Man with a Mission

"MWAM" redirects here. For the VH1 television show, see Megan Wants a Millionaire.
Man with a Mission

Man with a Mission at Japan Expo 2012 in Paris in France.

Man with a Mission at Japan Expo 2012 in Paris, France.
Background information
Also known as MWAM
Origin Shibuya, Japan
Genres Punk rock, rap rock, rapcore, melodic hardcore, nu metal[1]
Years active 2010-present
Labels FROM YOUTH TO DEATH RECORDS (2010- )
Crown Stones (2011-2013)
Sony Music Records (2013- )
Associated acts Zebrahead
Website mwamjapan.info
Members Tokyo Tanaka (Vocals)
Kamikaze Boy (Bass)
Jean-Ken Johnny (Vocals/Guitar)
DJ Santa Monica (DJ)
Spear Rib (Drums)

Man with a Mission (stylized MAN WITH A MISSION) is a Japanese rock band with features of hard rock and dance-pop that was formed in 2010 in Shibuya, Japan.[2] They are made up of five band members, with stage names of Tokyo Tanaka (vocals), Kamikaze Boy (bass), Jean-Ken Johnny (vocals and guitar), DJ Santa Monica (disc jockey), and Spear Rib (drums). Their distinguishing feature is that all of the members wear differently designed wolf masks during both their concerts and their music videos.[3]

Background

Before becoming popular, the band invented a back-story for why they wear wolf masks, which involves them being created as the "Ultimate Life Form" by Jimi Hendrix, who is described by the band as being the doctor of the guitar and master wolf biologist.[4] They were then frozen in Antarctica for years, before escaping and emerging on the Japanese music scene.[5]

History

Beginnings and first album

The earliest debut of the band was in a number of live gigs at venues in the Shibuya area.[2] The band organized an American tour in late 2010, which was called their "Whisky a Go Go" tour and involved multiple gigs at night clubs in Los Angeles. The tour itself ended in November 2010.[6][7][8] The end of their tour coincided with the release of their first mini album, Welcome to the New World, in November as well, which went on to sell out in a number of stores across Japan.[9] The mini album also spent six weeks on the Oricon Top 100 for number of sales.[10] On April 29, 2011, they released a new single titled "Never Fxxkin' Mind the Rules". After the single release, the band started another music tour on March 7, 2011, called "Man with a Mission Japan Marking Tour 2011", which included 13 different performances across Japan.[3] Their first full debut album, Man with a Mission Vol. 1, released on June 8, 2011.[11][12]

Soon after the release of their album, they participated in a major Japanese concert event, known as "Summer Sonic 2011" in mid-August, and also a number of other summer festivals, such as "Countdown Japan 11/12".[13] Labeled by Eggman Magazine as the "Most Promising Newcomer", tickets to their show at the concert festival sold out within ten minutes. During the stream of concerts, their songs were also run on 27 of the major FM and AM radio broadcasting stations nationwide across Japan.[14] On October 5, 2011, the band released an EP titled Trick or Treat, which included a number of original songs and also cover songs, such as "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana.[15][16] The members of Man with a Mission were also featured in a poster campaign by Tower Records titled "No Music, No Life?", which began on September 13, 2011.[17][18]

Mash Up The World

On May 27, 2012, MWAM held a show tour at Shibuya-AX with an attendance of 1,800 fans. It was an early performance for the band's Don't Feel The Distance tour set in November, which was meant to highlight one of the singles, "Distance", from their upcoming album. The single's earlier release on April 4 to the Oricon rankings saw it rise to #6 in the sales chart.[19] The expected stops on the tour included Zepp Nagoya, Zepp Namba, and Zepp Tokyo. Pre-order tickets for all venues of the tour were sold out "instantly" across Japan.[20][21] The band's second full album, Mash Up The World, was released on July 18, 2012. The band uploaded the music video for one of the album's singles, "From Youth To Death", onto YouTube on June 21, 2012. The official app for the album also included snippets of the single, along with two other original songs, "Mash UP The DJ!" and "Neutral Corner".[22] "Distance"'s April release also saw it being chosen as the opening theme music for TV Asahi's Music Ru TV channel for the month.[23] The band was also invited as guests to Japan Expo 2012, playing as the rock showcase on July 5, 2012.[24]

