A special feature on hit songs produced by and from Being! Rediscover their charm.
Being, a music agency founded by producer Daikoh Nagato.
In the 1990s, it released a string of hit songs that dominated the scene and built a major presence.
In 2023, the company changed its name to B ZONE and continues to influence the music landscape.
The timeless masterpieces of artists who could be called the faces of their era still shine today.
In this article, we’ll introduce captivating songs by Being-affiliated artists that color a page of youth.
- Iconic ballads of 90s J-pop: nostalgic mega-hits and fan favorites
- Songs by BEGIN. BEGIN’s classic hits and recommended popular tracks.
- B’z’s Popular Songs: Introducing Hit Tracks and Hidden Gems Beloved by Fans!
- Resonates across generations! Hit songs that colored the Heisei era, perfect as BGM
- Only famous artists! Anime songs that energize the Reiwa era
- A Must-Read for Men: Sing at Karaoke! A Showcase of Moving Masterpiece Ballads
- BEAST (Highlight) greatest songs | From smash hits to the latest tracks, all at once
- A roundup of female singers who create wonderful cover songs
- [DEEN’s Masterpieces] A Collection of Hit Songs Loved Across Generations
- Anime songs that were hits in the 1990s. Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks.
- Nostalgic Yet Everlasting: Classic Hits by 1990s Idol Singers
- [Heisei Retro] Hit Japanese songs that defined the 1990s. Recommended J-POP classics.
- Classic and hit songs by nostalgic Japanese bands from the 1990s
A special feature on hit songs by Being’s productions and artists! Rediscover the appeal (1–10)
Let’s meet in our dreams.SARD UNDERGROUND
This is a song by SARD UNDERGROUND, a band that began as a ZARD tribute and now carries the Being sound into the present.
It’s a heart-wrenching medium-tempo ballad that was also used as an ending theme for Detective Conan.
The lyrics, written by vocalist Yua Kamino, delicately portray the feelings of yearning for someone precious you can’t meet, conveyed through her clear, translucent voice.
The title is said to contain a bittersweet yet romantic charm: if you place a photo of the person you love under your pillow, you can meet them in your dreams.
It captures the pure longing of someone who can’t forget the person they love and wishes, “Even if it’s only in a dream, I want to see you.” Anyone who’s had a similar experience will surely feel a deep resonance.
As I love you selfishly, I won’t hurt anyone but you.B’z
A landmark track by B’z where Koshi Inaba’s passionate vocals intertwine with Takahiro Matsumoto’s brilliant guitar riffs.
It’s an irresistible, glittering yet powerful sound that epitomizes Being, the label that dominated the music scene of the ’90s.
The famously long title “Ai no mama ni wagamama ni boku wa kimi dake wo kizutsukenai” is, as Inaba himself puts it, the very embodiment of “the ultimate selfish song.” It superbly portrays a single-minded love that is a hair’s breadth away from intense possessiveness.
The vow “I won’t hurt anyone but you”—or literally, “I won’t hurt only you”—carries the dangerous implication that “everything else can be sacrificed,” and many listeners were likely shaken by that contradictory expression of love.
Season in the SunTUBE
This is a song by TUBE that has continued to vividly color Japan’s summers with music.
It’s said that “Season in the Sun” was actually the band’s fate-defining track, with their very survival on the line.
Under the production of Daikoh Nagato, founder of Being, Tetsuro Oda’s yearning for the sea took shape as a glittering sound that feels like dazzling sunlight and endless blue skies.
The wistful lyrics, lamenting the passing of the season, ring out powerfully in Nobutaka Maeda’s piercing high tenor, wrapping you in a rush that brings back sweet-and-sour memories of youth with striking clarity.
That exhilarating feeling is nothing short of overwhelming, no matter when you listen.
A special feature on classic hits produced by and from Being! Rediscover the charm (11–20)
Surely more than anyone else in the worldNagayama Miho & WANDS
This is a legendary duet song by Miho Nakayama & WANDS, also known as the theme song of a drama that became a major hit starring Miho Nakayama.
Produced by Being and composed by Tetsuro Oda, it was created by a lineup that epitomized the 1990s music scene.
The earnest lyrics about believing in a fateful reunion are deeply moving.
Many listeners were surely captivated by the interplay between Miho Nakayama’s clear, crystalline vocals and WANDS’ Sho Uesugi’s passionate singing.
The chorus, where their voices intertwine, brims with the exhilaration of a miraculous moment.
It’s a timeless, gem-like love song.
Eternal, unchanging loveOda Tetsurō
Many people probably still vividly remember it from the refreshing visuals of the Pocari Sweat commercial, don’t they? Sung by Tetsuro Oda himself—the legendary hitmaker who underpinned the Being boom—it became his first song to top the Oricon charts.
The glittering sound that follows the wistful saxophone captures the bittersweetness and exhilaration of summer to perfection.
While the lyrics may sound like a breezy love song, there’s an anecdote that they actually carry his feelings for his late brother.
Knowing that background makes the phrase “unchanging love” resonate even more deeply, turning it from a simple love song into something profoundly moving.
Until the World Ends…WANDS
This is a song by WANDS, a rock band that represents the Being label, used as the ending theme for the anime SLAM DUNK.
The worldview of the work and the lyrics overlap exquisitely, gripping the hearts of fans at the time.
The loneliness and impatience felt in the middle of the city, and the earnest wish to not be separated “until the world ends.” Sho Uesugi’s vocals—like a cry from the soul, with lyrics he penned himself—ride on Tetsuro Oda’s dramatic melody and pierce deep into the heart.
Anyone who has carried emotions with no outlet yet still wished to believe in something will find this song profoundly moving.
A legendary track that continues to shine across generations.
Midnight PretendersAran Tomoko
A city pop classic by Tomoko Aran that gained global reappraisal after being sampled by The Weeknd.
As a founding member of Being, Aran weaves delicate lyrics that meld exquisitely with a melody crafted by Tetsuro Oda.
The gently drifting synthesizers and smooth, subdued bass line evoke both the glitter of the city at night and the loneliness that lurks beneath it.
Though the lovers know it’s a “deceptive affair,” a series of secret trysts, they surrender themselves to those fleeting moments—an unstable passion that tightens the listener’s chest.
It’s a timeless track whose undimmed brilliance makes its enduring love easy to understand.