On October 9, the first PV for the TV anime Kininatteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta ("The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All," a.k.a. "Kinioto"), set to air in January 2027, was released, and with it the score's composers were finally revealed: Kosuke Noma and Takayuki "Kojiro" Sasaki. Their music is already heard in the PV, and the score was recorded in Tokyo and Los Angeles. Ever since July's announcement that Nirvana's "Breed" would be the opening theme, one question had been hanging in the air: what about the underscore? Now we have an answer.

When music itself is the protagonist, what does a score do?

The original manga by Sumiko Arai is serialized on KADOKAWA's web manga site "Kitora." Aya, a high school girl who loves Western rock, falls for the "guy" working at a CD shop, who turns out to be Mitsuki, a quiet classmate from her own school. Their bond grows through conversations about music. According to Dengeki Online, the series has surpassed 2.25 million copies worldwide.

What makes this work exciting and difficult is that real rock classics keep appearing in its story. Eiga.com reported that this is the first time a Nirvana song has been officially used in a Japanese visual work. If "Breed" from Nevermind (1991) opens each episode with that intro, the score will play in the same program as genuine grunge. If the cue right after a classic sounds thin, viewers will notice instantly; if it competes too hard, it will get in the way of the two girls' conversations. The demands here are nothing like an ordinary rom-com's.

Keys and guitar: how the duo splits the work

Aniplex credits Noma with "composition and keyboards" and Sasaki with "composition and guitar." With each composer bringing his own instrument, this looks less like orchestral thinking and more like a score born from band sessions.

Their comments back that up. Noma revealed that this is his first time scoring a work, and said the playing turned into a raw, somewhat nostalgic musical session. Sasaki said he was delighted that grunge classics he had listened to for years appear in the manga, and that the music stays close to the characters' delicate emotions. A guitarist who has lived with grunge for years writing this score may be the most convincing casting the project could have made.

Why record in LA? A little speculation

The official materials don't explain the LA sessions, so what follows is this writer's guess. In a story about characters who love '90s American rock, wanting the score to carry that same air, with local musicians and real room sound, makes perfect sense. Not a polished programmed sound, but the texture of amps in a room, is what should match the warmth of conversations at a CD shop counter.

  • Watch point 1: How the score picks up from scenes where licensed songs play (how it "receives" their key and tempo)
  • Watch point 2: Whether Mitsuki's and Aya's themes are entrusted to keys or to guitar
  • Watch point 3: Whether the eventual soundtrack album can be enjoyed as a rock record

A staff lineup leaning toward sound

The director is Masashi Ishihama (Horimiya), series composition is by Rino Yamazaki, character design is by Kanna Hirayama (Oshi no Ko), and animation is by CloverWorks. The series airs from Friday, January 8, 2027, on Nippon TV's "FURA-ANI" block, Fridays at 11 p.m. As author Arai said, she feels honored that a work centered on music will be delivered through the "sound" of animation, and much of the show's success rests on its music.

After Nirvana fades out, what remains on screen are the two girls' conversations, Noma's keys and Sasaki's guitar. A composer scoring for the first time has been handed the job of following the world's most famous grunge band. That bold challenge begins on Friday nights in January. Even for just the few dozen seconds of the PV, give the sound a careful listen.