Landscape: | yes |
Background: | group_or_band |
Origin: | Tokyo, Japan |
Years Active: | 2000 - present |
Website: | http://www.jamjamsite.com/ |
JAM Project ("JAM" standing for "Japan Animationsong Makers") are a Japanese anison band founded on July 19, 2000, by anison singer Ichirou Mizuki.[1] The band is composed of many vocal artists well known in the anime music industry. Aside from the many anime, tokusatsu, and video game theme songs the band has performed together, each member is famous for their own solo performances of Japanese theme songs.[2] JAM Project is known to worldwide audiences for their theme music contributions to Garo and One-Punch Man.
JAM Project was founded in 2000 by veteran singer Ichirou Mizuki, who sought to revitalize the fiery spirit of earlier anime songs.[3] He recruited fellow veterans of that space, including Hironobu Kageyama and Masaaki Endoh, who remain members of the group.
The following year, JAM Project began a long association with the Super Robot Wars franchise, performing "Hagane no Messiah" for the PlayStation game "Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden. In 2002, Mizuki and Eizo Sakamoto stepped back from the group but three members would join. Masami Okui had released a number of albums and had performed openings for shows including Slayers and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Hiroshi Kitadani, previously a member of the bands Stagger and Lapis Lazuli, entered the world of anime songs via One Piece and its first of several opening themes he has performed for the long-running series. Yoshiki Fukuyama, like Kageyama, Endoh and Mizuki, was a veteran of the anime world. In the 1990s, he was the singing voice of Basara Nekki in Macross 7.
In 2005, the group began another long association with the Garo franchise, writing opening themes for nearly all iterations of the franchise, both anime and live-action. Kageyama voices Madou Ring Zaruba in every release of the show.[4]
In 2007, JAM Project announced plans to perform outside East Asia. Since 2008, the group has performed internationally with regularity, in cities such as Baltimore, Washington, Rotterdam, Abu Dhabi and Paris, typically in conjunction with anime conventions. 2008 also marked the release of "No Border," their first single not connected with an anime or video game.
In the summer of 2012, they teamed up with Animetal USA for a limited national concert tour called the .[5] From 2011 to 2014, Japanese composer and conductor Takayuki Hattori served as orchestral arranger on several albums and tours.
In 2015, JAM Project celebrated its 15th anniversary with a series of concerts that contained 39 songs in its setlist chosen from all their previous albums, the most songs in any of their concerts to date. They also released a CD based on a new ultra-high quality (UHQ CD) standard containing re-arranged and re-recorded hits voted on by fans.[6] The same year, the group exposed itself to a new audience through "THE HERO! ~Ikareru Kobushi ni Honō wo Tsukero~" (lit. "Set Fire To The Furious Fist)", their opening for the first season of One-Punch Man. The music video, filmed in San Francisco, has accumulated more than 50 million views on YouTube.[7]
In 2020, the group celebrated its 20th anniversary with the release of the album The Age of Dragon Knights. JAM Project worked with prominent peers, including Yuki Kajiura, GRANRODEO, ALI PROJECT, angela and members of FLOW.[8] The group also released JAM Project 20th Anniversary Complete BOX, which includes all of the group's albums, a collection of its foreign-language recordings, Blu-rays of a concert and other footage, and a 300-page booklet.[9]
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a planned tour to be scuttled. Kageyama, however, credited the unplanned break with rejuvenating the band's creative drive. That rebirth is the subject of the 2021 documentary Get Over -- JAM Project the Movie.[10]
The group's producer is Shunji Inoue, the founder of Lantis and a former bandmate of Kageyama.[11] JAM Project is managed by HIGHWAY STAR, a Bandai Namco-owned agency that represents Kageyama, Endoh and Kitadani in their solo careers.[12] [13]
Ricardo occasionally composes and performs with the group. He is heard on songs: "熱風!疾風!サイバスター (Neppu! Shippu! Cybuster)," "Gong," "Stormbringer," "Sempre Sonhando 〜夢追人〜 (Sempre Sonhando 〜Yume Oibito〜)," "レスキューファイアー (Rescue Fire)," "守護神 - The Guardian (Shugoshin - The Guardian)," "TRANSFORMERS EVO," "我が名は牙狼 (Waga Na Wa Garo)," "Herói (Portuguese version of Hero)," "未来への誓い (Asu he no Chikai)," "未来への大航海 〜Great Voyage〜 (Mirai he no Dai Koukai 〜Great Voyage〜," "Buddy In Soul," "決戦 The Final Round (Kessen The Final Round," "Treasure In The Sky," "sweet SWEET HOME," "静寂のアポストル (Seijaku no Apostle)," "Tread On The Tiger's Tail," "Homeward Bound," "ジャイアントスイング (Giant Swing)," and "Drei Kreuz 〜鋼のサバイバー〜 (Drei Kreuz 〜Hagane no Survivor〜)."
