Sumire Uesaka -- Neo Tokyo Shouka（ネオ東京唱歌）

Early in the last decade, my anime buddy was getting me back into his genre of choice once more after many years, and so along with the plethora of shows, I slowly learned the names of the various seiyuu that popped up here and there among the anime. It wasn't particularly easy but gradually the database in my head was able to agglomerate who the veterans and the up-and-comers were.

One of the first seiyuu that I got to learn about was Sumire Uesaka（上坂すみれ）. It was pretty much inevitable since she not only plays characters, she's also quite a character herself. Uesaka is also a tarento and singer who seems to react quite negatively to being complimented (especially when it comes to all things cute) but is otherwise a very bubbly personality. And of course, she has a love for all things Russian, including tanks. It's no wonder that she got that role in "Girls und Panzer", which was one of the first anime franchises that I've gotten to enjoy, giving her rendition of "Katyusha". Also, it seems when it comes to music videos for her songs, the visuals can be just as arresting as her tunes are catchy.

And such is also the case with one of the tracks from her most recent album "Neo Propaganda" which came out in January 2020. This may actually be the first article detailing a 2020 song that doesn't have a connection with an anime; ironic, since I've known Uesaka mostly for her anime work.

The track here is "Neo Tokyo Shouka" (Song of Neo Tokyo) which wouldn't surprise me at all if Uesaka herself had come up with the idea for not only the song but also for the video. Written and composed by Ryohei Shima（志磨 遼平）, I swear that "Neo Tokyo Shouka" is the near-perfect hybrid of Taisho/Early Showa Era kayo (and perhaps even some Yuming?) and a march from either the Soviet Union or a Warsaw Pact nation, with the singer herself going off into that high and nasal quality that was a part of any ancient 78" record of kayo. As for the lyrics, it does sound like an exhortation from the younger Reiwa generation to rise up and stick up for their Tokyo against the ossified older Showa and Heisei generations.

Plus, the video goes full throttle into the concept as a musical plays out in front of our eyes with Uesaka portraying the three roles of handsome and idealistic student, beautiful and idealistic ingenue, and deity (?) Big Mother Maria. It's like watching an alt-universe Tokyo done up as Fritz Lang's Metropolis with the CG proletariat rising up like a ferocious army engulfing two of the main characters. But hey, any tragedy is nullified with the curtain call at the end. Couldn't ask for anything more Sumiresque! As for "Neo Propaganda", it rose up to No. 12 on the album charts.

Whatever you do, do not say nice things to her face!😁