To commemorate the broadcast of the sixth season of the TV anime "Kingdom," based on the popular manga by Yasuhisa Hara, a conversation between the original author Hara and Yoshiki Mizuno of the music unit "Ikimonogakari" has been published on the official website. "Ikimonogakari" is in charge of the opening theme (OP) for the sixth season, "Ikite, Sansan," and in the conversation they talk about the thoughts behind the song and behind-the-scenes stories from its production.
Hara and Mizuno have known each other since the TV anime began airing in 2012, and now their song has been chosen to perform the long-awaited theme song for the sixth series. Immediately after "Ikite, Sansan" was selected as the theme song, they had a long discussion about "what Kingdom is." They also spoke about how they first met and their feelings toward each other's work. With 2026 marking the 20th anniversary of "Kingdom" serialization and the 20th anniversary of "Ikimonogakari" debut, they also revealed their outlook for the future.
"Kingdom" is a popular manga that has been serialized in "Weekly Young Jump" (Shueisha) since 2006. Set in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period of China, it depicts the exploits of Shin, who aims to become the greatest general in the world, as well as the drama of heroes such as King Ei Sei of Qin, who later becomes known as the First Emperor. The total number of copies of the comics published has exceeded 120 million.
The first series of the TV anime aired from June 2012 to February 2013, the second from June 2013 to March 2014, the third from April to October 2021, the fourth from April to October 2022, and the fifth from January to March 2024. The sixth series will be broadcast on NHK General TV every Saturday at 12:10am.
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