is an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

by the Japanese rock musician

Tomoyasu Hotei , also known simply as Hotei ( ), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with artists fr ...

. It was originally featured in the 2000 film '' New Battles Without Honor and Humanity'' (also known as ''Another Battle'') by

Junji Sakamoto is a Japanese film director. Career After working as a set assistant or assistant director under such filmmakers as Sogo Ishii and Kazuyuki Izutsu, he made his directorial debut in 1989 with '' Dotsuitarunen'' (earning the Directors Guild of ...

, which Hotei wrote the soundtrack for and acted in. On the film's soundtrack, the piece is titled . A live performance of the song appears on Hotei's 2001 live album, ''Rock the Future Tour 2000-2001''. The piece was introduced to Western audiences three years later in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's ''

Kill Bill Volume 1 ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts action film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a group of assassins (Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox and Michael Mad ...

'' and its

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

, where it was retitled "Battle Without Honor or Humanity". Three versions of the track are featured on Hotei's 2004 album '' Electric Samurai''. It was released as a single on June 30, 2004, under the title . The song continues to be used in a variety of media worldwide, frequently placing it on

JASRAC The , often referred to as JASRAC, is a Japanese copyright collection society. It was founded in 1939 as a nonprofit organization, and is the largest musical copyright administration society in Japan. Overview JASRAC's main business activity ...

's annual list of the highest-grossing Japanese music recordings based on international

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

. In 2020, it was named the 80th best guitar instrumental by ''

Young Guitar Magazine ''Young Guitar Magazine'' is a Japanese guitar magazine first published in May 1969 by Shinko Ongaku Shuppansha (now Shinko Music Entertainment), with a focus on folk music. Starting from the 1970s, it started covering hard rock in the 1970s, an ...

''.

Reception

"Battle Without Honor or Humanity" was named the 80th best guitar instrumental by ''

'' in 2020. According to the

Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers The , often referred to as JASRAC, is a Japanese copyright collection society. It was founded in 1939 as a nonprofit organization, and is the largest musical copyright administration society in Japan. Overview JASRAC's main business activity ...

, "New Battles Without Honor and Humanity Theme" has been one of the year's top 10 highest-grossing Japanese recordings based on foreign income multiple times. Based on foreign

earned, it was eighth in 2014, rose to sixth in 2015, ranked tenth in 2016 and 2018, rose to third in 2019, and then second in 2020.

Single track listing

#"Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Original Mix" #"Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Samurai Mix" #"Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Guitar Karaoke"

Personnel

Personnel for 2004 single version; *

– guitar, bass, keyboards *Toshiyuki Kishi (

Abingdon Boys School Abingdon Boys School (stylized as abingdon boys school and abbreviated a.b.s.) is a Japanese rock band formed in 2005. It consists of vocalist Takanori Nishikawa, guitarists Sunao and Hiroshi Shibasaki, and keyboardist Toshiyuki Kishi. They have ...

) – programming, audio edit *Yoichi Murata – horn arrangements, trombone *Masahiko – trumpet

Use in popular media

Films

* '' New Battles Without Honor and Humanity'' * ''

'' * ''

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'' (trailer only) * ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

'' * ''

Shrek the Third ''Shrek the Third'' (also known as ''Shrek 3'') is a 2007 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Chris Miller and co-directed by Raman Hui from a sc ...

'' * ''

Kung Fu Panda ''Kung Fu Panda'' is an American martial arts comedy media franchise that started in 2008 with the release of the animated film '' Kung Fu Panda'' produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily v ...

'' (trailer only) * '' Hotel for Dogs'' * '' Team America: World Police'' * ''

Made of Honor ''Made of Honor'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Paul Weiland and written by Adam Sztykiel, Deborah Kaplan, and Harry Elfont. The film stars Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, and Sydney Pollack. The plot follows a life ...

'' * ''

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil ''Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil'' is a 2011 American animated spy comedy film directed by Mike Disa in his theatrical feature directorial debut and written by Disa, Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, and Tony Leech. The sequel to '' Hoodwinked!'' ( ...

'' * '' The Dictator'' * '' Les Dalton'' * '' The Mitchells vs. the Machines'' * '' The Boss Baby: Family Business'' (trailer only) * '' Minions: The Rise of Gru'' (trailer only) * ''

The Super Mario Bros. Movie ''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'' is a 2023 American animated adventure comedy film based on Nintendo's ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' video game franchise. Produced by Universal Pictures, Illumination (company), Illumination, and Nintendo, and d ...

