Fruit Tart -- Nezumi Sentai Nezu Ranger（ネズミ戦隊ネズレンジャー）

 

I was doing some maintenance with hard drives and stuff, and I got to my anime one where I got to see the first episode of  "Ochikobore Fruit Tart"（おちこぼれフルーツタルト...Dropout Idol Fruit Tart） for the first time in a few years. This 2020 coming-of-age comedy starring a quintet of girls trying to become an aidoru group was funny and it came out at a time when all of us could do with a lot of funny somehow, somewhere and sometime.

The last time I wrote anything having to do with the anime was back in late 2021 when I provided the article for the ending theme "Wonder!"（ワンダー!）. Of course, there were a few other insert songs which I covered, but I had completely forgotten one that showed up near the end of the first episode. "Nezumi Sentai Nezu Ranger" (The Mouse Rangers of the Mouse Squadron). Initially introduced as the unofficial theme song for the girls' dormitory, Mouse House, the four (at the time) residents got together to perform this adorable tokusatsu tune as their first Fruit Tart tune in front of the neighbourhood train station. Lyricist Sasa Ando（安藤紗々）and composer Eiko Shimamiya（島みやえい子）took care of the song.

Tontokoton Staff -- Maid Dai Kaiten（メイド大回転）

 

Well, we're just about halfway through the current anime season and that includes the gritty-as-sand but frilly-as-frills show "Akiba Meido Senso"（アキバ冥途戦争...Akiba Maid War）. The series has been following the pattern of a typical yakuza movie but instead of thugs, we have maids battling it out. At the same time, there has also been a goodly amount of fun music coming out of this as well. So far on the blog, it's been the homicidally hilarious "Junjou Maid Bukkoroshi Kiss"（純情メイドぶっころ主KISS）in the standout scene of Episode 1 and the ending theme "Meido no Komori Uta"（冥途の子守唄）which is in the same vein of the downtrodden-but-unbowed type of Mood Kayo of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Now, let's tackle the opening. First off, those opening credits with all of us entering the tough-and-bloody streets of Akihabara communicate to us in those one minute and forty-odd seconds about what the whole premise is right down to the combination of aprons and arms and of course, the power walk of the staff of the Tontokoton Maid Cafe（メイドカフェ とんとことん）which ought to bring a smile to the face of Quentin Tarentino.

As for that opening theme, it's "Maid Dai Kaiten" (Giant Maid Slalom) by the Tontokoton staff themselves. We have Reina Kondo（近藤玲奈）as the scared newbie Nagomi (although after Episode 6, there may be changes ahead for her), Rina Sato（佐藤利奈）as the hardened warrior Ranko, Minami Tanaka（田中美海）as the alternately sweet-and-snarky Yumechi, Tomoyo Kurosawa（黒沢ともよ）as the gyaru maid Shiipon, Jenya（ジェーニャ）as the Russian battle maid Zoya, and Ayahi Takagaki（高垣彩陽）as the scheming manager Yasuko Yaegashi. Words and music were provided by SHIBU and Getamono Land Keiei Senryaku Shitsu（ケダモノランド経営戦略室...Beast Land Administrative Strategies Office）, the latter of which produced the show.

One YouTube commenter pointed it out well that "Maid Dai Kaiten" is a hard techno piece that seems to have come out of the "Matrix" franchise, and the contrast between those dark beats and the typical Maid Cafe patter works well, both as something oddly kakkoii and tongue-in-cheek. However, the main chorus then launches into something major chord upbeat and aidoru-esque. Maybe that means there is hope around the corner for the Tontokoton maids. Regardless, there are a couple of music snippets that have also popped up; I hope that they get their due as full-fledged songs soon enough on the soundtrack.

Fruit Tart -- Wonder!（ワンダー!）

 

Well, I figured that since I already have most of the major songs up from the 2020 anime "Ochikobore Fruit Tart"（おちこぼれフルーツタルト...Dropout Idol Fruit Tart）, I really should complete the set thus far with the ending theme.

Kadokawa Anime's YouTube channel has uploaded both the opening and closing credits here with the latter coming on at about 1:27. There have been announcements about sequels to popular anime, so I'm hoping that perhaps the same might occur with "Fruit Tart".

In any case, "Wonder!" is the ending theme with the entire aidoru group Fruit Tart performing through their seiyuu: Risa Kubota（久保田梨沙）, Hiyori Nitta（新田ひより）, Haruka Shiraishi（白石晴香）, Reina Kondo（近藤玲奈）and Kyoko Moriya（守屋亨香）. According to the J-Wiki article for the show, "Wonder!" incorporates some chip tune elements to create some feeling of retro video games alongside the rock guitar. Sasa Ando（安藤紗々）wrote the lyrics as she did for the opening theme, "Kibou Darake no EVERYDAY"（キボウだらけのEVERYDAY）while Yamato（大和）provided the melody and arrangement.

Fruit Tart -- Mezase! Curry No. 1!（目指せ!カレーNo.1!）

 

I've been eating rice curry since I was a kid but it was only when I hit university that I discovered how many different varieties of curry there are. And then, there is the fact that the Japanese love their curry so much including the kinds from India, Thailand and other nations. A number of times per year, I used to go with friends to Tokyo's Indian restaurants with a curry buffet going. In fact, the last time that I was in Japan in late 2017, my friend took me to a small neighbourhood place near his apartment where I had the above Butter Chicken Curry which went very well with freshly made naan.

