I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
Being March 14th, it is White Day in Japan so the guys there are getting their cookies and chocolates. In the rest of the world perhaps, it is known as Pi (3.14) Day for the mathematically inclined and strangely enough, the theoretical physicist Albert Einstein was born on this day in 1879. I've already mentioned yesterday that enka singer Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）also has his birthday today. But for this weekly Reminiscings of Youth article, I'm going to be featuring once more singer-songwriter Bobby Caldwell because it was one year ago today that he passed away at the age of 71.
The man known as Mr. AOR in Japan will always be famous and adored for his 1978 "What You Won't Do For Love". I've been listening to that one for decades but it was also the fact on the ol' radio that I also got to hear another song of his, "Heart of Mine", which was the title track for his 1989 album. Yet another tenderhearted ballad by the late crooner about trying to mend a broken heart after a sudden and unexpected romantic breakup, I was surprised that the song came into being so much later than I had thought. I had assumed that "Heart of Mine" was the follow-up to "What You Won't Do For Love" which perhaps attests to its timelessness. I am still assuming that the song was used for one of those ancient Parliament cigarette commercials in Japan.
Crazy thing though. When this song first came to my ears' notice decades ago, I'd been left wondering whether it was Caldwell or other AOR crooner Boz Scaggs behind "Heart of Mine". Well, it turned out to be both: both of them co-wrote the song along with Dennis Matkosky and Jason Scheff. And Scaggs' version came out first as a single in 1988 with its inclusion in Scaggs' May 1988 album"Other Roads". As much as his 1976 "Lowdown" is one of my favourite uptempo tunes by him, "Heart of Mine" is his representative love ballad. "Other Roads" ended up peaking at No. 35 on the US charts while in Canada, it ranked in at No. 25.
May 16th 1988 was the release date for "Other Roads". Coincidentally enough, I was able to find the Oricon chart for that date. What was up at Nos. 1, 3 and 4?
I never got to know Yui Asaka（浅香唯）and her music all that well in the late 1980s aside from her hit "C-Girl" through fellow J-Pop friends. Also, there's the fact that she cut quite the photogenic figure in "Myojo" magazine.
However, after completing this week's ROY article with her "Melody" included in the Oricon list, I felt that I had to write about this 12th single by the Miyazaki Prefecture native. At the same time, "Melody", which was released in November 1988, is a fun and catchy number with a nice thrumming rhythm and all sorts of happy synths bouncing off the walls after their first sip of absinthe. Plus, Asaka has got quite the appealingly chirpy voice.
Apparently, the above video is for the album version of "Melody", and the album is "Melody Fair", her 6th release from March 1989. I don't know what the single version sounds like unfortunately but perhaps the album version is somewhat more oomphed up. According to the J-Wiki article on the song, Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）was supposed to have been behind the creation of the melody, but it turns out that his old bandmate from TM Network,Naoto Kine（木根尚登）, came up with the happy-go-lucky summer song. Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）provided the lyrics. The single made it all the way up to No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies and was the 66th-ranked single for 1988. Meanwhile, "Melody Fair" also hit No. 2 on the album rankings.
Indeed, it is Thursday night and so once again, it's time for Reminiscings of Youth!
I've long been a Pet Shop Boys fan ever since I first heard their "Opportunities" in the early 1980s. My first...opportunity...to hear Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe was on the car radio because that particular song was regularly getting on "The Top 6 at 6" on the old CFTR-AM station. Then, of course, there came their other danceable synthpop confections such as "It's a Sin", "West End Girls" and the cover of "Always on My Mind". Of course, I ended up getting some of the remix versions on vinyl as a kid at the local Sam The Record Man.
However, it has been "Left to My Own Devices" which was released as the Pet Shop Boys' November 1988 single that has imprinted itself on my brain as their theme song...personal choice, I know. Along with Che Guevara, Debussy and that Roundhead general, "Left to My Own Devices" simply has this epicness with the regularly amazing PSB beats paired with a pop orchestra which must have been channeling the soundtrack of the greatest spy caper ever made as they played this. In fact, I'm surprised that this has yet to become part of a motion picture and I would say that it belongs with a montage credit sequence on the level of "Mission: Impossible".
Nope, I'm not one who particularly went to a lot of concerts (ironic for a guy with a music blog) but I actually had a charleyhorse of envy when I saw the above performance. Just imagine being among fellow Pet Shop Boys fans when the opening dramatic strings from "Left to My Own Devices" activated. When I first heard this on the radio in the late 1980s, I knew it was a PSB song but it took me a couple of days to track down the title, which I did ravenously and when I finally did get the title, I went "Aw, that's so Pet Shop Boys!". And yet, the lyrics were all about a guy who just wanted to spend some time alone with an imagination the size of Godzilla.
