"Unravel" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by Japanese musician TK from Ling Tosite Sigure. Released as his debut single on July 23, 2014, through Sony Music Associated Records, it served as the opening theme for the first season of the Japanese anime series Tokyo Ghoul. It was later included on his second studio album Fantastic Magic.
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Background and release
In mid-January 2014, an adaptation of the manga series Tokyo Ghoul was announced. Later information revealed that it would be produced and directed by Studio Pierrot and Shuhei Morita respectively, and was set to air in July of that year.
TK was personally requested by Tokyo Ghoul author Sui Ishida for the opening theme after they met at one of Ling Tosite Sigure's live shows. TK read the manga shortly thereafter and found himself captivated by its world. Upon announcement that he would be performing the opening theme, TK commented:
On May 30, a short version of "Unravel" was released on YouTube. The tracklist for the single was announced on June 17, with the title track being played in its entirely for the first time the following day on the Japanese radio program "School of Lock!" The CD single included the title track "Unravel", as well as the B-sides "Fu re te Fu re ru" and "Acoustic Installation", the latter being an instrumental track. It was released on July 23 in three editions: a standard edition, a first-pressed limited edition paired with a DVD including seven live performance videos from the solo tour "TK Acoustic & Electric Tour 2014 'Killing You Softly'" held on March 13, and a limited edition including the TV edit of "Unravel". The limited edition CD cover was illustrated by Ishida. The front cover features the character Touka Kirishima, while the back cover features the protagonist Ken Kaneki.
Commercial performance
"Unravel" is TK's most commercially successful song, both in Japan and worldwide. On the Oricon Singles Chart, the song peaked at number nine and stayed on the chart for a total of 26 weeks. The song also debuted and peaked at number six on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and at number two on the Hot Animation chart for the week of July 30, 2014, earning TK his first top-ten song on both charts. It also ranked at number 15 on the 2014 year-end Hot Animation chart.
In November 2021, Spotify commemorated its five-year anniversary in Japan by releasing rankings, with "Unravel" topping the list for the most streamed songs by Japanese artists overseas from 2016 to 2021. As of September 2026, it has over 420 million streams on Spotify and is the 15th most-streamed Japanese song of all time on the platform.
Music video
The music video for "Unravel" was directed by Shuichi Banba. A short version of the video was released on July 8, 2014, while the full version was released on July 23, 2020. The video features TK, drummer Hiroyuki "BoBo" Horikawa, bassist Hidekazu "Hinatch" Hinata, pianist Mamiko Hirai, violinist An Suhara, and a dancer performing in a room with screens behind them. The full version of the music video has gained 89 million views as of September 2026.
Cover versions
Tongo released a video cover of the song, releasing on May 7th, 2020.
Mary's Blood recorded a metal version of the song for their 2020 cover album Re>Animator.
Asterism recorded the song with anisong cover singer Pellek in 2022.
Ado included a cover of the song in her 2023 compilation album Ado's Utattemita Album.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes.
Toru Kitajima – vocals (tracks 1, 2), songwriter, guitar, arranger, producer, recording engineer, mixing engineer
Hiroyuki Horikawa / BoBo – drums (tracks 1, 3)
Hidekazu Hinata / Hinatch – bass
Mamiko Hirai – piano
Takashi Kashikura – drums (track 2)
Honoka Sato – violin (tracks 1, 3)
Kei Sakamoto – flute (track 3)
Fumiaki Unehara – assistant engineer
Ted Jensen, Mitsuyasu Abe – mastering engineer