"Give a Reason" is a song by Japanese voice actress and recording artist Megumi Hayashibara. Written by Hidetoshi Sato with lyrics by Satomi Arimori, the song was released as Hayashibara's tenth single on April 24, 1996, via Starchild. The song is considered one of Hayashibara's signature songs,[1][2][3] being recognized as a pivotal song that helped establish voice actors as widely supported artists in their own right.[1]
"Give a Reason" was used as opening theme for the anime series Slayers Next, series in which Hayashibara also voices the main character, Lina Inverse.[2] In 2009, the song was again used on the Slayers anime franchise, this time as an insert song on the sequel Slayers Evolution-R, nine years after its original release.[4]
For the single release, the song was coupled with "Jama wa Sasenai" by Masami Okui, which was used as ending theme for the same series.
The single was made available for streaming worldwide on March 30, 2021, along with the entire Megumi Hayashibara discography.[5]
Commercial performance
"Give a Reason" debuted and peaked at number 9 on the Oricon charts,[6] becoming Hayashibara's highest charting single at the time and selling 70,180 copies on its first week. The single charted for thirteen weeks, with reported sales totaling 232,950 copies.[7]
"Give a Reason" marked a significant milestone in the history of anime music and voice actor recording artists, as it became the first music release by a voice actress to enter the Top 10 of the Japanese charts.[9][10] This achievement broke new ground for songs sung by voice actors, which had previously rarely achieved high chart positions with anime theme songs or related releases.[10] The success of "Give a Reason" served as a pivotal step that helped pave the way for the subsequent rise of voice actress music in the mainstream Japanese music industry, which subsequently led to Nana Mizuki's album Ultimate Diamond reaching number one on Oricon, illustrating the growing dominance of voice actresses and anime songs in the charts and contributing to the foundation of the modern era of idol voice actresses.[10]
The song also received the Voice Actor/Actress Song Award in the Heisei Anison Grand Prize for the period of 1989-1999.[11]
Track listing
Give a Reason single track listing
No.
Title
Lyrics
Music
Arrangement
Length
1.
"Give a Reason"
Satomi Arimori
Hidetoshi Sato
Tsutomu Ohira
4:24
2.
"Jama wa Sasenai (邪魔はさせない)"
Masami Okui
Okui
Toshiro Yabuki
Yabuki
4:38
3.
"Give a Reason" (Off Vocal Version)
4:56
4.
"Jama wa Sasenai" (Off Vocal Version)
4:38
Cover versions
The song has been covered by several other Japanese voice actors, J-Pop singers and a Spanish duo.
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