Minami Kuribayashi -- ZERO!!

 

Well, it's been quite the interesting trend over the past number of months in anime land when it comes to some of the shows that I enjoyed in the last several years. First off, the cute-as-all-heck "Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?"（ご注文はうさぎですか）franchise returned late last year with a third season a number of years after their second season. But in the case of Cocoa and Chino and the gang, there were some fairly high expectations that they would all return once more with their coffee and rabbits.

Some other anime that I really liked such as the sweet "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） and the hilarious "Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun"（月刊少女野崎くん...Girls' Monthly Nozaki-kun） seemed to be one and done. I'd assumed the same for another manga-turned-anime that came out all the way back in 2013 titled "Hataraku Maou-Sama!"（はたらく魔王さま!...The Devil Is a Part-Timer!）. My anime buddy had this on the screen during our old Sunday get-togethers years ago and it had its own moments of hilarity including the one up above.

Within a span of a few days, though, I got word that not only is "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon" returning with a second season in the summer but "Hataraku Maou-Sama" also has the green light for a sequel. Good heavens! Eight years later?! Not sure when exactly it's going to come out this year or perhaps next year, but I'm interested in seeing how things have gone for the Demon Lord. Has he finally been promoted to manager of his own burger shop?

When it comes to singer-songwriter and seiyuu Minami Kuribayashi（栗林みな実）, my fellow blog co-administrator Marcos V. has done most of the heavy lifting, but I did write one article for a song that she was involved with, "Super Affection"（すーぱー☆あふぇくしょん）. Today, this is her second article by me and it's the theme song for the first season of "Hataraku Maou-Sama!", "ZERO!!".

Hearing the song again for the first time in so long was rather nostalgic. For the sake of full disclosure, though, "ZERO!!" isn't really anywhere near the top of my favourite anison but Kuribayashi's vocal intro has resonated, although those additional synthesizer notes at the beginning of the full version of the song caught me a little off-guard. At the same time, though, I did like the electric guitar solo. "ZERO!!" was written by Kuribayashi and composed by Tomohiro Nakatsuchi（中土智博）and the singer's 29th single from April 2013 peaked at No. 30 on Oricon. According to an issue of the Japanese anime fanzine, Anikan（アニカン）, via J-Wiki, the song was so titled because of Maou-sama starting from Ground Zero on entering his new home on Earth and beginning a career as a burger flipper.

Now, if we can only get a second season of "Nozaki-kun"...sigh.😔

Marcos V.'s Special Selection -- 2016 Edition

The picture has nothing to do with the post itself, being just one of the random photos I took while walking around in Rio de Janeiro at night (I'm not a good photographer, though).

This year, my Author’s Pick list is comprised solely by songs released in the past 12 months. They’re all new entries, so I’m not repeating songs I covered through the year. Also, most of them were a big part of my year, just to make obvious how personal this list is in the first place. I can only hope you guys like some of the songs I’ve chosen.

10) AKB48 -- High Tension (ハイテンション)

This one was a last-second addition – by the way, dethroning a Dempagumi.inc (でんぱ組.inc) single –, and I feel somewhat guilty for liking it so much right now... but AKB48’s “High Tension” conquered its spot in this list fair and square. Probably due to the fact I started watching the drama it’s related to with my best friend very recently (it’s the theme song for AKB48’s drama “Cabasuka Gakuen” [キャバすか学園]), the song’s catchy factor just impregnated in my mind – the chorus, albeit full of silly repetition, is engaging, and the brass section in the background just helps it standout. In the end, even though it’s AKB48 in safe mode – they recorded similar disco songs in the form of “Koi Suru Fortune Cookie” (恋するフォーチュンクッキー) in 2013 and “Halloween Night” (ハロウィン・ナイト) in 2015 –, I liked its straightforward approach very much. Easily the funniest AKB48 single this year, hands down!

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09) NAOMiRUSTY -- La Niña Night (ラニーニャ夜)

NAOMiRUSTY’s “La Niña Night” (released in January) is that type of exciting hyper processed Hi-NRG song that was so common in mainstream pop music during the late 80s. I don’t know why she chose to record this straightorward 80s-sounding thing – with all the "cheese factor" involved – in 2016, but it easily works for me. Also, kudos to the amazing instrumental breakdown with the screeching synth playing alongside the relentless bass line right before the final chorus. In some way, it reminded me of Tommy February6’s songs, and that’s not a bad thing at all.

