"Kick Back" is a song by Japanese musician Kenshi Yonezu. It was released as a single digitally by SME Records on October 12, 2022, as well as in three physical editions: a regular CD edition, a video edition, and a chainsaw edition. The song serves as the opening theme for the anime series ''

Chainsaw Man is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto. Its first part was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2018 to December 2020; its second part began serializati ...

''.

Background and release

This song is used as one of the opening theme for the anime series ''

''. Yonezu was in charge of the theme song for the TV anime '' My Hero Academia'', the first opening of the second season. It has been about five years since the theme "

Peace Sign A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph by ...

". King Gnu and Millennium Parade member Daiki Tsuneta participated in the production and arrangement with Yonezu. "Kick Back" also samples Morning Musume's 2002 song "

Sōda! We're Alive is the fourteenth single of J-Pop idol group Morning Musume. It was released on February 21, 2002 and sold a total of 443,630 copies. The B-side is a re-recorded and re-arranged version of the band's their first single, " Morning Coffee", feat ...

". On September 19, 2022, the preview for ''Chainsaw Man'' was released, with "Kick Back" being used. In addition, it was also performed live for the first time at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium performance on the first day of "2022 Tour / Henshin", which was held on September 23. In addition, the arranger Daiki Tsuneta appeared at the tour final at Saitama Super Arena on October 27, performing this song and "Ai Lily". The CD single was released in three formats: a chainsaw board, a video board, and a regular board, and it also came with a "Kenshi Yonezu 2023 Tour / Fantasy" advance lottery application serial number and a corporate privilege sticker. In the United States, the single was released by Milan Records. "Kick Back" became the first song with Japanese lyrics to be

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

Composition

"Kick Back" starts in B-flat minor for the intro. During the verses, the first half of each verse was written in B-flat minor, however in the second half of the first verse, it changes to the key between the key of

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...

and G minor. In the pre-chorus, the song changes to the key of A-flat minor, but dramatically changes to C-sharp minor for the chorus. It remains at this key until at the end of the first chorus. It then switches back to B-flat minor for the second verse. In the second verse, it follows the format of the first verse, with an exception of changing it dramatically to

A-flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...

for the bridge. At the end of the bridge, it changes back to C-sharp minor for the final chorus and the post-chorus of the song. The song ends in the key of B-flat minor and runs at the tempo of 102 BPM (204 BPM if double).

Music video

Prior to the song's release, the music video premiered on October 25, featuring Yonezu and

Daiki Tsuneta is a Japanese band formed in 2013. It consists of: Daiki Tsuneta (Vocalist & Guitarist), Satoru Iguchi (Vocalist & Keyboardist), Kazuki Arai (Bassist) and Yu Seki (Drummer). The band's main songwriter is Daiki Tsuneta, who also performs as part ...

. It was directed by , who also worked on the music video for "Kanden" and Yonezu's promotional photos. In the video, Yonezu devotes himself to training in a gym alongside Tsuneta. After a montage of vigorous working out and Yonezu shown with large muscular arms, Yonezu runs off a treadmill into a field and then onto a road, where he is hit by a truck, which launches him through the air and into doing parkour across shipping containers and city buildings. A group of men dressed in similar attire appear and run alongside him through an industrial site and across a quarry. The video ends with Yonezu shown back in the gym, walking on a treadmill alongside Tsuneta, with a security camera revealing Tsuneta is not really there. The opening sequence for the ''Chainsaw Man'' anime plays tribute to several films, including '' Reservoir Dogs'', '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'', '' Pulp Fiction'', ''

Sadako vs. Kayako is a 2016 Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Kōji Shiraishi. It is a crossover of the '' Ju-on'' and the ''Ring'' series. The film was first teased as an April Fools' joke on April 1, 2015, but was later confirmed on December 10 to ...

'', '' No Country for Old Men'', '' Fight Club'', '' Messiah of Evil'', ''

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is a ...

'', ''

Don't Look Up ''Don't Look Up'' is a 2021 American apocalyptic political satire black comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Adam McKay from a story he co-wrote with David Sirota. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Jo ...

'', '' Jacob's Ladder'', ''

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...

'', and '' The Big Lebowski''. The other references are the manga '' Goodbye, Eri'' and ''

Fire Punch is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto. It was serialized through Shueisha's ''Shōnen Jump+'' website from April 2016 to January 2018, with its chapters collected in eight ''tankōbon'' volumes. In North America ...

'' by the same author, the song "

" by Morning Musume and the anime ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...

''. The sequence was directed and storyboarded by Shingo Yamashita.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Chainsaw Man 2022 songs 2022 singles Animated series theme songs Anime songs Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one singles Chainsaw Man Kenshi Yonezu songs Oricon Weekly number-one singles SME Records singles