The Book is the debut EP by Japanese duo Yoasobi. It was released on January 6, 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan,[2] the same date with their single "Kaibutsu", accompanied the second season of Beastars.[3] A concept of "reading CD" with binder package, the EP consists of all singles released from 2019 to 2020, including other track "Encore".[4] The track-by-track cover EP Mikunoyoasobi by Ayase with Vocaloid voicebank Hatsune Miku, was released on the same day exclusively at Tower Records Japan.[5]

The Book
A silhouette of a skyline with a light red background, showing "YOASOBI" / "NOVEL INTO MUSIC" on the left-top corner, and a black circle on the right-top corner
EP by
ReleasedJanuary 6, 2021 (2021-01-06)
GenreJ-pop
Length30:12
LanguageJapanese
LabelSony Japan
ProducerAyase
Yoasobi chronology
The Book
(2021)
E-Side
(2021)
Singles from The Book
  1. "Yoru ni Kakeru"
    Released: December 15, 2019
  2. "Ano Yume o Nazotte"
    Released: January 18, 2020
  3. "Halzion"
    Released: May 11, 2020
  4. "Tabun"
    Released: July 20, 2020
  5. "Gunjō"
    Released: September 1, 2020
  6. "Haruka"
    Released: December 18, 2020
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Sputnikmusic3.6/5[1]

Commercial performance

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The Book debuted at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart, behind SixTones's 1ST,[6] selling 72,238 copies in its first week.[7] and 146,745 copies as of 2021.[8] It topped Oricon Digital Albums Chart for five consecutive weeks[9] and the year-end chart with 100,656 downloads in 2021 alone, becoming the only album to reach this milestone in the year.[10] For Billboard Japan Hot Albums, The Book entered at number two with 74,601 CD copies, and 10,069 download units.[11] The Book received a gold certification for both physical and digital release by Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).[12][13] All tracks of the EP, excluding the intro and outro, are also certified platinum or higher for streaming by RIAJ.[14]

Accolades

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Awards and nominations for The Book
Ceremony Year Category Result Ref.
CD Shop Awards 2022 Grand Prize (Red) Nominated [15]
Finalist Award Won
Special Award Won

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Ayase

The Book track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Epilogue"0:50
2."Encore" (アンコール)4:30
3."Halzion" (ハルジオン)3:18
4."Ano Yume o Nazotte" (あの夢をなぞって)4:03
5."Tabun" (たぶん)4:23
6."Gunjō" (群青)4:08
7."Haruka" (ハルカ)4:04
8."Yoru ni Kakeru" (夜に駆ける)4:21
9."Prologue"0:35
Total length:30:12

Credits and personnel

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  • Ayase – songwriter, producer
  • Ikura – vocals (2–9)
  • Rockwell – guitar (4–5)
  • AssH – guitar (6)
  • Takeruru – guitar (8)
  • Plusonica[A] – chorus (6)
  • Kanami Minakami – based story writer (2)
  • Shunki Hashizume – based story writer (3)
  • Sōta Ishiki – based story writer (4)
  • Shinano – based story writer (5)
  • Alfort Creative Team – based story writer (6)
  • Osamu Suzuki – based story writer (7)
  • Mayo Hoshino – based story writer (8)
  • Takayuki Saitō – vocal recording (2–8)
  • Masahiko Fukui – mixing
  • Hidekazu Sakai – mastering

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Certifications and sales figures for The Book
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[27]
Physical
Gold 172,512[26]
Japan (RIAJ)[29]
Digital
Gold 136,432[28]

Release history

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Release dates and formats for The Book
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various January 6, 2021 Sony Japan [30]
Japan CD [31]
Taiwan October 20, 2023 Sony Taiwan [32]
Various July 26, 2024 Vinyl
[33]
Japan October 23, 2024 Sony Japan [34]

Notes

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  1. ^ Consisting of Narita Ayori, Hikari Codama, Miki Maria, Masa, Miku Motomatsu, Natsumi, Kosei Nishiyama, Saki, Suzu, and Tetsuto

