Taiki Yamazaki -- Zassо̄ Damashii Namennayo!（雑草魂なめんなよ!）

 

Since I've been away from the old routine with my anime buddy for nearly a year now, I don't watch nearly as many anime as I used to, but for this season, I've been fortunate enough to catch Season 2 of "Uma Musume ~ Pretty Derby"（ウマ娘 プリティーダービー） which is the usual half-hour show of horse girls enjoying their cordial rivalries. Plus, I've been watching Season 3 of "Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki"（八十亀ちゃんかんさつにっき...Yatogame-chan's Observation Diary） which has retained its rapid-fire 3-5 minute episodes.

For those not in the know, "Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki" is all about high school kids in a Nagoya school with the mix of transplanted fish-out-of-water Tokyo adolescents and proud Nagoya teens providing some culture shock sparks. I actually did write about the ending theme for Season 1 of the show, "DELUXE DELUXE HAPPY" by seiyuu Haruka Tomatsu（戸松遥）who plays the spiky title character.

Of course, whenever "Yatogame-chan" comes into view or into conversation, Nagoya cuisine soon comes into the picture as well which is why I put up that appropriate video right at the top. I do love my hitsumabushi, Nagoya tebasaki, and the fare at Komeda Coffee, for example.

It took a few weeks of watching episodes, but I've finally clicked onto the bouncy ending theme for Season 3, "Zassо̄ Damashii Namennayo!" which has been translated in the Wikipedia writeup for the anime as "Don't Be A Weed Soul!". Not quite sure what that particular interpretation means so I dragged the kanji through some other outlets, and figured out that it really comes across as "Don't Underestimate My Die-Hard Soul!". Considering how much die-hard pride that Yatogame-chan has in her city of Nagoya and how willing she is to tear orifices into anyone who dares mock the third-most populous urban area in Japan, I think that latter translation is suitable.

"Zassо̄ Damashii Namennayo!" is performed by singer-actor Taiki Yamazaki（山崎大輝）as his 3rd single that won't be released for another few weeks on March 3rd 2021. Written and composed by Tomomi Narimoto/Narumoto（成本智美）and arranged by musician/songwriter Yasuhiro Gasa（賀佐泰洋）, it blasts off sounding like something heard at one of those old para-para dance clubs specializing in Trance music. I do enjoy Taiki's brio about making himself heard above the fray at all costs, and the song is as much triumphant march as it is a light technopop tune. The video seems to be about him proudly hailing the countryside life, though.

As for the 25-year-old Yamazaki himself, he hails from Shizuoka Prefecture. His career originated from him winning a Special Jury prize at the 2010 Super Boy contest sponsored by "Junon", a magazine aimed at teenage girls and young women. In his J-Wiki article, his interests center around gaming and computers, and his musical heroes happen to be the bands L'Arc〜en〜Ciel and Golden Bomber.