I ended up buying the 1988 album"Introspective" (the album cover looks like a TV test pattern designed by Benetton) on the fact that it contained the extended version of "Left to My Own Devices", a slightly less intense take on the original single but with added French horn and an opera singer to compensate. "Introspective" also has a very special place in my heart because it is the very first CD that I ever bought in my life, and it was one of the few albums that I brought over with me to Japan when I started my job on the JET Programme in the summer of 1989.
Strangely enough, the single wasn't all that much of a hit in the United States or Canada, only getting into the mid-80s on Billboard and RPM respectively but it did reach No. 4 on the UK charts according to the Wikipedia article about the song.
So, what were the Top 3 singles on Oricon in November 1988?
Everybody by now knows about my penchant for putting up photos either at the beginning and/or the end of my articles. The above is a photo of the view outside of my good friend's apartment in the district of Musashi-Kosugi in Tokyo. I would have loved to have put up an actual photo of the topic of today's Creator article, lyricist and music critic Reiko Yukawa, but I couldn't really find one from a site that would have allowed me to post it up without any sort of potential complaints in terms of copyrights. But in a way, the photo of the dramatic city view can be considered apropos since it kinda fits my impression of Yukawa in terms of some of the songs that she has helped create. From what I find out from her J-Wiki biography, she has written Japanese songs across the spectrum whether it be a pop love ballad by Akiko Kobayashi to a Latin-infused kayo sung by enka heartthrob Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）. Referring to that image, though, whenever Yukawa's name pops up in my mind, I usually think urban contemporary in Japan, namely J-AOR and City Pop for some reason.
And the song that pops up consequently is "Long Version"(ロング・バージョン) from 1983 by mellow crooner Junichi Inagaki（稲垣潤一）. As I posited in the article for the song, this is one tune that deserves to be heard while looking at my top photo and sipping back a bourbon.
However, arguably, her most famous work might just be on Akiko Kobayashi's（小林明子）"Koi ni Ochite"（恋におちて）from 1985 with those wistfully sigh worthy lyrics about falling in love. I've sung it in karaoke a number of times but of course, I had to change one line (with all due respect to Ms. Yukawa): "I'm just a HU-man, fall in love". I sounded somewhat like a Ferengi when I sang that (all you Trekkie kayo fans can chuckle quietly now).
But for some information on Ms. Yukawa. She was born in Meguro Ward, Tokyo in 1936 with her father being a captain in the Japanese navy and a great-grandfather who had been the man to introduce the beloved brand of pear known as La France to Japan among other famous relatives. In 1953, she took her first steps into show business by debuting as a stage actress and appearing in movies. Yukawa had even entertained the troops at American military bases in Japan as well, and through an old boyfriend, she started gaining an interest in jazz. In 1959, she was employed as an interviewer and a jazz critic for the Japanese magazine, "Swing Journal", following which she also got gigs as a radio DJ and a commentator on TV wide shows. In fact, I was surprised to find the above video in which Yukawa in her twenties appeared on an old American game show I used to watch as a toddler, "What's My Line?"
In 1965, Yukawa wrote the Japanese and English lyrics for "Namida no Taiyo"（涙の太陽）as sung originally by Emy Jackson. Now I'm not sure if this song was the very first contribution by the lyricist but it's the entry that does come first in her bio about her songwriting so you can take it as you will. And I didn't find any information about how Yukawa gained her prowess in the English language but she certainly did well on "What's My Line?" and she is also listed among her other credits as a translator.
I guess there was something about the music of Americana that stayed with Yukawa since she contributed to a number of The Chanels' hits such as "Runaway" (1980). The band is now known as Rats And Star (ラッツ&スター).
Yukawa also provided lyrics to 80s aidoru such as Yui Asaka（浅香唯）. I haven't applied a fine-toothed analysis into the lyrics that she has written but my initial impression is that she worked on songs with a bit more of a dynamic edge for the Japanese teenyboppers. The above is "Hitomi ni STORM"（瞳にSTORM...Storm in Her Eyes） which was composed by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）. Incidentally, both Yukawa and Inoue were also responsible for the aforementioned "Runaway". "Hitomi ni STORM" was released as Asaka's 7th single from May 1987 and it went all the way up to No. 4. It is also included on her 3rd album"Rainbow" from the same year.
Anison was also an area that Yukawa dabbled in. For example, she provided the lyrics for the soaring Kanako Wada（和田加奈子）theme to "Kimagure Orange Road"（きまぐれ・.オレンジ☆ロード）, "Natsu no Mirage"（夏のミラージュ）. And she was also behind the words for one of the opening themes to another 80s classic anime "Maison Ikkoku"（めぞん一刻）, "Sunny Shiny Morning"（サニーシャイニーモーニング）from 1987 by Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）.
