D-51 -- No More Cry

Yes, it's a heck of a thumbnail that I put up there with Mr. Spock from "Star Trek" about to mind meld with the Horta in the first season episode "The Devil in the Dark". The scene also contains the rock-boring creature desperately etching out "NO KILL I" which has Captain Kirk and his Vulcan science officer wondering whether she's pleading not to be killed or she's stating that she will not kill.

The reason for all that Trekkie lore? The phrase reminds me of a song title by a band that I had completely forgotten about. I was reminded of this song on a recent episode of NHK's educational variety show "Gatten" which dealt with how to improve the activity of your cerebellum (really). Suddenly the tune "No More Cry" started playing in the background as folks began celebrating the fact that those special exercises for their cerebellum paid off in spades.

Well, "No More Cry" is quite a celebratory tune by the Okinawan duo D-51 (pronounced D Go-Ichi) consisting of YU and YASU right from the get-go. Released in February 2005 as their 3rd single, it's certainly a happy, up-with-people sort of number with that slight disco beat...would be good as a music companion on a Bullet Train ride. It was the theme song for the second series of "Gokusen"（ごくせん）, based on the manga about a granddaughter of a yakuza don who becomes a high school teacher for a bunch of rowdies. I've seen some scenes for it with the granddaughter showing off her own toughness while dressed in a red-and-white tracksuit.

Written by YASU, under his real name of Yasuhide Yoshida（吉田安英）, and composed by singer-songwriter Akira Ikuma（生熊朗）, "No More Cry" sold more than half a million copies and peaked at No. 2, their only Top 10 hit thus far. By the end of 2005, it became the 13th-ranked single and earned Yu Uezato（上里優）and Yoshida their invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen on New Year's Eve.

Thus far, D-51 has released 15 major singles up to 2012, and a mini-album, "Late Summer" came out in 2018.