Judy & Mary

Judy and Mary, a Japanese rock band formed in 1992, consisted of vocalist Yuki Isoya and bassist Yoshihito Onda. The group's name reflects the duality of human personality, with Judy representing the cheerful side and Mary the darker, more emotional aspect. The band began when Onda, who was part of JACKS'N'JOKER at the time, decided to start a new project after hearing Isoya's demo tapes. They released their first EP, Be Ambitious, in 1992 under Chainsaw Records, which included the track "Blue Tears". In 1993, they signed with Epic/Sony Records and released the single "Power of Love". The band's first full-length album, J.A.M., was released in January 1994 and featured re-recorded versions of songs from Be Ambitious. Their second album, Orange Sunshine, came out in December 1994. In 1995, they released their third album, Miracle Diving, which included the hit single "Sobakasu", used as the opening theme for the anime series Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X). The band's fourth album, The Power Source, was released in 1997 and became one of their most influential works, selling over 2.1 million copies and reaching Number 1 on the Oricon charts for two weeks. A few months after the release of their fifth album Warp, Judy and Mary disbanded in March 2001 due to internal tensions, with their final single "PEACE -strings version-" released posthumously.