Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi

"Kore ga watashi no ikiru michi"
Single by Puffy
from the album Jet-CD
Released1996
GenreJ-pop
Songwriter(s)Tamio Okuda
Puffy singles chronology
"Asia no junshin"
(1996) 		"Kore ga watashi no ikiru michi"
(1996) 		"Circuit no Musume"
(1997)
Music video
"That's the Way It Is (Korega Watashino Ikiru Michi)" on YouTube

"Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi" (これが私の生きる道, "This Is the Way That I Live") is the 2nd single released by the Japanese pop duo Puffy AmiYumi on October 7, 1996. It sold over 1.5 million copies and was their first #1 hit.[1] They won "Japan Record Award for Best New Artist" in 1996.[2]

It is known in American releases as being titled '"That's the Way It Is"' in An Illustrated History and the album Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, although not a direct translation of the song title.

A Mandarin version of the song was released as a single in China and Taiwan in late 1998 and can be found on their compilation album The Very Best of Puffy/amiyumi Jet Fever. A remix of this version is also on their 2003 remix album PRMX Turbo.

Track listing

  1. "Kore ga Watashi no Ikirumichi" (Monaural)
  2. "Yuki ga Furu Machi" (Unicorn cover)
  3. "Kore ga Watashi no Ikirumichi" (Stereo Karaoke)
  4. "Yuki ga Furu Machi" (Original Karaoke)

Phrases and harmonies

"Kore ga Watashi no Ikirumichi" is filled with phrases and harmonies of The Beatles and The Who.[2]

In 2012, Tamio Okuda explained it in the magazine PEN's interview featured the Beatles:

"I thought it would be fun if women played a song as a parody of the Beatles a little bit. If I played it, it would only become a song that was merely parodied by the man who liked the Beatles. But I thought it would be OK if Puffy played it."
("あれは、女の人がちょっとビートルズのパロディ的な曲をやるっていうのも、面白いかもしれないと思って。僕がやったら、ただ好きなヤツがパロディにしたっていうだけになっちゃうけど、あいつらならいいかと")[3]

Chart performance

The song became the first Puffy single to debut at number 1, selling 402,920 copies that week (until date,[when?] Puffy's biggest first-week sales of a single); the track stayed for another two weeks at the top of the chart and became Puffy's longest reign at number one, selling 735,230 copies only in its first three weeks; it stayed nine non-consecutive weeks at the top 10. The song remained for 16 weeks on the chart and sold 1,566,060 copies, Puffy's biggest selling single. On the J-Wave chart, the song debuted at number 85 and in its fifth week peaked at number 12; it remained on the chart for 20 weeks, Puffy's longest run on the chart.

Oricon Sales Chart

Chart (1996) Peak
position
Japan (Oricon)[4] 1

J-Wave Airplay Chart

Chart (1996) Peak
position
J-Wave Tokio Hot 100[5] 12

Certifications

Region Provider Certification
(sales thresholds)
Japan RIAJ Million[6]
  • "Kore ga watashi no ikiru michi" was featured in the Japan-only game Donkey Konga 3.
  • The song also featured in the pilot episode of the television series Heroes and a remix appeared in the French/Japanese action film Wasabi.
  • Parts of the song were notable for being used in a 1996 commercial for Japanese brand Tessera 'Juicy-Juicy' shampoo.
  • The song was used for the ending theme of the anime television adaptation of ReLIFE, Episode 05, "Overlap", in July, 2016 and for the opening theme of the anime movie Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day.

References

  1. ^ Oricon profile and interview (in Japanese)
  2. ^ a b PUFFY 裏Hit＆Fun スタッフによる全楽曲解説. Sony Music. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  3. ^ ビートルズ全米進出を阻んだのは「上を向いて歩こう」だった!?. livedoor news. 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  4. ^ Oricon Style
  5. ^ "Tokio Hot 100 Chart – 1996.11.3 (see "1996–11– 1")". J-Wave. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  6. ^ 一般社団法人　日本レコード協会 > 各種統計 > その他のデータ > 年度別ミリオンセラー一覧 > 1996年 [(RIAJ - Statistics - Other Data - List of million-certified compact discs by year - 1996)]. riaj.or.jp (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2010.