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08) Namie Amuro -- Fighter

Okay! By now, after almost 25 years of watching Namie Amuro’s (安室奈美恵) evolution in the J-Pop landscape, it’s obvious that she’s only worried about following Western trends and recording unashamedly in-your-face pop hits. Is there a problem with it? No, not at all. Especially when Amuro really commits to it, and this catchy dance number called “Fighter” (released in October), while far from being something revolutionary – and that was never her proposal, after all –, showcases very well how she can still mantain her relevance in the industry after so many years.

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07) Monari Wakita -- In The City

Released in November, “In The City” is Monari Wakita’s (脇田もなり) solo debut after parting ways with aidoru group Especia earlier this year. The song, while a little bit more mature and far from the quirky sounds charmingly explored by Especia during their prime days, is still close to the overall 80s-inspired City Pop sound from the group. In the end, even though I was sad when I read the news about her departure from the group, it’s great to follow both the renewed group’s trajectory and Monari Wakita's solo efforts as well. After all, it’s more modern City Pop and 80s fun to us.

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06) Especia -- Danger

This year, Especia lost some members and changed their sound a little bit, trying to be more mature and laidback. With this in mind, I must say that “Danger” (released in December) and its great combination of groovy bass line with Philly strings is Especia’s best song in a while (last year’s “Aviator” turned out to be my favorite Especia song), even if the choice to sing in English may sound a little bit odd at first.

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05) Perfume -- COSMIC EXPLORER

When I received my copy of Perfume’s latest album “COSMIC EXPLORER” from the post office and put in the stereo, my father quickly asked if the Perfume girls’ were now recording Progressive Rock-inspired songs... and I couldn’t answer him properly at the time. However, Yasutaka Nakata (中田ヤスタカ) undeniably embraced past sounds while creating “COSMIC EXPLORER”, and even a whole mentality of retrofuturism that was so alive around the 70s and 80s. In the end, even though the album itself was below the expectations (it’s nice and fun, but not as good as past works), the title track alone – with its futuristic arrangement coupled by Perfume’s airy yet sad vocals, or even the mishmash of influences that ranges from Italo Disco to the aforementioned Progressive Rock – stands out as a very strong song that showcases a more mature group still capable of interesting things in the Technopop soundscape. It’s a pity Nakata didn’t stick with this sound for the whole album, but I understand he had some commercial obligations to fulfil...

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04) Boogie Idol -- Kinmyaku Rettou (金脈列島)

Few things are more escapist than dreaming about Tokyo in the 80s/90s. Based on that, indie producer Boogie Idol’s aptly named “Kinmyaku Rettou” is a true ode to that space and time – with a video full of footages of urban life in one of the world’s biggest metropolis. However, if the video wasn’t enough, there’s also the exciting Eurobeat-esque piece of retro electronic music, which makes for a full futuristic yet nostalgic trip.

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03) Minami Kuribayashi -- Patria

Veteran anison singer Minami Kuribayashi (栗林みな実) returned to the spotlight last August after two years of absence (she put the career on hold for a little bit because of her pregnancy) with a strong number called “Patria”. The song is not that different from what she’s been doing for some years now – a mishmash of hyper-speed rock and electronic music with classical touches –, but the celtic (I think it can be called that way) flourishes were very nice additions. Also, the vocals are strong as ever, even if her pitch is still a little bit high (it’s an old characterist of her, though). The only difference is that, right now, she’s just called Minami, as, somehow, the Kuribayashi “surname” got lost in the way (I think it has something to do with record labels, but I’m not sure). Anyway, it's good to see her back.

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02) Rena Matsui with SHARAN-PO-RANTAN – Shabon (シャボン)

Ex-SKE48 Rena Matsui (松井玲奈) teamed up with cabaret-styled duo CHARAN-PO-RANTAN (チャラン・ポ・ランタン) for this little number called “Shabon”, which was released in March. Even though I find it hard to classify, I assume it brought some inspiration from Showa Era Kayo Kyoku – but with some quirky twists here and there. The arrangement is quite rich with all the accordion – courtesy from Koharu, one of the CHARAN-PO-RANTAN sisters –, but Rena Matsui was able to shine on her own as well. It was nice to see the famous aidoru out of her confort zone for a bit – releasing music with one of the wackiest acts of nowadays –, and I hope she continue to do so in the near future.

