Naruto, Gintama Music Video Feature Songs from Asian Kung-Fu Generation, DOES

Two well-known Japanese bands will soon release Naruto and Gintama music videos. The Naruto music video will come from Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Meanwhile, the Gintama music video will come from DOES.  The videos will appear on March 26, 2023. [Thanks, Comic Natalie!] According to details published in Weekly Shonen Jump, the project is a collaboration between Weekly Shonen Jump and Sony Music Entertainment. Called “Jump MV” (for “music video”), the series will pair original animation featuring manga published in Weekly Shonen Jump with music from SME-managed musicians. The Naruto and Gintama music videos are part of the “Anime Theme Song” series, and will pair art from the manga with songs by the bands that were used as themes for their respective anime adaptations. Previews of the art used in the music videos were also shared.

For Asian Kung-Fu Generation, the Naruto music video song is “Far Away” (also known as “Haruka Kanata”). The song served as the second opening theme for the Naruto anime series in Japan (the English dub version used it as its third opening). The opening sequence with the song aired alongside episodes 26 to 53. The episodes covered the Chunin Exam story arc. Asian Kung-fu Generation also performed the opening song for the adaptation of Naruto: Sasuke’s Story, which aired as part of the Boruto anime series. Check out the original opening sequence below.

For DOES, the Gintama music video song is “Shura” (or “Pandemonium”). It was the fifth ending theme for the Gintama anime, and aired alongside episodes 50 through 60. These episodes covered the Benizakura story arc. Check out the original ending sequence, courtesy of YouTube user SSTV.

The Naruto and Gintama music videos will debut on the official Weekly Shonen Jump YouTube channel on March 26, 2023 at about 6:00 PM Japan time. Viz Media publishes both series in English.