The Works of Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）

 

I never expected to see her name up on television but recently I saw that veteran lyricist Fumiko Okada had received some sort of award for her decades of work via an NHK report. From that, I thought that it would be time to post a Creator article regarding her.

But first a bit of background from her J-Wiki file, Okada hails from Hiroshima Prefecture. When she gradated from university, her parents pressed her to get a job at television broadcaster TBS working as a timekeeper for music programs. However, knowing herself as someone who never really enjoyed the rigors of an average job or career, she was pretty miserable. Also, she developed insomnia but one night, she gained the urge to write poetry and found out that the words flowed out of her surprisingly easily. Then one day, after amassing her poems into a collection and having some faint interest in becoming a songwriter, she was noticed by the manager of a famous arranger at work. Noting how unenthused young Okada looked, he asked her what she really wanted to do for which she replied "I want to become a lyricist". A mere few days later, that manager suggested Okada to a record company as a rookie lyricist. At least, one song with her lyrics got into a music festival and that apparently was all she needed to write...literally. She started getting requests for her words, something that has been continuing for her for close to 55 years.

(1972) Young 101 -- Kaiju no Ballad（怪獣のバラード）

In a desert where the blood-red sun set

A great big monster lived there in peace

One morning when he woke up, he heard a bell from a caravan off in the distance

He suddenly screamed out

I wanna see the ocean! I wanna love people! Monsters have hearts, too, you know!

Let's leave the desert behind and head to where love and the ocean reside

Although I didn't note this in the original KKP article for "Kaiju no Ballad", this was apparently Okada's first work as a professional lyricist. 

(1981) Ruiko Kurahashi -- Glass no Yesterday （ガラスのYesterday)

Yesterday

I danced all night with you

Yesterday, although we can never meet again

We said "See you later" and parted

You're the one who embraced me while saying

I can't love you on mere kindness

Whenever Okada's name is mentioned, I will always first remember Fashion Music specialist Ruiko Kurahashi's（倉橋ルイ子）songs since the lyricist provided a number of her works to her. 

(1986) Shibugakitai -- Sushi Kui ne! （スシ食いねェ！）

This is the No. 1 sushi restaurant in Japan

Gotta eat sushi! Gotta eat sushi! Gotta eat sushi!

Green tea! Green tea! Green tea! Pickled ginger! Picked ginger! Pickled ginger!

In contrast with the elegance of Kurahashi's signature song, the raucous "Sushi kui ne!" comes under the catchphrase of "Okada wrote this one?!". She must love her sushi.

(1987) Kiyomi Suzuki with Rats & Star -- Lonely Chaplin (ロンリー・チャプリン）

Lonely Chaplin

Time passes...and even if you fade away

I will always wait for you

Smile like the little boy you are

You want to come home

Into my arms, don't you?

As long as your dreams are unfulfilled

Oh, do what you wanna do again

Oh, do what you wanna do again

Man, didn't know that Chaplin was that lucky a guy!

(1979) Asami Kado -- Fascination (ファッシネイション）

I love you. Stop it because you make me feel so helpless

Stop it if you're only going to kiss me once

I love you. I got myself all psyched up

I hate you stalling for time

Nothing like pouty coquettishness to spice up a relationship!

Masayuki Suzuki/Yosui Inoue -- Kazarijanainoyo Namida wa (飾りじゃないのよ涙は）

 

Yes, the man so cool his sunglasses sprouted from his face organically is back on KKP. Indeed, I'm talking about the God of Love Songs himself, Masayuki "Martin" Suzuki（鈴木雅之）.

I'm usually not a huge fan of tribute albums of famous artists in Japan, although I did buy one for Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）several years ago. And so I was surprised to find out a few days ago that such a tribute album dedicated to the songs of Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）had been produced and released in May 2025. Titled "Meikyo: Tribute to Akina Nakamori"（明響...Akina Resonates）, it apparently consists of two CDs with the first one consisting of those other singers covering her hits while the second one has the original versions of those hits sung by Akina herself back in the 1980s.

Speaking of Martin, he contributes his golden tones to one of Akina's biggest hits, "Kazarijanainoyo Namida wa" (These Tears Ain't For Show) and I gotta say that he hits this one right out of the park like a Kazuma Okamoto homer (which I hope the newest Blue Jay will do later today on Opening Day). I remember when I first heard the original version and thought it a pretty upbeat song which got my OK. But then when I heard the extended album version of the original 1984 single which launched her landmark "Bitter & Sweet" album from 1985, my ears and brain were sent into the stratosphere so that I ended up hearing the track a few times that night when I purchased it in Chinatown. 

