Chihiro Onitsuka debuted in 2000 and broke through that same year with her song “Gekkou” (Moonlight).
Her slightly husky yet clear high notes are incredibly captivating.
Another appeal of her music is the emphasis placed on lyrics.
This is one of her artistic commitments: when creating songs, she reportedly writes the poem first and then composes the music.
I’ve picked out everything from her signature tracks to hidden gems, so please take your time and give them a careful listen.
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Chihiro Onitsuka’s classic and popular songs (1–10)
edgeOnitsuka Chihiro
Released in February 2001 as a double A-side single together with the masterpiece Dizziness (Memai), Edge was also used as the theme song for the film Oboreru Sakana directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi.
Tsutsumi also directed the music video, which vividly captures Onitsuka’s uniquely somber sonic world through poetic imagery.
It’s said that Onitsuka wrote this song when she was 19, before her debut, and that it was originally in English before being rewritten in Japanese for the recording.
Despite its gentle, soothing ensemble, the lyrics—interpretable as utterly despairing—are painfully raw, and Onitsuka’s beautiful falsetto comes across like a cry from a heart with nowhere to go.
That sense of something “desperately beautiful” may be something rarely found among artists today.
dizzinessOnitsuka Chihiro
When asked about Chihiro Onitsuka’s signature songs, alongside “Moonlight,” many people also name “Dizziness,” released in February 2001.
It brings back memories as the song used in an aesthetic salon commercial, and it’s a beautiful, piano-led, mid-tempo ballad.
The gospel-tinged chorus from the midsection onward and the tasteful string arrangement are truly superb.
Its honest, unvarnished lyrics were highly praised, earning the 43rd Japan Record Awards Lyrics Prize.
While it’s only human to want to belt out a song like this with intense emotion, Onitsuka expresses the song’s emotional world with restrained, natural vocals, brilliantly showcasing her talent as a singer-songwriter.
Ultimately a self-directed inquiry that captures feelings without clear answers, her words continue, even more than 20 years later, to gently stay close to someone’s pain.
meteor showerOnitsuka Chihiro
Released in February 2002 as her sixth single, “Ryūseigun” (Meteor Shower) is a mid-tempo ballad quintessentially Onitsuka, chosen as the theme song for the popular drama Trick 2.
Many listeners may still remember the striking CD jacket photo shot by the renowned Mika Ninagawa.
As mentioned, this song plays to Onitsuka’s strengths: from melody and lyrics to vocals and sound arrangement, everything comes together in exquisite balance to form the world of Chihiro Onitsuka.
In contrast to the innocent smile she shows in the music video, the lyrics at times unleash emotions so heavy they almost overwhelm—yet the beautiful melody and her voice have a paradoxical, purifying effect on the listener’s heart.
That, indeed, is something only a singer-songwriter like Chihiro Onitsuka can achieve.
As for what the “meteor shower” refers to—since it doesn’t appear in the lyrics—Onitsuka herself has spoken about it; be sure to look it up.
moonlightOnitsuka Chihiro
It’s undoubtedly the most widely known song among Chihiro Onitsuka’s works.
Released in August 2000 as her second single, Gekkou (Moonlight) was chosen as the theme song for the first season of the hit TV drama TRICK.
Thanks in part to that, it climbed from around 30th on the charts at release to as high as 11th, becoming a long-running hit.
It served as the catalyst that brought the emergence of a remarkably gifted 19-year-old singer-songwriter into living rooms across the country.
With an arrangement of only piano and string quartet, its divine beauty stands out all the more, and the song’s dreamlike yet abstract imagery—while also conveying a striking sense of reality—piercingly shakes the listener’s heart.
Because Gekkou came to be spoken of almost as Onitsuka’s signature song, it seems she developed mixed feelings toward it.
But perhaps a truly great song is something that transcends even the creator’s intentions and remains in listeners’ hearts forever.
Waltz with meOnitsuka Chihiro
Watashi to Warutsu (Waltz with Me) was used as the theme song for the popular drama TRICK 3 and became her last single released under Toshiba EMI.
For those who remember that era well, many might still associate Onitsuka most strongly with her image up through this song.
It represents the quintessential Onitsuka: an indispensable early collaborator, music producer Takeshi Hanzawa’s piano arrangement, an exquisitely beautiful melody, and vocals that balance delicacy with power.
In the middle section, a waltz rhythm is employed, and in the music video, the image of Onitsuka dancing alone barefoot to that rhythm left a strong impression.
As an aside, although the title uses the kanji for “watashi” (I), in the actual lyrics she sings it as “atashi.”
Heat hazeOnitsuka Chihiro
It’s a single released in 2009.
The overall tempo is relaxed, yet within it there’s a powerful strength that conveys the conviction embedded in the vocals—an epic rock ballad.
With the song’s theme being the beauty of Japan, the inclusion of seasonal imagery in the lyrics is particularly striking.
It’s a piece that evokes an intense emotion toward someone that cannot be discarded, and by layering it with depictions of the four seasons, it seems to express a feeling that persists throughout the year—so fervent it borders on frightening.
Tiger in my LoveOnitsuka Chihiro
This track is included on the third album Sugar High, released in 2002, whose striking impression is capped by a photo of Onitsuka staring at the camera with a blonde hairstyle.
Although it wasn’t released as a single, it’s a song that carries a rock-to-pop sense of speed within an album largely filled with slow ballads, giving it a somewhat distinctive, even unconventional feel.
Led by a tumbling piano tone and a busily played bass line, Onitsuka’s vocals—delivered in a lower register with a rapid-fire rush of words—are simply electrifying, cool, and stylish.
That said, no Onitsuka Chihiro song would end there; the thrilling exchange of words, with her signature Onitsuka flair in full force, is something you can only experience in her music.