Judy and Mary -- Sobakasu （そばかす）

One night, I caught a rather noisy commercial on TV plugging this band led by a post-punk pixie who reminded me of a Japanese Bjork. Had to turn down the volume. But then again, I noticed this band, Judy and Mary, coming up on a lot on the "Countdown TV" rankings. "Countdown TV" was a Saturday late-night show that had these three CG characters do the weekly music rankings. I saw one of their early hits, "Over Drive", and thought there was a bit more melody to be had there in that song. Then came "Sobakasu"(Freckles) some months later, this tune that started off with a monstrous electric guitar riff before it suddenly shifts into this pop-rock-blues line. After hearing it a few more times on TV, I was hooked. It was time to get the CD single.

The start of Judy and Mary was something like out of the movies. In fact, it was out of a movie. Back in 1991, bassist Yoshihito Onda（恩田快人）, who had been with a heavy metal band called Jacks N' Joker, was visiting Hokkaido when he crossed paths with Yuki Isoya（磯谷有希）, a college student who had been recruited as an extra on some action film. Isoya had wanted to start a band but didn't know how to go about it so she asked Onda for some advice. A couple of years and a few more added people later, Judy and Mary was born in 1993 with their debut single, "Power of Love".

As for "Sobakasu", Judy and Mary's 9th single was released in February 1996, and became their first and only No. 1 hit until their breakup in 2001. It was the first theme song for the anime "Rurouni Kenshin"（るろうに剣心）, but strangely enough, the ＹＵＫＩ-penned lyrics (Onda composed the song) were actually an ode to the anime character, Candy Candy. It became the 18th-ranked song of 1996, and was included in their 4th album, "The Power Source", released in March 1997. It was also a No. 1 album and was ranked 4th for all of 1997.