At Anime NYC, we had the opportunity to interview the renowned band JAM Project, who are currently celebrating their 25th anniversary. This marked their third visit to New York City, where they shared exciting news during both the interview and panel. We discussed the creative process behind the iconic opening themes for One-Punch Man, their musical influences and heroes, reflections on their 25-year journey, and details surrounding the Season 3 opening theme, among other topics.
Portions of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity with some questions and answers from other outlets being included
Q: How does it feel to return to One-Punch Man for Season 3, after having sung for it in Season 1 and Season 2?
Kageyama-san: In terms of making this song, it’s not like I can decide “Oh I’m going to sing the theme song of this anime. No, the producer brought this opportunity to us and they told me, “Oh, you’re going to be singing the theme song of Season 3, One-Punch Man”. When I heard this news, I was very, very honored and happy.
Q: Your live performances are always energetic and electric. Where do you draw that energy from and how important is the audience in elevating that energy?
Kageyama-san: It’s the audience period. Yes, we give them a 100 or 1000 percent, but the audience always gives back to us with more than that. It’s like a positive tornado going on. So, that’s how the energy drawing is from.
Q: The opening theme of One-Punch Man is a very symbolic song that anyone can understand. Did you expect to get so much attention when you first made this song?
Kageyama-san: It was a very unexpected turn around. When I visit outside of Japan, all the fans out there knew the song by heart. It’s the same anywhere in America and Europe, “Oh my God everyone loves this song”. It took us by surprise. Even at the American Embassy.
Kitadani-san: So the guy asked me a question when I went to get the visa at the U.S. Embassy for approval. This officer asked “what song do you sing?” and I answered “I sing the song from One-Punch Man” and he was like “Oh my God!”
Q: Do any aspects of your typical song creation process change significantly when creating music for anime vs creating music in general?
Kageyama-san: When we make music and anime songs, we do a competition between members and the producer picks the song. I always think, I’m always searching for great ideas, very unique ideas that no one else has done. “THE HERO!!: Ikareru Kobushi ni Hi o Tsukero”, the first theme song of One-Punch Man, when we’re making a draft song, how can I make it so unique that only we can perform? That’s pretty much the only thing that I’m thinking about during the music making process.
Q: Who or what were your musical influences?
Fukuyama-san: The Beatles.
Kitadani-san: Japanese Hard Rock in the 80s.
Kageyama-san: When I was an amateur, I was really into classical rock, for example, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin and that’s where I got my inspiration from.
Endoh-san: When I was growing up, I was watching so many TV programs, so all the music that I hear from the TV, like J-pop or J-rock.
Okui-san: I’m a city pop. A Japanese city Pop. Stay with me by Miki Matsubara.
Q: When you create anime songs, how deep into the source material do you go? What’s the strategy for incorporating it into the music?
Kageyama-san: So, if it’s a game, or anime, or manga, if there is original form, we would definitely check it out and gather all the information as much as we can, so that we know about this story, how they are trying to draw the audience or the players into this world of original form, and then bringing that essence into our idea, and bringing up the new, unique, even more unique idea to make this world even more unique and even more intriguing, and that’s how it’s processed.
Q: Do you approach performing an anime song differently when it’s for a show like One-Punch Man versus a traditional mecha series?
Kageyama-san: Well, yes. There’s a sense of invincibility and heroism. It’s really symbolic of a hero. The power of a hero. As I said earlier, the One-Punch Man songs are not like the usual anime songs. For example, in “THE HERO!!: Ikareru Kobushi ni Hi o Tsukero”, the theme song is not a melody. It’s not a rap either. But in this new season, the theme song is not a melody. It’s more like a word than a rap or hiphop. It’s a style that pushes with words.
For us, One-Punch Man has always had that kind of approach. In the case of GARO [The Animation Series], it’s an orthodox way to make an anime song or a hero song. We put out our singing ability. But in One-Punch Man, rather than singing ability, there’s a sense of street.
Q: The band has gotten more visibility from your songs for One-Punch Man and the GARO anime series, so what songs or albums would you recommend to new listeners discovering your work for the first time?
