GARNiDELiA -- ambiguous

 

First off, may I give a Happy Memorial Day to everyone down Stateside? Hopefully, you've all had your own successful long weekend. It was just a regular Monday here although we did have our own long weekend the week before due to Victoria Day, but I was able to meet an old friend of mine for a ramen lunch and then a movie.

We chose "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga". The two of us had seen "Fury Road" which was literally a blast since we got to sit in those highly reactive seats in the theatre. No such luck this time, but "Furiosa" did keep us entertained for the approximately 2 1/2 hours. Of course, plenty of action and bizarre characters such as Immortan Joe (would love to see his origin story someday), and if you'll permit me to put this out there, there's actually a tonal similarity between this movie and the classic Rankin & Bass Christmas TV animated special "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". Basically, both projects answer any question that fans have had about the central character. ("Oh, that's how she lost her arm!")

Coming back home late this afternoon, I realized that "Furiosa" kinda had me reminiscing about an anime regarding a young woman out for some rage-filled revenge against an evil tyrant and his gang. It's hard to believe that it's now a decade since the wild and furious "Kill La Kill"（キルラキル）hit TV screens and dropped jaws all over the anime fan realm. Every time I went to my anime buddy's house to catch the latest two episodes, I was wondering how much more architectural infrastructure and flesh would be rendered asunder by the battles between Ryuko Matoi and Satsuki Kiryuin. I think even Mad Max himself would witness some of this and react "Whoa, ladies...hold up there". 

It's almost ten years since I posted my favourite theme song from "Kill La Kill" which was the first ending theme "Gomen ne, Ii Ko Ja Irarenai"（ごめんね、いいコじゃいられない）by singer-songwriter Miku Sawai（沢井美空）, and eventually I got to post the first opening theme, "Sirius" (シリウス) by Eir Aoi（藍井エイル）. Well, the "Kill La Kill" file on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" continues with the second opening theme "ambiguous" by pop/rock duo GARNiDELiA. 

Written by meg rock, who also provided lyrics for "Sirius", and composed by band partner/keyboardist Yoshinori "toku" Abe（阿部尚徳）, this was the first single by GARNiDELiA released in March 2014. Given life by vocalist Mai "MARiA" Mizuhashi（水橋舞）, "ambiguous" was something that I heard a fair bit during the anison hour that my buddy always provided during my visits, and I noticed that the song took on that certain arrangement of rock anthem lined with strings...kinda gothic in a way...that seemed to be quite popular back then among anison. "ambiguous" did have that rock rumble but when played against the opening credits sequence for "Kill La Kill", it had that mellowing effect against all of the Ryuko vs. Satsuki mayhem as battle lines (and life fibers) were drawn. Its success wasn't ambiguous, though; it hit No. 15 on Oricon.

Sayonara Ponytail -- Say Yes/Shin Sekai Koukyougaku（新世界交響楽）

 

I was doing the usual maintenance last night before heading to bed. As I was doing so, I encountered a couple of old articles and although they were handled separately by myself and KKP contributor Joana Bernardo, they both dealt with the same two acts who performed their versions of the same classic song: "Sora mo Toberu Hazu" (空も飛べるはず) by originating band Spitz (スピッツ) and the covering group Sayonara Ponytail (さよならポニーテール).

Well, I then thought to myself that the girl group Sayonara Ponytail, known also by their nickname SayoPony, has only had that one song to represent them through two articles on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Therefore, it was time to look further afield.

The first song that I came across also happened to be a cover of another popular song from yesteryear. SayoPony performed their version of "Say Yes", the Chage & Aska megahit that became the No. 2 song for 1991. I remember that one very well since it was one of the last CDs that I purchased in the music store before heading back to Canada from the JET Programme and it was also the theme for the popular Fuji-TV romance-drama "Hyakuikkaime no Propose"（101 回目のプロポーズ.... The 101st Proposal).

Whereas the original by Chage & Aska was so heart-on-a-sleeve romantic that boyfriends were probably forced to kneel down in front of their girlfriends if they ever heard it on a store speaker, the Sayonara Ponytail cover is a happy and skip-worthy pop number which would probably have the members of the group sing this in front of a campfire. It's not so much romantic as it is singalong fun. Great harmonies among everyone, too!

