Mirei Kitahara -- Ishikari Banka （石狩挽歌）

On that episode of "Itsuki Sensei no Utau! SHOW Gakko"（五木先生の 歌う！SHOW学校.）which featured Hokkaido kayo such as "Souran Wataridori"（ソーラン渡り鳥）, I also got re-acquainted with another tune that sparked my memory engrams due to the onomatopoeic lyric "Onbororo, onborobororo..."（オンボロロ、オンボロボロロー）. However, I couldn't just pay tribute to this song by simply calling it the "Onbororo" tune.

It is, in fact, titled "Ishikari Banka" (Ishikari Elegy). The song has been covered by a number of enka singers over the decades but ultimately, the most famous version is the first one as sung by Mirei Kitahara（北原ミレイ）when it was released in June 1975. J-Wiki mentions it became a huge hit for her and arguably the most famous tune by the singer but I couldn't find out how it did on Oricon. She is also famous for an even darker ballad.

I would probably have to listen to a number of interviews about why "Ishikari Banka" has been so popular with the kayo artists. However, I can speculate that it could be the power of the arrangement (pride mixed in with tragedy) including the trumpet intro and the personal story permeating the lyrics that have probably attracted so many to sing it.

Keisuke Hama（浜圭介）was the composer behind "Ishikari Banka" but the lyrics belong to longtime lyricist Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）. And Nakanishi based the words on his seemingly cursed ne'er-do-well older brother who just couldn't get his life together. One incident involved his brother managing to get a huge catch of herring one time but instead of getting his money in Hokkaido, he decided to roll the dice and move it down to the main island of Honshu where he could potentially get even more money. Instead, his bountiful haul ended up rotting on the way and he was left owing a ton of money. It's from here that Nakanishi came up with the song although his lyrics state that the poor fisherman here lost his catch due to a torn net.

As for the "Onbororo, onborobororo...", I'm not completely certain what it is referring to, although I think it is the audio equivalent of that crushing feeling of disappointment.  In any case, the song generates that power from the synergy of two enka sources, the manly-man out-on-the-sea music and the overall woe-is-me theme.

Mentioning above all those singers who have covered "Ishikari Banka" since the Kitahara original, Aki Yashiro（八代亜紀）is one of them above. And then there is Kouhei Fukuda（福田こうへい）below. But looking at the list of videos on YouTube, there are quite a few covers available so you can choose which one you really like.

Michiru Oshima -- Chariot's Theme

The latest incarnation of "Little Witch Academia"（リトルウィッチアカデミア）finished its run several weeks ago but my anime buddy just got the soundtrack for the show a few days ago, and he's been quite smitten with it.

Furthermore, the folks who did the design for the soundtrack probably were inspired by "Chariot's Theme". Have all of the main characters dress up like a marching band a la "Hibike! Euphonium"...check. For the Little Witch Academia category, I've already talked about a couple of the theme songs bracketing each episode but the overarching song that truly accompanied the adventures of Akko, Lotte, Sucy and Diana has been "Chariot's Theme".

But even though composer Michiru Kojima（大島ミチル）titled this grand march for Shiny Chariot, the heroine and inspiration for Akko's quest, I think "Chariot's Theme" probably applies as the theme for the entire series and perhaps even as the school anthem for Luna Nova (plus if anyone needed a song to commemorate any sort of proud declaration anywhere at any time, it's this song). It's as if John Williams decided to go for a re-do for the theme for "Harry Potter". As such, I think for me to just categorize it as a "Pop" song would be somewhat insulting to the composer so it's getting the first nod to belong to the "Orchestra" category (which means that I will have to search for similar orchestral pieces on the blog and re-categorize them).

Since Oshima has been involved with "Little Witch Academia" since 2013 when it began as an Anime Mirai project (which I did see), I think my memory recalls the theme being used for that first short. In any case, if a new movie or new series ever comes out in the future, those heralding horns will get everyone's attention and perhaps stop a few hearts as well.

ORESAMA -- Trip Trip Trip/TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND feat. Bonjour Suzuki -- Round&Round&Round

It was another loaded anime-and-meal routine Sunday with my anime buddy. However, we did actually meet up with another couple of friends who were part of my movie circle for dinner at a relatively new Taiwanese restaurant called Zen-Q, just north of the Toronto border. On the way back home, my anime buddy agreed that we've been on a roll for the past several months from last year with there being at least a goodly sum of enjoyable shows from each season, this one included.

One of the shows that we've been watching is "Mahoujin Guru Guru"（魔法陣グルグル...Magical Circle Guru Guru） which has had previous iterations on TV since 1994. Although the above video doesn't have a great example of the humour, the show is pretty close to scatterbrain comedy with tsukkomi coming out of the wazoo pretty much minute-by-minute.

