Luna Haruna's new single "Windia" is both nostalgic and new

HARUNA Luna is releasing "Windia," the opening theme song for "SWORD ART ONLINE - Hollow Realization" for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, as her 9th single. The serious song expresses the world of "Sword Art Online" and is said to be "nostalgic and fresh" for her. For the coupling song, she also tried her hand at writing lyrics inspired by the image of a little devil. We asked her to talk about her new single, which is full of charm and includes a bonus video!

I think that those who have recently come to know me will be surprised.

You have sung many songs from "Sword Art Online," haven't you?

Haruna: This "Windia" is my fourth song. But this is the first time for me to sing the opening theme. Since this song marks the beginning of the game, there was a lot of pressure not to destroy the world view, but we had a lot of fun recording it.

Haruna─You always say that you want to respect the worldview of the work.

Haruna: I myself love anime, so I pay a lot of attention to it. This time, I had heard about the new character Premier beforehand, and the lyrics were from her point of view, so I put them into my mind before recording.

─ What kind of girl is Premier?

Haruna: She is an AI girl who originally has no feelings, but when she meets Kirito and the others, she comes to know emotions and is a fragile being. I sang the song with an emphasis on sadness.

The melody is also heartbreaking.

Haruna: It's a very serious song. The title "Windia" was coined to mean "the place where the wind blows," and as the word implies, the song has a sense of speed, but also a sense of sadness. Since most of the singles I have released recently have been pop songs, those who know me from those songs may have a slightly different impression of me.

─ ─ I had the impression that you were back to your early days of "Sora wa Takaku Kaze wa Utau" and "Overfly" Haruna.

Haruna: That's right. I always liked songs with a grand world view, so I enjoyed singing them.

Haruna──Your way of singing is different from the pop, coming-of-age numbers, isn't it?

Haruna: The way I sing is different. The color of the images in my head also changed, so it was both nostalgic and fresh.

Haruna─Do you sing while thinking of the characters and scenes?

Haruna: Yes, I do. Especially in "SWORD ART ONLINE," each character is moving forward while battling their own past and emotions, so I sang the song while imagining the feelings of not only Premier-chan, but also the various characters I've seen in the past.

──The limited time production version includes a 1.5 minute SAO version, but the structure of this song is different from the full version, isn't it?

Haruna: It starts with the chorus and the lyrics are a little different. Since this is the first version played at the beginning of the game, I'm very excited and hope that I was able to express the world view of the game well.

───The costumes in the jacket photo are like the characters in the fantasy world, in line with "Sword Art Online", aren't they?

Haruna: That's right. Sword Art Online" has an image of battle, so the costumes and facial expressions are based on the concept of a fighting girl.