Three of those hits appeared on the album; "Na mo Naki Uta", "Hana (Mémento-Mori)", and "Machine Gun o Buppanase" — while others were reserved for their subsequent release Bolero in 1997.

Kazutoshi Sakurai, the chief singer-songwriter of the band named the album's working title as Coelacanth (シーラカンス, Shīrakansu), which was misheard by his band-mate as "Shinkai" (lit.

Shinkai was a sort of concept album, featuring more insightful compositions and harder-edged sound compared to the band's previous materials.

It debuted at number one on the Japanese Oricon chart with first-week sales of over 1.5 million copies, becoming the country's fastest selling album at the time.

All tracks are written by Kazutoshi Sakurai, arranged by Takeshi Kobayashi and Mr. Children * Sales figures based on certification alone.