This version of "Say Yes" was a track on a compilation album of cover tunes by various acts. It's called "Moteki-teki Ongaku no Susume: Covers for MTK Lovers-ban"（モテキ的音楽のススメ Covers for MTK Lovers盤...Moteki Music Recommendations... Covers for MTK Lovers Version） and it came out in September 2011. The album was a part of a series provided under the aegis of the live-action adaptation of a manga called "Moteki"（モテキ）.

The second song of this article just happens to be the first song that I ever heard by Sayonara Ponytail although at the time, I didn't pay much attention to the details behind it. I was more keyed to the anime that it had been attached to, the wild "Kill La Kill"（キルラキル）. It's hard to believe that we're approaching nearly a decade since the show about a tough-as-nails high school student and weaponized clothing became the talk of the town in the anime world.

Miku Sawai's（沢井美空）"Gomen ne, Ii Ko Ja Irarenai"（ごめんね、いいコじゃいられない）was the first ending theme for "Kill La Kill" and it was a rock number that reflected the student/warrior Ryuko Matoi and her plight in life. But then, the second ending theme came out halfway through and the credits showed a cute-as-kittens ending credit sequence which focused solely on Ryuko's best friend, the extremely gabby and girly Mako Mankanshoku. Accompanying it was SayoPony's very pop "Shin Sekai Koukyougaku" (New World Symphony) created by the group's dedicated songwriter Fukkun（ふっくん）. It was released as a single in March 2014 (peaked at No. 27 on Oricon) as their 2nd major release after their 2012 debut which just happened to be the cover of "Sora mo Toberu Hazu" by Spitz.

One amazing thing that I hadn't known about Sayonara Ponytail is that they are very much a secret society of singers. From their own Wiki, I discovered that their identities have never been revealed and they have never appeared on camera or even performed live. In fact, the story is that very few of the members have even met each other. As well, any representation of the group has been done through illustrations. 

As of 2022, the lineup is Miina, Ayumin, Nacchan, Yuyu, and Shuka, and they're backed up by five music team members (who include the aforementioned Fukkun) and two support staff. Under these circumstances, Sayonara Ponytail would make the mystery dentist band Greeeen appear like the most public-domain musical entity.

Of course, I have to finish this with footage of the one-and-only Mako.

Eir Aoi -- Sirius (シリウス)

It's been a few years since I've seen one of the craziest anime to greet my eyes and ears, "Kill La Kill" (キルラキル) with its battle scenes...well, pretty much every scene...on acid. I did write about the first ending theme, "Gomen ne, Ii Ko Ja Irarenai" (ごめんね、いいコじゃいられない) which is still my favourite of the four theme songs used during the original run from 2013.

However, the first opening theme, although it never became an earworm to me, is not too bad either, in retrospect. Eir Aoi's（藍井エイル）"Sirius" helps all of us viewers blast into the action along with the opening credits. A fluffier song wouldn't do the show justice and every time I hear "Sirius", I always see Ryuko and Satsuki trying to bash each other into pulp.

"Sirius" is Aoi's 5th single from November 2013. According to Aoi herself on J-Wiki, the song was meant to be an upbeat work filled with the brightness of the teenage years. Well, if it's anything like the adolescence experienced by any of the main characters from "Kill La Kill", I would probably replace that word "brightness" with concepts such as "craziness", "psychosis" and "insanity".

Written by meg rock and composed by Ryosuke Shigenaga（重永亮介）, "Sirius" peaked at No. 21 on Oricon. It is also included on Aoi's 2nd album "Aube" from January 2014. That album got all the way to No. 6 on the charts.

Unfortunately, due to ill health, Aoi brought a stop to her career in late 2016 and for the meantime, it's unknown when or whether she will pick up the mike again.

Now here is Ryuko to show how NOT to drive a bus.

