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.
Well over a dozen years ago, my good friend and KKP contributor JTM posted one of the most epic articles for the blog regarding the "Sukeban Deka"（スケバン刑事）franchise. Unfortunately, a lot of the links to the music incorporated in the various seasons have gone dead so I'll have to somehow reconnect them.
However, I can provide my take on one of the songs that was included in there, "Shadow Hunter" by actress/aidoru Yuka Onishi（大西結花）. This came out as her 5th single from February 1987 and it was actually an insert song in "Sukeban Deka III". Considering how exciting it sounds, I was surprised that it hadn't been used as an official opening or ending theme. The intro to "Shadow Hunter" sounds like something I would have heard as a theme for a 1970s American suspense-thriller series like the ones that Quinn/Martin used to make...for that matter, maybe it could have been used as the music accompanying a transformation scene for "Sailor Moon". The rest of the song as composed by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）and arranged by Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）has that familiar feeling of an oomphed-up late 1980saidoru tune. Reiko Yukawa（湯川れい子）provided the lyrics. "Shadow Hunter" was Onishi's first song to make it into the Oricon rankings by peaking at No. 17.
I've heard about the "mother complex" showing up in manga and anime but when it comes to Japanese pop culture, the biggest example of mazakon（マザコン）that has lingered around in my memories is the character of Fuyuhiko（冬彦）in the 1992 TBS drama"Zutto Anata ga Suki datta"（ずっとあなたが好きだった...I've Always Loved You） as played by Shiro Sano（佐野史郎）. The creepiness and other bizarre behaviour exhibited by this fellow had his name become one of the Top 10 catchphrases of the year and may have ensured that Fuyuhiko became the least popular when naming boys for a while.
However, the mother complex didn't of course originate from Fuyuhiko. It was even the title for an aidoru tune back in the mid-1980s."Mother Complex" was recorded by aidoru and future "Sukeban Deka"（スケバン刑事）star Yuka Onishi（大西結花）as the B-side for her 2nd single"Hankouki"（半抗期...Rebellious Age） from July 1985. Written by Mayumi Shinozuka（篠塚満由美） and composed by Takayuki Baba（馬場孝幸）, there is a sinister tone in the minor-key technopop arrangement and Onishi's vocals are noticeably lower, and a part of me thinks that there is almost something Shizuka Kudo（工藤静香）in her delivery.
Although this isn't the sharpest image of the above record cover, I think that there is something in the design that yells "Inspiration for Vaporwave". The cover is actually for the first single that Masumi Hoshi（星ますみ）released in July 1976. Born in 1956 in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture, the only other information that I could dig up on her is at "Idol.ne.jp", and according to that information, she was scouted in Shinjuku as a high school sophomore after which she became a model and an assistant for an NTV music series.
Hoshi also had her time behind the mike but as indicated above, it was pretty short at just three singles and the time between the first two singles was actually almost seven years with the singer going under a different name, Masumi Okada（岡田ますみ）. But getting back to that first single, it was titled "Nagisa Douri no Disco House" (Disco House on Beach Avenue). The song begins just like a 1960s Connie Francis love ballad before a fairly bouncy pop melody by composer Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）and arranger Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）rolls on out, although I wouldn't really call it too disco. The lyrics were provided by Konosuke Fuji（藤公之介）.
The music is pleasant enough but I think Hoshi's delivery seems almost a little too tenderhearted for the happy-go-lucky melody concocted by Hirao and Makaino. Hoshi did release that third single even further down the road under the name Masumi Nakamura（中村ますみ）this time in 2006. And the name change is significant here since in 1992, she married famed composerTaiji Nakamura（中村泰士）who passed away around last Xmas.
A longer and oh-so-80s cover of "Nagisa Douri no Disco House" with a Eurobeat sheen was released in June 1988 as aidoru Yuka Onishi's（大西結花）9th single with Tatsumi Yano（矢野立美）behind the arrangement. In fact, to further show the passage of time, the title was even changed to "Nagisa Douri no Discotheque"（渚通りのディスコティック）I think that there was a better match between singer and material here, and the song goes by pretty swiftly. Although this particular song had nothing to do with it, Onishi was a part of the "Sukeban Deka"（スケバン刑事）cast and since there had been only one other KKP article including her, it's pretty nice to be able to write about her second song in the blog.