A similar feeling rammed into me when I heard the Suzuki cover version a couple of nights ago, and it combines quite the potent cocktail of crystalline Neo-City Pop, funk and 60s guitar rock. Singer-songwriter Yosui Inoue（井上陽水）probably smiled through his own dark sunglasses and said "Yes, we have the singer" (a slight joke from "F1"). If there were going to be a fourth season of the anime "Kaguya-sama"（かぐや様は告らせたい）, I wouldn't mind having this be the theme song.

Continuing with the name segues, Inoue brought his own cover of "Kazarijanainoyo Namida wa" from his own self-cover album "9.5 Carat"（9.5カラット）from December 1984 which ended up as the No. 1 album for 1985. For some reason, I never got around to posting this one up until now, despite the fact that I remember hearing it on my old beloved CHIN-FM radio program "Sounds of Japan" decades ago. Anyways, Inoue's cover seems to have a darker and more haunting tone. Plus, the other notable thing about it is that it was arranged by Joe Hisaishi（久石譲）, the man behind all that Studio Ghibli music.

The Works of Mariya Takeuchi 2（竹内まりや）

 

Oh, dopey me. I'm four days late in wishing singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi a Happy Birthday! But here's hoping that her family enjoyed themselves on the special day. Last year (when I did remember her birthday), I acknowledged the day with a Yutaka Kimura Speaks translated piece about the singer. When I thought about whether to do a Creator article about her, I quickly realized that I had already done one back in 2019.

However for that first entry, I introduced some songs created by Takeuchi in that article that had never been covered before. Well, then, I decided that for this one, I'll bring the comfort food...songs by her that have their own articles from way back when just to remind viewers about what she has given other singers. And of course, this is by no means a comprehensive list.

(1982) Naoko Kawai -- Kenka wo Yamete (けんかをやめて）

(1984) Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Genki wo Dashite （元気を出して）

(1984) Yukiko Okada -- Dreaming Girl

(1988) Masayuki Suzuki -- Misty Mauve

(1991) Riho Makise -- Miracle Love

A Few of Those Champagne-and-Caviar City Pop Songs as a Review

 

I've often referred to the Japanese asset price bubble which arguably lasted from around 1986 to 1991. Commonly it's known as the Bubble Era and it originated from the effects of the Plaza Accord signed at New York City's Plaza Hotel by representatives of various countries including Japan and the United States. Basically, the US dollar was depreciated against the currencies of the other nations, and from the following year, a huge influence was felt in Japan with asset prices skyrocketing and economic activity bubbling away like my pot of boiling pasta.

When I visited Japan in 1981 and started studying about the country in those early 1980s, I'd already thought that the economic party-hearty atmosphere arrived. I saw glossy magazines from the nation showing what was a pretty nice life among the citizens and certainly borrowing all of those videotapes of Japanese TV shows with their commercials emphasized those feelings. 

But then it was in the late 1980s when I was fully into my time at the University of Toronto that I read the craziness of buying million-dollar golf club memberships, sidewalk tiles that were more expensive than whole cities outside of Japan, and sprinkling gold flakes on broiled eel on rice. I got to Japan once more in 1989 at the tail end of the Bubble Era although I was working deep into the countryside so it wasn't quite that often that I experienced the grand Tokyo life.

In terms of Japanese popular music, and specifically City Pop, I thought that during those late 1980s, there was a certain additional swagger in City Pop which encompassed a lot of genres including disco, soul, and Latin. During that time, I think that there was also a goodly injection of sophisticated pop and horn-based jazz. And I've often made use of the phrase "champagne-and-caviar" when describing some of those tunes because whenever I heard them, it wasn't just about walking the streets of Tokyo; it was also about partaking in the various high-priced and high-life establishments on those streets of Tokyo. There still was the groove to be sure but there was also some of that Henry Mancini swing jazziness grafted onto the City Pop tunes. And since I love both groove and Mancini, I've remained a happy camper when it comes to the songs of the Bubble Era.

Of course, the party came to a crashing end at the beginning of the 1990s and music took a new tangent but I still look fondly at the City Pop that came out then. So yes, I'm also a nostalgic guy about the uber-genre. And as such, I thought that it would be nice to provide a summary of some of those champagne-and-caviar City Pop songs. One of the songs on the list actually came out a few years before the Plaza Accord but I still think it fits the bill in terms of the overall feeling. Anyways, have a good weekend.

