Samurai Troopers Gets a Theme Song That Fights Itself

Everyone has lost an argument with themselves. Now that feeling has a soundtrack.

karanoah (カラノア) has released “ばけもん Bakemon,” the official second-season ending theme for TV anime Yoroi-Shinden Samurai Troopers, and it’s not your typical anime tie-in. Instead of writing a straightforward battle anthem, the band built a song where hero and villain are secretly running the exact same emotional script, without either one realizing it.

One Song, Two Sides of the Same Fight

The refrain “Bakemon vs Bakemon” literally translates to “monster against monster,” but karanoah isn’t writing about two separate creatures clashing. They’re writing the same internal conflict from both directions at once, protagonist and adversary trapped in a mirror image of each other’s struggle. It’s a far tougher concept to execute than a standard character theme, and a far more compelling one to actually sit with.

The production backs up that ambition. Traditional flutes, Wadaiko drums and sword-slashing samples are pulled straight from the show’s world, then layered into a modern arrangement sharpened by karanoah’s signature audio-slicing style, dense, fast and built to move. What keeps it grounded, though, is the loose, conversational phrasing running underneath it all. Instead of the grand, theatrical language typical of character songs, “Bakemon” sounds like a real person talking through a real conflict, not a theme song performing at the audience.

Music Video and Live Show Lock In the Shinjuku Connection

The rollout doesn’t stop at the single. A music video for “ばけもん Bakemon” drops on July 14, giving fans a visual companion to the track’s dueling perspectives.

karanoah is also stepping back into live performance for the first time in a while. The band has confirmed a one-man show, also titled “Bakemon vs Bakemon,” set for September 23 at Shinjuku SAMURAI. The venue wasn’t a random pick: Yoroi-Shinden Samurai Troopers is set in Shinjuku, and karanoah deliberately tied the show’s title and location together to mirror the anime’s world.

Whichever side of the fight listeners recognize in themselves, karanoah is betting the song will hit home either way.