Back-On (stylized as BACK-ON) is a Japanese rock band from Tokyo, Japan. They are known for performing opening themes to anime and games, such as the Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 opening theme, "fly away"; the Air Gear opening theme, "Chain"; the Murder Princess opening theme "Hikari Sasuhou (fk Metal ver.)", and the Eyeshield 21 opening theme "Blaze Line". They have also written ending themes for both anime and TV shows, including "flower" and "a day dreaming..." for Eyeshield 21, "Butterfly" for the late-night TV drama Shinjuku Swan, "Sands of Time" for the mobile robot TV drama Keitai Sousakan 7, and "Strike Back" for the anime series Fairy Tail.
History
Kenji03 and Gori have been friends since childhood, having attended the same school in Adachi, Tokyo. In their sixth year in school, they realized that they wanted to start a band, though in the beginning they did it all separately.[1] While in high school, Kenji03 met Teeda while Gori met Shu. They each started out in separate bands, but eventually ended up uniting with each other to form their own band.[1] Shortly after their formulation, Kenji03 met his brother's friend Macchin, who joined the band as its drummer[1] and rounded out the quintet.
They formed a new band called BAReeeeeeeeeeN with the 4-man band GReeeeN, and their debut single "Ashiato" was released on October 1, 2008. The song reached No. 1 in the USEN and chaku-uta digital download charts.
The band's singles "Flyaway" and "Where Is the Future?" were created as theme music for the PSP game Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2, which was released exclusively in Japan on January 28, 2009.
Back-On performed at Connichi 2009 in Kassel, Germany in 2009, and revisited Taiwan for two live performances in December 2009.
Their single One Step!/Tomorrow Never Knows was released on January 27, 2010; "Tomorrow never knows" was used as the background theme music for a DyDo coffee commercial featuring Japanese surfer Teppei Tajima.
In 2013/14, the band composed and performed two opening themes for the anime series Gundam Build Fighters, called "Nibun no Ichi" (ニブンノイチ, "One Half") and "wimp ft. Lil' Fang (from FAKY)";[2] the latter features vocals by Lil' Fang from the group FAKY and aired from episode 14 onwards. Both singles were released in three versions: CD-only, CD+DVD (with videos) and CD+gunpla plastic model.
They were invited back to perform at Anime USA in 2013 after a 6-year break from the US and were also star guests at Pacific Media Expo shortly after.[3]
The band performed at Anime Friends in 2014 as their first visit to Brazil.[4]
In 2015, their song "Resurrection" was used as the ending theme for Initial D Legend 2: Racer movie.
Back-On also performed as a headliner at Otakon Matsuri in 2015.
On May 26, 2017, the band celebrated its 15th anniversary with a concert at Ebisu Liquidroom titled "BACK-ON 15th Anniversary Live -Ultimate Thanks-". Gori and Shu quit the band after this show, leaving Back-On as the duo of Kenji03 and Teeda.
In 2023, it was revealed that they would be performing the opening theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard, titled "CHEMY×STORY".[5] Along with Flow they would sing a new version of the opening for the episodes airing in 2024, along with Chinese and English self-covers.[6][7]
