Hidemi Ishikawa -- Hey! Mister Policeman（Hey! ミスター・ポリスマン）

 

One of the more common catchphrases and situations in anime at one point, the "moshi, moshi...keisatsu desu ka" (Hello, is this the police?) was definitely the existential salve for one character to erase the presence of a more troublesome character. If a 911 response in Toronto were only that quick nowadays...

Anyways, the preamble ramble this time is for Hidemi Ishikawa's（石川秀美）5th single "Hey! Mister Policeman" which first made its presence known in May 1983. Written and composed by Kyoko Matsumiya（松宮恭子）, perhaps she was inspired by The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" in terms of the title and the catchy rock n' roll arrangement by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）. As for Matsumiya's lyrics, I'm not sure whether Hidemi-chan is calling for a cop to stop a particularly pesky (and perhaps wealthy) suitor from following her or perhaps she's asking for the officer to stop the guy himself from moving his eyes to other female targets other than her. 

According to the J-Wiki article for "Hey! Mister Policeman", it was Ishikawa's first single to get into the Top Ten of Oricon by placing in at No. 10. Furthermore, according to the aidoru's then-manager, everyone had been so busy that they didn't have enough time to take a suitable photo for the single jacket. While everyone was wringing their hands at this situation, Ishikawa and company went down to Guam for filming during which they ran into a local police officer, so taking advantage of things, Ishikawa was able to get some cute photos with the cop. There was the bright idea about using one of those Hidemi-and-cop shots as the jacket, but they simply weren't in time for the first production run of the record. Basically, the result was that "Hey! Mister Policeman" ended up with two different single jackets that you can see in the video above. I guess all involved made do with one of those initial photos after all.

Masaki Sato -- Snow Dancer

 

I'm sure that a lot of folks in my neck of the woods would greatly prefer not to hear the word "snow" for the next several months at least. It was a very long and cold winter and even now, things are still pretty cool although temperatures should be rising happily next week.

However, allow me this one. A few weeks ago, I introduced singer Masaki Sato（佐藤正樹 or 佐藤真紀）who wasn't the most prolific fellow with just two singles that I could find online thus far. I did cover his second single "Million Night" from 1983 which seems to cover a really rumbling City Pop drive down the urban highways. Well, this time, it's his debut single from 1982 which is a whole lot more congenial and jingly.

I don't mean "jingly" as in a Christmas jingle bells sort of way, though. It's more like this really does sound like a commercial jingle (and the lyrics do contain the corporate catchphrase "It's the No. 1 spirit!"). "Snow Dancer" was the 1982 campaign song for the sporting goods store Salomon, and I guess from the title, perhaps the company was aiming for the skiing set. Written and composed by the same duo behind the later "Million Night", lyricist Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）and composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）, the happy City Pop disco arrangement was provided by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）. No, perhaps there isn't a city involved with the ski resorts and slopes but skiing has been connected with the urban and urbane lifestyle for such a long time that we can give this one a pass. It's just too bad that I couldn't find the commercial itself on YouTube.

Masahiko Kondo -- Jounetsu Neppu Serenade（情熱☆熱風☽せれなーで）

 

My usual impression of a serenade, and I know that a lot of kayo kyoku have used the word in their titles, is of a tenderhearted love song weaponized by a suitor underneath the window of the target of their affections.

Well, "Jounetsu Neppu Serenade" (Passionate Tropical Wind Serenade) isn't a heavy metal anthem but I don't think it's a soft ballad either. Released by aidoru Masahiko Kondo（近藤真彦）in January 1982 as his 5th single, it's a pretty upbeat tune about falling hard in love from afar for that lovely young lady, presumably in those sylvan glades in the warmer areas of Earth. Written by Ayumi Date（伊達歩）, composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranged by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）, there's nothing rock-n'-roll about the song, which is usually my genre impression for Matchy. It's more of an easy-listening tropical-tinged tune.

