King Gnu Talk Creative Process of New Single ‘TWILIGHT!!!,’ Writing for Anime & Current Mindset: Billboard Japan Monthly Feature Interview

The members of King Gnu chatted with Billboard Japan for its Monthly Feature series spotlighting currently notable artists and works. The popular four-man band’s latest single “TWILIGHT!!!” was written as the theme song for the blockbuster anime movie Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback and dropped digitally on April 18.

Last year, the “SPECIALZ” band’s first-ever domestic five-dome tour entitled King Gnu Dome Tour “THE GREATEST UNKNOWN” drew crowds totaling 380,000 people. Soon after, the quartet embarked on its first Asia tour visiting Taipei, Singapore, Shanghai, and Seoul, expanding its overwhelming presence outside of its home country.

The band’s new single is being featured in the latest movie version of the hugely popular Detective Conan anime, also known for having a history of famous theme songs. “TWILIGHT!!!” fuses ’80s synths and Afro-inspired grooves to create a danceable track that transforms incredibly live. The four members — Daiki Tsuneta, Yu Seki, Kazuki Arai and Satoru Iguchi — talked about this new single, which they say is an extension of a new way of working they settled upon during the making of their most recent album THE GREATEST UNKNOWN.

First, tell us about your KING GNU LIVEHOUSE TOUR 2025 CLUB GNU EDITION that ran from February to March. Most of your performances of tracks off your albums CEREMONY and THE GREATEST UNKNOWN probably took place in arena-sized venues or larger, so were there any new takeaways or insights when you performed them in a club setting?

Kazuki Arai (Bass): The audience was really close to us, so I think there was more tension because of that. We could feel the passion from the audience directly without loss, which was unconsciously reflected in our staging and performance. But our dome tour was followed by our Asia tour, so it wasn’t like we suddenly downscaled to club-sized venues, because we also did halls during our Asian trek in between and there was also a bit of time after that as well, so it was a bit more of a gradual process.

Satoru Iguchi (Vocals/Keyboards): During the Asia tour, the show in Seoul had this really great vibe, so we thought it’d be nice to see that in Japan at a venue around the same scale. The Seoul crowd sang a lot and cheered really loud. It’s not like our fans in Japan aren’t energetic, but they are shy, it’s just how Japanese people tend to be. So regarding our domestic fan club tour, we did hope that we’d be able to perform with that kind of energy again.

You also seemed to actively hype up the audience on many occasions, Mr. Tsuneta.

Daiki Tsuneta (Guitar/Vocals): It’s no fun when people are just listening to you. There’s no point in performing live like that, is how I basically feel. Our energy level of the day changes depends on whether or not we get something like a response, to the point where we might seem like a different band.

Your new song “TWILIGHT!!!” is the theme song for the movie Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback. It’s tied into a work that’s been on the air since you were kids and has been loved for a long time.

Iguchi: Yes. I used to watch the anime at the time.

Tsuneta: I used to read the manga.

Yu Seki (Drums): Of the movie versions, I liked Detective Conan: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital.

What was the reaction like when you announced the tie-in?

Arai: I have friends who are fans and when I told them directly, they went crazy. They were like, “That’s so awesome!” A lot of people contacted me about it, so personally, there was a lot of response.

The movie is set in Nagano Prefecture, where Mr. Tsuneta and Mr. Iguchi are from. 

Arai: Did you get a feel of home when you saw it?

Iguchi: Yeah, I did. Yatsugatake (mountains) and Zenkoji (temple) appear in the movie.

When you were tapped to write the movie theme song, what kind of song did you envision when you first started working on it?

Tsuneta: Personally, when I’ve been asked to write a song for an anime show, singing about that work itself doesn’t sit well with me. Because when we perform that song live, I’ll be like, “Who is this song about, anyway?” and won’t feel comfortable with it. I believe strongly that the song has to be ours that it has to be a King Gnu song. In that sense, I’m not writing about any of the characters in particular, but the inspiration from the world of Detective Conan that I felt after seeing the movie is there, so I suppose what’s most important is maintaining a good sense of distance. I’ve been conscious of that since “SPECIALZ” (opener for the Shibuya Incident story arc of the anime series Jujutsu Kaisen). Though of course I do want it to overlap with the anime as well.

Arai: I was thinking about something like that too. Like SLAM DUNK, anime songs from back then weren’t about the content of the work itself, you know?

Tsuneta: I’m aware of things like words that resonate with the audience, but try not to narrow it down too much. I really try to keep in mind that the music has to be believable when we play it as a band.

I think the sound is a new departure for King Gnu, with synths that have an ’80s feel, for example. Did you have a clear idea of what you wanted to do from the demo stage?