Hi everyone. It’s my time to contribute with a
list of some personal favorite Japanese songs from the 80s. I don’t pretend to
waste many lines in the introduction, but some important characteristics of my
list must be told before starting with the proper songs.
First, my main theme, eurobeat, is one of the key music
genres of mainstream Japanese music during the mid-to-late 80s as it
contributed with new musical and fashion aesthetics to the Japanese pop
landscape. Based on that, my method in most of the entries is to introduce one
special song and kinda tell a story related to the particular style of eurobeat
of the song and, also, related to the performer. It’s an interesting exercise
I’ve been developing in the blog since I started contributing earlier this
year. This practice also helped me organize my ideas and conclusions, and I’m
very grateful to JTM, nikala, Jari and especially J-Canuck for letting me write
my confuse thoughts in this very special space.
Second, an important, and maybe secondary,
characteristic of my list is that it’s only comprised of aidoru singers, with
no single exception. Some of them might be perceived as being more aidoru than
others, but, in the end, they’re all aidoru singers. This particular feature is
secondary because, in no moment, I had the intention of doing an aidoru list.
To be honest, most of the aidoru singers I chose to be part of my list would be
out of any serious aidoru-focused list. That’s why I put emphasis on the eurobeat
theme and not in the aidoru one. Summarizing, I see my list as a compilation of
interesting fusion moments between aidoru and the eurobeat sound. Also,
this post isn’t just about the songs. Sometimes I’m going to talk more about
other things, like fashion or the transformation suffered by the aidoru world,
than of the songs themselves. But the writing is ALWAYS based on the song, so
try to understand what I’m talking about with the song and the video (when it’s
available) in mind.
Third, I must warn that although my list is
MAINLY based on eurobeat, some songs are not in this category. They are kinda
shuffled with the others, but it’s not that difficult to identify them.
Last but not least, the reader must pay
attention to one important thing. This list is, by no means, absolute. My main
intention while selecting the songs was to construct a nice balance between
singles (some of them hit singles, some of them not) and album tracks. This
choice was very arbitrary, as I wanted to highlight some hidden gems over the
well known singles and hit songs. With other acts, I simply chose to talk about
famous singles.
Well, I ended wasting everyone’s patience with
the introduction. Let’s just start this list and have a great time.
I always found very interesting how trends come
and go. As the aidoru days were slowly coming to an end, some accomplished
aidoru singers just decided to change their styles and adapt themselves to new
trends, like the eurobeat trend that emerged after the mid-80s.
