Miki Fujitani -- Tenkousei（転校生）

 

Another one of the many anime tropes that has popped up for decades is the introduction of the tenkousei, i.e. the transfer student. Like graduation from junior high to senior high school in Japan, the tenkousei showing up in a classroom is given far more gravitas than it has ever been here in North America. In my case, I was never a transfer student myself, but my band teacher once off-handedly instructed me to teach the new kid in the class the ropes. Over in Japan in anime and I assume real life as well, the tenkousei is required to stand up in the front of the classroom and give official introductions to everyone. Of course, in anime, the reactions can range from all sorts of fluttering valentines over the heads of students to knowing leers among the bullies that some fresh meat has arrived.

Now, Miki Fujitani（藤谷美紀）has been someone that I've known as an actress on many a TV drama in Japan for decades, but I hadn't known her as a singer. Marcos V. opened my eyes when he introduced her 1990 single "Believe in Myself", a Eurobeat blast.

Although Fujitani is simply described as an actress on J-Wiki, I think from what I've heard from "Believe in Myself" and this song, her debut single "Tenkousei", plus the fact that "Tenkousei" was released in April 1988 when she was only around 14 years old, I think the aidoru label isn't a bad one for her. Compared to the dynamic 1990 single, this first single feels like a typical late 1980s aidoru tune with the relative sweet lushness in the arrangement through the music by Masayuki Kishi（岸正之）and the words by Keiko Aso（麻生圭子）. 

Speaking about those lyrics, Fujitani expresses the loneliness of being a transfer student in a new school in a new neighbourhood, maybe even in a new city, but through a letter sent surreptitiously to her, she finds out that she's not only not alone but she's also being majorly crushed upon. Ahh...young love. Anyways, "Tenkousei" is also available in Fujitani's debut album "Foundation" from August 1988. Up to 1991, she had 9 singles and 3 original albums.