Airi Suzuki -- Heart wa Oteage（ハートはお手上げ）

 

Well, so far so good. "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai - Ultra Romantic"（かぐや様は告らせたい-ウルトラロマンティック-）, the third season of the popular franchise has been revealing its usual hijinks of misunderstandings within the elite high school academy. The show is three episodes in and the titular character has learned another vital component in foreplay.

A-1 Pictures: So we're going into "Ultra Romantic" now. How much did you need for the budget?        Director Hatakeyama: YES.

Yes, that is my snarky imagination at work wondering how much extra yen the folks behind the creation of the series have been getting when they're coming up with ending credit sequences like this one for "Ultra Romantic". I never paid much attention to the end credits for the first two seasons but for the particular sequence this season, it really grabbed me since it looks like it belongs to another anime or maybe that upcoming Doctor Strange movie has provided us viewers with an alternative universe with the "Kaguya-sama" characters. And apparently this universe has merged "Starship Troopers" and "Evangelion".

As a result, I've also been paying more attention to the ending theme that goes with those credits. "Heart wa Oteage" (My Heart Does Not Know What to Do) is performed by Airi Suzuki（鈴木愛理）, and if that name sounds familiar to "Kaguya-sama" fans, it should. Suzuki was working with Masayuki "Martin" Suzuki（鈴木雅之）on the opening theme for the second season, "DADDY! DADDY! DO!".

But this time around, Airi is taking it solo with "Heart wa Oteage" which is indeed the first time that I've devoted an article for a "Kaguya-sama" ender. Up to now, it's all been about Martin's bomber opening themes including the one for this season "GIRI GIRI" but along with the impressive ending credits, "Heart wa Oteage" has won me over for its really upbeat tone but also for the guitar-laden parts of the melody since they sound somewhat like 80s pop from either side of the Pacific.

Suzuki's 2nd single which will be released in June on CD but has already been available on streaming and download since April 22nd was composed by Yoshiki Mizuno（水野良樹）and arranged by Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）, the same duo behind the Martin melodies while the lyrics were provided by Kumiko Takahashi（高橋久美子）, the drummer for the rock band Chatmonchy（チャットモンチー）.

More characters have been popping up on the show and I'm wondering how "Ultra Romantic" will end in a couple of months. By the way, have a look as well at Airi's other song "Break it down".

Airi Suzuki -- Break it down

 

That was a most fascinating beginning for the music video of "Break it down", a track from Airi Suzuki's（鈴木愛理）"i" album, her 2nd from December 2019. It's a perfectly silent display of a couple of young ladies in tuxes and hats rhythmically shuffling along and pushing a Suzuki-sized pink box along a waterway that may be around Tennozu Isle in Tokyo. Permit me to label it as adorable and strange at the same time, and perhaps something that I would see in a "City Limits" program of the weird and wonderful.

But then Suzuki gets into cool and funky singing mode for "Break it down" and I hear those husky vocals, almost ending up thinking that perhaps she could have gotten some more to do in Masayuki Suzuki's（鈴木雅之）grand "DADDY! DADDY! DO!" the following year. I think she does a great job with the music and lyrics by Satoshi Fujihara（藤原聡）, the lead vocalist of pop band Official Hige Dandism（Official髭男dism）. She's very happy flipping around those words like a happy juggler. And I'm very happy seeing those night shots of Tokyo.

As for "i", it peaked at No. 11 on Oricon. And well what do you know? She also cuts quite the rug for "Break it down", too.

Masayuki Suzuki feat. Airi Suzuki -- DADDY! DADDY! DO!

A very nice way to finish the weekend last night even during these bad times. I'd been waiting to hear the opening theme for "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai ~ Tensai-tachi no Ren'ai Zunousen"（かぐや様をこくらせたい～天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦）which apparently started up a few days ago as its second season. There were a couple of questions that I'd had: Would Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）be back to do another anison after his first foray into the genre with the amazing "Love Dramatic", the first opening theme for the show? And would the new theme be even better than or at least on the same level as "Love Dramatic"?

Well, I have to admit that the first time I heard "DADDY! DADDY! DO!" , I got a bit defensive for the sake of "Love Dramatic". But then, like a lot of commenters for the YouTube videos that have already popped up, "DADDY! DADDY! DO!" insinuated into my brain along the lines of a Ceti Alphan eel larva into a hapless Starfleet officer, and it quickly got on the same level as "Love Dramatic". The opening credits for the second season, though, aren't quite as flashy as those for the first season. Still, the folks in the first reaction video were quite happy.

As was the case with "Love Dramatic", Yoshiki Mizuno（水野良樹）was on hand again to provide words and music for "DADDY! DADDY! DO!". It still packs a concentrated funky wallop to the ears and I gotta say that Martin can still keep his title as the King of Love Songs. However, this time around, his partner is Airi Suzuki（鈴木愛理）formerly of ℃-ute. And no, they aren't related.

The single will be Martin's 40th when it's released onto the shelves in a couple of days. "Love Dramatic" hit No. 13 on the charts after its release. Let's see how this one does. Will be interested to see if the guy may also end up earning the title of the King of Anime Love Songs at this rate. Plus, I'll be waiting for any videos of stage performances of this theme later on. In any event, for fans of "Kaguya-sama", it won't be just "Oh, Mister!" anymore; it'll also be "DADDY! DADDY! DO!".

April 28 2020: Looks like the song peaked at No. 15 on Oricon as of this date.

May 25 2020: According to TV Tropes in the Season 2 part of the Shout Out section for "Kaguya-sama", the first entry notes that the cute little strut that Ishigami, Fujiwara, Osaragi and Iino do in the opening credits was based on a similar move done in a 1980s Honda commercial. I think I may have found the video. Looks like there was a ska thing going on in there. But hey, it's Madness!