"Butter-Fly" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Kōji Wada as the opening theme song to Digimon Adventure. The song was released as Wada's debut single on April 23, 1999.
| "Butter-Fly" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the original 1999 single | ||||
| Single by Kōji Wada | ||||
| from the album All of My Mind | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | April 23, 1999 | |||
| Genre | J-pop, anison | |||
| Length |
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| Label | Interchannel | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Kōji Wada singles chronology | ||||
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Background and release
edit"Butter-Fly" was the theme song to the 1999 film Digimon Adventure,[1] performed as a ballad.[2] "Butter-Fly" was later re-worked as a rock song, and its rock iteration became the opening theme song to the television series of the same name.[2] It had been the first time Wada had performed a rock song.[2]
Originally released on April 23, 1999,[1] the single was re-released on August 1, 2004 with new CD artwork to commemorate Digimon Adventure's 5th anniversary.[3][4] The success of the song gave Wada the title "Immortal Butterfly Anime Song Singer."[5]
Other versions
edit"Butter-Fly (Strong Version)" was released on April 22, 2009 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Digimon franchise as well as the 10th anniversary of his debut with the song.[6][7] It was his first single in three years after "Hirari" and charted on Oricon Weekly Singles for one week.[7]
"Butter-Fly (tri. Version)" was released on November 25, 2015 as the theme song for the Japanese version of the anime film series Digimon Adventure tri.,[8] and the single was his last release before his death on April 3, 2016.[9] A second version of "Butter-Fly (tri. Version)" was released as a tribute on May 1, 2018 as the ending theme to Digimon Adventure tri.: Chapter 6: Future, the final installment to the Digimon Adventure tri. film series, as well as the final part of the film.[10] The song was performed by AiM, Ayumi Miyazaki, and the eighteen main cast members of tri., along with posthumous archive audio of Wada.[10][11]
Reception
edit"Butter-Fly" was ranked number 5 on NHK's list of Top 100 Best Anime Songs in 2017.[12]
Cover versions
editThe cast for the male characters in Digimon Adventure performed "Butter-Fly" and released it with the We Love Digimon Music CD box on December 25, 2002.[13] The release was to commemorate the franchise's 100th CD release.[13]
The song has also been covered by Masaaki Endoh in his album Enson.
Halko Momoi covered "Butter-Fly" on her 2008 cover album More & More Quality Red: Anime Song Cover.[14]
Nagareda Project released a cover version on their album, Nagareda PPP, on August 8, 2012.[15]
Idol group Sea*A released an English version of "Butter-Fly" on their eponymous debut album, Sea*A, on March 27, 2013.[16]
Idol group Trefle performed a cover version of "Butter-Fly" and released it as their debut single on November 18, 2015, which charted at #78 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.[17] The song served as the opening theme song to the show Animemashite.[17] They performed the song at Anison History Japan!!.[18]
On September 2, 2019, Vocaloid Hatsune Miku released a cover, as part of a collaboration event with the Digimon franchise.[19]
Track listing
editAll songs arranged by Cher Watanabe.
1999 and 2004 versions
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Butter-Fly" | Hidenori Chiwata | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Seven" | Kouhei Koyama | 4:17 |
| 3. | "Butter-Fly" (original karaoke) | 4:18 | |
| 4. | "Seven" (original karaoke) | 4:17 | |
| Total length: | 17:12 | ||
Strong version
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Butter-Fly" (Strong Version) | Hidenori Chiwata | 4:30 |
| 2. | "Seven" (10th Memorial Version) | Kouhei Koyama | 4:37 |
| 3. | "Butter-Fly" (Strong Version; original karaoke) | 4:30 | |
| 4. | "Seven" (10th Memorial Version; original karaoke) | 4:37 | |
| Total length: | 18:13 | ||
tri. version
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Butter-Fly" (tri. Version) | Hidenori Chiwata | 3:45 |
| 2. | "Butter-Fly" (tri. Version; original karaoke) | 3:45 | |
| Total length: | 7:30 | ||
Charts
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Butter-Fly". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ a b c "[デジモンテイマーズ] ホームページ Interview with Koji Wada". Dimps Corporation (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ "Butter-Fly". Feel Mee (in Japanese). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ "Butter-Fly". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "和田光司 Solid Vox". Solid Vox (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ Koji Wada (March 20, 2009). "生まれ変わり" (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Butter-Fly ～Strong Version～". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ a b "Butter-Fly～tri.Version～". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ Rafael Antonio Pineda (April 8, 2016). "Digimon Theme Song Singer Kouji Wada Passes Away". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ a b "Butter-Fly～tri.Version～(初回限定盤)". Feel Mee (in Japanese). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ "『デジモンアドベンチャーtri. 第6章「ぼくらの未来」』ED曲はデジモンミュージックの代表作「Butter-Fly」に決定". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). February 25, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ "アニソンベスト100！結果発表｜ニッポンアニメ100｜NHK". NHK (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ a b "デジモンミュージック100タイトル記念作品 We Love DiGiMONMUSiC（完全生産限定盤）". Feel Mee (in Japanese). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ "more&more quality RED ～Anime song cover～". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ "流田PPP". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ "Sea☆A". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ a b "Butter-Fly / Trefle". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ "「ANISON HISTORY JAPAN!!」で水瀬いのり＆i☆Risがコラボユニット結成、水木一郎 VS 松本梨香のレジェンド対決も". Musicman Net (in Japanese). March 15, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ ""初音ミクxデジモン" による"Butter-Fly～初音ミク Version～"MV&フル尺音源が公開！人気絵師Rella、サメヤマ次郎、さいとうなおきによるキャラクターイラストも". Famitsu (in Japanese). September 2, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 (December 30, 2019)". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Animation (December 30, 2019)". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved April 21, 2020.