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| Wikimedia Commons via Macacaosapao |
I have some sad news to relay from commenter Kyle Andrew to all those in the tokusatsu, anime and J-Rock communities if you don't already know. Singer-songwriter Nobuo Yamada（山田信夫）, who had been involved in the creation of anison and tokusatsu theme songs, passed away on August 9th from kidney cancer at the age of 61.
To be honest, I didn't know much of the Osaka-born Yamada's career and discography which began in the early 1980s. However, there is one song that I do recognize very well and it was through his hard rock band MAKE-UP which started up in 1983 for an initial four-year run, and then starting up again in 2010 to go for one more year.
My anime buddy, when we used to have the regular biweekly Sunday anime-and-meal outings, played his usual anison for an hour or so on the stereo, and one of the recurring tunes that I heard was the first opening theme song used for the anime "Saint Seiya"（聖闘士星矢）which started in the fall of 1986 and lasted until spring 1989. I only found out about "Saint Seiya" much later in life...basically when I was already living in Japan, and just from judging from the opening credits and the MAKE-UP song, I probably would have gotten into the show because I was so much into the absorption of Japanese pop culture back then.
"Pegasus Fantasy" was released as MAKE-UP's 4th single in October 1986. Written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）with Yamada and band guitarist Hiroaki Matsuzawa（松澤浩明）responsible for the melody, it's quite the rousing up-and-at-'em rock number to get all of the Saints off and running toward saving the day. I could imagine anime fans from 8 to 88 punching the air as this was playing. "Pegasus Fantasy" was also first placed onto the band's BEST compilation "GLORY DAYS〜MAKE-UP BEST COLLECTION" which came out in August 1989.
My condolences go out to Yamada's family, friends and many fans.
May Nobuo Yamada rest in peace!
ReplyDeleteIndeed.😢
DeleteA very sad piece of news—especially since Yamada-san was still so young. Pegasus Fantasy was (and still is) one of the greatest and most memorable anime opening songs ever, becoming a global phenomenon alongside the Saint Seiya anime. It remains hugely popular in Latin America, where it’s even more beloved than in Japan.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I consider the Saint Seiya OST a true masterpiece—featuring gems like Saint Seiya: Lullaby sung by Mitsuko Horie with the accompaniment of MAKE-UP, as well as the magnificent orchestral score composed by Seiji Yokoyama. Pegasus Fantasy is always on my running playlist, right alongside Ai wo Torimodose from Hokuto no Ken.
Yamada-san will forever be a part of my childhood memories through this song. May he rest in peace.
Hello, Piotrfan and thanks for your reminiscings of "Saint Seiya" and Yamada. When I saw those opening credits with the Saints running toward the camera, I figured that fans of the original manga were squeeing big time.
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