I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
Showing posts with label Haruhi Suzumiya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haruhi Suzumiya. Show all posts
"...I really can't even imagine how she would sing it well. It would frankly sound boring and flat, so it has to remain at its craptastic best!"
I made the following statement back in June 2019 when I wrote up the article on seiyuu/singer Yuko Goto's（後藤邑子）"Koi no Mikuru Densetsu"（恋のミクル伝説...The Legend of Mikuru in Love）, a song so hideously incredible by her character of Mikuru Asahina（朝比奈ミクル）, and one that began the whole "Haruhi Suzumiya"anime franchise that it actually made me flee from watching the show. That is, until my anime buddy reassured me that the first episode of "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu"（涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱...The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya） was a very amateur student movie produced by Haruhi herself and that I should give the rest of the first season a chance (he did shoo me off from watching Season 2 however).
Well, I no longer have to imagine it anymore. Goto did get a chance to sing it well. When PlayStation 2 was released to the masses, a game was produced titled "Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi"（涼宮ハルヒの戸惑...The Bewilderment of Haruhi Suzumiya） in January 2008 and in it was "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu: Joutatsu Shita Version" (The Improved Version). It's the same Eurobeat-y melody and arrangement by Satoru Kousaki（神前暁）but Goto's intentionally on point this time in her delivery (as opposed to intentionally off tune the first time).
OK, I'm going to have some crow with my chicken tomorrow. I will have to admit that the new and improved "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu" is not bad at all. My initial reluctance about an improved version was all about missing those times to cringe when the off-tune moments in the original exploded.
“Hare Hare Yukai” is the ending theme song for the 2006 version of the classic anime series “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” made by Kyoto Animation. It is composed by anime music composer Satoru Kosaki.
We all know the sound of “J-pop”, but none of us can give the exact definition of it, because J-pop is not one genre. J-pop is a mixture of many styles of music over the years. It comprises all kinds of musical elements Japan has heard in the last century.
“Hare Hare Yukai” is one of the “J-pop” songs. There are some EDM elements in it, some rock, and a little bit of influence from the 90s. However, every influence that is supposed to make this song identifiable exists in small fragments, which, in the end, results in a track that doesn’t distinguish itself from other songs.
But why is a song so featureless in arrangement attract me so much?
If it was four years ago, I definitely would not like it. At that time, I was just introduced to Toshiki and Tatsuro’s classic city pop tracks and I was busy exploring all the exciting bass slaps, horn sections, and guitar solos. This track would appear too bland for me. But now, four years later, I have seen everything. Funk is an everyday concept and no bass lines would get me as excited as I was when I first heard city pop. The dust of the funk has settled down, and it is now the pure appreciation of the music and the emotion that leads me to listen.
And that leads me to this song. Yes, the arrangement is not distintive, but a distintive arrangement is no longer the attraction I look for. What really attracted me is the energy and the touch of melancholy it presents. It makes me think of the time I had during my middle school life. The study, assignments, food, and teachers were repetitive. No one had to worry about contagious diseases. Time seemed to be endless, and I had a lot of fun with my friends. I was familiar and comfortable with everything: people, grades, and responsibilities. These two years was the most carefree and joyful time of my life, and this song resonates with the memories I have.
“On a particular sunny day,
A happiness greater than magic
Will pour down endlessly. It's not impossible!
When we meet again tomorrow, we'll laugh and hum a tune.”
These lyrics from the song represent just what I feel about it. If I were to sum it up in one word, it would be “hope”. Hope that everything will remain easy and familiar; hope that good things can last; hope that the weather will always be sunny and people be happy; hope that covid never happened; hope that I will always see my friends tomorrow after tomorrow, until eternity.
But none of it happened. After I graduated middle school, I would end up transferring to an American high school, where people are unfamiliar and tests are stressful, Kyoto Animation would collapse under fire, and we would eventually hit the age of quarantine and masks.
“Hare Hare Yukai” is a reminder to me that time has changed, that I have grown up. Loving this song in the way I do means both my music taste and mentality have matured. I am no longer the high schooler who only loves the superficial rhythm of funk. I am now an adult who knows how to form my own understanding and taste the emotion in music. My carefree years were gone, and now, it is time to begin another adventure in my new phase of life.