PS If any of you have your own favourites that you think would fit the champagne-and-caviar platter, please let us know!

(1983)  Junko Yagami -- Jealous

(1986) Anzen Chitai -- Gin'iro no Pistol （銀色のピストル）

(1986) Ruiko Kurahashi -- Chuo Line（中央ライン）

(1988) Junko Ohashi -- Nemurenai Diamond (眠れないダイアモンド）

(1989) Masayuki Suzuki -- Wakare no Machi (別れの街）

cinnamons x evening cinema -- Shibuya de Go-ji（渋谷で5時）

by Benh LIEU SONG via Wikimedia Commons

 

Well, it's been a few years but it looks like the pop group cinnamons and the AOR unit evening cinema have brought their energies together once more (one of their earlier examples is "Fuyu no Tokimeki"（冬のトキメキ）) and this time, it's a cover of a City Pop classic.

A few months ago, cinnamons x evening cinema recorded their own version of "Shibuya de Go-ji" (渋谷で5時...Shibuya at Five） which had been originally sung by Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）and Momoko Kikuchi（菊池桃子）back in 1994. Can't believe it's been over thirty years but hey, we're a patient lot. Anyways, to also give credit where credit is due which is something that I didn't do when I wrote up the original article, Kanata Asamizu（朝水彼方）took care of the lyrics while Martin himself came up with the thrilling melody with the late Nobuo Ariga（有賀啓雄）being the original arranger. 

"Shibuya de Go-ji" still retains some of that City Pop feeling although I think the arrangement this time around takes things into a slightly more pop direction. But that doesn't detract from the overall effect at all. It still gives off that fun invitation to one of the most exciting centres in Tokyo and I will always love that music video...it does look like the perfect date if the two can find each other by 5 o'clock in the huge masses of humanity around the statue of Hachiko on a Friday night.

J-Canuck's Favourite Duets

 

I figure that with the Holidays now in full swing in Japan, folks may be having their share of parties including those that occur at the karaoke boxes and bars of the nation. Maybe franchises such as Big Echo are doing volume business this week which may be quite long for people...perhaps as long as a week (yeah, I'm being a little sarcastic there). Of course, depending on the size and the average age of the group along with the type of songs that they tend to sing, there will be the duets to tackle. 

Perhaps for the younger generation, that doesn't happen so often, since a lot of those duets occur in the enka and Mood Kayo genres. Plus, there is the matter of harmonizing which isn't all that easy. Not being a particularly great singer in my karaoke days in Japan, I don't think I ever dared ask any lady for a duet. However, listening to those duets on the stereo and now on YouTube is more my speed. Here are some of my favourites.

(1959) Frank Nagai and Kazuko Matsuo -- Tokyo Nightclub （東京ナイトクラブ）

(1982) Hiroshi Itsuki and Nana Kinomi -- Izakaya （居酒屋）

(1982) Takao Kisugi and Kaori Momoi -- Nejireta Heart de (ねじれたハートで）

(1984) Sachiko Kobayashi & Katsuhiko Miki -- Moshikashite Part 2 （もしかして・パート２）

(1994) Masayuki Suzuki & Momoko Kikuchi -- Shibuya de Go-ji (渋谷で5時）

Some of J-Canuck's Funkalicious Favourite Anison

 

Didn't quite believe that I hadn't ever put up such an Author's Pick before. I've probably got some sort of Favourite Anison list out there but just haven't come across it in some time. However, such as it is, I did want to get a list up there showing how some of these anime themes can get under my skin to have me bust a move...or a hip because they are so funky and catchy.

(1995) Miyuki Kajitani -- "Rashiku" Ikimasho （”らしく”いきましょ）

(2009) Momoko Hayashi -- You make me happy!

(2013) Yasuyuki Okamura -- Viva Namida （ビバナミダ）

(2014) KMM Dan -- Witch Activity （ウィッチ☆アクティビティ）

(2016) Natsumi Hioka & Hiroki Yasumoto -- Kumamiko Dancing

(2019) Masayuki Suzuki feat. Rikka Ihara -- Love Dramatic（ラブ・ドラマティック）

Masayuki Suzuki -- Sayonara Itoshi no Baby Blues（さよならいとしのBaby Blues）

 

Yes, Martin. Do please contemplate about life...because you look so cool doing so!