Mika Kobayashi -- Before My Body Is Dry

About a couple of years after putting up Miku Sawai's（沢井美空）"Gomen ne, Ii Ko Ja Irarenai"（ごめんね、いいコじゃいられない）, aka the first ending theme for the epic anime "Kill La Kill"（キルラキル）, on the blog, I'm adding the oft-played insert song "Before My Body Is Dry". My decision came from my watching the show a second time and I'm now in the last few episodes of the final showdown with The Sisters Matoi versus their evil mother, Ragyo (talk about the ultimate teen rebellion).

https://soundcloud.com/cheezitzrice/before-my-body-is-dry

Sung by Hiroshima-born singer-songwriter, Mika Kobayashi（小林未郁）, the song was usually played during a major battle between Ryuko Matoi and one of her many foes. With mpi and David Whitaker providing the lyrics and Hiroyuki Sawano（澤野弘之）making the music, the rock ballad was perfect to frame a 70s movie about a leather-clad lone wolf tough-as-nails female motorcycle rider.

The title may be "Before My Body Is Dry", but I'm always going to remember it as "Don't Lose Your Waaaaaaaaaaaaay!"

However, as one commenter remarked on YouTube, I have to admit that I'm a member of the group that is even more partial to the orchestral version of the song in the above video. It's a short excerpt but whenever it popped up during a climactic scene on "Kill La Kill", it had the same effect on me as the John Williams soundtrack when the first Death Star was blown up by Luke Skywalker or the music when all of the Doctors Who appeared on the 50th anniversary show to save Gallifrey. It has that superheroic sense of "HERE COMES THE CAVALRY!!" Just imagine you crashing a party to grab that last sausage roll with that music behind you.

Miku Sawai -- Gomen ne, Ii Ko Ja Irarenai （ごめんね、いいコじゃいられない）

The most WHACKED-OUT anime that I have seen...EVER...is "KILL LA KILL". My friend told me, before he revved up the computer to show me Episode 1, that this was A COMPLETELY NUTS SHOW and that was all he said. After watching said episode, I told him he had been rather understated. IMAGINE Michael Bay, Quentin Tarentino and Warner Brothers getting together to create their own nihilistic cartoon. It would still not approach THE EPIC AND GLORIOUS INSANITY that Kazuki Nakashima （中島かずき）and Hiroyuki Imaishi （今石洋之）unleashed during fall and winter of the past year. Propagandists for the fallen Soviet Union would have mewled, "WE ARE NOT WORTHY!!!"

Yes, well....now that I got that out of the way....

Let it be said that my friend and I enjoyed wayward student/warrior Ryuko Matoi and her school battlemates, the fey leader of freedom (from clothing) fighting group Nudist Beach along with the sky-high over-the-top action sequences....and of course, Ryuko's best buddy, Mako Mankanshoku who could give Seth MacFarlane's version of William Shatner on "Family Guy" a run for his money. Boy, would I love to see some enterprising YouTuber create a video with those two having a conversation.

There have been some fine anime theme songs over the past several months as well from shows like "Space Dandy" and "Uchoten Kazoku", and I would also have to add the show's first ending theme, "Gomen ne, Ii Ko Ja Irarenai" (Sorry, I'm Done Being A Good Kid) by singer-songwriter Miku Sawai（沢井美空）. Reminding me of some of Nanase Aikawa's （相川七瀬）early work in the mid-90s especially with that guitar, I thought that the keyboard with Sawai's high and delicate vocals also conveyed some of the innocence that may still reside in the hardened Ryuko, something the original ending credits illustrated as well. The above link will not only take you to the full version of the song but the "MV" symbol will then show you a brief excerpt of the official video.

"Gomen ne" was released as Sawai's 5th single in November 2013 going as high up as No. 37 on Oricon. The 20-year-old Osaka native got her spark into her future career from elementary school when she wrote up a collection of poetry for a teacher who was being transferred to another school. Then, inspired by singer YUI in junior high school, she made up her mind to go into songwriting. In 2011, she made her debut with "Atashi, Kyo, Shitsuren Shimashita"（あたし、今日、失恋しました...I, Today, Got My Heart Broken）.

(cover version)

For the final several episodes of the series, there was another ending theme "Shin Sekai Kōkyōgaku"（新世界交響楽...New World Symphony） by Sayonara Ponytail. However, the full version of "Gomen ne" returned to wrap up the whole thing, and I thought the way the music matched the actions of the three main human characters in a new and improved world was just right. I am definitely looking forward to seeing that special OAV epilogue in September.

And now I leave you with the sage words of the one and only Mako Mankanshoku. Please do not watch under the influence.