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Japanese indie rock outfit Bump of Chicken formed in 1994 for a high school "cultural festival." Over the decades, they have released a number of Japanese chart-toppers, including their third set, 2002's Jupiter, and four consecutive number ones in the 2010s, capping the decade with 2019's Aurora Arc.

Members Motoo Fujiwara (vocals and guitar), Hiroaki Masukawa (guitar), Yoshifumi Naoi (bass), and Hideo Masu (drums) all met each other as youngsters at school, and would eventually release their first album, Flame Vein, in 1999 with High Line Records. The deal with High Line only lasted through one more album, 2000's Living Dead, but their new deal with Toy Factory was made all the sweeter when, in 2001, the band achieved their first charting single ("Tentai Kansoku"). That began a streak for Bump of Chicken, who since that release have never not been on the charts -- and their next album, 2002's Jupiter, became their first number one. 2004 was a busy release year for Bump of Chicken, seeing not only their fourth studio album, Yggdrasil, but re-releases of their first two albums and a number of singles. Further hits continued for the band, when in 2007 their two singles "Hana No Na" and "Mayday" occupied the top two spots and the corresponding LP, Orbital Period, was a Top Ten seller.

The 2010s were unprecedented for the group, who issued a quartet of chart-topping albums starting with 2010's Cosmonaut. After 2014's Ray and 2016's Butterflies, they earned their highest chart showing to date with 2019's Aurora Arc. ~ Chris True