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.
It looks like the pattern is being made with the Kobayashi-san file on KKP. Since I first put up the first opening theme to "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） back in 2017, it's been the case that there is a flurry of articles based on the anime's music one year and then things go fallow for a few years. In fact, the last time I wrote about anything on the beloved anime, it was back in 2021.
Well, I heard that the cinematic chapter in the franchise, "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon: Samishigariya no Ryu"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン さみしがりやの竜...A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved ）was released in theatres a month ago, and if the above trailer is of any indication, you're gonna have to bring a box of tissues. The usually cute if stoic Kanna Kamui has a major "OOC is Serious Business" episode here and so will fans in all likelihood.
As a few Japanese commenters have stated, how could there be any Kobayashi-san film without fhana? It would be like Kirk without Spock and hamburgers without French fries. And so, the band has come out with "Namida no Parade" (Parade of Tears). It's the usual fhana/Kobayashi-san happiness and the music video has the gang doing the usual dance show, this time starting out on location in Odaiba, Tokyo. To be honest, it could take a few more listens for it to grow on me because it hasn't quite hit me as amazingly as "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）and "Ai no Supreme!"（愛のシュプリーム！）from Season 2. "Namida no Parade" came out as one-half of a single in June including the ending theme for the movie, Sachiko Kobayashi's（小林幸子）"Boku-tachi no Hibi"（僕たちの日々...Our Days）.
Well, the second season of "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） finished this week, and I was able to catch it yesterday. It was somewhat surprising because I had been expecting something a little more dramatic and action-packed as was the case for the finale of Season 1, but instead, it turned out to be a very relaxing and humour-filled ending (I guess the penultimate episode was going for the drama). No complaints on my part, however, and it was nice to see the show cover not just one but two annual Japanese outdoor traditions. We can only wait for Season 3 to come out sometime in the next couple of years, I hope.
I'd thought that my article on "Ishukan Relationship"（イシュカン♡リレーションシップ）, the special ending theme for one episode in Season 2 as sung by Yuki Kuwahara（桑原由気）, the seiyuu behind the chipper-but-powerful Tohru, would be the final one for the "Kobayashi-san" file for the foreseeable future. However, I'm happily wrong since while browsing through YouTube late last night, I encountered a track from that necessary part of any successful anime franchise merchandise: the character song album.
Sure enough, the Lantis label released "L・O・V・E" yesterday with the main seiyuu providing various songs. The track that I heard was the very first one that starts off the album, "Give Me Love", featuring Kobayashi-san herself, Mutsumi Tamura（田村睦心）, along with Kuwahara, and seiyuu Tomomi Mineuchi（嶺内ともみ）as the new character of Ilulu. fhana's Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）and Junichi Sato（佐藤純一）were responsible for words, music and arrangement of this short-and-sweet-and-fun song with a mix of cute rap, dance beats and Latin. Maybe for next season, instead of just Kanna heading to New York City, it could be the whole gang vacationing in Rio.
From what I see of "L・O・V・E" at the Lantis website itself, it also has Super Chorogons'（スーパーちょろゴンず）version of "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）, the opening theme for the first season, and "Maid with Dragons"（めいど・うぃず・どらごんず︎❤︎）, the ending theme for the second season, as sung individually by the seiyuu.
When I was writing up the article, I'd assumed that this would be Tamura's first appearance on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but I had completely forgotten that she was already up here as of 2015, thanks to her singing for the anime"Kill Me Baby".
Should've realized that fhana did do the original as the coupling song for "Ai no Supreme"（愛のシュプリーム！）.
Well, as they say, good things come to an end, and fans of "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） will probably be going into major withdrawal early next week when the final episode of Season 2 gets shown. We've seen some more plot and character development and things such as the addition of at least a couple of more regular characters, Kobayashi gaining a new body part temporarily, Tohru and Elma perhaps finally making amends, and Kanna vs The Mafia.
