Masahiko Kondo -- Samidare Good-bye（五月雨Good-bye）

Yes, folks. Obviously, it's way too early in the year to think about this, but there is the age-old Japanese trope of ai-ai gasa（相合傘）...the habit of romantic couples sharing an umbrella in the rain. If there's a slice-of-life anime, then there's a likely chance of one of those scenes popping up.

Now, to be honest, the sound of this song by 80s aidoru Masahiko Kondo（近藤真彦）feels like something in the dog days of summer, but the title of this track from his 1983 album "Rising" is "Samidare Good-bye". From the three kanji beginning the title, I would have translated it as "May Rain Good-bye", but actually according to jisho.org, it doesn't even read as go-gatsu ame but samidare which is defined as an early summer rain. Hence my translation as "Good-bye in an Early Summer Rain", probably when the rainy season is holding court in Japan in the latter half of June.

Anyways, that whole thing about ai-ai gasa? Forget about it here. Matchy is actually singing about the breakup of a relationship in the rain as the one umbrella becomes two as the former lovers put some distance between each other. However, the lyrics by Yoshihiko Ando（安藤芳彦）aside, Masahide Sakuma's（佐久間正英）music is surprisingly glossy and groovy, more along the lines of AOR than the usual electric guitar-riffing that I've usually associated a Matchy song with.

I've experienced my share of rainy season showers and humidity in Tokyo. It's not quite as torrid as when the season ends in July, but it gives plenty of warning of the discomfort to come.