Two decades
without changing a single piece and with openings that still sound in the heads
of half the community were not enough to continue
eternally. SCANDAL announced on August 24, 2026,
that they will end their activities on August 21, 2027, exactly one
year after their 20th anniversary concert at Osaka-Jo Hall. Haruna Ono, Mami
Sasazaki, Tomomi Ogawa and Rina Suzuki explained in a joint statement that,
after touring Japan and half the world creating experiences possible only as a
quartet, they feel that they have already achieved everything they could
together.
The
decision was harsh, they said, and came out of repeated conversations between
the four of them. For the anime industry and anyone who grew
up with its themes, the closure marks the end of an era that began on the
streets of Osaka and ended with a Guinness World Record.
The story
of this jewel of Japanese pop-rock begins in August 2006,
when four high school students from Caless School, Haruna on vocals and rhythm
guitar, Mami on lead guitar and vocals, Tomomi on bass and vocals, and Rina on
drums and vocals, began playing on the street inside Osaka Castle Park. The
name was taken from an adult goods store near one of the school's headquarters,
a detail that still generates smiles. They built audiences on local live shows
and independent releases until the major debut in October 2008 with
the single DOLL under Epic Records Japan. The following year
they won the New Artist Award at the Japan Record Awards for Shoujo S,
and in 2023 the Guinness recognized them as the rock band with
the same longest-running female line-up on the planet. There were never any
lineup changes.
Among his
most recognized themes are: Shoujo S and Harukaze for Bleach, Shunkan
Sentimental for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Pride for
Star Driver, a theme from the 2018 season of GeGeGe no Kitaro, a song for the
Pokémon film Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, the original XPICE short
from XFLAG and Marza Animation Planet, and worked for the 2010 theatrical film
Loups-Garous.
The
farewell plan is not a discreet closure. From October 22, 2026, a
national tour begins that will pass through the 47 prefectures of Japan and
will add 52 performances until the beginning of 2027. In the middle is the
fixed Christmas appointment: the BEST★Xmas 2026 on
December 24 at the Toyosu PIT in Tokyo. The final point is reserved for August
21, 2027 at the Yokohama Arena, a solo concert that
will also mark the band's 21st anniversary. The four of them promised to take
care of every live and every day until that moment, always playing as the same
quartet that started on the street.
In the
statement they thanked all the people who crossed their path and made it clear
that the remaining year will be used to deliver strong performances to the last
chord. There's no public fight, no manager drama, no last-minute replacements:
just the feeling of having come full circle. For those who follow music linked
to anime, the emptiness will be felt every time a classic Bleach or
Brotherhood opening is played and remember that those voices will no longer go
on stage together. SCANDAL leaves with the line-up intact, the Guinness record
under their arm and one last return home all over the Japanese map.
Knowing
that they left openings that still define entire sagas and that they kept the
same quartet for more than twenty years