The beautiful and tanned Hidemi Ishikawa, owner
of one of the cutest cheeks of the aidoru world, started releasing synthpop
inspired songs around 1986 with a cover of the Pet Shop Boys sophomore single
“Love Comes Quickly”. But “Everynight” is, for me, the best example of her
eurobeat ambitions before retiring from the music scene in 1990 after a scandal
involving pregnancy and rushed marriage. Typical unfortunate aidoru story. Released in 1988, “Everynight” is different in sound from the "Stock Aitken Waterman" brand of eurobeat that became very popular in Japan one year after, in 1989, with Chisato Moritaka’s (森高千里) “17-sai” (17才), Wink’s “Ai ga Tomaranai ~Turn it Into Love~” (愛が止まらない), Minako Tanaka’s (田中美奈子) “Namida no Taiyou” (涙の太陽) and Eriko Tamura’s (田村英里子) “Shinken (Honki)” (真剣). That said, it was an early type of eurobeat more comparable with the Italo Disco sound that was starting to fade away in Europe in favor of House music. About this subject, it’s interesting to note that while Italo Disco and eurobeat were decreasing in popularity in Europe, it was, at the same time, becoming even more popular in Japan (and in Soviet Union, but that’s not the point here). This process resulted in a natural change of focus as Japan virtually became the only Italo Disco importer during the late 80s and early 90s. Basically, Japan became the main cash cow to Italy’s disco producers, a phenomenon that constituted what I call Japan’s “first dance craze”. This phenomenon faded around 1992 and 1993 to resurge even more powerful in 1995 as the “second dance craze”, when Namie Amuro (安室奈美恵) conquered the charts with her eurobeat covers of Lolita’s “Try Me”, Veronica Sale’s “Season” and Sophie’s “Stop the Music”. Back to the “first dance craze”, Italo Disco also faced competition from the English brand of eurobeat masterminded by Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW). Their main “product”, the cute little Australian singer Kylie Minogue, hit really big in Japan around 1988 and 1989. This instant popularity led to many Japanese covers of her hits, like the aforementioned Chisato Moritaka, which covered Kylie’s version of “The Locomotion” in her “Mite Special Live Concert” (見て ～スペシャル～ライヴ in 汐留ＰＩＴII 4.15.'89), and Wink, which covered many songs of the teen star, with “Ai ga Tomaranai ~Turn It Into Love~” being the most representative of them. In the end, both Italo Disco and SAW’s artists
were popular in Japan, while Italo Disco experienced a much more important role
in the advance of eurobeat with the “Super Eurobeat” compilation series that
started in 1990 and… well, it’s still going on in 2013. In the case of Hidemi’s “Everynight”, its charm
consists of the aggressive synths and the edginess portrayed by Hidemi’s vocals.
Aidoru singers who started recording eurobeat songs during the “first dance
craze” period had two options. First, the fluffy and sugary vocals combined
with playful eurobeat melodies and, second, a more serious and clubby approach.
Hidemi went with the second option here on “Every Night”, and it was a nice
idea as she was kind of leaving the cute aidoru days behind. All in all, I enjoy Hidemi’s “Everynight” a lot.
It represents very well this transition from mildly successful aidoru singer
into a more “dance diva” kind of singer that happened quite frequently during
the late 80s.
Eriko Tamura is not a common artist in any list,
but I had to include her beautiful “Tsumetaku Shinaide” in my list for one
specific reason: the melodramatic melody combined with the orchestral synthpop
arrangement offers a nice example of majestic pop sensibility that was common
during the 80s. Of course Eriko’s voice (and pin-up beauty) was a nice treat
too. I always think that she should have been a more successful aidoru based on
her vocals, but some lackluster songs didn’t help her achieve the deserved
fame. We must remember that the late 80s also represents the end of the aidoru
era, and Eriko’s image was more suitable for the early-to-mid 80s than for the
end of the decade. Despite that, her debut album, “May Be Dream” (released in July 1989), is a nice and
polished selection of late 80s dance-pop/eurobeat songs. Based on that, the
inclusion of “Tsumetaku Shinaide” in this list is my tribute to this great
phase of her career.
Being honest, though, Eriko’s material is not the
best example of 80s dance-pop, neither is “Tsumetaku Shinaide” an outstanding
song that stood the test of time. At the same time, although her production
team was clearly emulating a trendy sound in order to sell more records, the
melodic pop sensibility that I talked earlier is very noticeable in this little
romantic piece. In fact, Eriko sings it like a Cinderella. A beautiful song,
indeed.
This song is probably the most out of place of the bunch, but I like it so much that I needed to include it in this list. On the other hand, it would not be so off in JTM’s list that was posted earlier.
Not an eurobeat or synthpop song, “Shadow Hunter” (released in February 1987) could be better placed in the early-to-mid 80s, during the start of the burikko aidoru era inaugurated by Seiko Matsuda (松田 聖子). It reminds me vaguely of some Kyoko Koizumi’s (小泉 今日子) hits around 1984/85. Also, the song has quite a dynamic with all the horns and the bouncy bass line. Its overall sound makes me think of some spy movie or series. In reality, it was a “Sukeban Deka III” (スケバン刑事III) related song, which may explain its live action sound and adventurous feeling.
