Poplar -- Ijigen Story（異次元ストーリー）/Norimasa Yamanaka -- Wing Love

 

"You can be my wingman anytime". I kinda wonder whether this statement marking the beginning of a friendship between Maverick and Iceman in "Top Gun" was how the key word entered the vernacular meaning a guy who will have his friend's back every time whether it be in war or love. I've been hearing "wingman" quite a lot in movies over the past few decades now.

And that's the reason that I was initially tickled by this manga-turned-anime titled "Yume Senshi Wingman"（夢戦士ウイングマン...Dream Warrior Wingman） from 1984. The Wingman here was actually the star instead of the sidekick. My information on 80s anime is pretty sparse but from what I could glean is that the hero is a high school boy who gets those delusions of grandeur of becoming a great tokusatsu hero and he actually gets his opportunity through an encounter with an alternative universe princess. Of course, as we can see in the above video, the process is never a smooth one. I guess all that chuunibyo stuff goes back further than I'd assumed.

In any case, the opening and theme songs for "Wingman" are surprisingly urban contemporary considering the plot of the show. And both were created by the same team: lyricist Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）, composer Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）and arranger Keiichi Oku（奥慶一）...pretty darn potent City Pop guys. The opening theme "Ijigen Story" can be translated as either "Story from a Different Dimension" or "Unprecedented Story". It's got that urbanity along with some haunting interdimensional whimsy as would befit some of the goofy humour. There's even what sounds like a bit of Dixieland jazz that pops up in the full version. Sumiko Fukuda（福田スミ子）, aka Poplar（ポプラ）, provides the bluesy and smoky vocals; she's also one of the singers responsible for the theme song for famous electronics chain Yodobashi Camera.

Norimasa Yamanaka（山中のりまさ）is another singer that I haven't heard a lot about, only writing about one song of his only a few months ago, "Sunrise Sunset"（サンライズ・サンセット）. His second one here on KKP is the ending theme for "Wingman", the West Coast drive-friendly "Wing Love", which is more on the AOR side with some Boz Scaggs/Bobby Caldwell influences in Oku's arrangement. Maybe this could be one song that could greet young Kenta on the stereo after battling his monsters as the title character himself.

Poplar/MIQ -- Yodobashi Camera no Uta（ヨドバシカメラの歌）

A couple of years ago, I did an article about some of the catchy jingles that represented the various superstores in Akihabara including the one that I focused on, the kiddieland-friendly "Hello, Sofmap World".

Well, although I did mention the massive Yodobashi Akiba, I never got around to its theme song. Incidentally, before I go ahead with that song, I have to say that since the building was erected, it was the place for me to take friends from Toronto whenever they visited during my life there. Even when I visit Japan as a mere tourist now, I still make sure that I drop by the place just to take a look around at the goods and also to visit one of the many restaurants on the higher floor. I'm not exaggerating too much when I say that a visitor wanting to explore all that Akihabara has to offer can easily spend an entire day in this Yodobashi branch. It would basically be one day for Yodobashi Akiba and then another day for the rest of Akiba.

As I cited above, the jingle for Sofmap is a tune that would have folks envision a fantasy land for kids. The one for Yodobashi Camera is jazzier...and familiar, especially for Americans. Yup, once you hear it, you'll know it's completely based on "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by William Steffe and Julia Ward Howe from the mid-19th century.

According to the J-Wiki article, the initial version had been just an instrumental march with some male chorus in the background, but then in 1986, the singer Poplar（ポプラ）, who has focused on theme songs for anime and dramas as well as commercial jingles, gave a slightly rock version of "Yodobashi Camera no Uta" (The Yodobashi Camera Song).

But then in 1990, anison singer and vocal trainer MIQ (pronounced Miku) performed the jazzier take that has been usually heard in the stores nowadays. I tried to find out who came up with the Japanese lyrics but apparently they differ depending on the branch whether it is in Tokyo, Osaka or Sapporo, for example. So I can only figure that someone in an advertising company or the marketing division of Yodobashi itself has been responsible for those. However, the lyrics for the branch in Shinjuku West were created by the actual founder, Terukazu Fujisawa（藤沢昭和）.

I'm sure the format has changed since my visit there last year, but you can take a gander at the restaurant floor for Yodobashi Akiba. I don't have any recommendations; they all seem scrumptious!