Supercell (album)
Encyclopedia
Supercell is the eponym
ous debut studio album
of Japanese J-pop
band Supercell
, released on March 4, 2009, by Sony Music
. Supercell had originally released a dōjin
(independent) version at Comiket 74
on August 16, 2008, before the band signed a record deal
with Sony Music. The album contains twelve music tracks written by Ryo and the singing synthesizer Hatsune Miku
was used to provide the vocals. The major release of the album featured two songs not on the independent (indie) version, "Melt" and "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki", but which had already previously been released online and on the Nico Nico Douga
video sharing
website. All of the music on the indie release was remix
ed and remaster
ed for the major release to greatly improve the sound quality. The album was released in limited and regular editions, each containing a bonus DVD containing music video
s for four of the songs, but only the limited edition came bundled with a special illustration booklet titled Supercell Works; the indie release also came with the booklet. Supercell peaked at No. 4 on the Japanese Oricon
weekly albums chart, and in June 2009 was awarded a Gold Disc by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
for having exceeded 100,000 copies shipped in a single year.
video sharing
website on December 7, 2007. Composer and lyricist
Ryo used the Vocaloid
singing synthesizer software Hatsune Miku
for the vocals and continued to use the program for the remaining songs on the album. The video of "Melt" posted online used an illustration of Miku without the permission of the drawing's illustrator 119 . After Ryo contacted 119 with an apology, 119 responded with great interest in "Melt" and began to work together with Ryo, thus forming Supercell.
Supercell continued to gain members—including the illustrators Shirow Miwa
, Redjuice, and Huke—and released three more songs online in 2008: "Koi wa Sensō" on February 22, "World is Mine" on May 31, and "Black Rock Shooter
" on June 13. Ryo continued to be the sole member involved in musical composition
and the writing of lyrics, while the other members provided illustrations, animation, design, and photography in album booklets, cases and music videos. At Comiket 74
on August 16, 2008, Supercell released a dōjin
(independent) version of Supercell containing the three songs released earlier that year, in addition to seven previously unreleased songs; "Melt" was not included on the indie release. The album also came with a DVD containing music video
s for three of the songs. On December 12, 2008, Supercell released "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki" on Nico Nico Douga, and was the last song Supercell posted on the website.
By that time, Supercell had signed a record deal
with Sony Music
, which announced plans to re-release Supercell in March 2009 with remaster
ed tracks to greatly improve the sound quality of the music, as well as plans to include "Melt" and "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki" on the album. With the exception of the synthesized
percussion
used in the songs, the five songs originally released online, and the songs on the album's indie version, are substantially different compared to the major release. Like the indie version, the album would come bundled with a DVD containing music videos for four of the songs, including the six music videos previously released with the indie version, plus three more. By the time Supercell made its major debut, the group contained 11 members, not including 119 who left the group after the indie release of Supercell.
' "Blue Orchid
" as an influence, as it too is the first song on their fifth album Get Behind Me Satan
. Ryo began writing the lyrics for "Koi wa Sensō" on New Year's Day
2008, and by mid-January the song's composition was also complete. "Sono Ichibyō Slow Motion" (literally "That One Second Slow Motion") features the concept of love at first sight
—specifically the single moment when this occurs; for all the songs on the album, Ryo described the song as a typical pop song
he would create.
Ryo experimented with other music genre
s, such as using the image of a "garage band
's vigorous performance" for "Usotsuki no Parade" (literally "Liar Parade"). "Heartbreaker" was written to sound like a song from a somewhat old fashioned band, and the aim for "Hinekuremono" (literally "A Rebel") was to make an oldies
-like feeling song. Like "Koi wa Sensō", powerful emotions are used as a concept in other songs, such as "Melt", which is described as a song that depicts a vibrant, trembling girl's emotions; or "World is Mine", which uses the concept of a selfish, but cute girl. "Parting" is used as the theme in "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki" (literally "When My First Love Ends") and was written to tell the story of an unrequited love
. Ryo took about half a day to compose "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki", leaving the mixing and arrangement
to take the most time. In contrast to the other songs, "Kurukuru Mark no Sugoi Yatsu" was written with a different impression where Ryo wanted to convey the fun of a comical song. For the song "Black Rock Shooter", Ryo was inspired by an illustration of an original character by Huke and created the song based on that character.