Do you remember The Monkees? Sure you do! Watching their Saturday-morning program was one of my rituals way back when. Davy Jones was the cute little British member that all the girls fell for. Plus, it seems as if he had an effect on folks in Japan since I did see him time and again show up on variety programs over there. Well, I found out from Yukawa's bio that she and Inoue once again got together to weave a disco tune just for him back in 1981 titled "Maho de Dance"（魔法でダンス...Dance, Gypsy）. No idea how the song did on Oricon, but I rather noticed the Roy Orbison riff that Inoue placed in the song.
(instrumental cover version)
I'd like to leave off my exploration here with another Junichi Inagaki tune, "Ame no Asa to Kaze no Yoru ni"（雨の朝と風の夜に...Rainy Mornings and Windy Nights） from August 1996 as his 34th single. It's pure Inagaki here with Toshiaki Matsumoto（松本俊明）behind the mellow melody. Yukawa's lyrics seem to describe a contented couple some 10 years into their marriage walking through the park. The song got as high as No. 83 on the charts and is a track on his 16th album"PRIMARY" from September in the same year. It made it up to No. 30.
The trigger that finally had me writing up about Yukawa was on seeing an NHK interview of the now-80-year-old lyricist recently. I found out through the J-Wiki bio that she is a huge fan of Elvis and The Beatles, and she gave an anecdote to the interviewer about the time that she actually got to interview the Fab Four in 1966 at what may have been the Hotel New Otani (one of the places that I taught at for years). The story is also listed in J-Wiki, but apparently although Paul, George and Ringo were really nice to Yukawa, John Lennon was not exactly the most welcoming sort, and in fact, simply snubbed her. Some years later after The Beatles had broken up, Yukawa got to interview Lennon on his own and asked him point-blank about his attitude back then. John also remembered the cold shoulder he gave and apologized as he explained that at the time, a long line of sycophantic politicians was lining up to meet the band and he simply got really pissed off at the lot and thought that Yukawa was one of the same folks.
I still don't know all that much about the life and times of Reiko Yukawa but I've got the feeling that she has amassed an iceberg's worth of stories over the past 50 years. As for an impression of her lyrical style, I can only give a surface opinion since I have yet to go through all of her songs and I know that the list given in J-Wiki is not comprehensive, but from what I have gone through, I gather Yukawa is a student of love in all its aspects.
Thanks again to J-Canuck for letting me start up this new and hopefully regular feature entitled - 「テレビ 主題歌 テーマソング 特殊」 where I will be posting about various TV shows and their theme songs and/or soundtracks. For this posting I'd like to cover one of my favorite idol shows from the 80s, the cult adventure, idol drama series - 『スケバン刑事』.
With its outrageous stories, over-the-top plots, fetching heroines, melodramatic dialog, and campy Tokusatsu-like action "Sukeban Deka" would not only captivate Japanese teen audiences in the mid 80s but would also encourage production company東映/Toei to produce a number of other similar idol action shows such as 『 花のあすか組!』 (1988) and 『少女コマンドーIZUMI』 (1987) as well as inspire copycat shows like 『セーラー服反逆同盟』 (1986) and 『ポニーテールはふり向かない』 (1985). While taking a page from rival 大映/Daiei's hugely popular 大映テレビドラマ series like 「スチュワーデス物語」 (1983) and 「不良少女とよばれて」 (1984) with regards to making the story almost like a teen "Soap Opera", Toei would do them one better and incorporate trendy fashion, keen pop-culture references and a "Chart Topping" pop music soundtrack to the mix, making a winning formula that Daiei would ironically copy from Toei for their subsequent idol dramas such as 「ヤヌスの鏡」 (1985) and 「アリエスの乙女たち」 (1987). "Sukeban Deka" was also wickedly humorous in a very "tongue in cheek" way, from the gruff 関西/Kansai street-lingo catch phrases that heroine Asamiya Saki spouted out like - 「おまんら、許さんぜよ」 and 「せからしか! きさんら許さんわい! 」 to the flamboyant way she would display her 「桜 の ダイヤモンド」 police badge (contained in her Yo-Yo Weapon which she would reveal in an obvious homage to iconic classic series 『水戸黄門』), to the often times outrageous ways Asamiya Saki would take down her various opponents with her Yo-Yo, this series was definitely not for the overly serious.
Weapon of Choice - Sukeban Deka's Yo-Yo
『スケバン刑事』 "Sukeban Deka" began as a serialized manga series by 和田慎二/Wada Shinji which debuted in 白泉社/Hakusensha's 『花とゆめ』 a girl's anthology comic series in 1976. The idea for the series was suggested to Iwamoto by editors at Hakusensha who published a comment asking whether Iwamoto was interested in writing a story involving a "police woman".
From that simple idea, Wada crafted the premise for what would become "Sukeban Deka", a story about teen heroine 麻宮サキ/Asamiya Saki, a tough-as-nails "Sukeban" (Juvenile Delinquent) with a troubled past. Her mother had been imprisoned and sentenced to death for the murder of Saki's abusive biological father. Saki was desperate to free her mother from prison and was soon approached by the mysterious government official known only as 暗闇警視/Dark Inspector who offered Saki the opportunity to win her mother's freedom but only if she agreed to become "a secret police agent" for the Japanese government. With no other options left for her she agrees and is teamed up with private detective 神恭一郎/Jinkyo Ichiro to infiltrate Japanese high schools across the nation to solve various high profile youth crimes.
