TM Network -- Get Wild Continual

 

As you probably already know, I don't really watch too many Japanese dramas or movies anymore so when I first found out about the debonair actor Ryohei Suzuki（鈴木亮平）, it was actually through the distinct travelogue program on NHK, "Sekai wa Hoshiimono ni Afureteru"（世界はほしいモノにあるふれてる...This World is Filled With Wants） since he was the co-host.

It was also through the program that I found out that Suzuki has quite the prowess with the English language.

But then, thanks to a gift from JTM, I finally got to see Suzuki in his first element and it was as the Ryo Saeba（冴羽獠）in the Netflix adaptation of the beloved "City Hunter"（シティーハンター）. I'd heard about its development and initially I wasn't all that optimistic considering that another popular manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action adaptation, "Cowboy Be-Bop" didn't exactly impress viewers or critics. 

I caught the April 2024 "City Hunter" movie (wished it was a TV series) yesterday and it was definitely fun to watch. I'd only seen a few episodes here and there of the original anime from the late 1980s and then the most recent movie in the anime franchise a few years ago at my anime buddy's house. So, I had the gist of the main characters of Ryo and his long-suffering partner-in-crimefighting, Kaori Makimura（槇村香）, with all of the mokkori, 2-tonne mallets and Ryo's seemingly superhuman abilities. Strangely enough, the plot in the movie includes some special solution that reminded me of Captain America's Super-Soldier serum.

The movie was indeed a hoot and Suzuki didn't just play Saeba; he was Saeba, perverted interests and all. I can pretty much guarantee inbound tourism to Shinjuku has increased since the show premiered. I can definitely use a sequel.

Of course, any iteration of "City Hunter" practically demands an iteration of TM Network's "Get Wild". The two are now solidly joined at the hip with "Get Wild" being the unofficial calling card for the anime and the live-action show. In fact, we've already had two other articles on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" on "Get Wild" with my take and Marcos' take.

I have to say that this latest version, "Get Wild Continual", which was released as TM Network's 47th single only a few days before the premiere of the Netflix show, was a thrill to hear during the shiny end credits...probably on the same level as hearing Alan Silvestri's "Avengers" theme when the Avengers show up. Having said that and watching the above video of the three much-older members walking slowly toward each other in the darkness of Shinjuku, there did seem a bit of melancholy within the still-dynamic arrangement as if the underlying message were "Can't be doing this again and again all that much longer", especially with the inclusion of the band's past videos from decades ago. 

However, I am hopeful for another live-action "City Hunter" entry and another rendition of "Get Wild". Perhaps that can be called "Get Wild Eternal".

Yurie Kokubu -- Only In My Dreams

 

Welcome to another Urban Contemporary Friday here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". The Bing AI art generator was kind enough to come up with this sunset (or sunrise) drive on a city highway, and I can imagine that the radio might be on for some accompanying music.

I can also imagine Ryo Saeba of "City Hunter" fame driving a red convertible on an intracity highway in Tokyo while listening to this soulful ballad. "Only In My Dreams" is sung by Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）and it hails from one of the many soundtracks for the long-running anime franchise. Specifically, it's on the soundtrack for 1989's cinematic entry "Ai to Shukumei no Magnum"（愛と宿命のマグナム...A Magnum of Love and Destiny [although the English title has it as ".357 Magnum"]）. Lyrics were by Momoko Kitadai*（北代桃子）while the melody was concocted by Tatsumi Yano（矢野立美）. 

Strangely enough, "Only In My Dreams" doesn't strike me as having a really strong City Pop beat. This isn't to denigrate it in any way...I think the ballad hovers nicely over the dividing line between the Japanese urban contemporary and straight-up pop in terms of the arrangements. However, whichever way one slices it, it's got plenty of romance and perhaps it can involve the lone wolf Ryo and any number of his femme fatales...maybe even Kaori Makimura without the mallet.

*According to J-Wiki, she's now known as singer Momoko Suzuki（鈴木桃子）.

GWINKO -- Downtown Game

 

I guess when it comes to the gift that keeps on giving, folks who are both into anime and City Pop would feel that "City Hunter" is the motherlode because of its setting of Shinjuku in Tokyo and some of those nifty theme songs by singers such as Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）and Yasuyuki Okamura（岡村靖幸）. Hey, walking into West Shinjuku at night will always give me those "Ai yo Kienai de"（愛よ消えないで）vibes.