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01) Nogizaka AKB -- Mazariau Mono (混ざり合うもの)

My number one position goes to a collaboration between AKB48 and Nogizaka46 (乃木坂46), called Nogizaka AKB (乃木坂AKB). A very unusual song for AKB, but maybe not so much for Nogizaka, “Mazariau Mono’s” power relies in how beautiful the melody in the chorus is. Also, it’s not a hot dance number, not a proper ballad, but I like how classy it sounds – even if the video seems a little odd. For me, it’s one of the rare moments when one – or two, in this case – of the infamous “48 family” groups truly shines.

Marcos V.’s Special Selection Vol. I

Yeah, I know this montage was a cheap idea... but I did with love.

Out of nowhere, I decided to work on this Author’s Pick post. My intention was to select one song from each of my favorite Japanese artists, but without a proper theme guiding the list. In the end, I was able to select nine artists I’m more than sure that deserves a spot here... but I still needed one more to complete a top ten. My solution was to find a filler artist, so let’s start with it.

10) Chinatsu Miyoshi -- Anata no Shirts to Love Song (あなたのシャツと Love song)

Honestly, even though I love Hello! Project’s fallen aidoru Chinatsu Miyoshi (三佳千夏) and her few songs out there, I don’t think I could put her on this “favorites” type of list. However, I needed a filler in order to have ten songs – and didn’t want to feature songs by Miho Nakayama (中山美穂) or Shizuka Kudo (工藤静香) –, so her name started popping in my head.

“Anata no Shirts to Love Song” was Chinatsu’s third and last single, released in May 2000. Unike the beautiful, yet dated, “Unchain My Heart” and the not very interesting “Love, Yes I Do!”, this one ended up as a good ballad.

Even though I’m not the biggest ballad fan, I liked it thanks to Chinatu’s pretty vocals (she sounds like Miki Fujimoto [藤本美貴] to me) and the overall J-Drama feeling it evokes. I’d never expect something like that coming from Hello! Project today.

9) Wink -- Hiki Tomenaide (ひきとめないで)

When I started listening to Wink, the duo’s singles, such as “Ai ga Tomaranai ~Turn It Into Love~” (愛が止まらない) and “Samishii Nettaigyo” (淋しい熱帯魚), were my main focus. After a while, I decided to give their studio albums a try, and one of the first ones I listened to was “Especially For You ~Yasashisa ni Tsutsumarete~” (優しさにつつまれて), released in April 1989.

Comprised mostly of Euro-inspired covers of Western songs, I still liked the album very much. Coincidentally, my favorite songs from it were solos by Shoko Aida (相田翔子): “Baby Me”, a cover of Chaka Khan’s slow groove number; and “Hiki Tomenaide”, a cover of Debby Harry’s “You Got Me in Trouble”.

One of Wink’s many positive features was giving new life to Western songs. Usually, I just praise the Euro-inspired arrangements done by their producers, but I forget that without Shoko and Sachiko’s (鈴木早智子) gentle, cold, and – at times – even sexy vocals, the songs wouldn’t be the same. In “Hiki Tomenaide”, for example, Shoko gives a beautiful and restrained rendition that differs in a great way from Debbie Harry’s more punk-styled and tough vocals. Combined with the dancey, yet cold synth arrangement, this cover is a very special one in Wink’s discography.

8) Akina Nakamori -- Gekka (月華)

Akina Nakamori’s (中森明菜) 80s singles are timeless classics, but her 90s stuff – while hit or miss at some points – is also pretty interesting. Besides the Komuro-penned “Aibu” (愛撫), which is one of my favorites, a song I keep coming back to is “Gekka”.

Released in October 1994, “Gekka” showcases Akina in her more mature and dramatic persona, which is not a bad thing considering she was near thirty years old at the time. Coupled by an exotic arrangement, she sings in her beautiful low register while delivering well known vibratos in a powerful and notable chorus. In my opinion, even though the commercial success of past times wouldn’t knock her door again, Akina’s vocal technique was at its peak around “Gekka’s” release, something the song admirably reminds us.