Yuka Onishi was never the best aidoru singer, nor the most famous one, but the "Sukeban Deka III" exposure had quite a positive impact on her career (she was one of Yui Asaka’s [浅香 唯] sisters in the series). Around 1989, though, instead of switching to an eurobeat sound like many of her contemporaries, she invested in a rock sound with an aidoru approach. She was quite daring trying to compete with PRINCESS PRINCESS and other all-female rock bands. Even the talented Minako Honda (本田 美奈子) failed to be successful with a similar strategy. Back to Onishi, she slowly retired from the
music career, and eventually got nude in a photo shoot (1999). I must confess
that it wasn’t nice to see a former 80s aidoru getting naked in exchange of
some bucks. I felt bad for her, and seeing the photos I can almost assure she
wasn’t happy at all. Or maybe I’m being too sentimental about my 80s aidoru. Nonetheless, the young and cheery Yuka Onishi
will always be in my memory singing “Shadow Hunter”. I bought an old Yuka
Onishi CD just because of this song (I ended liking the whole CD, though).
07) Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ) -- Yoake no Shooting Star (夜明けのShooting Star)
Megumi Hayashibara is not a 80s singer. Although some rare and not memorable late 80s songs can be found in her discography, her major label debut as a singer was only in early 1991. On the other hand, she recorded one solid pop song in the 80s, “Yoake no Shooting Star”, an image song for the character Christina “Chris” MacKenzie (クリスチーナ・マッケンジー) from the anime OVA “Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in My Pocket” (機動戦士ガンダム0080 ポケットの中の戦争). “Yoake no Shooting Star” is a nice song, but nothing spectacular. The arrangement is just straightforward pop with a loud and cool synth melody that tastes like 80s right from the beginning. But what make it stand out is Megumi’s vocals, which are strong, full of cheerfulness and charisma. Based on that, it’s interesting to notice that “Yoake no Shooting Star” was also Megumi’s first recording ever. According to her autobiography manga series, she had to sing the song at an event in place of Megumi Shiina (椎名恵). Firstly, though, she had to have her vocal range tested, and in that specific day, she was sick with a high fever, which resulted in horrible vocals. But a man from the King Records (キングレコード株式会社) label listened to her and, somehow, liked what Hayashibara delivered. Finally, it was decided afterwards that “our” Megumi was going to officially record the song, which she did (for the source of this story, click here). And that’s the story behind Megumi Hayashibara’s first recording in early 1989. “Yoake no Shooting Star” got a spot in Megumi’s
sophomore album “WHATEVER” (1992), and in two of her compilations, “VINTAGE A”
(2000) and “VINTAGE WHITE” (2011). Also, Megumi seems to like the song very
much because she often includes it in her concerts, like in the 2002 concert
that is featured above. The arrangement is the original 1989 one (Megumi rarely
sings with a live band in her concerts), but with Megumi’s live vocals.
06) Aya Sugimoto (杉本彩) -- 13-Nichi no Runa (13日のルナ)
The late 80s/early 90s were a very curious moment of Japanese mainstream pop music. Some strange characters, like Chisato Moritaka and Minako Tanaka, were artistically created in this period, and with a sexy appeal that was buried since the late 70s. We all know that, overall, the 80s aidoru era was a time where the virgin and naïve aesthetics were an essential factor in the construction of female stars. Of course a very specific type of sexuality was present in this discourse, but it was different from what aidoru acts during a pre-Seiko Matsuda period, like Pink Lady (ピンク・レディー) and Momoe Yamaguchi (山口百恵), represented. Although the aforementioned Chisato Moritaka
and Minako Tanaka were sexy aidoru singers, Aya Sugimoto was more explicit and
wild if compared to them. Her stage persona, directly influenced by Italian
eurobeat singer Sabrina Salerno, was famous for some raunchy and over-the-top
performances. For instance, Aya’s debut single, “Boys”, was a cover of
Sabrina’s hit that became famous around Europe because of the explicit music
video where she happily reveals her large breasts in a swimming pool (check
this AMAZING video here. Unfortunatly you need to have a YouTube account because of some age restriction). And although Aya couldn’t go that far in Japan, her
bouncy breasts were also a highlight of her dance-oriented performances.