The penultimate episode which I caught a couple of days ago was fairly dramatic as I'd expected but early on, I did find out that Kobayashi was on an eternal search for the perfect massaging device due to her chronic lower back issues. Crazily enough, one of those devices popped up immediately in the above video, and it turned out to be the one that I got from Tokyu Hands back in 2014. And just like Kobayashi, I haven't used it much either. For one thing, it's ouch-y! Fortunately for one of us, though, there was a vibrating dragon tail that finally did the trick.
Anyways, I did say that good things do come to an end, didn't I? So perhaps this song here will probably be the last entry for the "Kobayashi-san" file for the next little while (hopefully, we won't have to wait another four years plus for Season 3). Not certain whether this will remain just that one-minute musical interlude or whether it will get the full three to four minute treatment, but the supremely upbeat song finished off Episode 3 of this season as the ending theme.
The song is titled "Ishukan Relationship" (Interspecies Relationship) as a slight nod of the head to the regular ending theme for Season 1, "Ishukan Communication"(イシュカン・コミュニケーション). Tohru was digging her horns of a dilemma into what could be a good hobby for her. Finally, she opted to become an aidoru fan...the aidoru being Miss Kobayashi herself. Before everyone knew it, the dragon maid amassed a whole plethora of Kobayashi paraphernalia and even the song "Ishukan Relationship" with the lyrics of "lick and kiss". Even the powerful Kanna and Ilulu couldn't hold up under the strain with the former making an emergency call to Miss Kobayashi at the office. Her rush home to see the insanity back at the apartment reminded me of the typical episode from "Bewitched" or "I Dream of Jeannie".
Was able to find the 3rd-episode ender with all of the tenderhearted scenes of Tohru and Kobayashi from the first season and the specials. Yuki Kuwahara（桑原由気）, Tohru's seiyuu, gives that supremely enthusiastic aidoru-like performance for the high-energy "Ishukan Relationship" in character. Ginnojo Hoshi（星銀乃丈）who composed the regular ending theme for Season 2, "Maid with Dragons"（めいど・うぃず・どらごんず︎❤︎）, was behind everything for "Ishukan Relationship".
It looks like the finale may be a pretty heartwarming one with at least some of the story taking place at the annual summer festival with presumably the entire cast of characters. Will there be some sort of cliffhanger, though? Anyways it was a happy sophomore outing with "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S" and we'll be waiting with bated breath for the third season.
Now if only we can get a second season of "Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun"（月刊少女野崎くん...Girls' Monthly Nozaki-kun）. Please?
Well, a third of the way into "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S"（小林さんちのメイドラゴンS...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S） and it appears as if the fans are happy with what they've seen so far including the inclusion of the newest resident in the Kobayashi household, the foe-turned-friend Ilulu. Yup, that second season opening "Ai no Supreme!"（愛のシュプリーム！）is a bona fide earworm in the same steps as "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）.
As much as the tradition of having the band fhana come up with the opening theme, the ending theme custom of having the female dragon portion of the cast perform it is also continuing. However, Chorogons have been upgraded to Super Chorogons（スーパーちょろゴンず）with the addition of seiyuu Tomomi Mineuchi（嶺内ともみ）as the aforementioned Ilulu, joining Yūki Kuwahara（桑原由気）as Tohru, Maria Naganawa（長縄まりあ）as Kanna, Minami Takahashi（高橋未奈美）as Lucoa, and Yūki Takada（高田憂希）as Elma.
"Maid with Dragons" begins with a bit of that vaudevillian feeling that infused the ending theme for the last season, "Ishukan Communication" (イシュカン・コミュニケーション), but then it shifts over to a more conventional pop style although the upbeat nature is retained. As was the case with "Ishukan Communication", Yohei Matsui（松井洋平）is the lyricist but the composer this time is Ginnojo Hoshi（星銀乃丈）.
Gotta have the live-action video, too. And it looks like Super Chorogons have followed up on their cover of fhana's "Aozora no Rhapsody" by even performing their version of this season's opener "Ai no Supreme!". No need to ingest any desserts tonight.