Strangely enough, I did cover "Sayonara Itoshi no Baby Blues" (Farewell, My Beloved Baby Blues) when I wrote that 2019 article on Masayuki Suzuki's（鈴木雅之）BEST compilation "MARTINI II" but I'm OK with another go-round of this slow-cooking banger. Along with its inclusion in his original 1992 album "Fair Affair" and "MARTINI II", it was also the coupling song to Martin's 14th single in May 1992, the splendid "Mou Namida wa Iranai"（もう涙はいらない）, and my opinion on B-sides on those old 45"s also applies to the coupling songs for those tiny CD singles. They should be checked out as well.

And certainly "Sayonara Itoshi no Baby Blues" is one soulful cool-down tune after "Mou Namida wa Iranai" which can sound good on the stereo at home or in the car while rumbling down those Tokyo highways. Written and composed by Hideki Andoh（安藤秀樹）and arranged by the late Nobuo Ariga（有賀啓雄）, the song was also performed by Suzuki in its entirety sometime during the third season of the cop show "Deka Kizoku"（刑事貴族...The Detective Aristocrats） on NTV which used "Mou Namida wa Iranai" as the theme song.

Oh, Those Camellia Diamonds CM Songs（カメリアダイアモンド）

 

Back in the 2010s, I noted through a couple of articles that there was that series of Parliament Cigarette commercials that popped up late at night. Those were famous for showing off some classy scenes of the high life, a lot of it based in Manhattan where the beautiful people were having the time of their lives at some swanky soiree. Meanwhile, the songs used in the ads were of the Quiet Storm variety: soulful love ballads featuring folks such as Bobby Caldwell and Carl Anderson, both of whom have sadly left this mortal coil. They didn't get me to take up smoking (thankfully), but I still appreciated the commercials for their dreams of the good life.

Well, there has been another series of cool and classy commercials for Camellia Diamonds in Japan over the years, and the thing about these ads is that they have pointedly featured supermodels and female celebrities varying from Lea Thompson to Sharon Stone. The above one is showing off Canada's own Linda Evangelista to the stirring voice of Kahoku Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）. And speaking of that singer, unlike Parliament's use of American singers, Camellia was more than happy to employ Japanese singers and bands with their high-energy goods. You can take a look at the long history of those ads below, thanks to YouTuber pstexe.

So, I've opted to start off this KKP business week with some of my own choices of Camellia Diamonds commercial tunes that I've enjoyed. I hope you do, too.

(1990) Kahoru Kohiruimaki -- Moving Action

(1989) Masayuki Suzuki -- Wakare no Machi (別れの街）

(1993) Keizo Nakanishi -- You And I

(1984) Mariko Takahashi -- Momo Iro Toiki （桃色吐息）

(1987) Kiyomi Suzuki with Rats & Star -- Lonely Chaplin (ロンリー・チャプリン）

I've also put up another Camellia Diamonds song in its own article. Check out Ryoko Moriyama's（森山良子） "Navigation".

J-Canuck's Hotel Songs

 

It wasn't too long ago that I mentioned that I would probably end up doing an Author's Picks on hotel-based kayo kyoku because there were so many of them out there. In fact, I had included Jackey Yoshikawa and His Blue Comets' classic Group Sounds 1967 "Blue Chateau"（ブルー・シャトウ）but I got the warning from Blogger that I couldn't exceed the total of 200 characters per article in the Labels section, so I'm providing the link to the article above.

However, getting back on track, here is a small sampling of those hotel songs. It's interesting that airport-based kayo kyoku exist as a setting for bittersweet romantic partings whereas the hotel is the base for something quite the opposite (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).😍 The songs aren't presented in any sort of order.

(1983) BORO -- Negresco Hotel（ネグレスコ・ホテル）

(1990) Masayuki Suzuki -- Private Hotel （プライベートホテル）

(1985) Yutaka Shimazu -- Hotel （ホテル）

(1982) Yosui Inoue -- Riverside Hotel

(1986) Masatoshi Nakamura -- Omoide no Cliffside Hotel（想い出のクリフサイドホテル）

(1986) Hideki Saijo -- ROOM NUMBER 3021

Uta Con: October 1st 2024 ~ Sunakku Songs（スナックソング）

 

During my years at the University of Toronto as I was majoring in Japanese Studies, through my digestion of a lot of books on Japanese culture, I read that the society had something called a "bar culture". Not only can the usual drinking and light noshing be done in drinking establishments, but business negotiations, airing of work grievances and testing out of vocal cords can also be accomplished (mind you, I think the same things happen in my country, too).

