is the 2nd single released by the Japanese pop duo

Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese pop rock duo formed in Tokyo in 1995, consisting of singers Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura. In the United States, they adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, who also performed under the name ...

on October 7, 1996. It sold over 1.5 million copies and was their first #1 hit. They won "

Japan Record Award is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST a ...

for Best New Artist" in 1996. It is known in American releases as being titled '"That's The Way It Is"' in

An Illustrated History ''An Illustrated History'' is the second North American album release by Japanese pop group Puffy AmiYumi, released on May 21, 2002. (See 2002 in music). The album contains a compilation of Puffy's hits in Japan from their debut ('Asia no Juns ...

and the album

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' is an American animated television series created by Sam Register for Cartoon Network. Produced by Renegade Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, the series stars fictionalized and animated versions of the Japanese pop ...

, although not a direct translation of the song title. A Mandarin version of the song was released as a single in China and Taiwan in late 1998 and can be found on their compilation album The Very Best of Puffy/amiyumi Jet Fever. A remix of this version is also on their 2003 remix album PRMX Turbo.

Track listing

#"Kore ga Watashi no Ikirumichi" (

Monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

) #"Yuki ga Furu Machi" (

Unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

cover) #"Kore ga Watashi no Ikirumichi" (

Stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

Karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

) #"Yuki ga Furu Machi" (Original Karaoke)

Phrases and harmonies

"Kore ga Watashi no Ikirumichi" is filled with phrases and harmonies of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

. In 2012,

Tamio Okuda is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and producer. He started his career in 1986 as a member of the band Unicorn. After Unicorn broke up, Okuda moved on to a solo career in 1994 with the single "Ai no Tame ni". He has written and composed many song ...

explained it in the magazine ''PENs interview featured the Beatles:

"I thought it would be fun if women played a song as a parody of the Beatles a little bit. If I played it, it would only become a song that was merely parodied by the man who liked the Beatles. But I thought it would be OK if Puffy played it."
()

Chart performance

The song became the first Puffy single to debut at number 1, selling 402,920 copies that week (until date, Puffy's biggest first-week sales of a single); the track stayed for another two weeks at the top of the chart and became Puffy's longest reign at number one, selling 735,230 copies only in its first three weeks; it stayed nine non-consecutive weeks at the top 10. The song remained for 16 weeks on the chart and sold 1,566,060 copies, Puffy's biggest selling single. On the J-Wave chart, the song debuted at number 85 and in its fifth week peaked at number 12; it remained on the chart for 20 weeks, Puffy's longest run on the chart.

Oricon Sales Chart

J-Wave Airplay Chart

Certifications

In popular culture

*"Kore ga watashi no ikiru michi" was featured in the Japan-only games ''

Donkey Konga 3 is a GameCube rhythm video game series starring the ape Donkey Kong, developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. The series' games are intended to be played with a special controller called the DK Bongos that resemble two small bongo dru ...

'' and

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 ''Rayman Raving Rabbids 2'' is a party video game developed and published by Ubisoft. The sequel to ''Rayman Raving Rabbids'' and the second installment of the '' Raving Rabbids'' spin-off franchise, it was released for the Wii and Nintendo DS ...

. Called Rabbids Party Returns ** A chiptune rendition also appeared in the Japan-only

Sega Pico The Sega Pico, also known as is an educational video game console by Sega Toys. Marketed as "edutainment", the main focus of the Pico was educational video games for children between 3 and 7 years old. The Pico was released in June 1993 in Japa ...

game ''Minna de Karaoke! Issho ni Utaou Suki na Uta!''. * The song also featured in the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

of the television series ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

'' and a remix appeared in the French/Japanese action film ''

Wasabi Wasabi (Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russian ...

''. *Parts of the song were notable for being used in a 1996 commercial for Japanese brand

Tessera A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae The oldest known tesserae ...

'Juicy-Juicy' shampoo. * The song was used for the ending theme of the anime television adaptation of ''

ReLIFE is a Japanese manga series in webtoon format written and illustrated by Yayoiso. The individual chapters were released by NHN Japan on the Comico website from October 12, 2013, to March 16, 2018, for a total of 15 compiled ''tankōbon'' vo ...

'', Episode 05, "Overlap", in July, 2016 and for the opening theme of the anime movie '' Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day''.

References

External links

DISCOGRAPHY:
PUFFY Official Website.
Tessera Commercial
on YouTube

{{authority control Puffy AmiYumi songs 1996 singles Oricon Weekly number-one singles 1996 songs