According to the J-Wiki article for "Jounetsu Neppu Serenade", the characters of the crescent moon and star were meant to be included in the title to reflect the starlight mentioned in Date's lyrics. Apparently, this particular song was enough of a tangent from what Matchy usually tackles so that it actually did become quite the long seller in the stores. It hit No. 1 on Oricon and ended up as the 9th-ranked single for 1982.

Saori Tsuchiya -- Nantoka Shite（何とかして）

 

Awww...isn't this adorable? This was a commercial for one of my favourite drinks, Calpis, and the title for this ad includes the name of the young girl talking, Saori Tsuchiya（土家里織）. According to her J-Wiki file, she did this in 1972. when she was all of three years old; it was the same year that I visited Japan for the first time and discovered the famous refreshment. 

Tsuchiya happens to come from a family of thespians including her parents: Shinjiro Ehara（江原真二郎）and Hitomi Nakahara（中原ひとみ）, and throughout her childhood, she would appear in a long-running series of commercials for Lion White & White Toothpaste alongside her famous parents for about a decade into the 1980s. She literally grew up in front of Japan's eyes.

Her acting career began in the late 1980s but it didn't lead to a similarly long singing career though. In fact, Tsuchiya released only two singles; one was a duet with legendary singer-songwriter Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）in 1987 and then there was her one-and-only solo effort released in June 1988, "BOY". Today, I have the B-side, "Nantoka Shite" (Do Something About It) which was written by Shun Taguchi（田口俊）, composed by Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）and arranged by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）. It's a pretty blippy-bloppy synthpop tune with a rollicking rhythm.

Yoshimi Yokosuka -- Breathless

 

Another new face to add to the files of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", Yoshimi Yokosuka（横須賀昌美）has been recognized on J-Wiki as a model and an actress from Ishikawa Prefecture who began her career in 1980 as a Shiseido commercial model. However, she also branched out into music starting in 1981 with only four singles up to 1988.

Her third single was "Breathless" which was released in May 1988. Written by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）, composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and arranged by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）, it's quite the dance-pop-friendly sort of song, and I'm not sure, but would this also be considered to be part of Eurobeat? I'll have to find out from commenters. In any case, for someone who seems to have been considered as a thespian and model, her vocals weren't too shabby.

Chiaki Watanabe -- Purple Memory（パープル・メモリー）

 

Almost six years ago, I posted an article regarding aidoru Chiaki Watanabe（渡辺千秋）and her debut single "Natsu ni Refresh"（夏にリフレッシュ）from April 1984. It was notable in that the composer was the tough-as-nails folk-rock singer Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi（長渕剛）although the song was the typical teenybopper tune with some AOR feeling.

Well, this is her sophomore outing, "Purple Memory" which came out in September that year. I'd probably say that this is a more conventional aidoru tune with an enjoyably jangly melody by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and arrangement by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）with some of those early 1980s shimmering strings. The lyrics were provided by Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）. 

The song was used for a candy commercial by House Foods. I mentioned in the previous Watanabe post that once she had finished her showbiz career, she got married and returned to her native Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1993. Well, since then, she took over the management of the family restaurant in her hometown of Nagato, finally earned her high school diploma through correspondence, and then in April 2021, she was elected as a city council executive.

Hideko Hara -- Mufuu Toshi（無風都市）

 

Erghh...trying to get accustomed to the positioning of a new laptop. Yep, I've moved things from the desktop, where I was for about a couple of years, to a new setup with my latest acquisition. I guess I'm a little ultra-sensitive when it comes to things like how my fingers hit the keyboard.

Anyways, I'm running a little later than usual but I am going ahead with the usual Friday Urban Contemporary list of songs. Up first is the B-side to Hideko Hara's（原日出子）"Aoi Rhapsody"（青いラプソディー）from 1982 which I wrote about almost exactly a year previously. This is "Mufuu Toshi" (Windless City), a slightly less breezy (as the title would indicate) and more melancholy summer's-end song by the same folks behind "Aoi Rhapsody": lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranger Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）with Off-Course's（オフコース）Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）helping out with the chorus. The overall arrangement of both sides makes it feel even more like the two sides were meant to be part of a whole.