I know that drinking establishments in Japan can come in a variety of sizes and forms. Of course, there are the Western-style bars up in the hotels with the tuxedo-garbed bartender shaking up cocktails. Then there are the more financially accessible chains of izakaya with plenty of space, libations and dishes. For an English conversation teacher like me on a budget, the izakaya was by far the watering hole that I frequented the most in the country, although I was never much of a drinker. 

On the other hand, the Japanese snack bar, or sunakku（スナック）as they say it over there, is a place that I very barely entered although there were those significantly rare times that I managed to squeeze into one due to friends taking me there. A sunakku is indeed a very cozy place with limited seating and it's usually run by a woman known as the Mama or Mama-san. There is the usual supply of alcohol to wet one's whistle and some light snacks only. One big reason that I rarely went into a sunakku is that it's basically the neighbourhood meeting place for the regulars...kinda like a mini-Cheers, if you remember that American 80s sitcom. Probably depending on the night, which can go really long depending on the energy levels of all those involved, there are dedicated regulars coming in and mixing throughout the week singing karaoke and knocking them back. Maybe there is even that one nightly barfly who gets "NORM!" yelled at him in greeting.

Anyways, a couple of days ago, NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）was televising its usual episode but this time around, the theme of the episode was something that I hadn't heard before: favourite sunakku karaoke songs. According to what I heard, apparently the current demographic frequenting the little bars may mostly be in their 40s. I'm not sure if I even heard any enka (have a look at a past article on what folks in their 60s have enjoyed singing). Regardless, here are three from the "Uta Con" list.

Kiyomi Suzuki with Rats & Star -- Lonely Chaplin (ロンリー・チャプリン）

Sharam Q -- Single Bed（シングルベッド）

Yasushi Nakanishi -- Saigo no Ame （最後の雨）

Masayuki Suzuki feat. Billyrrom -- Magic Hour

One of the coolest elder statesmen of Japanese popular music and the God of Love Songs, Masayuki "Martin" Suzuki（鈴木雅之）, has enjoyed plenty of success working with some of the best such as Yoshiki Mizuno（水野良樹）from the band Ikimonogakari（いきものがかり）for the "Kaguya-sama" theme tunes and 1980s aidoru Momoko Kikuchi（菊池桃子）for the winning and spirited "Shibuya de Go-ji" (渋谷で5時）.

Suzuki is back in collaborating mode again. This time, he worked with the relatively new band Billyrrom to create the song "Magic Hour", part of Martin's new album "Snazzy" which came out a couple of days ago. With Billyrrom writing and composing "Magic Hour", it's a mysterious and intoxicating R&B tune thanks to the combination of dance club effects, old-style boppy bass and of course, the singer's silky vocals. That introductory rhythm does remind me a bit of a Backstreet Boys song, though.

Billyrrom is a 6-piece band that started up in 2020 with Mol, Rin, TaiseiWatabiki, Shunsuke, Yuta Hara and Leno. All of them hail from Machida City within Metropolitan Tokyo and their music runs the gamut of rock, soul, funk and pop. The unusual band name originates from a melding of famed jazz pianist Bill Evans who they admire and the nomadic Romani people with their music.

Kimiko Saito & Fukushi Ochiai -- Lonely Chaplin（ロンリー・チャプリン）

 

Now that we're approaching the end of March, it looks like the anime winter season for this year is also coming to an end. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the totality of some of the series on air over the past few months.

"Snack Basue"（スナックバス江）is one of them. As one YouTuber reviewed it, it won't be for everyone and I kinda figured that most of the scenes will just be in the titular cozy bar with the regulars doing all sorts of inside banter. But that's the type of stuff I like, so "Snack Basue" and I ought to get along just fine. Besides the whole thing about foot massage in Episode 5 is a literal whack at all that Japanese television coverage of one famous foot masseur easing/torturing female tarento.

One of the gimmicks of the show that I've already cottoned onto is the rotating series of ending themes per each episode which has been focused on some of those songs of yesteryear. They've been provided via the characters' karaoke performances in Snack Basue. It was almost a couple of months ago when I posted the first one of these covers, Anri's（杏里）debut single "Olivia wo Kikinagara"（オリビアを聴きながら）by proprietress Akemi（明美）as played by seiyuu Rie Takahashi（高橋李依）.