Commenter Fireminer let me know about GWINKO's contribution to the "City Hunter" discography the other day, and certainly GWINKO has been a singer who has delved happily into R&B and City Pop. She provided the opening theme song for the 1991 edition of the franchise, "City Hunter '91" which ran from April to October of that year. Looking at the opening credits above, it sure looks like Ryo Saeba（冴羽獠）was as incorrigible as ever.

"Downtown Game" was GWINKO's penultimate single to date from April 1991 and perhaps true to the time, there is a drawing of sophisticated pop as well as some New Jack Swing into the overall City Pop, thanks to Masao Kuzuba's（崩場将夫）melody (the translation in the credits has the last name given as "Houba" for some reason) and Nobuyuki Shimizu's（清水信之）sparkling arrangement (he was also responsible for the arrangement of Okamura's contribution "SUPER GIRL"). The lyrics were written up by Goro Matsui（松井五郎）and they seem to be describing the typical adventure of Saeba and Makimura among the bright lights and big city of Tokyo. Although the Bubble was in the process of bursting that year if it hadn't already done so, life in the "City Hunter" world was still so money apparently.

Yasuyuki Okamura -- SUPER GIRL

Along with the usual anime for this season, the main presentation at my anime buddy's house yesterday was the 2019 anime film version of "City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes". I was surprised to find out that this was actually the first time that the anime got the motion picture treatment after three seasons on the telly back in the late 1980s...even after live-action versions coming out, including the one with Jackie Chan (which I will probably not see).

It was very entertaining with Ryo Saeba（冴羽獠）, Kaori Makimura（槇村香）and the rest teaming up to fight some 21st-century evil seemingly emerging from "Terminator", and that included some special guests in the form of the "Cat's Eye" sisters. Plus, the home front of Shinjuku got that update with the Godzilla in East Shinjuku and the new shopping complex at the south end of JR Shinjuku Station which got built after I'd left Japan permanently almost a decade ago. Of course, those gargantuan hammers also returned to set Ryo straight.

One of the other aspects from the movie was that it being a love letter to "City Hunter" fans, plenty of the themes and insert songs from the original three seasons popped up here and there including the arguably most famous one, the kickass "Get Wild" by TM Network, and my personal favourite, the very first opening theme, "Ai yo Kienai de"（愛よ消えないで）by Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）which seems to be as much a welcome to Shinjuku of the 1980s as it is to the world of being a City Hunter.

I think one other song that popped up briefly was "SUPER GIRL" by funky singer-songwriter Yasuyuki Okamura（岡村靖幸）which served as the first ending theme for the second season of "City Hunter". Yes, indeed, about a quarter-century before anime fans got served up with the amazing "Viva Namida"（ビバナミダ）from "Space Dandy", Okamura released "SUPER GIRL" as his 6th single in April 1988. Not quite as epic as "Get Wild" or as personally beloved as "Ai wo Kienai de", the city funk and joy of living in Bubble Era Tokyo is still fun to the ears, and wouldn't it be something for the fans to run all over West Shinjuku while listening to this one?

With Nobuyuki Shimizu（清水信之）handling the good-times-in-Shinjuku arrangement, the lyrics of "SUPER GIRL" read like Ryo's super-charged libido desperately trying to bring in his latest beautiful and endangered client, much to Kaori's anger, jealousy and... hammers of varying weights (usually 100 tonnes). It's just a pity that the song got no higher than No. 92 on Oricon. "SUPER GIRL" was also a track on Okamura's 2nd album "Date" from March 1988, reaching No. 42 on the album charts.

Feel free to witness the buffet of hammers flying here.

PSY-S/Shoko Nakagawa -- Angel Night ~ Tenshi no Iru Basho（天使のいる場所）

I had no idea that PSY-S' "Angel Night ~ Tenshi no Iru Basho" (Place of Angels) was used as one of the opening themes for the "City Hunter"（シティーハンター）franchise. It's been on a couple of BEST compilations by the eclectic band but there was no mention of its placement.

In point of fact, "Angel Night" was the first opening theme for Season 2 of "City Hunter" which was followed by Fence of Defence's "SARA". However, the PSY-S contribution to the anime has that energy which starts off another crackling episode. Still, there is no doubt that it is a PSY-S tune. It was composed by Masaya Matsuura（松浦雅也）and written by Yukio Matsuo（松尾由紀夫）, and of course, the amazing CHAKA is on vocals.

"Angel Night" was also PSY-S' 7th single from April 1988. Although it isn't listed on J-Wiki how high the song rated on Oricon, it's difficult to imagine that the song didn't get into the Top 100 during the week somehow. Mind you, I think of the opening and ending themes for "City Hunter" that have been put up so far on the blog, "City Hunter: Ai yo Kienai de"（愛よ消えないで）still comes out on top for me. An album version of "Angel Night" is on their 5th album "Non-Fiction" from August in the same year.

