Buzy -- Venus Say...

Hi, J-Canuck here. Guest contributor Fireminer is here once more to provide his thoughts on a group that lasted from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s. Enjoy!

 

Girl groups come and go, leaving a haze of jumbled lyrics and rhythms at best. In my more upbeat moments, I like to think that the temporality and impermanence quality of girl groups is something worthy of being appreciated. The Japanese have a word for that.

Anyway, if we’re talking about early 2000s J-Pop girl groups, there is this little-known outfit whose name nevertheless I’ve never forgotten - Buzy. They were originally known as COLOR, and the group was formed by in June 1998 by four students of an Osaka dance school: Touyama Nao (當山奈央), Miyazato Mio (宮里真央), Niwa Mayumi (丹羽麻由美) and Kadota Komugi (門田こむぎ). They appeared on the MBS show God of Dance (ダンスの神さん) and caught the eyes of the famous Korean producer Kim Chang-hwan, whose previous customers included legendary singer Kim Gun-mo and Shin Seung-hun. Kim picked them up, and by next year COLOR had released their first single DOUBLE OR NOTHING.

In 2001, following COLOR’s second album LOVE EXECUTE, founding member Kadota Komugi left to attend Kansai University. But the group added three new members Iwanaga Sachiko (岩永幸子), Asama Yurisa (朝間ユリサ) and Takeda Yumi (竹田侑美). They also changed their name to Buzy, which stood for “Blend, Unique, Zipping, You just wait”.

The song I want to talk about is Venus Say・・・, which came from Buzy’s single Kujira (“Whale”) released in 2004. It just sounds like something came from that period of time, when a lot of idol groups were trying to play catch-up with Koda Kumi and Hamasaki Ayumia. Main vocalist Touyama Nao did her job well enough, but the lyrics are memorable here. The song was written by Porno Graffitti's guitarist Shindou Haruichi (新藤晴一) who also wrote several other songs for Buzy. It is about someone contemplating the finite nature of man versus the infinity of life and space, then encouraging themselves to go on by imagining how hard it was for the whale who came onto land to become the first land-bound mammal. It sounds like something Porno Graffitti would sing alright.

Venus Say・・・ was used as the opening song for the anime Twin Spica (ふたつのスピカ) which, fittingly enough, was about a group of high school students aspiring to be astronaut. The lyrics of the song were changed somewhat, and that edition appeared as a bonus track on Buzy’s last album Buzy. The group broke up in 2006, and each member went on to pursue their own career. What they left though was a good song that while reflecting the trends at the time, also had its own thing to solidify its place in the memory of its audience.

Ai Furihata -- Hohoemi Note（ホホエミノオト）

 

I know that I've already put up one anison earlier today but I just couldn't let this particular one go. Heard and saw the trailer and even the opening credits sequence for this anime without the credits last night. 

I remember back in January 2017 when I posted fhana's "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）, the opening theme to the first season of the beloved "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid）, I pointed out that I was writing an article on a theme song that I was already liking but whose anime I had yet to actually see since I wasn't due to show up at my anime buddy's house for another round of anime and food for another week (although "Kobayashi-san" was probably already airing in Japan by that point). Well, it looks like I'm posting on an opening theme for an anime that no one has yet to see yet since it's not due out until early April, several weeks away.

But I gather that the original anime "Astro Note"（アストロノオト）has been getting that much buzz to have its creditless opening sequence come out so early on YouTube. And the opening song is also something that I'm getting pretty high upon. "Hohoemi Note" (Smile Note) is a happy and breezy ditty that I immediately likened to some of the pop of the 1980s and that has also been echoed in some of the writeups I've found online. It's performed by Ai Furihata（降旗愛）who already has a fair number of entries on KKP that delve into either the Neo-City Pop and/or 80s synthpop such as "Play Boy". "Hohoemi Note" is neither City Pop nor synthpop but it's 80s so I think Furihata is just the singer for it. Veteran lyricist Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）is behind the words while Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）, who has worked with Furihata before, is the composer here. As for the song itself, it won't be out as a CD until late May but would like to see and hear the complete version before then.

Furihata even has a role in "Astro Note" playing one of the motley residents of Astro Flats, underground aidoru Teruko Matsubara (松原照子). I've rather enjoyed slice-of-life anime where a group of oddly likeable characters end up together. And I'm already seeing a love triangle on the way in this one.