Another Hump Day has arrived. However, there is one little corner on Earth that is in fine celebratory fettle right now, and that would be the region where the "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） fandom resides. The second season, known as "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S", had its premiere a few hours ago fulfilling a wish that fans have had since the first season ended all the way back in Spring 2017. And I think especially after the arson attack on Kyoto Animation in 2019, those prayers had been especially intense.
I remember when another anime franchise, "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〜...Kaguya Wants to be Confessed to: The Geniuses' War of Love and Brains）, had finished its first successful season in 2019 with folks swooning at the opening theme song by soulful Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）and Rikka Ihara（伊原六花）, "Love Dramatic"（ラブ・ドラマティック）. The following year when the second season was on the verge of being televised, fans were openly praying that Suzuki would come back with another barnburner of a song. Wish granted with "DADDY! DADDY! DO!" with assistance from Airi Suzuki（鈴木愛理）.
We might be seeing the same phenomenon taking place with "Kobayashi-san". The adorable and slightly jazzy opening theme from the original season by fhana, "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）, had everyone enthralled and in commemoration of the coming second season, the original cast even did their own rendition of "Aozora no Rhapsody" last week. I'm sure that fans were hoping that fhana would come up with another catchy and delicious hit for the second season opening theme.
Once again, I say "Wish granted". With an opening credit sequence that incorporates even more dancing and singing by the characters, fhana's 16th and latest single"Ai no Supreme!" (Love Supreme) is going to be making waves. According to J-Wiki, it will be released on July 14th and as I'd hoped, it's another banger with some funk and rap and samba this time around. Written by band leader Junichi Sato（佐藤純一）and lyricist Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）, the same duo behind "Aozora no Rhapsody", there's a bit more of a fun vocal give-and-take between fhana members towana and kevin mitsunaga with "Ai no Supreme!".
Of course, there has to be an official music video for "Ai no Supreme!" and it's done in the same style that the video for "Aozora no Rhapsody" was created. Once again, as I did for the first season and the first theme tune, I've ended up falling for the second season and second theme tune even before I get to see a single episode. But I also have to remind myself that my time with fhana didn't begin with the "Kobayashi-san" franchise. It was all because of a glorious ending theme they sang as their debut single back in 2013 for "Uchoten Kazoku"（有頂天家族...The Eccentric Family）.
Well, I'll tell ya something. In January 2017, I wrote up an article on pop band fhana's incredibly catchy and beloved "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ...Blue Sky Rhapsody） and stated that it was the first time that I'd ever cottoned onto an anime theme song even before catching the series itself. That series is "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid）, and sure enough, the two theme songs including the ending "Ishukan Communication" (イシュカン・コミュニケーション), performed by most of the cast under the unit name of Chorogons (ちょろゴンず), and the anime became the talk of the town in those early months.
Of course, there were the various live-action appearances of the cast for the fans' sake which have been placed onto YouTube. One particular video that I remember very well was when Chorogons, voiced by Yūki Kuwahara（桑原由気）, Maria Naganawa（長縄まりあ）, Minami Takahashi（高橋未奈美）, and Yūki Takada（高田憂希）, went into a sudden dance party for "Aozora no Rhapsody" that was both adorable and awkward at the same time. But it stuck to me like wallpaper.
Let's roll ahead 4 1/2 years later when all of us "Kobayashi-san" fans were wondering whether a second season of the show would ever show up. Well, indeed it has and it will be titled "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S" with the first episode being broadcast in early July on Tokyo MX. Yay!
Returning to that video of the cast dancing to "Aozora no Rhapsody", I wonder if that had been the spark for the immediate above presentation that was just launched on the Lantis YouTube channel today. The song is back on but this time it's the Super Chorogons with the expanded cast helping out in their cover of "Aozora no Rhapsody". It's basically an affectionate near-clone of the original music video by fhana (who make guest cameos) to commemorate the launch of the second season, and happiness still bounds out of the screen. Not sure if the video will be popping up on a later Blu-Ray or if the cover itself will get onto the soundtrack.
Of course, I can't finish things without providing the trailer for "S", and it looks like fhana has come out with another banger of an opening theme.