Now, I know that the second season of "Zombieland Saga" is going at warp speed with tons of new songs and fans including my anime buddy. As such, I will eventually get to seeing those episodes but right now, I've only finished up on that other aidoru saga from the Fall 2020 season, "Ochikobore Fruit Tart"（おちこぼれフルーツタルト...Dropout Idol Fruit Tart）. It was also very enjoyable although I do worry about the characters' romantic life in the years to follow.

There seems to be an overarching theme of food when it comes to "Ochikobore Fruit Tart", beginning with the name of the aidoru group itself, and then there was the first catchy tune to be born from the show, "Broko no Uta"（ブロ子の歌）that grabbed my buddy's ears and never let go. Well, another insert song that seems to have caught on fire with the fandom (including me) is "Mezase! Curry No. 1!" (Go For It! Curry No. 1!). It was performed in front of the audience which was initially caught off-guard by its curry-themed nature before they finally got into it.

If the fans only knew that curry was almost the only thing that Fruit Tart could afford to eat at Mouse House, but it looks like Roko, Ino and the rest of Fruit Tart were accustomed to the sameness of their diet and it did lead to one catchy number. In the real world, "Mezase! Curry No. 1!" was written by Sasa Ando（安藤紗々）, the same lyricist responsible for the other songs provided on the show including the themes, and it was composed by Yamato（大和）. 

The crazy thing is that the overall beat of "Mezase! Curry No. 1!" reminds me of another anison from 2012, "Taiyo Iwaku Moeyo Chaos" （太陽曰く燃えよカオス）for the anime "Haiyore! Nyaruko-san" (Nyaruko: Crawling With Love), and as I mentioned in that article, "Taiyo Iwaku Moeyo Chaos" had been inspired by "Dschingis Khan" by the band Dschingis Khan. Talk about things that make me go "Hmmmm...".

Fruit Tart -- Kibou Darake no EVERYDAY（キボウだらけのEVERYDAY）

 

For those in the Toronto area, this morning must have been a meteorological revelation. I certainly was taken aback to see an inch or two of snow outside my window, despite the fact that we're one month into spring. Weather is certainly a troll for us.

Exactly a couple of months ago, I wrote on an anime-based earworm that managed to burrow deep into my head called "Broko no Uta"（ブロ子の歌）as performed by seiyuu Risa Kubota in her character of Roko Sekino. The anime is the Fall 2020 "Ochikobore Fruit Tart"（おちこぼれフルーツタルト...Dropout Idol Fruit Tart） which, as my anime buddy once informed me, was supposed to have been shown earlier in the summer but due to COVID issues was actually delayed by a season.

As much as I've enjoyed "Broko no Uta", I've now let the earworms invade me once more with the opening theme, "Kibou Darake no EVERYDAY" (Everyday is Filled with Hope). Sung by the stumbling and quirk-filled new aidoru group within "Ochikobore Fruit Tart", Fruit Tart, it's got the happy-happy-joy-joy element but I also like some of the quirks in the melody and arrangement put together by John Kanda（神田ジョン）, guitarist of the rock band PENGUIN RESEARCH. Sasa Ando（安藤紗々）was the lyricist here.

As for the members of Fruit Tart, they are the snarky and height-challenged Roko Sekino（関野ロコ）, the ever-optimistic Ino Sakura（桜衣乃）, the strawberry-loving Hayu Nukui（貫井はゆ）, the (relatively) tall and buxom Nina Maehara（前原仁菜）, and the supremely moe Hemo Midori（緑へも）. They are respectively played by Risa Kubota（久保田梨沙）, Hiyori Nitta（新田ひより）, Haruka Shiraishi（白石晴香）, Reina Kondo（近藤玲奈）and Kyoko Moriya（守屋亨香）.

Considering these current times, a song with a title like this one isn't too bad at all.

Nozomi Nishida, Reina Kondo, Saki Minami & Honoka Inoue -- Donna Toki mo（どんなときも）

One of the new anime that we've gotten a gander of this season is "Hachi-gatsu no Cinderella Nine"（八月のシンデレラナイン...The Cinderella Nine of August）which I found out was based on a smartphone game from two years ago. As soon as the first episode started rolling out, I immediately got memories of another baseball-and-high school girls anime from a decade prior called "Taisho Yakyu Musume"（大正野球娘。...Taisho Baseball Girls）. That show was based in the Taisho Era almost a century ago, so my imagination started running on whether the characters here were actually the descendants of the students from "Taisho Yakyu Musume". Maybe another title for the new show could be "Reiwa Yakyu Musume"（令和野球娘。）?

I've only seen the first couple of episodes from which the story is showing some similarities with "Taisho Yakyu Musume" in that the energetic and optimistic central character suddenly decides to set up a girls' baseball team in the school with her loyal best buddy in tow after which they recruit a couple of timid students with no particular athletic ability and then an initially disillusioned classmate who has a keen eye for baseball tactics and strategy. There hasn't been a whole lot of drama and despair as of yet but I'm sure that it will be coming from the middle episodes. So far, it's all been happiness and light.

The opening theme for "Hachi-gatsu no Cinderella Nine" hasn't exactly grabbed me yet but I do like the sweetness of the ending theme. My overriding reason is that it's a cover of "Donna Toki mo" (どんなときも...No Matter When), the breakthrough single of songsmith Noriyuki Makihara（槇原敬之）from 1991. The absolute cheerfulness of that big hit has been retained in full for this version as sung by some of the cast consisting of Nozomi Nishida（西田望見）, Reina Kondo（近藤玲奈）, Saki Minami（南早紀）and Honoka Inoue（井上ほの花）. As I've mentioned in my last anime article (from this morning), I wouldn't also mind hearing the full version of this in the coming weeks.