Asian Kung-Fu Generation -- Kaigan Douri（海岸通り）

 

To be honest, I've heard about the Yokohama rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation for many years. I mean, with that name, how could I forget it? It's just that I was never a big fan of alternative rock.

However, after having thoroughly enjoyed the hit anime "Bocchi the Rock!"（ぼっち・ざ・ろっく!） (including the music) earlier this year and finding out that there were some big shoutouts to Asian Kung-Fu Generation in the creation of the original manga and anime, I decided that I should give the band a try myself. So, I found this track from their 2nd album "Sol-fa"（ソルファ）from October 2004. "Kaigan Douri" (Waterfront) was written and composed by vocalist Masafumi Gotoh（後藤正文）as a paean to a beloved shoreline somewhere, a place where all of the worries of the world can dissipate through the breezes. There's an underlying calming rhythm lapping up and down like mini-waves throughout the song and, though I might be wrong in my description, there's something rather grunge about the arrangement except without too much of the screechy buzz.

"Sol-fa" hit No. 1 on Oricon and it later became the 22nd-ranked album of 2004, going Double Platinum. The rest of the band members are guitarist Kensuke Kita（喜多建介）, bassist Takahiro Yamada（山田貴洋）and drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi（伊地知潔）. Although I believe that the "Bocchi the Rock!" fans already know this, the main characters in the manga were given the family names of the AKFG members and even their matching instruments.