The very first Author's Picks article in late 2013 belongs to JTM and he chose the opportunity to cover some of his favourite anison, J-Drama and Japanese movie themes. Strangely enough, I realized that I have yet to describe some of my own favourite anison although I have often touched upon the genre in articles going all the way to KKP's inaugural year of 2012.
Well, challenge accepted then! However, when I was dreaming up my list, I also realized that I had forgotten to include some of the very first anison themes that had come to my ears such as the ones belonging to "Space Cruiser Yamato" and other tunes before 2011. So, when it comes down to it, I've decided to make this list under one simple condition: my favourite anison are to be for shows that I've seen over the past decade since returning from Japan in December 2011. I will make a separate list for beloved anime themes pre-2011 at a later date.
Thinking up the list, I believe and I think you will also believe that a lot of my choices for favourite anison have that certain funk and groove, and that is probably due to the fact that my favourite genre in Japanese popular music is City Pop/AOR. But there will be a few exceptions.
Shall we being then? Ah, before I forget, the list isn't in any particular order.
An anime series doesn't necessarily demand a cookin' theme song to be successful. I've seen some pretty fine shows for which I can't really remember the themes, to be honest. However, a great opening theme can act as a splendid business card for what the show can bring to your senses. Case in point: "Viva Namida"（ビバナミダ）by Prince-ly funk artist Yasuyuki Okamura（岡村靖幸）for the out-of-left-universe show "Space Dandy". As I mentioned in the original article for the song, I knew that I had to get the single when I heard it on Episode 1. Seeing all of the sexy opening credits paired with this sexy song made my choice pretty inevitable. I was getting major Bootsy Collins vibes from Okamura who at the time looked like a buttoned-down company cog until he began hitting the dance floor.
Okamura got all funky? Well, so did Suzuki（鈴木雅之）, and he and his namesake, Airi（鈴木愛理）, added dollops of soul to "DADDY! DO! DO!" to this opening theme for the second season of "Kaguya-sama: Love is War" which will end next weekend, much to fans' disappointment. Folks had been wondering whether Martin would be back to reprise opening theme duties and they were celebrating in the streets when he and his new partner brought a song that may have even eclipsed the amazing "Love Dramatic" from Season 1. Like many YouTube viewers, I've listened to "DADDY! DO! DO!" a ton of times since it was put up and I've yet to get tired of it. Who would have thought that such cool songs would be associated with a rom-com manga-based anime (albeit maybe one of the most popular works ever made)? Now, the pressure is on whether Suzuki can pull off a three-peat with Season 3 (and yeah, there just HAS to be a Season 3).
Getting all sentimental here, but "Joshiraku"（じょしらく）is one of the first anime that I got to see at my buddy's place soon after getting back to Toronto for good. "Kaguya-sama" is the "Frasier" of anime to me, but "Joshiraku" has always been my anime "Seinfeld". The five female rakugo artists simply banter about anything under the sun in their tiny resting room away from the stage. And that raucous opening theme "O-Ato ga Yoroshikutte...YO!"（お後がよろしくって。。。よ！）has had the same effect on me as the theme song for "The Flintstones" did for me whenever I got to see the adventures of Fred and Barney. It's just a welcoming happy tune for each episode while the credits show off the loony mayhem that is to follow. It's just a pity that a second season never came to fruition but at least I got to see the beginnings of Ayane Sakura's（佐倉綾音）career.
4. Petit Rabbit's -- Daydream Café (Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka? Season 1, 2014)
Speaking of Sakura, here she is as part of Petit Rabbit's, the main cast singing the first opening theme for the franchise "Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?"（ご注文はうさぎですか）. "Daydream Café" in its own way is very similar to the opener for "Joshiraku" in that it gives off that welcome shiny and cheery tune basically describing a typical episode of what is basically Girls und Cafés, and the cast perform the tune in character. Although there have been a number of theme songs now for "GochiUsa" in the past six years of its anime existence (including the one that will adorn Season 3 later this fall), I think "Daydream Café" will always be the one theme that fits everyone to a tea...tee.
