On August 8, 2021, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics officially ended. We also got to enjoy the Olympics closing ceremony while hearing LiSA’s “Demon Slayer” opening, “Gurenge,” as a ska song. LiSA didn’t perform the song herself, as the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra played it to welcome the athletes into the Japan National Stadium.
Also, you can hear the ska version of Demon Slayer’s opening played at the Olympics closing ceremony below:
You can give the original Demon Slayer’s Gurenge opening theme by LiSA below:
Apart from the “Demon Slayer” opening, the other songs that were played during the Olympics closing ceremony we could hear Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” “Hymne à l’amour” (it was sung by milet), and Kyu Sakamoto’s “Sukiyaki”. That’s not the only “anime reference” that happened during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. We got to enjoy a lot more anime songs such as Blue Bird from “Naruto” or Haikyu’s opening theme! Some of the athletes also struck poses that came from the anime they’ve watched.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics also caused some changes in the seasonal anime schedules as episodes had to be delayed. Some of the shows that had to “skip a week” are “My Hero Academia” season 5, and “Remake Our Lives” (“Bokutachi no Remake”). We also had archery athletes that shared their anime inspirations that came from shows like “Fate/Grand Order,” and “Is the Order a Rabbit?”.
Source: Official NHK Sports Twitter
©吾峠呼世晴／集英社・アニプレックス