When writing lyrics for the songs on Supercell, Ryo felt that writing without hesitation based on his initial ideas with minimal editing was best, because the singer, as a computer program, would not feel embarrassed about singing the lyrics. Ryo found it difficult at first with writing lyrics for songs meant to be sung by young women. He admitted that his friends would laugh when he played the songs, but he thought that "if a 16-year-old girl is supposed to be singing...it is best if she sings about romance."
In addition to Ryo using a synthesizer as the main musician, guitar
ist Okiya Okoshi and bass guitar
ist Miruku "Hime" Kokumaro are credited on the songs "Line" and "Sono Ichibyō Slow Motion". Furthermore, Sariya provided the inhalation of breath for these two songs in order to make the vocals seem more authentic. Ryo cited an unnamed friend as providing the guitar in "World is Mine" and "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki". The major release of Supercell was mixed
by Keiji Kondo, Yasuo Matsumoto, and Okuda Supa; Hidekazu Sakai provided the mastering
.
on a cloudy sky background designed by Maque.
, bundled with a DVD containing music video
s for four of the songs, by Sony Music in Japan. For the week of March 3, 2009 on the Japanese Oricon
daily albums chart, Supercell was reported to have sold approximately 20,000 copies on the first day of its release, peaking at No. 2. For the week of March 16, 2009 on Oricon's weekly albums chart, Supercell was reported to have sold about 56,000 copies in its first week of sales, peaking at No. 4, and charted for 38 weeks. This was a record for Hatsune Miku-related albums, having beaten out the previous record holder Re:package (2008) by Livetune
, which peaked at No. 5. By the week of March 30, 2009 on Oricon's weekly albums chart, Supercell was reported to have sold over 70,000 copies, and ranked at No. 24. Furthermore, for the week of April 6, 2009 on Oricon's weekly albums chart, Supercell ranked at No. 36, along with three other Hatsune Miku-related albums: Re:Mikus by Livetune (No. 18), Unformed by Doriko (No. 26), and Exit Tunes Presents Vocarhythm feat. Hatsune Miku by Super Producers (No. 96).
In June 2009, Supercell was awarded a Gold Disc by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
for having exceeded 100,000 copies shipped in a single year. The sex ratio of those who reserved Supercell online was reported by the Asahi Shimbun
to be 55%/45% for men/women. The album's producer Kazumitsu Shimizu stated that while it is not rare for something related to Japanese Internet culture to typically have a 90% support from males, the female support for the album was described as "very strong".
Major release
Additional musicians
Production
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
of Japanese J-pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
band Supercell
Supercell (band)
Supercell is a Japanese 11-member music group led by composer and lyricist Ryo which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music group. Supercell started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted to the Nico Nico Douga video sharing website...
, released on March 4, 2009, by Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....
. Supercell had originally released a dōjin
Dojin music
, also called in Japan, is a sub-category of dōjin activity. Dōjin are basically non-official self-published Japanese works which can be based on official products or completely original creations...
