Singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu appeared on the 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen(NHK General TV and others), which aired on December 31st. He performed his hit song "IRIS OUT," which he wrote as the theme song for the animated film "Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc," for the first time, and it has been met with a great response.
Yonezu performed from what appeared to be the "KK Line" of the Tokyo Expressway in Ginza, which was abolished last spring. The performance began with a dramatic production, starting from inside a public telephone booth. From the receiver played "JANE DOE," the ending song for "Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc," a collaboration between Yonezu and Hikaru Utada.
The performance was full of scenes reminiscent of "Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc," with Yonezu riding a shark vehicle and fireworks exploding at the end. The seven-member girl group "HANA" also appeared as dancers, livening up the stage.
Comments on social media included, "It was seriously overwhelming and awesome!!" "The homage to that memorable scene was amazing," "IRIS OUT was too flashy lol," "Isn't the IRIS OUT video amazing? It's incredible," "I got goosebumps," "Just seeing Yonezu riding a shark in a big city was amazing," "Who would have predicted the pay phone performance and the collaboration with HANA?" and "It was surreal, like a movie, and completely unexpected."
The theme of the 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen was "Connecting, Connecting, New Year's Eve," and the event was hosted by Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Haruka Ayase, Mio Imada, and announcer Naoko Suzuki.