As for “13-Nichi no Runa”, which was released in December 1988, I don’t quite
remember when I discovered it, but I do remember that I became quickly addicted
to its catchiness. And yes, I know Aya Sugimoto was a very bad live singer, but
I just tend to ignore her lack of singing talent in favor of nice disco songs
and some sexy appeal. Back to the song, like most of her other wannabe hits,
it’s a nice example of the eurobeat/Hi-NRG sound of the late 80s. Her
energetic performances were nice to watch too.
After reading a 2008 interview with Aya Sugimoto
(for the interview, click here), I concluded that she acts like a self aware
woman who was defending feminine empowerment back in the late 80s. In her
words, “it would be difficult to wear clothes like that if it were not
accompanied by a new kind of spirit”. Also, “when I [Aya Sugimoto] wore sexy
clothes in the ’80s and the ’90s, it caused a stir”. These phrases induces the
reader to believe that Aya Sugimoto was almost revolutionary at the time, which
is kind of ambiguous as she was more like a sex toy teasing a male fan base
than a female empowerment icon. Besides that, she really devoted her entire
career in maintaining the status of a sexy symbol that defends sexual freedom.
Aya’s concrete and apparent sexiness, like the
tamer sexiness portrayed by Chisato Moritaka and Minako Tanaka, was one example
of the transformations experienced by the aidoru category during the late
80s/early 90s. That strange transition of pure/virgin aidoru into a more
sexualized type of aidoru is one of my favorite subjects and one that it’s not
very discussed in the English speaking world. I, for example, consider singers
like Aya, Chisato and Minako to be kind of ahead their time, just because sexy
divas like Namie Amuro and MAX were yet to rule the J-Pop world. These three
young ladies were not actual aidoru artists, but not out of this particular
landscape either. And I just find kind of strange how everyone actually ignores
the blatant sex appeal of these artists when constructing the J-Pop history. It
gives the impression that the kawaii and virgin aidoru ideal model of the 80s
gave space to the energetic and sexualized image of Namie Amuro in the mid-90s
while nothing else was created between these two extremes. Based on that, I
believe that Aya Sugimoto, for example, can be seen as a transition artist, or
something like that. I’m also aware that this type of sexualized aidoru singer
was not very successful, with the exception of Chisato Moritaka. The lack of
success is probably a reason for their constant absence in the J-Pop history,
and that’s understandable. It’s also important to remember that the fall of the
aidoru category from the top of the entertainment world represented a niche
division where different types of aidoru singers with a specific fan base in
mind were created, and the sexy aidoru type was one of many new types that were
trying to survive with a limited fan base.
Well, I’m not advancing in this territory now, but some other artists of
this specific list are going to be used to talk a little more about this
subject.
Strange theories aside, Aya Sugimoto is one of
my many guilty pleasures. I just have a thing for cheap dance-pop music of the
80s and not so talented performers. As for “13-Nichi no Runa”, it’s not a
groundbreaking song, but I remember how much I liked to study while listening
to it and other Aya Sugimoto’s songs during my graduation years. She was
probably the first “forgotten aidoru” I became a fan.
I was in serious doubt if Tomomi Nishimura’s “Nemurihime” was the right song for my eurobeat list. This song was in a serious battle with Noriko “Nori-P” Sakai’s (酒井法子) “Wagamama Syndrome” (ワガママ・シンドローム) (you can listen to it here, if you want), but I ended up with “Nemurihime”. Basically, I chose it because of a more complex arrangement if compared to Nori-P’s “Wagamama Syndrome”. I like both, but I don’t think Nori-P’s song would add something new to this list. Besides being a catchy and straightforward pop song, “Wagamama Syndrome” didn’t offer significant twists and innovations.
