Kenshi Yonezu Crossover J-Pop Superstar Debuts 'Plazma' Theme Song to the New Film Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX - Beginning -
Tokyo, Japan (January 20, 2025) – Global J-pop superstar KENSHI YONEZU today releases “Plazma,” a new single and the official theme song to the latest installment in the iconic Gundam franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-. Available everywhere now, the track features electrifying vocals from Yonezu alongside high-tempo synths and electronic rhythms to match the vibrant universe of the mecha and their epic space battles.Today's track is the latest in a string of prolific theme songs by Yonezu following his contributions to Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron, the Final Fantasy XVI video game, and his global hit theme for the Chainsaw Man series.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuuX -Beginning- premiered in a total of 426 theaters, including IMAX® theaters in Japan on January 17th, as a re-edited version title comprised of some of the episodes. The TV anime is scheduled to premiere later on in 2025 worldwide. Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuuX -Beginning- is already a huge hit, grossing over 598 million yen (3,829,801 USD) at the box office and drawing over 350,000 viewers in just 3 days, hitting the top of the X trends chart for the entire day, with many enthusiastic comments being posted, waiting for the release of Yonezu's new song “Plazma”. Today, along with the song release, a new promotional reel is out on official Gundam YouTube channel Watch Here.
“Plazma” is a song, written, composed, and arranged by Yonezu. The cover art is drawn by Yonezu himself, as an illustration of Amate Yuzuriha (Machu) and Nyaan, two of the main characters of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuuX -Beginning-. Yonezu announced the release of “Plazma” on the opening night of his 2025 Japanese tour, performing the new song live and giving fans an exclusive preview of the unreleased track. Rounding out a massive 2024 that included the release of his sixth studio album LOST CORNER, Yonezu kicks off 2025 with an extensive run of Japanese tour dates before gearing up for his first-ever run of international dates across Asia, Europe and the US, with stops at New York City's world-famous Radio City Music Hall and Los Angeles' YouTube Theater.
ABOUT Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
Amate Yuzuriha is a high-school student living peacefully in a space colony floating in outer space.
When she meets a war refugee named Nyaan, Amate is drawn into the illegal mobile suit dueling sport known as Clan Battle.
Under the entry name "Machu," she throws herself into fierce battle day after day, piloting the GQuuuuuuX. Then an unidentified Gundam mobile suit pursued by both the space force and the police appears before her, along with its pilot, a boy named Shuji.
Now their world is about to enter a new era.
ABOUT KENSHI YONEZU
After gaining success with Vocaloid music under the stage name Hachi, Kenshi Yonezu began producing under his real name in 2012. In addition to music, he has attracted attention for his album cover illustrations and video productions. The video for his hit single “Lemon”, the long-running theme song for the TV series Unnatural, is the most-viewed music video in Japan, and topped Billboard Japan's year-end charts for two consecutive years, leaving a mark on music history both in Japan and abroad.
His 2020 album STRAY SHEEP set a record of 1.9 million copies sold with the highest-placing Japanese artist ever to appear on the IFPI year-end global ranking chart. He continued to work tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic, including performing as the first Asian in a virtual concert hosted by the online game Fortnite. Collaborated globally with UNIQLO on their UT collection with the storefront collaboration displays in NY and other 8 UNIQLO stores worldwide. He was awarded an AAC Award, listed in Forbes' 100 Asian Digital Stars, and received the Minister of NEWS RELEASE Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists.
In 2022, he released “M87” as the theme song for the film Shin Ultraman, and “POP SONG” as the theme song for a PlayStation commercial. His single “KICK BACK,” the opening theme for the TV anime Chainsaw Man, made Spotify's Global Top 50, and became the first Japanese-language song certified Gold by RIAA®. He was also selected as the first and only Japanese artist to be a part of the “RIAA Class of 2023”, with which the association summarized the artists who had flourished in the year.
In 2023, Yonezu released “Tsuki Wo Miteita - Moongazing” as the theme song for the RPG game Final Fantasy XVI, and “Chikyugi - Spinning Globe” – the theme song Studio Ghibli's animated film The Boy and the Heron(Academy Award Winner for Best Animated Feature, 2024), directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
In August 2024, Yonezu wrote “Garakuta – JUNK”, the theme song of the movie LAST MILE, and released his sixth studio album, LOST CORNER. In September, Yonezu released an exclusive line of graphic tees in collaboration with UNIQLO, as part of their ongoing UT series celebrating pop culture from around the world. After 11 years, Hachi (Kenshi Yonezu) himself created a new illustration for the VOCALOID song “Donut Hole”, and a fully animated music video based on the illustration. Original chocolate was also released from Godiva Japan as the “GODIVA x HACHI Donut Hole Collection” from October as the first time for Godiva worldwide to create a chocolate collection lineup in collaboration with an artist. In November Yonezu released “Azalea”, a song written as the theme song for the global Netflix series Beyond Goodbye.
In 2025, Yonezu is heading to a world tour – KENSHI YONEZU 2025 TOUR / JUNK – following an extensive 20-date run across Japan, Shanghai and Taipei, the tour continues in Seoul for two consecutive shows on March 22nd & March 23rd at INSPIRE Arena. The European leg begins March 30th at London's Eventim Apollo and April 1st at Paris' Zenith. The tour will then move to the U.S., with a performance at the world-famous Radio City Music Hall in New York on April 4th and at Los Angeles' YouTube Theater on April 6th.
As for Yonezu's music videos, “Lemon” has surpassed 900 million views, continuing to break the records of Japanese artists. It is one of the 16 music videos of his songs that garnered him a commanding record of surpassing 100 million views each (“Lemon,” “Eine Kleine,” “LOSER,” “Peace Sign,” “Haiirotoao (+Masaki Suda),” “orion,” “Flamingo,” “Kanden,” “Fireworks,” “Paprika,” “Shunrai,” “Uma to Shika,” “Spirits of the Sea,” “KICK BACK,” Foorin's “Paprika” and Masaki Suda's “Machigaisagashi”). He has over 7.47 million subscribers on his official YouTube channel.
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