The collaborative music video for "Yoru wo Wataru Tori," the theme song for the TV drama series "Kitakata Kenzo Suikoden" starring Oda Yuji, sung by MISIA, was released on MISIA's official YouTube channel on February 15th, the day the drama first aired. The drama will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW Prime and WOWOW On Demand every Sunday at 9pm from the same day. It will also be streamed on Lemino at the same time.
The drama is based on the monumental historical epic novel "Suikoden" series (19 volumes, Shueisha Bunko) by Kitakata Kenzo. The story is set in China at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (early 12th century). In a world rife with corruption, one low-ranking official who believed in justice stood up. His name was Song Jiang. His book on "social reform," "Kaiten Xingdao," strikes a chord with those who resist the times. This is a story of "rebellion" in which 108 people unite under one banner and challenge the great enemy known as the state in an attempt to change an unjust era.
The offer came from director Setsuro Wakamatsu, who expressed a strong desire to have MISIA take on the role. This marks the first time the two have teamed up in 26 years since the Monday 9pm drama "Yamato Nadeshiko" (Fuji TV). The theme song, "Yoru wo Wataru Tori" (Birds Wandering the Night), was composed by singer-songwriter Tokiko Kato, with lyrics by Nemiko Oikawa ("Cruel Angel's Thesis") and arrangement by Shiro Sagisu ("Shin Godzilla").
The collaborative music video begins and ends with a flag bearing the story's keyword, "Kaiten Xingdao." It also features other key characters, including the leader Song Jiang (played by Oda) and Chao Gai (played by Takashi Sorimachi), as well as the "world's rarest spearman" Lin Chong (played by Kazuya Kamenashi), the proud warrior known as the "Blue-Faced Beast," Yang Zhi (played by Shinnosuke Mitsushima) and his wife Ji Renmei (played by Haru), Liangshanpo's greatest enemy Li Fu (played by Tetsuji Tamayama), the spy Ma Gui (played by Yasuko Matsuyuki) who is at the mercy of the turbulent times, and the "solitary martial artist and master of martial arts," Wang Jin (played by Koichi Sato).