Tsuneta: Yes, I’ve really been into that ’80s feel recently. I used lean more into alternative music before and that kind of sparkly, disco vibe wasn’t something I liked. But now that I’m at this age, I’m starting to like that type of music because I think it’s refreshing in a different way.

Did you come across any particular works that sparked that interest?

Tsuneta: The Weeknd, Daft Punk, I’ve been wanting to try stuff like that recently.

What were your first impressions of the demo?

Seki: It had an Afro feel to it, but I sensed that he wanted to take it in a city (sophisticated) direction. I personally found it kind of difficult because it wasn’t in my deck of cards.

Tsuneta: The beats are definitely Afro-oriented. I imagine it’s super hard for our audience. They’ll probably have a hard time grooving to it.

Seki: But when I listened to the finished song, I think we settled on a really good place.

Tsuneta: It has a mixture feel to it, doesn’t it?

The chorus also references Jersey club.

Seki: Yes, it does. We did sneak in a little bit of that context of club music. But we hadn’t decided on anything until the four of us got together to play it. We just inserted the samples and were like, “Let’s figure it out during rehearsals.” That’s how King Gnu’s new songs are finished up these days. We have no idea where we’ll end up, so we just get the samples ready and sit down and figure it out. And it all seems to work out somehow.

Arai: It works out, doesn’t it? It was the same with “Asura”

Seki: Both “Asura and “IKAROS” worked out.

Speaking of which, “Asura is one of those songs that transformed during your live performances.

Arai: It feels like that this time, too.

Seki: I think I’m getting more comfortable with the instruments. I use electronic drums on this one.

I see. What about the bass?

Arai: The bass ended up copying the groove and nuances that Daiki had included in his demo. We tried various takes, but agreed that it’d be better if the bass could be heard together with the beat. We usually just put in what each of us wants to do, but this time, I think we were more conscious of putting (the bass and drums) together as a set than in other songs. The nuances (Tsuneta) wanted were already apparent in the demo stage, so in the end we went full circle and settled on that. Our approach was to make it work with a minimum of bass sounds.

Seki: Since we’re a band, doing things like that can be awkward or difficult, but I did want to try it out. I’ve noticed that some of the songs that are popular overseas feature the bass guitar and bass drum doing the same thing.

Tsuneta: I’ve been thinking that it’d be better if (the bass and drums) aren’t divided. They’re often separated when a band is producing the song, but in today’s mainstream music, they’re very much one and the same, so that was something I wanted to try. “Nekko” was the complete opposite, with each member playing their own part, very much like a band, and I was getting a bit tired of that. Both have their merits, of course, and we’ll separate them in our live performances, but I thought we could try something like that in the production.

It’s also a continuation of your production style after THE GREATEST UNKNOWN, isn’t it?

Tsuneta: Yes. I felt pretty confident about “SPECIALZ” and “Asura and realized there aren’t any bands that can create these kinds of sounds. My current mood is to pursue that further.

How was the vocal recording process?

Iguchi: My voice has a lot of overtones, so it doesn’t work too well with Auto-Tune, and it took me a while to find a good place to land. It also took me a while to get used to the rhythm patterns. So it was pretty fun in terms of it being a challenge, but we started rehearsing recently and I’m finally getting used to it and want to record it again. I feel like I could sing it better now.

Tsuneta: You mean you’re evolving?

Iguchi: Yeah, basically.

Arai: Daiki also said, “I should have recorded the guitar.”

Tsuneta: I added some guitar for the live performance, and thought it sounded great.

Seki: That happens a lot with this band. The songs change again after playing them live.

Iguchi: Yeah.

Tsuneta: Very few of the songs are done the same way as the original recordings.

You constantly update them.

Tsuneta: So next time, it’d be cool if we have the luxury of rehearsing, then recording. We could probably make them even better if we try to input them first, then record them based on that. 

Seki: That would make them really King Gnu.

Arai: Yeah, make them purer.

We look forward to your upcoming music.

Tsuneta: I think the next one is another completely different type of song, so I can’t wait to release it. It’ll probably help people understand this one better.

I see. Is “TWILIGHT!!!” symbolic in some way in terms of where the band is at musically?

Tsuneta: It’s quite symbolic in one aspect, but only in one aspect. We’ll be releasing some more new songs, and only then will certain things become apparent.

Iguchi: I think all four of us are more grounded now.

So your personal development is showing in your music as well.

Tsuneta: I mean, Kazuki is raising a kid and we’re all at an age where such things are relevant.

You’re more deeply rooted in your daily lives in that sense.

Tsuneta: Yes. I want to face that kind of reality in the things we create and also in the way we work.

—This interview by Takuto Ueda and text by Maiko Murata first appeared on Billboard Japan