April 13th 2024: Ah, finally...the ending theme is here.

Ai Furihata -- Play Boy

logos-download

 

With the title and the appearance of that bunny girl in the video, yeah, I'd say that Hugh Hefner's modest magazine and club had a lot to do with it.

I just encountered this one by pure happenstance when it popped up on the right side of YouTube in the last few minutes. "Play Boy" is Ai Furihata's（降旗愛）latest digital single which was released at the end of June last week, and it's got enough of a buzzy synthesizer in there for me to consider it a synthpop creation by Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）. At the same time, the groove and funk are in there to make me think that it's also in the Neo-City Pop sphere. Furihata was responsible for the lyrics about a fellow falling for a lady (no idea on whether she's actually wearing a bunny outfit) despite her complicated nature.

The setup in "Play Boy" reminds me one time when we were having coffee in the Ginza branch of Cozy Corner, a café franchise. I'm sure that the different branches all over Tokyo have their own atmosphere and clientele reflective of the neighbourhood. The Ginza shop had plenty of very well-manicured ladies (perhaps some were club hostesses) sipping coffee while waiting for their well-to-do beaus to show up. My friend and I made sure we were in a dark and cozy corner since we certainly would have stood out for our pedestrian garb.

Yoshimi Tendo -- Hoshimizake（星見酒）

 

The great Yoshimi Tendo（天童よしみ）appeared on the latest "Uta Con"（うたコン）episode a couple of days ago to perform her most recent single which was released last month. I saw on the screen and J-Wiki that it was Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）who composed and arranged it. I'm beginning to believe that Honma could be the new version of the late Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）who was also a composer and arranger of many songs throughout many Japanese genres. Honma looks to be in the same mold as someone who helped arrange the funky Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）contributions to the "Kaguya-sama" anime franchise such as "DADDY! DADDY! DO!" and create the 80s synthpop/New Wave tunes for Ai Furihata（降幡愛）such as "CITY".

Now it looks like enka is Honma's latest genre to explore. He composed and arranged Tendo's "Hoshimizake" (Drinking While Viewing the Stars), and it might be more accurate to say that the song is a smooth blend of enka and pop especially in those opening notes. But the whole effect is as soothing and refreshing as a sake commercial set by a quiet stream of the freshest water. Kiyoshi Matsuo（松尾潔）was responsible for the lyrics.

In fact, I'm surprised that I haven't yet heard of any sake company using "Hoshimizake" as its campaign song. Just bring a friend, an ochoko-and-tokkuri set, a bottle of the finest Juyondai and good memories while the song is playing.

Masayuki Suzuki feat. Reni Takagi -- Love is Show

 

Well, last night, I finally got to view the latest segment of the anime adaptation of "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai"（かぐや様は告らせたい...Kaguya-sama: Love is War） in the form of a movie that had come out in theatres in Japan just before Xmas last year and just after Season 3. Titled "First Kiss wa Owaranai"（ファーストキッスは終わらない...The First Kiss That Never Ends）, it was basically four extra episodes tied together into a little less than an hour and forty-five minutes and dealt with the consequences of that fateful fully-anticipated kiss between Kaguya and Miyuki. You might say that it was Season 3.33.

Last night for that Portable Rock article, I'd used that Data/Lore scene from "Star Trek: Picard" as a bit of an analogy for Maki Nomiya（野宮真貴）. I think that it would be even more fitting for this article, too. There was an even more pitched battle in the mind of Kaguya with four different aspects going toe to toe with each other. To be honest, I hadn't been all that enthused about "First Kiss wa Owaranai" because Season 3 seemed a bit of a letdown. I'd always preferred it when Kaguya and Miyuki were overusing their intellects against each other to hilarious effect and it was getting pretty obvious that the status quo was evolving rapidly between these two. But of course for the fans of the franchise, I understand that this is indeed a romantic comedy instead of it just being a comedy.

However, I actually did enjoy "First Kiss" even though the comic elements, though still there, were more muted. After all, the thrust of this extended episode was how the two main characters struggled with not only what had happened on top of the clock tower but also their own deeply embedded psychological knots that needed to unravel if a romantic relationship could actually have a healthy chance of working. I think the the fact it all came out into the open rather than being teased a few times over the past few seasons made it more satisfying for me. 