Tarento and illustrator Shoko Nakagawa（中川翔子）brought her own cover of "Angel Night" in 2010 through her album "Shokotan Covers 3 ~ Anison wa Jinrui wo Tsunagu ~"（しょこたん☆かばー3 〜アニソンは人類をつなぐ〜...Anison Will Bring Humanity Together） which peaked at No. 10.

Yuko Ohtaki -- Mr. Private Eye

In my first article on singer Yuko Ohtaki（大滝裕子）, I mentioned that I had never heard of her before I discovered that she sang the coolest jingle for a yogurt drink. Well, that is still true, her name hadn't been known to me but I have heard her before.

Actually, when my anime buddy was kind enough to give me a copy of some of his large collection of anison some years back, it included "City Hunter OAS Volume 1". Included in it was "Mr. Private Eye" which was sung by Ohtaki. To me, it doesn't have a City Pop feeling but it does remind me in parts of some of the music that was playing about in the West during the late 1980s, especially when it came to those teenage movies starring Molly Ringwald (maybe it's The Psychedelic Furs).

Regardless, "Mr. Private Eye" is pretty darn cheerful, and Ohtaki delivers it as if she were a very grateful client to the man of "City Hunter", Ryo Saeba, which would probably arouse him to no end (is that a 100t hammer I see coming up there?).

Anyways, the song was created by Linda Hennrick and Ryoichi Kuniyoshi（国吉良一）. I'm not absolutely certain when "City Hunter OAS Volume 1" came out but I think it was 1989. It has also been placed on a remastered version of Ohtaki's 1980 debut album "Million Kiss"（ミリオン・キス）which was released in 2010 according to J-Wiki (although the year may be wrong since there is an entry on Japanese music blog "Music Avenue" about that remastered album and it's dated 2008) as a CD. Those extra tracks include some more City Pop and her contributions to "City Hunter" and even the detective series "Abunai Deka"（あぶない刑事...Dangerous Detectives）.

TM Network -- Get Wild

One thing I learned from "Banana Zero Music"（バナナ♪ゼロミュージック）the other day was that Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）, songwriter, producer and owner of his own musical boom in the mid-1990s, revealed on the show that he had his own key to creating at least some of his big hits. Apparently, whenever he started working on his songs, he began with the chords A-minor, F, G and C. He said that "DEPARTURES", his successful tune with his band globe, was based on this golden combination.

And when Komuro was with his old band TM Network, the chords came in handy for one of that band's signature songs, "Get Wild". Now, Marcos V. provided the article on the 1989 version of the catchy hit but I also wanted to talk some about the original version (the band's 10th single) which had come out in April 1987 as the first ending theme for the anime "City Hunter".

"City Hunter" has had plenty of cool songs...certainly enough to have had a lot of different soundtrack albums provided at the CD shops. But I think "Get Wild" may be the theme song for the show (and one of the great anison) although personally it's a flip between it and the very first opening theme "Ai yo Kienai de"（愛よ消えないで）by Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）as to what my favourite "City Hunter" song is. It is probably also TM Network's most famous contribution to its discography.

The original version may not be quite as zazzed up as the 1989 retake but "Get Wild" still packs a lot of punch with Komuro's keyboard work and that kickass line "GET WILD AND TOUGH!". Run through West Shinjuku among the skyscrapers at night while listening to the song at full volume (I won't take any responsibility for any claims of deafness) and see how energized you feel. That rather reminds me to take photos of the area at night next time I return to Tokyo; I've got quite a few during the daytime as you can see at the very top.

The crazy thing is that I had only known "Get Wild" as a TM Network song for many years before I discovered that it was connected to "City Hunter" as a theme. One day, the show was on TV when I was living in Japan and saw the closing credits to the first season. Ah, naruhodo, I went.

Komuro was indeed behind the music but the lyrics were provided by Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）, who actually doesn't have any familial relationship with Tetsuya at all. "Get Wild" peaked at No. 9 on Oricon and went Double Platinum, appearing also as a track on the band's first BEST album "Gift for Fanks" from July 1987. That went all the way up to No. 1.

Fence of Defense -- SARA

A week ago, I wrote an article on Tomoko Aran's（亜蘭知子）"Hitonatsu no Tapestry"（ひと夏のタペストリー）which was this slice of Japanese funk that had been composed by bassist and keyboardist Masatoshi Nishimura（西村麻聡）. Well, not too long after that, Nishimura started up this rock band with vocalist and guitarist Kenji Kitajima（北島健二）and drummer Wataru Yamada（山田わたる）called Fence of Defense.