'' * '' Kung Fu Panda 4'' (TV Spot only)

Television episodes

* ''

Dancing With the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' (season 10 finale) * ''

Raising Hope ''Raising Hope'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on Fox from September 21, 2010, to April 4, 2014. Following its first season, the show received two nominations at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. Martha Pli ...

'' (Season 1 Episode 22) * ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons with 176 episodes. ''Black-ish'' follows an uppe ...

'' (Season 3 Episode 2) * ''Bones'' (Season 12 Episode 6) * ''

My Name Is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia (producer), Greg Garcia for NBC. It aired for four seasons from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, with a total of List of My Name Is Earl episodes, 96 episodes. It wa ...

'' (Season 1 Episode 13) * ''

Blue Eye Samurai ''Blue Eye Samurai'' is an adult animated action television series created and written for Netflix by wife-and-husband team Amber Noizumi and Michael Green, with supervising director and series producer Jane Wu. It was animated by French studio ...

'' (Season 1 Episode 1)

Commercials

* "Vocal Kombat" (featuring judges from '' The Voice'' in hotel lobby battle scenes) – aired during Super Bowl XLVI, Feb. 5, 2012 * "Naturally Pumped Up" (Buxton Mineral Water) – launched May 2014 * “Not For You” (

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

showcasing an

electric SUV An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...

) – launched April 2019

Video games

"Battle Without Honor or Humanity" is featured in the 2007 video game ''

Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA , released in Europe as ''Dancing Stage SuperNova'' is an arcade and PlayStation 2 game in the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' (''DDR'') series of music video games. It was produced by Konami and released through Betson Enterprises. The game was rele ...

'' for the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

. A cover also appears in the ''

Pop'n Music , commonly abbreviated as ''Pop'n'', ''PM'' or ''PNM'' and stylized as ''pop'n music'', is a music video game series in the Bemani series made by Konami. The games are known for their bright colors, upbeat songs, and cute cartoon character graphic ...

'' series in Japan: ''Pop'n Music 13 Carnival'' for the PlayStation 2, and ''Pop'n Music 17 The Movie'' and ''Pop'n Music 18 Sengoku Retsuden'' for arcades. The song also appears in the ''

Gran Turismo HD Concept is a sim racing video game demo developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the first installment of the '' Gran Turismo'' racing video game series to be released on the console. It wa ...

'' trailer for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

, and as DLC for the multi-platform game ''

Rocksmith 2014 ''Rocksmith 2014'' is a music video game produced by Ubisoft. It is a followup to the 2011 game ''Rocksmith'', but has been described as a replacement to the original game rather than a sequel. Like its predecessor, the game allows players to plu ...

''.

Radio/podcasts

* Ron & Fez, during their time on

WJFK-FM WJFK-FM (106.7 Hertz, MHz "106.7 The Fan") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station licensed to serve Manassas, Virginia, and serving the Washington metropolitan area. WJFK-FM airs a sports radio, sports radio format and is owned and opera ...

The Herd with Colin Cowherd ''The Herd with Colin Cowherd'' (or simply ''The Herd'') is an American sports talk show hosted by Colin Cowherd. A simulcast, it airs as both a sports talk radio show and television broadcast on Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1, respectively. ...

radio show syndicated in the United States via

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an Radio in the United States, American Sports radio, sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports ...

, simulcast on

Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (branded on-air as FS1) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 airs an array of live sporting events, including Majo ...

* ''

The Chris Moyles Show ''The Chris Moyles Show'' is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Chris Moyles, originally broadcast as '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' from 5 January 2004 to 14 September 2012, before transferring three years later ...

'', former breakfast show on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

- used to introduce their 'Half Time' feature on the show at 9am * BaD Radio Show radio show on 1310 The Ticket Dallas * d20 Docking Bay on the

Order 66 podcast Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

* Used as the theme from The Tom Sullivan Show, a talk radio program syndicated in the United States via NEWSTALK 910 AM in San Francisco, CA from 12noon to 3pm. *Used on alice 105.9 FM Denver weather announcement *Used as the opening theme for Drive Time Sports, a local caller-driven sports show on KABZ 103.7 The Buzz in Little Rock, AR. *Used as the theme for GLoP Culture podcast.

