| "Why" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Why_-_Gen_Hoshino_(cover).png) Double A-side cover | ||||
| Single by Gen Hoshino | ||||
| Language | Japanese | |||
| A-side | "Life" (double A-side) | |||
| B-side |
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| Released | December 27, 2023 | |||
| Studio | 808 (home studio) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:10 | |||
| Label | Speedstar | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Gen Hoshino | |||
| Producer(s) | Gen Hoshino | |||
| Gen Hoshino singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Why" on YouTube | ||||
"Why" (Japanese: 光の跡, Hepburn: Hikari no Ato, lit. 'Traces of Light') (Japanese pronunciation: [çi̥kaɾiꜜ no aꜜto]) is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter and musician Gen Hoshino. The song was written and produced by Hoshino, who co-arranged and programmed it with Mabanua. The song was released by Speedstar Records on December 27, 2023, as a double A-sided single with "Life". It was used as the ending theme to the anime film Spy × Family Code: White (2023) and follows the song "Comedy" (2022) that Hoshino wrote for the film's preceding TV-series. Musically, it is a mid-tempo J-pop ballad with a nostalgic-like sound that lyrically questions why people make memories despite the fragility of life.
Hoshino traveled to Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, to find inspiration for the song. Upon returning home, he fell into a depressed state where he was unable to write the song's lyrics. Themed around the word kōseki (光跡)—meaning traces of a moving light—he began to write about his current worries and struggles, which he believed started to match with the plot of Spy × Family. "Why" was envisioned as a follow-up to the lyrics of "Comedy", but the musical roots go backwards and take inspiration from 1980s R&B and 90s hip-hop.
"Why" was surprise revealed as the ending theme to Spy × Family Code: White on the day of the film's premiere. A pouch with illustrations of Spy × Family characters drawn by Hoshino were shipped with the single to promote its release; first edition discs contain footage of live performances. The song was received positively by music critics for both its lyrics and music. Commercially, it reached number three on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and took first place on Plantech's Japanese airplay chart, while the double A-sided CD single entered at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and Billboard Japan's Top Singles Sales chart. An accompanying music video, directed by Kyōtarō Hayashi, was released with the single and intersects shots of scenery with Hoshino singing.