Late last night, I was about to close up shop when I decided to take one last look at Twitter. There was the usual list of what was trending, and on top of the list was "The Lion King" since the new movie was about to premiere. Then at No. 2 was KyoAni which is Kyoto Animation（京都アニメーション）, one of the famous animation houses in Japan that helped launch shows such as "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu"（涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱...The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya）, "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid）, "Nichijou"（日常...My Ordinary Life）, and most recently the "Hibike Euphonium!"（響け!ユーフォニアム）franchise.
I initially wondered whether its high standing may have had something to do with "The Lion King" or whether if KyoAni was announcing another movie or another trailer for the next installment for "Hibike Euphonium!". However, when I checked it out, the news was far more real and horrifying. A deranged individual went on some sort of rampage by attacking the staff via arson at their Studio 1 Building in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto on the morning of July 18th Japan time. The tweets were coming in Japanese and English from all over the world very quickly, and for the next several minutes, I tried to find out how bad the casualty count was since the building looked like it had been gutted out from the inside. Before I decided to stop and go to sleep, there had been one confirmed death and many many more injured.
When I woke up this morning to watch NHK's "News at Nine", I found out that the fatalities had skyrocketed up to 25, and by the time the broadcast was about to end, one of the anchors gave the update that the number of deaths was now up to 33, with a little more than that number injured, some critically. The Kyoto Animation arson attack was the top story on the broadcast for the first 15 minutes, and it has even gone overseas...even Toronto's all-news channel reported on it.
The details and the overall truth will be revealed in the coming days but at this point, the whole incident has been terrible for fans of KyoAni's works. According to what I heard on the NHK report this morning through a former employee at KyoAni, the staff there weren't just punching in and out a time clock trying to get their scenes done on computer or on individual cels; they all loved anime and what they were doing to contribute to the industry, and a lot of times they were being loved themselves for their work. But even taking away the fame and the talent and the work, there are 33 human beings who should have arrived at work today doing what they loved but will no longer do so. That is the tragedy of all this.
The song that has been playing out in my head all day today when reminded of what happened at KyoAni is one that I've heard at my anime buddy's house now and then during the anison segment of my visits there. I first heard "Yasashii Boukyaku" (Tender Oblivion) even before I actually saw the film "Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu"（涼宮ハルヒの消失...The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya）where it was the ending theme. This was the Sonority version which had singer/seiyuu Minori Chihara（茅原実里）, who played the stoic Yuki Nagato（長門有希）in the movie, singing it acapella. I didn't know what the plot was but even listening to this, it was enough for my throat to get pretty lumpy. The cover for Chihara's 8th single from February 2010 was also perfect for the song, especially this version, since it has Nagato looking up in quiet wonder at the phenomenon of snow falling at night.
The Sonority and Sincerity versions were the coupling songs for the original version that had the full orchestra. For me, the original is the comforting take with the soft piano and tenderhearted strings, but Sonority will always be the most affecting version (if I remember, Sonority was actually used during the ending credits). And what better choice to sing it than Chihara whose Nagato was the catalyst in "Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu" as she changed from her emotionless near-omnipotence to a far more vulnerable regular high school student, capable of feeling love and heartbreak?
"Yasashii Boukyaku" was written by Aki Hata（畑亜貴）and composed by Masumi Ito（伊藤真澄）. It broke into the Top 10 by placing at No. 8, and on the anime single charts, it even hit the top spot.
Kyoto Animation and its fans have been hit hard today, and it's still early days. But I am hopeful that despite the deaths and destruction, the company and its people will find their way back.
The above is a simple but sweet cocktail known as a Brown Cow. It's known as a Kahlua Milk in Japan, and it was my drink of choice whenever I went to an izakaya or the karaoke box. Nice touch with the Pocky stick in there, too. The Brown Cow was as much a salve and tonic as it was a tasty refreshment for me when it came to karaoke. The coffee liqueur concoction afforded me enough courage to take up the mike and it also provided solace whenever I screwed up a tune and received the inevitable damning-with-faint-praise applause. As you can read in my article on failed karaoke attempts, there were plenty of tunes that I love to hear but cannot sing a whit.
For me, singing badly comes to me quite easily unless it's one of my juu-hachi-ban. However, I've heard that it takes someone with real talent to sing badly well especially when the singer is actually pretty darn good.
