Takako Okamura/Takao Kisugi -- Haguresou na Tenshi（はぐれそうな天使）

Yesterday, I was listening to one of the albums in the "Good Times Diva" series of CDs featuring Japanese female singers that had been released around the turn of the century, and I heard this song for the first time in a long time.

And it was really nice to hear it once more since I really felt the truly dramatic arrangement (thank you, Motoki Funayama/船山基紀) again after so long. I mean, Takako Okamura's（岡村孝子）3rd single "Haguresou na Tenshi" (Fragile Angels) from March 1986 has an intro so mysterious yet propulsive for a pop song that I could visualize some sort of palace intrigue in Europe somewhere with a heroine running swiftly in a huge billowing dress. Plus, there is that soaring connection between the verse and the refrain that Okamura handles with aplomb which probably would have karaoke singers panting by the end.

Knowing Okamura as a singer-songwriter and just how well "Haguresou na Tenshi" fits her style as a performer of light and breezy songs, I had assumed that this was totally her own creation. However, that isn't the case since it was actually written by Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）and composed by her brother Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）.

In fact, "Haguresou na Tenshi" was covered by Okamura with the original being released by Takao himself as his 18th single in September 1985. His original isn't quite as dramatic as Okamura's cover and shows a calmer arrangement as if the setting was brought over to mid-1980s Tokyo into a cafe. The story in Etsuko's lyrics involves a woman who may be falling in love but has a lot of worries attached to her burgeoning emotions. To be honest, if I had to choose between the two, I would go with Okamura's version, although I recognize the Kisugi original from a BEST compilation of his through those plinking keys in its intro.

The original by Kisugi went as high as No. 42 on the Oricon weeklies and was also a track on his 11th studio album "Only Yesterday" released in November 1985. That release went up to No. 20. Meanwhile, Okamura's cover peaked at No. 34, and became a part of her 2nd album "Watashi no Naka no Nobifuu"（私の中の微風...The Gentle Breeze In Me）from July 1986 which ranked in ultimately at No. 18.

Interestingly enough, both versions were used as campaign songs for the Honda Today. That name for a car reminded me about some of the weirdness that went into automobile nomenclature in Japan. I can only imagine the jokes I can make up for that one. Still, the commercials featured Miki Imai（今井美樹）, perhaps just before her singing career began.