WagakkiBand with their hybrid traditional/J-rock band will lead in the adaptation of the staged reading.

Based on Bun-O Fujisawa’s stage readings, MARS RED is heading ever closer to its spring premiere. The series takes place in the 1920s, and we will start every episode with a high-energy retro/modern music, appropriately enough.

The official Twitter account of the upcoming anime has announced that WagakkiBand will be performing the anime’s opening theme, “Aria of Life” The band, named for performing with wagakki (traditional Japanese instruments), first rose to fame with their Vocaloid tunes covers. They’ve started to perform original music in recent years.

Yuuko Suzuhana, the vocalist of WagakkiBand, says the band was excited about writing and performing the album, as all the members of the group are anime fans. She also says she hopes that anime will attract more people with its music to raise their spirits.

Guitarist Machiya adds that while “Aria of Life” has the WagakkiBand signature sound, they have also drawn inspiration from the MARS RED story and period. In the upcoming theme song, keep an ear out for sounds from the 1920s.

This April, MARS RED will premiere, and Funimation will simulcast it (they are also co-producing it). An Official Series Summary:

MARS RED takes place in 1923, and vampires have existed for quite a while. But now, the number of vampires is increasing and a mysterious, artificial blood source called Ascra has appeared.

The Japanese government, in turn, creates “Code Zero,” a unit within the army tasked with taking down the vampiric forces. And what better way to track vampires than by using vampires?

Created by Lieutenant General Nakajima, this unit has historically been in the business of information war but has been re-assigned to solve the vampire crisis.

Code Zero’s members include:

• Yoshinobu Maeda – Captain of Code Zero and the “most powerful human”
• Shutaro Kurusu – A-class vampire and rookie on the squad
• Tokuichi Yamagami – Smart vampire, not currently ranked
• Suwa – A veteran vampire since the Edo era
• Takeuchi – D-class vampire and a mad scientist with an immortal brain

It’s up to Code Zero and Deffrot, the S-class vampire, to investigate and avoid crumbling of society.