Michelle Topham 
The superb ongoing samurai-themed anime Blue Miburo (aka Ao no Miburo) is not only popular because of its quirky characters and fascinating historical plot, but also for its sweet art style and “justice-served” events.
And for the morals-to-live-by that it teaches as it goes.
You can also throw the anime’s OP and ED into that mix of excellence, as both songs — ‘Ao‘ by SPYAIR (OP) and ‘Unbreakable‘ by THE JET BOY BANGERZ (ED) — are pretty damned cool.
And today, ‘Ao‘ (aka ‘Blue‘) got even cooler as SPYAIR has just released an ‘Ao‘ music video with the Japanese band performing the Blue Miburo opening theme song in an, as you might expect, all blue space.
‘Ao‘ by SPYAIR itself is a pounding-beat rock song, sure, but it is also a track that sounds a little sad when sung by lead singer Yosuke, as you can hear the tinges of melancholy in his voice mixed in with that powerful music.
A sadness that suits the Blue Miburo anime perfectly, as much of it is also tinged with sadness — turbulent and violent times in Japan, a gang on the streets of Kyoto rounding up children to be sold, Nio having to leave his grandmother and sister to join the Miburo, and the Miburo themselves called “devils” by the locals, even as they do nothing but serve justice to those who deserve it.
A fitting track indeed for Blue Miburo‘s opening theme song.
‘Ao‘ by SPYAIR
SPYAIR’s latest single is the rock band’s 24th.
It has, so far at least, received over 116,000 plays on Spotify in the week since it was released, while SPYAIR’s ‘Ao‘ music video already has more than 110,000 plays on YouTube alone just 48 hours after it premiered.
The band itself was founded in 2005, and has not only released eight standalone rock albums, but has also become known for their various hit anime theme songs.
Songs like the first OP for Haikyu!!, the 25th ED for Bleach, Gintama‘s 17th ED and, most recently, ‘Orange’ the Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle film’s theme song.
25-year-old lead singer Yosuke only joined the band in April, 2023 after former long-time lead vocalist Ike was forced to leave due to illness.
Since then, he has been a stellar addition to the Japanese band – providing some of its best vocals to-date.
Blue Miburo (aka Ao no Miburo) details
The Japanese historical anime itself is a two-cour anime series that is scheduled to run for six months consecutively.
The first episode of Blue Miburo premiered on October 19th, with its second episode hitting streaming services last Saturday.
The anime follows protagonist Nio Chirinu who, after meeting two members of the infamous Miburo samurai group, decides to join the group and train to become incredibly strong, as he too wants to mete out justice to the evil people in his community that deserve it.
Crunchyroll is currently streaming Blue Miburo in very limited regions (don’t know why the company doesn’t get licensing for most regions, as it is the one thing that makes people like me refuse to pay for their service?).
Enjoy SPYAIR’s ‘Ao‘ music video below.
You can also listen to the song (on repeat please!) on Spotify via the player down below.
More information about the band: SPYAIR’s official website
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