Taro Hakase -- Jounetsu Tairiku（情熱大陸）/Kei Haneoka -- Muscle Queen

 

Violinist extraordinaire Taro Hakase（葉加瀬太郎）is someone that has been mentioned on the pages of KKP because of his work within the musical trio KRYZLER & KOMPANY. I've also noted that I used to see him a fair bit on television in Japan not only for his performances but also as a tarento along with his wife Mayuko Takada（髙田万由子）. What I hadn't known was that both of them could speak English as they are doing above while being interviewed by the BBC several years ago.

I saw him last week, in fact, as a guest on the popular NHK information variety series "Chiko-chan ni Shikarareru!"（チコちゃんに叱られる!...Don't Sleep Through Life!）. He was as charming and amiable as ever, and I was reminded of a song that he composed and performed as a soloist years ago which hit me through the airwaves. I never saw the TBS late-night human interest program "Jounetsu Tairiku" (Continent of Passion) which began in 1998 but I think that its theme with the same title has become even more well-known than the program itself and apparently it has become one of Hakase's most famous pieces. According to J-Wiki, though, the song wasn't used until over half a year into the program's run.

To be honest, I thought "Jounetsu Tairiku" was something that was used in commercials, and it probably was used in the ads for the source program. It's quite the heroic and snazzy number with the salsa and good dollops of jazz solos accompanying Hakase's wicked playing. Perhaps it's safe to say that it can almost be like his own theme tune. "Jounetsu Tairiku" has been placed onto the violinist's album "Songbook" released in 2021.

"Jounetsu Tairiku" has also been one of the many songs that were ripe for clever parody by composer Kei Haneoka（羽岡佳）for the anime "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai"（かぐや様は告らせたい...Kaguya-sama: Love is War）. Given the unlikely title of "Muscle Queen" due to a new nickname give to the title character herself in Season 3 last year, it's unmistakably a tribute to Hakase, and it's a part of "KAGUYA Music Collection Season 3" which came out at the end of March this year.

However, I remember "Muscle Queen" being played for another notorious scene in Season 3. Sigh...young people these days; no sense of control.😋

Yumiri Hanamori -- Kanashikute Lu Lu Lu（悲しくて lulululu）/Kaon Kokudo -- Anata no ♡ ni Headshot! （あなたの♡にヘッドショット！）

 

Indeed, Season 3 of the "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〜）franchise, "Ultra Romantic", finished up months ago, although I'm still catching up on the show with Episode 10 to be seen this week. Yup, I'm also approaching the moment of the entire series, and in a few weeks apparently, there will be a special "Kaguya-sama" movie titled in English as "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – The First Kiss That Never Ends" which will show the consequences of that moment.

"Ultra Romantic" has had its highlights as was the case with the previous two seasons with one of those coming up in Episode 2 where Kaguya and a very reluctant Ai Hayasaka pulled off yet another machination on Miyuki at a local karaoke box. The plan didn't quite go off to plan but Kaguya's jack-of-all-trades major-domo once again displayed another ability which was singing. And unlike Miyuki, Hayasaka showed that she could hold a tune very well which further cemented my impression during all of my times at karaoke with students and fellow teachers that there is always that one singer who can hold everyone's attention with their vocal cords.

Seiyuu Yumiri Hanamori（花守ゆみり）, aka Hayasaka, displayed a brief excerpt of her abilities via "Kanashikute Lu Lu Lu" (My Feelings Lu Lu Lu) as an insert song. But in the months since the broadcast of the episode, I've noticed that the song has gotten quite a bit of coverage via YouTube. Written by "Kaguya-sama" creator Aka Akasaka（赤坂アカ）and Kiyomi Kumano（くまのきよみ）, and composed by Keiki Nishida（西田圭稀）, "Kanashikute Lu Lu Lu" sounds like a 1990s J-Pop ballad, so I instantly got some nostalgia vibes from listening to it. The lyrics also seem to reflect Hayasaka's frustration at her own relationships, either with Kaguya or Miyuki. From what I've read regarding later chapters of the manga yet to be shown on screen, things will get more complicated for everyone involved.

While I'm at it here, I felt like putting in this much briefer insert tune which premiered in Episode 1 where Ishigami tries to save Iino's pride by showing off what he listens to.

Yes, this is the sugary-sweet moe "Anata no 💓 ni Headshot" (Headshot to Your 💓) that pretty much seals Ishigami's fate as a kyun-kyun loving otaku. Once again, the lyrics are by Akasaka with the melody and arrangement by Kei Haneoka（羽岡佳）, the man behind the soundtrack for all of "Kaguya-sama". I'm convinced that he can whip up any sort of music from any genre now, including anything that could be sung by employees at a maid café.

Singing it is vocalist and lyricist Kaon Kokudo（國土佳音）who hails from Saitama Prefecture and began her career in music in 2015. In addition to her main activities, Kokudo has also provided chorus arrangement, narration and vocal direction. Her singing runs the gamut from opera to heavy metal.

"Kaguya-sama" has had all this attention and attraction from the budding romance and comedic misunderstandings for the past few years, but I also think that any of the music attached to the franchise has been top-notch as well. 

maimie -- Yasashisa no Kioku（やさしさの記憶）

 

Not sure if this is indeed a thing, but I've noticed that the 7th episodes in seasons of certain anime go into absolute wacky comedy mode. That was something that my anime buddy and I noticed for the first couple of seasons of "Strike Witches" and that has certainly been the case for the first couple of seasons for "Kaguya-sama: Love is War".

