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.
It looks like the pattern is being made with the Kobayashi-san file on KKP. Since I first put up the first opening theme to "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） back in 2017, it's been the case that there is a flurry of articles based on the anime's music one year and then things go fallow for a few years. In fact, the last time I wrote about anything on the beloved anime, it was back in 2021.
Well, I heard that the cinematic chapter in the franchise, "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon: Samishigariya no Ryu"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン さみしがりやの竜...A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved ）was released in theatres a month ago, and if the above trailer is of any indication, you're gonna have to bring a box of tissues. The usually cute if stoic Kanna Kamui has a major "OOC is Serious Business" episode here and so will fans in all likelihood.
As a few Japanese commenters have stated, how could there be any Kobayashi-san film without fhana? It would be like Kirk without Spock and hamburgers without French fries. And so, the band has come out with "Namida no Parade" (Parade of Tears). It's the usual fhana/Kobayashi-san happiness and the music video has the gang doing the usual dance show, this time starting out on location in Odaiba, Tokyo. To be honest, it could take a few more listens for it to grow on me because it hasn't quite hit me as amazingly as "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）and "Ai no Supreme!"（愛のシュプリーム！）from Season 2. "Namida no Parade" came out as one-half of a single in June including the ending theme for the movie, Sachiko Kobayashi's（小林幸子）"Boku-tachi no Hibi"（僕たちの日々...Our Days）.
Welcome once again to Hump Day and boy, is it sticky out there! It was about a week ago that I was still muttering about being on the winter side of things and now the summer has come with some good heat and humidity. Feeling like 35 degrees C!
Although this song doesn't have anything to do directly with the 2014 anime "Witchcraft Works"（ウィッチクラフトワークス）, "innocent field" by the pop band fhana was included in the CD for the opening theme song "divine intervention" which was released as a single from January of that year. It's a pleasant upbeat song for summer despite the release date and there's perhaps even a feeling of kayo kyoku in there with the saxophone playing things off. As was the case with the main song, "innocent field" was written by Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）but the composer this time was guitarist yuxuki waga.
The last time I posted something on the band fhana was back in the middle of 2021 when I happily noted the opening theme for the second season of "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid）, "Ai no Supreme!"（愛のシュプリーム！）. Right from the snazzy opening credits, it was a loud and proud declaration that Kyoto Animation was back up and running after its own horrible tragedy a couple of years previously.
Well, I'm going back a little further in fhana's discography...in fact, all the way back to their debut single "Que Sera Sera"（ケセラセラ）from August 2013. Indeed, it's been considered to be the perfectly-fitting ending theme for the anime "Uchoten Kazoku"（有頂天家族） and I can agree with that wholeheartedly. I used to hear this all the time during anison hour at my friend's place since he was also a fhana fan.
Another song that got played during anison hour was the coupling tune to "Que Sera Sera", "Kimi to Iu Tokuiten" (Singular You). With those strings in the intro, I'd wondered if this would be a modern-day Fashion Music tune, something that I'd talked about yesterday for one article, but as it was, the rest of the song was good ol' pop. At the time, I hadn't known that "Kimi to Iu Tokuiten" was the coupling song but with those repeated playings, it's become a rent-free resident in my memories.
Been a while since I posted anything in here. In fact, I have dedicated most of this year to my master's thesis, which is coming to an end very soon. In the meantime, I managed to watch some anime series. My motivation for watching anime had been dormant for about a year until I rewatched Sailor Moon last year. I definitely don't pick up as many series as I did back in the day (I used to follow a lot of seasonal shows), but it's still as enjoyable.
I would like to talk about some songs that marked this year for me in terms of anime. They haven't necessarily come out this year, but they're from series I watched in 2021.
Masami Okui - Rondo-revolution (輪舞-revolution)
I have literally just found out the reading of the title was "rondo" and not "rinbu." Anyway, if I only had to pick only one song to describe this year for me, it would probably be this one. I could not get tired of hearing it in every single episode of Shoujo Kakumei Utena. This was a series I had been longing to watch and I finally got to it. It climbed to my favorites list and I ended up rewatching the movie one week after my first watch. Series like Sailor Moon and Mawaru Penguindrum have got me fascinated with the mind of Kunihiko Ikuhara so I really expected I would like it as much as I did. I was excited about the character of Utena but ended up captivated by Anthy's complexity as a character.
