is a song by Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band Asian Kung-Fu Generation

Asian Kung-fu Generation

, typeset as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, is a Japanese rock band formed in Yokohama, Japan in 1996. For nearly its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotō, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi...

. It was released as the lead single of their fifth studio album, World World World

World World World

-Personnel:*Masafumi Gotō – lead vocals, guitar, lyrics*Kensuke Kita – lead guitar, background vocals*Takahiro Yamada – bass, background vocals*Kiyoshi Ijichi – drums*Asian Kung-Fu Generation – producer*Yusuke Nakamura – art direction-Album:-Singles:...

, on November 29, 2006. The song was conceived on tour when the director of the then-upcoming anime film, Tekkon Kinkreet

Tekkon Kinkreet

is a three-volume seinen manga series by Taiyō Matsumoto, which was originally serialized from 1993 to 1994 in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits and first published in English as Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White. It was adapted into a 2006 feature-length Japanese anime film of the same name, directed by...

, approached the band and requested a theme song for his film. AKFG proceeded to compose the track and released it as a single a month prior to the film's December 23 debut. The single peaked at number four on the Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 charts and sold over 50,000 copies in 2006 alone, becoming the 199th single of the year.

Music video

The music video for "Aru Machi no Gunjō" was directed by Hideaki Sunaga. Beginning with a sunrise, the PV alternates from an outer view of a city, the band playing the song in a garage, a raven inside a birdcage, and a fishtank holding a jellyfish before finally concluding with a sunset. The video was nominated for Best Rock Video at MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2007.

Track listing

Personnel

• Masafumi Gotō
  Masafumi Goto
  is the lead vocalist, main songwriter and rhythm guitarist of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Masafumi met fellow band members Kensuke Kita and Takahiro Yamada while attending a music club of Kanto Gakuin University. The three formed Asian Kung-Fu Generation in 1996, with drummer...
  
   – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Kensuke Kita
  Kensuke Kita
  is the lead guitarist and backing singer of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Kensuke met fellow band members Masafumi Gotō and Takahiro Yamada while attending a music club of Kanto Gakuin University. The three formed Asian Kung-Fu Generation in 1996, with drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi...
  
   – lead guitar, background vocals
• Takahiro Yamada
  Takahiro Yamada (musician)
  is the bass player and backing singer of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Yamada met fellow band members Masafumi Gotō and Kensuke Kita while attending a music club of Kanto Gakuin University...
  
   – bass, background vocals
• Kiyoshi Ijichi
  Kiyoshi Ijichi
  is the drummer of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Ijichi credits the origin of his drumming ability to playing in marching bands in junior high....
  
   – drums
• Asian Kung-Fu Generation
  Asian Kung-fu Generation
  , typeset as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, is a Japanese rock band formed in Yokohama, Japan in 1996. For nearly its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotō, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi...
  
   – producer
• Yusuke Nakamura – single cover art

Charts

Year	Chart	Peak position
2006	Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...	4