1996 - Asian Kung-Fu Generation was formed in 1996 by Masafumi, Kensuke, and Takahiro. Ichiji (their drummer) joined them later. It took a couple of years to achieve the popularity that they have gained.
2000-2001 - Their first works were sold exclusively online. In fact, their first album (in 2000) was entirely in English! In 2001, the group began to advertise their song Konayuki by sending tapes to radio stations. It was a success, and is AKGs first aired song. That same year, they also released a second indie album featuring Japanese lyrics this time.
2002 - AKG released their mini album Houkai Amplifier. It was a immediate success, ranking #1 on the High Line Record Sales. Oricon also ranked it as #35. During the next year, AKG scored big when they got a contract to use their song Haruka Kanata for the opening of the anime, Naruto. AKGs voice was now reaching out to both Japanese and English fans by this time.
2003 - AKG release two singles and their first full album, Kimitsunagi Five M. Their album sold over 20,000 copies!
2004 - AKG's activities increased along with their popularity. On March 11, 2004Asian Kung-Fu Generation, AKG won the Best New Artist Video at the Space Shower Music Video Awards. The award was for their music video, Kimi to iu Hana. In addition, they have released 3 singles. One, Rewrite, was featured as the fourth and last opening for the anime, Full Metal Alchemist ! The singles, Siren, and Loop and Loop, were on Oricons top monthly ranking for two months in a row! AKG also played at 8 different music festivals this summer. One of them, the Nano-Mugen Festival, AKG actually put on ! Most importantly Asian Kung-Fu Generation, AKG released its second album Sol-Fa and their first DVD ! Sol-Fa sold over 500,000 copies !
2005 - AKG went on a nation tour titled "Re:Re:". The tour included over 30 concerts and sold out so quickly that AKG had to add more concerts! They also held their second annual Nano-Mugen Festival with other Japanese and International bands. To advertise for the festival, AKG released a compilation album that included one song from each band attending and AKG's new song "Blackout". On top of these performances, AKG also attended the Sonic Mania, Arabaki Rock Festival, Rising Sun Rock Festival, Summer Sonic Eve, Rock in Japan Festival, Sony Music Festival, and the FM Festival! They also held additional concerts in December titled the "Winter Dragon" Concerts. AKG ended the year by also releasing the experimental single called "Blue Train". Also of important notice, fans from around the world signed an online petition and several questionaires that impressed Tofu Records. The enormous support for AKG led to Tofu Records striking a contract to release AKG's album, "Sol-Fa", over here in the United States !
2006 - AKG started out the year by releasing the single titled "World Apart". The single featured a song sung solely by Kita called "Uso to Wonderland". This was the first time Kita had ever sung anything that was released to the public. In March, AKG's third album titled "Fan Club" was released. Shortly after its release, AKG went on a national tour titled Count 4 My 8 Beat. The tour included 37 performances and tickets were sold for around 3,800 yen each! The tour was a huge success for AKG. In July, a new compilation cd was released to help advertise for AKG's annual Nano-Mugen Festival. The compilation cd featured songs by bands from Japan, England, and the United States! In the fall of 2006, AKG began to pick up a lot of momentum. They released another album in October called "Feedback File". The album commemorated AKG's 10 year anniversary with a twist. Instead of featuring their most popular songs, the album featured b-side tracks from singles, live recordings, and old songs from their days as an Indies band. Soon after its release, it was also announced that AKG had been commissioned by the director of the upcoming anime movie Tekkon Kinkreet to create a song that would be featured in the movie. AKG composed one called "Aru Machi no Gunjou" and released it as a single prior to the movie's debut. In addition to this, AKG also went on a small tour titled Sui-Cup 2006 "The Start of a New Season". The tour featured 10 concerts and included guest bands from the US and Japan!
2007 was a quiet year for AKG. In March, they released their third DVD "Eizo Sakushin Shu 3" which contained footage from their Sui-Cup 2006 tour, "The Start of a New Season", held back in December of the previous year. A month later, AKG performed in their first live since Sui-Cup: "ROCK KIDS 802 SPECIAL" and shortly after, "ARABAKI ROCK FEST. '07" and "Giant Night Special".
In the summer, AKG participated in several music festivals such as the Pentaport Rock Festival, which was one of the most important events on the calendar. They also performed at the Rock in Japan Festival, Rising Sun Rock Festival and Sweet Love Shower Festival. The band took a break from their Nano-Mugen Festival this year.
The only music release this year was a single called "After Dark" in November. The single debuted on the Oricon daily ranking at a very high #5 and weekly of #6, selling 38,624 copies in the first week. The band would also perform at the 07/08 Japan Countdown.
Source : http://www.akfgfan.com/profile.php
