Battle Without Honor or Humanity

For the five-part film series, see Battles Without Honor and Humanity. For the comic book, see Battle Without Honor or Humanity (comics).
"New Battles Without Honor and Humanity Theme"
Song by Tomoyasu Hotei
from the album New Battles Without Honor and Humanity
ReleasedNovember 29, 2000
Genre
Length2:28
LabelEMI Music Japan
Songwriter(s)Tomoyasu Hotei
Audio
"Battle Without Honor or Humanity" on YouTube

"Battle Without Honor or Humanity" (バトル･ウィズアウト･オナー・オア・ヒューマニティー) is an instrumental by the Japanese rock musician Tomoyasu Hotei. It was originally featured in the 2000 film New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (also known as Another Battle) by Junji Sakamoto, which Hotei wrote the soundtrack for and acted in.

On the film's soundtrack, the piece is titled "New Battles Without Honor and Humanity Theme" (新・仁義なき戦いのテーマ, Shin Jingi Naki Tatakai no Tēma). A live performance of the song appears on Hotei's 2001 live album, Rock the Future Tour 2000-2001.

The piece was introduced to Western audiences three years later in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 1 and its soundtrack, where it was retitled "Battle Without Honor or Humanity". Three versions of the track are featured on Hotei's 2004 album Electric Samurai. It was released as a single on June 30, 2004, under the title "Another Battle" (アナザー・バトル). The song continues to be used in a variety of media worldwide, frequently placing it on JASRAC's annual list of the highest-grossing Japanese music recordings based on international royalties. In 2020, it was named the 80th best guitar instrumental by Young Guitar Magazine.

Reception

"Battle Without Honor or Humanity" was named the 80th best guitar instrumental by Young Guitar Magazine in 2020.[1] According to the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, "New Battles Without Honor and Humanity Theme" has been one of the year's top 10 highest-grossing Japanese recordings based on foreign income multiple times. Based on foreign royalties earned, it was eighth in 2014,[2] rose to sixth in 2015,[3] ranked tenth in 2016 and 2018,[4][5] rose to third in 2019,[6] and then second in 2020.[7]

Single track listing

  1. "Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Original Mix"
  2. "Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Samurai Mix"
  3. "Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Guitar Karaoke"

Personnel

Personnel for 2004 single version;

  • Tomoyasu Hotei – guitar, bass, keyboards
  • Toshiyuki Kishi (Abingdon Boys School) – programming, audio edit
  • Yoichi Murata – horn arrangements, trombone
  • Masahiko – trumpet

Films

Television episodes

Commercials

  • "Vocal Kombat" (featuring judges from The Voice in hotel lobby battle scenes) – aired during Super Bowl XLVI, Feb. 5, 2012[9]
  • "Naturally Pumped Up" (Buxton Mineral Water) – launched May 2014[10]
  • “Not For You” (Audi showcasing an electric SUV) – launched April 2019[11]

Video games

"Battle Without Honor or Humanity" is featured in the 2007 video game Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA for the North American PlayStation 2. A cover also appears in the Pop'n Music series in Japan: Pop'n Music 13 Carnival for the PlayStation 2, and Pop'n Music 17 The Movie and Pop'n Music 18 Sengoku Retsuden for arcades. The song also appears in the Gran Turismo HD Concept trailer for the PlayStation 3, and as DLC for the multi-platform game Rocksmith 2014.

Radio/podcasts

  • Ron & Fez, during their time on WJFK-FM
  • The Herd with Colin Cowherd radio show syndicated in the United States via Fox Sports Radio, simulcast on Fox Sports 1
  • The Chris Moyles Show, former breakfast show on BBC Radio 1 - used to introduce their 'Half Time' feature on the show at 9 am
  • BaD Radio Show radio show on 1310 The Ticket Dallas
  • d20 Docking Bay on the Order 66 podcast
  • Used as the theme from The Tom Sullivan Show, a talk radio program syndicated in the United States via NEWSTALK 910 AM in San Francisco, CA from 12 noon to 3 pm.
  • Used on alice 105.9 FM Denver weather announcement
  • Used as the opening theme for Drive Time Sports, a local caller-driven sports show on KABZ 103.7 The Buzz in Little Rock, AR.
  • Used as the theme for GLoP Culture podcast.

Sports

Background music for television shows

  • The X Factor UK — first three series as entrance music before contestants' performances
  • The X Factor USA — used as a dramatic music in many critical moments of the show
  • The Block - Australia — judges entrance
  • The X Factor UA — judges entrance
  • Cultura moderna — Italian game show; used when wheeling out the shed containing the mystery celebrity guest.
  • AKBingo! — pre-match trash-talk exchange
  • Mogali Rekulu — Telugu TV series. Used as background music for character R.K. Naidu.

References

  1. ^ "ヤング・ギター厳選『ギター・インストの殿堂100』名演ランキング". Young Guitar Magazine (in Japanese). 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  2. ^ "2015年 国内作品の外国入金分配額ベスト10(国際賞関連)" (in Japanese). JASRAC. 2023-12-19.
  3. ^ "2016年 国内作品の外国入金分配額ベスト10(国際賞関連)" (in Japanese). JASRAC. 2023-12-19.
  4. ^ "2017年 国内作品の外国入金分配額ベスト10(国際賞関連)" (in Japanese). JASRAC. 2023-12-19.
  5. ^ "2019年 国内作品の外国入金分配額ベスト10(国際賞関連)" (in Japanese). JASRAC. 2023-12-19.
  6. ^ "分配額ベスト10 国内作品【外国入金】" (PDF) (in Japanese). JASRAC. 2023-12-19.
  7. ^ "分配額TOP10 国内作品【外国入金】" (PDF) (in Japanese). JASRAC. 2023-12-19.
  8. ^ Rodriguez, Mathew (2023-11-03), "Blue Eye Samurai Creators Reveal How Their Daughter Inspired Netflix's New Anime Series", emmys.com
  9. ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  10. ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  11. ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  12. ^ "布袋寅泰、ＷＢＣテレ朝中継で「ＢＡＴＴＬＥ－」使用「冥利に尽きます！」と喜び". Yahoo! Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-24.