The first volume of the series lasted only one year after which Wada went on to write the boy hero fantasy manga 『ピグマリオ』. However editors wanted him to continue the "Sukeban Deka" series which had since generated a large and vocal loyal fan following. Wada is said to have replied that he would be willing to revisit "Sukeban Deka" only if his current series flopped. Sure enough as fate would have it, the "Pig Mario" series only lasted a year and true to his word Wada returned to do "Sukeban Deka" again. This time however Wada deviated from the standard crime-solving format of the first volume and instead weaved an even more elaborate plot for this "Second Volume". Saki would return to her former alma mater 鷹の羽高校/Washinoma High School to reinvestigate one of her very first cases which would ultimately lead her to encounter her greatest enemy and former friend 海槌麗巳/Mizuchi Remi who has since become a ruthless and sadistic criminal mastermind. Saki would also face against a renegade "Sukeban Deka" as well as a sinister phantom school government/student body organization known only as 青狼会/Seiroukai (Blue Wolf League).
When the "Sukeban Deka" manga series ended its run in 1983, 東映/Toei studios soon set about plans on adapting the manga into a TV drama series. Toei was not new to the seedy world of "スケバン" having practically invented a film sub-genre on the subject matter with its numerous sexploitation/teen violence movies collectively known in the West as "Pinky Violence" films. Such films such as the 『ズベ公番長』 series (1970-1971), 『女番長ゲリラ』 (1972), 『女番長』 series (1973-1974), 『恐怖女子高校』 series (1972-1973) and 『女番長ブルース』 series (1971-1972) among others focused on strong willed, steely and tough female protagonists who would make attempts of leading normal lives but who would ultimately be drawn back into their criminal pasts (generally by force or personal tragedy) only to be arrested again and/or have friends or lovers die in often violent clashes with other gangs, Yakuza organizations or the Police. Producing "Sukeban Deka" seemed like a natural fit for Toei. However since this would be adapted for TV, Toei opted to adjust the story to be more acceptable to family audiences catering especially towards younger teens.
Initially teen idol and singer 宇沙美ゆかり/Usami Yukari was offered the part of heroine Asamiya Saki but decided to pass on the role opting instead to star in the hyper-violence cult movie 「V.マドンナ大戦争」 (1985) which oddly enough also featured a story involving Sukebans.
Burgeoning young singing idol 斉藤由貴/Saito Yuki was next offered the role. Yuki had just released her debut single 「卒業」 that same year (1985) just four months earlier and it became an instant hit for her. The story was modified a bit from Iwamoto's orignal manga - Asamiya Saki (Saito Yuki) was the ruling Sukeban (Female Gang Leader) of Takanoha Gakuen High School where she caused no end of trouble (getting into fights, skipping classes and damaging property). Frustrated, her teachers soon had her arrested and incarcerated in Juvenile Detention. Ironically, her mother Natsu was also incarcerated on death row, charged with the murder of Saki's father, Asamiya Junya. Learning of her exploits, Saki was approached by the mysterious Kurayami Shirei/Dark Director (長門裕之/Nagato Hiroyuki) with a unique deal. If she would use her skills and talents and work for "The Cabinet" as an undercover juvenile agent, she would be pardoned of all her past crimes. She would also win her mother's freedom. Given no real choice, Saki grudgingly accepts the offer, although she doesn't fully trust Kurayami Shirei. Assigned a handler by the name of Jin Kyoichiro (中康次/Naka Koji), Saki would become the first recruit for the government's "Sukeban Deka Project". Her only weapon against the various juvenile gangs, Yakuza criminals and government subversives that she was assigned to stop, was a specially designed steel compound "Yo-Yo" which she would use as a throwing and grappling weapon. After a number of dangerous missions, Asamiya Saki seemingly perishes in a burning building while battling the beautiful but sinister Mizuchi Remi (高橋ひとみ/Takahashi Hitomi).
Cover for Sukeban Deka Vol. . 2 DVD courtesy of Supra70
While relatively short (only 22 episodes), the series was a huge hit for Toei and フジテレビ/Fuji TV (which broadcasted the series Thursday evenings at 7:30 PM).
