I suppose my friends may have seen this post coming for sometime now. I have been borderline obsessed with ONE OK ROCK after listening to their song The Beginning which was utilized as the song that plays in the credits of the live action Rurouni Kenshin movie, which is highly recommended by the way! I have watched the movie at least 4 times! Fans of the Samurai X movie may love this movie more than others (understandably). Anyway, as this post is about OOR, I will refrain from rambling too much about the Kenshin movie.
OOR is a Japanese rock band that was formed in 2005 after Toru, then a highschooler, decided to form a rock band. Together with Ryouta, they then brought in Taka as the vocalist (who was rather hilariously, an ex-member of Jpop boyband, NEWS). Tomoya replaced Koyanagi Yu as drummer, who went on to be an actor instead. Not that it was a bad choice. I loved Koyanagi's portrayal of Chiba in Yankee-kun to Megane-chan! Originally they debuted as a 5-piece rock band but Eurasian guitarist, Alex, left the group in 2009 after his *cough* train scandal.
I love their sound and Taka's ability to do slow ballads and rock songs at the same time. My favourite song picks at this moment in time would be
The Beginning, Clock Strikes, Be The Light, Keep It Real, My Sweet Baby and
C.h.a.o.s.m.y.t.h.! They also collaborated with Simple Plan for a special version of Summer Paradise! Check out their music videos at their
Youtube channel!
Taka is especially popular in South Korea for his friendship with FT Island frontman, Lee Hong Ki. I also love OOR's crazy poses in front of the camera. They seem completely unable to take normal photos. I really dig their brand of quirky!
More crazy photos after the jump!
Taka just celebrated his 25th birthday recently!
Happy birthday, Taka! *throws confetti*