Now, I've already mentioned about Yuko Goto's（後藤邑子）famous/infamous "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu" (The Legend of Mikuru in Love) in the very first Haruhi Suzumiya（涼宮ハルヒ）-related article for "Kayo Kyoku Plus". As I stated there, the rendition of that song by Goto's character of Mikuru Asahina（朝比奈ミクル）was so horrifying and cute at the same time that it almost derailed me from ever watching "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu"（涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱...The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya）. Poor Mikuru! I'm surprised that she didn't end up fleeing back to her time zone after being forced to sing that.
Yet, after all these years, it's the one song that I remember from the first season of "Haruhi Suzumiya" along with the even more famous ending theme "Hare Hare Yukai"（ハレ晴レユカイ）. "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu" has got that Eurobeat-ish melody by Satoru Kousaki（神前暁）overlaid by Goto's incredibly distinct vocals singing out Yutaka Yamamoto's（山本寛）lyrics, and the seiyuu's delivery has so indelibly insinuated itself into my head that I really can't even imagine how she would sing it well. It would frankly sound boring and flat, so it has to remain at its craptastic best!
"Koi no Mikuru Densetsu" is available as one of the songs on the 2006 single "Suzumiya Haruhi no Tsumeawase: TV Anime "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu" Geki Chū Kashū Shinguru"（涼宮ハルヒの詰合 〜TVアニメ「涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱」劇中歌集シングル〜...The Assortment of Haruhi Suzumiya: Collection of Songs in an Anime "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya")）. The single went up to No. 5 and became the 106th-ranked single for the year.
I gotta say that I was pretty impressed with the orchestral version of "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu" which starts off the 2009 album "Suzumiya Haruhi no Gensou"（涼宮ハルヒの弦奏...Haruhi Suzumiya's String Performance） with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra playing the heck out of the song. Try playing the first several seconds over the incredible "Portals" scene in "Avengers: Endgame"! The album peaked at No. 47.
January 11th 2024: Have a gander at the improved version of the song.
The above scene from the original 2006 anime "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu"（涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱...The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya）initially reminds me of that part in "Back to the Future". You may know it...Marty McFly reassures a stunned 1950s student body at The Enchantment Under The Sea dance that though his 80s hard rock solo may be lost on them, their kids will love it. However, any similarities vaporize within the first few seconds of Haruhi's surprise performance since:
1) It is Haruhi Suzumiya, after all, who has more of the personality of Lucy Van Pelt than that of Marty.
2) Haruhi is wearing a Playboy bunny outfit.
3) The audience does get into it.
4) Haruhi has a quiet if supremely powerful demigod-like humanoid interface as one of her stage sidekicks (as we all do).
"God knows..." is a rocker that's been played by my anime buddy on his stereo from time to time during the Sunday anison hour, and it fits even better on Haruhi than her bunny costume since it sounds like the character truly throwing out her hopes and ambitions in something more effective than primal scream therapy (take a look at Haruhi's face...fury much?). Hear that, Kon? For that matter, hear that, Thanos?
Aya Hirano（平野綾）is, of course, the seiyuu behind the character and the song with prolific anime lyricist Aki Hata（畑亜貴）and composer Satoru Kousaki（神前暁）responsible for the creation of "God knows...".
Good gravy! Can hardly believe it's been over 10 years since "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu"（涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱...The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya）, one of the jewels in Kyoto Animation's crown, was first broadcast...time for me to get my rocking chair.
And it's been around 18 months since I actually put up the article about that famous super-catchy and much talked about ending theme from the first season, "Hare Hare Yukai"（ハレ晴レユカイ）by the seiyuu from the show, Aya Hirano, Yuko Goto and Minori Chihara（平野綾・後藤邑子・茅原実里）. Yet, I had always thought of writing about the opening theme for that inaugural season as well but never got around to it until today.
Perhaps "Boken Desho Desho?"(It's an Adventure, Right? Right?) is not quite as earwormy as "Hare Hare Yukai" and there was no adorable choreography in the opening credits for "Haruhi", but I think as an anison, it still holds up quite nicely. Aya Hirano takes care of this one solo, and like "Hare Hare Yukai", the lyricist is Aki Hata（畑亜貴）with Akiko Tomita（冨田暁子）providing the music which seems to have a nice sprinkling of Shibuya-kei in there. Plus it flows smoothly with the fast-paced visuals of the opening credits and has the appropriate title which comes across as something that the often obnoxious Haruhi would say to the long-suffering Kyon.