Producers quickly set into motion plans for continuing the series.Yuki decided not to return to the role of Asamiya Saki opting to instead focus on her growing singing career. Another new young idol 南野陽子/Minamino Yoko (ナンノ) was selected to portay Asamiya Saki. Entitled 『スケバン刑事II 少女鉄仮面伝説』 "Sukeban Deka 2 -Shojo Tetsukamen Densetsu" - the Second Season begins a year later and focuses on a totally different girl, the reclusive Godai Yoko (ナンノ). Her tragic childhood began with the loss of her mother (she does not know who her father is). Since childhood, she was forced to wear an "Iron Mask" which made her life in the Kansai region of Japan, a virtual nightmare. A severely troubled student, she was constantly involved in fights at school and caused no end of trouble for her teachers. She was soon rescued by Nishiwaki (蟹江敬三/Kanie Keizou), Assistant Director of the "Sukeban Deka Project". He released Godai Yoko from her Iron Mask and offers her the opportunity to become the next "Sukeban Deka". She refuses at first but is given an offer she can't refuse when Nishiwaki offers to help her find her father in exchange for her services. In tribute to the first "Sukeban Deka", Godai would soon be given the alias "Asamiya Saki". Armed with Asamiya Saki's trademark steel "Yo-Yo", Godai Yoko begins her role as "Sukeban Deka" No. 2. Along the way Godai would meet and recruit two additional agents, the street-wise Osaka born Nakamura Kyoko AKA "Okyo" (相楽晴/子Sagara Haruko) and the refined Kyoto socialite Yajima Yukino (吉沢秋絵/Yoshizawa Akie). Together they would battle an assortment of evil subversives, youth gangs and other eccentric criminals.
Image courtesy of the Houkagou AKB48 Time Ameba Blog
L-R - Yoshizawa, Nanno and Sagara - Image courtesy of the Toei Channel website
Season Two would prove to be just as popular (if not more so) as the First Season and ナンノ's idol career would receive a tremendous boost with her starring role in this series. The series would prove so popular that Toei released a movie version of "Sukeban Deka" starring ナンノ in which she would battle the corrupt headmaster of a remote private school who in reality turned out to be a "Terminator"-like cyborg despot committed to bringing down the Japanese government. The movie also introduced us to another "Sukeban Deka" in training who would headline the Third Season.
As with Yuki, ナンノ opted to not return to "Sukeban Deka" after 42 episodes and instead went off to pursue other TV roles and continue her growing music career. Yet another newbie idol singer was recruited for the Third Season, this time in the way of petite 浅香唯/Asaka Yui. For the third series, producers decided to move away from the urban crime drama formula of the previous two seasons and instead go with a slightly more fantastical approach with the Third Series.
Inspired by the success of ショー・コスギ/Sho Kosugi's "Ninja" films like "Enter The Ninja" (1981), "Revenge of the Ninja" (1984), "Pray For Death" (1985) abroad, producers decided to include elments of "Ninjitsu" into the story (which also oddly enough contained elements inspired by George Lucas' "Star Wars" as well). Originally set to be called 『スケバン忍法帖』, the title was eventually simplified to just 『スケバン刑事III 少女忍法帖伝奇』 "Sukeban Deka III - Shojo Ninboucho Densetsu". After the events of 『スケバン刑事』"Sukeban Deka The Movie" (1987), Godai Yoko retires from the "Sukeban Deka Project" for a normal life. However a new and powerful threat emerges in the form of "The Emperor" who seemingly possess mystical and supernatural powers. Kurayami once again recruits another girl to join his "Sukeban Deka Project". He finds her in the form of Kyushu native and rural tough girl Kazama Yui (浅香唯) a tiny but spunky "Sukeban". She soon becames the "San Dai Me" (Number 3) Asamiya Saki. Yui is sent to Tokyo to meet up with her long lost sisters, Yuma (中村由真/Nakamura Yuma) whose weapon of choice were crochet needles and Yuka (大西結花/Onishi Yuka), whose weapons of choice was razor sharp metal 'Orizuru'. Together they form the 風間三姉妹 "Kazama San Shimai" (Three Kazama Sisters) and utilize Ninjitsu techniques in their battles with criminals. They soon discover that the "Emperor" is really their own father (who had mysteriously disappeared when they were born) and who had abducted Yui's twin sister who he has corrupted and whose psychic powers he has manipulated.
The Kazama San Shimai - Onishi, Yui and Nakamura. Image courtesy of the Toei Channel website.
Whether it was because of the fantastical 特撮/Tokusatsu elements, the bizarre and often confusing "Star Wars" influenced storyline or audiences finally tiring of the series, "Sukeban Deka III" didn't do as well as the previous seasons and producers ended the series for good in late 1987.
As a final hurrah, a second movie 『スケバン刑事 風間三姉妹の逆襲』 was released in early 1988. Distancing itself from the TV series, the movie took elements from the original "Sukeban Deka" manga and had the Kazama Sisters pitted against a corrupt police inspector and government bureaucrat (the always flamboyant 京本政樹/Kyomoto Masaki) and his personal army of teenage enforcers called the "学生刑事".
Interestingly elements from FAMICOM's/ファミリーコンピュータ tie-in video game 『スケバン刑事 風間三姉妹の逆襲』 also made their way into the storyline. Yet this wasn't the last we'd see of heroine Asamiya Saki.
