On November 13, a two-week limited theatrical run of Kaze wo Tsugumono -Hajimari- began in Japan. It is an early preview of Kaze wo Tsugumono, an original TV anime set to air from January 2027 on the CBC/TBS network. The series is a period drama about the Shinsengumi, starring Daisuke Sakuma of Snow Man as protagonist Jinsuke Tachikawa (his first lead role in a TV anime), with Yuki Kaji as Soji Okita, Kohki Uchiyama as Toshizo Hijikata and Yuichi Nakamura as Isami Kondo. The original work is credited to Aniplex and Yutaka Narui, who also writes the screenplay, and the story is based on the Caramel Box stage play Kaze wo Tsugu Mono.

For score fans, the key credit is this one: Music: Shigeru Kishida. The frontman of the rock band Quruli is scoring a TV anime for the very first time.

"All drawn by Shigeru Kishida": a musical picture scroll of 50-plus cues

The comment Kishida gave when the project was announced in September is thrilling. The score runs to more than 50 tracks, which he calls a "yorozu ongaku emaki," a picture scroll of all kinds of music. In his words: "From Gion festival music to European classical music of the sakoku era, pre-dawn jazz and contemporary sounds, Shigeru Kishida has drawn it all."

Read closely, that is a bold sentence. The story is set in Kyoto at the end of the Edo period, so Gion festival music makes sense. But "European classical music of the sakoku era" is music that was playing outside Japan while the country was closed off. Then comes "pre-dawn jazz." Since "before the dawn" is a classic metaphor for Japan's final shogunate years, the phrase reads like wordplay on the era itself. Festival music, foreign music of the same period, and music born long after it: one composer painting material that jumps across time and geography onto a single scroll. Period-drama scores often bring to mind a heavy blend of Japanese instruments and orchestra, but Kishida seems to be unfolding a completely different map.

Kishida was born in Kyoto and has worked out of Kyoto, and now he is scoring a story set in Kyoto. It is a local musician writing the period drama of his own city. How festival music sounds when written by someone who hears Gion-bayashi as part of daily life, not as research material, may be the biggest thing to listen for.

Theme songs by "Quruli + Hitsujibungaku," one continuous sound world with the score

The theme songs are unusual too. The opening, "Kaze wo Tsugumono," is credited to Quruli + Hitsujibungaku, while the ending, "Namida no Kawa," is credited to Hitsujibungaku + Quruli. The swapped order is a fun touch, and Moeka Shiotsuka sings both. "Namida no Kawa" has lyrics and music by Shiotsuka and arrangement by Kishida, and it also serves as the theme of the theatrical preview (streaming since October 12).

Kishida describes "Kaze wo Tsugumono" as a sound in which Hitsujibungaku races through Quruli's sonic world. Hitsujibungaku, for their part, said that after seeing footage with the score, they felt the work was already overflowing with wonderful music. In other words, the theme songs were built on top of a world the score had already created. Having the score composer also arrange a theme song is a powerful way to unify a work's sonic texture, so the opening, the episodes and the ending may play as one continuous Shigeru Kishida soundscape.

What music fits a Live2D period drama?

Animation production is by Live2D Creative Studio × Drive, with direction by Tomohiro Kawamura and character design by Fumi Ebina. Taking on a full-fledged period drama with a Live2D-centered production setup makes this a new experiment on the visual side as well. How will a genre-crossing score support visuals made in a new way? The theatrical preview is a rare chance to find out early.

  • Theatrical preview: Kaze wo Tsugumono -Hajimari-, two-week limited run from November 13
  • TV broadcast: January 2027, on 28 stations of the CBC/TBS network
  • Music: Shigeru Kishida (50-plus score cues)
  • Theme songs: OP "Kaze wo Tsugumono" by Quruli + Hitsujibungaku / ED "Namida no Kawa" by Hitsujibungaku + Quruli

When a band musician scores a project, the result is sometimes a song-leaning score that feels like an extension of the theme song. What comes through in Kishida's words, though, is a musical journey only a score can take. We want to hear the moment Gion festival music and jazz sound in the same story, starting in the theater. When soundtrack details are announced, we will follow up here.