"Furimukanaide" (ふりむかないで, lit. "Don't Look Back") is a single by Japanese music duo The Peanuts. Composed by Hiroshi Miyagawa with lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani, the single was released on February 10, 1962, by King Records.[1] The song was written in the style of American pop music at the time. It stood out in the Japanese music scene, as it was an original composition in contrast to the "cover pops" that were translations of western pop songs. In addition, it was one of the earliest Japanese songs recorded in stereo. The Peanuts performed the song on the 13th Kōhaku Uta Gassen.[2]
"Furimukanaide" was featured in the film Watashi to Watashi (私と私, Me and Myself), which also starred the Peanuts. It was also used in the 2009 anime film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, as well as the 2015 Fuji TV drama series Date: Koi to wa Donna Mono Kashira (デート〜恋とはどんなものかしら〜, Dating: I Wonder What Love Is Like).
"Furimukanaide" was covered by the idol duo Wink as their 15th single, released on July 22, 1992, by Polystar Records. This version was used as the ending theme of the Fuji TV quiz show Naruhodo! The World. The B-side, "Romance no Hakobune", is a Japanese-language cover of Italian singer Mr. Zivago's "Little Russian".[3][4]
This version peaked at No. 7 on the Oricon's weekly charts and sold over 132,000 copies.[5][6]