Back to “Nemurihime”, it’s a 1989 eurobeat song
with some interesting elements. Although I’ never been a true fan of Tomomi
Nishimura, mostly because of her weak vocals, I liked her delivery in “Nemurihime”,
especially when the ballad introduction gives place to the full synth
arrangement. One of the main characteristic of “Nemurihime”,
and of Nori-P’s “Wagamama Syndrome” as well, was the mixture of a mildly cutesy
style with a mysterious synth arrangement. In fact, it wouldn’t be out of place
in a Wink album of the late 80s. In the “Yoru no Hit Studio” live version
presented above, a lot of the synths are not audible. Like in many “Yoru no Hit
Studio” performances, the horns are actually taking the place of the synths. I
only decided to post this performance because the song is played almost in its
entirety, and, well… 80s, for me, is almost synonym of “Yoru no Hit Studio”. But
trust me, “Nemurihime” is a cool eurobeat song, and not a full orchestra disco.
04) Minako Tanaka (田中美奈子) -- Namida no Taiyou (涙の太陽)
Maybe I’m just a fool, but I like Minako Tanaka
very much. I like her image, her beauty, her sound and her vocals a lot. No
deeper reasons. Just like it. And do I know her entire discography? No, it’s
rare. I only know her singles and some of her album songs, nothing more. But I
consider myself a fan.
The first time I saw Minako Tanaka on YouTube
singing “Namida no Taiyou” I just couldn’t stop thinking of Chisato Moritaka.
It was the same style of music and a very similar image (Chisato’s image became
a lot more extravagant and campy, though). But besides being a “copy”, I liked
Minako’s vocals and beauty very much, which was a plus for her. Like I said
above, I’m a fan, and I started considering myself one right after the moment I
just described. It was around May or June 2011. “Namida no Taiyou” was Minako’s debut single in 1989. Let’s just call it the eurobeat rendition of “Namida no Taiyou”, as the song was covered by a lot (and I really mean a lot) of different artists since it was originally recorded in English as “Crying in a Storm” (1965) by “Japanese-born-but-raised-in-England” singer Emy Jackson (エミー・ジャクソン) (for Emy's original version, click here). About that, I think Japanese eurobeat singers had a thing for turning non eurobeat songs into eurobeat. Chisato Moritaka did that with the classic “17-sai”, while Wink… well, Wink did that with so many songs that it’s hard to make a proper account. In fact, Minako Tanaka’s second single, “Be My Baby”, was also an eurobeat cover of an old classic. Back to Minako’s version of “Namida no Taiyou”,
I find it very energetic. The arrangement is not made of classy or laidback
electronic sounds, but of loud, memorable and sharp synths. And combined with
Minako’s girly vocals, the result was an interesting listening experience. The
bridge is also something to keep an eye for (or ear, in this case) as the
keyboard sounds are mixed with a robust bass that features a lot of slapping. Minako’s version of “Namida no Taiyou” was not
a big hit, reaching only #18 on the Oricon charts. To be honest, none of her
songs would conquer the status of hits. She was just a sexy female pop singer
that could hardly be labeled as an aidoru. Nevertheless, I thought she deserved
a spot on my personal list.
BONUS TRACK) Sophie -- SOFT TIME (RED MONSTER MIX)
“SOFT TIME” is just a bonus I decided to
include in my “eurobeat” list before my top three songs. As it’s a classic 1989
eurobeat song which was included in the first volume of the “Super Eurobeat”
series, the only thing that makes it an outsider is the fact that it isn’t a
Japanese song, but the original Italian recording sung by Sophie (Elena
Ferretti).
I first discovered this song in early 2011 when
my Wink fanboyism was bigger than the stratosphere. Although I had had contact
with eurobeat before in two different times, in special when I discovered
Chisato Moritaka a year before, in 2010, I just didn’t became a fan of the genre before 2011. As I recall, Chisato got me into the overall aidoru world, and
eurobeat was just a secondary factor for me at the time. It was really with
Wink and their “Stock Aitken Waterman” brand of dance-pop (which was somehow
called eurobeat) that I started listening to eurobeat more seriously, and “SOFT
TIME”, a song I found listening to this first “Super Eurobeat” volume, still is
my favorite song of the genre (I soon discovered that almost nothing really
sounds like it, but that’s another story).
