Miina Tominaga -- ’Cause A Woman

 

From YouTuber Cookie Crumpet, I give you the wonders of seiyuu Miina Tominaga（冨永みーな）as the villainous Majorina in "Smile PreCure" (2011-2012). When I posted my first article on the veteran voice thespian back in 2019, I did mention that I hadn't seen much of her work in anime and it was basically her time as the chief pain-in-the-neck for that group of PreCure warriors that got me to know her. 

Well, let's go back a few decades. Tominaga had already been in the anime business for about ten years but she was also putting out her own records whose songs from what I've heard so far have been in the urban contemporary field. She definitely doesn't sound like the cackling Majorina on the track "'Cause A Woman" from her July 1986 2nd album "a・ha! I'm 20".

Written by Ren Takayanagi（高柳恋）and composed by Yusuke Nakamura（中村裕介）, I was rather wondering whether "'Cause A Woman" would fall right into the City Pop groove or if it's an especially funky pop song of the mid-1980s. Any further speculation was finished when I reached the instrumental bridge and I declared, "Yeah, that's City Pop enough for me!". Still I kept the pop label in there, too. Nice and caramel groovy, it is.

Takanori Hiura -- Kimi yo Kirei ni Nare（君よ綺麗になれ）

 

If the name Takanori Hiura（日浦孝則）sparks a memory engram, then perhaps you're a fan of the 90s duo class which had its big hit with "Natsu no Hi no 1993"（夏の日の1993）. The singer-songwriter was a partner with the late Katsuyuki Tsukui（津久井克行）.

According to his J-Wiki article, Hiura was born and raised on a tiny island (population of only 500 people at the time) off of Hiroshima Prefecture which now has a bridge connecting the two land masses. Getting into folk music as a child, he became a fan of Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）and emulated his style after he'd gotten his own guitar.

Years before class, Hiura started his solo career in 1987 with the single "Slow Dance"（スロウダンス）. Then in February 1988, he released his second single "Kimi yo Kirei ni Nare" (Hey, You! Be Beautiful). Written by Ren Takayanagi（高柳恋）and composed by Takumi Yamamoto（山本拓己）, the title might come across as being a tad aggressive but the melody is a very soft and comfy creation. I'm sure that the protagonist and Hiura himself have the best of intentions.

Ruiko Kurahashi -- Soshite Setsuna yori Kanashiku ~ O Ella O Yo（そして刹那より哀しく）

 

Well, starting my usual run on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" rather late tonight. I met a friend for lunch and "Deadpool & Wolverine" earlier today and quite enjoyed it. The Marvel Jesus tag was more of a punchline than a premonition, mind you, but it was still a fun flick and they didn't go too overboard with the cameo-bombing. All in all, satisfying and I got the impression that it was a fond farewell to the 20th-Century Fox group of "X-Men" movies.

Surprise and delight actually began from yesterday when I posted "Like a Queen" by Tomita Lab（富田ラボ）and SOULHEAD since I found that better music video for the song. Surprise and delight continued on with "Deadpool & Wolverine" and then also on discovering the existence of a a song by one of my favourite singers, Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）, "Soshite Setsuna yori Kanashiku" (And Sadder Than the Moment). And the song itself is one of my favourites by her.

The thing is that "Soshite Setsuna yori Kanashiku" had only been limited to one curious paragraph referring to the original version of the song by Maria Conchita Alonso, "O Ella O Yo", in another Ruiko posting for "Ai, Soshite Anata"（愛、そしてあなた）all the way back in 2013. It really was a pity that there had been no YouTube video for Kurahashi's cover but the song finally did make its presence known on the platform...six years ago. Uh, better late than never.😏

Now, why do I like the song? Well, it plays to Kurahashi's talents of providing softly delivered vocals surrounded in a swath of sophisticated pop balladry. Arranger Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）really poured it on the schmaltz for the melody by Juan Carlos Calderon. Ren Takayanagi（高柳恋）provided the Japanese lyrics for this single which was the singer's ninth, released in October 1986.