Knowing that "First Kiss" had come out around Xmas in Japan, I was wondering when it would show up here on this side of the Pacific. Well, I started seeing videos of the glorious opening credit sequence from around last week and so I figured that the movie was finally seeing the light of day on platforms such as Crunchyroll. Of course, this brings me to another reason that I enjoyed the movie which is the traditional Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）and friend's funky opening theme.

"Love is Show" is sung by Martin and Momoiro Clover Z's（ももいろクローバーZ）Reni Takagi（高城れに）and has the same fellows backing them up in songwriting, lyricist/composer Yoshiki Mizuno（水野良樹）and arranger Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）. It still doesn't reach the sublime heights of "Love Dramatic" and "DADDY! DADDY! DO!" for the first two seasons of "Kaguya-sama" but I think that it does edge out Season 3's "GIRI GIRI" which took a while for me to warm up to. 

Hearing the whole song and watching the barnstorming opening credits had me thinking that this was a new and happier beginning for the franchise. "Love is Show" seems lighter, bouncier and more hopeful with that good ol' disco intro, and after watching the movie, I was humming it in the shower. Good sign right there!

(Yup, the video has been taken down.)

I saw through one of the comments that the opening credits for the theatrical version were very different from the one that has come out on streaming. Indeed, I did find this one video (which may not be up all that long) that has those early credits showing scenes from past seasons. As such, I prefer the ones for the small screen presentation but the theatrical credits aren't too bad either.

I heard that the original manga finally reached its end last November but another commenter mentioned rather ambitiously that the anime may have around three more seasons' worth of material. We shall see but my feeling is that the first big phase of "Kaguya-sama" has reached its ending, and maybe there will be some intense discussions among the producers about whether that's all she wrote for the anime wing.

Pornograffitti -- Melissa（メリッサ）

From Wikipedia

At one point several years ago, my brother mentioned that he had read or seen at least some of the popular manga and anime "Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi"（鋼の錬金術師）, otherwise known as "Fullmetal Alchemist". The anime had a one-year run between 2003 and 2004 involving the Brothers Elric on a quest to search for the Philosopher's Stone.

I never got into "Fullmetal Alchemist" myself but I certainly recognize hearing that first opening theme song for the anime "Melissa" since it was another one of Pornograffitti's（ポルノグラフィティ）hits during the 2000s. In fact, it was the band's 12th single released in September 2003, and as has been the case with many a Pornograffitti song, it's darn catchy thanks to Akimitsu Honma's（本間昭光）bouncy composition (known back then as ak.homma) with guitarist Haruichi Shindo's（新藤晴一）lyrics. That B-verse is especially romantic and sweeping. I used to see the song up on the various music ranking charts and music shows but never realized that this had been an anison.

As for how the song got its title, it didn't have anything to do with any of the band members having a relationship with a lass named Melissa. Instead, it was a word that lyricist Shindo had seen in the dictionary from time to time. Initially, he had thought about going with a prospective title "Messe" because he simply liked how it sounded, but when he discovered that it meant "trade fair", he fled over to the word (and not the lady) Melissa. The above information I got through J-Wiki with the original source being an October 2003 issue of "PATi・PATi".

The official music video definitely had the Pornograffitti guys exploring their inner adventurers. Directed by Ryuji Seki（セキ★リュウジ）, the video went for an otherworldly setting with Shindo enthusiastically wishing for some stage combat. Well, that he got as he was cast as a warrior while vocalist Akihito Okano（岡野昭仁）got to be a clown and bassist Tama became a scientist. It would fit the "Fullmetal Alchemist" aesthetic, I gather.

"Melissa" hit No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies and it ended 2003 as the 34th-ranked single. It even held on for another year to finish as the 66th-ranked single for 2004, going Platinum. Its first album was "PORNO GRAFFITTI BEST BLUE'S", their 2nd BEST compilation from July 2004 which scored a No. 1 ranking, and ultimately No. 9 on the yearly rankings, becoming a million-seller.

Ai Furihata -- Ai wa Kokoro no Shigoto desu（愛は心の仕事です）

 

Since first discovering singer-songwriter Ai Furihata（降幡愛）and her brand of 80s synthpop and City Pop amid the backdrop of Vaporwave aesthetics a couple of years ago, I've been charmed into purchasing her debut mini-album "Moonrise" which came out in September 2020. As well, earlier this year, Furihata released her first mini-album of cover tunes, "Memories of Romance in Summer", which includes her take on Meiko Nakahara's（中原めいこ）classic "Kimi Tachi Kiwi Papaya Mango da ne" （君たちキウイ・パパヤ・マンゴだね。）.

