I’m watching the BD release for Mrs. Green Apple’s Harmony show once again. I love the compositions of the songs for this show, and the band are great showmen. But they’re a band that stand at the top of the Japanese music industry right now, and they get a lot of people complaining about them because of it. That’s natural when you stand at the top, but all the same, I can’t help but feel it’s not justified.

I don’t normally write about music on this blog, or at all really. Despite being someone who has always spent a lot of time listening to and playing music (I play guitar, to a point). I listen to a lot of Western music, of course, but I probably listen to far more Japanese music due to the influence of all the anime I consume. But the band that has raced to the top of my yearly replies for 2024, 2025 and almost certainly this year is Mrs. Green Apple.

I first discovered them back when Fire Force Season 1 aired in 2019 and they handled the opening – Inferno. That was such a catchy song that I kept track of the band thereafter, but when they went on hiatus in 2020 and didn’t return until 2022, I definitely can’t say I was at the point of being as big of a fan as I am now. But their return (now as a three-piece rather than five) brought with it more music I enjoyed, so I slowly started listening more and returned to actively seeking their music out.

But what really changed my feelings was Lilac, the opening for Oblivion Battery, which so perfectly captured the themes of the anime and was not a frivolous song about romance but something that deeply explored the realities of growing up and the scars we collect along the way. Forgetting the things that made us who we are. Looking back, frontman Motoki Ohmori’s lyrics have always been about the human condition. The challenges we face in society, against ourselves, mentally and in so many other ways. That is why the band’s music resonates with so many people, because he sings about the things popular music rarely does in a way that’s sincere and relatable. Unafraid to address the ugliness of the human heart, the imperfections, and the things that make us human. And not always in a doom and gloom way, but in a hopeful and sometimes cheeky way that lights a way forward. For himself, and for us too. Without denying the importance of these things.

Now when Inferno came out, I had barely started learning Japanese, and that was all entirely lost on me. Without a doubt. In fact, it probably wasn’t until Lilac came out and I was watching more and more press events and behind-the-scenes stuff that I came to better understand Ohmori and what was making these songs so special. Now I could better appreciate the lyrics and the themes of each song, and they won an irreplaceable place in my heart, because I got it.

And then you look at the bigger picture. Guitarist Hiloto Wakai is finally getting the recognition he deserves for his guitar skills, as is keyboardist Ryoka Fujisawa. They’re a three-piece that have been through a lot together, but you can tell they respect and love the heck out of one another. And that’s one of the reasons it works so well. Ohmori might lead, but they’re a close-knit group. And despite where they stand in the industry with their numerous sales and chart records, Ohmori and the others are really humble people who just love music and performing.

They’re good entertainers too, always doing well on variety shows. So well, in fact, that earlier in the year they earned their own show on TBS: TV Mrs. Here they invite guests, play games and perform. They have fun, and it’s hilarious to watch, so we have fun too. But this gained a lot of hate from people who don’t like the band, particularly people who decided to call Ohmori an ‘idol’ in a disparaging fashion. At the end of the day this is a group that understands they probably won’t be this popular forever and they may as well enjoy the opportunities granted to them. Watching them, you don’t get the impression they’re selling themselves out. They’re genuinely enjoying their TV show while juggling it with their other ambitions and work.

Overexposure will, of course, make anyone grumpy, though. People rag on YOASOBI for how frequently they handle anime opening or ending themes now. These same criticisms quickly hit Mrs. Green Apple when they took on an opening for The Apothecary Diaries and then later the opening for Frieren Season 2: Lulu. Now I was annoyed about this because Lulu to me captured a lot of Frieren’s themes, and I felt it flowed well with Sunny which was the second opening for Season 1 by Yorushika (another song I absolutely love to bits). It didn’t feel phoned in; they’d clearly put a lot of thought into the lyrics. And I like how the song flowed, building up layers, and I appreciate Ohmori’s vocals, which sound overly produced at times, but I’ve heard him perform this live, and he pulls off the effects just as well.

Ultimately that is why I follow them. Not out of some blind obsession because they’re popular, but because their music resonates with me in its themes. And I respect and love the dorky side of Ohmori, who is always out there doing his best to entertain and share his passion with the world. And we all know I gravitate toward dorks, we do not have to look far among the seiyu or actors I like to find similar examples. And I know one more fan shouting into the world isn’t going to change anything, but I wish there wasn’t so much negativity around them either. Or anyone, for that matter.