(independent) version at Comiket 74
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
on August 16, 2008, before the band signed a record deal
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Sony Music. The album contains twelve music tracks written by Ryo and the singing synthesizer Hatsune Miku
Hatsune Miku
is a singing synthesizer application with a female persona, developed by Crypton Future Media. It uses Yamaha Corporation's Vocaloid 2 synthesizing technology. The name of the character comes from a fusion of the Japanese for , and future , referring to her position as the first of Crypton's...
was used to provide the vocals. The major release of the album featured two songs not on the independent (indie) version, "Melt" and "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki", but which had already previously been released online and on the Nico Nico Douga
Nico Nico Douga
is a popular video sharing website in Japan managed by Niwango, a subsidiary of Dwango. Its nickname is "Niconico" or "Nico-dō", where "nikoniko" is the Japanese ideophone for smiling. Nico Nico Douga is the thirteenth most visited website in Japan...
video sharing
Video sharing
Video hosting services refers to websites or software where users can distribute their video clips. Other sites such as file hosting services image hosting services and social network services might support video sharing as an enhancement to their primary mission, but in general, they are not...
website. All of the music on the indie release was remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed and remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed for the major release to greatly improve the sound quality. The album was released in limited and regular editions, each containing a bonus DVD containing music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s for four of the songs, but only the limited edition came bundled with a special illustration booklet titled Supercell Works; the indie release also came with the booklet. Supercell peaked at No. 4 on the Japanese 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...
weekly albums chart, and in June 2009 was awarded a Gold Disc by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
Recording Industry Association of Japan
The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry...
for having exceeded 100,000 copies shipped in a single year.
Production
Original recordings of songs on Supercell date back to the release of the song "Melt" online on the Nico Nico DougaNico Nico Douga
is a popular video sharing website in Japan managed by Niwango, a subsidiary of Dwango. Its nickname is "Niconico" or "Nico-dō", where "nikoniko" is the Japanese ideophone for smiling. Nico Nico Douga is the thirteenth most visited website in Japan...
video sharing
Video sharing
Video hosting services refers to websites or software where users can distribute their video clips. Other sites such as file hosting services image hosting services and social network services might support video sharing as an enhancement to their primary mission, but in general, they are not...
website on December 7, 2007. Composer and lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
Ryo used the Vocaloid
Vocaloid
is a singing synthesizer application, with its signal processing part developed through a joint research project between the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and Japan's Yamaha Corporation, who backed the development financially—and later developed the software into the commercial product...
singing synthesizer software Hatsune Miku
Hatsune Miku
is a singing synthesizer application with a female persona, developed by Crypton Future Media. It uses Yamaha Corporation's Vocaloid 2 synthesizing technology. The name of the character comes from a fusion of the Japanese for , and future , referring to her position as the first of Crypton's...
for the vocals and continued to use the program for the remaining songs on the album. The video of "Melt" posted online used an illustration of Miku without the permission of the drawing's illustrator 119 . After Ryo contacted 119 with an apology, 119 responded with great interest in "Melt" and began to work together with Ryo, thus forming Supercell.
Supercell continued to gain members—including the illustrators Shirow Miwa
Shirow Miwa
is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. He is best known as the writer and artist for the Dogs manga series, but has also contributed illustrations to various tribute books, and magazines, including Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan. Miwa sometimes publishes under the circle name of m.m.m...
, Redjuice, and Huke—and released three more songs online in 2008: "Koi wa Sensō" on February 22, "World is Mine" on May 31, and "Black Rock Shooter
Black Rock Shooter
is a 2010 Japanese original video animation produced by Yutaka Yamamoto's studio Ordet, written by Nagaru Tanigawa and Shinobu Yoshioka, and directed by Shinobu Yoshioka. The 50-minute OVA is based on the song of the same name by Supercell and its accompanying music video with illustrations by...
" on June 13. Ryo continued to be the sole member involved in musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and the writing of lyrics, while the other members provided illustrations, animation, design, and photography in album booklets, cases and music videos. At Comiket 74
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
on August 16, 2008, Supercell released a dōjin
Dojin music
, also called in Japan, is a sub-category of dōjin activity. Dōjin are basically non-official self-published Japanese works which can be based on official products or completely original creations...