I also wondered how I had kept myself from listening to this song for so long. I actually also got more into 90's J-pop in general this year, and Rondo-revolution was right up my alley. The upbeat song and lyrics fit perfectly with the image of the anime series. Song and lyrics were authored by Masami Okui (奥井雅美), now a member of ani-singer supergroup JAM Project, and composed and arranged by her producer Toshiro Yabuki (矢吹俊郎).
Nana Mizuki - ETERNAL BLAZE
None of the videos for the original song would embed so here's Vtuber Subaru Oozora's cover as a placeholder. You can go on YouTube to listen to the original song. Sorry about that!
Another series I had been longing to watch for many years was Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. It was interesting to see how much the first season was similar to Madoka Magica as they share the same director. However, the second season of Nanoha was the true highlight for me. The story and universe were so well fleshed out that I enjoyed every single episode and had a blast watching the remake/recap movie.
The opening song ETERNAL BLAZE helps to build up that hype by boosting Nana Mizuki (水樹奈々)'s powerful vocals into a song which I believe conveys the feelings of the character she voices in the series, Fate Testarossa. It matches how ardent and at the same time heartwarming her feelings for Nanoha are, as her first and best friend (they are dubbed the "mothers" of yuri doujinshi works... do with that what you want). The song was also a landmark in anisong in general as it was the first single by a voice actress to reach number 2 in the Oricon charts. Mizuki herself wrote the lyrics while the great composition and arrangement are work of Noriyasu Agematsu (上松範康) from the Elements Garden team.
fhána - Ai no Supreme! (愛のシュプリ一ム!)
I actually had not finished a seasonal anime since 2018, the year I spent watching the amazing Hugtto! Precure. This year I decided to give it a shot again, one or two series at a time, and the first was Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S. I had watched the first season back when it aired and I am a huge Kyoto Animation fan. I was taken back to that day when my favorite animation studio showed up in the news of my country - for the worst possible reason... It was weird and touching seeing some staff credited in Kobayashi's production knowing they had already passed away.
J-Canuck has already touched on this song on his own post so you may already know the new tune by fhána maintained the catchiness of the first opening theme. This time they gave even more attention to the choreography and posted some videos with the Chorogons, the unit composed by the voice actresses of the anime. I have known fhána ever since their debut single which was the ending theme for Uchouten Kazoku and I like their sound very much.
Liella! - Tokonatsu☆Sunshine (常夏☆サンシャイン)
Another series I watched every week was Love Live! Superstar. I have followed the Love Live! franchise for several years, starting from the mobile rhythm game and going through all the anime series. This year I watched the newest spin-offs, Nijigasaki and Superstar. Nijigasaki had a different feel from the other series (in a good way), but Superstar gave me that goofy and character-driven plot that I would expect from a Love Live! series. Within the fictional group Liella!, I fell in love with the Chinese-Japanese character Kéké Tang. As expected, a second season was already announced and I am very excited for it.
This song in particular, Tokonatsu☆Sunshine, was one that particularly caught my attention for its tropical and groovy vibe with plenty of horns. It instantly reminded me of the Mermaid festa series of songs released back in the day by the original Love Live cast. It was composed and arranged by EFFY with lyrics by Junko Miyajima (宮嶋淳子), two artists with plenty of anisong titles, particularly of the idol genre.
I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into anisong old and new that marked the year of 2021 for me. I have pretty much given up on scoring shows or having a backlog list so I will continue to go with the flow and watch whatever I feel like in the next year, hoping for more great music releases.
Well, the second season of "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） finished this week, and I was able to catch it yesterday. It was somewhat surprising because I had been expecting something a little more dramatic and action-packed as was the case for the finale of Season 1, but instead, it turned out to be a very relaxing and humour-filled ending (I guess the penultimate episode was going for the drama). No complaints on my part, however, and it was nice to see the show cover not just one but two annual Japanese outdoor traditions. We can only wait for Season 3 to come out sometime in the next couple of years, I hope.
