is the second major label single by the Japanese kawaii metal band Babymetal. It was released in Japan on June 19, 2013 as the fifth single from the album Babymetal. It is also the first single released independently from the idol group Sakura Gakuin.
Release and promotion
The single was first announced for a June release on April 1, 2013. The single was released in four versions: a standard edition and three limited editions. The "Ki", "Tsu", and "Ne" (Kitsune means "fox" in Japanese) limited editions included single artwork focused on Nakamoto, Mizuno, and Kikuchi respectively, and their included DVDs feature footage of two songs from each of the live performances from Live: Legend I, D, Z Apocalypse. Additionally, the single included a chance to contain a ticket to the premium event Kitsune Festival at Meguro Rock May Kan on July 14, 2013.
To promote the release, the band was featured in the June issue of Marquee and on the cover of the July issue of Hedoban, in addition to collaborating with Tower Records for the 34th rendition of the event No Music, No Idol?.
Babymetal Death Match Tour 2013: May Revolution
The was a promotional concert tour by Babymetal, occurring in conjunction with the promotion of "Megitsune". The band performed four shows, with two on the final tour date, at the same venue. Customers who purchased tickets to the tour could receive an exclusive edition of the single, with a remix by Yuyoyuppe, under the name DJ'Tekina//Something.
According to Mizuno, the tour was designed to be a "training tour". During each of the four shows the three members wore stage costumes for the eras of "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" (which had become nostalgically small for them), "Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!", and "Ijime, Dame, Zettai", respectively, with the final show premiering new costumes for "Megitsune".
Composition
"Megitsune" "Megitsune" has been described as "festival metal". Alongside the serious heavy metal tone, there is a mix of Western-style and Eastern-style music, noticeably with the use of Japanese traditional instruments. Unlike screams in traditional heavy metal, "Megitsune" is filled with festival chants by Mizuno and Kikuchi like "wasshoi" and "sore sore", while Nakamoto sings in the melodramatic style of enka. The bridge has significant variety in genre, with elements of dubstep as well as interpolations from the traditional Japanese folk song "Sakura Sakura".
The song contains lyrics such as "from the time of birth, women are actresses" which reflect on the song's theme of women remaining strong when living with their varied facial expressions. The song relates foxes, which disguises themselves for deception in Japanese mythology, to women, who disguise themselves with makeup. According to Nakamoto, foxes are similar to women as they can keep their true feeling hidden, even through hard times, leaving a cool impression. The last chorus contains the phrase , which is also famously said by Masako Natsume's character in the 1982 yakuza film "Onimasa"; whether or not this was intentional has never been confirmed.
Recording had begun shortly after "Ijime, Dame, Zettai", with a tone reminiscent of "Doki Doki ☆ Morning" and "Iine!". After several rounds of remixing, taiko drums were added while the lyrics remained the same. In a Billboard interview about the band's album Metal Resistance, Su-metal explained that the song "is popular among international fans, and I have a feeling that "Karate" will be something close to "Megitsune."" George Garner of Kerrang! called the song "the most hyper song [Babymetal] have ever put their name to."
Other songs
Performed solely by Nakamoto, is considered to be in the genre of speed metal. The song debuted as background music during the first live performance of "Iine!". Nakamoto went through voice training as the song was challenging with high tones. With more performances, her vocal performance improved as she stopped singing flat. Being her first solo, Nakamoto felt accomplished being able to sing the entire song by herself. While writing about the band's performance at Wembley Arena, Mark Beaumont contrasted it with the previous songs "Awadama Fever", "Iine!", and "Yava!", stating it had a darker tone, as "a show-tune ballad sung by Su-metal in a black cape, running along a flame-flanked ego ramp".