Old iron powder.
When it comes to the revival of the Japanese animation industry in the 1990s, Hideaki Anno and Evangelion (hereinafter referred to as EVA) are two names that have always been inseparable.
It is no exaggeration to say that under the influence of the bursting of the Japanese bubble economy and the infamous "Miyazaki Incident", the Japanese animation industry in the 90s suffered an unprecedented impact, and even fell to the bottom. However, the emergence of EVA has stopped the decline of the Japanese animation industry in time and led to the recovery of the entire industry. Today, EVA has a very high status in the Japanese animation industry and even in the global animation industry. Even its director, Hideaki Anno, has been pushed onto the "altar".
However, the protagonist to be talked about this time is not EVA and Hideaki Anno, but a woman who is inextricably linked to Hideaki Anno and EVA. This woman, in her circle, has a height comparable to Hideaki Anno in the Japanese animation industry, even more so.
Her name is Hikaru Utada.
For Utada Hikaru, the first thing most EVA fans think of is probably the classic "Beautiful World". As the theme song of Evangelion New Theatrical Edition: Prologue, Beautiful World shocked a large audience and EVA fans as soon as it was launched. The song is filled with nostalgia for the person being thought of, so thick that it overflows onto the page. From Hikaru Utada's point of view, the "Beautiful boy" repeatedly mentioned in the lyrics may be the key to "World" becoming "Beautiful" - it is the expectation of "Beautiful boy" that makes people feel that they are in the "Beautiful world".
Until now, many EVA fans still remember "Beautiful World". And this excellent "Beautiful World" also opened a new chapter in Utada Hikaru and EVA.
Later, in the 2009 release of Evangelion New Theater Edition: Broken, the song "Beautiful World" reappeared as the theme song of the movie. However, this time ,"Beautiful World" uses a new Version of Remix, and the mixing part is stronger.
In 2010, Hikaru Utada announced that he would suspend his music career in 2011 and become an Internet celebrity who mainly focused on live broadcasting and sharing life, which surprised many people. I thought that her connection with EVA would be disconnected, but I didn't expect it to be a "false alarm" - on November 17, 2012, the worldwide release of "Evangelion New Theater Edition: Q", the audience sitting in front of the big screen once again heard Utada Hikaru's familiar song - "桜流し", which is not only the theme song of "Evangelion New Theater Edition: Q", but also a gift to EVA fans after the retirement of Utada Hikaru.
Even after announcing her retirement, Hikaru Utada still personally wrote the theme song of the new theatrical version of EVA, which is enough to see the deep connection between her and EVA. In fact, Hideaki Anno, who is in charge of the EVA series, also has great respect for Hikaru Utada himself. Hideaki Anno, who has always been arrogant and arrogant, and is even jokingly called "a leper" by netizens, is very respectful when facing Hikaru Utada. In determining the theme song for the EVA theatrical version, Hideaki Anno gave Hikaru Utada a great deal of autonomy. For example, when composing the song "桜流し", Hideaki Anno told Hikaru Utada to "don't think about the plot, just write down your current mood."
Although this practice is indeed very much in line with Hideaki Anno's style of doing things, it is indeed admirable that Utada Hikaru, who can create a theme song that conforms to the theme song of the theatrical version, is indeed admirable - this is inseparable from Utada Hikaru's deep understanding of EVA and his own excellent musical skills.
After all, in the contemporary Japanese music scene, Hikaru Utada really belongs to the most influential and capable singers.
Hikaru Utada, who was born in 1983, was indeed born in a "musical family". His father was Japanese music producer Terumi Utada, and his mother was the famous Japanese singer Keiko Fuji. Growing up in a family with such a strong musical atmosphere, Hikaru Utada began to be exposed to music at an early age and showed amazing musical talent. At the age of 7, she formed an orchestra called "U3" with her parents and participated in the songwriting and singing. At the age of 14, Hikaru Utada released the single "I'll Be Stronger" as "Cubic U". He then signed to Toshiba EMI and released his album Precious.
Hikaru Utada in his childhood
As for her first single under the name "Hikaru Utada", it was not until 1998. The title of the single was "Automatic", and it didn't cause much repercussions when it was first released. It's no exaggeration, though, that Automatic is epoch-making. In an era when Japanese listeners were accustomed to traditional lyrical style repertoire, "Automatic" came from the "R&B" base of the tape, and the integration of hip-hop elements was really like a thunderbolt, shocking people's hearts. And this also ushered in a new era of Japanese music "J-Pop".
As it turned out, "Automatic" received a huge response a year after its release. Until now, "Automatic" is still the second best-selling single for a Japanese female singer.
At this time, Utada Hikaru, who was only 15 years old, was a completely talented musical girl.
With the strong performance of "Automatic", Hikaru Utada immediately released the second single "Movin' on without you". The single also performed well, reaching number one on the credits charts with 372,000 sales in its first week of release. However, compared to her debut album released later, "Movin' on without you" can only be eclipsed.
On March 11, 1999, the same year that Movin' on without you was released, Hikaru Utada's debut Japanese album First Love was released.
