Gurenge

"Gurenge" (紅蓮華, "Red Lotus") is a song by Japanese pop singer Lisa from her fifth studio album Leo-Nine. It was released as her fifteenth single digitally on April 22, 2019,^[1] and received a physical release on July 3, 2019.^[2] Commercially, the single peaked at number three on the Oricon Singles Chart, and number two on Billboard Japan Hot 100. It was used as the first opening theme song for the Japanese anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.^[3]

"Gurenge"
Regular edition and digital EP cover
Single by Lisa
from the album Leo-Nine
B-side	"Propaganda" "Yakusoku no Uta"
Released	July 3, 2019
Recorded	2019
Studio	Onkio Haus & Victor (Tokyo)
Genre	Rock
Length	3:58
Label	Sacra Music
Composer(s)	Kayoko Kusano
Lyricist(s)	Lisa
Producer(s)	Ryo Eguchi
Lisa singles chronology
"Akai Wana (Who Loves It?)" / "Adamas" (2018) "Gurenge" (2019) "Unlasting" (2019)
Alternative cover
Limited anime edition cover
Music video (short version)
"Gurenge" on YouTube

Background and release

On March 24, 2019, the official website of the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba revealed the opening theme song "Gurenge" that would be sung by Lisa.^[3] The song was released digitally on April 22, 2019,^[1] and received a physical single on July 3, 2019, on three editions; regular, limited, and limited anime edition.^[2] The song was featured live on YouTube channel The First Take and also on 2019 Kōhaku Uta Gassen.^[4][5] The song also featured in her fifth album Leo-Nine.^[6]

Reception

"Gurenge" won a Newtype Anime Awards for 2019 best theme song,^[7] and won on 34th Japan Gold Disc Award for Best 5 Songs by Download.^[8] The song has been covered by people across the world on YouTube. One of them was the Japanese duo Garnidelia, who made a self cover of the song in their official YouTube; the cover is part of their official cover, titled Garnidelia Cover Collection.^[9] An instrumental rendition of the song was featured during the closing ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.^[10]

Commercial performance

"Gurenge" reached number three on the Oricon Singles Chart,^[11] two on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, and one on the Japan Hot Animation.^[12] In May 2019, "Gurenge" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for 100,000 full-track digital music downloads.^[13]

In July 2020, "Gurenge" was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for 1,000,000 full-track digital music downloads.^[14] "Gurenge" became the first single by female artist to surpass 1 million downloads in the history of Oricon Digital Single Chart. The single also become the third overall single in the chart's history to do so, after Kenshi Yonezu's 2018 single "Lemon", and his 2019 single "Uma to Shika".^[15]

Music video

The music video for "Gurenge" was directed by Masakazu Fukatsu.^[16] and produced by Hiroshi Takayama.^[17] The video features Lisa using red scarf & black cloth as motifs, wearing a white sleeveless shirt and red shorts, dancing alongside two demons. Sometimes the scenes would show the demons with black and red effect.^[18] The video ends with Lisa donning a demon mask. The demons are played by Shinji Kanazawa and Mai Shimizu.

Track listing

Regular and limited edition – CD

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Gurenge" (紅蓮華)	Lisa	Kayoko Kusano	Ryo Eguchi	3:58
2.	"Propaganda"	Toru Hidaka	Pablo A.K.A. WTF!?	Pablo	3:21
3.	"Yakusoku no Uta" (やくそくのうた)	Tomoya Tabuchi	Tabuchi	Eguchi	4:38
4.	"Gurenge" (instrumental)				3:55
Total length:					15:52

Limited edition – DVD

No.	Title	Director(s)	Length
1.	"Gurenge" (music video)	Masakazu Fukatsu	3:56
Total length:			19:48

Limited anime edition – CD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Gurenge"	3:58
2.	"Propaganda"	3:21
3.	"Yakusoku no Uta"	4:38
4.	"Gurenge" (TV version)	1:29
Total length:		13:26

Limited anime edition – DVD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Gurenge" (TV version without credit)	1:39
Total length:		15:05

Digital EP – digital download, streaming

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Gurenge"	3:58
2.	"Propaganda"	3:21
3.	"Yakusoku no Uta"	4:38
4.	"Gurenge" (instrumental)	3:55
5.	"Gurenge" (TV version)	1:29
Total length:		17:21

Personnel

Musicians

• Lisa – vocals, lyrics (1)
• Toru Hidaka – lyrics (2)
• Tomoya Tabuchi – lyrics (3), composition (3)
• Kayoko Kusano – composition (1)
• Yuichi Takama – bass
• Pablo – composition (2), arrangement (2), guitar
• Osamu Hidai – drums
• Ryo Eguchi – arrangement (1, 3), other instruments

Production

• Yasuhisa Kataoka, Hiromitsu Takasu – recording
• Yasuhisa Kataoka – mixing
• Taisuke Uchino – assistant
• Akihiro Shiba, Temas – mastering

Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Gurenge"

Ceremony	Year	Award	Result	Ref.
9th Newtype Anime Awards	2019	Best Theme Song	Won	[7]
34th Japan Gold Disc Award	2020	Best 5 Songs by Download	Won	[8]
39th JASRAC Awards	2021	Domestic Works	Won	[19]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart performances for "Gurenge" Chart (2019–2020) Peak positions Global 200 (Billboard)[20] 73 Japan (Japan Hot 100)[21] 2 Japan Hot Animation (Billboard Japan)[22] 1 Japan (Oricon)[11] 3 Japan Combined Singles (Oricon)[23] 2 Japan Anime Singles (Oricon)[24] 2 US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[25] 7

