Rather than follow the path of mainstream pop acts, singer-songwriter Ai Higuchi has built her reputation in Japan through steady touring, minimalist stage production, and a catalogue rooted in everyday emotional strain. Best known abroad for ‘Akuma no Ko’, the closing theme to Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2, she made her UK debut at Hyper Japan 2025 in London on July 18th with a performance that stayed true to her tried and tested approach.
Performing on the event’s opening day at London’s Olympia, she appeared with a minimal setup; just a digital piano, bassist Nobuhiro Mitomo alternating between upright and electric, and a setlist that captured both her inward lyricism and outward live presence. The result was a performance that, despite the typical convention noise, felt sealed off, creating a sense of intimacy in an otherwise chaotic setting.
Taking the stage following a short promotional video from piano manufacturer KAWAI, Higuchi performed seated at a KAWAI MP11SE, wearing her trademark thick-soled Onitsuka Tigers. The songs unfolded gradually, consistent with her reputation in Japan for slow-building compositions that place lyrical honesty at the centre.
During a press conference held earlier in the day, Higuchi confirmed she’d had little chance to explore the city. “I’ve only gone between the venue and the hotel, so I haven’t really seen anything yet”, she said. Still, one London destination was clearly on her mind: “I love football, so I’m planning to visit the Emirates Stadium in Arsenal”. It was a detail she later brought up again on stage, met with a mixture of cheers and playful boos.
Looking ahead to the show, Higuchi said she was most curious to see how the audience would respond to her less familiar songs. “I’ll of course perform the song from Attack on Titan, and also the one I wrote for Bocchi the Rock!—those were obvious choices”, she said. “But I’m also excited to see how they respond to my other songs. Even if the audience doesn’t understand Japanese, I hope they’ll enjoy the music, whether through the rhythm, the emotion, or the unique sounds of the language”.
She added that she deliberately chose songs that “communicate deep, authentic emotions” and don’t rely on lyrical understanding. “I also chose songs that don’t require knowledge of the language to be enjoyed—something with a rhythm or melody that’s beautiful and easy to connect with”, she explained. “I don’t speak any language other than Japanese, and I know how challenging it can be to enjoy a song when you don’t understand the lyrics. So I tried to be mindful of that and pick songs that international audiences could appreciate”.
At the heart of Higuchi’s music is a commitment to lyrical integrity. “Usually the lyrics come first”, she said when explaining her production process. “I put a lot of thought into choosing words that match the emotion I’m trying to express. In daily life, we often use language that’s close to our feelings, but not quite exact. In my music, I try to be as emotionally honest as possible. I try not to lie with my lyrics. I carefully select every word to match what I truly feel. That emotional complexity can be hard to convey to non-Japanese speakers, but I hope it still reaches them”.
When asked how her songwriting process changes for anime productions like Attack on Titan, Higuchi drew a clear distinction. “When I work on animation projects, the starting point is usually a commission. That’s the main difference. But I never write anything I can’t truly feel or empathise with. I only accept projects that I believe in, so my creative process doesn’t really change much from how I normally write”.
And while Higuchi has written for other artists, she admitted that personal material carries the most pressure: “I feel more pressure when I’m writing for myself. With my own songs, I need to be completely clear on the narrative I’m trying to tell. There’s a narrative required for commissioned works too, like anime or songs for other artists, but for my own music, I have to be fully convinced that this is the story I want to share”.
For her final song, Higuchi introduced ‘Inori’, a support anthem originally written for keirin, a form of professional track cycling popular in Japan. Asked earlier whether she’d ever consider writing a stadium song, especially given her love of Arsenal and football in general, she didn’t hesitate: “I’d love to! If I were asked to write something like that, I’d definitely say yes. Actually, the final song in today’s set is something I wrote for keirin. It has a bit of an anthem feel to it. I’d really love to create something that could be played in a stadium one day”.
Built around a steady piano rhythm and a repeated “whoa-whoa-whoa” chorus, ‘Inori’ was one of the few moments in the set built for crowd participation, leaning into themes of shared hope and unconditional support. Higuchi stepped out from behind the piano, dancing across the stage and encouraging the audience to raise their hands and join in.
Reflecting on earlier stages of her career, she added: “When I was younger, I used to write songs out of anger or frustration, things I wanted to say but couldn’t, so I turned them into music. But I realised those songs sometimes hurt listeners. Now, even if the root of the emotion is anger, I try to fully process and digest those feelings before I turn them into a song”.
Away from music, Higuchi shared her affection for sumo and BL (boys’ love) culture. “My favourite sumo wrestler was Terunofuji. Unfortunately, he’s retired now. For BL, I really admire the manga artist Nakamura Sumiko. I love her work. I also really like Mamita-san, who wrote the script for the current BL drama 10 Things I’d Like to Do Before I Turn 40. Those are my two favourites”.
Asked if those two worlds might one day intersect, she laughed: “I’ll keep an eye out!”.
The performance came just one week after Higuchi released ‘Aging’, the first track in her Soliloquy (Hitorigoto) trilogy. “It’s been a while since I wrote something not tied to a collaboration or external project”, she said. “The main reaction has been surprise—people saying things like, ‘I didn’t know you had such intense emotions’. The upcoming songs will be similar in tone, very personal and internal. I think the reactions will continue in that same direction”.
Higuchi’s UK debut may not have been a grand showcase in scale, but it underlined what continues to define her as an artist: a clear sense of identity shaped by emotionally articulate songwriting and a deliberate, understated approach to performance. On record, Higuchi’s focus may be inward, especially through her Soliloquy project, but live, she’s clearly looking outward. With a growing interest in performing overseas, her UK appearance feels less like a one-off experiment and more like the beginning of an ongoing dialogue with international audiences.
Photos by Charles Shepherd
Ai Higuchi
Aging
Release Date: 09/07/2025
Label: PONY CANYON
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