I'd thought that my article on "Ishukan Relationship"（イシュカン♡リレーションシップ）, the special ending theme for one episode in Season 2 as sung by Yuki Kuwahara（桑原由気）, the seiyuu behind the chipper-but-powerful Tohru, would be the final one for the "Kobayashi-san" file for the foreseeable future. However, I'm happily wrong since while browsing through YouTube late last night, I encountered a track from that necessary part of any successful anime franchise merchandise: the character song album.
Sure enough, the Lantis label released "L・O・V・E" yesterday with the main seiyuu providing various songs. The track that I heard was the very first one that starts off the album, "Give Me Love", featuring Kobayashi-san herself, Mutsumi Tamura（田村睦心）, along with Kuwahara, and seiyuu Tomomi Mineuchi（嶺内ともみ）as the new character of Ilulu. fhana's Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）and Junichi Sato（佐藤純一）were responsible for words, music and arrangement of this short-and-sweet-and-fun song with a mix of cute rap, dance beats and Latin. Maybe for next season, instead of just Kanna heading to New York City, it could be the whole gang vacationing in Rio.
From what I see of "L・O・V・E" at the Lantis website itself, it also has Super Chorogons'（スーパーちょろゴンず）version of "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）, the opening theme for the first season, and "Maid with Dragons"（めいど・うぃず・どらごんず︎❤︎）, the ending theme for the second season, as sung individually by the seiyuu.
When I was writing up the article, I'd assumed that this would be Tamura's first appearance on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but I had completely forgotten that she was already up here as of 2015, thanks to her singing for the anime"Kill Me Baby".
Should've realized that fhana did do the original as the coupling song for "Ai no Supreme"（愛のシュプリーム！）.
Well, a third of the way into "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S"（小林さんちのメイドラゴンS...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S） and it appears as if the fans are happy with what they've seen so far including the inclusion of the newest resident in the Kobayashi household, the foe-turned-friend Ilulu. Yup, that second season opening "Ai no Supreme!"（愛のシュプリーム！）is a bona fide earworm in the same steps as "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）.
As much as the tradition of having the band fhana come up with the opening theme, the ending theme custom of having the female dragon portion of the cast perform it is also continuing. However, Chorogons have been upgraded to Super Chorogons（スーパーちょろゴンず）with the addition of seiyuu Tomomi Mineuchi（嶺内ともみ）as the aforementioned Ilulu, joining Yūki Kuwahara（桑原由気）as Tohru, Maria Naganawa（長縄まりあ）as Kanna, Minami Takahashi（高橋未奈美）as Lucoa, and Yūki Takada（高田憂希）as Elma.
"Maid with Dragons" begins with a bit of that vaudevillian feeling that infused the ending theme for the last season, "Ishukan Communication" (イシュカン・コミュニケーション), but then it shifts over to a more conventional pop style although the upbeat nature is retained. As was the case with "Ishukan Communication", Yohei Matsui（松井洋平）is the lyricist but the composer this time is Ginnojo Hoshi（星銀乃丈）.
Gotta have the live-action video, too. And it looks like Super Chorogons have followed up on their cover of fhana's "Aozora no Rhapsody" by even performing their version of this season's opener "Ai no Supreme!". No need to ingest any desserts tonight.
Another Hump Day has arrived. However, there is one little corner on Earth that is in fine celebratory fettle right now, and that would be the region where the "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） fandom resides. The second season, known as "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S", had its premiere a few hours ago fulfilling a wish that fans have had since the first season ended all the way back in Spring 2017. And I think especially after the arson attack on Kyoto Animation in 2019, those prayers had been especially intense.
I remember when another anime franchise, "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai ~ Tensai-tachi no Ren'ai Zunousen"（かぐや様は告らせたい〜天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦〜...Kaguya Wants to be Confessed to: The Geniuses' War of Love and Brains）, had finished its first successful season in 2019 with folks swooning at the opening theme song by soulful Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）and Rikka Ihara（伊原六花）, "Love Dramatic"（ラブ・ドラマティック）. The following year when the second season was on the verge of being televised, fans were openly praying that Suzuki would come back with another barnburner of a song. Wish granted with "DADDY! DADDY! DO!" with assistance from Airi Suzuki（鈴木愛理）.