Just by pure dumb luck last night, I found out that Furihata will be putting out a second mini-album of cover tunes "Memories of Romance in Driving" which won't be due out actually for a few more weeks. The release date is September 28th. However, one of the tracks' music video is out now and before I knew about the source album, it took me half the song to realize that "Ai wa Kokoro no Shigoto desu" is a cover of late 80s band RAMU's debut single from 1988.

Also to remind folks, RAMU had aidoru Momoko Kikuchi（菊池桃子）fully envelop that City Pop sensation to become the group's vocalist. I had my own translation for "Ai wa Kokoro no Shigoto desu", but I actually prefer the translation given under the YouTube video: "Love Is A Work Of Mind". The RAMU original had been created by lyricist Masao Urino（売野雅勇）and composer Tsunehiro Izumi（和泉常寛）, and basically the arrangement by Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）follows the same pattern but there seems to be more of a ramp-up in the spacey synths, and the music video is the Vaporwave anime that no one saw coming but has arrived triumphantly nonetheless. Another point that characterizes this cover is that contrasted with Kikuchi's famously breathy delivery, Furihata packs a fair amount of punch into her singing, especially when she sings out "I My Me Mine, My Boy".

Furihata on her YouTube channel has also provided a tasting platter video for "Memories of Romance in Driving", so enjoy the tidbits.

Little Black Dress -- Gyakuten no Regina（逆転のレジーナ）

 

The above is a trailer for the June 17th 2022 theatrical OVA version of one of the "Kaito Queen"（怪盗クイーン...Mirage Queen） novel series which began in 2002. Specifically, according to Wikipedia, the adaptation is of the first novel, "Kaito Queen wa Circus ga O-suki"（怪盗クイーンはサーカスがお好き..."Mirage Queen Aime Cirque"）. Additionally, from the website "My Anime List", I found out that the whole ball of wax involves a charismatic phantom thief queen who travels on an airship looking for treasure to pillage and adventures to experience. For this particular episode, the Queen has to match wits and guile with a bunch of talented and shrewd circus performers.

Now, I'd never heard of either the novel series or this particular OVA. The information came by when I was doing the research for its theme song "Gyakuten no Regina" (The Queen Turns the Tables) performed by Little Black Dress who also showed up on "Uta Con"（うたコン）a few nights ago right after Goro Noguchi（野口五郎）.

Back in the fall last year, I wrote my first article on Little Black Dress when she had appeared on "Uta Con" for the first time as a young musician who also enjoyed the old kayo. Her 2nd indies digital download single "Nora Ningen"（野良ニンゲン）from June 2019 had me thinking of Misia when it came to her vocalization, while the song had some Ringo Shiina（椎名林檎）vibes. However, as for "Gyakuten no Regina" which is her 3rd major single that came out on June 8th this year, the NHK host introduced the song as an example of Reiwa Era City Pop. 

Hmmm...perhaps I'll have to hear some more examples of this Reiwa City Pop but I'll still throw in the label of City Pop since the composer is none other than Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, a master of the genre's melodies (and he has already made an appearance on KKP earlier today). Neko Oikawa（及川眠子）took care of the lyrics with Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）handling arrangement. But no complaints at all about the dynamic "Gyakuten no Regina" with the horns; there's something quite Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra here (with no ska, though), and I do like the suspense infused into it.

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".

Ai Furihata -- Kimi Tachi Kiwi Papaya Mango da ne （君たちキウイ・パパヤ・マンゴだね。）

 

When I first got to know Ai Furihata（降幡愛）, it was through her love letter to the synthpop of the early 1980s via her original "City" from 2020.

I had been under the impression that the native of Nagano Prefecture was gradually pulling away from that aspect of Japanese pop music, but then a few days ago her official YouTube channel put this tasty cocktail up. This time, it's a love letter to an actual song made all the way back in the 1980s by City Pop singer Meiko Nakahara（中原めいこ）.

