The Japanese band “Mrs. Green Apple“, known for being the author of the first opening of Fire Force, generated a great stir after releasing their new song titled “Columbus“, a melody that soon after its release was met with unpleasant accusations, branding the song as unethical and even ignorant given the sequences it shows. This situation was so commented and “Columbus” was so criticized that it did not even remain on YouTube for a whole day when the song was removed from the platform.
Song by the authors of Fire Force opening, “Mrs. Green Apple,” angers fans
This controversy was very commented on different platforms, one of them was Twitter/X social network where you can still listen to the song. Most likely if you did not know this news you are wondering what happened to make the song so controversial, let me tell you what was shown in the video that upset the fans so much.
In first instance we see the members of the group that created the first opening of Fire Force, three of them are disguised as famous characters of the story. One was characterized as the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus, a character that we know well for discovering the new world “America”, so far everything seems to be going well, right, because this explorer then meets other characters who are characterized as monkeys.
The detail here is how “Mrs. Green Apple” represented these people, not only are they characterized as primates, we can also see the members of the band indoctrinating these apes, teaching them to greet and how they make them pull their carriages as if they were slaves. As we said before, once the videoclip “Columbus” was released, the critics began to rain down.
The main discontent was towards the inaccurate representation of the conqueror of America “Christopher Columbus”, who although he is known as a navigator, a talented explorer and a skilled cartographer, is also known for enslaving entire communities of indigenous people, labor exploitation of these people and also sent many of these indigenous people to Spain to be sold as slaves.
As you can notice, the song of “Mrs. Green Apple” was not liked by the public, unlike what was done in the anime Fire Force. Many users commented that the representation of the ape men, as well as the association of the character of “Christopher Columbus” was a clear reference to colonization, which was represented in a crude manner and for many this topic was treated with very little tact. It was even mentioned that this representation made reference to other primitive tribes.
It was then that around 3 p.m. on Thursday, the band Mrs. Green Apple removed the “Columbus” clip from the YouTube platform and posted a statement on their official website apologizing for the video and stressing that their true intention was to show the historical figures having a fun party.
It is worth mentioning that the planning director of the “Columbus” video was the lead singer of the band that brought to life the first opening of Fire Force, Mrs. Green Apple, Motoki Ohmori, as well as the song and video, were part of The Coca-Cola Co.’s “Coke Studio” music initiative, which seeks to have famous artists create original songs and videos, often featuring Coca-Cola products in prominent locations.
Mrs. Green Apple is a Japanese rock band formed in 2013. They became known primarily for their fresh and energetic musical style, which combines rock, pop and jazz elements. Their music is distinctive for its catchy melodies and emotional lyrics. One of their biggest hits is the song “Inferno”, which was used as the first opening for the popular anime series “Fire Force” (Enen no Shouboutai). This song helped to increase their recognition both inside and outside Japan and to place Fire Force itself within the lists of the best openings of all time.
Ⓒ大久保篤・講談社/特殊消防隊動画広報課
Leave a Reply