BAND-MAID’s latest single What is justice? slices across digital platforms on July 18 and into living rooms as the ending theme for the gritty role-reversal anime TOUGEN ANKI. Gnashing through with KANAMI’s guitar riffs and AKANE’s bass drum kicks, the tune serves up a fitting palette for the series’s bold inversion of the classic Japanese fable Momotaro: The plot casts the swordsman hero’s descendants as the oppressors and the Oni demons as morally complex protagonists. Lead vocalist SAIKI tears into the titular question again and again, as the three-minute carnage dismantles conventional acceptance of societal norms.
Akin to the textures that painted BAND-MAID’s earlier anime tie-in Ready to Rock for the anime Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty, the composition leans into heavier, darker soundscapes. The music video for What is justice? reflects the quintet’s evolution from blithe servitude to counter-cultural defiance, rocking out in a subterranean hideout that feels like a contemporary reimagining of the demonic lair Onigashima. The central lyric examining “justice” echoes much more like a challenge than a simple pop hook.
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- Cover artwork for the BAND-MAID single “What is justice?”
At this year’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles, JROCK NEWS sat down with rhythm guitarist BAND-MAID founder Miku Kobato, who penned the lyrics according to the world of TOUGEN ANKI. In describing her songwriting process for What is justice? and other anime tie-ins, Miku graciously took us through her journey of forming her band, finding her calling on earth, and drawing parallels with some beloved anime series. Read on to find out more!
We are so excited by how deeply BAND-MAID has been involved with the anime Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty, from the opening theme Ready to Rock to the characters’ motion capture by the other band members!
The story follows Lilisa, who is dropped into an unfamiliar world and ignites her true calling in rock and roll. How does Lilisa’s journey relate to your own discovery of rock music and founding of BAND-MAID?
When I read Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty, I found similarities that made me feel as though the story was about us, po. When we formed BAND-MAID, there were lots of times when we felt defeated, because people would say we were not serious about our music, or they would judge us only by our appearances, po. But just like Lilisa and the girls, we believed in our music and did not give up, and because of that, we’re able to meet our masters and princesses, and we are here now, po.
Do you yourself read manga or watch anime during your free time? Can you share with us your favorites, either current or ones from when you were growing up? You’ve probably seen a lot over the course of 810 years!
Of course, we love Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty and TOUGEN ANKI, so I have read even the latest chapters. I also love manga in general and have been reading a lot for a long time, po.
Like Rock Lady, female musicians are featured in several famous works throughout anime history, such as Nana, K-On!, Bocchi the Rock!, and more. If you’ve seen any of these, do you have a favorite, and can you tell us why?
I haven’t been really familiar with manga where female musicians are the main characters, but some of the series that I’ve loved for a long time and are my all-time favorites are Sand Chronicles and Slam Dunk, po.
Speaking of anime, the music video for Unleash!!!!! portrayed BAND-MAID in a spectacular anime style, like a combination of Sailor Moon and Power Rangers. If a studio were to produce an anime series about BAND-MAID, what kind of story would you want to tell? Would it be a drama, like Nana, or would you transform yourselves into fantastic heroines, like Sailor Moon?
The other band members and I once talked about how it would definitely be interesting if we were part of a Marvel-style American comic anthology, po.
We’re also looking forward to the ending theme What is justice? for the anime TOUGEN ANKI. This is a spin on the classic Japanese fable Momotaro told from the point of the view of Oni demons. What was your reaction when you first heard this unique premise? How was this reflected in the songwriting for What is justice?
I was surprised how different it was from the folk tale Momotaro, po. It’s a story that turns the stereotypes of “Oni = evil, Momotaro = justice” on its head, and it was very refreshing, po.
I received a request from the anime’s production team to write the lyrics, not from the Oni’s point of view, but that of Momotaro’s, so I read the original manga mainly keeping in mind his feelings, po. Momotaro is tasked with annihilating Oni, but Oni also have their own take on what “justice” means. As I saw Momotaro fight, screaming and grappling over his conflicted understanding of “justice”, I worked the repeating words “what is justice” into the lyrics, like a firm challenge, po.
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- Promotional poster for the anime “TOUGEN ANKI”
It feels like the melodies and song structures in recent singles Zen, Ready to Rock, and What is justice? have taken a darker, more aggressive turn compared to earlier works. Was this the result of writing for anime or the natural evolution of BAND-MAID?
I think it’s the fact that these were written as tie-in songs, and we wrote them to match the anime, po.
On top of this, I feel that our guitarist KANAMI’s expressiveness grew, and each of the other band members evolved in our own way, resulting in us all powering up, po.
Can you share a few details about your next EP or full-length album? What excites you about the next step in BAND-MAID’s musical career?
The EP we are working on now carries the theme of “classic BAND-MAID”, po. BAND-MAID bore a variety of songs throughout our 12-year career, and although everything was undoubtedly “rock”, we culminated an amalgam that represents all our experience, po. By releasing this EP, we hope that those who got to know us through anime as well as those who’ve have always known us throughout all the years will enjoy our music even more, po.
Also, we are so looking forward to playing the new songs off our EP at our OKYUJI service [live concerts], po.
And keep in mind this next release is an EP, so we hope you will also look forward to our full-length album in the future, po.
Congratulations on your Japan-wide tour throughout 2025! But the fans miss BAND-MAID over in the States. When can we expect to see you perform again? What would you like to try differently or challenge yourself with in your next overseas tour? We loved your dueling guitar solo with KANAMI on Brightest Star!
As for overseas appearances, we will be holding an OKYUJI at SUMMER SONIC BANGKOK 2025, po. We’ve been to Thailand before to film the Hollywood movie Kate, but this will be our first time putting on an OKYUJI there, po. It’s not a solo show, but we’re very much looking forward to the inaugural OKYUJI in Thailand, po.
There aren’t any confirmed dates for a U.S. tour yet, but of course we’d love to return and serve more OKYUJI there, po.
We are in the middle of our Japan tour right now, and our live performance has evolved even more since our last US tour, po. We are challenging ourselves with lots of new things, like playing a BAND-MAID medley, po. We hope our overseas masters and princesses will get to see how much we’ve grown by our next world tour, po. We haven’t done an acoustic version during our international tours yet, so that’s something we’d love to try someday too, po!
JROCK NEWS thanks BAND-MAID, Miku Kobato, and Project Asteri for the interview opportunity. What is justice? is available on major streaming and digital download platforms now.
- What is justice?