Ryusenkei & Hitomitoi feat. Yasuyuki Horigome -- Kinyoubi no Venus（金曜日のヴィーナス）/Ryusenkei & Hitomitoi -- Kanashii kurai Diamond（悲しいくらいダイヤモンド）

 Let's see..."Remington Steele" had a slick and handsome con man and an intrepid but struggling private detective while "Moonlighting" starred a beautiful if suddenly penniless former model teamed up with a wiseass private detective. Both were detective comedies, both were set in Los Angeles, both were broadcast on American TV networks in the 1980s, both had some pretty stylish music, and both were programs that I enjoyed for a while at least ("Moonlighting" had its wheels fall off for some reason in its later seasons).

Those two old shows came to mind when I read the synopsis of this NHK drama that had just finished its run last month titled "Talio Fukushu Daiko no Futari"（タリオ 復讐代行の2人...Talio: Two Agents of Revenge）. From what I found on the website "My Drama List", the show had a young lawyer pair up with a fraud artist to right various wrongs every episode. I had been wondering what that first non-Japanese word "talio" meant. At first, I had assumed that it was the name of one of the main characters, but instead it refers to the Latin expression "lex talionis" or the "law of retaliation". Basically, we're looking at "An eye for an eye". Ah, I see...the more we learn, right?

Because I no longer have much interest in Japanese TV dramas, I've only seen "Talio" through the commercials for the series on TV Japan so I had no idea that the Neo City Popsters of the band Ryusenkei（流線形）and singer Hitomitoi（一十三十一）were responsible for the soundtrack. Aye, I can only imagine what that must sound like. However, at this point, I'll settle for the opening and ending themes starting with "Kinyoubi no Venus" (Friday's Venus).

Hitomitoi provides the lyrics about someone who just can't seem to catch a break in life and is desperate for any chance to get out of the rut. Meanwhile, Ryusenkei's Cunimondo Takiguchi（クニモンド瀧口）has some groovy summery vibes for our ears which is splendid considering the time of year that folks were watching "Talio". The interesting thing is that the singer is another friendly face from the genre, singer-songwriter Yasuyuki Horigome（堀込泰行）who this time is only behind the mike and not on the computer helping out in the creation. The mellow keyboards and horns also do the trick here.

Meanwhile, the ending theme is "Kanashii kurai Diamond" (Sad Diamond) which keeps the good times going. Also created by the same folks involved in the opener, "Kanashii kurai Diamond" fairly thrums like the motor of the Cabriolet that's mentioned in the song. Kinda feels like some Rod Stewart disco. Basically, it's time to hop into the convertible and take a drive down the coast. Nice video featuring Hitomitoi and I guess that would be Ryusenkei sitting around. I wonder if that is actually a set from "Talio".

From the lyrics of both songs, I also wonder if they refer to the main character of Mami Shirasawa, the lawyer who needs that leg up from the very person that she probably would incarcerate under normal circumstances. I probably won't catch the series but I'm glad that Ryusenkei, Hitomitoi and Horigome have hopped into another medium.