Still gonna need that old desktop since all of my bookmarked videos for posting are there and not here.

Hideko Hara -- Aoi Rhapsody（青いラプソディー）

 

Hard to believe, but it's been almost eight years since I posted a song by actress Hideko Hara（原日出子）titled "Yakusoku"（約束）from 1981. As I mentioned in that article, I'd thought that we would be getting a City Pop tune from the first few bars, but it actually turned into a regular pop tune...not that I have anything against it for that reason.

"Yakusoku" was Hara's 2nd single of her brief music career. The follow-up and her final single was "Aoi Rhapsody" (Blue Rhapsody), and this time, the needle pulled further away from regular pop into City Pop. As was the case with that 2nd single, Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）was the lyricist and Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）was the composer but the arranger this time was Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）. The result was something breezier and more summery.

As well, the chorus is given more oomph thanks to Yasuhiro Suzuki's（鈴木康博）participation in the backup vocals. It's almost eerie how Suzuki's tones just about bring his entire band of Off-Course（オフコース）into the proceedings. The vocal blasts by the man are a bit jarring, though.

Akemi Ishii -- Celebration

 

When it comes to the oeuvre of singer Akemi Ishii（石井明美）, I've always pictured her as being someone resolutely linked with the mid to late 1980s. For that matter, her music usually had me thinking Eurobeat or something with some Latin pizazz. "Cha-Cha-Cha" and "L'Amant"（ラマン）come to mind.

"Celebration" is a song that I first heard on a BEST compilation by Ishii so I had initially not known about where it originally came from. It is a coupling song from her 11th single from October 1993, "Anatarashiku Ite"（あなたらしくいて...Stay As You Are） so that is one personal trope broken about her. The other trope broken is that I'd often associate her works with cover versions of Eurobeat songs and "Celebration" sounds as if this would be another one although the arrangement doesn't show off the Eurobeat all that strongly.

However, "Celebration" is a homegrown product with Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）handling the melody and arrangement respectively while Ikki Matsumoto（松本一起）is the lyricist. But, as one commenter on YouTube has pointed out, "Celebration" does have some similarity with Cutting Crew's big 1986 hit "(I Just) Died in Your Arms".

Kazuma Mori -- Natsu wo Oikakerou!（夏を追いかけろ!）

 

Looks like Kayo Grace has some terrifyingly good skill in making sand castles. Maybe architecture will be her career if and when she decides to leave the aidoru business. Anyways, with the arrival of the annual Canadian National Exhibition here in Toronto, and the temperatures starting to cool off in the morning and night, I gather that the summer is beginning to make its way out of here. When I went outside today, it was only feeling like 16 degrees Celsius. Quite refreshing.

So, for those in my neck of the woods, enjoy your summer as much as you can in the remaining month. Meanwhile, I can introduce this rather rare 1980s tune by Tokyo-born actor Kazuma Mori（森一馬）. Nope, I've never heard of him either but he's had a long career since 1983 on stage and screen according to his J-Wiki profile.

Of course, being seen as an up-and-comer in the geinokai back then meant that eventually the entertainer (no matter in what area) had to cut a record, talent be damned! Therefore, Mori recorded two singles, only one of which got to get onto the store shelves (although he also released three albums); all of his audio output came out in 1984. That one single was "Natsu wo Oikakerou!" (Chase the Summer!) which was released in July with Ryo Shoji（東海林良）handling lyrics while Takayuki Baba（馬場孝幸）and Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）took care of the melody and arrangement respectively. It was the typical upbeat summer pop tune with some of that rock-n'-roll regarding the usual hijinks on the beach which sounded like something that one or two of the Tanokin Trio would have tackled in those 1980s.

There's no explanation why Mori's mystery single wasn't released officially (maybe Mori got into some of his own real hijinks), but it apparently has seen the light of day via his debut album. The single is "Midnight Train" and the debut album is "Shoshin"（初心...Naivete）.

