Peace Sign (Kenshi Yonezu song)

"Peace Sign"
Single by Kenshi Yonezu
from the album Bootleg
LanguageJapanese
B-side
  • "Neighbourhood"
  • "Yumekui Shōjo"
ReleasedJune 21, 2017 (2017-06-21)
LabelSony Music
Songwriter(s)Kenshi Yonezu
Kenshi Yonezu singles chronology
"orion"
(2017) 		"Peace Sign"
(2017) 		"Dune"
(2017)
Music video
"Peace Sign" on YouTube

"Peace Sign" is a song by Japanese musician Kenshi Yonezu. It was released as a single by Sony Music on June 21, 2017. The song was used as the first opening theme for the second season of the anime series My Hero Academia.

Background and release

The demo that became the prototype for "Peace Sign" was produced in spring 2016. Yonezu then accepted an offer from the producers of My Hero Academia to provide music. Yonezu referred to "Butter-Fly", the opening theme song for Digimon Adventure, as an example.[1]

One of the B-sides, "Yumekui Shōjo", is a self-cover of Yonezu's Vocaloid song "Shajō no Yumekui Shōjo", released under the name Hachi in 2010. Yonezu was initially reluctant to self-cover songs he released using Vocaloid, but later thought that it might be okay. "Yumekui Shōjo" is slower than the original song.[1][2]

"Peace Sign" was released during the first broadcast for the second season My Hero Academia. The version used during the broadcast was released as "Peace Sign (TV edit.)" on music distribution services on April 29, 2017.[3] It is an arrangement that uses the chorus more than the version recorded on the single.[4] The single was released on June 21, 2017, with three versions. The Peace version came with a DVD containing the non-credit opening of My Hero Academia, and the Hero version came with a special trading card featuring Izuku Midoriya, the main character of My Hero Academia. Yonezu designed the jackets for the Peace and Hero versions. The first release, regardless of version, contained advance applications for tickets of Yonezu's live tour Fogbound, which started in November of that year.

Music video

The music video for "Peace Sign" was released on Yonezu's YouTube channel on June 7, 2017. The video exceeded 1 million views on YouTube within 24 hours of its release, and on September 1, it was reported on Yonezu's website that the video had surpassed 100 million views, Yonezu's fifth music video to reach this milestone. It exceeded 200 million views on August 24, 2020.

On December 18, 2017, a special music video for "Peace Sign" using footage from My Hero Academia was released on Toho Animation's YouTube channel.[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kenshi Yonezu.

No.TitleLength
1."Peace Sign" (ピースサイン)3:57
2."Neighbourhood"3:57
3."Yumekui Shōjo" (ゆめくいしょうじょ)4:43
4."Peace Sign (Instrumental)"3:55
Total length:16:32

Personnel

  • Kenshi Yonezu – vocals (tracks 1–3), guitar (tracks 2–3)
  • Yōhei Makabe – guitar (track 1)
  • Yū Sutō – bass (tracks 1–2)
  • Teru Horimasa – drums (tracks 1–3)
  • Ichiyo Izawa – piano (track 3)

Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Peace Sign"
Ceremony Year Award Result Ref.
2nd Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2018 Best Opening Won [6]
32nd Japan Gold Disc Awards 2018 Best 5 Songs by Download Won [7]
40th Anime Grand Prix 2018 Best Theme Song 6th place [8]

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b 米津玄師「ピースサイン」インタビュー - 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー [Kenshi Yonezu "Peace Sign" Interview – Music Natalie Special Feature/Interview]. Music Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  2. ^ 米津玄師が明かす、表現者としての“核心”「最後に残るのは『普遍的なものを作りたい』ということ」 [Kenshi Yonezu reveals his "core" as an artist: "What remains in the end is that 'I want to create something universal.'"]. Real Sound (in Japanese). June 19, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  3. ^ TVアニメ・ヒロアカ新OP曲「ピースサイン」配信決定 [TV anime My Hero Academia new OP song "Peace Sign" release confirmed]. Reissue Records (in Japanese). April 29, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Yonezu, Kenshi [@hachi_08] (June 8, 2017). 新曲です。僕のヒーローアカデミアOPで流れているものとは少し違ったバージョンになってます。よろしく✌️ [It's a new song. It's a slightly different version from the one played in the My Hero Academia OP. Best regards ✌️] (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ 『僕のヒーローアカデミア』×米津玄師『ピースサイン』スペシャルミュージックビデオが実現！！ [My Hero Academia x Kenshi Yonezu's "Peace Sign" special music video has been realized!!]. PR Times. December 18, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Jones, Jordan (February 25, 2018). "Crunchyroll's 2017 Anime Awards Recap and Winners". geeksofcolor.co. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  7. ^ 第32回 日本ゴールドディスク大賞 (in Japanese). Japan Gold Disc Awards. Archived from the original on March 2, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  8. ^ 第40回アニメＧＰ. chikimato.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  9. ^ 【ビルボード】米津玄師「ピースサイン」がダウンロード他で逆転、ジャニーズWESTとアンジュルムを抑え総合首位獲得 TWICEがHOT100に5曲チャート・イン | Daily News [[Billboard] Kenshi Yonezu's "Peace Sign" reversals in downloads and others, beating Johnny's WEST and Angerme to take the overall top spot TWICE has 5 songs in the HOT 100 chart | Daily News]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). June 28, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  10. ^ 【今週のオリコン】Acid Black Cherry、初スピンオフアルバムが1位に！シングルはジャニーズWESTが通算5作目の首位獲得 [[This Week's Oricon] Acid Black Cherry's first spin-off album ranks first! Johnny's WEST becomes the fifth single to take the top spot.]. M-On! Music. June 27, 2017. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021.
  11. ^ 【ビルボード】米津玄師「ピースサイン」がアニメチャート堂々の首位、セカオワは初登場3位でヒットの兆し | Daily News [[Billboard] Kenshi Yonezu's "Peace Sign" is clearly at the top of the anime charts, and Sekai no Owari debuts at number 3, a sign of a hit | Daily News]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). June 28, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  12. ^ オリコン週間 CDアニメシングルランキング 2017年06月19日～2017年06月25日 [Oricon Weekly CD Anime Single Ranking June 19, 2017 – June 25, 2017]. Oricon News. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017.
  13. ^ オリコン月間 CDシングルランキング 2017年06月度 [Oricon Monthly CD Single Ranking June 2017]. Oricon News. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017.
  14. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 Year End | Charts". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  15. ^ オリコン年間 シングルランキング 2017年度 61～70位 [Oricon Yearly Single Ranking 2017 Ranks 61–70]. Oricon News. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022.
  16. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 Year End". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved December 28, 2023.