After over half a decade of no new music, Jin (also known as Shizen no Teki-P) is publishing a new album for his series Kagerou Project. The title of the album is called “Mekakucity Reload” and it was announced on Aug. 15 of this year, the most prominent date regarding the series. So far, it has three tracks released with the full album coming out on Nov. 7.
The songs that currently have a full video and official rendition are “Never Lost Word” and “Additional Memory.” The third song, “Remind Blue,” only has an acoustic live performance from the creator himself.
As the main storyline of the series has been completed already, this album appears to focus on filling in the gaps that may exist throughout. For example, “Never Lost Words” is a song that has one of the characters that never got the spotlight before at the center of it.
Kagerou Project itself is a multimedia project dating back to Feb. 17, 2011 with Jin releasing his first song for the series called “Jinzou Enemy (Artificial Enemy).” Months later brought on the song Mekakushi Code (Blindfold Code), introducing the other main characters within the series.
However, the series didn’t gain a proper following until after the release of its third song, “Kagerou Daze (Heat Haze Daze).” Not only did it give the series its title, but it is also by far the most popular and well known song in the series (aside from one that came out much later called Outer Science). It features two characters caught inside of a time loop on Aug. 15, a date that is extremely relevant to the series overall.
After this song’s release, the series’ popularity rose significantly. From there, Kagerou Project expanded into several other mediums. This includes: an anime, a manga series, and light novels.
Each piece of the series follows a different timeline, all with major differences from the other parts of the series. It pulls together the overarching plot of the main characters being caught in a time loop until they find the true ending to put a stop to the loop they’ve become ensnared in. As of right now, only the anime and song series have a solid conclusion to them while the other two mediums are ongoing.
Even with the major branches, the basic plot of Kagerou Project is the same: a group of kids on Aug. 14 and 15 come together as a result of them all having special powers revolving around the eyes. The day tends to change in events depending on the scenario, though a majority of timelines end up the same: with a several members of the cast being killed off and the time loop resetting once more.
It’s a tragic series, though one that’s colorful and immersive in the many ways people can enjoy it. Aug. 15 continues to be a date that stands out among old and new fans alike and brings the fans together to rediscover and talk about a series still tugging along faithfully.
Erika Brandenburg
Arts and Entertainment Editor