Naomi Masuda -- Energy (The Theme for Anime Vision)

 

March 23 2023: Today, I was informed through the Comments that the song that I had thought was "Energy" wasn't right, so I've made the appropriate corrections with amended commentary. "Energy" is the second one below here while the happier-go-lucky song has been put down at the bottom.

I'm not sure whether the JCCC as you can see in the photo above is still holding the Toronto Anime Matsuri, but as of today, the Autumn version of Fan Expo is back in town. So, our local CP24 reporter, Steve Ryan, a former cop in Homicide Division, was rather bemusedly interviewing cosplayers having no clue which anime or sci-fi property they were representing. I did attend the pop culture convention a few times a decade ago when I began this blog but the high prices and crowds were starting to get me down. However, I'd like to give it another go although I'm probably going to wait another year before taking the leap.

Going back into my anime-viewing career, I remember back in the 1980s when I first met my anime buddy. Sometimes a few of us would visit his old place downtown near Little Italy to see his collection of video tapes and laser discs for anime features. Oh, the technology back then...😊

In getting information about the song for this article, I found out that the laser disc did have a rival format of sorts known as the VHD (Video High Density) that was mostly produced in Japan by JVC. According to Wikipedia, it only lasted four years between 1983 and 1987 before it joined the ash heap of technology history. It was on the VHD format that a video magazine known as "Anime Vision" （アニメビジョン）had its twenty volumes sold between 1986 and 1989.

From what I've gleaned from the J-Wiki article for "Anime Vision" and the opening for Volume 1 above, the magazine seems to come off as an "Entertainment Tonight" for anime of that time, filled with segments such as some original anime, interviews with seiyuu, and general information on existing or upcoming projects.

However, all of that jazz about "Anime Vision" didn't come about because I discovered the actual show. It was through one of the two theme songs (below) for it as edited by YouTuber Marty McFlies v2. What attracted me to the song was the joy of the arrangement (a mix of spritely City Pop and bright jangly technopop) thanks to the work by composer Kenji Kawai（川井憲次）and the delivery by a lady who sounds like she sings jazz for a living. It's short and very sweet.

Marty gives his thoughts on "Anime Vision" and the song so you can switch over to the YouTube screen to read about it. At the time, he uploaded it in February this year, he wasn't quite sure about who the golden voice belonged to (Miki Matsubara（松原みき）?) or what the official title of the theme was. We both agree that it's a pity that it wasn't ever sold on a single or a CD. 

The song above though, the other theme, is called "Energy". Kawai indeed composed and arranged the song with Miho Matsuba（松葉美保）providing the lyrics. It has more of that urgent 80s West Coast dance club arrangement that people probably did aerobics to back then. The interesting thing is that halfway through, "Energy" literally changes gears to show off a faster reprise of the theme that I'd thought was "Energy".

"Energy" was sung by Naomi Masuda（増田直美）who has sung plenty of anison including the theme for the 1982 mecha anime "Ginga Reppū Bakushingā"（銀河烈風バクシンガー...Galactic Gale Baxingar）. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a J-Wiki or a Wikipedia entry, but composer Kawai does and he has been making music for many television shows, movies, video games and anime.