"Shojo A" (Girl A) was her second single released in July 1982, and it was about as far away from her debut, "Slow Motion", in tone as one could get. Right from the intro guitar, this was a down-and-dirty tune featuring a shark disguised as a biker chick. The powers-that-be who were taking care of young Akina had wanted to distinguish her from other aidoru, especially Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子） (who had that hyperimage of girl-next-door goodness). I think it's safe to say that "Shojo A" was the launch point. Akina delivers it low and dangerous, contrasting it with the other aidorus' high and bouncy, and the urgent pace of the song reminds me of a motorcycle rumbling on the highway. There had been comparisons made between her and 70s aidoru Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵） when she performed songs of defiance like "Playback, Part 2", and hearing "Shojo A", I could see Yamaguchi tackling this one as well.
The song was written by Masao Urino（売野雅勇） and composed by Hiroaki Serizawa（芹澤廣明）. It peaked at No. 5 and eventually was ranked at No. 34 for 1982. Since "Slow Motion" only got as far up as 30 on the Oricon weeklies, "Shojo A" was Akina's first hit song. It is also included on Akina's 2nd album, "Variation" which peaked at No. 1 on the album charts while finishing at No. 39 for the year.
(guitar cover)
This was another favourite karaoke request at Kuri, especially by a university acquaintance of mine who kinda fit the same bill in terms of personality.
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