Our new song, "I'll Buy You a Brand New Crown," will be released digitally on Wednesday, June 17th.

Furthermore, a collaboration project with manga artist Kei Usubawa has also been launched. The jacket artwork that has been revealed is an original illustration by Kei Usubawa, and the special website launched today will feature not only new illustrations created specifically for this project, but also the full version of Kei Usubawa's short manga "About Me and My Father," which was published in 2021.

amazarashi × Kei Usui: "I'll buy you a brand new Crown"

Special website: amazarashi

Later, a music video in which the worlds of "I'll Buy You a New Crown" and "About Me and My Dad" intersect will be released on YouTube. In addition, this song will be premiered on FM802's "on-air with TACTY IN THE MORNING" on June 15th (Monday).

▼ Comment Hiromu Akita amazarashi

This song is about saying goodbye to my father and about memories of my family.

I think all the songs I've written up until now were just preparation for creating this song.

As I listened to this song repeatedly after it was finished, it reminded me of the manga "About Me and My Father" by Kei Usui that I read some time ago.

It's different from my relationship with my father, but I think the awkward distance, clumsy communication, the passenger seat in the car, playing catch, and the grave all linked to my own memories.

I made the offer on a whim, not expecting much, but they readily accepted, and this collaboration came to fruition. I'm so happy. Thank you.

This is a personal song of mine, but I imagine that when combined with Mr. Usuba's illustrations, it will become a work that depicts a universal theme of family. I hope you enjoy it.

▼Kei Usuwa's comment

The influence amazarashi had on me during my mid-teens was tremendous.

The mid-teens are a time when you're shaping who you are, so amazarashi 's music, Akita 's lyrics, his words, have become deeply intertwined with my roots, seeped into me, and become a large part of forming my thoughts and ideas. I did it. On my own accord.

When I first heard the sample of "I'll Buy You a New Crown," I honestly thought, "Wouldn't it be a nuisance if even a little bit of my own element were to be included in the music video or album cover for this song?"

However, it's also true that I've taken on the personal feelings that Akita poured into his past songs, and I'm sure that even if I hadn't received this request and had simply listened to them after their release as a fan, I would have still empathized with Akita san's personal feelings.

I think Akiji's personal life, the protagonist of "About Me and My Father," is similar. Though they are separate things, I thought they might be connected, so I drew a little more of Akiji's story. It had been a while since I last drew him, so at first the face didn't look very similar, which was difficult. In the end, it did look like him.

I like people's ability to "empathize."

It may seem arrogant, but I believe it's a very important way of life for us who have emotions, to project ourselves onto other people's lives and thoughts, be encouraged by them, and sometimes learn something from them, and use that to shape our own lives.

The act of creating a fictional story is the act of creating someone who doesn't even exist. I suppose it's an act of creating someone you can empathize with without feeling guilty. It might be too one-sided a form of harm for the character, so I feel sorry for them. I guess so.

If Ms. Akita resonated with "About Me and My Father," and if this collaboration leads people to pick up this story and find it relatable, or even relate it to a part of their own life, then nothing would make me happier.

The idea that a story I wrote for myself will also find meaning for someone else is incredibly lucky, and I do like lucky breaks.

I am truly grateful for this opportunity.

 ▼Release

amazarashi "I'll buy you a brand new Crown"

Digital Release: June 17, 2026

URL： https://smar.lnk.to/hfmGrw

amazarashi × Kei Usui: "I'll buy you a brand new Crown"

Special website: amazarashi