Yasuhiro Abe -- Eve no Restaurant（イブのレストラン）

 

Well, we're a day early for Urban Contemporary Friday on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but heck, I think we can sneak in a bit of caviar-and-champagne sophisticated City Pop, especially when it's about Christmas. And especially when the recording artist is Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）.

From his 8th album "Tengoku wa Mattekureru"（天国は待ってくれる...Heaven Can Wait） released in November 1991, I offer you "Eve no Restaurant" (Christmas Eve Restaurant). Written by Chinfa Kan（康珍化）and Ren Takayanagi（高柳恋）and composed by the singer himself, it's one charming and optimistic tune (always love the horns) that's probably like Abe's character who's putting on the dog-and-pony show that he'll always be on his girlfriend's side. Now, let's eat at that expensive and stylish restaurant on December 24th after which Abe will be paying the bill in five installments on his credit card into the New Year. That's the Japanese way! 

I did find this video from YouTuber Chotto Ohgui Joshi（ちょっと大食い女子...Little Big Eating Lady） where she had her Christmas dinner up at the New York Grill at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo. Methinks this is quite the step up from Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Fujiya Strawberry Shortcake. However, I believe that the New York Grill has been shut down for the next little while because the Hyatt will be undergoing major renovations for the next several months.

One Step Communicate -- True Paradise

 

I was pretty impressed by the band One Step Communicate which was introduced by KKP's HRLE92 back in February so that I also covered them through a later contribution by the group to the anime franchise "Shinpi no Sekai El-Hazard"（神秘の世界エルハザード...The Magnificent World of El-Hazard）. As the author mentioned, every track on "One Step Communicate" is a banger.

Now I want to return to that original self-titled 1994 album where I had my socks knocked off by the first track. "True Paradise" has got panache, soul and class as a 1990s form of City Pop with the high-falutin' vocals of Kenichi Nakagawa（中川顕一）, the snazzy horn-spiced melody by guitarist Hiroyuki Yano（矢野弘佳）and some nice background chorus. It's indeed the type of song that I would like to hear while walking down one of the main streets of Tokyo on a gorgeous clear night. Ren Takayanagi（高柳恋）was responsible for the lyrics. 

Akiko Ikuina -- Chase Chase Chase（チェイス チェイス チェイス）

 

Marcos V. was the first one to introduce 80s aidoru and Onyanko Club（おニャン子クラブ）member No. 40 Akiko Ikuina（生稲晃子）onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus" through his two entries in 2014: "Virgin Shounen ni Kuchizuke o" (Virgin少年に接吻を) which was her September 1988 2nd single and then her song as part of the trio Ushirogami Hikaretai（うしろ髪ひかれ隊）, "Anata wo Shiritai" (あなたを知りたい) from August 1987.

Uh...nope, I'd have to agree with my KKP friend from Brazil that Ikuina never had quite the vocal chops that her colleague from Ushirogami Hikaretai, Shizuka Kudo（工藤静香）, had but as had been the case with many an aidoru from that decade, the music and arrangement did come to some of the rescue. And thus, we come to her "Chase Chase Chase" from her November 1988 debut album "Ikuina De-Dance"（「生稲」De-Dance）which hit No. 11 on Oricon.

When I first heard "Chase Chase Chase", I thought that I was hearing a blend of Paul Lekakis' "Boom Boom" and Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F" from the "Beverly Hills Cop" soundtrack. I can thank bassist and composer Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）for bringing in some of that 80s dance pop and perhaps some of that Eurobeat as well into the arrangement. Ren Takayanagi（高柳恋）was responsible for the lyrics. Listening to "Chase Chase Chase" a few times now, I realize that this won't enter the annals of the 80s Aidoru Hall of Fame but it's indeed the quintessential late 80s aidoru tune that I used to hear all the time on "The Best 10" and during interludes in variety shows.

