is a song by Japanese duo

Yoasobi Yoasobi is a Japanese pop duo formed in 2019. It consists of musician and record producer Ayase (music producer), Ayase and singer-songwriter Lilas Ikuta, under the moniker Ikura. With the slogan "novel into music", the duo originally released Y ...

from their second EP, ''

The Book 2 ''The Book 2'' is the second Japanese-language EP (third overall) by Japanese duo Yoasobi. It was released on December 1, 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan, eleven months after their debut EP '' The Book'' (2021). It consists of eight t ...

''. It was first released on December 1, 2021, through

Sony Music Entertainment Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

, and later released as a standalone

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

on August 12, 2022. Written by Ayase, the song featured as a

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

of the

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

of the same name, ''Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara'', written by screenwriter Osamu Suzuki, and based on it.

Background and promotion

On June 2, 2021, Yoasobi was announced to be in charge of writing and singing a

for the

, starring

Kei Tanaka is a Japanese actor. Personal life On August 31, 2011, Tanaka married former actress Sakura, his co-star in the television drama ''Massugu na Otoko.'' Their agencies also announced that the two were expecting their first child, as Sakura was alr ...

Mario Kuroba is a Japanese model and actor who is affiliated with Vithmic Co., Ltd. Biography Mario Kuroba was born in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan in 1993. In 2010, he won second place in the 23rd Junon Superboy Contest and received the AGF award, kick-start ...

, and Hijiri Kojima. The play was written by Osamu Suzuki, a screenwriter who also wrote ''Tsuki Ōji'', a based short story for the duo's song "

Haruka Haruka may refer to: People * Haruka (given name), a Japanese given name * Haruka (model) (born 1975), Japanese fashion model Music * "Haruka" (Melody song) * "Haruka" (Scandal song) * "Haruka" (Tokio song) * "Haruka" (Yoasobi song) Other us ...

". Performed on August 12–22 at

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. History The theatre opened in 1990 and is operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture. Yoshinobu Ashihara was the architect, with a ...

, the story depicts a man who draws a picture as the time of life gradually decreases in order to share it with someone. On October 1, the duo announced the play's theme would be included on their second EP ''

'' as the second track, released on December 1. The full-length version of "Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara" was played for the first time at

Tokyo FM (abbreviation:TFM) is a radio station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flagship station of the Japan FM Network (JFN). Timeline The station's forerunner, FM Tokai (FM東海, abbreviated FMT), owned by Tokai University, was launched on ...

's '' Jump Up Melodies Top 20'' on November 26. An accompanying music video of "Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara" was premiered on December 12, 2021, directed by

Asami Kiyokawa Asami Kiyokawa () is an embroidery artist from Japan who creates colorful designs over photographs using a needle and thread. She has collaborated with a wide variety of celebrities in Japan including rock star Miyavi, musical group AKB48, poet ...

, who also handled

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

of the play. Yoasobi gave a debut performance of "Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara" on December 30, 2021, at the 63rd

Japan Record Awards is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Established in 1959, the Japan Record Awards are one of the oldest and most prestigious music awards in the countr ...

, alongside "

Kaibutsu is a song by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their second EP, ''The Book 2'' (2021). It was released as a single through Sony Music Entertainment Japan on January 6, 2021, the same date as the duo's debut EP, '' The Book''. As an opening theme for t ...

", and "

Yasashii Suisei is a song by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their second EP, ''The Book 2'' (2021). It was released as a single on January 20, 2021, by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, and released as a double A-side CD single together with "Kaibutsu" on March 24. Th ...

". The standalone version of the song was surprisingly released on August 12, 2022, to commemorate the first anniversary of the play premiere. The English version of the song, titled "If I Could Draw Life", was included on the duo's second English-language EP ''

E-Side 2 ''E-Side 2'' is the second English-language EP and fourth overall by Japanese duo Yoasobi. It was released on November 18, 2022, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The EP consists of eight tracks from the duo's songs in the English language w ...

'', released on November 18, 2022.

Commercial performance

In Japan, "Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara" debuted at number 45 on the

Oricon Combined Singles Chart The is a record chart released weekly by Oricon, a major provider of information on the Japanese music industry. First published on December 24, 2018, it ranks the top fifty singles in Japan based on an album-equivalent unit system factoring phys ...

and peaked at number 37 the next week. It landed at number three on the Digital Singles Chart, selling 11,823 download units in its first week. The song entered ''Billboard'' Japan Hot 100 at number 32, collecting 10,084 downloads (number three on the Download Songs), and ranked number 66 on the Streaming Songs in its first week.

Credits and personnel

* Ayase – writer, producer *

Ikura Red caviar is a caviar made from the roe of salmonid fishes (various species of salmon and trout), which has an intense reddish hue. It is distinct from black caviar, which is made from the roe of sturgeon.Nichola Fletcher, ''Caviar: A Globa ...

– vocals * Osamu Suzuki – based story writer * Takayuki Saitō – vocal

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

* Masahiko Fukui – mixing * Hidekazu Sakai – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

*
The play ''Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara'' script
{{Yoasobi 2021 songs Animated music videos Song recordings produced by Ayase (music producer) Songs in Japanese Songs written by Ayase (music producer) Yoasobi songs