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
JPN Oricon [15] | JPN Billboard | |||
JAM First Process |
| — | — | |
Maximizer ~Decade of Evolution~ |
| 18 | 21[16] | |
Victoria Cross |
| 38 | 34[17] | |
Thumb Rise Again |
| 21 | 22[18] | |
Area Z |
| 23 | 24[19] | |
Tokyo Dive |
| 24 | 23[20] | |
The Age of Dragon Knights |
| 40 | 29[21] | |
The Judgement |
| 41 | 55[22] | |
"—" denotes a release that did not chart. |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
JPN Oricon | JPN Billboard | |||
Best Project ~JAM Project Best Collection~ | — | — | ||
Freedom ~JAM Project Best Collection II~ |
| — | — | |
JAM-ism ~JAM Project Best Collection III~ |
| — | — | |
Olympia ~JAM Project Best Collection IV~ |
| 37 | — | |
Big Bang ~JAM Project Best Collection V~ |
| 39 | — | |
Get over the Border ~JAM Project Best Collection VI~ |
| 24 | 54[23] | |
Seventh Explosion ~JAM Project Best Collection VII~ |
| 38 | 50[24] | |
Going ~JAM Project Best Collection VIII~ |
| 12 | 9[25] | |
The Monsters ~JAM Project Best Collection IX~ |
| 24 | 21[26] | |
X Cures Earth ~JAM Project Best Collection X~ |
| 28 | 26[27] | |
X Less Force ~JAM Project Best Collection XI~ |
| 21 | 18[28] | |
Thunderbird ~JAM Project Best Collection XII~ |
| 30 | 25[29] | |
A-Rock ~JAM Project Best Collection XIII~ |
| 24 | 19[30] | |
Max the Max ~JAM Project Best Collection XIV~ |
| |||
"—" denotes a release that did not chart. |
Single title | Anime/Video Game/Tokusatsu | Year | Peak position | Sales | Album | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JPN [31] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 | | éX-Driver | 2000 | — | — | Best Project | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | "Danger Zone" | éX-Driver Movie | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | "Storm" | Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4 | "Soultaker" | The SoulTaker | 2001 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden | 75 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | "Fire Wars" | Mazinkaiser | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | "Crush Gear Fight | " | Crush Gear Turbo | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | "Over the Top | " | Kikou Busou G-Breaker | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | "Lady Fighter | " | Sunrise Eiyuutan | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | | Crush Gear Turbo | 2002 | — | — | Freedom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | "Go | " | Super Robot Wars Impact | 72 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | "Get up Crush Fighter | " | Crush Gear Turbo Movie | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | Gravion | 58 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | | Machine Robo Rescue | 2003 | 120 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | "Little Wing" | Scrapped Princess / Galaxy Angel AA (ED) | 45 | 7,778 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | "Skill" | 2nd Super Robot Wars Alpha | 25 | 7,447 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | "The Gate of the Hell" | Mazinkaiser vs. the Great General of Darkness | 88 | — | Jam-ism | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | "Destination" | Sunrise World War | 84 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | Gravion Zwei | 2004 | 37 | 12,089 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | "Victory" | Super Robot Wars MX | 38 | 8,912 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | "Dragon" | New Getter Robo | 64 | 4,068 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | "Voyager" | Panda-Z | 88 | 3,253 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | Yu-Gi-Oh! GX | 115 | 2,251 | Olympia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
24 | "Muv-Luv Alternative Insertion Song Collection" | Muv-Luv | 2005 | 40 | 5728 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
25 | 68 | 7,092 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
26 | "Gong" | 22 | 16,250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
27 | Garo (TV series) | 2006 | 41 | 6,983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
28 | "Break Out" | Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars | 24 | 12,243 | Big Bang | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
29 | "Rising Force" | Super Robot Wars OG: Divine Wars | 2007 | 40 | 6,441 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30 | "Stormbringer" | Kotetsushin Jeeg | 71 | 2,553 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
31 | "Divine love" | Saint Beast | 74 | 2,336 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
32 | "Dragon Storm 2007" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
33 | "Rocks" | Super Robot Wars: OG | 36 | 6,675 | Get over the Border | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
34 | "No Border" | 2008 | 44 | 4,032 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
35 | "Crest of "Z's"" | Super Robot Wars Z | 40 | 4,703 | Seventh Explosion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
36 | Sgt. Frog | 76 | 2,177 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