Whether it was hikaru Utada himself or the Japanese pop scene at the time, "First Love" had important significance. This album completely allowed Hikaru Utada to gain a foothold in the Japanese music scene and announced the arrival of its era. "First Love" sold more than 2 million in its first week, breaking the record for first-week sales of a Japanese debut album. Its final album sold 7.65 million copies and shipped 9.9 million worldwide, making it the highest-selling album in the history of Japanese pop music. Later, the album's theme song "First Love" was also selected as the theme song of the Japanese drama "The Condition of the Witch".
"First Love" has such a high status and is impressive, not only because Utada Hikaru has a strong musical strength, but also because the contemporary Japanese female singers who compete with Utada Hikaru are also a top celebrity. At the end of the twentieth century, a large number of well-known female singers emerged in Japan - Namie Amuro, Ayumi Hamasaki, Kuraki Mai, etc., all of which belonged to it. Together with Hikaru Utada, they created a dream era in the Japanese music scene that was then known as "fairy fights".
However, the most contrasted with Hikaru Utada by music fans is Hamasaki Bu and Kuraki Mai. Especially Ayumi Hamasaki, the collision and comparison of the two in music is definitely "spark with lightning". The "Lightbud Wars", which is still talked about by music fans, occurred when Hikaru Utada's second album "Distance" was released. At that time, in order to "snipe" "Distance", Hamasaki's agency specially adjusted Hamasaki's debut select album "A BEST" to be released on March 28 , the same day "Distance" was released. The sales of two albums released on the same day will be the best evidence of judging the level.
"Left Light Right Step"
From the current point of view, this is most likely a hype incident jointly planned by the singer agency of the two sides. However, I have to admit that the effect of hype is quite good. It is said that the billboard in Tokyo, Japan at that time, was full of promotion of the new albums of the two, and the records in the CD store were sold out.
There is no doubt that the first week of sales of both albums was a huge success, and eventually the sales volume entered the top ten in Japanese history.
By the third album, Deep River, Utada's personal style has matured quite well, and his unique "R&B" has become more gripping. Throughout the album, Hikaru Utada tries to use different tracks to express human emotions in a three-dimensional way. Many of the songs on this album have a high status in the hearts of fans, such as "traveling", "Letters", "Light", etc., which are the hearts of fans.
Hikaru Utada on the cover of Deep River
Incidentally, Shiina Hayashina has also sung "Letters", which can make people perceive the strong "girlfriend love" between her and Hikaru Utada.
Since then, Hikaru Utada has released many albums such as "Exouds", "ULTRA BLUE", "HEART STATION", "This Is The One" and so on, all of which have achieved good results. The song "Beautiful World", which is well known to EVA fans, is included in the album "HEART STATION".
Although Hikaru Utada has had a smooth career, his family situation is worrying. As mentioned earlier, his parents in the music industry opened the door for Hikaru Utada on the road to music, but the marital status of his parents was very bad. According to statistics, Utada Hikaru's parents have experienced a total of 7 divorces and remarriages, and it is difficult for ordinary people to imagine what it is like. The unstable marital status of his parents will inevitably leave a negative impact on Utada Hikaru's growth process, and even cause psychological shadows.
Mitsuru Utada family
Incidentally, due to Utada Hikaru's mother's addiction to gambling, in the process of her parents' separation, Utada Hikaru was mostly cared for by her father, and there was little mother in the process of growing up. Coupled with his father's career as a professional music producer, he put considerable pressure on Hikaru Utada on the road to music - Hikaru Utada was strictly trained as a professional musician from an early age.
Growing up lacking the love of her mother, being given a heavy mission by her strict and strong father at a young age, lacking spiritual comfort and even thinking of escaping from all this. From the growth trajectory of Hikaru Utada, it is difficult for EVA fans not to find the shadow of a certain character in it.
This role is undoubtedly the male protagonist of EVA, Zhenji.
For this sense of déjà vu, Utada Hikaru did not deny it. On the contrary, she is very sure of the similarities with Zhenji, bluntly saying that "there are too many parts that overlap with herself, and even a little mentally polluted." And this is enough to explain why Utada Hikaru likes EVA so much, and even during the retirement period, he specially composed the theme song "桜流し" for the EVA theatrical version of the anime.
Interestingly, Hikaru Utada only came into contact with the EVA anime through the introduction of her first husband, Kazuaki Kiritani. Born and raised in the United States, Hikaru Utada did not know much about Japanese animation as a child. It was only after the release of his debut Japanese album, First Love, that Hikaru Utada's activities in Japan gradually increased. To this day, Hikaru Utada's nationality is the United States, not Japan.
Hikari Utada and Kazuaki Kiritani
2007, the first time that beautiful world was created for the EVA theatrical animation, was also a very influential year for Hikaru Utada himself. This year, Utada Hikaru's parents divorced for the last time and have not been reunited since. In addition, Utada Hikaru's marriage to her first husband, Kazuaki Kiritani, came to an end in 2007.
It's no wonder Hideaki Anno trusts Hikaru Utada's "free play" so much. After all, for a top singer-songwriter like Hikaru Utada, there were so many things that happened in 2007 that she could write a good song full of stories and true feelings.
