Interview] Aggressive music and melancholy lyrics. New single "Tsuki wo Chasing Mayonaka" with 120% of Aoi Eir's character.

Aoi Eir released her 4th album "FRAGMENT" in April this year and led a successful "Fragment oF" live tour in 8 cities across Japan. Her new single "Tsuki wo Chasing Midnight" will be released on August 28, 2019. The song is the opening theme for the TV anime "Granbellum" and is a catchy and aggressive song that beautifully expresses the world of the anime. The song was born over the "FRAGMENT" album, which was based on the theme of "everyday life," and is filled with 120% of singer Aoi Eir's charm!

I wrote the lyrics to "Tsuki wo Chasing Mayonaka" until I was on the verge of spoiling the song.

─ I thought "Tsuki wo Chasing Midnight" was a song that was straight out of Eir's style.

Aoi I sang it at every "Fragment oF" live tour held from May to July, and the fans responded to it as if it were a song they had heard for a long time. It was composed and arranged by Ryosuke Shigenaga, who has been writing my songs for a long time, so I think the tone of the song can be said to be my starting point.

─ The lyrics were written by Eir, weren't they? What part of the work "Granbellum" did you decide to use in the lyrics?

Aoi: It is an original anime work without an original story, so I read the entire script. There were many shocking events in the story, and the human drama was very intense. I wrote the lyrics based on the themes that overlapped with my own feelings. To be more specific, it is about the memories of important people and the things we have built up together that do not easily fall apart or disappear.

─ ─ What did you have in mind when you came up with the title "Midnight Chasing the Moon"?

Aoi The title actually has a negative meaning. I liken the time I have accumulated with my loved ones to the beautiful moon in the night sky, and the darkness is encroaching on it. I came up with the idea after writing the lyrics, so I wanted to be sure to include the word "moon," which appears in many of the lyrics. I then came up with the idea of using a longer title, something Aoi Eir had never done before, and named it "Tsuki wo Chasing Mayonaka" (Midnight in the Moon). After the title was decided, I rewrote the entire last chorus.

─ That is a particularly important part of the song. Why did you decide to rewrite it?

Aoi: I wanted to make the theme of "Midnight Chasing the Moon" come out clearly at the end. Moreover, I wanted to reverse the negative title and create a happy ending in the final chorus. I wanted to make it clear that the memories of our loved ones, even if they are shrouded in darkness, will never fade away. In light of the anime, the main characters, Mitsuki (Kohinata Mitsuki) and Shinzuki (Shinzuki Ernesta Fukamai), are not trapped by fate or the world that is trying to tear their relationship apart, but rather they shine brightly while caring for each other.

───That means that the lyrics of "Granbellum" are predictable, aren't they?

Aoi: That's right. I wrote the lyrics in such a way as to barely spoil the story. If you watch "Granbellum" until the end, you will understand that this part of the lyrics is about this episode. To give an example from the early development, "Even if I have nothing" is a word that leads to Mangetsu's feeling of complex that she has nothing. Why does she wish that her memories would not disappear? I hope you enjoy the song along with the broadcast.

─ What did you think of the work "Granbellum"?

Aoi: It was very interesting and I read the script in one sitting. I read the script in one sitting. I was interested in each character and wondered how they felt and why they acted the way they did. I was interested in each character and wondered how they felt and what they were doing. Some of them I really liked, others I didn't like, and I was moved by them. In a good way, I was swept away by the story as I read the script, so I was able to write the lyrics with love.

─ As you mentioned earlier, the human drama is a major highlight of the film.

Aoi There are both relationships that are built up and relationships that are broken, and there were many scenes that shocked me. There were scenes that gave me the creeps just by reading the script, and I wondered what would happen if pictures were attached to them. Many of the characters have complexes, but since everyone has more or less the same negative feelings, I think the work is easy to empathize with.

─ Which character is your favorite?

Aoi: I guess I would have to say Shintsuki. First of all, I liked her appearance (laughs). At first she seemed like a very cool girl, but as the story progressed, I began to see her emotions and found her even more endearing.

───A music video (MV) will be included on the first DVD. A short version of the music video has been uploaded on YouTube, but it seems to be a music video focusing on the performance scenes.

Aoi: The music video is designed to be enjoyed as if you were watching a live performance. It is an emotional video with a lot of camera movement, and there are many angles from which the viewer can pull back. The director had envisioned an intense video, but the stylist went the other way and prepared chic costumes, and the effect created by the gap between the two was interesting to me. However, the heels were very high and I was moving so violently that I was singing while thinking it would be difficult if I fell down (laughs). (Laughs) I even went as far as to go barefoot for the cuts that didn't show my feet.


───The chic black costume is the same as the jacket, isn't it?

Aoi: Yes, it was made of polyester, which made it easy to move around in. It was elegant and cute, and matched the image of "Mayonaka Chasing the Moon," so it was love at first sight. I hope you enjoy the Photobook of the first issue of the album, which contains many other shots of the jacket photo. They were taken by Arata Kato, who has been photographing me for a long time, so they are all great shots.