Credits

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.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Satomi Fukunaga -- Heart no Ignition(ハートのIgnition)


Years back in May 2013, my good friend and "Kayo Kyoku Plus" collaborator JTM contributed an epic article dealing with the "Sukeban Deka"(スケバン刑事)franchise. The show involving high school girls with a very specific set of skills (including yo-yos) not only brought a lot of late 80s aidoru to the fore, but also a number of hit songs featuring these same teenybopper singers.


JTM mentioned in his article that the third series in the franchise, "Sukeban Deka III" had a number of ending themes with the first one being "Heart no Ignition" (Heart Ignition) by former Onyanko Club(おニャン子クラブ)member Satomi Fukunaga(福永恵規)who also appeared in the show. I think that's indeed her near the end of the video taking one for the team.

With the feeling of a tune from a typical Hollywood B-movie action thriller of a time, Fukunaga (as had been the case with most aidoru) doesn't particularly have strong vocals, but the melody by Ginji Ito(伊藤銀次)and arrangement by Masaaki Ohmura(大村雅朗)help in supporting her. There's nothing like a booming bass line and crashing synthesizers to propel a tune, but the percussion and the chorus also particularly stick out. Yasushi Akimoto(秋元康)took care of the lyrics. Released in October 1986 as Fukunaga's 2nd single, "Heart no Ignition" peaked at No. 2 on Oricon. It was also placed onto her debut album "Splash" released in the next month, and that went all the way up to No. 5.


My knowledge of the Onyanko Club is pretty hazy at best so I did find out that Fukunaga's number in the group was No. 11, and apparently, she was the very first leader of the Club. However, she graduated in September 1986, just before "Heart no Ignition" came out. As a solo singer, she released only four singles and two original albums. Fukunaga also appeared in a number of dramas and variety shows but finally called it a day in late 1988; she retired due to health reasons.

In the 1990s, she was working as a regular company employee after which she got married, but then got divorced. As of 2017, she is now a co-director along with former aidoru Kyoko Koizumi(小泉今日子)at OFFICE NissiN, an entertainment agency.

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