5. Chinatsu Akasaki, Haruka Tomatsu & Aki Toyosaki -- Wa! Moon! dass! cry! (Joshi Kosei no Mudazukai, 2019)
Since I've been throwing in these comparisons of these anime to American sitcoms that I've known, how about saying that the zany "Joshi Kosei no Mudazukai"（女子高生の無駄づかい）is a mix between "MASH" and "Welcome Back, Kotter"? Discuss! As I recall, there were a few really catchy theme songs in the summer of 2019, but "Wa! Moon! dass! cry!"（輪！Moon！dass！cry！）has come out on top for me because it has been the earworm that has kept on giving all these months leading to the 1-year anniversary since its appearance as an anime. Akasaki（赤崎千夏）, Tomatsu（戸松遥）and Toyosaki（豊崎愛生）who play the main trio in the show must have earned their vocal hazard pay in lunging into this playful sing-song rap with a dance remix rhythm. And the song even gets rather poignantly sweet at the end. It just makes me hope that a second season might come out.
6. Shonan no Kaze -- Grand Blue (Grand Blue, 2018)
Talk about hoping for a Season 2. It's hard to believe that it will soon be two years since the wall-to-wall hilarity of "Grand Blue"（ぐらんぶる）assaulted my funny bone. I still go to the reaction videos from time to time to share in the laughter, and I finally got my own copy of the show. "Grand Blue" the opening theme by Shonan no Kaze（湘南乃風）is the ultimate mood maker for summery good times and dancing on the beach (maybe there can be some actual diving, too!). Like the other themes, it has prepped me into a good mood for each episode.
Great theme (and it's an ending theme this time, too!)...too bad about the anime, though. Frankly, I thought that "Kumamiko"（くまみこ）finished its run somewhat like Roman Polanski's 1965 psychological horror "Repulsion", but on happier news, that ending theme "Kumamiko Dancing" was just oodles of fun along the same lines of "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars. Who'da thought that a tune about a relationship between a talking bear and a teenage shrine maiden could be so deliciously danceable? If the show hadn't ended the way it did, I would have said looking at the ending credits that everyone was in a happy place in that village.
Of all of the shows listed here, "Amanchu!"（あまんちゅ！）is the one show that isn't a zany comedy. I mean, it has its examples of gentle humour but really the anime that really focuses on diving is one of the sweetest and most wistful slice-of-life shows that I've ever seen, and it's far away from the "Animal House" that is "Grand Blue". It would only be logical that the opening theme matches that calm coming-of-age atmosphere, and that has been achieved with Maaya Sakamoto's（坂本真綾）"Million Clouds", one very moving theme song that captures the feeling of growing up, making new friends and learning about life.
"Witchcraft Works" was an intriguing anime although as the episodes moved on, I was starting to lose track of the story. However, what stayed constant was the earworm status of the ending theme by KMM Dan, "Witchcraft Activity", and one of the group happens to be seiyuuNatsumi Hioka（日岡なつみ）who's already represented above. The first time I heard this song whipped up by TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN FUND at the end of the pilot episode was all I needed to get that urge to get the CD. The full-speed beats and the rat-a-tat delivery by the group absolutely bewitched me.
10. fhana -- Aozora no Rhapsody (Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon, 2017)
Another opening theme that welcomed me and other viewers into the world of corporate cogs, elementary school students and magical beings, fhana's"Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）is trippy and sweeping at the same time. Those opening words and the disco strings had me crying "Uncle!" and what was additionally wonderful was that jazzy guitar bridge in the full version of the song. Now, if only a second season would come for this one, too.
Whew! Got those 10 up there. Hopefully, there are some of them that you like and I realize that there are some that I would have liked to have gotten up here but that's all she wrote. I'm just glad that I could finally get my first anison list up.
Well, what a difference a couple of days make. Approaching the end of last week, we were in quite the deep freeze after getting a pounding of snow last weekend. Then from the weekend, the temperatures rose up to very spring-like levels. A good amount of the snow has dissipated so we can enjoy some of this good weather before things inevitably get back to normal for the remaining weeks of winter.
