Kishibe Seven's 'Ahead of the Light' Tops the Streaming Chart — Two Members with Drift Features Speak

According to Shiosai Records, "Ahead of the Light" has kept climbing since its midnight release on Sept. 20, as previously reported, and reached the top of streaming service Minato's weekly music chart on the 28th for the first time. The label said, "The live performance at the outdoor festival filled in something that streaming alone couldn't convey."

As previously reported, the tail choreography for the chorus was not filmed at the time of release and was instead unveiled live for the first time at the Sept. 23 "Kishibe no Uta" outdoor concert. The choreography was devised by the group's center, third-generation Drifter Noa Kishiyanagi, 20. "At first I resisted the idea of 'showing' the tail at all," she told this paper. "We've decided never to hide it onstage, but turning it into a choreographed highlight took a different kind of courage."

The group has one other member with Drift features: Iroha Urahata, 19, a second-generation Drifter, whose activities this paper is covering by name for the first time. She told this paper, "Because Noa went first and really committed to it, it made things easier for me too. As a kid I always wore my hair to hide my ears. Now I feel more like myself when I don't hide them." According to production staff, all members, including those without Drift features, checked the tail movements together in front of a mirror during final rehearsals to make sure nothing looked unnatural.

At Kishihama Park, the site of the festival, young fans were still seen taking photos on the 28th following news of the chart-topping single. To avoid the crowd being mistaken for "shore watchers," the park management office has, as previously reported, stepped up its posted photography etiquette notices. A fan in her twenties laughed, "I tried to copy the tail movement at home and just couldn't do it. I think that's a move you can only really pull off with the real thing." A male fan said, "When I only listened to the stream, I thought it was just a nice song. Watching it live changed how I hear it — you can tell there's effort all the way to the tip of the tail."

A representative of Shiosai Records said of reaching the top of the chart, "The numbers are gratifying, but we don't intend to be satisfied with that. Building an atmosphere where members with Drift features can stand onstage without hiding anything matters more to us as a company." Since Kishibe Seven was formed as a mixed seven-member group, the policy has been for every member to stand in the same choreography and the same costumes regardless of Drift features, and the label said this round's tail choreography extends that same policy.

It has also emerged that Bayside TV (BTV), which, as previously reported, has frequently featured wall racing athletes on shows like "Wall Racing Variety," is now working toward a dedicated Kishibe Seven feature slot sometime in October following the chart topping. A BTV spokesperson said, "How a broadcast station handles a song that caught fire through streaming is a new challenge for us too." Shiosai Records struck a similarly cooperative tone: "Streaming and the live stage together are what got us this result. How we present it on television is something we'll work out together."

Shiosai Records said rehearsals will continue toward the previously reported Nov. 14 additional performance. It was also learned that talks are underway for actress Hikari Shinomiya, previously reported, to join the cast of an upcoming theatrical anime, though the label declined to give details, saying it would announce more "once things are settled." Kishiyanagi said she hopes "to take the tail choreography from this round one step further for the additional performance."