Tales of Purefly

Their next single, "Emotions", which was used as a theme for the live action movie adaptation of the Hentai Kamen manga, was released on February 20, 2013. The followup single "Database" was used as the opening theme for the anime Log Horizon[25] Another song from the album, titled "Wake Myself Again", was used as the theme song for the live-action film of the manga Judge.[26] Character models of the MWAM band were added to the Japanese release of the video game Pro Evolution Soccer 2015, along with the Tales of Purefly song "Higher", which was previously used in the Japanese version of World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2014 - Aoki Samurai no Chousen.[27][28] The song "whatever you had said was everything" was featured in a commercial TV spot for the live action film Crows Explode, which is based on the manga Crows.[29]

The World's On Fire

Man With a Mission performed the theme song for the anime The Seven Deadly Sins, titled "Seven Deadly Sins".[30] The single "Raise Your Flag" was also featured as the opening song for the anime Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.[31] The fourth studio album titled The World's On Fire was released on February 10, 2016, preceded by the album's third single "Memories".[32] The first song on the album, titled "Survivor", was chosen by Capcom to be the image song for the video game Street Fighter V.[33][34]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title Oricon charts
Position Weeks Top 100
2011 Man with a Mission
  • Released: June 8, 2011
 28[35] 98 -
2012 Mash Up the World
  • Released: July 18, 2012
 4[35] 60 -
2014 Tales of Purefly
  • Released: March 12, 2014
 3[35] 38 37
2016 The World's On Fire
  • Released: February 10, 2016
 3[35] 3 -

EPs

Year Title Oricon charts
Position Weeks
2010 Welcome to the New World
  • Released: November 3, 2010
 168[35] 10
2011 Trick or Treat e.p.
  • Released: October 5, 2011
 15[35] 25
2012 Welcome to the New World -standard edition-
  • Released: March 14, 2012
 39[35] 47

Singles

Release DateTitlePeak Position
(Oricon/Billboard)[36][37]		Weeks
Charted		Notes
Self-produced June 26, 2010"MAN WITH A MISSION"- / -- / -
March 17, 2011"RAIN OF JULY"- / -- / -
Indie April 6, 2011"NEVER FXXKIN' MIND THE RULES"88 / -2 / -
1st April 4, 2012 "distance"6 / 815 / 4Opening theme for Music Ru TV, the music channel of TV Asahi
2nd February 20, 2013"Emotions"3 / 316 / 4Theme song for the Kyukyoku!! Hentai Kamen movie
Limited Edition July 1, 2013"Wake Myself Again"- / 25- / 1Commercial theme song for the PlayStation 3 version of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
3rd October 9, 2013"database feat. TAKUMA(10-FEET)"4 / 218 / 4
4th February 11, 2015"Seven Deadly Sins"2 / 2 21 / 7
5th May 20, 2015"Out of Control (Feat. Zebrahead)" 2 / 45 19 / 2
6th October 14, 2015"Raise your flag" 3 / 2 19 / -

Compilations

Year Title Oricon charts
Position Weeks
2014 Beef Chicken Pork
  • Released: February 12, 2014
 2[35] 15
2015 5 Years 5 Wolves 5 Souls
  • Released: January 1, 2015
 3[35] 61

DVDs

Year Title Oricon charts
Position Weeks
2012 Wolf Complete Works I
  • Released: October 3, 2012
 2[38] 39
2013 Wolf Complete Works II
  • Released: August 7, 2013
 2[38] 42
2014 Wolf Complete Works III
  • Released: October 15, 2014
 1[38] 41