7) Minako Tanaka -- Nemuranai Machi (眠らない街)

It’s no big surprise how much I like Minako Tanaka (田中美奈子), even though I agree her music career do not deserve so much praise. Anyway, I truly enjoy her efforts.

Far away from the Eurobeat songs she released in the beginning of her career, “Nemuranai Machi” is a highlight from a more mature artist seeking new paths. The song is from September 1993, but – thanks to its power-pop chorus and anthemic synths – it could have easily been from the late 80s if we wre talking about the Anglo-American music market.

In Japan, though, “Nemuranai Machi” wasn’t far away from successful songs released by acts such as DEEN and WANDS – to name a few. As we can see, the booming Being J-Pop sound even hit Minako Tanaka.

6) CoCo -- Natsuzora no Dreamer (夏空のDreamer)

Unlike the 80s, it wasn’t very easy to find successful aidoru stories during the early-to-mid-90s, but CoCo surely made its name in the industry with a plethora of cute cookie-cuttter songs. Amidst them, some were interesting enough, which was the case of “Natsuzora no Dreamer”.

Released in August 1992, the song starts right with some summery keyboards as the main instrumental hook. Not only that, it relies on a cheerful chorus that keeps things going in an exciting manner (I remember how fans got pumped when the girls sang this tune in concerts). Also, while not very innovative by any means, "Natsuzora no Dreamer" evokes a nostalgic feeling... probably of a past ideal summer that I didn’t live.

5) access -- SENSUAL GLIDE

As was the case with Minako Tanaka’s “Nemuranai Machi”, access’ “SENSUAL GLIDE” would not be considered a 90s song in the Anglo-American music market. It just screams 80s, and its even understandable since Daisuke Asakura (浅倉大介) and Hiroyuki Takami (貴水博之) were fans of bands such as Duran Duran and TM NETWORK (Dai-chan even played keyboards for TM NETWORK years before access’ formation).

The dizzy-like synths that permeates the song are a great touch, and I also like how the frantic guitar gives more depht to the arrangement – especially when Daisuke plays a keytar solo alongside the guitar during the bridge. Hiro’s vocals, on the other side, may not be among the best in the world, but I’m a fan of his rather screechy voice.

Even though “SENSUAL GLIDE” wasn’t released as a single, it was chosen to be the first song on access’ debut album “FAST ACCESS”, from February 1993. It was a great opener that set the tone to what we could expect from the band’s first full lenght work (previous singles “VIRGIN EMOTION” and “JEWELRY ANGEL” were nice showcases as well) – a wild combination of synths and guitars that would scare any serious rocker out there. Let’s just say that, in some way, access’ sound was trapped in a strange fusion of glam rock with synthpop.

4) Perfume -- Hurly Burly

Right now, “Hurly Burly” is kind of a lost song in Perfume’s discography, only appearing as a coupling song in 2012’s single “Spending all my time”. The strange marketing scheme was that, instead of the single’s title song, “Hurly Burly” was promoted in music shows like “Music Station” (ミュージックステーション) and “Music Japan”. Apparently, the girls were not very confident about performing “Spending all my time” on television because of the amount of English lines and lack of Japanese ones (it was told in an interview that the original version didn’t include any Japanese words, but the girls asked Yasutaka Nakata [中田ヤスタカ] to include at least some, which he did).

As for “Hurly Burly”, it could have served as a single on its own. The song is surprisingly joyful and solid given its odd title and some commercial lines – “what’s your favorite flavour?” and “juicy juicy sweet”, for example – Nakata insisted to include in the lyrics (it was a CM song for a Kirin drink). Just like “Spending all my time”, it can get a little bit repetitive, but the club-ready bass line and the late 90s Eurodance synths were great ideas from Nakata. Unfortunately, instead of this fun song, he decided to include the childish “Mirai no Musem” (未来のミュージアム) in Perfume’s electronic-heavy album “LEVEL 3” (probably due to contractual oligations, since “Mirai no Musem” – a Doraemon [ドラえもん] tie-in – was released as a single, while “Hurly Burly” was just a coupling song to the Eurohouse banger “Spending all my time”).