But the snazzy original "Kimi Tachi Kiwi Papaya Mango da ne" (You're All Kiwis, Papayas and Mangoes, Aren't You?) by Nakahara with Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）helping out with the lyrics isn't a City Pop song by any means, instead being her version of a swing Latin jazz fest which became one of her trademark tunes. Furihata is covering it here as part of her first mini-album of cover tunes, "Memories of Romance in Summer", due out on April 27th. The synthesizers are more in play here than any actual jazz band but the happy vibes from Nakahara's original are still fully infused, thanks to arranger Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）. What also makes it wonderful is the clever music video which creates an anime version of Furihata (I think) in a sequence resembling either an opening or closing credits sequence of an 80s or 90s anime.

Speaking of that video, the style reminds me of the incredible anime music video for Dua Lipa's "Levitation", and that shouldn't be surprising because both it and Furihata's video were produced by the same artist, NOSTALOOK.

Masayuki Suzuki feat. Suu -- GIRI GIRI

 

Well, we knew from about a year ago that the third season of "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai"（かぐや様は告らせたい...Kaguya-sama: Love is War）, aka "Ultra Romantic"（ウルトラロマンティック）, was on its way which got all of the fans nicely simmering for several months. Then as the date drew near, the trailer for Season 3 appeared which displayed the usual nuttiness among the characters although there will be the inevitable dramatic episode. And then, the final piece made its presence known a few weeks ago, and that was the necessary Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）opening theme. The scuttlebutt has been in place that it wouldn't be a "Kaguya-sama" show without the golden vocals from The King of Love Songs.

OK, now, for the sake of total transparency, when I did hear "GIRI GIRI" with Martin and featured performer Sumire Yoshida（吉田菫）, aka Suu（すぅ）, of the band Silent Siren, for the first time at the beginning of April, I have to admit that I had been a little underwhelmed. I'm not sure what it was but it didn't quite hit right with me like the first opener "Love Dramatic" and "DADDY! DADDY! DO!" did right from the get-go. However, happily (and I figured that it would do so), "GIRI GIRI" has grown on me quickly over the past few weeks, especially seeing the opening credits for Season 3.

Moreover, it certainly appears that I was in the minority when it came to first reactions. Anyways, it's Martin and this time Suu blasting out the soul and funk once more to get folks into their happy dancing place. And as has been the case with the other two openers, it's Ikimonogakari（いきものがかり）leader Yoshiki Mizuno（水野良樹）handling words and music with Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）arranging everything. I can reassure everyone that the catchiness is back in me and I'm even happier since this time, the full song, which has suddenly proliferated like cherry blossoms in Tokyo in March on YouTube, has a cool sax solo.

According to Suzuki's official YouTube channel which has the music video with him and Suu below, "GIRI GIRI" is available for download as of today. The CD single won't be ready until June 8th. Regardless the fans are funking it up now.

Ai Furihata -- Secret Sugar（シークレット・シュガー）

 

There was a time during my long stay in Japan in which I was attending my fair share of weddings. It seemed as if I were heading to the ceremonies and receptions every few months. Naturally, they were very happy affairs although I was worried about the amount of money that I had to hand over in those special envelopes as part of the traditions. However, I definitely enjoyed the lion's share of food at those receptions, and if anyone is lucky enough to be invited to a wedding in Nagoya or the larger area of Aichi Prefecture, accept it! Those folks especially really go all out for the party atmosphere and the cuisine.

I've been out of the wedding-attending zone for about two decades now. At my age, most likely the next wedding that I will attend will be the one for my niece and that probably won't be for many years to come. So, listening to Ai Furihata's（降幡愛）"Secret Sugar" and watching the adorable video above, I got some of those old memories of seeing friends getting hitched, although in a couple of cases unfortunately, they ended up in divorce.

When it comes to Furihata's contributions on the blog so far, I've been accustomed to hearing her provide her form of Neo-City Pop and 80s-style synthpop such as the first song that I'd ever heard from her, "City". "Secret Sugar" is a totally different animal altogether although it was created by the same duo behind those urban contemporary tunes, Furihata herself on lyrics and Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）on melody. "Secret Sugar" is a song that was provided on her September 2021 single "Honeymoon"（ハネムーン）and it's very much in the happy and folksy pop vein, almost along the same lines of an old Carpenters song and maybe some of those 60s Brill Building tunes. The two even incorporate a grand version of "The Wedding March" in the instrumental bridge. The single, by the way, peaked at No. 29 on Oricon.

Ai Furihata -- Moonrise

 

I've been following a few songs by seiyuu/singer-songwriter Ai Furihata（降幡愛）for over a year now, and it was enough for me to pull the trigger and get her debut mini-album "Moonrise" from September 2020. It's a bit quaint when I wrote my first article on her "CITY" since I noted that it was still a few months before the release of that one.