Sports

* Played as theme song for the

NPB is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

and

Samurai Japan The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

baseball broadcasts in

Tv Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

(

ANN Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...

) **Including Japanese

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

broadcasts, including the 2023 final. * Played when

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

take to the field at their home ground,

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

* Played before kickoffs at home

Pittsburgh Panthers football The Pittsburgh Panthers football program is the College athletics, intercollegiate American football, football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at ...

games as well as home

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

games * Played when

Motherwell FC Motherwell Football Club is a Scottish professional association football, football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, which plays in the . Motherwell have not dropped out of the top flight of Scottish football since 1985, and have lif ...

takes to the field at their home ground,

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

* Played at

Bristol City FC Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

's home games at

Ashton Gate Stadium Ashton Gate is a multi-use stadium in Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol City F.C. and the Bristol Bears rugby union team. Located in the south-west of the city, just south of the River Avon, it currently has an all-se ...

* Played at

Sheffield United FC Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's histor ...

's home games at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

* Various professional wrestlers have used it for their theme music.

Paul London Paul Michael London (born April 16, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he performs as a wrestler and a producer. He is best known for his tenure in WW ...

used it during part of his tenure in

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

while

Hallowicked Robert Goodwin (born November 1, 1981), better known by the ring name Hallowicked, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has performed primarily in the Chikara (professional wrestling), Chikara professional wrestling pr ...

has used it outside of his home promotion of CHIKARA Pro, most notably in IWA Mid-South's 2006 Ted Petty Invitational tournament.

Yukio Sakaguchi is a Japanese former professional mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, actor and judoka. In professional wrestling, he is primarily known for his tenure with DDT Pro-Wrestling, but has fought and competed for All Japan Pro Wrestling, Wor ...

has started to use it since beginning his career in 2012 with

Dramatic Dream Team is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name is an initialism of Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's original name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was even ...

and previously used it in two of his

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fights in the

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

and

Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...

promotions. Pro Wrestling Stable Makai Club also uses it. * The

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The School colors, official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are gener ...

men's basketball team home games at Fred Bramlage Coliseum. *

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

pre-game kickoffs at

MetLife Stadium MetLife Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States, 5 mi (8 km) west of New York City. It opened in 2010, replacing Giants Stadium, and serves as the home for the ...

*Played during video reviews at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

during

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

games. *

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Starting XI * Played when

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

take to the field at their home ground,

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

* Heard during the opening ceremony to the

Tokyo 2020 Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of at ...

Naoya Inoue is a Japanese professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, and is one of only three male boxers in history (along with Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk) to become the undisputed champion in two weigh ...

's Ring walk music. * Played when the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

take the floor for home games.

Background music for television shows

* ''

The X Factor UK ''The X Factor'' is a British reality television music competition, and part of the global ''X Factor'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's British entertainment company, Thames (T ...

'' — first three series as entrance music before contestants' performances * ''

The X Factor USA ''The X Factor'', also known as ''The X Factor USA'', is an American reality television music competition show created by Simon Cowell and produced by FremantleMedia North America and SYCOtv, a partnership between Cowell and Sony Music Entertai ...

'' — used as a dramatic music in many critical moments of the show * '' The Block - Australia'' — judges entrance * '' The X Factor UA'' — judges entrance * ''Cultura moderna'' — Italian game show; used when wheeling out the shed containing the mystery celebrity guest. * ''

AKBingo! ''AKBingo!'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese television variety show featuring Japanese idol girl group AKB48. The show aired weekly on Nippon Television. In each episode, members of AKB48 and occasionally their sister groups participate in ...

'' — pre-match

trash-talk Trash talk is a form of spoken insult usually found in sports events, although it is not exclusive to sports or similarly characterized events. It is often used to intimidate the opposition and/or make them less confident in their ability to wi ...

exchange * ''

Mogali Rekulu ''Mogali Rekulu'' (Telugu: మొగలి రేకులు) was an Indian Telugu-language drama television series which originally premiered on 18 February 2008 on Gemini TV Gemini TV is an Indian Telugu language general entertainment ...

'' — Telugu TV series. Used as background music for character R.K. Naidu.

References

{{authority control Tomoyasu Hotei songs 2000 songs 2004 singles Songs written for films Songs written by Tomoyasu Hotei Rock instrumentals category:Funk rock songs