TM NETWORK has been confirmed to perform on the 77th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 2026, marking the group’s first appearance on the prestigious year-end broadcast since 1988 — a gap of 38 years. The trio of Komuro Tetsuya, Utsunomiya Takashi, and Kine Naoto has maintained a devoted fanbase for more than four decades since their debut, and the announcement has reignited excitement among both music and anime fans alike.

“Get Wild” and the City Hunter Legacy

For anime fans, TM NETWORK is almost synonymous with “Get Wild”, released in 1987 as the ending theme of the TV anime City Hunter. The song became inseparable from the series itself, and its legacy has only grown in the years since.

What set “Get Wild” apart from typical anime songs of the 1980s was its refusal to follow convention. Where many theme songs of the era directly referenced characters or plot points, “Get Wild” led with TM NETWORK’s own sophisticated urban sound — Komuro Tetsuya’s meticulous production layered beneath a melody that lodged itself immediately in the listener’s memory. Rather than subduing the artists’ identity to serve the anime, the song elevated the series by bringing TM NETWORK’s full musical personality to it, demonstrating a new kind of synergy between artists and anime.

The show’s iconic presentation technique also played a major role: the intro of “Get Wild” would begin playing during the final moments of each episode, before the story had fully concluded, then flow seamlessly into the ending credits. This blurred the line between narrative and music, making both unforgettable in tandem.

Beyond City Hunter: TM NETWORK’s Full Anime Discography

TM NETWORK’s relationship with anime stretches well beyond City Hunter. Their contributions span multiple genres and decades:

• “YOUR SONG” — Theme for the 1985 theatrical anime Vampire Hunter D
• “Get Wild” — Ending theme for the TV anime City Hunter, 1987
• “BEYOND THE TIME (Möbius no Uchū wo Koete)” — Theme for the 1988 film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
• “STILL LOVE HER (Ushinawareta Fūkei)” — Ending theme for City Hunter 2, 1988; a more lyrical counterpart to “Get Wild,” deeply tied to the series’ urban imagery
• “JUST ONE VICTORY (Tatta Hitotsu no Shōri)” — Theme for the 1990 anime CAROL, a multimedia project that expanded TM NETWORK’s album concept into fiction, live performance, and animation

Across these works, the group demonstrated a willingness to engage with wildly different anime worlds — action, science fiction, fantasy — while always bringing their own distinct musical voice.

“Get Wild” Lives On in the Modern City Hunter Films

The bond between TM NETWORK and City Hunter has continued well into the 21st century. The 2019 film City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes featured both “Get Wild” and “STILL LOVE HER.” Then in the 2023 film City Hunter: Angel Dust, the group contributed a brand-new track, “Whatever Comes,” as the opening theme, while “Get Wild” once again closed the film. Insert songs “DEVOTION” and “君の空を見ている” (Kimi no Sora wo Mite Iru) also featured throughout.

In 2025, “BEYOND THE TIME” was used as an insert song in the new TV anime Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, demonstrating that a track born in 1988 could resonate powerfully within a brand-new Gundam production.

A Legacy That Spans Generations

Nearly 40 years after its release, “Get Wild” continues to inspire remixes and covers, passed down across generations of listeners. TM NETWORK has consistently shown the ability to bring their own musical identity into the world of anime without compromise — and the results have become a permanent part of anime history.

Their return to the Kōhaku stage this New Year’s Eve is more than a musical milestone. It’s an invitation to revisit a body of work that helped define what anime music could be.