I'm not trying to intimate that "Kaguya-sama" is a dour drama. Of course, it's a romantic comedy (for the most part) anime that has become must-see TV along the lines that Marvel's "WandaVision" has been this year. However, Episode 7 of Season 1 with the introduction of Ishigami at last and Kaguya's weiner fetish brought the house down, and then its twin in Season 2 with Kaguya's deep curiosity about underwear and hand massages was another hilarious mishmash of misunderstandings.

Then, Season 2 Episode 7 pulled off another coup. Even with three full segments, it suddenly whipped into the ending credits with several more minutes left on the clock. According to the reaction videos, folks were wondering whether the show had been pre-empted by an emergency broadcast or the studio ran out of budget for the show. It was quite the opposite, actually. The animators apparently possessed a ton of money since they all went crazy and put forth a shojo manga version of "Kaguya-sama" for kicks in the remaining time. Most of the funny if psychologically kinked characters were all smoothed over and given injections of heavy-duty nobility. The reactors had to lift their jaws off the floor.

For months, I had been hoping that the theme song for this shojo manga "Kaguya-sama" would be put up onto YouTube and it looks like my wish came true at the end of October last year, thanks to the uploader Ran Mouri. "Yasashisa no Kioku" (Memories of Kindness) by singer-songwriter maimie is perfect for the pink and fluffy take on "Kaguya-sama". It's so happy, optimistic and uptempo that I just want to grab a net, run out and catch butterflies.

Kiyomi Kumano（くまのきよみ）was responsible for the lyrics while Kei Hanaoka（羽岡佳）, the man responsible for the amazing soundtrack behind the show, took care of the music and arrangement. 

We "Kaguya-sama" fans are openly excited about the impending arrival of an OVA of the series and then the eventual Season 3.

Kei Haneoka -- Kaguya-sama: Love is War Soundtrack

Well, crazy as it sounds, it's been a year since the first season of "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〜）hopped onto the TV screen from the original manga. I mostly enjoyed that first run although I think the last couple of episodes veered a little too drastically into the dramatic and the humour never quite recovered to its earlier manic levels (Kaguya's laugh fit trigger, her prior opinions on the birds and the bees, etc.), but that is just me. There are folks who were completely satisfied with it and have been slavering over a second season which was indeed announced near the end of 2019 for a Spring 2020 launch. Happily, the trailer for Season 2 is out now.

Of course, that opening theme song "Love Dramatic" by Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）and Rikka Ihara（伊原六花）has been one for the anison memories, and I can only hope that the new opening and/or ending themes will be up there in the cool factor. Meanwhile, I also enjoyed some of the soundtrack that was on display throughout the episodes.

The music for "Kaguya-sama" was provided by veteran Tokyo-born composer and arranger Kei Haneoka（羽岡佳）. He's crafted a goodly sum of soundtracks for both live-action TV dramas and anime, so it's not surprising that he's been able to inject some parodies of drama themes to good effect into this album. For example, there is "Kansetsu Ki..."（間接キ...Indirect Ki...）.

Indeed, as I soon heard this familiar wistful piano in one of the early episodes, I pegged it right away as a variation on the famous theme song for the Korean drama "Winter Sonata", "From the Beginning Until Now". That drama and the song blasted through Japanese pop culture like wildfire around 20 years ago. One of my students even had the actual score for the song opened up on her grand piano.

As for "Kansetsu Ki...", it was used for hilarious effect at the end of the segment in Episode 3 when President Shirogane and Secretary Fujiwara figured out that their impression of what "the first time" and Vice-President Shinomiya's impression were totally different, especially when Kaguya finally understood it all.

Then, there is "Kokuhaku"（告白...Confession）. My compliments to Haneoka for getting that perfect keyboard sound from the theme song for "Tokyo Love Story", "Love Story wa Totsuzen ni"（ラブストーリーは突然に）. It even has that familiar electric guitar launch from Kazumasa Oda's（小田和正）masterpiece.

The above is from the notorious Episode 7 and "Kokuhaku" comes on at about 00:57.

But not all of the tracks were parodies of romantic theme songs. One such track from Volume 2 of the soundtrack, "Shippai"（失敗...Failure）, is a blast from the past...specifically from my university days in the 1980s.

It's been used, as have the other tracks, all throughout the episodes, but the one episode that has stood out is truly Episode 7. It may be the most famous one in "Kaguya-sama" due to that segment about that special word which can have Kaguya in absolute stitches, and the use of "Shippai" stands out the most when the narrator does his usual exposition. "Shippai" comes in back in that Episode 7 video at 00:50.

Ahhhh...yes. Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round". Haneoka was born in 1977 so he must have been in elementary school when the single came out.

This is maybe one of the tracks that wasn't riffing on some other drama soundtrack but "Chaos Riron"（カオス理論...Chaos Theory） is perhaps a bit ironic in terms of its title since I think it has been used whenever Miyuki and Kaguya have been concocting their overanalyses and tactics against each other. But then again, the song may be describing the destruction of their well-laid plans. In any case, the track does sound like something from a superhero anime or a cop show.

I will be interested in seeing the new season in a few months and also hearing whether Haneoka will be riffing on some other romantic drama soundtracks in addition to the parodies that he's provided here.