| "Why" | ||||
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&sq=Qlik&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 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:10 | |||
| Label | Speedstar | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Gen Hoshino | |||
| Gen Hoshino singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Why" (Official Video) 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 released through Speedstar Records on December 27, 2023, as a double A-sided single with "Life", theme to the 2022 Asian Games and 2023 World Athletics Championships on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). It was written and produced by Hoshino, who co-arranged and programmed it with Mabanua. The song was used as the ending theme to the anime film Spy × Family Code: White (2023), following the song "Comedy" (2022) which Hoshino wrote for the film's preceding TV-series. Musically, it is a mid-tempo Japanese rock and 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. He decided to attempt to write about his current worries and struggles, which he believed began to match with the plot of Spy × Family. Hoshino wanted "Why" to follow the lyrical content on "Comedy", but decided to go backwards for the sound, seeking inspiration from 1980s rhythm and blues and 90s hip-hop. Stylistically, the song is themed around the word kōseki (光跡), meaning traces of a moving light.
"Why" was surprise revealed as the ending theme to Spy × Family Code: White on the day of the film's premiere. The song was received positively by music critics, who primarily enjoyed its lyrics. Upon release, it reached number three on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, and the double A-side single peaked at number two on Oricon's physical singles chart and Billboard Japan's Top Singles Sales ranking. The song was also successful in airplay, taking first place on Plantech's Japanese radio chart. An accompanying music video, directed by Kyōtarō Hayashi, was released on the same day as the song, and intersects various scenes with Hoshino singing.