Yojiro Noda, the iconic frontman of RADWIMPS, is stepping out solo with Wonder Boy's Akumu Club, dropping on 25 September. If you're a fan of the anime soundtracks from Your Name., Weathering With You, or Suzume, you already know Noda’s legendary status. Now, he’s giving us a personal glimpse into his world with 13 fire tracks, packed with emotion and raw vibes. This album is his chance to experiment and do his own thing—and we’re here for it.

His latest single, 'Last Love Letter', is already out, and it’s everything. Noda has been working on this solo project for 2 years, experimenting with different sounds and pushing boundaries. He wanted to let loose, explore, and have fun with music in ways he couldn’t with the band. From the chill ambience of 'Evergreen' featuring kZm to his hype collab with J.I.D on 'Katatoki', you can tell he’s unafraid to mix genres and go all out.

To make this drop even more epic, the limited-edition CD comes with a dope T-shirt featuring Akumu-kun, an exclusive character designed by manga artist Posuka Demizu, who is also the illustrator of the hit manga series The Promised Neverland. It’s like Noda’s whole aura in character form—super cool and totally unique. Plus, there’s a vinyl version coming too, so get ready for the full experience! We spoke to Yojiro about his solo project to learn more.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by 野田 洋次郎 Yojiro Noda (@yoji_noda)

How did the process of creating your solo album, Wonder Boy's Akumu Club, differ from your work with RADWIMPS? Were there any creative freedoms you explored in this solo project that you might not have in the band?

The beginning of the process was totally different from the band stuff. A beatmaker named HOLLY randomly sent me a beat through Instagram direct messages 3 or 4 years ago, and he kept sending 1 every month. One day, I randomly listened to it, and it was really inspiring and interesting, so I picked the songs that stood out to me. I asked him to send the stems, and I started experimenting with them. It was a playful and experimental process, and I began creating my songs that way. After writing 5 or 6 songs, I started to feel like maybe I could turn this into an album.

Could you share the inspiration behind your latest single, 'Last Love Letter'? What message or emotion were you aiming to convey through this song?

The lyrics themselves are very direct. I'm almost turning 40 next year, and when I was in my 20s, I thought I would have a family, be married, and maybe have some kids. I expected those kinds of visions, even though they were blurry. But now, as I'm almost turning 40, I'm still doing the same thing—making music, focusing fully on it, and struggling, much like I did in my 20s. So, I wrote this song from the point of view where I imagine that maybe someday I will have a normal family and marriage. I pictured myself in that scenario when I wrote the song.

The album features collaborations with artists like kZM in 'Evergreen' and J.I.D on 'Katatoki'. How did these collaborations come about, and how did they influence the overall sound of the album?

kZm has been one of my favourite rappers for almost 4 to 5 years. He used to listen to RADWIMPS when he was 14 or 15 and became such a big fan of ours, and now I'm influenced by his music, which I think is a beautiful thing in the music industry. So, it felt natural for me to offer him a collaboration on a song.

As for J.I.D, we received an offer from SEGA for Ryū Ga Gotoku (Like A Dragon), and they asked if there were any specific rappers I wanted to collaborate with. J.I.D immediately came to mind. I love his rap and have been listening to him for about 3 or 4 years, back when he was just starting his career and had only a few followers on Instagram. When I discovered him, I became a huge fan, so it was exciting and surprising when everything came together for this project.

We created a basic piano riff for the song and sent it to his team. They experimented with it, chopped it up, and gave it a more hip-hop, dark vibe. J.I.D also added his verse in English, creating a mix of Japanese and English elements in the song, which I thought was really cool. Initially, I wanted to do my verse in English as well, but he suggested I stick to Japanese instead, so I tried it. The final result was really nice, and it paired perfectly with the game's atmosphere.

Coming off the RADWIMPS World Tour, how did the experiences from touring influence your solo album? Did any specific moments or interactions inspire new ideas for your music?

I'm not really sure about that. I was already making some of the beats for this album during the tour. Of course, there were instances where I was influenced by the audience, the tour, and everything surrounding it. It's probably the huge energy that the audience gives us—the way they interact with and react to our music, and how they show love to us—that has the biggest impact. In general, it's the fans' positive energy that drives me and influences me to create another album and make something just as big.

How has the global fan base for anime reacted to your music, particuarly those who discovered RADWIMPS through films you have contributed to? Has this influenced how you approach your music, knowing it reaches such a wide audience?

It's changed everything! We never imagined having such a huge fanbase not only in Japan but all over the world. We never thought we’d travel to the other side of the globe and see audiences go crazy, singing and shouting our songs back to us. It showed us the potential and energy of music, and it makes me feel that putting your soul into what you do, dedicating your whole life to it, is worth it. To this day, it still keeps me motivated to create more music.