG's stuff still holds up 10 years later.
@jakesadventure3066
Hell yeah, it does. And it still holds going forward
@mae_frances
15 years later and it's still so good man
@reggaemortis4117
How can anybody thumbs down this band? So good and pure