The Book is the debut EP by Japanese duo Yoasobi. It was released through Sony Music Entertainment Japan on January 6, 2021, the same date as their single "Kaibutsu", which accompanied the second season of the anime series Beastars. A concept of "reading CD" with binder package, the EP consists of all singles released from 2019 to 2020, including their other track "Encore".
The track-by-track cover EP Mikunoyoasobi by Ayase with Vocaloid voicebank Hatsune Miku was released on the same day exclusively at Tower Records Japan.
Commercial performance
The Book debuted at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart, behind SixTones's 1ST, selling 72,238 copies in its first week. and 146,745 copies as of 2021. It topped Oricon Digital Albums Chart for five consecutive weeks and the year-end chart with 100,656 downloads in 2021 alone, becoming the only album to reach this milestone in the year. For Billboard Japan Hot Albums, The Book entered at number two with 74,601 CD copies, and 10,069 download units. The Book received a gold certification for both physical and digital release by Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). All tracks of the EP, excluding the intro and outro, are also certified platinum or higher for streaming by RIAJ. Enter YOASOBI into the アーティスト field and Select プラチナ on the 認定 menu
Accolades + Awards and nominations for The Book Ceremony Year Category Result CD Shop Awards 2022 Grand Prix (Red) Finalist Award Special Award
Track listing
Credits and personnel
Ayase – songwriter, producer Ikura – vocals (2–9) Rockwell – guitar (4–5) AssH – guitar (6) Takeruru – guitar (8) Plusonica – chorus (6) Kanami Minakami – based story writer (2) Shunki Hashizume – based story writer (3) Sōta Ishiki – based story writer (4) Shinano – based story writer (5) Alfort Creative Team – based story writer (6) Osamu Suzuki – based story writer (7) Mayo Hoshino – based story writer (8) Takayuki Saitō – vocal recording (2–8) Masahiko Fukui – mixing Hidekazu Sakai – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for The Book Chart (2021) Peakposition Japanese Combined Albums (Oricon) 2 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) 2
Monthly charts
+ Monthly chart performance for The Book Chart (2021) Position Japanese Albums (Oricon) 2
Year-end charts + 2021 year-end chart performance for The Book Chart (2021) Position Japanese Albums (Oricon) 25 Japanese Combined Albums (Oricon) 5 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) 4
+ 2022 year-end chart performance for The Book Chart (2022) Position Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon) 9 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) 45
+ 2023 year-end chart performance for The Book Chart (2023) Position Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) 78
+ 2024 year-end chart performance for The Book Chart (2024) Position Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan) 28
+ 2025 year-end chart performance for The Book Chart (2025) Position Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) 41
Certifications and sales
Release history + Release dates and formats for The Book Region Date Format Label Various January 6, 2021 Sony Japan Japan CD Taiwan October 20, 2023 Sony Taiwan Various July 26, 2024 Vinyl Japan October 23, 2024 Various December 2025
Notes
References