3) Minami Kuribayashi -- Kaze no Yukue (風のゆくえ)

I’m forever in love with Minami Kuribayashi (栗林みな実). Like I said in other posts, I don’t like her entire discography, but I admit feeling close to her in a strange way. Other than her beauty (she was marketed – and still is to some point – as a sexy seiyuu in her first years), I respect her vocal technique a lot, even if her overly cute voice sounds annoying at times.

One of my favorites from her is second single “Kaze no Yukue”, which was released back in February 2003. A little bit different from her more recent works, which relies heavily in aggressive synths and noisy guitar solos, “Kaze no Yukue” showcases Kuribayashi in a gentler way. The beautiful arrangement with keyboards and strings, coupled with the emotive chorus, is what makes me come back to this song all the time. I’d love if she started recording songs like this once again.

2) Chisato Moritaka -- Kusaimono ni wa Futa wo Shiro!! (臭いものにはフタをしろ！！)

For me, Chisato Moritaka (森高千里) had two main artistic inspirations during her career: one, 70s aidoru duo Pink Lady (ピンク・レディー) and their flamboyant style, both in music and fashion; second, The Beatles and their string of pop-rock classics.

Even though the flamboyant Moritaka overpowered the guitar-centric one during her early days, she was able to introduce, little by little, a bit of old school rock and roll in her discography (her album “Hijitsuryokuha Sengen” [非実力派宣言], for example, is half Eurobeat, half old school rock and roll).

One of the first times she opted for releasing a rock tune as a single was in May 1990, with “Kusaimono ni wa Futa wo Shiro!!”, a close-to-three minutes rockabilly song.

“Kusaimono ni wa Futa wo Shiro!!” soon became a highlight in Moritaka’s career, and it’s a song she enjoys performing in her live concerts a lot, even today. Personally, I had a hard time swallowing it, but right now I like how catchy and straightforward it is. Also, the video is pure fun with Chisato performing the song while dressed in her garish costume (she was even wearing a cape). In the end, the song just don’t match the outfit, but that’s what lovely about it: in a way, Moritaka is as close as a pin-up singing rock and roll we can get (the iconic leg dance during the guitar solo is just too much for me to handle).

Other than that, it’s funny how she wasn’t really caring for her aidoru image, since she appears holding a cigarette and drinking in the video. I remember reading somewhere how Shizuka Kudo, for example, had to hide her smoking habit from the public around the same time. Moritaka, on the other hand, surely had guts – or her management wasn’t very worried about it!

1) Megumi Hayashibara -- Lively Motion

NOTE: The audio quality of this video is horrible, but it was the only one with the full song I was able to find.

What’s my favorite song ever? That’s a tough question, but, if I had to think about it, Megumi Hayashibara’s (林原めぐみ) “Lively Motion” would be my answer. However, at the same time I know it’s a lie... I can’t select only one song from my favorite singer, because that’s plain absurd! Even knowing that, “Lively Motion” would still be my answer.

“Lively Motion” wasn’t the first Megumi song I heard, or even liked, but it was the one which made me decide she was going to be my musical companion for life. And that’s probably why I think about it as my favorite song ever.

Released in October 1998, it served as the ending theme to Saber Marionette J to X (セイバーマリオネット J to X), an anime I watched on TV everyday, and even woke up six in the morning during weekends to watch. While I loved the anime itself, its opening and ending songs – “Proof of Myself” and “Lively Motion”, respectively –, both sung by Hayashibara, were what kept me waiting. It’s just strange to watch an anime focused mainly in the songs, but that’s what I did back in the days.

I wasn’t familiarised with Japanese music at the time, and neither had a well-rounded musical taste, so this awkward combination of melodic and sentimental melodies coupled with a storm of synthesizers really hit me hard at the time. “Lively Motion” and all the urgency in its chorus was the epythome of what I wanted to hear in music, but, unfortunately, it didn’t click with anything from the Anglo-American market – which, by the way, was saturated with Hip-Hop/contemporary R&B and indie rock bands at the time. The good thing is Japan was always there to help me with the ride.

That's it for today. Thanks for the reading!

Minami Kuribayashi -- Kaze no Yukue (風のゆくえ)

As I told before, I have a big crush on Minami Kuribayashi (栗林みな実). Crush-wise, she only loses to Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ). And yes, I have a crush on Megumi even if she is a forty eight years old woman now. Back to Kuribayashi, I’d like to enjoy her songs as much as I like her, but I confess I’m having a good amount of success on that lately.