Miki Hirayama -- Joyū Ni Narenai（女優になれない）

 

I've been watching "WandaVision" over the past few weeks and although the series is now over with all of the spoilers thrown out there and such, the show, now that I can watch full episodes, is still very enjoyable. And I'm not even binge-watching; I am viewing one episode per week as originally shown so I've just completed Episode 3 when Wanda and Vision are in the 1970s sitcom world. The jokes are appropriately cornball and as someone who grew up seeing the sitcoms that "WandaVision" has been lovingly parodying, it's been great fun admiring the set design and fashion. Plus, to see the two main characters being able to show themselves much more fully has been good fun especially when they were more in the role of supporting cast in the main Marvel movies.

Of course, the fly in the ointment has been Agatha Harkness all along, and her emergence as the ultimate (?) baddie in the show was punctuated with her own theme song. It was a wonderful riff on the jazzier version of "The Munsters" theme song, the version that I've always preferred.

In a way, Kathryn Hahn's portrayal of Agnes/Agatha comes to mind when I listen to this particular song by chanteuse Miki Hirayama（平山みき）, "Joyū Ni Narenai" (I'm No Actress) from her November 1987 album "Chess". The lyrics by Ren Takayanagi（高柳恋）depict a rather wicked and manipulative woman who seems to have had her cover blown but hasn't regretted one sin in the big bad city. The only thing missing is the cackle that Agatha burst out after admitting to killing Sparky.

The melody by Akira Mitake（見岳章）is of that jazzy sophisti-pop of the caviar-and-champagne variety that I've often mentioned for the latter half of the 1980s. Moreover, the synth bass is good and boppy against the slick horns, and the former instrument reminds me of the material from Matt Bianco. I'm glad that I could write about Hirayama again "just" nine months after my last article on her, "Joudan janai Asa"（冗談じゃない朝）, which is also included in "Chess", because there were a good eight years between that article and the very first article that I had written about her.

Anyways, looking forward to Episode 4 of "WandaVision" next week.

Yuki Koyanagi -- Anata no Kiss wo Kazoemashou ~ You Were Mine （あなたのキスを数えましょう）

"Anata no Kiss wo Kazoemashou ~ You Were Mine" (Let Me Count Your Kisses) by J-Pop diva Yuki Koyanagi（小柳ゆき）seemed to take up permanent residency on the Countdown TV rankings. It just looked like the image of the lanky Koyanagi standing up against that wall in the official video was always making a weekly presence for months. And sure enough, on the Oricon charts, the song stayed there for 45 weeks and just kept on selling way past a year.

Not too bad at all for a 17-year-old releasing her debut single. Yuki Koyanagi was born and raised in Saitama Prefecture, and thanks to her older sister, gained an interest in music from the age of 5. According to J-Wiki, she started out singing the ol' kayo kyoku but then gained a love for the songs of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, and certainly that influence really showed in "Anata no Kiss".

Single No. 1 was released in September 1999, and was composed by Hideya Nakazaki（中崎英也）and written by Ren Takayanagi（高柳恋）. It sold more than 700,000 copies and earned Koyanagi a berth in the Kohaku Utagassen for 2000. When I saw the excerpt from the music video, I had thought that "Anata no Kiss" was a theme song for one of those romantic J-dramas, but it actually served two masters, neither of which was a drama. It was the ending theme for an NTV variety show, "Yamitsuki"（ヤミツキ）starring singer/bon vivant Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）, and it was the main theme for an anime, "Alexander Senki"（アレクサンダー戦記...The Military History of Alexander The Great） also known overseas as "Reign: The Conqueror".

The song peaked at No. 7 on Oricon and eventually became the 30th-ranked song for 2000. I ended up buying one CD by Koyanagi, although "Anata no Kiss" wasn't it. It was actually "Koyanagi The Disco" from 2003 since she covered some of my favourites from my childhood. However, I did have a friend who used to live in Toronto for about a year who was a humongous fan of hers. Whenever I visited him at his apartment, he usually had a concert video of hers running on the telly to help him get through the long winter.