No anime has more momentum heading into fall 2025 than the shonen anime of the year, Gala. The moody series is set to begin its second series on October 12, 2025, when it will also debut its brand new OP, featuring “LET’S JUST CRASH” from VTuber hit Mori Calliope.
CBR spoke with Mori Calliope before Gala Court 2 for an exclusive interview regarding his collaboration with the series, his relationship with the manga’s author, Kei Urana, and the creation of “LET’S JUST CRASH”.
[CBR]: Inasmuch as Gala fan, I would like to know: how did this collaboration between Mori Calliope and Gachakata come about?
[Mori Calliope]: So, you know, I was a fan of Gala since 2022. A long time ago, I was asked to host an awards ceremony with a friend of mine, and Gala had won a prize. For this show, we had to read all the manga that appeared on the awards list, and after the series, Gala was the only one I continued reading. I actually read the whole thing because I loved it so much, and that’s how I became a fan.
After this award ceremony, [Gachiakuta author] Kei Urana became my fan, then we were each other’s fans, then we became friends. I always had this secret dream of doing Gala opening, but I [thought]“I don’t know if I’m a good candidate, I don’t know if I’m good enough.”
Later, I heard from my producer, who must have told me in person. She said to me: “You don’t understand, it’s big.” And I kept thinking, “Is this going to be Gala? Did I get it? Did I get it? And then when I heard the news, I didn’t believe it, so I feel like my reaction wasn’t as crazy as it should have been. [Laughs]
But, little by little, over time, it became more real, and now I’m so excited to be here and be a part of it all.
[CBR]: What was it like to be part of GalaHas the animated adaptation of the series changed your relationship with it?
[Mori Calliope]: You know, I wonder, honestly, because for me, my relationship with the manga and with the series has always been sort of that of a fan. I have my secret side Gala account that all my fans know, but don’t know either. [Laughs]
I keep my [Gachiakuta fandom] sort of separate from the professional work environment, but at the same time, I feel like it might also be a bit of a coping mechanism, because it still doesn’t feel like that. So even though it’s very surreal, I still feel like not much has changed as far as my status as a fan, I guess.
It was difficult to write [LET’S JUST CRASH] because as a fan I wanted the best possible opening for this show. So being responsible for [Gachiakuta‘s] the second OP was a big responsibility for me as a fan. I was very strict and hard on myself, but it turned out for the best. I’m just excited to be a part of it.
[CBR]: Did you find that there were any notable differences between creating a song for an anime OP and the work you’ve done in the past for other projects?
[Mori Calliope]: I think something interesting about being a person who writes songs for tie-ups is that you have to be very flexible. I have my own image, my own brand and my own artistry that I project into the world, but I am also an extremely flexible artist as I cover many genres.
This really works to my advantage in terms of being able to make connections, because each series wants something different. You must be able and willing to adapt your own artistry to how the production wants the song to sound. Fortunately, in the case of GalaI feel like the world and the story already has the same tone of music that I’ve been creating these days – rock, rap and a bit of a dive into metal too.
So, for me, it was very natural to do [LET’S JUST CRASH]unlike maybe other tie-in songs or other songs I’ve had to do in the past, which are all wonderful in their own way, but they take me out of my comfort zone a little bit. I really liked this song, I think.
[CBR]: Do you feel like it’s just a musical resonance that you share with Galaor do you think there’s a deeper thematic connection between your own work and anime?
[Mori Calliope]: Yeah, so, I think it’s both, honestly. In terms of musicianship, I asked the producer for a very rock and trashcore track, and he absolutely nailed it.
I wanted it to fit the world, and of course it felt right at home because I like a dark, gritty sound. This is totally in line with what I do. But there is also an overarching theme in Gala to become more human in a world that is desecrated and seems irrecoverable.
It’s also something I tend to write about a lot in my own songs. These days I make a lot of songs that are not only about me, but also about characters I love. So some of my songs are rooted in fiction, others come from my own heart.