Today, though, I’m talking about an old favorite, the beautiful “Kaze no Yukue”, which was released as Minami’s second single, alongside “yours”, in February 2003.

“Kaze no Yukue” is kind of a forgotten single in Kuribayashi’s discography, and it’s a pity because the song is quite nice. Personally, I like the vulnerable vibe of the song with the strings (fake or not) and all the keyboards. As for Minami, even though not very experienced at the time, she delivered an emotional and fragile performance, just like the song required.

Since the beginning of her career in the anime industry, Minami Kuribayashi is known for singing themes for adult-oriented games, and that’s the case with "Kaze no Yukue", as it was used as the opening theme for the game “Kimi ga Nozomu Eien” (君が望む永遠).

The “Kaze no Yukue/yours” single reached #68 on the Oricon charts. Lyrics and music were composed by Minami Kuribayashi herself.

Minami Kuribayashi, Miyuki Hashimoto, Faylan, Aki Misato, yozuca*, rino -- Super Affection （すーぱー☆あふぇくしょん）

Ahhh...the alternate universe plot....the o-toro (fatty tuna) of the sushi platter that is science-fiction/fantasy. It's always fascinating to sample but not particularly healthy to have on a regular basis (and no, I didn't get into "Fringe" past the first season). The trope has been there for decades. The earliest example I can remember is from Capra's Christmas classic, "It's A Wonderful Life". But then arguably, the most well-known geek example is that 2nd-season episode from the original "Star Trek", "Mirror, Mirror" when Kirk and some of the Enterprise crew end up in the Mirror Universe and come face-to-face with the supposedly evil Mr. Spock...with the beard.

Anime isn't exactly a stranger to alternate universes either. "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" (2006)? Meet "The Disappearance of Nagato Yuko-chan" (2015). And also this season, I've been watching the epic "Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works" (2014) with a very robust dose of sword & sorcery. Plus, there's been quite a lot of heaviness and darkness during the last few episodes including one episode in which one of the characters meets a very brutal and sad demise. It was so depressing that both my anime buddy and I agreed that we needed to re-watch the much happier and fluffier alt-universe version that starred that dead lass, "Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya" (2013).

When I think of the above two anime franchises, I wonder if anime production houses actually use the alternate universe gimmick to provide solace to everyone involved: writers, animators, audience and voice cast. Your favourite character gets sliced to ribbons? No worries....here's an alt-universe show where he/she buys ribbons!

Then, I found out that there was yet another alt-universe version which came in earlier in 2011 called "Carnival Phantasm" which not only stars the cast from "Fate/stay night" but another franchise, "Tsukihime", all put together in an absolutely madcap set of situations that seems to be a shout out to productions such as "Robot Chicken", "South Park". "Wacky Races" (that's going waaaaaay back) and "Yogi's Gang" (the "Ocean's Eleven" of Hanna-Barbera). If I ever get too down from watching Shirou and Rin bleeding all over the floor on "Unlimited Blade Works", I can just watch them goofing about on "Carnival Phantasm".

And then there is the opening theme which had me at the first WhoaWHOA. To bring in another pop cultural trope, I got hit with an earworm again. "Super Affection" and that Busby Berkeley-like dance sequence in the opening credits was just too much for me...I ended up watching the video a few times since I couldn't quite believe the normally dour Rin and Saber energetically waving their arms and kicking up their heels.

"Super Affection" was written by Aki Hata（畑亜貴）, whom I'm starting to think is on the way to becoming the Yu Aku（阿久悠）of modern-day anime (I just seem to see her everywhere in the credits), and composed by Masatomo Ohta（太田雅友）. Quite the crowded recording studio as well with Minami Kuribayashi（栗林みな実）, Miyuki Hashimoto（橋本みゆき）, Faylan（飛蘭）, Aki Misato（美郷あき）, yozuca* and rino, only one of whom I know because of Marcos V's articles on her. For me, I think it's not only the cheerful melody that hooked me but also because of those WhoaWHOAs. And those WhoaWHOAs even remind me of an old Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）song, "Ren'ai Revolution 21"（恋愛レボリューション21）.

I'm not sure how "Super Affection" did on the rankings but I kinda wonder if the anime fans had a good time with this one in the karaoke boxes.

