Do As Infinity -- Rakuen（楽園）

 

Although I knew of it, I never read the original manga of "Inuyasha"（犬夜叉）or watched its various anime adaptations throughout the 2000s. I only knew about it as some sort of sword-and-sorcery epic.

Just within the last hour, I encountered a tweet where the person, to their delight, had seen the members of the band Do As Infinity come back together to perform. The band lasted between 1999 and 2005 in its initial run and then started a new run from 2008 according to J-Wiki. 

Remembering that KKP still has a few DAI entries including my last one dating back to late 2019 for their 2001 8th single "Tooku made"（遠くまで）, I decided to see if I could dig up another one of the band's songs. I was able to track down their 18th single from December 2004, "Rakuen" (Paradise), which was used as the theme song for one of those "Inuyasha" movies, "Inuyasha ~ Guren no Houraijima"（犬夜叉 紅蓮の蓬莱島...Inuyasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island）that was released a couple of days shy of Christmas 2004.  After listening to "Rakuen" a few times, I realized that it's been quite a while since I heard one of these contemplative pop/rock numbers from Japan. The song peaked at No. 2 on Oricon and went Gold. DAI guitarist and vocalist Ryo Owatari（大渡亮）was behind the lyrics while the entire band took credit for the composition.

Do As Infinity -- Tooku made（遠くまで）

It's been a while since I've mentioned anything about early 2000s band Do As Infinity but I got reminded of Tomiko Van（伴都美子）, D.A.I. and Ryo Owatari（大渡亮）a few days ago while my anime buddy and I were doing the usual anison hour at his place. There was that recognizable voice of Van as she sang, and when I looked at the screen, I found out that the title was "Tooku made" (Far Away), Do As Infinity's 8th single from April 2001.

What I learned was that "Tooku made" was also the theme song for the anime feature "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" which came out in Japan the same year.

The official music video was far different in theme, though, as Van plays a soldier doing her best in battle. Written and composed by Do As Infinity guitarist and songwriter D.A.I., "Tooku made" peaked at No. 12 . It was also a track on the band's 3rd album "Deep Forest" from September 2001, which hit the top of the charts and finished the year as the 32nd-ranked album.

Do As Infinity -- Break of Dawn

Ahhh....yes. Staying out late with the gang during my university days and nights. Back in those crazy 80s and early 90s (my JET experience from 1989-1991 stayed those tendencies although the schools and Board of Education had their own periodic nights of carousing), there would be dinners out, karaoke, dancing, later meals and even having fun at friends' houses until the wee hours. Unfortunately but sensibly, I can no longer physically handle that sort of mayhem but it's still nice to remember some of what I can remember.

Listening to this song brought back those memories. I've been going through JTM's ginormous collection of music over the past several months, and I'm convinced that the adventure will most likely outlast my life expectancy. Still, it was good to come across a Do As Infinity album in there. And the band's title track from their debut album "Break of Dawn" (March 2000 release) is a short but sweet intro about having those good times and staying up long enough to see the sunrise.

Written and composed by the band guitarist D.A.I., it's got quite the mellow hippie vibe as vocalist Tomiko Van（伴都美子）sings all of "Break of Dawn" in English. But before listeners forget that Do As Infinity is indeed a rock band, the guitars and drums come crashing in like thunder although that soft flute can still make itself heard. The album peaked at No. 3.

Do As Infinity -- Mahou no Kotoba ~ Would You Marry Me? （魔法の言葉）

There is a period in everyone's lives where it seems like every other month there is a wedding party to attend. That time for me was in the late 1990s. And as is probably the case in every nation, the Japanese can do the celebrations big. I've been to Western-style and traditional Japanese wedding ceremonies but it's the following reception parties that pull out all the stops with either gorgeous buffets or some pretty sumptuous sit-down meals. The biggest I remember was the very first one that I attended after arriving in Japan in 1994. The ceremony and reception took place in a very fancy Italian restaurant in Asakusa with the highlight being the chefs towing in what was literally a cooked half-cow...the entrance was performed to the soundtrack from the famous cooking battle show, "Ryori no Tetsujin"（料理の鉄人...The Iron Chefs）. You couldn't get more epic than that.

In any case, all that personal preamble is to introduce Do As Infinity's 15th single "Mahou no Kotoba ~ Would You Marry Me?" (The Magic Words) from June 2003. I wasn't a huge fan of the group featuring vocalist Tomiko Van（伴都美子）, guitarist Ryo Owatari（大渡亮）and lyricist/composer Dai Nagao（長尾大）but the name was pretty prominent through the media during their 6 years together (1999-2005).

However having said that, I did like "Would You Marry Me?". I think it was because of that sunny arrangement by Nagao which struck me as being Shibuya-kei although by that point in the early 2000s, the genre was probably more of a historical footnote. Still, it is a fun song to listen to with the horns and Van's vocals (and her lovely figure in the music video)...just the right note to hit during the most important day in the groom and bride's lives. And apparently it has become a popular song to play during those wedding parties. It also enjoyed some popularity on the charts peaking at No.4 on Oricon as a single; it was also a track on Do As Infinity's 5th studio album, "Gates of Heaven" which was released in November 2003 and went as high as No. 3. It ended up becoming the 49th-ranked album for 2004.

For the longest time, I wondered about the derivation of the group's name. I found out through Wikipedia that the words' initials make up the composer's first name. I should've figured that one out but I gather that engorging myself on that half-cow and the multitudes of pasta years ago most likely addled my brain.