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I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Miki Fujitani -- Believe in Myself


It’s not so hard to find underground aidoru stuff nowadays, but it’s always a challenge to find old underground aidoru stuff. That said, I was really happy to finally have a somewhat audible mp3 file (thanks Jun Lee, if you’re reading this) of Miki Fujitani’s (藤谷美紀) “Believe in Myself”, a song she originally released in February 1990.

Before having the full song, I had already listened to the short version posted above a couple of times, but, although I really enjoyed it, I don’t like to be addicted to a song I can’t listen to in its full magnificence.


Miki Fujitani was an okay aidoru at her time, but what I really liked about “Believe in Myself” was, of course, the Eurobeat-inspired arrangement with all the squeaky synths involved. Also, one nice detail was the explosion sounds used in the background during the beginning (0:04, 0:08) and end of the song (2:27, 2:35). Maybe it’s just me, but I think it was an edgy choice.

“Believe in Myself” is a nice throwback to the time when SAW (Stock, Aitken and Waterman) was a major influence in Japanese pop music and “the female aidoru stereotype”, as we all know, was facing a big crisis of popularity. That’s probably why I see Fujitani’s whole performance as something dusty, lonely and almost cold.

“Believe in Myself” was the ending theme to the movie version of the manga turned-into-anime “Nozomi Witches” (のぞみウィッチィズ), starring Miki Fujitani. Here’s an old CM.


Lyrics were written by Jun Kagemori (影森潤), while music was composed by Ken Kobayashi (小林健). As for the arrangement, Motoki Funayama (船山基紀) was the responsible.

3 comments:

  1. Hi, Marcos.

    Good to hear from you again. Yup, I agree with you on not getting too much into the short version. I want my full song! Actually, I enjoy the urgency of the melody on "Believe In Myself"...there's something in there that reminds me of Omega Tribe.

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    Replies
    1. Hi, J-Canuck. Thanks for the reply.

      I had to really pay attentiion, but I think I could identify Omega Tribe in "Believe in Myself". I don't know, maybe a little bit of the melancholy and nostalgic factor. Honestly, I don't know many Omega Tribes' songs besides the great "Summer Suspicion", so I had a hard time acknowledging this. Now I can't take this out of my mind whenever I listen to "Believe in Myself". In the end, it's a good thing, as I remember to play "Summer Suspicion" right after.

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  2. Hello guys!!

    I discovered Miki Fujitani while I was searching for another idols info and I could listen to one of her albums, the same in which this song is included. What I like the most about the song is the late 80s emerging eurobeat sound which oozes. It is curious. She is supposed to be an idol, with all the sugary lyrics, persona and so, but the arrangement chosen in the song and the synths make it a very upbeat song. By the way, there a couple of songs from her album "In Season" which sound similar!

    Saludos!

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