Satoko Shimonari -- TRANSFORMER

 

AUTOBOTS! TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!

Yup, along with some of the anime that was able to come our way via North America in the 1980s, my Sunday mornings were also occupied by "The Transformers". They were indeed robots in disguise and there was more to them than meets the eye.

Yup, I do remember the opening theme song for "The Transformers" as well. Any kid and teen of the 1980s do. It is frankly obligatory. We must give thanks to songwriters Ford Kinder and Anne Bryant.

AUTOBOTS! DANCE AND BOOGIE!

According to Wikipedia, the first two seasons of "The Transformers" were exported over to Japan in 1985 where they became known as "Tatakae! Chō Robotto Seimeitai Toransufōmā"（戦え!超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー...Fight! Super Robot Life-Form Transformers）; man, they really loved those extended titles, didn't they? What's more, the opening theme wasn't the famous intrepid march by Bryant and Kinder.

Instead, it was "TRANSFORMER" by Satoko Shimonari（下成佐登子）and this theme sounded more like Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and the rest of the Autobots hit a City Pop party one Friday night. Shimonari may not have been a huge household word but I've gotten to know about her well enough that I've even purchased an album by her. However, little did I know that she had recorded a theme song for those robots in disguise as her 13th single in September 1985.

Shimonari had a trio of masters helping her out with "TRANSFORMER". There were lyricist Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）, composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranger Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）who created something that sounded very reminiscent of the "Cat's Eye" theme by Anri（杏里） a few years earlier. Heck, the song even included a fluegelhorn; just try to imagine a flugelhorn in a theme about transformable robot heroes. It is all so urban and cool and I can easily see Optimus and gang aerobicizing in their own 20-minute workout to "TRANSFORMER" as well as hit the dance floor: AUTOBOTS! COOL DOWN AND FLOW!