Even if you don't know the lyrics, you can hum along to the tune. Yoko Takahashi's "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" (Zankoku na Tenshi no Teze), the iconic opening theme from "Neon Genesis Evangelion," is practically a national anthem in Japan.
Recently, the song's lyricist, Neko Oikawa, took to X to discuss the issue of music creators requesting usage permissions. She stated, "Courtesy towards the original creator is more important than any rights issue. If you don't understand this, you're completely unqualified as a professional creator or company." While she didn't explicitly name the incident, it's widely speculated she was responding to the recent controversy surrounding the "Dandadan" anime insert song "Hunting Soul."
Renowned Japanese lyricist Neko Oikawa recently shared on social media about a past song that paid homage (or parodied) "A Cruel Angel's Thesis." She highlighted how the film's music director, Shiro Sagisu, not only proactively contacted the original lyricist, composer, and arranger but also meticulously obtained authorization from the music publisher, record company, and anime production studio.
Oikawa noted that while this went beyond Sagisu's direct responsibilities, it demonstrated true respect for creators. She emphasized, "Courtesy is more important than legal procedures." She stressed that commercial music absolutely requires this kind of etiquette, otherwise it cannot be considered professional.
However, her comments drew criticism from netizens who questioned her conflating "courtesy" with "legal and administrative procedures," and using it to deem others "unqualified." They worried this could lead to insular "cliques" within the industry. They argued that professional work only needs to be legally compliant, and people shouldn't be forced to adhere to specific "unwritten industry rules."
Other netizens pointed out that Oikawa had previously stated publicly that she completed the lyrics for "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" in just two hours. This seemingly bold claim had been interpreted by some fans as disparaging the work.
In response, Oikawa clarified on social media, "I never said it was just thrown together; I'm just fast. You're making assumptions." She stressed that without courtesy and integrity, it would be impossible to survive in the industry for 40 years.
Oikawa also addressed claims that she "never watched 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'," explaining that the anime wasn't complete at the time of creation. She crafted lyrics that perfectly matched the work's content using only a project proposal and fast-forwarding through the first two raw episodes. She proudly declared, "That's skill and intuition," but insisted she never meant to disparage the work.
(Note: Neko Oikawa has indeed previously admitted to never having watched "Neon Genesis Evangelion.")
Many fans also came to her defense, arguing that completing a work quickly doesn't mean it was rushed, but rather a result of years of experience and accumulated inspiration. Some cited later works like "Soul's Refrain" (Tamashii no Rufuran) as examples, hailing her as a "genius lyricist."
Other netizens quoted composer Koichi Sugiyama (known for the "Dragon Quest" series music) and other musicians, emphasizing that a short creation time doesn't equate to low quality: "This is a work of minutes, plus decades of life."
While her initial comments were about licensing etiquette, they unexpectedly sparked questions from other netizens about her professionalism and even past criticisms of her songs. Perhaps it's precisely because she's so quick to respond to external criticism that things escalated this way...
via： togetter