FLOW
Friday, 31 October 2025
Vienna / YuniCon – Multiverse Schwechat / Austria
Ahh, FLOW… The band that sends every Japanophile and otaku’s serotonin skyrocketing has finally made it to our neck of the woods — specifically to the YuniCon anime convention in Vienna.
As already mentioned, these are old friends of the anime scene the world over. Their most recognizable tracks have served as openings for countless well-known anime, but as the tour name “Naruto the Rock World Tour 2025” suggests, they made their name above all through their contributions to Naruto. For that franchise alone (counting Naruto Shippuden and Boruto), they recorded 4 opening songs.
Very few Japanese rock bands have managed to bridge the gap between anime culture and the wider rock audience as smoothly as FLOW. The five-piece lineup — comprising vocalists Kōshi and Keigo, guitarist TAKE, bassist Got’s, and drummer Iwasaki — hails from Tokyo and is considered one of the most recognizable forces in J-rock over the past two decades. Although the musical core took shape back in the nineties, when brothers Kōshi and TAKE started writing together, the band took its official form in 1998, with the lineup solidifying fully around the turn of the millennium.
FLOW were initially driven by alternative rock, rap-rock, and pop-punk energy, which over the years evolved into a distinctive blend of melodic, high-octane sound with an extraordinarily powerful stage presence. Their breakthrough came shortly after the move from the indie circuit to a major label, but the moment that launched FLOW from a local act into global consciousness was, as already mentioned, unquestionably the release of “GO!!!”, chosen as the opening theme for the Naruto anime series. With that, FLOW became synonymous with an exciting, bombastic, stadium-ready J-rock aesthetic that followed an entire generation of anime fans across the globe.
The success didn’t stop at a single project. In the years that followed, FLOW also contributed “Re:member” and “Sign” for Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, the anthemic “COLORS” and “WORLD END” for the cult favorite Code Geass, “DAYS” for Eureka Seven, and later themes for Durarara!!×2, Boruto, Persona: Trinity Soul, Tales of Zestiria the X, and many more. Today they are regarded as a symbol of the musical generation that brought anime music out of niche territory and into global consciousness — while still remaining a genuine rock band, sonically comparable to contemporary Japanese and Western alt-rock acts.
A particularly interesting phenomenon within FLOW is their leadership structure. Unlike most rock bands, where the leader’s role is clearly defined, FLOW have operated on a rotation system from the very beginning. The leadership role passes periodically among the members — Kōshi, Keigo, TAKE, Got’s, and Iwasaki take turns in the position on predetermined cycles. This organizational quirk, which is downright exotic in rock music, further underscores the collective spirit of a group where every member has their own creative space and responsibility. This dynamic is often cited as one of the reasons FLOW remain creatively fresh and in sync with each other even after more than twenty years.
Despite their popularity, FLOW were, as mentioned, visiting neighboring Austria for the very first time. The show was announced for 20:30, but — very un-Japanese of them (and un-Austrian, for that matter) — it kicked off 30 minutes late. Just past 9 p.m., FLOW took the stage. The packed Multiverse Schwechat erupted for them like a burst dam releasing its flow, the crowd’s roar so overwhelming that earplugs couldn’t hold back the wall of sound from screaming fans.
The night opened with “Re:member”, which immediately sent an already impatient crowd into a full flow of energy. Screaming, shrieking, and the occasional outright roaring from the audience — there was no shortage of any of it. The first shock hits the concert photographer when they see thousands of people who, judging by the internet, are about as extroverted as Sasuke Uchiha — and yet in a live setting, possibly even louder than the 15,000-strong crowd at a recent The Offspring show in Linz. It was absolutely fantastic to see people who are normally reserved just let go and have the time of their lives.
FLOW carried on with “Kaze no Uta” and then “DAYS”. Then came the real turning point, the one that unleashed a true surge of energy: “Sign”, the sixth opening theme for Naruto Shippūden (episodes 129–153), covering precisely the stretch where the dramatic showdown between Naruto and Sasuke plays out. The crowd sang it louder than the band, and the two vocalists exchanged a grin wider than the one Naruto Uzumaki flashes when he finally gets his ramen after a mission, and the show rolled on.
Then came “COLORS” and “Alright!!!”, followed by another earplug stress test — “Haruka Kanata”, a cover by one of Japan’s most beloved bands, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION (who occupy something like a Siddharta-level status in Japan — no matter how long they go between releases, their shows are always sold out and their fanbase moves more like a religion than a crowd), which is also an opening track for the already repeatedly mentioned Naruto. At that point the YuniCon organizer was patting themselves on the back for the last-minute call to put up a security barrier before the show — without it, the fans would most likely have stormed the stage.
After a track like “Haruka Kanata”, we all needed a brief breather. Iwasaki, with TAKE’s help, took over the stage with a drum solo while the rest of the band caught their breath, because what followed was “Sign”. Once again — one of those tracks that stirs fierce emotions in anime fans; the band performed it like it was their last song ever, energy crackling from every corner of the stage in the way you’d expect from a Japanese band.
After “Sign” came the first riff… and there it was — “GO!!!”. Jumping, sprinting across the stage like retirees going for the Parkside tools at Lidl on the first day of a sale, and of course the kind of fan interaction only a Japanese band can deliver. They genuinely gave it everything. Sweat was pouring off everyone — fans and band alike. By the end of the track most fans had lost their voices and were clutching their throats in pain from singing so hard — you could really feel how much the show meant to everyone at YuniCon.
The crowd surrendered to their own flow, and at moments it felt like a small tsunami of energy had been set off — a genuine Japanese “flow quake”. It was a perfect synergy of reviving animated heroes, live music, and a simple love of both.
Merging those two worlds, which don’t always naturally intersect, is no easy task in a live setting. Before bands like FLOW, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Aqua Timez, SCANDAL, HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, and many others who provided these anime openings, they were recognized only within their own country. Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that the “cool kids” looked down on anime and mocked their peers for watching “cartoons”, and so on. The turnaround happened over the last decade, and it’s ensured that the music tied to anime is now embraced the world over.
Today FLOW rank among the most internationally successful Japanese rock bands. They fill venues across Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia; their singles regularly land on Japanese charts; and their fanbase spans generations — from anime enthusiasts to radio listeners to rock purists. FLOW are proof that rock from Japan isn’t just some exotic export product — it’s a global force with a recognizable identity and a long-term vision.
FLOW remain the sound of many people’s youth, the soundtrack to the pop-culture explosion at the turn of the millennium — and at the same time a mature, seasoned act that keeps filling venues and adding new chapters to their catalog. If anime rock was once considered a niche domain, FLOW prove that today it’s an international rock phenomenon with its own standing and a history that many are only just beginning to discover.
Author: Denis Paradiž & Helena Medved
Photos: Denis Paradiž
Setlist:
1. Re:member
2. Kaze no Uta
3. DAYS
4. CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA (Hironobu Kageyama cover)
5. COLORS
6. SE – Alright!!!
7. Alright!!!
8. Haruka Kanata (ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION cover)
9. Member Shoukai (Iwasaki drum solo / TAKE show [BGM: Tick Tack])
10. Sign
11. GO!!!
12. GOLD