After talking so much about Hikaru Utada, it is also time to mention Hideaki Anno. In fact, not long ago, on June 26, Hideaki Anno had a 35-minute conversation with Mitsuru Utada during a live broadcast with her. From the conversation between the two sides, it can be seen that Hideaki Anno really appreciates Utada Hikaru, and can even be said to be the "iron powder" of Utada Hikaru.
Image source: Weibo @ Ritui
Of course, Hideaki Anno is not the only Japanese celebrity of Hikaru Tada. In the Japanese game circle, the well-known game producer Tetsuya Nomura seems to be also a "iron fan" of Hikaru Utada.
Speaking of Tetsuya Nomura, the most iconic game work is "Final Fantasy VII". However, this time it is not "Final Fantasy VII", but another very representative work of Tetsuya Nomura, the "Kingdom Hearts" series.
Beginning with the Kingdom Hearts generation, Tetsuya Nomura entrusted the game's theme song to Hikaru Utada. Hikaru Utada naturally lived up to everyone's expectations, and a song called "Light" healed the hearts of many players. Later, this "Light" was included in the previously mentioned album "Deep River", which is no less than other excellent songs on the album.
Later, in Kingdom Hearts 2 and most recently Kingdom Hearts 3, Hikaru Utada sang two more theme songs, "Passion" and "Oath" again. Many people know about the 15-year bond between Hikari Utada and EVA, but in fact, Hikari Utada and the "Heart of the Kingdom" series are also old friends with more than ten years of friendship. The song "Light" sung by Hikaru Utada to Kingdom Hearts was later used in PSP's "Dream Birth" and PS4's "HD2.8" after Remix.
Even if it is said that Utada hikaru is the "game spokesperson" of the "Kingdom Heart" series, it is not an exaggeration at all.
As for why Nomura Tetsu is also an "iron fan" of Utada Hikaru, it also lies in some rumors on the Internet. The biggest proof of support for this rumor seems to be that in each generation of "Kingdom Hearts", the heroine "Kaili" is almost exactly the same as Utada Hikaru, and some netizens even specifically looked for a comparison chart.
However, even if Tetsu nomura is really a fan of Hikaru Utada, there is nothing surprising about it. Hikaru Utada's position in the Japanese music scene is real.
As mentioned earlier, After Utada Hikaru announced the suspension of his music career in 2010, he lived the life of live streaming and sharing his life. On Twitter, Hikaru Utada always posts pictures of toys that break down on the side of the road. Therefore, some fans call her "Scavenger Singer". However, the most famous name for fans' love for Utada Hikaru is "Kuma hikari". As for why it is called so, the biggest reason is that Utada Hikaru likes bears very much, and the fact that she has a large doll bear is already "well known" among fans. At present, this doll bear is already a "regular visitor" to the Utada Hikaru live broadcast room, and Utada Hikaru affectionately calls this doll bear "Kuma Chang".
During his retirement, Hikaru Utada married her Italian boyfriend, who was 8 years younger than himself, and conceived a son. However, after 4 years of maintenance, the marriage is also coming to an end. Currently, Hikaru Utada is raising her children alone as a single mother.
Hikaru Utada said that he suspended his music career for six years. In 2016, Hikaru Utada announced his comeback and composed the theme song for the morning drama "Sister At Home", which aired in April of the same year. Of course, Hikaru Utada has not forgotten his old friend EVA and the "Kingdom Hearts" series. In 2019, "Kingdom Hearts 3" was officially released, and players encountered the new theme song "Face My Fears" in the game; on March 8, 2021, EVA's latest theatrical version of "New Evangelion Theater Edition: ||" ", EVA fans have long heard hikaru Utada's singing voice - "One Last Kiss". This time, the end of the entire EVA story is recorded.
It's in New Evangelion Theater Edition: || The day after its release, Hikaru Utada released his first mini-album, One Last Kiss. On the cover, two classic characters from EVA are selected, Shinji Tsurugi and Ayapoli.
Galaxy Teacher's "One Last Kiss" vinyl
Ayabori is also Hikaru Utada's favorite EVA character, and his reason for liking Ayabori is that "Ayabori is so cute, like a mother." ”
Coincidentally, during the period of Utada Hikari's retirement, neither EVA nor the "Kingdom Hearts" series seemed to have much news. After 2012's Evangelion New Theater Edition: Q, Hideaki Anno has been unhappy – first falling into depression, and then taking over "New Godzilla" has also encountered bottlenecks. In the face of fans' inquiries about the sequel to the EVA theatrical version, Hideaki Anno can only respond with "almost doing it".
As for Tetsuya Nomura, that's already a notorious "slowness" in the game circle. If you do the math, players' calls for Kingdom Hearts 3 have lasted for more than a decade.
As a result, a few years after Hikari Umeda's comeback, whether it was "New Evangelion Theater Edition: || " or "Kingdom Hearts 3", they all released new news.
And for fans of both EVA and Kingdom Hearts, this is a great thing. Fans are not only witnesses of Hikaru Utada's friendship with EVA and "Kingdom Hearts" for more than ten years, but also veterans who have personally experienced this friendship.