(independent) version of Supercell containing the three songs released earlier that year, in addition to seven previously unreleased songs; "Melt" was not included on the indie release. The album also came with a DVD containing music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s for three of the songs. On December 12, 2008, Supercell released "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki" on Nico Nico Douga, and was the last song Supercell posted on the website.
By that time, Supercell had signed a record deal
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....
, which announced plans to re-release Supercell in March 2009 with remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed tracks to greatly improve the sound quality of the music, as well as plans to include "Melt" and "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki" on the album. With the exception of the synthesized
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
percussion
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
used in the songs, the five songs originally released online, and the songs on the album's indie version, are substantially different compared to the major release. Like the indie version, the album would come bundled with a DVD containing music videos for four of the songs, including the six music videos previously released with the indie version, plus three more. By the time Supercell made its major debut, the group contained 11 members, not including 119 who left the group after the indie release of Supercell.
Composition
Supercell boasts a diversity of subjects and themes in regards to the lyrics and musical style. "Koi wa Sensō" (literally "Love is War") uses the concept of never giving up in regards to love, and was composed with the intention of it being the first track on the album. Ryo wanted the song to have a "cool" feeling, and cited The White StripesThe White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
' "Blue Orchid
Blue Orchid
"Blue Orchid" is the first track by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes from their album Get Behind Me Satan, and the first single to be released from the album....
" as an influence, as it too is the first song on their fifth album Get Behind Me Satan
Get Behind Me Satan
Get Behind Me Satan is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes, released on June 7, 2005 on V2 Records. Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecessor, Elephant...
. Ryo began writing the lyrics for "Koi wa Sensō" on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
2008, and by mid-January the song's composition was also complete. "Sono Ichibyō Slow Motion" (literally "That One Second Slow Motion") features the concept of love at first sight
Love at first sight
Love at first sight is a common trope in Western literature, in which a person, character, or speaker feels romantic attraction for a stranger on the first sight of them...
—specifically the single moment when this occurs; for all the songs on the album, Ryo described the song as a typical pop song
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
he would create.
Ryo experimented with other music genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
s, such as using the image of a "garage band
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
's vigorous performance" for "Usotsuki no Parade" (literally "Liar Parade"). "Heartbreaker" was written to sound like a song from a somewhat old fashioned band, and the aim for "Hinekuremono" (literally "A Rebel") was to make an oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
-like feeling song. Like "Koi wa Sensō", powerful emotions are used as a concept in other songs, such as "Melt", which is described as a song that depicts a vibrant, trembling girl's emotions; or "World is Mine", which uses the concept of a selfish, but cute girl. "Parting" is used as the theme in "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki" (literally "When My First Love Ends") and was written to tell the story of an unrequited love
Unrequited love
Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
. Ryo took about half a day to compose "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki", leaving the mixing and arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
to take the most time. In contrast to the other songs, "Kurukuru Mark no Sugoi Yatsu" was written with a different impression where Ryo wanted to convey the fun of a comical song. For the song "Black Rock Shooter", Ryo was inspired by an illustration of an original character by Huke and created the song based on that character.
When writing lyrics for the songs on Supercell, Ryo felt that writing without hesitation based on his initial ideas with minimal editing was best, because the singer, as a computer program, would not feel embarrassed about singing the lyrics. Ryo found it difficult at first with writing lyrics for songs meant to be sung by young women. He admitted that his friends would laugh when he played the songs, but he thought that "if a 16-year-old girl is supposed to be singing...it is best if she sings about romance."
In addition to Ryo using a synthesizer as the main musician, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Okiya Okoshi and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist Miruku "Hime" Kokumaro are credited on the songs "Line" and "Sono Ichibyō Slow Motion". Furthermore, Sariya provided the inhalation of breath for these two songs in order to make the vocals seem more authentic. Ryo cited an unnamed friend as providing the guitar in "World is Mine" and "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki". The major release of Supercell was mixed
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
by Keiji Kondo, Yasuo Matsumoto, and Okuda Supa; Hidekazu Sakai provided the mastering
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
.