I do so many songs, it’s hard to write each one about me, I guess. But when I write songs that are more in line with my point of view, many of the themes I include in my works overlap with Gala.
For example, “Hope in the Gutter” is one of my favorite types of lyrics. It’s in Japanese [LET’S JUST CRASH]but, you know, that idea is a central point and a central goal of this song. Fighting your way to the top despite circumstances has always been a theme I’ve explored even in my own work, so even though it was a difficult song to write because I wanted it to be perfect, I was very comfortable writing it.
[CBR]: Do you find there are unique challenges in writing [lyrics] in English rather than writing them in Japanese?
[Mori Calliope]: It is definitely very difficult to connect the two. Outside of the anime sphere, I think it’s a bit difficult to listen to a mix of English and Japanese, but in the anime sphere, of course, many Japanese songs written by Japanese also include English.
I just think it’s extremely interesting to bring them together. I was born and raised in America, but the majority of my adult life has been spent in Japan, and so combining those two things is very important to me. It’s also very difficult in its own way, because writing songs in English and Japanese is honestly night and day when it comes to things like metering or how rhymes are expressed.
In a lot of Japanese songs, they don’t put too much emphasis on anything having to rhyme the same way we do in English, which honestly puts me in a sort of split state of mind when I’m trying to write a song. This time, luckily, the Japanese lyrics were handled by Shiro-san, but for the English lyrics, I wanted to make sure they matched his Japanese lyrics as perfectly as possible, and that took quite a while.
You know, there’s a good reason why it’s very difficult to translate Japanese songs into singable English lyrics, because they’re so different. But I think if you’re mixing two languages, the main focus should just be on: does this connect well enough together? Can you move smoothly from one idea to another, even if the languages are different? Because people will search for the translation.
You need to make sure that everything runs smoothly and the theme is consistent as well. These are the most important factors. As long as I can stay focused on these, there are usually no problems.
[CBR]: Are there any characters from Gala a casting you are attracted to?
[Mori Calliope]: Let’s see. Well, Rudo would definitely be the first person I would think of, in my opinion, when it comes to having a relationship with them. There are characters that appear in the manga that haven’t yet come out in the anime that I identify with a little more strongly, especially when it comes to feelings of pride and strength as a singer, but I’ll get to that at a different time.
I’ll talk a little more about Rudo for now. First of all, his rage and his feeling of being accused of something he didn’t do is a very powerful feeling that I think most people can relate to in one way or another. Being excluded by society – being pushed out due to circumstances beyond your control – is something that not only can I relate to in my own way, but many others can too.
Being in a completely different environment and finding a community is something I also identify with as someone who lives in Japan and found my community and my people. I felt that I had calmed down over the years; I was a very angry person, very bitter and full of malice.
But meeting friends in a new and unfamiliar place really made me relax and grow a little, I guess. So it’s really interesting to see Rudo go through a similar evolution. He’s still just a kid, but he has room to grow, and honestly, I love it [Gachiakuta] for so cleverly showing how he grew up, you know?
[CBR]: If you were a Donor, what would be your Vital Instrument?
[Mori Calliope]: Oh man, oh my God, the one I want to choose is a microphone, but I won’t for various reasons – wink, wink. [Laughs]
If I had to choose something else, I’d probably choose my phone, but not for the reason you think. This would be my phone because it captures me as I am now – Mori Calliope. Because, you know, I’m looking at a phone camera right now while I record myself talking to you.
This is who I am, this is who I always feel like I have been. So I think, yes, my phone would probably be my lifeblood, but that would be the only thing I would use it for: to present myself in that form to you.
[CBR]: We talked a lot about how Japanese and English play an important role not only in your music, but also in your own life. So I have to ask, when you look Galaare you watching it dubbed, or are you watching it subtitled
[Mori Calliope]: Okay, so, I watch Gachiakta every Sunday night when it comes out in Japan. I watch the show on TV while it’s live, then I immediately go to Crunchyroll and then watch the dub. So I watch every episode twice, basically.
Yeah, I love it so much. But I love both castings so much.