We might be seeing the same phenomenon taking place with "Kobayashi-san". The adorable and slightly jazzy opening theme from the original season by fhana, "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）, had everyone enthralled and in commemoration of the coming second season, the original cast even did their own rendition of "Aozora no Rhapsody" last week. I'm sure that fans were hoping that fhana would come up with another catchy and delicious hit for the second season opening theme.
Once again, I say "Wish granted". With an opening credit sequence that incorporates even more dancing and singing by the characters, fhana's 16th and latest single"Ai no Supreme!" (Love Supreme) is going to be making waves. According to J-Wiki, it will be released on July 14th and as I'd hoped, it's another banger with some funk and rap and samba this time around. Written by band leader Junichi Sato（佐藤純一）and lyricist Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）, the same duo behind "Aozora no Rhapsody", there's a bit more of a fun vocal give-and-take between fhana members towana and kevin mitsunaga with "Ai no Supreme!".
Of course, there has to be an official music video for "Ai no Supreme!" and it's done in the same style that the video for "Aozora no Rhapsody" was created. Once again, as I did for the first season and the first theme tune, I've ended up falling for the second season and second theme tune even before I get to see a single episode. But I also have to remind myself that my time with fhana didn't begin with the "Kobayashi-san" franchise. It was all because of a glorious ending theme they sang as their debut single back in 2013 for "Uchoten Kazoku"（有頂天家族...The Eccentric Family）.
Well, I'll tell ya something. In January 2017, I wrote up an article on pop band fhana's incredibly catchy and beloved "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ...Blue Sky Rhapsody） and stated that it was the first time that I'd ever cottoned onto an anime theme song even before catching the series itself. That series is "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid）, and sure enough, the two theme songs including the ending "Ishukan Communication" (イシュカン・コミュニケーション), performed by most of the cast under the unit name of Chorogons (ちょろゴンず), and the anime became the talk of the town in those early months.
Of course, there were the various live-action appearances of the cast for the fans' sake which have been placed onto YouTube. One particular video that I remember very well was when Chorogons, voiced by Yūki Kuwahara（桑原由気）, Maria Naganawa（長縄まりあ）, Minami Takahashi（高橋未奈美）, and Yūki Takada（高田憂希）, went into a sudden dance party for "Aozora no Rhapsody" that was both adorable and awkward at the same time. But it stuck to me like wallpaper.
Let's roll ahead 4 1/2 years later when all of us "Kobayashi-san" fans were wondering whether a second season of the show would ever show up. Well, indeed it has and it will be titled "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S" with the first episode being broadcast in early July on Tokyo MX. Yay!
Returning to that video of the cast dancing to "Aozora no Rhapsody", I wonder if that had been the spark for the immediate above presentation that was just launched on the Lantis YouTube channel today. The song is back on but this time it's the Super Chorogons with the expanded cast helping out in their cover of "Aozora no Rhapsody". It's basically an affectionate near-clone of the original music video by fhana (who make guest cameos) to commemorate the launch of the second season, and happiness still bounds out of the screen. Not sure if the video will be popping up on a later Blu-Ray or if the cover itself will get onto the soundtrack.
Of course, I can't finish things without providing the trailer for "S", and it looks like fhana has come out with another banger of an opening theme.
Realizing that it's quite late to put this one into "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I still have to pipe up in my defense that when an anime has such an earworm ending theme such as "Witchcraft Activity"（ウィッチ☆アクティビティ）, any opening theme would have a difficult time standing out.
For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I'm referring to the anime "Witchcraft Works"（ウィッチクラフトワークス）which aired in early 2014. The series itself frankly went over my head without subtitles but it was all about these different covens of witches jockeying for position within the usually mundane environment of a suburban Japanese neighbourhood. I have to say that a lot of it was very gorgeously animated, though.
Anyways, the opening theme was fhana's "divine intervention" and I think it's only been within the last little while that I've finally started to appreciate it. Ending theme "Witchcraft Activity" simply burrowed itself into my head so much that it had been the only song that I associated the anime with. But after enjoying the band's first single, the lovely and fitting ending theme for the first season of "Uchoten Kazoku"（有頂天家族）, "Que Sera Sera"（ケセラセラ）, and then last year's so-happy-that-it-kills "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）, I got to hear "divine intervention" again through my anime buddy's anison hour.
