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Aimer is having a hard time winning over Demon Slayer fans, despite delivering the critically acclaimed opening “ZankyoSanka”, for Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc.
Aimer was chosen over LiSA, who had previously performed the widely recognized openings Gurenge and Homura, to perform the opening for the latest installment of the series. This shocked fans of the singer and anime alike, as they were expecting LiSA to return again with a new opening for Entertainment District Arc.
Even though ZankyouSanka ranked first in the “Oricon Weekly Digital Single Ranking” chart, fans were of the opinion that the song did not live up to the standards set by LiSA in terms of excitement.
They even went to the extent of saying Aimer could not match LiSA when it came to performing songs for Demon Slayer.
“No matter how good the song is, if it doesn’t fit the established image, it’s meaningless. I wonder if LiSA is the only artist who can sing the theme song for Demon Slayer,” an entertainment writer said.
The writer also blamed Sony records for trying to push the next generation of artists, saying that the move backfired.
“There are rumors that the reason for the change has to do with Sony Music Labels’ SACRA MUSIC, to which Aimer and LiSA belong. This label has many anime song singers and tends to “push” the next generation of artists. Therefore, it seems that they tried to sell Aimer following LiSA, but in terms of excitement, it may have ended in failure,” MyJitsu quoted the writer.
MyJitsu managed to get a hand on some negative comments about Zankyosanka online, which pointed out that the song was either “too fast to sing” or “inaudible”, with people finding it “hard to understand what [Aimer] was saying”.
“Kids can’t sing it and won’t get excited. Gurenge had that part down perfectly,” a comment read.
Some were even critical of the worldview that the song presented.
On Dec 5, 2021, the song “ZankyoSanka” was uploaded digitally for the first time, and it quickly rose to No. 1 on 48 domestic and 23 international digital charts.
It was streamed 1 million times within less than a day of its debut. It also logged its sixth total week at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Feb. 9, staying at the top spot for the fourth week straight.
Source: MyJitsu
Like many others, I was surprised that they picked Aimer instead of LiSA to perform for the Entertainment District Arc series. Unlike them, I was mighty impressed by Aimer’s performance as well as the song itself. This is no doubt a great song, whoever says otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about. And Aimer has an incredible voice. I haven’t paid attention to her since she sang for Fate/Star Night. Now I’m digging up her other works I must have missed.