Miwako Fujitani -- Dry Flower（ドライフラワー）

 

At this writing, I think there are only two or so of these YouTube videos showing "OIOI TOKYO TASTE ROOMS", so they are quite precious. Now, I've mentioned this show a couple of times in the past, going all the way back to 2013, and I have to make some clarifications here since I was rather loose with my details. For one thing, I referred to the show as just "Rooms"; well, the full name is now above us. For the second thing, I'd assumed that the show ran on for a few years when in fact, it was just for a year on late-night Fuji-TV between 1994 and 1995.

But I guess such was the impressive style and panache that the producers behind "OIOI TOKYO TASTE ROOMS" placed onto this mere 10-minute vignette that it was like getting that video version of a great midnight snack. And indeed, the program ran at around the 12:30 am time period as it focused on the more interesting apartment layouts of urbanites ranging from their late teens to thirties. Having a passing interest in architecture and interior décor, I have to admit that it was some late-night catnip to me as I watched from the comfort of my futon.

Of course, being sponsored by the department store Marui, having the show get into viewers' eyes and minds probably had them snoozing and perhaps dreaming of furniture and other interior goods that they could get from stylish Marui itself. If I'm not mistaken, there was also a rather bizarre segment of about a minute in length in which a famous actress or female Fuji-TV announcer in character or even a viewer would leave a phone message on some existential matter.

However, it was the ending theme that did catch my ear, and in the past, I have posted about a couple of those themes: Kenjiro Sakiya's（崎谷健次郎）"ROOMS" and Kaya Saeki's（佐伯伽耶）"Perfume wo Nokosenai" （パフュームを残せない）. Today's theme is "Dry Flower" which was singer/actress Miwako Fujitani's（藤谷美和子）July 1994 2nd single following her hit duet with the late Yoshiaki Ohuchi（大内義昭）, "Ai ga Umareta Hi"（愛が生まれた日）which had been released earlier in February. Written by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and composed by Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）, although I have put on the City Pop label for it because of its overall urbaneness, it doesn't have that usual groove but it does have some of that sophisticated pop and dramatic balladry. I'd say that it fit the "OIOI ROOMS" ethos quite well with the resident of that refined apartment or condo sighing about love and all that jazz. Still, after waking up the following morning, I didn't get that urge to buy a tapestry or a OIOI bookshelf.

Miwako Fujitani -- Watashi-tachi ni Naritakute (私たちになりたくて)

Maybe next year, Moon!

If I followed my usual pattern, I wouldn't be here but at Metro Convention Centre for the first full day of Fan Expo, Toronto's equivalent of Comic-Con down in San Diego. However, I'm sitting out this year since after going to the grand geek event for the previous 3 years, the Law of Diminishing Returns has finally smacked me on the head and told me to hold onto my money....even though it might be Stan Lee's final visit to Canada.

As with any Fan Expo, I am quite convinced that there will be the usual smattering of Sailor Moons, Mercurys, Marses, Jupiters, Venuses and even Chibi-Moons walking around and getting their photos taken over the next few days.

So on that note, I will give my tribute to the magical girl franchise to begin all magical girl franchises and provide another ending theme from the original 90s anime. Usually, my favourite songs from "Sailor Moon"（セーラームーン）have tended to be of the uptempo variety such as the iconic tango of "Moonlight Densetsu"（ムーンライト伝説）. I never really got into the ballads until I came across the ending theme for "Sailor Moon SuperS", "Watashi-tachi ni Naritakute" (Wanting to Become Us) by singer-actress Miwako Fujitani（藤谷美和子）.

I was surprised by a couple of things on hearing this ending theme. For one thing, I think it may have been the first ending credit sequence of the franchise to only feature Chibi-Moon (which would probably have had Usagi exploding the dumplings off her head in jealousy), and for the other, it was Fujitani who sang it.