I found that although "Boken Desho Desho?" didn't quite get the same amount of attention that the ending theme did, it also found a good measure of success on the charts as an anison. It even hit No. 10 on Oricon as Hirano's 2nd single when it was released in April 2006, and spent well over half a year swimming about on the charts. It ended up becoming the 141st-ranked single for the year.
Back last year in July, I wrote about the opening theme for the alt-universe sequel for "Haruhi", "Fure Fure Mirai"（フレ降レミライ）for "Nagato Yuki-chan no Shōshitsu"（長門有希ちゃんの消失...The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan）.
Well, about a week ago, I wrote about the opening theme song for "Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu"（長門有希ちゃんの消失...The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan）, "Fure Fure Mirai"（フレ降レミライ）which has those echoes of the crazy-popular ending theme from the original "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu"（涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱...The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya）.
However, I have to say that I fell for the ending theme for "Nagato Yuki-chan" first. There is something about Minori Chihara's（茅原実里）singing of "Arigato, Daisuki"(Thank You, I Love You) that just summed up her character of Yuki-chan in this new, non-cosmic world that I wouldn't have thought possible with the original reality-warping version.
The version for the TV series was fine enough but then on hearing the full version, I just thought that she was going for the full Celine Dion...and that's not a bad thing here. As with "Fure Fure Mirai", the song was written by Aki Hata（畑亜貴）but the music this time was provided by rino.
I've heard Chihara sing the other themes in the "Haruhi" franchise, but with "Arigato, Daisuki", I think, especially in the first several seconds, that she sounds like a higher-pitched version of Ayaka Hirahara（平原綾香）. In any case, the song was released as her 22nd single in June 2015. On the regular Oricon charts, it managed to peak at No. 15 while on the Billboard Japan Hot Animation charts, it made it as high as No. 9.
There are only 3 more episodes left for me to watch in "Nagato Yuki-chan" after the past month of psychological melodrama, so things might be getting a bit lighter again. My only hope is that Yuki-chan decides to pick up an electric guitar and rock out on the stage.
Bear with me here for some several lines while I set tonight's article up. For years, I used to watch the American sitcom "MASH" which featured the comedy and drama surrounding the doctors and nurses of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital 4077 during the Korean War. The show lasted 3 times longer than the actual Korean War and made household names out of the entire cast.
Then, sometime after the tearjerking finale in 1984, I was shocked when I saw most of the cast come back in a series of TV ads for good ol' Big Blue, aka IBM. To see folks like Major Frank Burns, Father Mulcahy and Radar O'Reilly pop up as modern working folk in a trendy looking startup was really quite fascinating.
That's how I kinda look at the situation with the 2006 "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" and the currently-running (for a few more weeks, anyways) 2015 "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan". In the former show, there were all of these high school characters of whom most were actually aliens investigating a Miss Haruhi Suzumiya（涼宮ハルヒ）who may be the most powerful being in the universe. It made quite the splash in its first season but then apparently almost sank under the notorious story of "The Endless Eight" in its second season (my anime buddy is a huge fan of the franchise and even he won't let me get anywhere near that one).
Cue ahead almost a decade. Well, mind you, in my case, it would only be a few years since I played a lot of catch-up where the franchise was concerned since I only started seeing it from around 2012. We all find out that "Haruhi" is coming back but it would be an alternate universe version focusing on the character of Yuki Nagato（長門有希）. The characters and their accompanying seiyuu are the same, along with the setting, but everyone is absolutely 100% human and the plot has been focused for the most part on down-to-earth relationships among the kids with a mix of comedy and drama. More importantly, Nagato is not a superhuman artificial humanoid who could possibly give a certain Kryptonian a run for his money but a timid high school girl with the hots for good guy Kyon（キョン）. It's kinda like taking Mr. Spock and making him a Bostonian librarian by the name of Lenny.