37 | "Space Roller Coster Go Go | " | 2009 | 115 | 766 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
38 | 62 | 3,713 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
39 | 45 | 4,384 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
40 | "Battle No Limit | " | Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan | 56 | 1,680 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
41 | Ragnarok Online | 18 | 4,867 | Going | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
42 | 63 | 1,578 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
43 | "Transformers Evo." | 2010 | 47 | 3,337 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
44 | "Maxon" | 36 | 5,105 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
45 | "Vanguard" | Cardfight Vanguard | 2011 | 53 | 3,259 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
46 | "Noah" | 2nd Super Robot Wars Z: Hakai-hen | 40 | 3,283 | The Monsters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
47 | "Believe in My Existence" | Cardfight!! Vanguard | 19 | 8,502|- |48! scope="row" || |rowspan="4"| 2012| 22 | 6,481|- |49! scope="row" |"Limit Break" | Cardfight!! Vanguard | 42 | 3,826|- |50! scope="row" || 2nd Super Robot Wars Z: Saisei-hen | 41 | 4,277|- |51! scope="row" |"Wings of the Legend"|2nd Super Robot Wars Original Generation | 37 | 3,112|rowspan="4"| X Cures Earth|- |52! scope="row" || Bakuman 3 |rowspan="3"| 2013| 75 | 1,069|- |53! scope="row" || Space Battleship Yamato 2199 | 51 | 1,951|- |54! scope="row" || | 46 | 2,155|- |55! scope="row" || 3rd Super Robot Wars Z: Jigoku-hen |rowspan="4"| 2014| 40 | 2,832|rowspan="4"| X Less Force|- |56! scope="row" |"Breakthrough"| Nobunaga the Fool | 44 | 2,394|- |57! scope="row" || | 53| 2,605|- |58! scope="row" || Garo: The Carved Seal of Flames | 52| 1,258|- |59! scope="row" |"B.B." | Garo: The Carved Seal of Flames |rowspan="6"| 2015| 62| 1,286|rowspan="8"| Thunderbird|- |60! scope="row" | | 3rd Super Robot Wars Z: Tengoku-hen | 44| 1,724|- |61! scope="row" || | 50| 1,261|- |62! scope="row" || One-Punch Man | 19| 100,000+[32] |- |63! scope="row" || Cyborg 009 VS Devilman | —| —|- |64! scope="row" || Garo: Crimson Moon | 44| 1,546|- |65! scope="row" || Garo: Crimson Moon |rowspan="3"| 2016| 65| 870|- |66! scope="row" || Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Moon Dwellers | 70| 1,531|- |67! scope="row" |"The Brave"| Yūsha Yoshihiko | 50| 2,504|rowspan="4"| A-Rock|- |68! scope="row" |"Dragonflame"| |rowspan="2"| 2017| 70| 1,088|- |69! scope="row" |"The Exceeder / New Blue"| Super Robot Wars V | 61| 1,214|- |70! scope="row" || Super Robot Wars X | 2018| 62| —|- |71! scope="row" | "Tread on the Tiger’s Tail/RESET/D.D~Dimension Driver~"|Super Robot Wars T (OP/ED) / |72! scope="row" | (English title: "Uncrowned Greatest Hero")|One Punch Man (OP2)| 50| 1,212[33] |- |73! scope="row" | |Getter Robo Arc (OP/ED4)|rowspan="2"|2021|—|—|- |74! scope="row" | |Super Robot Wars 30 (OP/ED)|—|—|-|75! scope="row" | |Muv-Luv Alternative (OP)|rowspan="1"|2022|—|—|rowspan="2"| TBA|- |76! scope="row" | (featuring Yuki Kajiura)|Garo: Hagane o Tsugu Mono (OP/ED)|rowspan="1"|2024|—|—|-| colspan="15" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;" | "—" denotes a release that did not chart, did chart but no sales records are available, or were not released in that region.|} DVDs and Blu-rays
|
| 69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JAM Project Premium Live 2013 ~The Monster's Party~ |
| 67 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JAM Project Live 2013–2014 Thumb Rise Again |
| 61 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JAM Project 15th Anniversary Premium Live The Stronger’s Party |
| 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JAM Project Live Tour 2016 Area Z |
| 71 (DVD) 37 (BD) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JAM Project JAPAN TOUR 2017-2018 TOKYO DIVE |
| 60 (DVD) 15 (BD) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JAM Project LIVE TOUR 2022 THE JUDGEMENT |
| 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"—" denotes a release that did not chart. |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JPN Oricon | JPN Billboard | ||||||||||||||
Super Robot Wars Alpha Original Story D-2 |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| 107 | — | |||||||||||||
Muv-Luv Alternative Collection of Standard Edition Songs "Name" |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
Lucky Star Re-Mix002 ~Lucky Star no Kiwami, Ahh Shiteyanyo~ |
| 5[38] | — | ||||||||||||
JAM Project World Flight 2008 Best Selection |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
Super Robot Wars JAM Project Songs |
| 89 | — | ||||||||||||
Uchū o Kakeru Shōjo Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| 38[40] | 64[41] | |||||||||||||
| 35 | — | |||||||||||||
JAM Project 10th Anniversary Complete Box |
| 43 | 31[42] | ||||||||||||
| 65 | — | |||||||||||||
| 25[43] | 22[44] | |||||||||||||
JAM Project 15th Anniversary Strong Box Motto | Motto''!!-2015- |
| 15 | 12[45] | |||||||||||
"—" denotes a release that did not chart |