Yoko Katori -- Watashi no Odin ~ Odin no Otome（私のオーディーン～オーディーンの乙女～）

 

Y'know...I recollect seeing a commercial on one of those ancient videotapes that I'd rented from Nippon Video in the 1980s that pushed this anime feature presentation. It showed a glistening old-style sailing vessel in space but that was all I got to know about it. The movie, by the way, was titled "Odin ~ Koushi Hansen Starlight"（オーディーン 光子帆船スターライト...Odin: Photon Sailer Starlight） which came out in theatres in the summer of 1985. From what I've read about it on Wikipedia, one of the main forces behind the anime adaptation of the legendary "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト...Space Battleship Yamato） series, Yoshinobu Nishizaki（西崎義展）, wanted lightning to strike twice with "Odin", a mere two years following the supposed ending of the Yamato via "Final Yamato" in 1983. Alas, the movie got spanked critically although the shining Starlight got some accolades.

A couple of the theme songs for "Odin" were provided by the heavy metal band LOUDNESS, but there were also some quieter tunes for the movie provided by Yoko Katori（鹿取容子・鹿取洋子）. Katori has been on KKP as a City Pop singer such as her 1980 "Chance Tonight", and I guess as a bit of perhaps coincidental emulation of Junko Yagami（八神純子）contributing a love song for the aforementioned "Final Yamato", Katori was brought on board to sing "Platonic"（プラトニック）and then "Watashi no Odin ~ Odin no Otome" (My Odin: Girl of Odin) as her final single released in August 1985...the same time as the movie.

This article is on the B-side, "Watashi no Odin". Starting off with a rock guitar which brings in some serious New Adult Music vibes, the orchestra then sweeps in thanks to the melody and arrangement by Kentaro Haneda（羽田健太郎）, the same person behind much of what got onto the "Macross"（マクロス） soundtrack. Maybe the movie wasn't the greatest, but "Watashi no Odin" did put a thrill up on my spine as I remember some of the wonderful soundtrack music provided for both "Macross" and "Yamato" back in the 1980s. In fact, I'd probably say that this particular song would have been at home as well in either of those franchises. Yu Aku（阿久悠）provided the lyrics.