The song was fhana's 3rd single released in January 2014. Written by Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）and composed by fhana keyboardist Junichi Sato（佐藤純一）, "divine intervention" flies in like a witch on the warpath with the keyboards and the rock but then also has these quieter passages that almost takes things into a humming disco ballad thanks to the addition of those strings. Well, being someone who likes the ancient music, I appreciated the disco of it.
"divine intervention" got as high as No. 52 on Oricon. It also became a track on fhana's debut album"Outside of Melancholy" released in February 2015 which peaked at No. 8. This song will still be a fairly distant third behind "Aozora no Rhapsody" and "Que Sera Sera" for me but from now on it will not be forgotten.
Unlike the last anime season, the Spring 2017 season hasn't exactly birthed any anison earworms. No aural larvae immediately burrowed into my cerebral cortex when I saw those first episodes of the current crop of shows. But some of them at least are starting to grow some more on me.
"Uchoten Kazoku"（有頂天家族...The Eccentric Family）was one of the loveliest shows that I have seen since my return to Toronto in 2011 and starting off the biweekly viewings with my anime buddy. That was back in 2013 and so I was looking forward to catching "Uchoten Kazoku 2" when it was first announced late last year. The original show may have been lukewarmly received in its native Japan but it's been lauded outside of the nation. I'm happy to say that the sequel has been doing quite well by us with a surprise here and there...such as the usually unflappable and fearsome Benten literally getting dumped on her rear by a fellow who may be even more unflappable and fearsome. That took some serious cojones!
I guess, though, in keeping with the continuous mixture of magic and Kyoto beauty, the opening and ending themes for "Uchoten Kazoku 2" aren't all that much different from their fellow songs from the original series. The artists involved are the same for one thing.
Rock group milktub is back with its raucous glory via "Naru ga Mama Sawagu Mama" (Naturally, Noisily). And it's up with a much more happening set of opening credits. I have to pay attention to see them to catch every little thing that pops up in the various scenes while the music is playing.
Finally, I get to see what milktub looks like. The song came out in April 2017 as their 5th single and their first single since "Uchoten Jinsei"（有頂天人生）which was the opening theme for the first show. The band took care of both music and lyrics this time, and so far, "Naru ga Mama Sawagu Mama" has reached only No. 105 on Oricon. A partial translation of the lyrics is available at Lyrical Nonsense.
At the end of each episode of the original "Uchoten Kazoku", I thrilled to fhana's "Que Sera Sera" as it fit hand-in-glove with the ending credits and the whole anime for that matter.
The band has once again come up with the ending theme for "Uchoten Kazoku 2", and although it isn't quite as catchy and beautiful as "Que Sera Sera", "Moon River" is slowly starting to grow on me, especially with the light technopop touch. I'm kinda wondering, though, if they've got a thing for co-opting titles from old standard songs from the 1950s and 1960s.
I can't help but compare "Moon River" with their "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）which came out as the opening theme/earworm for "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン）. Compared to that fun song (and the fun and goofy video), "Moon River" is more of a cool-down song, comparable to "Que Sera Sera". There is not so much dancing and prancing in this one as there is a need to sit by the bank of a river and watch the flow of water.
As with "Que Sera Sera", Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）provided the lyrics but this time it's band guitarist yuxuki waga taking care of the music. This is their 11th single from April and has gone up to No. 53 on Oricon. The song is also represented at Lyrical Nonsense.
According to the mass media, today is supposed to be Blue Monday. This was so coined due to the combination of post-Holiday blues, the continuing shorter period of sunlight during the winter, and the bills coming in from all that Yuletide carousing last month. I should have my own bills coming in over the next couple of weeks, but I don't think they will be too painful.
But never let it be said that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" can't at least try to blow back some of those blues so I've brought in the first entry for the blog categorized as a 2017 song, the opening theme for the new anime "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid） by pop groupfhana as their 10th single.