Although I've never watched any of the anime which has included her in the voice actor cast, I still just want to note that Furihata played the role of cute-as-all-get-out Ruby Kurosawa（黒澤ルビィ）in "Love Live! Sunshine!!"（ラブライブ!サンシャイン!!）back in 2016. But from listening to "CITY" and "Cinderella Time"（シンデレラタイム） which happen to be the first two tracks on "Moonrise", this album isn't an aidoru one at all. It's more in the synthpop area or even loving tribute to City Pop or J-AOR of the 1980s. The music video for "CITY" really emphasizes that part. In addition, all of the 6 tracks were given their lyrics by Furihata with Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）providing the music and overall sound production for "Moonrise". The singer herself has given some brief remarks in the liner notes for each of the songs.

Track 3 is "Y no Higeki"（Yの悲劇...Y's Tragedy）, and it's a short and straight-ahead ska tune about a woman who's at her wits' end with her boyfriend's teasing. Not only do I get Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra vibes but even some old Chanels' doo-wop in there. According to Furihata herself, the number of times that the word "YADA" (I hate it!) pops up from her and the background chorus is 108. Feel free to confirm this if you have the time.

Next is the techno-Latin sound of "Love Song wo Kakete"（ラブソングをかけて...Put On A Love Song）, a pretty happy tune on the outside about trying to recover from a romantic breakup on the inside. Furihata mentions that she had noticed that she was only coming up with sad songs and although the lyrics are still in that vein, I guess that she consulted with Honma to see if he could at least make it sound cheerful. That he did since any listeners who don't understand Japanese wouldn't guess that this was anything but a happy-go-lucky tune devoted to the Caribbean. Instead, Furihata sings out a request for someone to put on a lullaby-sounding love song to get her to sleep.

As with "Love Song wo Kakete", my expectations were also kinda twisted inside and out with the next number "Poolside Cocktail"（プールサイドカクテル）. From that title, I had been thinking of something bossa nova or calypso regarding a calm summertime date by the pool. Even Furihata mentions how surprised she was at Honma's choice of melody for this one which is actually more on the technopop and spacey side of things. And yet, the singer's lyrics are still on the sad side as apparently that pool is the setting for unrequited love.

Both Furihata and I were on point here. When I first heard this final track "Out of Blue", I immediately got those 1980s ballad vibes a la Chicago or TOTO, and sure enough, the singer in those liner notes cited that she was going for that decade and that style of song. I almost thought that Peter Cetera was suddenly going to jump into the singing. With those lyrics, I can imagine Furihata looking tearfully at the setting sun while realizing that one can't go back home again temporally or spatially and that forward is the only path left.

"Moonrise" got as high as No. 18 on Oricon. It's not an instant classic but I think it's got a goodly amount of fun music that will grow on me over time.

Ai Furihata -- Cinderella Time（シンデレラタイム）

 

I guess that I was rather curious about what Halloween in Tokyo might look like this year so I just took a gander at the back footage from "SHIBUYA COMMUNITY NEWS"  on YouTube which has that live camera pointed straight at the Shibuya Scramble intersection. Nope, I gather the 23rd is considered to be a bit early and perhaps still somewhat gun-shy because of COVID-19, people were not coming out. But according to the website for "The Japan Times", it seems like the area is getting ready for a return of the masses or at least some fraction of them in their Halloween best or worst. I'll keep an eye out over the next several days.

Anyways, Halloween might also be the opportunity for all sorts of folks to come on out as Sailor Moon or characters from "Evangelion" or something as traditional as Cinderella which is why I'm bringing this song here tonight. "Cinderella Time" is another track from Ai Furihata's（降幡愛）September 2020 mini-album "Moonrise" which also has the first song by Furihata that I ever introduced, "CITY".

My intro for the "CITY" article whimsically posed the question of what if an aidoru-esque Midori Karashima（辛島美登里）and Michael Sembello from the 1980s had collaborated. I answered my rhetorical query with "CITY". I'll be doing the same over here. What if Furihata channeled all sorts of melodic goodness from Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）and Taeko Ohnuki/Ryuichi Sakamoto（大貫妙子・坂本龍一）of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Well, I think "Cinderella Time" may be the result.