For Episode 7, the song du nuit is another favourite of mine: "Lonely Chaplin" originally by Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）and his big sister, Kiyomi Suzuki（鈴木聖美）back in 1987. This time though, it's seiyuu Kimiko Saito（斉藤貴美子）as Basue Mama（バス江ママ）and Fukushi Ochiai（落合福嗣）as regular customer Tatsu-nii（タツ兄）behind the mikes. Watching and hearing these guys perform is rather ironic since that is exactly the way that I first found out about the cool tune...watching a couple of people perform "Lonely Chaplin" at a karaoke bar over thirty years ago, though this was in Gunma instead of Hokkaido. Definitely link back to the original song and listen to Martin and Kiyomi!

City City Pops by J-Canuck

 

Looks like KKP AI representative Kayo is having her fun behind the wheel of a sports car. Pretty impressive if you ask me, especially considering that she was born a couple of weeks ago. 

Anyways to make things clear, I wasn't stuttering when I came up with the above title. It's just that I had one of my rare brain waves about putting up a small and incomplete list of City Pop tunes that basically spell out the city. Y'know...it is a city so why not sing about that city?

 (New York City) Junko Yagami -- Purpletown (パープルタウン）You Oughta Know By Now (1980)

(New York City [though I like to think Tokyo]) Minako Yoshida -- TOWN (1982)

(Yokohama/Kobe/Nagasaki) Yasuha -- Fly-Day Chinatown (フライディ・チャイナタウン) (1981)

(Osaka) Masaki Ueda -- Osaka Bay Blues (1982)

(Tokyo) Masayuki Suzuki & Momoko Kikuchi -- Shibuya de Go-ji (渋谷で5時）(1994)

(Nagasaki) Masashi Sada -- Nagasaki-City Serenade （長崎小夜曲）(1982)

Masayuki Suzuki -- Michishirube（道導）/CLUB KAGUYA ～ CARTOON + YELLOCK MIX ～

 

I realize that it's just been a few short weeks since the last article regarding Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）but when the God of Love Songs beckons, I simply cannot refuse the call.

For one thing, his newest original album came out on April 12th. "SOUL NAVIGATION" boasts a goodly amount of collaboration with other artists resulting in songs such as this soul-funk track "Michishirube" (Guideposts). Martin may be 66 years old as of this writing but he's still swiveling like a pro in ways that would have had me reaching for my Salon-Pas within a few minutes. Written and composed by YOASOBI's Ayase (with a bit of Jamiroquai reminiscings), the music video reflects the lyrics of two kids growing up into adults with all of the trials and tribulations expected, and happily they both get together.

Suzuki had actually performed this on "Uta Con"（うたコン）a few weeks ago but when I initially searched for the song on YouTube, it hadn't arrived yet. Patience is indeed a virtue.

Also from "SOUL NAVIGATION" is a love letter to all of those "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai"（かぐや様は告らせたい...Kaguya-sama: Love is War） fans, especially where Martin has left his immortal mark via his opening themes for the first three seasons and a movie including "Love is Show". Sound producer  CARTOON + YELLOCK has mashed together snippets of all of the themes to form a funk fest remix.

Masayuki Suzuki feat. Reni Takagi -- Love is Show

 

Well, last night, I finally got to view the latest segment of the anime adaptation of "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai"（かぐや様は告らせたい...Kaguya-sama: Love is War） in the form of a movie that had come out in theatres in Japan just before Xmas last year and just after Season 3. Titled "First Kiss wa Owaranai"（ファーストキッスは終わらない...The First Kiss That Never Ends）, it was basically four extra episodes tied together into a little less than an hour and forty-five minutes and dealt with the consequences of that fateful fully-anticipated kiss between Kaguya and Miyuki. You might say that it was Season 3.33.

Last night for that Portable Rock article, I'd used that Data/Lore scene from "Star Trek: Picard" as a bit of an analogy for Maki Nomiya（野宮真貴）. I think that it would be even more fitting for this article, too. There was an even more pitched battle in the mind of Kaguya with four different aspects going toe to toe with each other. To be honest, I hadn't been all that enthused about "First Kiss wa Owaranai" because Season 3 seemed a bit of a letdown. I'd always preferred it when Kaguya and Miyuki were overusing their intellects against each other to hilarious effect and it was getting pretty obvious that the status quo was evolving rapidly between these two. But of course for the fans of the franchise, I understand that this is indeed a romantic comedy instead of it just being a comedy.

However, I actually did enjoy "First Kiss" even though the comic elements, though still there, were more muted. After all, the thrust of this extended episode was how the two main characters struggled with not only what had happened on top of the clock tower but also their own deeply embedded psychological knots that needed to unravel if a romantic relationship could actually have a healthy chance of working. I think the the fact it all came out into the open rather than being teased a few times over the past few seasons made it more satisfying for me. 

