Asian Kung-Fu Generation

Asian Kung-Fu Generation rank among Japan's most commercially potent indie rock acts, their Weezer-inflected punk approach achieving domestic traction that far outstripped the American group's own reach across the Pacific. The group formed in 1996 as a college outfit at a private Yokohama university, marking the sole major undertaking for vocalist-guitarist Masafumi Gotou, bassist-vocalist Takahiro Yamada, and guitarist-vocalist Kensuke Kita. Drummer Ijichi Kiyoshi completed the roster, a configuration that remained intact across three albums and into preparations for a fourth slated for spring 2008, alongside numerous singles whose importance in Japan stems from the nation's elevated CD pricing and consequent appetite for lower-cost releases. Initial years were spent on regional performances and indies output. The first three EPs, cut between 2000 and 2001—The Time Past and I Could Not See You Again, I'm Standing Here, and a split with Caramel Man—featured English lyrics and yielded no significant progress, yet the process prompted the quartet to target Japanese audiences instead. The track "Kona Yuki" from I'm Standing Here received radio airplay, while their inaugural domestic-only EP, Houkai Amplifier ("Destroy Amplifier," 2003), became the breakthrough, earning enthusiastic notices and charting inside the Oricon indie Top 40. The debut full-length Kimi Tsunagi Five M followed later that year; preceded by the hit singles "Mirai No Kakera" and "Kimi To Lu Hana," it moved 250,000 units. The follow-up Sol-fa arrived in 2004 and held the top chart position for two weeks, ultimately selling 600,000 copies thanks in part to placements in the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist ("Rewrite") and Naruto ("Haruka Kanata"). The band spent 2005 on an exhaustive nationwide trek, highlighted by a sold-out Re:Re Tour and their own Nano-Mugen Festival that assembled eight likeminded acts. In 2006 they tracked the third album Fan Club while assembling Feedback File, a retrospective of B-sides and concert recordings; Fan Club's "Worlds Apart" delivered their maiden number-one single, after which they mounted another tour and staged Nano-Mugen Festival 2, now expanded to twelve bands. Fans' nickname "Ajikan" had by then taken hold. The group deliberately scaled back activity for most of 2007, yet the fourth album World World World reached stores in early spring 2008, its song "After Dark"—distinct from the Tito & Tarantula composition—securing the opening slot for the popular fantasy anime Bleach.