Three and a half years after “PAINT” turned One Piece’s 24th opening into a moment anime fans still talk about, I Don’t Like Mondays. is back on an anime soundtrack, this time with “Groooovy”, the new ending theme for BLACK TORCH. The release also comes with another surprise: a cryptic announcement teasing their first full album since “RUNWAY”, set for September.
Following “PAINT”, I Don’t Like Mondays. closes each episode of BLACK TORCH, the adaptation of Tsuyoshi Takaki’s cult-favourite manga, which follows Jiro, a descendant of ninja, after his encounter with the legendary supernatural black cat Rasetsu, pulling him into a battle alongside mysterious spirits known as ayakashi.
“Groooovy” trades the urgency of “PAINT” for something looser: a slow, smooth groove built around live band instrumentation with a club-ready pulse underneath, carrying a message that imperfection is where the beauty is. Vocalist YU frames the connection to the source material directly: “BLACK TORCH is a story about imperfect people who keep moving forward anyway. That felt close to the feeling we’ve always worked with, that even if you hate Mondays, Friday is coming.”
While details on the album remain under wraps, the timing suggests the band is heading into one of its busiest creative periods in years. That momentum will carry onto the road with FRIDAY MOOD JAPAN TOUR 2026, an 11-date run across eight cities beginning in October and culminating at Zepp DiverCity (TOKYO) in December. The tour follows the band’s rapid international growth over the past two years, including a sold-out run across six mainland China cities and TOXIC ASIA TOUR 2026, which brought them to Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Seoul.
For a band that has always believed Fridays are worth waiting for, this summer suggests the wait may finally be over. Between a new anime theme, a long-awaited album and another major tour, I Don’t Like Mondays. is entering one of their busiest and most exciting chapters yet.
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