In 1991, director ひろたたけし/Hirota Takeshi produced a three volume Anime OVA series called simply 『スケバン刑事』 which faithfully adapted parts of Wada's original manga series. Seiyu actress 伊倉一恵 who was the voice for 槇村香 in the 『シティーハンター』 series provided the voice for Asamiya
Saki.
The Many Faces of Asamiya Saki
It would not be until eighteen years later that we would again see a live action version of the series this time with 深作健太's 2006 feature film release of 『スケバン刑事 コードネーム=麻宮サキ』. While plans for another 『スケバン刑事』 had been rumored since the 1988 film, Toei producers were never quite able to come up with a good enough story. In fact, 『スケバン刑事 コードネーム=麻宮サキ』 was originally planned as a TV special, until producers opted to do a big screen movie adaptation instead in order to handle all the storyline elements and SFX requirements. Producers nearly shelved the project entirely as they didn't think they would be able to find someone good enough to follow in the footsteps of 斉藤由貴, 南野陽子 and 浅香唯, that was until someone suggested ハロー!プロジェクト pop idol 松浦亜弥/Matsuura Aya. あやや would prove to be an unusual choice but not only did she have the acting talent to pull off the role but her musical credentials gave her a bit of a nod and connection with her singing idol predecessors. In fact, Director Fukasaku would include a number of homages to the original TV series in his movie including a brilliant cameo by 斉藤由貴 who portrayed あやや's incarcerated mother character. With it's grittier storyline, Maurice Binder "James Bond" -inspired opening title sequence and more serious tone, the movie did very well and introduced a new generation of fans to the 80s series including foreign audiences as 『スケバン刑事 コードネーム=麻宮サキ』 was released on DVD in the U.S. by Magnolia Films in 2007 under the very campy title "Yo Yo Girl Cop" (the first two movies were also released in the U.S. by Tokyo Shock in 2008).
Ayaya as Asamiya Saki in full battle suit mode. Courtesy of BluePhobo Image Gallery
The soundtrack for the 『スケバン刑事』 TV series was absolutely terrific with each of the three stars contributing songs to serve as the ending theme song their respective season shows.
My personal favorite of the bunch is 斉藤由貴's 「白い炎」 which was the ED song to Season One. The song was written/composed by singer/songwriter and 安全地帶 frontman 玉置浩二/Tamaki Koji, with arrangements by producer and "Kōkua" member 武部聡志/Takabe Satoshi (who also produced Yuki's debut single "Sotsugyo") with lyrics by 森雪之丞/Mori Yukinojou of the rock group ピカソ. It took all but two week to debut in the Top 5 オリコン charts and was another big hit for Yuki. With its melancholy lyrics and somewhat edgier rock sound it proved to be the ideal song for the series.
ナンノ would contribute a number of songs to serve as ED songs for her season starting with 「悲しみモニュメント」. Written by 来生えつこ/Kisugi Etsuko and composed by 鈴木キサブロー/Suzuki Kisaburo with additional arrangements by 新川博/Shinkawa Hiroshi, this song was ナンノ's third single release and was her very first Top 10 オリコン hit. Songwriter Kisugi originally wrote the song as a 'graduation' song marking the turning point in a teenager's life where they would leave friends and family to go off into the world. ナンノ would name this as her personal favorite and would include it in her "Best Hits" collections as well as perform the song at most of her concerts.
「風のマドリガル」 was ナンノ's 4th single release and was another Top Ten オリコン hit for her (reaching No. 5 on the charts). The song was written by prolific songwriter 湯川 れい子 (who would also compose such great songs as 小林明子's 「恋におちて -Fall in love-」 and 中森明菜 's 「SOLITUDE」) with lyrics by 井上大輔 and arrangements by the legendary 萩田光雄 who also contributed his talents on such hits as あみん's 「待つわ」, 中森明菜's 「 飾りじゃないのよ涙は」 and 「少女A」 中山美穂's 「BE-BOP-HIGHSCHOOL」 and 「C」 and 山口百恵's 「 横須賀ストーリー」 and 「イミテイション・ゴールド」. By the way, the マドリガル/madrigal in the title refers to a medieval short lyrical poem
Other notable songs used within the various episodes include ナンノ's 2nd single 「さよならのめまい」, cast mates 吉沢秋絵's「季節はずれの恋」 and 相楽ハル子's 「ヴァージン・ハート」.
ナンノ's 6th single 「楽園のDoor」 would be featured prominently in the first 『スケバン刑事』 movie which debuted on Valentine's Day 1987. It eventually went on to become a No. 1 オリコン hit for her. The song was composed by 小倉めぐみ with lyrics by 来生たかお and arranged by 萩田光雄.
(Sorry, but the above is a karaoke version.)