A very inside joke to finish off the article, but since I have been writing about alternate universes as a form of spiritual reassurance, perhaps it wouldn't be too much to ask for "School Days: Nice Boat" with some cute and goofy and non-homicidal high school students?

Minami Kuribayashi -- signs ~Sakutsuki Hitoyo~ (signs 〜朔月一夜〜)

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDQ2MDIxNjQw.html

NOTE: I couldn’t find the full video on YouTube, but if, somehow, the Youku link provided above fails, you can watch a part of the video on YouTube just clicking here.

As I told in the “Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line” (翼はPleasure Line) post I wrote last year, Minami Kuribayashi (栗林みな実) is one of my favorite singers. Sadly, I dislike a good portion of her songs. Maybe it’s a bit strange to consider a singer one of my favorites while the songs are not really of my taste. I confirm the strangeness, but trying to redeem myself, when Minami records a good song, it means it’s REALLY good. Most of the time she (or who else is responsible for these choices) chooses to record cute, lame and generic pop/rock synthy anime songs, but sometimes she delivers a great song, and “signs ~Sakutsuki Hitoyo~” is easily in this bunch.

With a dramatic and epic big chorus, “signs ~Sakutsuki Hitoyo~”, which was released as a single in August 2012, is a very strong ballad that showcases what I think is Minami Kuribayashi’s best vocals to date. Her falsettos in some parts of the choruses are just beautiful, and to think that she can also deliver this high quality performance during live concerts is something really great. As for the arrangement, what I like the most, besides the strings, of course, is the nice guitar solo during the bridge. As it follows some melodies used in the choruses, it’s a nice complement to the overall epic vibe of the song.

Finally, Minami Kuribayashi is gorgeous in the "signs ~Sakutsuki Hitoyo~" video (sorry, my everlasting crush on her didn't let me end the article without telling this).

"signs ~Sakutsuki Hitoyo~", which ended being the theme song for the “Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse” anime series, reached #20 on the Oricon charts. It was written and composed by Kato Yusuke (加藤裕介), while Narumitsugi Nagaoka (長岡成貢) was responsible for the arrangement.

Minami Kuribayashi -- Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line (翼はPleasure Line)

I always thought that Minami Kuribayashi (栗林みな実) deserved to be a famous J-pop singer, but her status as a seiyuu/anisong singer is probably a negative factor for this to become reality as few singers of the genre are really chart breaking like Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ) in the 90s and Nana Mizuki  (水樹奈々) nowadays.

I’m saying that because after listening to Kuribayashi’s songs and watching some of her live performances we can certainly say that the girl can sing. Overall, her discography is not always on point, with very similar arrangements and some not very memorable hooks, but a good portion of the songs, like “Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line” (翼はPleasure Line), is not part of that bunch. This particular song is one of Kuribayashi’s classics and it was the opening theme for the 2003-2004 anime “Chrno Crusade” (クロノクルセイド). I remember that after listening to it for the first time at my friend’s place back in 2006 I instantly became a fan of Minami Kuribayashi. Time passed by, but I never got tired of this song. It’s just THAT great to my ears.

The song as a whole is very energetic and Minami’s vocals are cute yet powerful when required (a very positive characteristic of her). As for the arrangement, the strings makes the song shine even more.

Minami Kuribayashi came to a big anime convention here in Brazil some years ago, but unfortunately I couldn’t attend the event. She sang “Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line” and other famous songs from her discography, which makes me regret until today for not being able to cheer and have fun at her concert. Luckily, I have a copy of her "1st Live Tour 2007 fantastic arrow" concert DVD with that great performance of “Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line” featured at the beginning of this post. And she was at the top of her beauty in this concert.

"Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line" is not only my favorite Minami Kuribayashi song, but one of my favourite songs of all times. As I said earlier, I never get tired of it.

“Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line” was released back in January 2004 as Kuribayashi’s fourth single. It reached #17 on the Oricon charts and sold 51,500 copies (source: Wikipedia), making it the third best selling single of her career. The song was later included in the 2006 album “passage” and the 2011 best of compilation “stories”. The lyrics were written by Hata Aki (畑亜貴), while the music and arrangement were made by Noriyasu Agematsu (上松範康), a founding member of the group of music composers Elements Garden.