Mami Yamase -- Starlight Serenade（スターライト・セレナーデ ）

 

It's been a good long while since I've seen former 80s aidoru and tarento Mami Yamase（山瀬まみ）on Japanese television because it seems that TV Japan and the new Jme don't have the programs that feature her. She was always known for that strangulated voice which I've always thought was more of an affectation for show business rather than her real voice. And I believe that in recent years, the squeakiness has possibly mellowed down.

For that matter, it's been five years since I posted the last Yamase article onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus". That was for the zany "Go!"（ゴォ）from 1989 which took more advantage of her stage speaking voice. However, as mentioned in that article, her earlier aidoru tunes had her sounding much more pleasant and creamy. In fact, I got another demonstration of her singing prowess through her 7th single from September 1987, "Starlight Serenade" which also served as the second opening theme for the mecha anime "Kikou Senki Dragonar"（機甲戦記ドラグナー...Metal Armor Dragonar）. 

Composer Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）and arranger Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）went for a loud-and-proud pop/rock arrangement that could be considered to be Pat Benatar-lite. Meanwhile, Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）provided lyrics about pining for that hero out there while reminiscing about more innocent times when the lad was still within arm's distance. And Yamase sounds like she was channeling her inner Ayumi Nakamura（中村あゆみ）singing this.

Morning Glow -- Let's Dance

Good Free Photos

 

I recall David Bowie coming out with "Let's Dance" around 1983 which became a huge mainstream hit for the singer and artiste who had been seen as a very unconventional figure in the music industry. And I'll have to do a ROY soon enough on Bowie again but for now, let's look at a totally different "Let's Dance".

Could find nothing on this musical entity by the name of Morning Glow aside from the fact that they released this one single in 1982 "Let's Dance". The lyricist and composer was Itaru Takahashi（高橋イタル）, a drummer who was once part of the early 1970s folk group Early Times Strings Band, while the arranger was Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）. I can only speculate that Takahashi may have been part of Morning Glow as a vocalist.

No influence from Bowie here at all. In fact, I would say that "Let's Dance" is very much in the vein of West Coast AOR. Very nice to listen to with a fine electric guitar and sax solo in the middle, but I can't help but think of cigarette commercials when I see the cover of the single. In any case, if anyone has any more information on Morning Glow, please let us know.

OK's -- Sei Go-gatsu ~ Hikari ni Koi Shite（聖五月～光に恋して～）

 

I think it would be especially appropriate on a Friday going into the dog days of summer to crack open a beer with friends (no drinking or driving, though) whether it be at a patio restaurant or by the backyard barbeque. I selected the above video from the uploader OLD DAYS since it has a wealth of Kirin Beer commercials ranging from the 1980s into the 2000s. I even saw Sylvester Stallone and Sting in there.

Unfortunately, I don't think the above song is in that video although it has also been pegged as one of the many commercial jingles used for Kirin. OKAYS were a rock band that had a short shelf life of around two years between 1987 and 1989 and halfway through their time, they even truncated their name down to OK's. The band consisted of Katsuhito/Katsuyoshi Tsuji（辻克仁）, Hironari Koshigaya（越谷浩成）, Takayuki Ohtake（大竹隆之）, Shouzou Iwase（岩瀬昇造）and Kouji/Yasushi Tomita（富田康士）.

Their 2nd single from 1988, apparently after the name truncation, was "Sei Go-gatsu ~ Hikari ni Koi Shite" (Holy May ~ Fall in Love with the Light). An appropriately summery and upbeat song to drink beer to, there's something about the performance and the delivery that has me reminded of a lighter version of funk band JADOES, another outfit which was around at the same time. Yoko Aki（阿木燿子）took care of the lyrics while Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）took care of music and arrangement respectively; my compliments to whoever came up with that whirling dervish of a keyboard riff that comes up right at the beginning. 

Although J-Wiki lists OK's time together as between 1987 and 1989, their final single "Believe"（ビリーヴ）was released in 1990 for a total of four singles. Two albums also came out of the group with "Sei Go-gatsu" being placed onto the 2nd mini-album "1/2 Blood" in 1988.

