Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Makoto Kawamoto -- Ni-bun no Ichi (1/2)



Once again, I will be coming at a song from perhaps a different way that a lot of other people...namely, anime fans...got to know it.

I didn't know that Makoto Kawamoto's(川本真琴)"Ni-bun no Ichi" was the 2nd opening theme song for a popular anime "Rurouni Kenshin"(るろうに剣心). Although with Kawamoto's high-pitched voice, I could see it as an anison.

Actually, during my time in Japan, I got to know "Ni-bun no Ichi" through the heavy-rotation music video of the Fukui Prefecture-born singer-songwriter singing away on a roof. That lyric of hers "Aishiteiru, aishiteiru..." (I love you, I love you) and the rapid-fire delivery are the two things that I've remembered all these years.

"Ni-bun no Ichi" was Kawamoto's 3rd single from March 1997. She wrote and composed the song, and it peaked at No. 2 on Oricon. It actually went Triple Platinum, selling close to 800,000 copies, becoming the singer's most successful hit. It would end the year as the 29th-ranked tune on the charts. The single was also on her debut album "Makoto Kawamoto" which actually hit No. 1 and broke the million barrier. I was a bit surprised that Kawamoto has only released 3 original albums and 13 singles to date.

Seeing her perform, I've placed her in my mind alongside girl-next-door types such as aiko and Mariko Nagai(永井真理子). I guess it was probably the guitar but I could see her as one active busker by the subway station.



To give credit where credit is due:
http://laughy.jp/1435703741578148299

1 comment:

  1. even though i like the songs chosen for the OP of Rurouni Kenshin i always found them to be out of place for the source material. perhaps it was intentional. either way, this song and Sobakasu by JUDY AND MARY - the first OP song for Rurouni Kenshin - occasionally pop up on my playlist still today.

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