References

  1. ↑ "Six Totally Insane Japanese Metal Bands". Revolver. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 Staff writer (June 1, 2011). "MAN WITH A MISSION：Gt & Vo. Jean-Ken Johnny interview". Eggman Magazine (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Staff writer (March 30, 2011). ""謎のオオカミバンド"MAN WITH A MISSIONが「臭う肉」枚限定シングル。". Narinari (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  4. ↑ Staff writer (June 8, 2011). "MAN WITH A MISSION ： 話題の"オオカミバンド"がデビュー記念で"餌"発売". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  5. ↑ Aoki, Ryotaro (March 27, 2014). "Man With A Mission and Buzz The Bears keep punk’s spirit alive at Punkspring". The Japan Times. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ Staff writer (December 28, 2010). "噂の"オオカミ"バンド、MAN WITH A MISSIONがイベントに登場！". CDJournal (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  7. ↑ Staff writer (April 16, 2011). 謎のオオカミ覆面ロックバンド現る　国籍不明の５人. MSN (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  8. ↑ Staff writer (April 18, 2011). "謎のオオカミ覆面バンドの正体…渋谷センター街に出没". Sankei Shimbun. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  9. ↑ Staff writer (January 5, 2011). "謎のオオカミ・バンド、MAN WITH A MISSION年末の渋谷に出没". Barks (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  10. ↑ Staff writer (July 25, 2011). "オオカミバンド"MAN WITH A MISSION"、早くも新作リリース決定！". CDJournal (in Japanese). Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  11. ↑ Staff writer (September 10, 2011). 第一ミッション、完遂！！. Rockin'On Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  12. ↑ Staff writer (June 8, 2011). 林原めぐみさん登場！オオカミ男バンドやＡＫＢも！. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  13. ↑ Staff writer (August 15, 2011). "サマソニにMWAM登場で大熱狂、"謎のオオカミバンド"が観客の目を奪う。". Narinari (in Japanese). Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  14. ↑ Staff writer (June 7, 2011). 「10分で完売」勢いづくマンウィズ、27のラジオ局でパワープレイなども。. Narinari (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  15. ↑ Staff writer (September 2011). "MAN WITH A MISSION 『Trick or Treat e.p.』". Jungle Life (in Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  16. ↑ Staff writer (October 4, 2011). "【インタビュー(前半)】オオカミバンド"MAN WITH A MISSION"最新EPをリリース「オオカミが敬愛するカート・コヴァーンについて語る」". Infoseek Woman (in Japanese). Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  17. ↑ Staff writer (September 13, 2011). "ワンオク、スクービー、MWAMがタワレコポスターに登場". Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  18. ↑ Staff writer (September 13, 2011). "NMNLポスターに、SCOOBIE DO、MAN WITH A MISSION、ONE OK ROCKが登場！". MSN (in Japanese). Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  19. ↑ "J!-ENT's Dennis A. Amith interviews MAN WITH A MISSION" (PDF). J!-ENT. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  20. ↑ Staff writer (April 10, 2012). "狼×人間？ 洋楽派も納得の異色集団がオリコン6位の大健闘". HotExpress Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  21. ↑ Staff writer (May 28, 2012). "MAN WITH A MISSION 東名阪Zepp公演開催＆サマソニ出演". HotExpress Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  22. ↑ Staff writer (June 22, 2012). "MAN WITH A MISSION、新曲ミュージック・ビデオが解禁！". CDJournal. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  23. ↑ Staff writer (April 6, 2012). "オオカミバンド オリコン4位＆タワレコ1日店長に就任". HotExpress Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  24. ↑ Staff writer (April 18, 2012). "パリにオオカミ旋風を!?　MAN WITH A MISSION 人気イベ出演". HotExpress Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  25. ↑ Staff writer (February 14, 2013). "「変態仮面」実写映画化！主題歌はMAN WITH A MISSION". Natalie. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Live-Action Judge Film's Trailer Streamed". Anime News Network. August 29, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  27. ↑ "MAN WITH A MISSION、大人気サッカー・ゲーム"ウイニングイレブン"に登場！PS3版にてMWAMオリジナル・ユニフォーム配信決定！". Gekirock. December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  28. ↑ "MAN WITH A MISSION Collaborates with Pro Evolution Soccer 2015". JPopAsia. December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Live-Action Crows Explode Film's TV Spots Streamed". Anime News Network. April 1, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Man With A Mission, Alisa Takigawa Perform The Seven Deadly Sins' New Songs". Anime News Network. December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Anime's English Video Reveals Cast". Anime News Network. August 22, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  32. ↑ "MAN WITH A MISSION、新アルバム『The World's On Fire』の全貌が明らかに". Rockin'On Japan (in Japanese). January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  33. ↑ "MAN WITH A MISSION、新曲"Survivor"が『ストリートファイターV』テーマソングに". Rockin'On Japan (in Japanese). January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  34. ↑ Chapman, Paul (January 12, 2016). "Capcom Taps MAN WITH A MISSION for "Street Fighter V" Image Song". Crunchyroll. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Album Singles Rank: Man with a Mission" (in Japanese). Oricon. October 3, 2011.
  36. ↑ "Sales rank in Single: Man with a Mission" (in Japanese). Oricon. October 3, 2011.
  37. ↑ "Japan Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  38. 1 2 3 "DVD sales ranking of Man With A Mission" (in Japanese). Oricon. October 3, 2011.

Further reading

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