"Cinderella Time" is actually the brainchild of Furihata on lyrics and Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）on music but there is that dramatic longing of a Yuming（ユーミン）pop tune from that period of time that I hear in this one along with the some of the synthpop blippity-bloppity quirks and chord shifts which I've also come across in the Ohnuki and Sakamoto collaborations. Furihata's lyrics basically tell the age-old tale from Cinderella's vantage point if she were Japanese and living in an old danchi in Takashimadaira. "Cinderella Time" doesn't break any molds but it's still an interesting song to listen to considering the influences.

Ai Furihata -- Purple Eye Shadow（パープルアイシャドウ）

 

Last summer, I introduced an intriguing song, "CITY", by singer/seiyuu Ai Furihata（降幡愛）from the group Aqours who has had her own solo outings since last year. "CITY" just had this neo-City Pop vibe and maybe even more prominently, just this very 80s feeling about it.

"Purple Eye Shadow" is the lead track from Furihata's 2nd mini-album, "Makeup"（メイクアップ）, which was released in December 2020, and as with "CITY", Furihata was responsible for the lyrics while Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）came up with the music. Also, the video about a love triangle has that similar Vaporwave sheen to it.

With "CITY", I compared it to songs such as Michael Sembello's "Maniac" from the "Flashdance" soundtrack and Olivia Newton-John's "Twist of Fate" (whose video has the singer putting on a pound of lipstick). However, with the slightly haunting "Purple Eye Shadow", I don't think that there is as much of a City Pop sound although the 80s are still alive and well in the song. Accompanying Furihata's vocals, which still remarkably resemble those of Midori Karashima（辛島美登里）, is a battery of synth-horns with some interesting blasts and descending riffs. Not the melody itself but the use of those horns reminds me a bit of the arrangement behind Dionne Warwick's "Heartbreaker" from 1982, and I think some of the melodic exploration which is going on in the song has me thinking of Chicago or Steely Dan in small parts. Just maybe, there is perhaps even some Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）from that very decade among the notes.

As for the cast in the video, the young lady is played by actress/TV personality Ayano Kudo（工藤綾乃）, and the guys are actors Shun Nishime（西銘駿）and Yuuya Uno（宇野結也）.

Ai Furihata -- CITY

Well, my age-old question has finally been answered. What if an aidoru-esque Midori Karashima（辛島美登里）and Michael Sembello from the 1980s collaborated?

Yes, rather tongue-in-cheek for a Tuesday but that's the favourable impression that I got when I first saw "CITY", a track from the mini-album "Moonrise" which isn't even due to be released until late September 2020. The singer behind it is Ai Furihata（降幡愛）who is also a seiyuu hailing from Nagano Prefecture.

Furihata wrote the lyrics with Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）providing the music. That melody sounds so much like early 1980s Billboard-friendly pop that I felt like Honma must have been inspired by Sembello's "Maniac" from the immensely popular "Flashdance" soundtrack or maybe even Oliva Newton-John's "Twist of Fate" hit single. As for lyricist-singer Furihata, a good chunk of her voice reminds me a lot of singer-songwriter Karashima because of that nasality. Then, there's that music video which pretty much yells out "I LOVE VAPORWAVE!".

Along with her work on anime, I also found out that Furihata is also a member of the anime aidoru group Aqours found in "Love Live! Sunshine!!". Shuka Saito（斉藤朱夏）, who I wrote about recently, is also a member.

Here's "Twist of Fate"!

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!

Masayuki Suzuki feat. Rikka Ihara -- Love Dramatic（ラブ・ドラマティック）

Nearly halfway through February, my anime buddy and I have finally gotten into the current Winter 2019 season of anime. Up until yesterday, some of the anison themes have been OK but not spectacular. Then, we saw this show:

Yup, "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai ~ Tensai-tachi no Ren'ai Zunousen"（かぐや様は告らせたい〜天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦〜）, which translates directly as "Kaguya Wants to be Confessed to: The Geniuses' War of Love and Brains" (thank you, Wikipedia) although the official English title is "Kaguya-sama: Love is War", has quickly become my go-to anime of the season. A comedy of errors and misunderstandings featuring two main characters who would make great neighbours in the same luxury condo in Seattle where Frasier Crane lives, the above situation is just one of the highlights. Also, I love the hilarity in the soundtrack lifting riffs from "Tokyo Love Story" and "Winter Sonata".