And what a difference a month makes in the anime season. A little over a month ago, I had written up about the opening theme for "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） which was fhana's super-happy earworm "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）. Back in January, I hadn't even caught the first episode of the anime and was wondering whether the show would live up to the promise of that song.
Well, my anime buddy and I have now almost reached the halfway point of the season and it looks like "Kobayashi-san" has become a pleasant surprise to a lot of the viewers including us. The titular female character was this rather lonely and stoic office worker until a whole group of dragons-turned-humans entered her life and apartment. It's gotten rather crazy now but at the same time, Miss Kobayashi has come to the realization that she has also become happier with this sudden addition of a family. Considering that today is Family Day here in the province of Ontario, I couldn't have asked for a better article to write about.
Plugging onto the satisfaction level is the fact that the ending theme is also an earworm. Titled "Ishukan Communication" (Interspecies Communication), this is performed by four of the dragon characters voiced by Yūki Kuwahara（桑原由気）, Maria Naganawa（長縄まりあ）, Minami Takahashi（高橋未奈美）, and Yūki Takada（高田憂希）. On the website "TV Tropes", the opening theme of "Aozora no Rhapsody" was described as being arranged in a "classic" style. Well, it looks like "Ishukan Communication" is following in a similar vein although I would call the snappy arrangement here as almost being old-style vaudevillian.
The full version of "Ishukan Communication" is back up on YouTube (for now). Yohei Matsui and Junichi Sato（松井洋平・佐藤純一）, the latter being a member of fhana, created this earworm. The group name for the seiyuu performing this is Chorogons (ちょろゴンず), a term that was coined by Miss Kobayashi in one episode to describe her new buddies as "laidback dragons". Not sure how it has done on Oricon but for fans of the show, I'm fairly positive that the song has also managed to bury itself deep into their heads.
When I first read the title for "Ishukan Communication", I had thought
that first word was isshukan or "one week" which seemed rather
odd for this show. Ishukan makes much more sense.
According to the mass media, today is supposed to be Blue Monday. This was so coined due to the combination of post-Holiday blues, the continuing shorter period of sunlight during the winter, and the bills coming in from all that Yuletide carousing last month. I should have my own bills coming in over the next couple of weeks, but I don't think they will be too painful.
But never let it be said that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" can't at least try to blow back some of those blues so I've brought in the first entry for the blog categorized as a 2017 song, the opening theme for the new anime "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） by pop groupfhana as their 10th single.
Along with the fact that it is the first song to be given the 2017 tag, "Aozora no Rhapsody" (Blue Sky Rhapsody) has my own little distinction of being the first article I'm providing of an anison of a show that I have the potential of seeing next Sunday (I believe my anime buddy just came back home yesterday) or at the end of January, provided that he is interested in "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon". I've usually touted my like on KKP for an anime theme after viewing at least the first couple of episodes of the new show.
However, I first found out about the song a few days ago while perusing YouTube and catching the lively video of the actual band prancing about. It and the song are pretty fun and catchy, especially with that opening lyric of "Chu, chu, YEAH!". Plus that bouncy arrangement and towana's rapid-fire vocals helped me get out of my funk that night.
There's also something rather sweet about hearing and writing about fhana again since a few years ago I wrote about their debut single, the amazing "Que Sera Sera" (ケセラセラ) which was the ending theme for the gloriously animated "Uchoten Kazoku"（有頂天家族）. It remains one of my favourite anison. But the mellowness of "Que Sera Sera" certainly contrasts with the super happy nature of "Aozora no Rhapsody" with both songs being contributed by band leader Junichi Sato（佐藤純一）and lyricist Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）.
No Oricon rankings as of yet since the single itself won't be out until January 25th, still over a week away. (February 20 2017: It actually peaked at No. 24, the band's 2nd-highest ranking thus far.)
Also, have a gander at the just-as-infectious ending theme.
