From pre-Internet classics like Pokémon’s ‘Gotta Catch Them All’ and Sailor Moon’s ‘Moonlight Densetsu’, to more modern sensations like Ya Boy Kongming!’s ‘Ciki Ciki Bam Bam’ and Oshi no Ko’s ‘Idol’, anime theme songs becoming crossover mainstream hits is nothing new. That said, few have managed to become as swiftly viral as ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’, the irreverent and zany opening from the second season of Mashle: Magic and Muscles.
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Not only has the song blown up online on platforms like TikTok, X, YouTube and Instagram since its January 7 release, it’s also ascended to the top of the Oricon Combined Singles Chart and Billboard Japan Hot 100 (now its third week at Number One). And with a music video for ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ incoming, the track’s upward trajectory is only set to continue. To help those perplexed by its meteoric rise, NME spoke to the song’s creators, the Japanese hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts, who help explain how and why ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ has become J-pop’s first viral sensation of 2024.
What is Mashle: Magic and Muscles?
Based on a popular manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Kōmoto, the comedy anime Mashle: Magic and Muscles is set in a fantasy world where societal status is determined by one’s proficiency with magic. Unfortunately, our protagonist Mash Burnedead has no magical abilities whatsoever, and the young man compensates by consistently training his body and achieving peak physical condition. But when he’s forced to enroll in the prestigious Easton Magic Academy, the aloof kid must now become a “Divine Visionary” by competing against the most gifted magical students. Can Mash’s muscles overcome magic?
Announced in 2022, the anime adaptation of Mashle: Magic and Muscles premiered its first season in 2023 and followed up with a second, or the Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc, in January 2024. Creepy Nuts themselves were fans of the show before recording ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’, telling NME: “We think the charm of this anime is that it starts with a fun beginning and gradually becomes exciting.”
Season 2 of Mashle: Magic and Muscles is ongoing and can be watched online via Crunchyroll.
Who are Creepy Nuts, the band behind ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’?
Formed in 2013, Creepy Nuts are rapper R-Shitei (Kyōhei Nogami) and DJ Matsunaga (Kunihiko Matsunaga). Before joining forces, both members achieved considerable solo success, with R-Shitei claiming five consecutive victories at Japan’s ULTIMATE MC BATTLE freestyle rap tournament, while DJ Matsunaga won the prestigious DMC World DJ Championships in 2019.
While both have released notable LPs and singles individually, their greatest acclaim came as a hip-hop duo. As Creepy Nuts, they’ve released three full-length albums entitled ‘Creepshow’, ‘Case’ and ‘Ensemble Play’. Outside of Mashle, their songs ‘Daten’ and ‘Yofukashi no Uta’ have also been featured in the anime Call of the Night.
How was ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ created and recorded?
When approached by animation studio A-1 Pictures to craft Mashle’s season two opening theme, Creepy Nuts accepted because they identified with Mash’s struggle: “The pain and excitement of Mash breaking down magical walls with his own muscle power overlapped with our own careers in many ways, so we thought it was a perfect fit for us.”
One of the song’s defining characteristics is Matsunaga’s incorporation of a Jersey club beat (a regional hybrid of house and hip-hop), quite unprecedented for an anime theme song. Its bouncy and uptempo vibe, buoyed by the genre’s signature 808 sub-bass kicks, paired with eccentric sound effects (those naughty bed squeaks!) and R-Shitei’s incredible flow imbues ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ with an infectious energy that gets the viewer hyped to watch the episode.
Its unpredictable production structure – which jumps from an aggressive ostinato rhythm, to a xylophone or marimba hook, to rapid-fire rap, to melodic singing, and back – also stands out. Creepy Nuts recount their composition process as such: “First, we created a Latin-ish keyboard riff. We started with a free-form five-track one-loop riff, then added rapping and singing. And then created breaks and developments that would catch up with the five-track riff.”
What does ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ mean?
The infectious hook of ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ goes: “Who’s the best? / I’m the best! / Oh yeah”, which seems connected to how Creepy Nuts personally relate to Mash’s ability to overcome the doubters and haters. “There was a lot of similarity between the main character Mash’s winning ways and our own Creepy Nuts career up until now, so we decided to make a song out of it,” they say.
Here, R-Shitei taps into his battle rap roots to boast of Mash’s prowess and belittle his opponents through wordplay. The opening verse references gaming terms like “cheats” and “forbidden moves” to illustrate Mash’s exceptional skill. Meanwhile the second verse describes how Mash’s determination and confidence is rooted in his continual growth – “everyday I’m still shedding my skin” – and support system – “blessed with family and friends”.
Why has ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ gone viral?
When ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ debuted during Mashle’s second season premiere, it instantly caused a splash in the anime community due the song’s vibrancy and the opening’s quirky visuals. In particular, the credits sequence sparked a popular Internet challenge where fans enthusiastically attempted to replicate Mash’s now-iconic dance. Even Mashle voice cast members like Reiji Kawashima (also Fushi from To Your Eternity) and Yuuki Kaji (also Eren from Attack on Titan) got in on the action.
Very quickly, ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ transcended the anime realm to become a global phenomenon thanks to the social media trend: over 400,000 TikTok videos have been made using Creepy Nuts’ official audio for the song on the platform. The duo have been following the challenge, which caught them unawares: “We were surprised because we didn’t originally make it with the intention of having people dance, but we are grateful for the variety of ways people have enjoyed the song.”