As for “SOFT TIME”, well…, the song is just
amazing, and this “RED MONSTER MIX” I decided to include just take things to
another level (it’s an official remix. I have it on CD). It’s not very
different from the original in structure, but the slight changes are just
amazing, just like when the synths in 6:13 mark are apparently going into a
higher register, and then Sophie comes back with the chorus before the ending.
What I also like is the common eurobeat practice of intercalating vocals with
the arrangement, just like after the 4:53 mark. Finally, the vocals, just like
the title, are very soft and beautiful, which contributes to the overall
melancholic vibe of the song. In the end, it’s a killer song, for sure.
Nothing better than a song starting with very sharp
80s synths and a groovy bass line.
“Mermaid” is my favorite song by classy aidoru
singer Miho Nakayama. Released in 1988, this summer gem is a funk/synthpop
masterpiece. I just can’t get enough of the raw and sharp synths used in this
song. As for Miho, her vocals became very mature around late 1987/early 1988,
and that’s visible in “Mermaid”. She really did a good job with this one. It’s
a pity she couldn’t deliver a high-level performance of it in live TV shows,
although she nailed it in her 1991 concert (you can watch it here). Besides being a very pretty young lady and a decent singer, I never found Miho very charismatic on stage. Her songs, on the other hand, were very nice during the 80s. Just like Wink’s “Samishii Nettagiyo” (淋しい熱帯魚), “Mermaid” is a very synth rich song, which is an important characteristic of the 80s. Unlike today’s American mainstream electronic music, which relies heavily in one or two synth hooks, mainstream electronic music in the 80s was, overall, more sophisticated (although raw and rudimentary in its sound). As synthesizers were one of the main new musical technologies of the decade, experimentation (and exaggeration) was at its peak. Nowadays, on the other hand, synthesizers are not used in a very creative way. Maybe the overall musical aesthetics changed a lot in the last thirty or twenty five years. Of course that’s just a personal feeling, but I thought it was nice to share my view. Back to “Mermaid”, it earned Miho’s third #1
single on the Oricon charts. Also, it was released in the same day of her
seventh album “Mind Game”. Although it wasn’t featured in the album, “Mermaid”
is a nice start to the overall feeling and sound of this album, as both relies
in a summery funk/synthpop sound. In that way, it works like an appetizer
before the main dish. Some songs from the album, like “Strange Parade” (my
favorite from the album. Check it here right after the 5:40 mark) and “Mind Game” (listen to it here), are even kind of
similar to “Mermaid” in structure and arrangement, which is not a bad thing at
all. All in all, I deeply recommend this one Miho album, “Mind Game”. It’s my
favorite from her career.
Her name has appeared many times before in this list, but her real time was yet to come. She's the main artist now, and she holds the second position in my ranking.
First of all, I must confess that I have the
bad, very bad habit of including this song in most of my “favorite songs” lists.
And the poor Moritaka, a singer with an overall great catalogue, ends up being
represented with this song, one she probably isn’t proud of nowadays. Cheap
talk aside, I love this song very much. It represents Moritaka’s extravaganza
at its best, both sonically and visually. We can really tell that after
“17-sai’s” success, she went even far into the campy style.
