Aki Toyosaki, Maaya Uchida, Ayane Sakura, Miku Ito and Momo Asakura -- Akai Sweet Pea (赤いスイートピー）

 

Wow! All this time knowing the song "Akai Sweet Pea" (Red Sweet Pea) by Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）and the above 1910 painting is the first time I get to see a real red sweet pea. This is by Edward H. Mitchell (1867–1932) and it's in the public domain according to Wikimedia Commons.

One other thing that I found out on the first episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）in 2026 last night was that "Akai Sweet Pea" is celebrating its 44th anniversary today since its release in 1982. Well, of course, I wrote up an article on one of Seiko-chan's evergreen hits all the way back in 2012 so I can't really repeat myself. However, I did look up the many cover versions of "Akai Sweet Pea" via J-Wiki and found this one.

It is indeed a very sweet version via the December 2020 album "VOICE ~ Seiyuu-tachi ga Utau Matsuda Seiko Song ~ Female Edition"（VOICE〜声優たちが歌う松田聖子ソング〜 Female Edition...Voice Actresses Sing the Songs of Seiko Matsuda）. As the title says, a whole bunch of the big guns in the anime voice actress industry came together to provide their own versions of Matsuda's music. Their take on "Akai Sweet Pea" is the 12th and final track on the album and it is an appropriately stately but adorable cover sung by all of the seiyuu involved in the project to wrap things up: Aki Toyosaki（豊崎愛生）, Maaya Uchida（内田真礼）, Ayane Sakura（佐倉綾音）, Miku Ito（伊藤美来）and Momo Asakura（麻倉もも）. Probably not a dry eye in the house.

Anyways, all hail "Akai Sweet Pea"! All hail Seiko-chan!

Necry Talkie -- Fuzaketenai ze（ふざけてないぜ）/Momo Asakura -- Pinky Hook（ピンキーフック）

 

If it weren't for this pandemic, I would most likely be over at my anime buddy's house right now watching the finales for the 2021 summer season of anime. Naturally, that hasn't been the case for over 18 months so a lot of anime that I could have seen throughout 2020 and 2021 up to now has gone by the wayside. However, by my own volition, I've been catching a little of the stuff that has been within my "like" range and that has included 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）.

Perhaps one small advantage that I've gotten from choosing my own anime to try out is that I've been able to see shows that my buddy probably wouldn't have chosen for the biweekly viewings. One such show is "Kanojo mo Kanojo"（カノジョも彼女...Girlfriend, Girlfriend）. It's within the same genre of slice-of-life comedy as "Kobayashi-san" but this one is far more in the farce category. I mean, if "Kobayashi-san" is the "I Dream of Jeannie" of anime then "Kanojo mo Kanojo" is "Three's Company" for those who are in the know regarding old American sitcoms.

For my anime buddy, "Kanojo mo Kanojo" is probably too farcical for his liking. But I've enjoyed watching the first two episodes so far and it has one seiyuu who I've known since I came back from Japan a decade ago. Ayane Sakura（佐倉綾音）has been in the business since 2010 and some of the earliest anime that I've seen since getting back into the animated tangled web have featured her in programs such as "Joshiraku"（じょしらく）and "Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?"（ご注文はうさぎですか？...Is The Order A Rabbit?）. With "Kanojo mo Kanojo", she's playing closer to her short-tempered rakugo-ka in "Joshiraku" as the suffering but bi-curious girlfriend to a fellow who is insanely honest to the point of potentially ending up at the bottom of the Sumida River someday. 

Listening and watching the opening and closing credits to "Kanojo mo Kanojo" has gotten me to write about the opening and closing themes today. As for the former, it's "Fuzaketenai ze" (Not Fooling Around) by Necry Talkie（ネクライトーキー）, a rock band which I wrote about less than two weeks ago, so it is with some coincidence that I'm talking about them again. With words and music by guitarist Asahi（朝日）, it begins with an appropriately sultry rock beat which continues into something more upbeat and innocent, probably reflecting the overall harem situation among the characters.

