is a song by Japanese

Indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Asian Kung-Fu Generation (stylized as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION) is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama in 1996. For its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyo ...

. It was released as the second single of their fifth studio album, '' World World World'', on November 7, 2007, nearly a whole year after the release of the album's lead single. The single debuted in the top ten on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in N ...

charts and was selected to be used as the seventh opening theme of the anime series '' Bleach''.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for "After Dark" was directed by Tadashi Tsukagoshi. The narrative video tells the surrealistic story of an ordinary young

salaryman In Japan, a is a salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation where he works. Salarymen are expected to work long hours, to put in addit ...

who wakes up one day to find wings sprouting out his back. At first, the man tries to hide them and continue going about his everyday life. However, as time goes on, the wings gradually grow larger and become increasingly harder to hide from his friends and co-workers. All the while, the scenes are intercut with a visual of AKG, expressing similar wings, playing the song in a giant birdcage. While walking home one day, the man bears witness of a helpless

window cleaner Window cleaning, or window washing, is the exterior cleaning of architectural glass used for structural, lighting, or decorative purposes. It can be done manually, using a variety of tools for cleaning and access. Technology is also employed an ...

about to fall from a high-story building. The young man wishes to act, but hesitates due to the large crowd that has gathered around the scene. But when the cleaner begins to lose his grip, the young man throws off all hesitation, makes a dash towards him, spreads his wings, and soars to the rescue. At the same moment, the giant birdcage that had been holding AKG shatters to pieces. The video went on to win Best Rock Video at

SPACE SHOWER Music Video Awards Space Shower Music Awards (old name: SPACE SHOWER Music Video Awards, abbr. to SPACE SHOWER MVA) are an annual set of music awards sponsored by Japanese Space Shower TV. The prizes have been awarded since 1996. Winners in main categories Best ...

08.

Track listing

Personnel

* Masafumi Gotō – lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

Kensuke Kita (January 24, 1977) is the lead guitarist and backing singer of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Kensuke met fellow band members Masafumi Gotō and Takahiro Yamada while attending a music club of Kanto Gakuin University. Th ...

– lead guitar, background vocals * Takahiro Yamada – bass, background vocals *

Kiyoshi Ijichi (born September 25, 1977) is the drummer of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Ijichi credits the origin of his drumming ability to playing in marching bands in junior high. He met fellow band members Masafumi Gotō, Kensuke K ...

– drums *

– producer *Yusuke Nakamura – single cover art

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:After Dark (Asian Kung-Fu Generation Song) Asian Kung-Fu Generation songs 2007 singles Songs written by Masafumi Gotoh Songs written by Takahiro Yamada (musician) Bleach (manga) songs 2007 songs Ki/oon Music singles