Then, there is the opening theme. I can now enter another item in my growing list of "Never Saw That Coming". To explain, I had never expected soulful Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）to contribute one of his own tunes to an anime, but as soon as the snazzy opening credits started rolling, that was indeed Martin's voice singing "Love Dramatic" featuring actress Rikka Ihara（伊原六花）.

Some fellow on YouTube commented that this was quite the surprise in putting in a song that sounds like a theme from some old 1980s J-Drama. And I would agree since Martin does love the old funk/soul, and both commenter and I like "Love Dramatic" very much. The song will become his 39th single (and indeed, according to J-Wiki, this is his first anison) when it's released in a couple of weeks at the end of February, and my buddy has already remarked that he will be picking this up. The song was actually written and composed by Yoshiki Mizuno（水野良樹）, the leader of the band Ikimonogakari（いきものがかり）.

It was good to know that I've got my first anime earworm for 2019. A year ago, the Winter 2018 earworm came to me in this anime. Also liked the opening credits there.

Kohmi Hirose -- I Wish/Koi no Best 10（恋のベスト10）

With the forecast of some flurries in the next 48 hours, I gather that winter is not too far around the corner, although officially, it's actually more than 2 months away. Of course, in the world of J-Pop, that means that some of us old-timers will be thinking of The Queen of Winters, singer-songwriter Kohmi Hirose（広瀬香美）, once more. I think she may be the one singer who can remind listeners of the cold season but not necessarily of Xmas.

Considering that only the very short versions of these music videos exist on YouTube, I've decided to cover these two singles that Hirose released in 1999. First off, her 15th single, "I Wish", came out in January right smack dab in the snow and ski season. Not surprisingly, it and her 16th single were the campaign songs for the Japanese sporting goods company, Alpen. It and Hirose shared a long history with each other.

"I Wish" is a mellow love song that could be served with a nice hot buttered rum. It has that theme of snow but also about trying to slough off all of that negativity in life and the news and jump into a better tomorrow. Meanwhile, the music video above tells of the story of a lovelorn Russian who really needs to meet his heroine, Ms. Hirose herself, and tell her how he feels. The single reached No. 15 on Oricon.

Hirose's 16th single was released later in November just coming up to another winter. "Koi no Best 10" (Best 10 of Love) is much more of a dance beat-filled pop tune that had me thinking a bit of Jamiroquai. This one only got as high as No. 33, but I still gotta say that the singer could come up with some pretty nice hooks for her tunes.

Heck, you can take a gander at all of Hirose-Alpen collaborations right here.

Ayumi Hamasaki -- poker face

Went out with some good friends to catch "Wonder Woman" today. It's been a while since I've seen a blockbuster flick so early in its release so it was actually rather nice to hear some laughter and emotion from the larger audience. As for the movie itself, I was quite happy for DC that they finally got the successful superhero movie they had been desperate for. No guarantees on what "Justice League" will be like later this year but at least they've got one hit on their hands.

I wrote my first Ayumi Hamasaki（浜崎あゆみ）article just a little over 2 years ago and related the fact that I was never such a big fan of hers aside from a few exceptions such as "SEASONS". However, I cannot deny that a decade or so ago, she was pretty much the female pop superstar in Japan. Figuratively speaking, I could have thrown a rock somewhere through the TV airwaves and there would have been a good chance that it would have struck a performance or a music video of the lass.

Furthermore, even with my relative apathy toward her music, I'm fairly certain that if a few bars of her music flowed into my ears, I would still be able to identify it as a Hamasaki tune. She was that widespread in the pop culture zeitgeist going into the 21st century. Even listening to her very first single "poker face", there was a certain piece of melody that fired off some memory engrams in my head.

I have to admit that listening to the whole song and watching the music video at the top, I did get some flow of nostalgia due to the 90s synthesizer work and seeing a fresh-faced Hamasaki performing. There was none of that heavy makeup, blonde tresses and the glamour that would characterize her looks during the prime of her career. It was just that Fukuoka-born woman barely in her 20s launching her way to stardom.

"poker face" was released in April 1998 with Hamasaki writing the lyrics and Yasuhiko Hoshino（星野靖彦）providing the melody. It peaked at No. 20 on Oricon. The song (and her next 4 singles) was also part of her debut album "A Song For xx" from January 1999 that had a couple of consecutive runs at No. 1 before ending the century as the 16th-ranked album of the year. It not only went Platinum but also earned Best Album honours at the Japan Record Awards.