Former おニャン子クラブ/Onyanko Club member 福永恵規/Fukunaga Satomi's 「ハートのIgnition」 "Heart No Ignition" was initially used for Season 3's ED song before Asaka Yui's 6th single release 「STAR」 was chosen as the ED for the series starting from Ep. 8. "Star" would be Yui's first Top Ten オリコン hit since her debut in 1985. The song was composed by 有川正沙子/Arikawa Masako (who also wrote 1986 Omega Tribe's hit "Kimi Wa Sen Percent") with lyrics by タケカワユキヒデ/Takekawa Yukihide and arrangements by 鷺巣詩郎/Sagisu Shiro.
Asaka Yui also contribute two additional songs to the soundtrack - her 7th single「瞳にSTORM」 "Hitomi Ni Storm" (which would be the ED song for the "Sukeban Deka" Special - Ep. 31) and her 8th single「虹のDreamer」 "Niji No Dreamer" (which would be the ED song for Ep. 32-37).
While "Hitomi Ni Storm" would be another hit for Yui, reaching No. 4 on the Oricon charts, she would finally get her first No. 1 Oricon hit with "Niji No Dreamer". "Niji No Dreamer" was another great song composed by 湯川れい子/Yukawa Reiko with lyrics by 井上大輔/Inoue Daisuke and arrangments by 新川博/Shinkawa Hiroshi (who worked on such hits such as ラ・ムー's - 「少年は天使を殺す」, 本田美奈子's 「1986年のマリリン」, 早見優's 「PASSION」, 小林麻美's 「雨音はショパンの調べ」, 荻野目洋子's 「六本木純情派」, 刀根麻理子's 「デリンジャー」 and 中原めいこ's 「君たちキウイ・パパイヤ・マンゴーだね」.
Yui and co-stars Nishino Yuka and Nakamura Yuma would collaborate on the song 「Remember」 which was the ED for the final few episodes of the series (Ep. 38-42). Releasing the song under their "Sukban Deka" alias - 風間三姉妹/Kazama San Shimai, the single would reach No. 1 on the オリコン charts for October 1987. It would be a another career highlight for Yui but would particularly be a vindication for Yuka and Yuma (being their first No.1 hit). The song was composed by 湯川れい子/Yukawa Reiko with lyrics by 来生たかお/Kisugi Takao with arrangement by 中村哲/Nakamura Satoshi.
(cover version)
Yuma and Yuka would contribute some of their other songs to various episodes of Season 3 included Yuma's 「ジレンマ」 "Dilemma", 「シビアー」 "Severe" and 「パニック〜I'm in Panic〜」"Panic-I'm In Panic" and Yuka's 「シャドウハンター」"Shadow Hunter", 「チャンスは一度だけ」"Chance Wa Ichido Dake" and 「哀しみのシャングリラ」"Kanashimi No Shangri-La".
For the 2nd "Sukeban Deka" movie, all three would contribute songs to its soundtrack. Yui's contribution would be her 9th single 「Believe Again」 was written by 麻生圭子/Aso Keiko (whose credits include 小比類巻かほる's signature hit 「Hold On Me」, 中森明菜's 「BLONDE」, and 小泉今日子's 「100%男女交際」 with composition by Nakazaki Hideya (whose credits include AIRMAIL from NAGASAKI's 「メロスのように ～LONELY WAY～」, BaBe's 「I Don't Know」 and 原田知世's 「早春物語」. It would be another オリコン Top Ten hit for her (reaching No. 2 on the charts for January 1988). Yuma would contribute the song 「ミモザの奇蹟」 "Mimosa No Kiseki" while Yuka's contribution would be 「君の夢に飛びたい」 "Kimi No Yume Ni Tobi Tai".
For the Anime OVA, Rock musician 謝花義哲/Shabana Yoshinori's song 「絆 KIZYNA」 would be used as the theme song.
あやや and fellowハロー!プロジェクト idol singer 藤本美貴/Fujimoto Miki would team-up to sing the theme song 「Thanks!」 for 『スケバン刑事 コードネーム=麻宮サキ』. Under the duo name "GAM" (which was an acronym for Great Aya x Miki) a play on the old English slang for "Pretty Legs", the unit would be yet another invention from the mind of producer, singer and Morning Musume mastermind つんく♂. The song, written and composed by つんく♂ with arrangements by Japanese Heavy Metal band "Earthshaker" vocalist 西田昌史/Nishida Masafumi, would do relatively well reaching No. 5 on the Oricon charts for September 2006.
The B-Side single「蜃気楼ロマンス」 "Shinkirou Romance" would also be included in the film. This song would also do reasonably well, reaching No. 5 on the Oricon charts.
Oddly enough Hello! Project group 美勇伝/Vuuden would not contribute a song to the soundtrack for the movie even though its members 石川梨華/Ishikawa Rika, 三好絵梨香/Miyoshi Erika and 岡田唯/Okada Yui feature prominently in the movie.