Megumi Yuuki -- YOU/TWO OF US

 

Well, I figure that if I'm gonna talk about songs from the 1988 anime adaptation of the food-based manga "Oishinbo"（美味しんぼ...The Gourmet）, I simply must have something gourmet as a thumbnail. So, KKP readers, the above is a bowl of blowfish hot pot or fugu nabe. 

Actually, Rocket Brown of "Come Along Radio" and I had a conversation last weekend and the topic of the openings and endings for the anime came up. We were kinda marveling at the cityscapes during the credit sequences. Interestingly enough, I was reminded of another successful anime adaptation of the 1980s, "City Hunter", and I could see some similarities between it and "Oishinbo": smart and snarky hero in Tokyo accompanied by a long-suffering woman who may or may not have feelings for him, and cityscape credits.

Over a year ago, "Oishinbo" got its first representation on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" via Yuma Nakamura's（中村由真）"Dang Dang Ki ni Naru"（Dang Dang 気になる）which was the second opening theme of the series.

Well, the first opening theme was "YOU" by singer and TV personality Megumi Yuuki（結城めぐみ）who was around 19 years old when she released the song as her debut single in November 1988. Reminiscent of those brash and proud pop tunes by singers within and outside of anime back in that decade...we're talking about folks like Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）and Miki Asakura（麻倉未稀）..."YOU" is a pretty fitting title for the bright-lights-big-city feeling of decadence back then. Yoshikatsu Hirade（平出よしかつ）provided the lyrics while Tsunehiro Izumi（和泉常弘）made the melody for the happy urban arrangement by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）, who had also provided the music for the entire series.

On the B-side of "YOU" is the first ending theme also sung by Yuuki and created by the songwriters mentioned above. Not surprisingly, in contrast with the upbeat "YOU", "TWO OF US" is a softer love ballad of the city, and I think that it's good enough for a City Pop band like Omega Tribe（オメガトライブ）to cover.

The Osaka-born Yuuki released a total of five singles and one album up to 1991. According to her J-Wiki profile, she had a brief marriage to a baseball player on the current Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the late 1990s. She has been operating a vocal training school along with an esthetic salon.

Yudai Suzuki -- Tokyo Mono（東京者）

 

Recently through videos, news footage and talks with friends, I've noticed that since the last time I was in Tokyo in 2017, the megalopolis has been undergoing changes in certain neighbourhoods. Shibuya has gained at least a couple of more skyscrapers so that I'm worried that it may have cost the area some sky. Toranomon seems to be getting a massive commercial complex and the same may indeed be true for the area surrounding Tokyo Station which has already gotten its fair share of buildings going up like bamboo trees. If and when I get back to the Japanese capital, I may need a new map to find my way around.😕

Still, for the better part of two decades, I considered myself someone of the Tokyo area if not from the city proper since I was actually living in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture. Over the past decade and change being back here in Toronto teaching, translating, and yes, blogging, thanks to YouTube and TV Japan, I've still been seeing my old stomping grounds. Indeed, I still miss walking through the many different parts of Tokyo.

Listening to Yudai Suzuki's（鈴木雄大）"Tokyo Mono" (Someone of Tokyo) which is the final track and the title track for his February 1990 album, I've realized that this could be an ideal theme for my feelings of wistfulness regarding one of the largest cities in the world. Arranged by Kazuo Otani（椎名和夫）, written by Taizo Jinnouchi（ 陣内大蔵）and composed by Suzuki, it's a slow and introspective modern urban waltz. Though I couldn't find the lyrics for "Tokyo Mono", what I could glean is that Suzuki is possibly singing that no matter how much a beloved partner wants change, the protagonist can only change so much and that they can only be who they are. Maybe it's part of the title, but I have to admit that I'm straddling the line on whether "Tokyo Mono" is either a pop ballad or a City Pop ballad but that's why I can throw two genres into its Labels.

