Peace Sign (Kenshi Yonezu song)
2017 single by Kenshi Yonezu
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"Peace Sign" (Japanese: ピースサイン, Hepburn: Pīsu Sain) is a song by Japanese musician Kenshi Yonezu. It was released as a single by Sony Music on June 21, 2017. The song was used as the first opening theme for the second season of the anime series My Hero Academia.
| "Peace Sign" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Kenshi Yonezu | ||||
| from the album Bootleg | ||||
| Language | Japanese | |||
| B-side |
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| Released | June 21, 2017 | |||
| Label | Sony Music | |||
| Songwriter | Kenshi Yonezu | |||
| Kenshi Yonezu singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Peace Sign" on YouTube | ||||
Background and release
The demo that became the prototype for "Peace Sign" was produced in spring 2016. Yonezu then accepted an offer from the producers of My Hero Academia to provide music. Yonezu referred to "Butter-Fly", the opening theme song for Digimon Adventure, as an example.[1]
One of the B-sides, "Yumekui Shōjo", is a self-cover of Yonezu's Vocaloid song "Shajō no Yumekui Shōjo", released under the name Hachi in 2010. Yonezu was initially reluctant to self-cover songs he released using Vocaloid, but later thought that it might be okay. "Yumekui Shōjo" is slower than the original song.[1][2]
"Peace Sign" was released during the first broadcast for the second season My Hero Academia. The version used during the broadcast was released as "Peace Sign (TV edit.)" on music distribution services on April 29, 2017.[3] It is an arrangement that uses the chorus more than the version recorded on the single.[4] The single was released on June 21, 2017, with three versions. The Peace version came with a DVD containing the non-credit opening of My Hero Academia, and the Hero version came with a special trading card featuring Izuku Midoriya, the main character of My Hero Academia. Yonezu designed the jackets for the Peace and Hero versions. The first release, regardless of version, contained advance applications for tickets of Yonezu's live tour Fogbound, which started in November of that year.
"Peace Sign" became Yonezu's second song and the third overall certification for a song with Japanese lyrics since Chainsaw Man's "Kick Back", to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song achieved gold certification in 2026.[5]
Music video
The music video for "Peace Sign" was released on Yonezu's YouTube channel on June 7, 2017. The video exceeded 1 million views on YouTube within 24 hours of its release, and on September 1, it was reported on Yonezu's website that the video had surpassed 100 million views, Yonezu's fifth music video to reach this milestone. It exceeded 200 million views on August 24, 2020.
On December 18, 2017, a special music video for "Peace Sign" using footage from My Hero Academia was released on Toho Animation's YouTube channel.[6]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Kenshi Yonezu.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Peace Sign" (ピースサイン) | 3:57 |
| 2. | "Neighbourhood" | 3:57 |
| 3. | "Yumekui Shōjo" (ゆめくいしょうじょ) | 4:43 |
| 4. | "Peace Sign (Instrumental)" | 3:55 |
| Total length: | 16:32 | |
Personnel
- Kenshi Yonezu – vocals (tracks 1–3), guitar (tracks 2–3)
- Yōhei Makabe – guitar (track 1)
- Yū Sutō – bass (tracks 1–2)
- Teru Horimasa – drums (tracks 1–3)
- Ichiyo Izawa – piano (track 3)
Accolades
| Ceremony | Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Crunchyroll Anime Awards | 2018 | Best Opening | Won | [7] |
| 32nd Japan Gold Disc Awards | 2018 | Best 5 Songs by Download | Won | [8] |
| 40th Anime Grand Prix | 2018 | Best Theme Song | 6th place | [9] |
Charts
Weekly charts
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Monthly charts
Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[18] Physical |
Gold | 100,000^ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[19] Digital |
2× Platinum | 500,000* |
| United States (RIAA)[20] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Japan (RIAJ)[21] | 2× Platinum | 200,000,000† |
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* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||