The ending theme is "Pinky Hook" by seiyuu/singer Momo Asakura（麻倉もも）, a funkier tune with some light and breezy synthpop involved which was written and composed by Sho Watanabe（渡辺翔）. I mentioned his name earlier in the summer since he composed a Tokyo Girls' Style（東京女子流）song a decade ago. If I'm not mistaken, the title refers to the Japanese custom of intertwining pinky fingers between two friends to confirm a promise.

And the "Three's Company" award for double entendres goes to...

KMM Dan -- Saturday Night Witches

I think this might strike readers from outside of North America rather ironically but currently there is a massive snowstorm smashing into the eastern half of the United States while Canada stays quite calm. CNN is doing a full court press.

Meanwhile, KMM Dan（KMM団）will probably have a grand old time at the karaoke box singing this tune, if the above video is any indication. Yup, it's been a couple of years but I'm finally putting up the other song by the group of seiyuu involved in "Witchcraft Works". Not as much of an earworm as "Witchcraft Activity", "Saturday Night Witches" was also written and composed by the technopop unit TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN FUND as an interesting tribute to what I think is old 80s synthpop. It's not quite full funky R&B and not quite full New Wave but it is an intriguing Japanese tribute to the music of the big hair, gaudy makeup and broad shoulders that was all the rage back in the decade of my high school and university years.

In terms of the lyrics, it's all about having a great time downtown tripping the light fantastic, preferably without the gigantic violent bunnies. I very barely head out on Saturday nights nowadays so there is definitely a natsukashii element listening to "Saturday Night Witches"...all those old discos, trips to Kuri and late-night midnight snacks.

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

Not too long ago, I wrote on Yasuyuki Okamura's（岡村靖幸）funky little number, "Viva Namida", the opening theme for "Space Dandy"...one of the number of anime that I've been watching since the beginning of the new year. Well, during the same showing, I was also witness to another anime by the title of "Witchcraft Works" which seems to have become the big hit of the season.

As I did with "Space Dandy", I will also give my brief fractured description of "Witchcraft Works" through comparison with examples of old TV programs and movies. The show seems to be a mix of "Terminator", "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie" with some pretty nifty special effects. However, as much as I have enjoyed the first few episodes featuring the adventures of Honoka and Ayaka, my ears and brain pricked up at the very end of the episodes when this Ceti Alpha Eel of an ending theme managed to burrow deep into my brain where it still resides.

This would be "Witch Activity" by KMM Dan（ＫＭＭ団...The KMM Group）, the coven of teenage witches which has so far antagonized our aforementioned heroes with all manners of hocus pocus, giant bears and bunnies. And I think the coven is having better success breaking the fourth wall and ripping us anime fans down to size with this earworm than getting at Ayaka the witch. The technopop unit TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND was responsible for unleashing this infectious melody. The unit itself was formed all the way back in 1995, but with their first album, "music laundering" coming out over a decade later in 2006.

The music alone should be investigated by the CDC, but what got me at "Hello" was the staccato opening by the KMM girls (voiced by their respective seiyuu) themselves. With the music and the vocals, I didn't stand a chance. I ended up listening to the YouTube video for the ending credits of "Witchcraft Works" a few times after getting home from my anime buddy's place that night, and then a few more times after that until the official single was finally released a few days ago, and a Good Samaritan uploaded the song onto YouTube. Frankly, I don't think the full version of "Witchcraft Activity" actually adds any further audio Valhalla than what I have already heard through the credits, but it's early days.

From CD Japan

Now, when you check out the photo above for the single, you will see the cover in which the KMM Dan is positioned eerily like the famed German techno band, Kraftwerk, for "The Man-Machine". My anime buddy also pointed out that "Witch Activity" also sounded like the band's "Radioactivity".

Well, I'm not quite sure about that....perhaps if the melody for "Radioactivity" were sped up? But in any case, I did enjoy seeing the parody cover.