Along with the fact that it is the first song to be given the 2017 tag, "Aozora no Rhapsody" (Blue Sky Rhapsody) has my own little distinction of being the first article I'm providing of an anison of a show that I have the potential of seeing next Sunday (I believe my anime buddy just came back home yesterday) or at the end of January, provided that he is interested in "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon". I've usually touted my like on KKP for an anime theme after viewing at least the first couple of episodes of the new show.
However, I first found out about the song a few days ago while perusing YouTube and catching the lively video of the actual band prancing about. It and the song are pretty fun and catchy, especially with that opening lyric of "Chu, chu, YEAH!". Plus that bouncy arrangement and towana's rapid-fire vocals helped me get out of my funk that night.
There's also something rather sweet about hearing and writing about fhana again since a few years ago I wrote about their debut single, the amazing "Que Sera Sera" (ケセラセラ) which was the ending theme for the gloriously animated "Uchoten Kazoku"（有頂天家族）. It remains one of my favourite anison. But the mellowness of "Que Sera Sera" certainly contrasts with the super happy nature of "Aozora no Rhapsody" with both songs being contributed by band leader Junichi Sato（佐藤純一）and lyricist Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）.
No Oricon rankings as of yet since the single itself won't be out until January 25th, still over a week away. (February 20 2017: It actually peaked at No. 24, the band's 2nd-highest ranking thus far.)
Also, have a gander at the just-as-infectious ending theme.
Last year, I was introduced to an anime by the title of "Uchoten Kazoku"（有頂天家族...The Eccentric Family）. The tale of a family of shape-shifting tanuki in modern-day Kyoto as they balance their lot between daily life in the former ancient capital and the fears of getting set upon by enemies comical and beautiful (including being eaten in a stew), admittedly it wasn't a show that grabbed me immediately despite the gorgeous scenery since I had to struggle with the story sans subtitles. However, since getting the entire series as a present, I've been able to enjoy the anime at a more leisurely pace and therefore appreciate it a whole lot more.
One of the reasons that I have enjoyed the show is the ending theme by the group fhana. Amongst the number of anime I've seen, this is a group that I've seen fairly often taking care of various opening and ending themes, the latest being the openers for "Witchcraft Works" and "Gingitsune" earlier this year. However, my favourite theme hands down by fhana has been "Que Sera Sera". According to the J-Wiki article on the song itself, it's been getting a goodly number of accolades including this one: "There hasn't been an ending theme that fits an anime as well as this one does."
I don't think I have seen anywhere near the number of anime that would ever make me that authoritative when it comes to that opinion. However, I can certainly understand that commenter's point of view. The bright and sweet vocals by towana along with the cheerful if somewhat introspective melody mesh wonderfully together, and they both work perfectly with the lovely ending credit visuals. And the title itself of "Whatever will be, will be" (yep, I'm old enough to have the Doris Day record of the same title) kinda goes hand in hand with how the characters in the show seem to deal with most of their crises.
One of the commenters at YouTube mentioned that "Que Sera Sera" sounded a bit like the famous theme for "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" by Ryuichi Sakamoto (probably the intro). I can also add that some of the arrangement harkens back to some of the dance groove about a decade ago used by singers like bird and Misia.
"Que Sera Sera" was composed by fhana leader and keyboardist Junichi Sato （佐藤純一）and written by Hideki Hayashi（林英樹）. Released in August 2013 as the band's first single, the song didn't go any higher than 111th place on Oricon, but that won't dampen any of the fans' enthusiasm.
As for the group itself, the story leading up to the current lineup reads as if it also deserves its own time on the small screen. Sato, who originally came from the band FLEET, started getting into a Twitter friendship with guitarist yuxuki waga from s10rw at the end of 2009. Then almost a year and a half later, the two of them met sampler Kevin Mitsunaga from another band, Leggysalad, at an event. From there, the three supposedly cemented the concept and direction for fhana at a maid café (hey, where else?). Initially, fhana had thought about having just guest vocalists do the singing but since they were so impressed with one of their invitees, towana, she just became the permanent vocalist. And the band was officially in business from 2012.
January 15 2016: I've finally gotten the article up for the opening theme "Uchoten Jinsei"（有頂天人生）by duo milktub.
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