If you’ve ever sung along to A Cruel Angel’s Thesis at karaoke without realising it’s older than most of the people in the room, this album is for you. FANTASTICS have released BACK TO THE MEMORIES ザ・ベスト, a 22-track collection of Japanese hits from three different eras. It went on sale on 18 September 2026.
For readers here in Singapore, streaming is the easier route. The full album is on Spotify, and the official BACK TO THE MEMORIES link points to the other places you can play it. In Japan, the CD-only edition sells for ¥3,300 including tax.
The album is the recorded payoff of a five-year project that started as a TV show and grew into a stage series. It also works as a quick course in the songs that shaped Japanese pop long before TikTok got to them.
At a Glance: How to Listen From Singapore
🎧 Stream it: Spotify album page or the official BACK TO THE MEMORIES link
💿 Physical copy: CD-only edition, ¥3,300 including tax (Japan price)
📅 Out since: 18 September 2026
🔢 Tracks: 22, covering the Showa, Heisei and Reiwa eras
▶️ Play first: 学園天国 (Gakuen Tengoku), then One Night Carnival, then A Cruel Angel’s Thesis
🎤 Live dates: 26–27 September at Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo; no Singapore date announced
📱 Follow: FANTASTICS on TikTok · FANTASTICS on Spotify
The Songs You Didn’t Know Were Old
The idea behind the album is simple and a little cheeky. FANTASTICS take songs from the Showa (1926 to 1989), Heisei (1989 to 2019) and Reiwa (2019 onwards) eras of Japanese pop culture and perform them as their own. So a Gen-Z fan who found the group through a dance clip ends up singing a song their parents knew by heart.
The tracklist includes 君がいるだけで (Kimigairudakede), WON’T BE LONG, 夏祭り (Natsumatsuri), Get Wild, HOT LIMIT, One Night Carnival and 残酷な天使のテーゼ (A Cruel Angel’s Thesis). Anime fans will recognise two of those straight away. Get Wild is the classic City Hunter ending theme, and A Cruel Angel’s Thesis opened Neon Genesis Evangelion back in 1995. Plenty of these tunes are already sitting in young listeners’ playlists without anyone checking the release year.
Who Are FANTASTICS, Anyway?
For anyone meeting them for the first time, FANTASTICS are a dance and vocal group from EXILE TRIBE, the large family of acts under Japanese entertainment company LDH. The group is led by EXILE performers Sekai and Taiki Sato. Vocalists Yusei Yagi and Sota Nakajima joined through the nationwide VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION 5.
They made their major debut in 2018 with OVER DRIVE and have since grown into an arena-sized act. In 2025 they played the biggest shows of their career, a three-day run at Saitama Super Arena. In 2026 they released their first-ever best album, Welcome to Sunshine. Their own catalogue is on Spotify, which makes a good warm-up before the covers.
From TV Show to Time Machine
The whole project began with FUN! FUN! FANTASTICS, a variety show that first aired on Nippon TV in April 2021. Its musical segments led to BACK TO THE MEMORIES, a stage series that mixes singing with drama, so the covers are woven into a storyline instead of being performed as a straight concert. The stage show has run in several instalments since, with PART 5 staged in 2025.
That history sets this album apart from a typical covers record. The 22 tracks weren’t cut in a studio after the fact. They are songs the group has performed live across the TV series and the stage productions over five years, not hits a label picked off a chart.
Fans have responded quickly. According to Oricon, Japan’s main music chart, the album landed at No. 2 on its daily album chart on release day and placed No. 4 on the weekly album ranking.
Where to Start Listening
1. 学園天国 (Gakuen Tengoku), the focus track. It’s Finger 5’s 1974 hit, and FANTASTICS have performed it since the very first days of FUN! FUN! FANTASTICS. Its call-and-response chorus is built for a crowd, and it’s the song most tied to the whole project.
2. One Night Carnival, a rowdy, fist-pumping anthem that suits a boy group’s energy almost too well.
3. A Cruel Angel’s Thesis. Hearing a dance group take on the most famous anime opening of all time is the quickest way to judge whether this concept works for you.
If those three land, the rest of the album will too. Fans who enjoy this kind of retro Japanese pop might also like our piece on how SOTA HANAMURA wrote a city pop love song about a ramen chain.
Five Years, One Big Stage
The album arrived just ahead of BACK TO THE MEMORIES 祭 at K-Arena Yokohama on 19 and 20 September 2026, billed as the celebration of the project’s five years. Leaders Sekai and Taiki Sato, who sat out the earlier stage productions, joined the full line-up this time. Guest artists included Nanase Aikawa on 19 September, TRE on 20 September, and LIL LEAGUE on both nights.
Reports from the K-Arena show describe a crowd full of cheers, laughter and applause as the group ran through classics like 君がいるだけで and 夢見る少女じゃいられない. During an online watch party for an earlier stage instalment, fans posted comments such as “最高すぎる” (“absolutely the best”) and “泣いた” (“I cried”).
The Tour Dates (Tokyo Only)
The group’s own tour, FANTASTICS LIVE TOUR 2026 “SUNFLOWER”, plays Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo on 26 and 27 September, which is this Saturday and Sunday. These are Japan dates, so for most readers in Singapore the album is the way to hear this material. Anyone already in Japan can check the tour page for the latest details.
🗓️ Date: Saturday, 26 September and Sunday, 27 September 2026
📍 Location: Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo
🎤 Event: FANTASTICS LIVE TOUR 2026 “SUNFLOWER”
🔗 Details: Official tour page
💿 Album: BACK TO THE MEMORIES ザ・ベスト, 22 tracks, out since 18 September 2026
🎧 Focus track: 学園天国 (Gakuen Tengoku)
Whether these songs soundtracked your parents’ road trips or you’re hearing them for the first time, BACK TO THE MEMORIES ザ・ベスト covers the Showa, Heisei and Reiwa eras of Japanese pop in 22 tracks, including a Finger 5 song from 1974. Stream the album through the official BACK TO THE MEMORIES link, queue up Gakuen Tengoku first, and follow FANTASTICS on TikTok for clips from the tour and whatever era they decide to raid next!
Photos and Visuals courtesy of FANTASTICS.
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