Shizuka Kudo -- Again

Not being a supremely huge fan of Shizuka Kudo（工藤静香）, I can probably say that I have heard this song, "Again", on some of the old retrospectives or on reruns of "The Best 10". This was her 2nd single from December 1987, and as with her debut outing, "Kindan no Telepathy"（禁断のテレパシー）, the creators of the song were Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）.

I'm not sure if it would be accurate to say that there was a "Kudo sound" since I'm not totally well-versed in her discography, but it seems that a number of her early singles at least had that steady balance of rock guitar and fast-paced synths (perhaps with the exception of her 3rd single "Daite Kuretara Iinoni " which sounded a bit more 50s to me). As soon as I heard "Again"...again...I just thought, "Yep, that's a Shizuka song alright". Perhaps it's also Shizuka's distinctive voice.

Lyrically, the song has all the makings of a typical 2-hour suspense program as the heroine tries to disavow herself of a romance with a dangerous fellow although her heart still isn't quite convinced it's time to go. I can only jokingly imagine if Kudo and her hubby, Takuya Kimura（木村拓哉）, would have ever dramatized the song through some 12-episode series. In any case, "Again" managed to peak at No. 3 and became the 53rd-ranked song for 1988.