Through my viewings of variety shows and suspense dramas on VHS tape, I had been totally accustomed to seeing the bubbly Fujitani chat about or act on those shows but then in 1994, she and a partner, songwriter Yoshiaki Ohuchi（大内義昭）, came up with one of the hits of the year, "Ai ga Umareta Hi"（愛が生まれた日）that got them onto the Kohaku Utagassen. Then, just a few months later in April 1995, Fujitani provided her 4th single for one of the crown jewels for TV Asahi, "Sailor Moon".

Listening to "Watashi-tachi ni Naritakute", the arrangement is all very nostalgically 90s and pleasing to the ear. I think Fujitani's slightly fuzzy voice helps out in that regard. It's dreamy enough so that I could imagine Seiko-chan singing this one in concert. And I think it's imprinted myself on me as Chibi-Moon's theme.

The lyrics were provided by the one and only Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and the music was composed by former tarento and singer Nozomi Inoue（井上望）. The song managed to peak at No. 25. The song is also on Fujitani's 2nd album "Believers" from April 1995, and of course, it is available on any of the many albums containing the Sailor Moon songs.

Miwako Fujitani & Yoshiaki Ohuchi -- Ai ga Umareta Hi （愛が生まれた日）

Another one of those "Long time, no see" discs. I dug up "Ai ga Umareta Hi" (The Day that Love was Born) from among the few piles of those ancient tiny CD singles. It was released back in February 1994, several months before I left for my second stint in Japan, so I must have seen the song performed on those rental videos of "Music Station" or "Best 10" shows.

Miwako Fujitani's（藤谷美和子）main trade was acting but I used to see her more often as a guest on various variety shows to the extent that I think she probably should have been categorized as a tarento as well. I remember she had quite the bubbly personality to be a TV personality, but I think in those days her star was either rising or at its peak since she just seemed to be popping up everywhere on the videos I was renting and on the first several TV programs I caught after getting into Japan later that November.

Well, I guess either she and/or her staff must have realized that after becoming an actress and a tarento (perhaps), it was time to go for the Triple Crown of Japanese stardom...and wear that chanteuse's cap. So she recorded the insert song, "Ai ga Umareta Hi", for an NTV drama that she was also starring in, "Sono Uchi Kekkon Suru Kimi e"（そのうち結婚する君へ...To You Who Will Get Married Sooner or Later） as her debut single.

As I said, I saw the song being performed a number of times on the music shows but although I knew Fujitani, I had no idea who the fellow behind her was and frankly didn't have much of an interest in finding out. Well, it would be many, many years before I discovered that the name behind the guitar-strumming guy was Yoshiaki Ohuchi（大内義昭）. Now, if you are a Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）fan like I am, you will know right off the bat who he is since he had been collaborating with Kohhy on so many of her songs like "Hold On Me" and "Dreamer". In fact, if you checked out his name in the Labels section, you would be getting all of her songs with him listed as the composer...at least until this article.

However, Ohuchi has been in the music business since 1980 as a singer-songwriter and as a musician helping out on other projects. I just didn't realize that he was in front of the mike for this one. And "Ai ga Umareta Hi" wasn't even composed by him this time. It was actually created by prolific composer Hitoshi Haba（羽場仁志）and written by the even more prolific Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）as a song with contemporary arrangements but has that sound of a Mood Kayo that could have been easily performed by folks from that genre on an episode of "Enka no Hanamichi". The fact that it is a duet ballad strengthens that feeling along with the theme of love and the somewhat pensive melody.

I guess, therefore, "Ai ga Umareta Hi" appealed across generational and genre lines. It became a million-seller and broke the Top 10, peaking at No. 5 on Oricon and eventually becoming the 13th-ranked song of the year. It also won a number of prizes including one from The Japan Record Awards, and Fujitani and Ohuchi were able to get onto the Kohaku Utagassen. I'm pretty sure that neither of them imagined that they would ever appear on that special at the time.

The song also appeared on Fujitani's debut album "Singer" which came out in May 1994. Her singing career was brief...it lasted as far as 2001 with 6 singles and 4 albums. And the actress herself stopped her activities in 2005.