Kageyama-san: We have been evolving for the past 25 years and we can’t really pick one song, but if we were to pick songs then we would be presenting or releasing new songs this fall: the theme song for GARO and Season 3 One-Punch Man. These songs are packed with our 25 years of everything. So if they listen to those songs, then if they could become one of our fans, that would be fantastic.
Q: Given it’s your 25th anniversary, are there any special goals or projects that you all want to see the band do in the future that haven’t been published yet?
Okui-san: We have reached the place where we can say “25 years of anniversary” and we would love to continue doing that, keep pursuing our careers and creating music for our 30th anniversary. For our 35th anniversary, we’re gonna keep making music for the fans as long as possible. Stay healthy.
Q: How has your approach to creating music for One-Punch Man changed, if at all, since creating music for Season 1 and Season 2?
Kageyama-san: Basically, it’s the same as when I made the first one. I try not to make it too much like an ani-song. I always think that a heavy sound with a street feel is the best.
Q: Who were JAM Project’s heroes growing up?
Endoh-san: Ultraman was my hero growing up.
Kageyama-san: I started watching Ultraman when I was in elementary school. I was so excited to watch it.
Okui-san: I love Cutie Honey!
Kitadani-san: I’m a secret sentai, Go-Ranger.
Fukuyama-san: Ultraseven. I have all the videos and CDs. The Beatles are my musical inspiration.
Q: Did JAM Project take a different approach for the Season 3 opening compared to Season 1?
Kageyama-san: This time we collaborated with BABYMETAL. We wanted to add something different: add the cuteness and very catchiness that Babymetal has, which will add a very good essence into our taste. We’ve made great collaboration song and that’s the difference between this season and the past ones.
Q: This year marks the band’s 25th anniversary since it was first founded in 2000. What have you learned about yourselves throughout your many years of performances, tours, and recordings?
Okui-san: It’s been 23 years since I joined this group, JAM Project. But before joining, I already had 10 years of experience, career as a singer. So when I entered this group, all four of the male singers had such a powerful voice in each and every way. It gave me a different perspective in terms of singing technical-wise and expression-wise. My voice became more powerful, thick, and deep, which I didn’t have when I was doing solo performances. So that’s kind of changed me, and now I love more about my voice and how I perform and how I sing better than before.
Endoh-san: I perform as a solo artist as well, but this group JAM Project took me to places where I never imagined like performing in a huge venue or it took me to places as far as outside of Japan. Performing internationally and domestically. That’s how I kind of see myself in this group.
Kageyama-san: This is my very first time to become a leader in my entire life. Compared to solo performances I became more like a director, “oh this person is good for this part rather than the other part or maybe this part will be better than this part” that type of directing people among this group. This group kind of grew me up into that type of direction.
Kitadani-san: All the events that I’ve attended, through all the recordings I’ve attended, it kind of gave me more of richness and taste into my music career and as a person as well.
Fukuyama-san: Before I started off as a member of JAM Project, I’ve had my own career for 12 years. I played guitar with the vocals and back then I didn’t really recognize myself as a singer, but entering this group, you have to sing mainly as a vocalist. I learned every important thing, everything from these other four members. That’s how I grew up within the 25 years of my career.
Conclusion
Once more, we would like to thank JAM Project, One-Punch Man staff, and Anime NYC staff for arranging this wonderful interview! We look forward to their continuous success and goals to improve themselves, as they have already hosted their 25th anniversary concert “Final Countdown” in Yokohama, Japan on November 29th and 30th through the Arigato Tomodachi Project.
One-Punch Man is on Crunchyroll, with the third season that arrived on October 12, Sunday. This interview was conducted by Jay Gibbs, while Luke So wrote this article. If you would like to read more about JAM Project, please check out this article covering their panel!
Featured image (left to right): Yoshiki Fukuyama, Hiroshi Kitadani, Hironobu Kageyama, Masami Okui, Masaaki Endoh
Images: © JAMProject_0717
© JAM Project, One-Punch Man Project
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