Knowing that "First Kiss" had come out around Xmas in Japan, I was wondering when it would show up here on this side of the Pacific. Well, I started seeing videos of the glorious opening credit sequence from around last week and so I figured that the movie was finally seeing the light of day on platforms such as Crunchyroll. Of course, this brings me to another reason that I enjoyed the movie which is the traditional Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）and friend's funky opening theme.

"Love is Show" is sung by Martin and Momoiro Clover Z's（ももいろクローバーZ）Reni Takagi（高城れに）and has the same fellows backing them up in songwriting, lyricist/composer Yoshiki Mizuno（水野良樹）and arranger Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）. It still doesn't reach the sublime heights of "Love Dramatic" and "DADDY! DADDY! DO!" for the first two seasons of "Kaguya-sama" but I think that it does edge out Season 3's "GIRI GIRI" which took a while for me to warm up to. 

Hearing the whole song and watching the barnstorming opening credits had me thinking that this was a new and happier beginning for the franchise. "Love is Show" seems lighter, bouncier and more hopeful with that good ol' disco intro, and after watching the movie, I was humming it in the shower. Good sign right there!

(Yup, the video has been taken down.)

I saw through one of the comments that the opening credits for the theatrical version were very different from the one that has come out on streaming. Indeed, I did find this one video (which may not be up all that long) that has those early credits showing scenes from past seasons. As such, I prefer the ones for the small screen presentation but the theatrical credits aren't too bad either.

I heard that the original manga finally reached its end last November but another commenter mentioned rather ambitiously that the anime may have around three more seasons' worth of material. We shall see but my feeling is that the first big phase of "Kaguya-sama" has reached its ending, and maybe there will be some intense discussions among the producers about whether that's all she wrote for the anime wing.

Kahoru Kohiruimaki -- Mercy Me

Amazon.jp

 

I shouldn't neglect the fact that March has indeed come in. Can't complain too much about the weather either since it's sunny and the temps are hovering at around freezing which isn't bad at all considering where we live and the time of year.

Kahoku Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）is one of my favourite singers and I've acquired a number of her albums over the years except for the one whose thumbnail you can see at the top. I never got her 1988 4th album, "Hearts On Parade". With that jagged script on the cover and Kohhy looking rather ominous in that purple outfit, I couldn't be blamed if I'd assumed that she was trying out for the role of the Joker in Tim Burton's "Batman" a year later. That's a pretty ironic statement since she would be working with Prince soon enough, the same fellow who came up with "Batdance" for the movie at around the same time.

Well, since I don't have "Hearts on Parade", there are some new Kohhy songs to plumb even at this late stage in the kayo kyoku game. I've known the singer-songwriter for her very upbeat numbers such as her first big hit "Hold On Me" but she's also quite capable with the ballads as well. In fact, I remember the soulful "I'm Here" which was composed by the one-and-only Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）in 1987.

Martin is back again as he created another ballad for Kohiruimaki for "Hearts On Parade". "Mercy Me" was given words by the singer herself as she compares everything about an old flame to a beloved record of memories and voice. It's accompanied by some warm piano and even a trombone solo by Takaaki Hayakawa（早川隆章）. Masami Tsuchiya（土屋昌巳）was responsible for the arrangement. Kohhy does a great job here but I'm also wondering whether Martin has ever done a cover of this one.

Driving to City Pop

 

I realize that I've done my personal quota of four articles for Friday, but I've decided to do one more tonight. For one thing, the article will be about City Pop anyways, and it's been an idea that has been percolating in my head for some weeks. 

Back in the summer, I was talking with old contributor JTM about heading back to Japan. I forgot when my friend went there last time but my last time was all the way back in the fall of 2017, just before the whole City Pop thing began exploding from YouTube. Since then, I've not only been noticing driving videos in Tokyo being put up on the platform by folks like J Utah as you can see above, but then City Pop guru Van Paugam had his old City Pop radio with the J-urban contemporary hits while the video showed that smooth ride on the highways and byways of the Japanese capital. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be eventually grounded Van's wonderful project, but others have taken up the torch and provided some more limited-time videos combining City Pop tunes and highway driving. For instance, the one below by YouTuber City Lover Dreamy. Gorgeous footage, by the way. 👍

Anyways, let's get back to the conversation between JTM and myself. Inbound tourism for Japan has started back up after a few years of the pandemic which is great news for most people. As well, even before COVID-19 wreaked havoc, there was the phenomenon of micro tours in which individuals and small groups had their tour organizer come up with very specialized trips whether it be tourists who simply wanted to look at temples in Tokyo or do anime adventures to regions where certain programs like "Girls und Panzer" or "Sailor Moon" were based.