I know that Suzuki didn't come up with the song thinking about what lay in store for Tokyo in the following thirty years. However, I think that despite all the changes that have come and will come, Tokyo will remain Tokyo at least for the next little while. For me, I hope that means Tower Records and my favourite neighbourhood tonkatsu restaurant under my old subway station will still be there when I visit.

Mariko Ashibe -- Garasu no Kamen（ガラスの仮面）

 

Earlier today, NHK's morning variety show "Asaichi"（あさイチ）devoted its truncated time (the Diet is having Question Period these days) toward manga which has had a deep impact on people.

Amazon.jp

One such manga is the 1976 "Garasu no Kamen" (Glass Mask) about a young girl willing to go the distance to become a stage actress. One woman featured on the show adored the manga so much that she opted to get away from her delinquent way of life and pursued an acting career for several years before settling down. 

In April l984, an anime adaptation was put on NTV and I have to admit that the opening credits are honestly quite creepy with Maya Kitajima's（北島マヤ）frozen mask of a face (maybe that's the point; I've never read the manga) as she's prancing about in her blue swimsuit. Suddenly, images of that Darren Aronofsky film "Black Swan" come to mind.

However, I've got no problems with the opening theme "Garasu no Kamen" since it mixes together a combination of City Pop supplied by singer Mariko Ashibe（芦部真梨子）and Frank Stallone's 1983 hit "Far From Over". And of course, with the opening credits and the melody, "Flashdance" also pops up in the memory. Masao Urino（売野雅勇）supplied the lyrics while Gouji Tsuno（つのごうじ）came up with the snazzy music with Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）handling the arrangement (my compliments on the horn section).

Ashibe is already profiled here through a couple of articles based on two tracks from her one-and-only album under that name (she has gone by Reina Muramoto（村本玲奈）, jazz singer, since 1986), "Street Scandal"（ストリート・スキャンダル）.

Ikue Sakakibara -- Mama Louisa（ママ・ルイーザ）

 

This article was originally going to be another All-Points Bulletin request for identification on a mystery song. However, the Force was really with me today so I was able to find out the song title and the singer for the person who had reached out to me via the Contact Form earlier today.

https://streamable.com/adl02n

Allow me to explain. I was sent the above Streamable link to find out who was singing on the video. Well, there were two versions of one song there. The first several seconds had someone who I immediately pegged as a female 80s aidoru singer happily singing away at a tune with a certain 50s pop lilt. But I couldn't recognize the singer and punching in patches of the lyrics into search engines only got bupkis. The second singer was male and I found out that it was David Lui doing a cover version of the mystery song under the title of "Sweet Sixteen", and I did find a YouTube video for it as you can see above.

The David Lui and "Sweet Sixteen" clue was key here. I put those two into the search engine and was led to Discogs where I found out the composer in romaji: Kayoko Nagasaki. But I also found out her name in kanji: 「長崎加代子」. Punching that into J-Wiki, Nagasaki didn't have her own entry there, but I noticed that her name was placed a lot under 70s/80s aidoru and later TV personality/actress Ikue Sakakibara's（榊原郁恵）songs. 

Just on a whim, I chose one of those songs and put that into YouTube. Well, I should've bought myself a lottery ticket since I hit Bingo! "Mama Louisa" was the mystery song, and it was a track on Sakakibara's final studio album "Wandering Paradise" from June 1984. Nagasaki had actually done both words and music with Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）handling the arrangement. With that 1950s-sounding pop melody, I'd assumed that it was Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）behind it, but I was wrong there.

So, there was no need for the APB and everyone is happy. It usually doesn't happen that quickly so I'm happy that it did resolve itself the way it did. However, Sakakibara just recently lost the love of her life so I'm hoping that she's getting better and going on.

Keiko Han -- Mou Ichido Bossa Nova（もう一度ボサノバ）

 

In recent years, I've hearing the name Megumi Han（潘めぐみ）as an A-lister seiyuu with one of her main roles being of the bumbling witch-in-training Akko in "Little Witch Academia"（リトルウィッチアカデミア）, and she even had her year as a PreCure warrior. However, her mother has obviously been no slouch in the voice acting department either. Keiko Han（潘恵子）has been working up to the present day since 1977, and maybe her most recognizable role is that of Luna, the long-suffering cat and advisor for Sailor Moon.