In 2003, Wada would write a manga sequel to the original series entitled「スケバン刑事if」 "Sukeban Deak if" which would bring back the character of Asamiya Saki as well as other prominent characters from the orginal series. The manga was released through publisher Media Factory.
In 2011 members from AKB48 and its subgroups SKE48 would form the unit スケバンGirls "Sukeban Girls" in homage to 風間三姉妹 and release a song entitled 「突っ張る理由」 "Tsuboru Riyuu" which would be used for the Pachinko Game「びっくりぱちんこスケバン刑事」 "Bikuri Pachinki Sukeban Deka". The unit would be comprised of 大島優子/Oshima Yuuko (from AKB48チームK), 河西智美/Kasai Tomomi (from AKB48チームB) and 松井玲奈/Matsui Reina (from SKE48チームS).
There are a few CDs available which feature all the songs from the 『スケバン刑事』 series, the best of which is Sony's release 2006 release - 「スケバン刑事 ラスト・メモリアル~麻宮サキよ永遠に~」 which features most of the songs from all three seasons. Independent label SMD would release individual BGM soundtracks for each season -「スケバン刑事 オリジナル・サウンドトラック」,「スケバン刑事II 少女鉄仮面伝説 オリジナル・サウンドトラック」, and「スケバン刑事III 少女忍法帖伝奇 オリジナル・サウンドトラック」, however all three are currently OOP.
In addition two separate CDs were released for Season 3 - 「スケバン刑事III 完結篇」 and フォーライフ ミュージックエンタテイメント's 「スケバン刑事III~少女忍法帖伝奇~」 however these are also currently OOP.
An original soundtrack to the first movie was released by株式会社ソニー・ミュージックレコーズ called 「 『スケバン刑事 』 オリジナル・サウンドトラック」 but this is currently OOP.
A movie soundtrack and BGM CD was also released by independent label ビー!スマイル entitled 「劇場版・スケバン刑事 YOHKO MINAMINO オリジナル・サウンドトラック 」. The same company released a companion CD for the second movie entitled「劇場版・スケバン刑事 風間三姉妹の逆襲 オリジナル・サウンドトラック」. Both are OOP.
Yet another CD was released for the second movie entitled「スケバン刑事・風間三姉妹の逆襲」.
Lastly a CD omnibus was released by ポニーキャニオン entitled「女性アイドル主演ドラマ 本人歌唱主題歌スペシャル ~「スケバン刑事(デカ)」から「ポワトリン」まで~」 which not only features song from all three seasons of the TV show but also has songs from other Toei Teen Heroine shows such as 「花のあすか組」, 「美少女仮面ポワトリン」, 「セーラー服と機関銃」 and my personal favorite 「少女コマンドーIZUMI」.
Oddly there's no official soundtrack album for the 『スケバン刑事 コードネーム=麻宮サキ』 movie.
"Sukeban Deka" is one of those rare gems of a programs that just had that special quality about it that has made it an endearing series years after its debut. While I admit that some of the various individual episodes were a bit uneven, the series as a whole proved to be very entertaining and memorable. All three movies were great and I was particularly surprised at how much I enjoyed the 2006 reboot with あやや. It's been six years since we last saw "Sukeban Deka" either on TV or at the movies but I'll bet that this isn't the last we have heard from Asamiya Saki. As the character has proven both in the manga and in the TV series, she will endure and return again and I for one will be looking forward to seeing what the future will hold for "Sukeban Deka".
First off, let me thank jarteaga obregon, one of the commenters on this blog, for giving me the request to translate the lyrics for "C-Girl" when he was commenting on the entry for Iyo Matsumoto's"Sentimental Journey" (jarteaga, your translation is in the comments section of that entry).
Yui Asaka（浅香唯） was a name and face that I'd seen frequently during the late 1980s in the pages of the pop idol magazines such as "Myojo"（明星） and "Heibon"（平凡）, usually in a swimsuit. However, the Miyazaki Prefecture native really didn't pick up on my radar as much as Shizuka Kudo (工藤静香） and Miho Nakayama（中山美穂） did, although with the success of "C-Girl", her 10th single released in April 1988, she was called one of "The Four Aidoru Queens" along with Kudo, Nakayama and Yoko Minamino（南野陽子).
"C-Girl", most likely short for "Candid Girl" since that was the title of the album that also had this single, is the song that I will also relate with Asaka, whose birth name was Aki Kawasaki（川崎亜紀). It also helped that one of my classmates at university was a huge fan of hers, so the song became very familiar to me. The hit was seen as the breakthrough for Asaka, although it was actually her 2nd No. 1; her first was "Niji no Dreamer"（虹のDreamer....Rainbow Dreamer) released in September 1987. "C-Girl" became the 17th-ranked song for 1988, and considering the video above, it was not surprising to note that it was also used as the campaign song for that year's Kanebo Cosmetics commercials. The song, by the way, was written by Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞） and composed by NOBODY.