With typical late 80s synths, “Korekkiri Bye
Bye” is a very cheesy and horribly outdated song, or, in a more positive view,
a straightforward shameless bubblegum dance-pop song from the late 80s (“Stock
Aitken Waterman”, I’m looking right at you). The girl surely had guts to
perform a song like "Korekkiri Bye Bye" dressed like… well, I don’t know how to describe THIS "fashion style", but it looks like a heroine from a cartoon, at least (and this was
before “Sailor Moon”, for god’s sake). I’d really like to know what Moritaka
and her fashion staff were thinking when they came up with this look. “Korekkiri Bye Bye” can be found in Moritaka’s fouth studio album “Hijitsuryokuha Sengen” (非実力派宣言), which was released in July 1989. This particular album represents the start of Moritaka’s peak as an aidoru singer. To be honest, though, there’s quite a discussion about Moritaka’s status of an aidoru. As pointed out by Ian Martin, “she [Chisato Moritaka] existed in a strange sort of limbo between the end of the kayokyoku in the late 80s and the birth of J-Pop in the early 90s” (click here to read the full article). Also, Patrick St. Michel wrote that “the peak of her career happened after the golden-age of ’80s J-Pop, and just before acts like Namie Amuro and Ayumi Hamasaki became powerhouses across all of Asia” (click here to read the full article). As I agree with both of them, I understand that it’s difficult to call Moritaka an aidoru strictus sensus, but I can’t help thinking of her as such. That’s a tough dilemma.
Wink’s “Samishii Nettaigyo” could not stay out
of my list. Although “Ai ga Tomaranai ~Turn It Into Love~” is a personal
favorite, “Samishii Nettaigyo”, which was released in 1989, is not very far. Also, the plus of this song, or
the reason why I chose to reserve a spot for it in my list, is that it’s a very
influential pop song. Besides being a classic on its own, “Samishii Nettaigyo”
has been covered by a lot of artists, like actress Nana Katase (listen to it here), 90s eurobeat
girl group MAX (listen to it here), Hello! Project aidoru
duo W (listen to it here), and also by Anglo-Irish girl group from the 70s The Nolans, which Wink
also covered some of their songs like “Sexy Music” and “I’m in the Mood for
Dancing” (by the way, The Nolan’s english version of “Samishii Nettaigyo” is
called “Tidal Wave”. Listen to it here).
For me, personally, “Samishii Nettaigyo” also
marks the real birth of Wink as a musical act on its own. I’m saying that
because most of their earlier hits were Japanese covers of European pop/disco
songs, while with “Samishii Nettaigyo” the duo started to make their successful
path as a true act, and not a cover based act (they continued relying heavily
in cover songs, but they also released a bunch of successful original tracks).
Their songwriting team did that emulating the overall trendy synthpop/eurobeat
sound of their time, and also combining it with Wink’s emotionless and
vulnerable stage personas. The result was the great “Samishii Nettaigyo”, an
upbeat but sad dance-pop song about an unrequited love and some water
metaphors. Also, worthy of note are some specific parts of the song like the
main synth melody, the instrumental breakdown with the melancholic synth notes
and, of course, the catchy chorus. Overall, this song offers an amazing synth
arrangement full of details and spacey sounds in the background (my favorite
performance of this song is from "Yoru no Hit Studio" where three keyboard
players were reproducing all the electronic sounds live. It was a dream to see
a band with so much live synthesizers being played and just one guitar player.
Something like the revenge of the synthesizers. You can check it here after the
5:40 mark). Making it even better, like a cherry at the top of the cake, the
bass line is monstrously groovy. In the end, “Samishii Nettaigyo” surely
deserved to be the smash hit it was and, also, the top song of my list.
As a funny story, one of my best friends says
he can’t like Wink, especially this “fish” song (that’s how he calls it). The
raw synthesizers are probably too much for him, and Wink’s lifeless stage
personas don’t help at all. One day, after a discussion involving Wink, I put a
Perfume concert, and he instantly said it was a lot better than Wink. But he’s
a nice guy who watched the whole Wink concert in DVD with me some years ago
simply because we’re friends.
Well guys,
that’s it for today. Thanks a lot for taking some time to read this long post.
I just hope this selection introduces some nice songs and a couple of ideas I chose to develop as well. It was a very
difficult, but pleasurable exercise. Of course I could change this list almost
every day, but that’s just one bad consequence of “best of lists”: in the end,
we are never truly satisfied with them. But I think it’s ok for now.
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".