In the decade before she took on the feline role, Han had also been a recording artist putting out four albums between 1981 and 1983. From her second album "HAN-TASTIC" (1982), I give you "Mou Ichido Bossa Nova" (Bossa Nova Once More) which is what it is: some very tasty bossa nova breezily sung by Han. The lyrics were written by Kozo Endo（遠藤幸三）and the melody was provided by Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）, someone who was getting into and delivering City Pop at around the same time. Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）arranged everything.

One other YouTube channel put up the entire album back in April, and it sounds like Han was lightly pressing her singing muscles into a range of genres...a bit of aidoru here, some AOR there but keeping within a core of light pop. The track titles there hint at a global adventure but Han's J-Wiki profile also displays her albums with all of the tracks, and for "HAN-TASTIC", there are zodiac signs placed next to each of them. That might seem mysterious, but along with her professions of being a seiyuu and an actress, she's been called an astrologer, too.

SHOGUN -- You Turn Me On

 

Yup, my first article today was Xmas-based as would be the case on any November 25th on KKP, but I haven't forgotten that it is also Urban Contemporary Friday. In a way, I guess that I was psyching myself up for this last night since I was listening to a string of my old City Pop favourites: Junko Yagami's（八神純子）"Jealous", Junko Ohashi's（大橋純子）"Nemurenai Diamond" (眠れないダイアモンド）and Fujimal Yoshino（芳野藤丸）& Haruko Kuwana's（桑名晴子）"Who Are You?".

While listening to that last one, I saw a video off to the side titled "You Turn Me On" by the band SHOGUN, which had Yoshino as a member. Knowing the group primarily for uptempo songs such as "Otokotachi no Melody"（男達のメロディー）, I'd first assumed that a tune with a title of "You Turn Me On" would be something fairly funky and raunchy.

The English-language "You Turn Me On" is indeed upbeat but it isn't actually a sex machine of a song. It's actually a very sweet paean to the one the protagonist loves, and I can picture some fellow finishing up a long day at work heading back home to happily see his wife. With lyrics by Casey Rankin and lovely melody by Yoshino, it's a gently galloping New Music/City Pop sound with the typical synthesizer haze effect of 70s City Pop gone even more spacey. The arrangements were handled by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）with "You Turn Me On" included as a track on the band's debut self-titled album from June 1979. Not surprisingly, "Otokotachi no Melody" is also in there.

Sanae Yokota -- Digital Lullaby（デジタル ・ ララバイ）

 

I gather that today's weather is somewhat in a meteorological transition period. It's neither warm nor cool but the sun is out, but we are fast approaching the arrival of autumn in half a week.

Time to introduce another 80s aidoru who had a brief time in the spotlight. Sanae Yokota（横田早苗）was born in Nakano Ward, Tokyo but grew up in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. In 1982, the lass as a high girl senior got as far as the semi-finals for the Miss Seventeen Contest sponsored by the girls' fashion magazine "Seventeen", and right in January 1983, she made her debut as a teen idol with the single "Fuantasy Night"（不安タジー・ナイト）. No spelling error with the first word of that title which is a transnational pun combining the word "fantasy" and the Japanese word "fuan" which means "worry" or "doubt".

However, this article will feature the B-side to "Fuantasy Night", "Digital Lullaby". As was the case with earlier aidoru Tomoko Ishizaka's（石坂智子）similarly titled "Digital Night Lullaby"（デジタル・ナイト・ララバイ）from 1980, Yokota's "Digital Lullaby" doesn't sound even remotely like a techno kayo but is merely another cute aidoru tune written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）, composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）and arranged by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）. It's got a bit of character through the inclusion of that rolling Latin piano in parts.

Yokota released three singles, all in 1983, along with one album "Summer Breeze". She also appeared in a smattering of variety shows and dramas, and published one photo book up to 1987, but that was all she wrote.