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.
