Seven-member dance-vocal group Genin wa Jibun ni Aru. (GNJB) released a new single titled Mania on May 3rd.
The song’s title is said to express “mad love” or an “extreme devotee,” while the track explores the theme of “excessive affection and serene insanity without malice." The music is said to capture this feeling via a disorienting pace, with the members' voices
mutating throughout while a lurching rock melody carries everything forward. Yet come the hook, the members are said to unite to deliver “a catchy —albeit unnerving— chorus reminding of the project’s pop bonafides."
Links to download and stream Mania on various music platforms are available here.
Mania's music video, which was unveiled on the same day, is said to encapsulate the song’s story line, where the image of a “butterfly” is used as a key object for excessive affection. The seven members of the group express their affection as a
mimicker, specimen collector, and thief, as their fascination with butterflies morphs into a distorted attachment, driven by a longing to perceive the world through the eyes of butterflies. Another highlight of the video is the “doting dance,” where they
appear to be intricately intertwined with one another, symbolizing the adhesive nature of their affection.
Genin wa Jibun ni Aru. belongs to EBiDAN, a music collective consisting of male artists associated with talent agency Stardust Promotion. The members include Takato Okura, Kohsaku Koizumi, Masaya Sakuragi, Ryota Nagano, Jun Muto, Kazuto Mokudai, and Kaname Yoshizawa, who are also actors.
The group debuted in 2019, aiming to embrace a positive interpretation of the Japanese word for “cause” (“genin”). They set a thematic focus on the notion that their actions and works become “causes” that trigger the emergence of new ideas and
creations in the world. GNJB’s music draws from a variety of genres, at its core "blending philosophical lyrics with a piano rock sound that characterizes the essence of the group’s musicality, rooted in the lineage of Japan’s Vocaloid community”.
The music video for Mania can be viewed below. Turn on captions to watch with English subtitles.
