Introducing MADKID

Formerly known as J-BOYS-5, J-Pop group MADKID debuted in 2014. They would go through a few lineup changes in their earlier years before the current lineup was formed: leader YOU-TA, KAZUKI, SHIN, LIN, and YUKI. The group consists of two rappers and three vocalists, with YOU-TA, KAZUKI, and SHIN on vocals and YUKI and LIN as the rappers. MADKID was originally signed to SAMURAiM RECORDS before switching to Nippon Columbia in 2018. Additionally, the group now also releases under Future Notes, an agency they created themselves.

During their nearly nine years in the Japanese music scene, the group has released multiple albums, one mini-album, and numerous singles and single albums. If you’re an anime fan, you may have already heard them before (but more on that later).

SAMURAiM RECORDS

MADKID’s debut release was the digital single “i don’t CARE ‘MADKID.’” At this point in their career, the lineup was missing SHIN and instead featured former member RIKITO. In terms of debut music videos, it’s about as cringey as you can expect, but that’s part of the charm in my opinion. Between the awkward camera angles and movements, the heavy eye makeup, large chains, and emo-swooped bowl cuts, it’s hard to get a real read on the group’s talents in terms of choreography and camera presence. That said, the song itself is catchy, the beat is fun, and “i don’t CARE ‘MADKID’” serves as a decent introduction to MADKID.

MADKID’s debut digital single was followed by four more digital singles: “HYPE,” “ALL DAY ALL NIGHT,” “CHANGE,” and “konayuki.” “HYPE” features more of the same awkward camera angles and movements, lots of starburst effects, bad greenscreen imagery, and former member CASEY who replaced RIKITO. “ALL DAY ALL NIGHT” calms the vibes set by its predecessors, taking on a chill ‘90s sunshiney summer sound.

“CHANGE” is a nice middle ground sound; it’s not frenetic in terms of beat but it’s also not as chill as “ALL DAY ALL NIGHT.” “konayuki” is the last of the singles to feature CASEY, and sees MADKID embrace a blend of their earlier fast-paced beats with a soft piano melody. Sadly, they only uploaded the first half of the “konayuki” music video to their YouTube channel.

Following the digital singles, MADKID released their first album in December 2016. Titled MADKID, the album features 11 tracks and is unfortunately not available in the U.S. on Spotify. Some of the tracks on the album include “Light up,” “This Love,” “Stay with me,” and “Going around.” Like with “konayuki,” half music videos were uploaded on their YouTube channel for “This Love,” “Stay with me,” and “Going around,” while “Light up” has only a lyric video. MADKID was released with just four members, as CASEY had left the group by that point.  

Their final release on SAMURAiM RECORDS was the single album PARTY UP/Faded away, with the two tracks being “PARTY UP” and “Faded away.” Much like MADKID, this single album is not available for streaming in the U.S., but the half versions of the music videos are on their YouTube channel. This was the first release with SHIN and the lineup that they have to this day. “PARTY UP” is a party anthem that will have you thinking of BIGBANG’s “FANTASTIC BABY” when it first starts, while “Faded away” is a soft piano ballad that introduces an acoustic guitar in the chorus.

Nippon Columbia

After signing with Nippon Columbia, MADKID released three singles in 2018: “Never going back,” “Summer Time,” and the digital single “GIANT KILLING.” “Never going back” was used as the January 2018 ending track for TV Asahi and TV Tokyo. All three tracks would later feature on their album CIRCUS, which was released in April 2019. There is a noticeable upgrade in production value between these music videos and the previous videos released under SAMURAiM RECORDS. In fact, even their choreography and quality of the tracks themselves seem higher. It’s a wonderful glow-up for a group that deserves to have their talents shine through. 

Single “RISE” was released in January 2019 and was the group’s first contribution to anime, being used as the opening theme for the first season of The Rising of the Shield Hero. “RISE” isn’t the only track from CIRCUS to be used as a theme for that anime, however, as “FAITH” was also used in the second half of the first season. Both tracks feature on their album CIRCUS, as well as an English version of “RISE.”

2020 saw the release of the singles “Lai Lai Lai,” “Get up,” and “REBOOT.” The music video for “Lai Lai Lai” features the members performing their very best martial arts moves as they train to become the best warriors. It’s a fun music video and an even more fun track. “Get up” starts out softer before taking on that anime opening quality, where everything builds up in the most hopeful way. This makes sense, seeing as the track was used as an event song for the smartphone game Dragalia Lost: Scars of the Syndicate. 

Single “REBOOT” was their last release of 2020, coming out on December 25, 2020 and setting up as a way for the group to, well, reboot. The track was the beginning of a rebrand for MADKID, giving them a chance to change things up and let their fans and the world know that things were changing. In fact, LIN even raps that in the song’s chorus: “Let’s get it poppin’. Yeah! New era is comin’ up.” The mini-album REBOOT was released in February 2021 and features five tracks: “REBOOT,” “Unveil,” “Be the light,” “Zero,” and “With you.” 

Following REBOOT were singles “Gold Medal” and “LINKAGE” in 2021, and “Interstella Luv,” “Bring Back,” “Fight It Out,” and “Change The World” in 2022. “Bring Back” was the opening theme for the second season of The Rising of the Shield Hero and “Fight It Out” appeared in promotions for the show. “Change The World” was used for the anime adaptation of Beast Tamer Expelled from the Hero Party Meets the Strongest Cat Girl.

Between “Fight It Out” and “Change The World,” MADKID released their full-length album, BOUNDARY. It was the group’s third full-length album overall, but their second released under Nippon Columbia. BOUNDARY features the above-mentioned “Fight It Out,” “Gold Medal,” “Interstella Luv,” “LINKAGE,” and “Bring Back” as well as other tracks that featured on the single album releases. 

The group’s final and most recent release is the single Paranoid, featuring the track of the same name. “Paranoid” is the song that led to me discovering MADKID, as it was used for the anime opening of Junji Ito: Japanese Tales of the Macabre. The Netflix original anime features adaptations of some of Junji Ito’s best short horror tales, including The Hanging Balloons, Tomie, and Soichi's Beloved Pet. For those unfamiliar with Junji Ito’s work, his stories are dark and foreboding, and can leave you a little paranoid after reading or watching movies and anime based on his manga.

That’s what makes MADKID’s “Paranoid” so perfect for the anime: the lyrics talk about the overwhelming paranoia people can get stuck in when they lose control of themselves. This paranoia can be just from mental health conditions or the things that lurk in the shadows. The music video for “Paranoid” is just as dark as the track itself, with the group in all black and shot in dark locations with only hints of light shining down on them.

It’s only a matter of time before MADKID releases more music this year, and it’s sure to be just as good as their most recent releases. As the group has rebooted and rebranded their image and sound, they can truly only go up from here.

Edited by Omani