The official website for the forthcoming all-new live-action film Shin Ultraman announced today that Japanese singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu sings the film’s theme song “M87” (Emu Hachiju-Nana). The song will be released as her new single on May 18.

Among anime fans, he is well-known for his theme song works for March Comes In like a Lion (2016), My Hero Academia (2017), and Children of the Sea (2019). According to the website, early on in the production process, it was decided to add a theme song to the film. After discussions among the production team, including director Shinji Higuchi and planner/producer/screenplay writer Hideaki Anno, Yonezu was chosen as the theme song performer.

“At the moment I received the offer for the theme song, I thought it must be some kind of mistake,” Yonezu says. “When I was watching Shin Godzilla many times in the theater and when Shin Ultraman was first announced, I never dreamed that I would be involved, and it was a bolt out of the blue. I wrote the song while looking at Ultraman, who stands aloof.”

The song’s title, “M87,” was decided after Anno submitted a request to Yonezu in response to Yonezu’s idea. In the original Ultra universe created by Tsuburaya Productions, “Nebula M78” is the home world of most Ultra heroes, where the Land of Lights is located. And “M87 Beam” is the name of Zoffy’s signature Ultra Beam. At this time, it is unclear what significance the title will have for the story of Shin Ultraman.

The Shinji Higuchi (Attack on Titan live-action films, Shin Godzilla)-directed film was originally set to be released in the early summer of 2021, but has been postponed for a year to May 13, 2022, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: “Shin Ultraman” official website / Twitter

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