Hitsujibungaku share ‘Oshi No Ko’ theme ‘Burning’: “I wanted to inject the characters’ unfulfilled emotions into the song”

indie rockers Hitsujibungaku have shared with NME insights into their recent singles, including ‘Burning’, their brand-new ending theme to the second season of hit anime, Oshi No Ko. Read on for the interview.Spearheaded by guitarist/bandleader Moeka Shiotsuka and steadily backed by drummer Hiroa Fukuda and bassist Yurika Kasai, the band first emerged in Tokyo’s indie rock underground over the late 2010s. With Shiotsuka’s soaring, delicately expressive voice and an elegant, concise guitar-centric sound, they’ve established themselves as one of Japanese indie’s premier acts with releases like ‘Dear Youths’ and ‘Zawameki’.Following their signing to a Sony Music sublabel, the trio have gone from indie darlings to chart-scaling stars.

After gaining national attention with their Christmastime hit ‘1999’, the group gained steam with a slew of albums and anime themes – but none rivalled the splash generated by ‘More Than Words’, the band’s slow-burning ending theme of the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen. More than 60 million Spotify streams later, the band have embraced their newfound status, embarking on their first Asian tour, playing Taipei, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Hong Kong, and beyond.They’re continuing their rise today (July 3) by dropping ‘Burning’, their grungy ending theme to hit anime Oshi no Ko, which has boasted themes by J-pop megastars Queen Bee and YOASOBI. Ahead of their sold-out Singapore concert today and arguably biggest release yet, NME caught up with Shiotsuka and Kasai to talk about the band’s influences and musical identity.

Check out the interview – and the new music video for ‘Burning’ – below.NME: Welcome to Singapore, and congrats on your Asia tour! It’s been a huge couple of years for the band, and I’d love to ask about ‘Burning’, which is a huge placement for the band after the hit ‘More Than Words’. Could you share some of the inspirations behind the song?Moeka Shiotsuka: “This song was inspired by Oshi No Ko’s second anime season. I read the original work again and again, and I imagined how I would translate the characters’ feelings in my own way.