Well, JTM and I figured that if it hasn't already happened, there ought to be City Pop fans who would love to have a micro tour devoted to all things connected with that genre. Perhaps they could be led to a Tokyo studio where Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）recorded one of his great albums in the 70s and early 80s or have a minivan tour through West Shinjuku among all of those skyscrapers that get featured in the original opening credits of "City Hunter". The piece de resistance though could be a one-hour drive within the capital via routes such as the Shuto or Tokyo expressways while those amazing City Pop hits are playing on the speakers and participants are swooning on the Rainbow Bridge or within the bright lights of Ginza. Wouldn't that be the heady experience? 😎

Hmmm... I figure that I won't be going to Japan again until late 2023 at the earliest, but perhaps I can live a bit vicariously and come up with my own drive-friendly City Pop songs for this round of Author's Picks. Perhaps "drive-friendly City Pop songs" sounds a bit redundant, though, since most if not all of those particular songs have that engaging beat built in for good automobile accompaniment. But putting that aside, my six choices are choices that simply got into my head immediately when I began musing about this topic, so I just quickly jotted them down. If you have your own favourite City Pop songs to drive to, please let me know down below if you wish.

December 31st 2022: There is a sequel now.

1. Makoto Matsushita -- One Hot Love (1981)

2. Masayuki Suzuki -- Mou Namida wa Iranai （もう涙はいらない） (1992)

3. Hiromi Go -- COOL (1985)

4. Mariko Takahashi -- Nigai Rhapsody（にがいラプソディ） (1983)

5. EPO -- Downtown (1980)

6. Kingo Hamada -- midnight cruisin' (1982)

Happy driving! And I hope that we all make it onto the highways of Japanese cities someday soon.

The Works of Ikki Matsumoto（松本一起）

 

Through the Mixi news feed yesterday, I read that lyricist Ikki Matsumoto had passed away on November 4th at the approximate age of 73. A graduate of Keio University, he began his career in music in 1979, and according to J-Wiki, his debut set of lyrics came with 80s aidoru Yu Hayami's（早見優）debut single. However, he provided lyrics for songs in a few other genres such as pop, rock and City Pop, and he contributed songs to anime, TV shows and commercials. In fact, it's said that he was involved in over 3,000 commercials. I've also noticed that Matsumoto had often worked with composer Ken Sato（佐藤健）who already has his own Creator article.

The following is a small example of tunes that he provided lyrics for. My condolences go out to his family, friends and fans.

Masayuki Suzuki -- Glass Goshi ni Kieta Natsu （ガラス越しに消えた夏） (1986)

Yu Hayami -- Isoide! Hatsukoi（急いで!初恋） (1982)

Akina Nakamori -- Fin (1986)

class -- Natsu no Hi no 1993 （夏の日の1993） (1993)

Yoshinori Monta -- Aisarenai Show Time（愛されないShow Time） (1987)

Masayuki Suzuki -- Kimi ga Kimi de Aru Tame ni（きみがきみであるために）

 

Looks like Martin and United Colors of Benetton struck a deal. Har-de-har-har.😁

Anyways, my collection of those tiny CD singles has been gathering a fine layer of dust recently, so I got out the brush to get it all off. I knew that it was a very long while playing any of these since to my surprise, I discovered a Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）song that I had completely forgotten about all these years. "Kimi ga Kimi de Aru Tame ni" (Because You are You) is Suzuki's 22nd single hailing from May 1997, and indeed, it is everything that one would expect from a Martin song: heaps of cool soul, those glasses and wonderful suit, the to-die-for horns and that voice. And once again, I get images of driving down the intra-metropolitan highways of Tokyo at night amongst the buildings as I listen to this. 

Written by Kitsuma Ohshita（大下きつま）and composed by Joe Rinoie（ジョー・リノイエ）of the pop band Romantic Mode, "Kimi ga Kimi de Aru Tame ni" was also used as the theme song for the TV Asahi drama "Saiko no Shokutaku"（最高の食卓...The Best Dining Table）. The song reached No. 14 on the Oricon charts and was also included in Martin's November 1997 8th album "Carnival", a release that ranked in at No. 10.