Then came The Law of Ueki (うえきの法則). Like Keroro, I was introduced to it via this manga comic book by the name of CO-CO/COCO... the much slimmer Singapore version of it unlike the ones they have in Japan. Man, those there are as thick as phone books! But anyway, having discovered that there was an anime - or to me back then, it was just known as a cartoon - based on this manga by Tsubasa Fukuchi (福地翼), I decided, "Hey, why not? The comic (manga) seemed pretty interesting anyway!" And so I did watch it. 51 episodes long with a plot heavily emphasizing on justice/righteousness, it wasn't too bad... I liked it.
Hitomi Shimtani's (島谷ひとみ) 19th single 'Falco - ファルコ -' served as the series' theme song for the first 32 episodes, and it also caught my attention with its use of instruments like the sitar and its exotic, middle-eastern/Indian arrangement. An intriguing song to say the least and it at its chorus it sounds like your typical catchy anime song... or anisong, as I think they are known as. And I would say that it was one of the more memorable theme songs I had heard then. Another one being the 5th theme song for 'Keroro' 'You-You-You' by the rock band Polysics... although I never actually made it that far into the series.
Just a about a week ago I revisited this relatively old anime (aired in 2005 and ended in 2006) and listening to 'Falco' again just brought back all those cherished memories from the last year of primary/elementary school... back in the good old days. Hmm, I wonder if my friend watched it. I knew he watched 'Keroro' but I'm not sure about 'Ueki', never did ask.
For the song's stats, it was released on 10th August 2005 and peaked at 11th place on the Oricon weeklies, eventually settling at 265th place by the end of the year. It was written by this songwriting duo BOUNCEBACK (yes, in all caps) and was composed by Kazunori Watanabe (渡辺和紀). The video below shows the anime's opening sequence, by the way.
http://boralginmages.appspot.com/?page=quotes-about-kindness-and-respect
Hi, Noelle.
ReplyDeleteI also had my anime days back in 2005 and 2006, and they were my first step into Japanese music. Like you, I watched Naruto, but just gave up after more than a hundred episodes. Everybody tells me that it gets really good after that, but I just couldn't watch it anymore.
As for Falco, it's really an interesting song with all the middle-eastern and Indian touchs. I usually like this kind of pop song, and it wasn't different with this one. It's someaht similar to Berryz Koubou's "cha cha SING", a song that I listen to a lot. Also, thanks to you, I had my first Hitomi Shimatani experience. I usually see her name here and there, but never tried out any of her songs.
Hi Marcos,
DeleteYeah, the number of episodes for Naruto pretty much scared me off... and also after about the first season I found that it got boring. A current classmate of mine is a fan of the series and he said he was at his six hundred-plus episode! Or was that Naruto Shippuden...?
This song isn't one I would encounter on a regular basis since Shimatani looks like one of those pop idol singers (aidoru), but it sounds pretty good so I have no qualms about it.
I never heard of "Falco" or the source anime of "The Law of Ueki", but once I listened to the melody, I appreciated it as being an example of a number of anison that I have heard at my friend's place representing the 90s and the 00s.
ReplyDeleteI don't think 'The Law of Ueki' was that popular even back then since even my anime-crazed classmates have never seen it before! So I'm not surprised you've not really heard of it. Oh yeah, and it seems like your friend is a big fan of the anime world!
DeleteOh, you have no idea, Noelle. I'd probably say that he would be THE source this side of Canada. :)
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