Akari Nanawo -- Kien Romance（奇縁ロマンス）

 

Well, anime's Spring 2023 season has gotten underway, and of course, my anime buddy has kept me informed on what has caught his eyes and ears. One has been "Edomae Elf"（江戸前エルフ...Otaku Elf）, a slice-of-life about a teenage miko of a shrine in Tokyo who has to take care of the enshrined but still-living deity, Elda, a ne'er-do-well elf of over 600 years in age who has become somewhat of a lazy game-loving shut-in. The interesting thing about Elda is that she's played by veteran seiyuu Ami Koshimizu（小清水亜美）, the star from the wacky and violent "Kill La Kill"（キルラキル）, and she's someone that I've usually associated with tough-as-nails characters although I realize that a seiyuu has to be able to play all sorts of roles.

I guess that I've become a fan of these specific slice-of-life anime that deal with the residents of a shrine or temple in a friendly neighbourhood. While the main characters can bicker a whole lot, they're in the middle of a group of warm side characters. I've seen a few of these over the past decade that I've been back in the anime saddle including "Kamisama Hajimemashita" （神様はじめました）. For that particular show, the theme song which has the same title as the show was performed by Hanae（ハナエ）and it has that mix of traditional instruments playing a very pleasant but distinctly Asian rhythm although it is clearly not enka or minyo. In that article as well, I noted some similarities with Japanese-American band Hiroshima's "One Wish".

And that is also the case with "Edomae Elf". Its theme song is the catchy and skippy "Kien Romance" (Romance of Strange Coincidence) by Osaka pop/rock singer and YouTuber Akari Nanawo（ナナヲアカリ）who's been working since 2011. As much as the opening theme for "Kamisama Hajimemashita" fit that show, "Kien Romance" slots in nicely with "Edomae Elf" because of that combination of the traditional arrangements and the syncopated beats. Nanawo not only sings the song but also trips the light fantastic over the lyrics like a ballerina. Words and lyrics were provided by singer-songwriter Wanuka（和ぬか）.

I swear that the music video for "Kien Romance" should get its own anime series since it looks so distinct and good. If I'm not mistaken, the animator is known as Juu-hachi Bancha（十八番茶）, although their YouTube channel also has the names niyoru and mado listed in there.