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Hiroshi Kitadani on His History with ‘ONE PIECE’ TV Anime & His Work as ‘We Are!’ Pirates: Interview

Hiroshi Kitadani talked with Billboard Japan about what went into the creation of this stunningly densely-packed song and what lies beyond.

Hiroshi Kitadani: Talking with people overseas, I often hear that “In Japanese anime and manga, the main characters and their friends always get completely thrashed by their enemies, but they usually come back stronger, which really gets you in the feels.” That’s true of Luffy, and also of Goku from Dragon Ball. Overseas heroes like Batman or Superman are incredibly strong right from the start, so I think Japanese anime and comics resonate with audiences because of how the characters turn their frustration into power. Due in part to Kohei’s prompting, the staff began saying “Why not just have it sung by the singer who did the temporary vocal track?” My record company had just told me that they didn’t really see a future for me with them, so I was wondering what to do, career-wise.

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