Background and release "Shin Takarajima" is a song that appears in the live-action film
Bakuman. In a magazine interview,
Bakuman producer Genki Kawamura spoke on the decision to commission Sakanaction to perform music for the film and making "Shin Takarajima" the theme song: In another interview with frontman Ichiro Yamaguchi and film director Hitoshi Ohne, production staff asked Ohne why he chose Sakanaction to perform
Bakuman's theme song and its background music: Another impetus that drove Ohne to choose Sakanaction was the rock festival he attended,
TAICOCLUB, where he saw the band perform. Ohne described the shock he felt and the idea it gave him: "The audience was so wrapped up in their music. If I chose them to perform the music for
Bakuman, it might turn into something interesting." The band and the production staff entered into a partnership following this event. The band was tasked with performing the theme song and the movie's background music before casting had been decided. Shin Takarajima was announced during a Sakanaction launch party, NIGHT FISHING, which took place on September 11, 2015. The band declared the creation of their own label,
NF Records, under the banner of Victor Entertainment. The label's first album and single were also announced, and at this time, Sakanaction unveiled its new look. Shin Takarajima was the band's 11th single, and on September 30, 2015, saw a CD release under the NF Records label. The song was released in three formats: normal edition (CD), initial limited edition (CD and DVD), and limited collector's edition (2 CDs and DVD, Bakuman Box). The bonus CD included in the limited editions, called
Motion Music of Bakuman, featured every song from the film.
Development "Shin Takarajima" drew inspiration from
Bakuman, embodying the story of a young man and woman striving to become manga artists. The theme of the song was "to draw a line." The song itself includes lyrics that highlight the "sweat and tears that come from creating," a feeling shared among both manga artists and musicians. After requesting the song approach a second topic, Director Ohne gave Shin Takarajima another title: "The Song of (One's) Self-Effacing Graduation." The film
Bakuman includes a scene during the credits wher
e the two protagonists forgo attending their graduation ceremony to talk in a classroom. Ohne requested this theme be worked into the song to lend Shin Takarajima more relevance to the movie. While the song was in development, frontman Yamaguchi read manga outside of his normal purview for the purpose of conducting research. When questioned, he explained, "I felt I needed to study and learn more about making theme songs and background music for manga. I tried to discover the origins of Japanese manga, and that was when I found Osamu Tezuka's works." Yamaguchi chose to incorporate Tezuka's
Shin Takarajima as the title of the song. The song's original title was not "Shin Takarajima," but "Touch," taken from a scene in
Bakuman where the two protagonists write "touch" on their hands and high-five (In Japanese, "high-fiving" is known as ハイタッチ, or
high touch.) This resulted in a conflict due to the
Bakuman manga being published in
Weekly Shōnen Jump, which also published a manga known as
Touch in its
Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine. When brought to the attention of
Bakuman production staff, the original title was scrapped, and "Shin Takarajima" was chosen. Though Shin Takarajima was announced to be releasing after the album
Natsukashii Tsuki wa Atarashii Tsuki: Coupling & Remix Works, planning for the song began ahead of the album. In a magazine interview published in July 2015, Yamaguchi described the lyrical process as "the hardest fight [he] had ever gone through," requiring almost 6 months to complete the process. Added to this was an initial deadline set for May 2014, coupled with completion of the song's karaoke version set for fall. As the deadline for the film approached, work on the album was further delayed by bassist Ami Kusakari's pregnancy and loss of inspiration by keyboardist
Kiemi Okaza. These combined circumstances resulted in the delay of the album and resulted in difficulties in Shin Takarajima's production. Difficulties ceased when Yamaguchi was inspired by Ohne's dedication to
Bakuman; Yamaguchi was quoted as saying, "I began to feel that I couldn't slack off on my own work. I wanted to create something that would satisfy him." After receiving a script for
Bakuman, Yamaguchi described feeling as if he were being encouraged by the director, pushed to create a bright song. The relationship between frontman and director changed how he approached the song. However, in an interview conducted by music magazine
Talking Rock, Yamaguchi emphasized his potential audience: "I knew high school and university students were a clear, distinct market. I also understood that what they were after was bright, impactful music. I decided that I should make a song that invited the feeling of leaving everything behind for a brand new story." Sakanaction included several lines related to their September 2015 launch party, NF, in Shin Takarajima. One line, "''I'll take you along, just as you are right now''," holds the meaning of, "We'll go with NF, just as it is right now." NF was launched on Yamaguchi's idea that the band wanted to create a space for their listeners, as well as create music that embodied their positive and public feelings. Composition for Shin Takarajima proceeded on this idea, and after the NF launch party, Yamaguchi was purportedly able to finish the lyrics for the song. NF's second event, NF #02, was held in November 2015 and featured a theme taken from Shin Takarajima's lyrics, titled SEN. == Composition ==