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for "Gurenge" Chart (2019) Position Japan (Oricon)[26] 16 Japan Anime Singles (Oricon)[27] 4 Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Gurenge" Chart (2019) Position Japan (Japan Hot 100)[28] 26 Japan (Oricon)[29] 92 Japan Combined Singles (Oricon)[30] 37 Chart (2020) Position Japan (Japan Hot 100)[31] 3 Japan (Oricon)[32] 36 Japan Combined Singles (Oricon)[33] 6 Chart (2021) Position Japan (Japan Hot 100)[34] 16 All-time charts All-time chart performance for "Gurenge" Chart (2008–2022) Position Japan (Japan Hot 100)[35] 9

Certifications

Certifications for "Gurenge"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[36] Physical	Platinum	250,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[37] Digital	Million	1,000,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[38] Streaming	Platinum	100,000,000†
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Gurenge"

Region	Date	Format	Version	Label
Various	April 22, 2019	Digital download streaming	Pre-release	Sacra Music
	July 3, 2021		Digital EP
Japan		CD+DVD	Limited
			Limited anime
		CD	Regular

References

1. "紅蓮華 – Single" (in Japanese). iTunes Store. 21 April 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
2. "LiSAニューシングル「紅蓮華」、7/3（水）リリース決定☆" (in Japanese). Sacra Music. April 29, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
3. "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Anime's Video Previews LiSA's Opening Song". Anime News Network. March 24, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
4. "「紅白」初出場は日向坂、Foorin、LiSA、ヒゲダン、キスマイ、King Gnu、ジェネ、菅田将暉" (in Japanese). Natalie. November 14, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
5. "LiSA to Perform 'Gurenge' on New YouTube Channel 'THE FIRST TAKE'". Moshi Moshi Nippon. December 6, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
6. "LEO-NiNE" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
7. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 27, 2019). "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Promare anime win top Newtype Anime Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
8. "The Japan Gold Disc Award 2020 | Winners" (in Japanese). Japan Gold Disc Award. February 26, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
9. Harding, Daryl (August 9, 2020). "GARNiDELiA Covers LiSA's Demon Slayer OP 'Gurenge' in Slaying MV". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
10. Lacerna, Michael (August 9, 2021). "Demon Slayer Theme Song Closes Out Tokyo Olympics". CBR. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
11. Gurenge – Oricon Oricon News. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
12. "紅蓮華 - Chart Insight" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
13. レコード協会調べ 4月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Inspection Certification of Paid Online Music Distribution] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved June 2, 2020. Choose May 2019 from the dropdown menu.
14. レコード協会調べ 4月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Inspection Certification of Paid Online Music Distribution] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved June 2, 2020. Choose April 2020 from the dropdown menu.
15. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 28, 2020). "LiSA's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Song Tops 1 Million Downloads". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
16. "SPACE SHOWER Music Video Search". SPACE SHOWER Networks Inc. Retrieved June 2, 2020. (in Japanese)
17. "7/3リリース「紅蓮華」ミュージッククリップ公開☆" (in Japanese). Sacra Music. May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
18. "Lisa Releases Music Video Clip of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Opening Theme 'Gurenge'". Moshi Moshi Nippon. June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
19. "39th JASRAC Awards". JASRAC. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
20. "LiSA (dupe 1) Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
21. "LiSA (dupe 1) Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
22. "Billboard Japan Hot Animation [ 2020/06/08 付け ]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
23. "LiSAの合算シングル売上" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
24. "Oricon Top 20 Anime Singles: 2019-07-15" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
25. "LiSA (dupe 1) Chart History (World Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
26. "Oricon Top 50 Singles: 2019-07". Oricon. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
27. "Oricon Top 10 Anime Singles: 2019-07". Oricon. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
28. "Billboard Japan Hot 100 Year-End 2019". Billboard Japan. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
29. "Oricon Top 100 Singles: 2019". Oricon. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
30. "【オリコン年間ランキング 2019】嵐が18年ぶり200億円超えで総合首位、米津玄師、あいみょん、髭男がデジタルシーンを席巻 | 年間合算シングルランキング 26位~50位". Oricon (in Japanese). December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
31. "Billboard Japan Hot 100 Year-End 2020". Billboard Japan. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
32. "Oricon Top 100 Singles: 2020". Oricon. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
33. "【オリコン年間ランキング2020】嵐、総合で通算9度目の首位獲得 | 合算シングルランキング 1位~10位". Oricon (in Japanese). December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
34. "Billboard Japan Hot 100 Year-End 2021". Billboard Japan. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
35. ""JAPAN HOT 100"15周年を記念したオールタイムTOP50発表 1位は米津玄師「Lemon」". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). March 31, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
36. "Japanese single certifications – LiSA – 紅蓮華" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 31, 2021. Select 2020年12月 on the drop-down menu
37. "Japanese digital single certifications – LiSA – 紅蓮華" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 31, 2021. Select 2020年6月 on the drop-down menu
38. "Japanese single streaming certifications – LiSA – 紅蓮華" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 31, 2021. Select 2020年5月 on the drop-down menu