Coming up with their first single in 1987, Fence of Defense hit pay dirt in September 1988 when the band released "SARA" which also turned out to be the second opening theme for the second season of the ever-loved "City Hunter" anime franchise. "SARA" may have been a rock song but there was still something of the "Bright lights, big city" feeling in there that the very first opening theme by Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）, "Ai yo Kienai de"（愛よ消えないで）had in abundance. Some good times in Tokyo!

Will you get a load of that 80s hair?! I think TM Network and Fence of Defense should have had a hair-off at a joint concert. J-Wiki mentions that "SARA" was one of the band's smash hits but there is still no individual article for the song nor any indication of how it did on Oricon, and the actual Oricon website was no help itself, but I can only assume that it did quite decently on the charts. Fence of Defense took care of the lyrics with Nishimura himself taking care of the big-city melody.

I have heard the song and the band name before but didn't make the final connection until sometime in the last few days which will indicate how much I know about "City Hunter". But from what I've seen of the show's theme songs, it looks like I made the right decision in providing the show with its own category in Labels. Perhaps there's even a CD floating about with all of the theme songs included.

Still, when it comes to songs titled "Sara", I can't help but remember the one by Starship from a few years before the Fence of Defense song came out. And yep, I will always like "We Built This City".

Kiyomi Suzuki -- Give Me Your Love Tonight

Just love that "City Hunter" soundtrack from the 1980s. I was listening to it once again today while I was working...it's nice to hear that City Pop can apply to the anime world as well. Of course, there is that wonderful "Ai yo Kienai de"（愛よ消えないで）by Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）as the first opening theme song for the show which just invites you for a drive into the bright lights of Tokyo.

But then after that drive in the sports car through Roppongi and Shinjuku, you and your date would probably just love to hit one of those rooftop skyscraper bars in that latter neighbourhood of Tokyo. And once you two arrive there in the elevator, that's when this particular song comes in. I only knew chanteuse Kiyomi Suzuki（鈴木聖美）for the fine and karaoke-friendly "Lonely Chaplin" and "Taxi", but I've got another great song of hers in my memory now, and it's "Give Me Your Love Tonight" from that same soundtrack. I would have just loved to have taken in that panoramic view of downtown Tokyo from 50 floors up while listening to this one. However, I think listening to this in the car stereo would also have sufficed as the couple drove on the highway in The Big Sushi.

http://music.163.com/#/song?id=29751522

In any case, there is a hint of ol' Motown in the languid melody by Ryoichi Kuniyoshi（国吉良一）...some nice evening soul in there. And Linda Hennrick provided the English lyrics. I'm not sure when that first "City Hunter" soundtrack came out, but I will take a guess at the year 1988. Feel free to correct me if I'm obviously wrong. 

Lastly I wondered about the male singer who comes in at the end. One fellow online thought he sounded like Barry White. Well, I think that might be none other than Kiyomi's kid brother, cool crooner Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）.

Kahoru Kohiruimaki -- City Hunter: Ai yo Kienai de （愛よ消えないで）

"City Hunter" was an anime that I did hear about from time to time and I did see a couple of episodes somewhere. My particular memory of that show involved the two strapping leads, Ryo Saeba and Kaori Makimura, and the running gag in the form of a 100-tonne mallet. I just read the summary of this 80s classic on Wikipedia and I'm wondering if I should give it another chance.

Definitely the first opening theme for "City Hunter" makes for a nice draw. "Ai yo Kienai de" (Don't Go Away, Love) was sung by Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）as her 5th single from May 1987, and it followed her breakthrough hit, "Hold On Me". There's something about the anison right from the percussive intro and into Kohhy's delivery that has me thinking that this was just as much a love call to Bubble Era Tokyo as it was an exciting theme song for the City Hunter detective team. I automatically think of night lights, West Shinjuku's mighty skyscrapers, and folks painting the town red. If anyone wants to get that "City Hunter" feeling, try walking through West Shinjuku at sunset or night.

"Ai yo Kienai de" managed to get as high as No. 8 on Oricon, and according to the comments I've read on YouTube, it looks like the song has become a beloved musical memory to many. Kohhy's good buddy Yoshiaki Ohuchi（大内義昭）was the composer with Keiko Aso（麻生圭子）providing the lyrics.

Many years later, the singer came up with an even more groovelicious version (although I miss the original intro). Kohhy is still looking pretty darn good in the video there.

P.S. Marcos V. took care of the ending theme for the anime, "Get Wild" by TM Network.