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JAM Project at the One-Punch Man Anime NYC Panel Makes You Glad You're an Anime Fan
by Bamboo Dong,
The panel was such a big to-do that it was literally introduced by Ambassador Mikio Mori, the consul general of Japan in New York, who thanked the packed room for their interest in One-Punch Man, JAM Project, anime, and Japanese pop culture. “Anime is a powerful and wonderful way to bring the world closer together,” he said, looking over a sea of fans who were all inexplicably tied together in that moment by their love for a bored bald man who OHKOs monsters.
Of course, the real guests of honor were none other than the members of JAM Project, Hironobu Kageyama, Masaaki Endoh, Hiroshi Kitadani, Masami Okui, and Yoshiki Fukuyama. Joining them was also One-Punch Man producer Chinatsu Matsui, who was there to discuss the upcoming third season, scheduled to premiere this October.
The panel started with some small talk, with Kageyama saying he was relieved to be out of the heat in Japan and in the nice, cool weather of New York. The band is no stranger to New York, of course, or even Anime NYC—this is their third time at the convention, with their first visit being in 2018. In many ways, anime fans have grown up with JAM Project, not only through their extensive repertoire of anime, video game, and tokusatsu songs, but also through their numerous concerts in the United States over the years. “Every time I come back, I see the number of younger fans growing,” Okui said with a smile. “I also see more and more different types of cosplayers, too. You're all wonderful.” Fukuyama agreed, adding that it was amazing to see cosplayers walking around outside and eating at restaurants, as in Japan, cosplayers are required to change at the venue.
After introducing One-Punch Man to any new fans in the audience, the panel also played the first season opening sequence, featuring JAM Project's “The Hero!! ~Ikareru Ken ni Honō o Tsukeru~” as the band bopped their heads to the beat and quietly sang along with the audience.
The song was composed by Kageyama, who got laughs as he talked about his writing process. “Because Saitama is this character who defeats enemies with a single punch, I wanted to make it very rock and roll. It needed to be as unique as possible, because Saitama is very unique. People needed to feel the distinctive essence of the character. When I started composing the first draft, I had this melody in my head, so I did a quick demo at home with my guitar and shared it with the rest of the band. They listened to it, and were all like, 'Wait, are you serious?' Because all they basically heard was me nonsensically singing, '3-2-1… Huh HUH! Huh HUH!.... Bwaaahhhhh bwaaaahhhhhh!!' and vocally mimicking a wailing guitar. Anyway, I can't believe they all picked that song. We've since performed it in a lot of different countries. We always sing this song at the end, and people always love it.”
After playing the second opening sequence, which features JAM Project's “Seijaku no Apostle,” the band members were asked how they approach singing this vocally-ambitious song. Endoh said that during the song-writing process, they typically start with the melody first. This song, in particular, was composed by one of the Brazilian JAM Project members, Ricardo Cruz, with lyrics by Yukinojo Mori, who also wrote the lyrics for hits like Dragon Ball Z's “Cha-La Head-Cha-La.” “When we perform this song, it's very refreshing. We really enjoy performing it,” Endoh added. “In this song, it goes from very low to very high,” Kitadani chimes in, singing a low growl followed by a high-pitched yelp. “The range is really wide, so I put a lot of emphasis on that part.”
“The guys have a lot of the screaming parts,” Okui says. “I try to put a female presence in it. Because I don't have to scream or shout, I think it's a little easier for me.” In fact, what was already a challenging song to sing became even more difficult during the recording process. It was originally written in a lower key, but after it was recorded, JAM Project listened to it and realized it was missing something. So they pitched it up one and a half semitones and tried again, realizing that it added that extra zing. “The high notes are very high, though,” Kitadani laughed.
Asked to chime in on what they thought made One-Punch Man so enduring and special, Kageyama said that it helped viewers release the stress of their everyday lives. It's a little ironic, perhaps, because few people are probably feeling the stress that the production staff of Season 3 is. Despite the title of the panel being a celebration of season 3, which is supposed to air in October, no footage or trailers have been released yet. Commenting on the longevity of the title, producer Matsui said simply that, “even though we've been doing this for ten years, we've only done 24 episodes (to date) because this series is very difficult to create. Sorry to keep you all waiting.”
As for upcoming JAM Project events, they'll be participating in the One-Punch Man Maji Music Festival, streaming worldwide on September 14, where they'll be performing with a live band led by composer Makoto Miyazaki on guitar. More excitingly for the band, they'll also be playing two nights at the Yokohama Buntai on November 24 and 25 to celebrate the group's 25th anniversary.
Before the stage was cleared for JAM Project's performance, the guests were joined by voice actor Kenjirō Tsuda, the voice of Atomic Samurai. Asked for his thoughts on the new season, he said that Atomic Samurai will, of course, be back. “Recording has already started, and I'm doing my best. Please look forward to it.” Matsui added, “We're sorry we can't show you any new footage, but it's right around the corner. Everyone's working really hard to create new episodes.”
During the mini-concert that closed out the panel, JAM Project performed both the season one and two opening theme songs from One-Punch Man, a medley of character insert songs, and surprisingly, their 2003 single “SKILL,” which was used as the theme song for the PS2 game 2nd Super Robot Wars Alpha. While some fans in the audience may have been mainly hoping to catch a glimpse of One-Punch Man season 3 footage, there's no denying that, for fans of JAM Project, it was still a special moment. No matter how many times you see this charismatic and passionate group, their energy is unparalleled.
As for what's next for JAM Project? They'll be back for the One-Punch Man season 3 opener “Get No Satisfied!,” this time with popular trio BABYMETAL, who are in the middle of a worldwide arena tour.
ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2025 is sponsored by Yen Press!
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