B'z -- Love Me, I Love You

According to the J-Wiki article on "Love Me, I Love You", the 17th single by B'z released in July 1995, Inaba and Matsumoto had wanted to put out a pure pop song after a series of rather serious singles, and this is the result. And when I saw the initial campaign commercial for the song on TV back then, I did think that the duo was going happy-go-lightly with this one. It was just the pair going on a fun night on the town.

Certainly, the original music video for "Love Me, I Love You" showed that aspect with cool-as-can-be Inaba-as-salaryman racing around Sapporo and the Susukino entertainment district in a tongue-in-cheeky way. Plus, things can't all be that serious when Matsumoto is ripping away at an old-style cabaret. And when that scene pops in the video, the music seems to do a playful tribute to old show tunes.

The sudden shift in style didn't hurt the success of B'z whatsoever. In fact, the boys scored their 10th consecutive million-seller with this one, the very first among Japanese artists to do so. It naturally hit No. 1 on the Oricon weeklies and it became the 14th-ranked single of the year.

The song was also made the theme tune for a TV Asahi drama titled "Gekai Hiiragi Matasaburo"（外科医柊又三郎....Surgeon Matasaburo Hiiragi）. I'm sure the producers were more than happy to have a B'z song adorning their efforts.

B'z -- Love Me, I Love You