Leon Niihama -- Tsukamaete, Kon'ya（捕まえて、今夜。）

 

I sometimes think that ever since Da Pump got that hit with "U.S.A." half a decade ago, a lot of singers and bands including Da Pump have been attempting to grab choreographical glory with some dance that will become the pop cultural craze of the year. Da Pump tried to do that last night with their latest song on "Uta Con"（うたコン）and a few weeks ago, enka singer Leon Niihama（新浜レオン）had given it a go on the NHK show with some dance moves accompanying a single that he released last month in May. Basically, they look like a newfangled version of Mr. Miyagi's "Wax on, wax off" technique from the "Karate Kid", and Niihama was teaching the hosts and audience on how to pull it off during the performance.

The crazy thing is that "Tsukamaete, Kon'ya" (Catch Me, Tonight) was used as the opening theme for a short anime spinoff from the "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Case Closed） series last fall. "Hannin no Hanzawa-san"（犯人の犯沢さん...The Culprit Hanzawa） had its run between October and December 2022, and this time, instead of the pint-sized genius detective having the spotlight, the focus this time was on the mystery villain who had always been shown as an androgynous figure all in black until their identity was finally revealed due to Conan's sleuthing prowess. Heck, the opening credits even had Ran Mohri and Ai Haibara waxing on and off.

"Tsukamaete, Kon'ya" also takes a tangent from the usual "Conan" themes of pop and rock and goes for a dynamic Latin Mood Kayo vibe with some dance beats added. EARSY provided the lyrics with Toshiya Kamada（鎌田俊哉）and Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）as co-composers. Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）arranged everything.