Seiko Matsuda/Ami Ozaki -- Boy no Kisetsu (ボーイの季節)

For certain Japanese folks beyond a certain age, the above commercial will be quite familiar, especially for those who liked their Suntory. And for readers of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", the video might strike a chord since it was also used for the article I wrote on one of Seiko Matsuda's（松田聖子）iconic ballads, "Sweet Memories".

Well, apparently the commercial with the torch song arrangement of "Sweet Memories" became a huge hit for penguins and humans alike. In fact, a whole movie came out of it titled "Penguins' Memory ~ Shiawase Monogatari"（ペンギンズ・メモリー 幸福物語...Story of Happiness） which was shown from June 1985. I never caught the anime but I did borrow the soundtrack from an old friend, and the album was actually selling at Wah Yueh. Some of the tracks actually brought a few lumps to my throat including "Sweet Memories".

On the soundtrack was also the theme song, "Boy no Kisetsu" (Season of the Boy) by Seiko-chan, her 21st single released in May 1985. A ballad with that dreamy tropical feeling to it, I kinda felt that this would be something more for turtles in Okinawa instead of penguins in Antarctica, but hey, it's a Seiko tune so it works for me. "Boy no Kisetsu" was also a track on her 11th album "The 9th Wave" which came out a month later.

Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）who was the lyricist and composer for the song did a cover in the following year as a track on her 14th album, "POINTS-2" which also served as her 2nd album of self-covers. Her version has a bit more of an urban contemporary click to it.

"Boy no Kisetsu" was another No. 1 hit for Seiko among a whole string of No. 1s and it soon became the 19th-ranked single of the year. "The 9th Wave" also hit the top spot on the album charts and it also had another hit single in the form of "Tenshi no Wink"（天使のウィンク）, another Seiko/Ami collaboration.