Artwork
The limited edition of the major release of Supercell, as well as the indie version, came bundled with a 36-page illustration booklet titled Supercell Works. The booklet contains color illustrations for ten of the songs, as well as comments by the illustrators, an interview of Ryo, and other details about the songs and artwork, including lyrics. The two songs "Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki" and "Mata ne" are excluded from the booklet. The albums' packaging, designed by Yoshiki Usa, includes the song lyrics and some of the illustrations featured in Supercell Works, but while the lyrics for "Mata ne" are included, no illustration is provided. The illustrators for the songs are members of Supercell (excluding the artist 119 who is a former member) and are listed below with the track listing. The cover art features an illustration of Hatsune Miku by Shirow MiwaShirow Miwa
is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. He is best known as the writer and artist for the Dogs manga series, but has also contributed illustrations to various tribute books, and magazines, including Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan. Miwa sometimes publishes under the circle name of m.m.m...
on a cloudy sky background designed by Maque.
Release and reception
Supercell was released in limited and regular editions on March 4, 2009 as a CDCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, bundled with a DVD containing music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s for four of the songs, by Sony Music in Japan. For the week of March 3, 2009 on the Japanese 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...
daily albums chart, Supercell was reported to have sold approximately 20,000 copies on the first day of its release, peaking at No. 2. For the week of March 16, 2009 on Oricon's weekly albums chart, Supercell was reported to have sold about 56,000 copies in its first week of sales, peaking at No. 4, and charted for 38 weeks. This was a record for Hatsune Miku-related albums, having beaten out the previous record holder Re:package (2008) by Livetune
Livetune
Livetune is a Japanese music group which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music group. The band originally consisted of two members, Kz and Kajuki P, but Kajuki P left the group in March 2009. Livetune started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted...
, which peaked at No. 5. By the week of March 30, 2009 on Oricon's weekly albums chart, Supercell was reported to have sold over 70,000 copies, and ranked at No. 24. Furthermore, for the week of April 6, 2009 on Oricon's weekly albums chart, Supercell ranked at No. 36, along with three other Hatsune Miku-related albums: Re:Mikus by Livetune (No. 18), Unformed by Doriko (No. 26), and Exit Tunes Presents Vocarhythm feat. Hatsune Miku by Super Producers (No. 96).
In June 2009, Supercell was awarded a Gold Disc by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
Recording Industry Association of Japan
The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry...
for having exceeded 100,000 copies shipped in a single year. The sex ratio of those who reserved Supercell online was reported by the Asahi Shimbun
Asahi Shimbun
The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
to be 55%/45% for men/women. The album's producer Kazumitsu Shimizu stated that while it is not rare for something related to Japanese Internet culture to typically have a 90% support from males, the female support for the album was described as "very strong".
Track listing
DVD
Independent releaseMajor release
Personnel
Supercell- Ryo – writerSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
- Shirow MiwaShirow Miwais a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. He is best known as the writer and artist for the Dogs manga series, but has also contributed illustrations to various tribute books, and magazines, including Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan. Miwa sometimes publishes under the circle name of m.m.m...
– cover illustration, illustrations - Huke – cover & label artwork, illustrations
- Redjuice – illustrations
- Suga – illustrations
- Maque – cover background, illustrations
- Yoshiki Usa – package design
- Hei8ro – photography
- 119 – illustrations
Additional musicians
- Okiya Okoshi – guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Miruku "Hime" Kokumaro – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Production
- Kazumitsu Shimizu – producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Toyohiko Arimoto – executive producer
- Yu Tamura – executive producer
- Keiji Kondo – mixerAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Yasuo Matsumoto – mixer
- Okuda Supa – mixer
- Hidekazu Sakai – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Yukiko Takata – products coordination
- Takayasu Kuroda – director, artist management
- Yoshiaki Fukuda – products management