The opening theme, "Fure Fure Mirai"(Rainy Rainy Future), also has that feeling of familiarity and something new. Sung by all of the female cast known collectively as the Kitakou Bungeibu Joshikai （北高文芸部女子会...North High Literary Club Girls' Association）, I decided to identify everyone by name up above. There is that very big echo back to the ending theme from "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", "Hare Hare Yukai"（ハレ晴レユカイ）although it's not quite as catchy as that latter theme (perhaps it will grow on me in time) and the only dancing involved in the opening credits is a very brief second of Miley Cyrus moves. But I figure that's probably the way it should be since Haruhi would definitely be the type to drag everybody for a dance-a-thon whereas Yuki is more demure about such exploits.
Aki Hata（畑亜貴）was responsible for the lyrics for "Fure Fure Mirai" as she was also for "Hare Hare Yukai", but this time the composer was Yugo Sasakura（佐々倉有吾）. Actually, maybe it is growing on me much more since I've been enjoying the full version of the song; it certainly sounds as if the cast was enjoying themselves in the recording booth. There are just a few more episodes left in this series but unlike the seemingly dour tone of the title, I'm hoping that there is a happy resolution of sorts between Yuki and Kyon.
Although I've already done so for the first three seiyuu due to "Hare Hare Yukai", allow me to provide the singers' names in kanji:
Just a few months from returning to Canada for good, my anime buddy and I got into our well-worn routine of meeting every couple of Sundays for food and anime viewing at his place. At the same time, he also passed me some other anime for viewing at home...one of which was "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu"（涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱...The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya）. He was quite gangbusters about this show so I decided to give it a try.
The first thing I saw was this buxom girl by the name of Mikuru Asahina（朝比奈ミクル）with the voice of a drunken, tone-deaf angel trying to sing "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu"（恋のミクル伝説...The Legend of Mikuru in Love）against a musical backdrop of an 80s B-movie. I managed to get through it....slack-jawed, mind you...before I turned the TV off. My initial impression was "Man, what WAS he thinking? I didn't know he was that much into moe."
However, as all of the Haruhi fans know, I was being a bit hasty in my judgement. I gritted my teeth, gave it another shot and realized the first minute was just part of a student video (basically the pilot episode) created by the main character. And then after all that, I realized that "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu" was all about this weird girl with a personality mix of Lucy Van Pelt and Peppermint Patty who dearly craves to encounter the strange and unusual while unknowingly being surrounded by the very people she seeks due to some far greater reason of universe-shattering proportions.
At around the same time, I was also watching "Mawaru Penguindrum", another mind-screw of an anime, so it was a fairly intense few months for me. I would have ended up a total zombie if my buddy had also thrown in "Madoka Magica".
Well, getting to the point of this article, I was happier with the ending theme of the show, "Hare Hare Yukai" (Shiny Shiny Happiness). And yep, it is fully imbued with shiny shiny happiness. Written by Aki Hata（畑亜貴）and composed by Tomokazu Tashiro（田代智一）, it was one darn catchy tune right from the get-go. Sung by seiyuu Aya Hirano（平野綾）, Minori Chihara（茅原実里）and Yuko Goto（後藤邑子）who portrayed the three main female characters of Haruhi Suzumiya, Yuki Nagato（長門有希）and the aforementioned Mikuru respectively, I can't help but associate the actual singing of the song more to the characters than to their voice actors.
Part of the reason for that is the closing credits of the show which had Haruhi, Yuki and Mikuru along with the two male characters of Kyon（キョン）and Itsuki Koizumi （古泉 一樹）also performing some pretty elaborate choreography. It impressed so many people that it became an Internet sensation with some of those flesh-&-blood folks emulating what has become known as the Haruhi Dance. According to the J-Wiki article on "Hare Hare Yukai", Shoko Ikeda（池田晶子）was the Kyoto Animation director behind the dance, and she went through a lot of music videos of various aidoru to envision the moves for the characters, settling mostly on the choreography of the group Berryz Kobo（Berryz工房）.
The above video is the full version of the song which was released as an official single in May 2006. I think it did phenomenally well as an anison, getting as high as No. 5 on Oricon and going Gold in terms of sales. By the end of the year, it was ranked at No. 104.
Getting through the 13 episodes, I was glad that I did stick with it and not totally flee after that initial bit of Mikuru karaoke. And as someone who has never been all that comfortable socializing, I could actually relate to the concept of The SOS Brigade.
