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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, March 2, 2016

Hiroko Moriguchi – Speed (スピード)


Hiroko Moriguchi (森口博子) may have started as a cute aidoru back in the mid-80s, but it’s as a 90s pop singer that I remember her the most, especially after the hit ballad single “ETERNAL WIND ~Hohoemi Hikaru Kaze no Naka~” (ETERNAL WIND〜ほほえみは光る風の中〜) in 1991.

One of her greatest songs, and also her debut, “Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete” (水の星へ愛をこめて), have already been covered by fellow contributor JTM in the past, but there are a lot of minor, yet interesting, songs from her that would be nice to talk about. “Speed” is just one of them.


Released in September 1992, “Speed” is a very uplifting song with a singalong chorus and lovely keyboards splashed through the song. One of the many courtesies from the 90s, of course. Speaking of it, “Speed” may not sound innovative, as it’s very immersed in its time, but it’s a charming song, nonetheless. As for Hiroko, I’ve always found her a rather strong vocalist (if compared to other aidoru singers out there), and she shows some of her pipes in “Speed”.

I may have been very negligent with Moriguchi in the past few years, but lately I’m starting to rediscover her discography. Songs like “Speed”, although far from the melodical gorgeousness of “Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete” (a gift from Neil Sedaka), are what I like from her. It’s a pity she’s also a bit too fond of ballads.

To finish, here’s Moriguchi performing “Speed” in 2015. She’s as cute and talented as ever.


Lyrics were written by Yui Nishiwaki (西脇唯), while music and arrangement were done by Kaori Okui (奥居香).


Source: Amazon

2 comments:

  1. I may have to listen to some more of Hiroko's discography myself since that melody has gotten me all nostalgic for the late 80s and early 90s again. :)

    One thing about Moriguchi, though. I wonder if she actually does any of her comedic impressions between songs at her concerts. :)

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, give Moriguchi some love... the girl deserves it.

      I don't know if she does the comedic impressions, but it would be nice to have a Shizuka Kudo segment where she performed a medley or something like that. It'd be fun.

      I wanted to buy her latest concert, but it's way expensive and the dollar is very high in Brazil nowadays.

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