Sayaka Sasaki -- Zzz

 

I still refer from time to time to certain scenes from the loopy 2011 anime "Nichijou"（日常...My Ordinary Life） such as the one above in which Mio is willing to commit assault on a police officer, her best friend and even an innocent goat to keep her BL hobby secret, and it's all done to a soundtrack that would make Bernard Herrmann cry with joy.

Mio and her aforementioned best friend, Yuuko, go through so much overdramatic hell in each episode that perhaps viewers consider the adorable ending credits a relief from the comedic anarchy. The ending theme is also quite reassuring. "Zzz" is the May 2011 4th single by singer Sayaka Sasaki（佐咲紗花）, the same person who performed the timeless "Anko Ondo"（あんこう音頭） for "Girls und Panzer"（ガールズ&パンツァー）and the opening theme for the motorcycle-themed "Bakuon!!" (ばくおん!!) , "FEEL X ALIVE".

Written and composed by Kenichi Maeyamada（前山田健一）, the same fellow behind the opening theme of "Hyadain no Kakakata Kataomoi-C"（ヒャダインのカカカタ☆カタオモイ-C）that he sings under his other name of Hyadain, "Zzz", as its name would suggest, is a slightly more caffeinated lullaby with the enriched goodness of a music box. After all of the hijinks of a typical episode and after listening to this, viewers can almost be confident that Yuuko will actually fly over the high jump bar and Mio will finally get her BL manga published.

Sasaki's single, which is her most successful one to date by peaking at No. 19 on Oricon, also contains an acapella version and even a cute bossa nova take. "Zzz" is also available on her debut album "sympathetic world" which was released in November 2011.

Hey, can't forget the music video either!

Sayaka Sasaki -- Anko Ondo （あんこう音頭）

Well, it was anime day once again with my friend so for the audio part of our day, we got to listen to the "Girls und Panzer Herbst Musikfest 2015" which was the recording of a special concert featuring the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra playing passages from the soundtrack of the anime "Girls und Panzer"（ガールズ&パンツァー）. It was then and there that I decided that I would have to promote the show into a category of its own on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", the second anime that I've treated in this manner after "Shirokuma Cafe"（しろくまカフェ）.

Of course, when the show is mentioned, a lot of folks talk about the most moe version of "Katyusha" that was portrayed, and that is of course fine. However, I've also remembered "Girls und Panzer" for that brief tune used as punishment for the members of the Anko Team. Indeed, that was "Anko Ondo" (Anglerfish Folk Song) as sung by Sayaka Sasaki（佐咲紗花）. One of the big surprises was that I had already written one anison article about her for her rendition of the opening theme for the motorcycle-based anime "Bakuon!!"（ばくおん!!）, not knowing that it was indeed the same singer who had been behind "Ah-a-ah-anh, ah-a-ah-anh..." for the notorious ondo. I had assumed it was performed by a much older enka singer!

Surprise No. 2 was that I had also assumed that "Anko Ondo" was a long-established traditional folk song from the real town of Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture where "Girls und Panzer" was set. Nope, wrong there, too. It was created specifically for the show by Reiko Yoshida（吉田玲子）on lyrics and Tsutomu Mizushima（水島努）, the director of the show, on the melody. And apparently, it did become a thing. Looking at those 3D women on the truck, I think their odds of getting married have actually increased (inside joke)!

Looking at the J-Wiki article for "Girls und Panzer", I found out that the Oarai Anko Festival has been held annually since the premiere of the anime, and it actually attracted its highest number of visitors (110,000) last year when it was held on November 15th 2015. I'm fairly confident that the dance was performed a number of times, although I wonder what the citizenry must think at times as they realize that their town has become popular due to a cartoon featuring high school girls and their tanks.

A pleasant travelogue of the 2015 Oarai Anko Festival by uploader yoneyasu.

Yeah, that was my reaction, too,
when I discovered how popular the song became.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hardwig/4133945340?ytcheck=1
by Florian Hardwig

Sayaka Sasaki -- FEEL X ALIVE

I've already written about a few theme songs from this past season's crop of anime, one which is an earworm for an ultimately unsatisfying show and an opening and an ending theme for a program which turned out to be my favourite for the spring quarter.

Over the past few years, I've been noticing these slice-of-life anime whose characters and stories are driven by one big passion which has driven them forward. It could be Japanese home cooking for the girls from "Koufuku Graffiti"（幸腹グラフィティ）or the love of tanks in "Girls und Panzer" (ガールズ&パンツァー). Then there is this one that I've just finished titled "Bakuon!!" (ばくおん!!) in which all of the main characters are obsessed with motorcycles.

When it comes to powered vehicles, my interest has solely been whether someone can drive me home if the party gets a little late at night. My anime buddy, on the other hand, has quite the knowledge and liking for all sorts of cars to the extent that I think automobiles may just be his 2nd-biggest passion, next to anime, of course. I have even smaller information about motorbikes aside from the fact that a couple of other buddies regularly ride them and my grandfather used to putter around on an ancient Kawasaki in rural Wakayama Prefecture decades ago.

Still, I quite enjoyed "Bakuon!!" since it had that heart and it was obvious that the characters loved to ride and talk about their mechanical conveyances. And as this is a music blog, I have also started taking a liking to the opening theme by Sayaka Sasaki（佐咲紗花）, "FEEL X ALIVE". Overall, the song is just the usual upbeat anison to happily introduce viewers to the characters' world of baiku, but I have to say that I love the intro with that thrumming bass and a guitar that sounds like the wonderful sounds of 80s City Pop.

As the video points out, "FEEL X ALIVE" came out as Sasaki's 12th single in April 2016. Written by Sasaki and composed by Shota Horie（堀江晶太）, the song peaked at No. 46. According to the J-Wiki article on her, the Akita Prefecture-born singer and songwriter debuted in 2010, and she has come out as a huge fan of anime and anison, so her dream has indeed come true. There is also the link to the English article on Wikipedia.

I gotta say, though, that hearing the full version of the song does put a good amount of melodic caffeine into one. My anime buddy has also taken up the electric guitar recently so perhaps he may want to give "FEEL X ALIVE" a try someday.