Ai Otsuka -- Rocket Sneaker（ロケットスニーカー）

 

Well, Happy Monday! Going into the final days of official summer, it's looking like the season is going to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the 22nd. It's been feeling rather warm and sticky out there to begin the week.

Then, shall we start with a very upbeat tune? I remember seeing the music video for Ai Otsuka's（大塚愛）17th single from May 2008, "Rocket Sneaker" (which was officially titled "Rocket Sneaker/One X Time") and noticing how snazzy it was seeing multiple versions of the singer as if being caught in succeeding shot frames for the entire footage. My compliments to those behind its creation, and the ending credits appear like the end of a proper motion picture.

But "Rocket Sneaker" on its own is a happy experience in the usual Otsuka way. Written and composed by the singer, it's all about someone taking those first tiny steps onto a grand celestial journey but also not forgetting how much their beloved Earth had helped raise that person to get to where they are now. I would have thought that "Rocket Sneaker" would have made a great theme song for an anime, but actually it was used in other projects such as the ending themes for a couple of variety shows and as a jingle for a commercial.

"Rocket Sneaker" made it to No. 4 on Oricon and had a place on Otsuka's 5th original album "Love Letter" which was released in December that year. That album hit No. 3 on the charts and ended up as the 44th-ranked album of the year.