The September 2026 issue of Megami Magazine features an interview with ReoNa as part of the magazine’s regular Megami’s Voice series, in which artists discuss the songs they perform for anime and games. ReoNa is currently in the spotlight for singing the opening theme of TV anime Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai (abbreviated by fans as Kimi Shinu).

A Love Song Balanced Between Despair and Passion

ReoNa revealed that she had been reading the original manga for a long time before the anime was announced, and that she shares a personal connection with creator Aono Nachi, whom she met through a radio program and who has attended her live concerts. Given her deep attachment to the work, she was overjoyed to be entrusted with the opening theme.

“Kimi Shinu is about children who have lost something and have no family, gathered together at a boarding school,” she explained. “I wanted the music to stand alongside characters who are trying to fill those missing pieces with something precious.”

Crafting the right emotional register for “Amore” was a challenge, ReoNa said, because the song is neither purely joyful nor purely sorrowful — it celebrates love with both tenderness and passion. She worked closely with Pan (LIVE LAB.), who wrote the lyrics and arranged the music, to ensure her soft vocal tone conveyed exactly the right emotional temperature.

“Amore isn’t saying that if you’re going to lose someone, you’d be better off never having met them,” she said. “It’s saying that even after a loss, the time you spent together continues to sustain you.” She was also conscious of the razor-thin line in the story between despair and love — a character might hold someone dear in one moment and be forced to harm another person that very same night.

While the main characters Sheena, Mimi, Ari, and Seiran naturally come to mind, ReoNa said she wanted the song to reach even the unnamed characters in the story, who might also have someone they long to see. She added that she personally finds it easiest to empathize with Sheena, so that perspective naturally found its way into her performance.

Music Video: Ballet, a White Cat, and Unplanned Tears

The music video for “Amore” has a fantastical, isolated atmosphere, following a story told through a ballet dancer and a white cat. ReoNa noted that ballet expresses emotion and narrative entirely through the body without a single word of dialogue — a quality she found deeply fitting for the anime’s magic-infused fantasy world.

In one scene, ReoNa appears to be on the verge of tears. She laughed as she explained: “I wasn’t planning to cry at all. But I’ve spent about half my life with cats, and I started thinking about how many more times I’d come home and say ‘I’m back’ to mine — and the tears just came naturally.” As for a brief shot at the end where she attempts a ballet pose, she said she’d leave the interpretation entirely to viewers.

Three Coupling Tracks

• “Yuiyui no Uta” (結々の唄) — included in all three editions. A song about ReoNa’s hometown of Amami Oshima, incorporating the local dialect and traditional instruments including the chidin (an Amami drum). She described it as an honest expression of feelings she would previously have kept hidden, and hopes it resonates with anyone who has a place or memory they long to return to.
• “Shintsu” (心痛) — included in the First Press Limited Edition and Standard Edition. Because the song deliberately leaves the source of pain unspecified, ReoNa said it can accompany listeners through any kind of suffering. She considers it the most representative song of her identity as a “despair-genre anime singer” — one that neither pushes nor pulls, but simply remains present.
• “Sore wa Mahou deshita” (それは魔法でした) — included in the Limited Anime Edition. Written by Hayashi Kei (LIVE LAB.), who also wrote ReoNa’s debut single “SWEET HURT,” the song captures the moment of encountering an everyday miracle. ReoNa sees it as the perfect counterpart to “Amore” and says it was essential to include in this single.

De:TOUR Concert Series and First Arena Shows

From October 2026, ReoNa will embark on ReoNa Concert Tour 2026 “De:TOUR -静脈-“, encompassing all-standing live house dates and all-seating hall dates. In March 2027, she will hold her first-ever arena concerts across two days. The name “De:TOUR” reflects her intention to take a scenic route — through intimate and mid-sized venues — on the way to the arena stage. Full details are available at her official website, reona-reona.com.

Message to Fans

“I’ve been able to stand alongside a story full of characters carrying their own wounds and loves, with a song whose title means ‘love.’ I hope Amore becomes one of the pieces that helps people unlock the world of Kimi Shinu. Please receive this song together with the anime — and I’d love to see you at a live show.” — ReoNa

Single Information: “Amore”

• On sale now via SACRA MUSIC
• First Press Limited Edition: ¥2,640 (tax included) — includes “Yuiyui no Uta” and “Shintsu”
• Standard Edition: ¥1,650 (tax included) — includes “Yuiyui no Uta” and “Shintsu”
• Limited Anime Edition: ¥2,200 (tax included) — includes “Yuiyui no Uta” and “Sore wa Mahou deshita”

About ReoNa

ReoNa made her pre-debut in April 2018 voicing in-universe artist Kanzaki Elsa in Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, before launching her solo career in August of the same year. She has since become one of anime music’s most distinctive voices, known as a “despair-genre anime singer.”