References

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  1. ^ JohnnyoftheWell (October 28, 2021). "Review: Yoasobi - The Book". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "YOASOBI、自身初のCDとなるEP『THE BOOK』のリリースが決定". OKMusic (in Japanese). October 1, 2020. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  3. ^ "YOASOBI TVアニメ『BEASTARS』第2期OPテーマ「怪物」が1月6日より配信開始!ノンクレジットOP映像も解禁!アニメとコラボレーションしたジャケットも公開!". lisani (in Japanese). lisani. December 22, 2020. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "YOASOBI、1st EP『THE BOOK』は"読むCD"". Barks (in Japanese). November 11, 2020. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "YOASOBI、初配信ライヴ2/14開催。ファンクラブ "CLUB 夜遊"プレオープン。1st EP『THE BOOK』の初音ミクVer.『MIKUNOYOASOBI』タワレコ限定サプライズ・リリースも". Skream! (in Japanese). January 6, 2021. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "1/18付週間アルバムランキング1位はSixTONESの『1ST』". Oricon (in Japanese). January 15, 2021. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  7. ^ "週間 アルバムランキング 2021年01月18日付" (in Japanese). Oricon. January 18, 2021. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  8. ^ "【オリコン年間ランキング2021】Snow Man、唯一のミリオン達成で「シングル」年間1位 / アルバムランキング 1位~25位" (in Japanese). Oricon. December 22, 2021. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  9. ^ "YOASOBI、1stEPがオリコン週間デジタルアルバムランキング5週連続1位を獲得 バレンタインデーには初のオンラインライブも". Spice (in Japanese). Eplus. February 10, 2021. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  10. ^ "【オリコン年間】YOASOBIが初のデジタルアルバム首位、唯一の10万DL超えを記録". Oricon (in Japanese). December 22, 2021. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  11. ^ "【ビルボード】SixTONES『1ST』が総合アルバム首位 YOASOBI『THE BOOK』が2位に続く". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Hanshin Contents Link. January 13, 2021. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  12. ^ "Snow Man「Snow Man ASIA TOUR 2D.2D.」がダブル・プラチナ認定<3月度GD>". Modelpress (in Japanese). Netnative Inc. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  13. ^ Recording Industry Association of Japan (November 19, 2022). "10月度DL認定 ~Aimer、YOASOBI、米津玄師がゴールド認定". PR Times (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  14. ^ "Streaming certifications search results" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2021. Enter YOASOBI into the アーティスト field and Select プラチナ on the 認定 menu
  15. ^ "第14回CDショップ大賞2022" (in Japanese). CD Shop Awards. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  16. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2021-01-18" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  17. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Combined Albums: 2021-01-18" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  18. ^ "Hot Albums [ 2021/01/18 付け ]". Billboard Japan. January 18, 2021. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  19. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2021-01" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  20. ^ "Oricon Top 100 Albums: 2021". Oricon. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  21. ^ "【オリコン年間ランキング2021】BTS、年間アーティストセールストータル1位 海外アーティストで初の快挙 / 合算アルバム 1位~10位" (in Japanese). Oricon. December 24, 2021. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  22. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums Year-End 2021". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  23. ^ "【オリコン年間ランキング2022】King & Prince、今年度唯一のミリオン達成で自身初の「シングル」首位 Snow Man初の「アルバム」1位 / デジタルアルバム 1位~10位" (in Japanese). Oricon. December 22, 2022. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  24. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums Year-End 2022". Billboard Japan. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  25. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – 2023 Year-End". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  26. ^ Cumulative physical sale figures for The Book:
  27. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Yoasobi – The Book" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved April 9, 2021. Select 2021年3月 on the drop-down menu
  28. ^ Cumulative digital sale figures for The Book:
  29. ^ "Japanese digital album certifications – Yoasobi – The Book" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved November 18, 2022. Select 2022年10月 on the drop-down menu
  30. ^ Yoasobi (January 6, 2021). "THE BOOK". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on May 8, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  31. ^ Yoasobi (January 6, 2021). "THE BOOK [CD+付属品]<完全生産限定盤>". Tower Records Japan. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  32. ^ "YOASOBI / THE BOOK【Limited Edition】" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Sony Music Taiwan. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  33. ^ "YOASOBI • THE BOOK • Vinyl". Black Screen Records. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  34. ^ "10月に迎える結成5周年を記念して、EP『THE BOOK』シリーズ3作品のアナログ盤を10/23(水)に発売決定! 国内外で活躍するイラストレーター3名による描き下ろしイラストジャケットデザイン&カラーバイナル仕様。本日より予約開始!". Yoasobi Official Website (in Japanese). August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.