Perhaps it's a bit weird to proclaim, but the animation and the humour remind me of the drollery I remember from episodes of "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" that I had caught on Sunday mornings when I was a kid. Of course, the 2017 edition of "Mahoujin Guru Guru" (which is the first time that I've seen any of the franchise) is a bit naughtier at times.

Nothing better than an anime with earworms in both the opening and ending themes. And "Mahoujin Guru Guru" was the first program past the post this season whose themes grabbed my ears.

No wonder! The show has got ORESAMA and TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND who've come up with some catchy themes and songs in general over the past few years. ORESAMA has been the newer-bie for me since I first heard about them through the anime "Alice to Zouroku"（アリスと蔵六）from earlier this year, which incidentally my buddy abandoned a little over halfway for losing focus. The duo of Pon（ぽん）and Hideya Kojima（小島英也）has come up with another uptempo and happy tune in "Trip Trip Trip", their 4th single released on July 26th, to set the mood of adventure and fun for each episode.

Not sure how long the above video will stay up but it does have the opening credits with the Mahoujin dance accompanying "Trip Trip Trip". My buddy says he's heard that there are real-life folks trying to do the dance on YouTube. 

This is where my friend and I disagree but if I had to choose between "Trip Trip Trip" and the ending theme "Round&Round&Round", I would go with the latter (although I do like both). I simply like the no-less-cool but slightly more dramatic arrangement of this song better by TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND, who are also responsible for the music in "Mahoujin Guru Guru" in general. Plus, the music video shows the mysterious singer-songwriter Bonjour Suzuki（ボンジュール鈴木）, and even reveals her (kinda, sorta) singing the words as well. Another check on the 2017 Bucket List!

Komadori Shimai -- Souran Wataridori （ソーラン渡り鳥）

Back in the postwar period, there were a lot of songs recorded and released about regular folks having to come into the big city or elsewhere away from their hometowns to find work. They may be working hard and saving up for their families but they truly miss their furusato. One big representative of that type of song is "Ahh, Ueno Eki"（ああ上野駅）from 1964 by Hachiro Izawa（井沢八郎）who sang about the young people flowing into Tokyo's Ueno Station from the various regions.

Another similarly-themed song came in a bit earlier. That would be "Souran Wataridori" (Souran Migratory Birds) from April 1961 by the Komadori Shimai（こまどり姉妹）, Eiko and Yoko Namiki（並木栄子・並木葉子）. I caught an episode of NHK's "Itsuki Sensei no Utau! SHOW Gakko"（五木先生の 歌う！SHOW学校...Itsuki-sensei's Singing Show School） on Tuesday..."Uta Con"（うたコン）has been on summer hiatus...in which the theme was Hokkaido songs, and "Souran Wataridori" was on the playlist.

The thing about "Souran Wataridori" is that the melody by Minoru Endo（遠藤実）and the the lyrics by Miyuki Ishimoto（石本美由起）are very familiar to me especially the chorus of  "yaaren, souran, souran, souran"（ヤーレン、ソーラン、ソーラン、ソーラン）that the sisters chant out. Unlike "Aah, Ueno Eki" with its setting of a major station in the capital, I think "Souran Wataridori" is more likely set at one of the larger but regional port cities employing fishery workers who may have come south from Hokkaido or moved to one of the coastal cities in Japan's northernmost prefecture.

What I found out from jisho.org is that a souran bushi（ソーラン節）is a "traditional work song of Hokkaido herring fishery workers, performed by school students in modern choreographed interpretations". So, perhaps the workers didn't actually sing and bring in the fish in a rhythmic fashion but the teachers and kids interpreted their work that way.

In the first verse, though, there was a mention about someone plucking away at the shamisen so maybe the song wasn't just devoted to the migrant port workers but also to all those who left their hometowns (labourers, entertainers, etc.) to find work in the big cities. The Komadori Shimai themselves were born in Hokkaido and came to Tokyo to work as strolling musicians on the streets.

Being able to remember the song is probably not so surprising considering that it has probably been covered countless times since the 1960s. Above we have Toshimi Tagawa（田川寿美）and Natsuko Godai（伍代夏子）among others providing their version. The songwriters, by the way, also provided the Komadori Shimai with their first single, "Asakusa Shimai"（浅草姉妹）back in 1959.

Misato Watanabe -- My Love, Your Love

Happy Weekend to you all! It's been a long time since I put up a Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）song and as much as she loves you, we all love her so it is indeed time to rectify that situation.

My impression of Watanabe as she entered her 2nd decade of show business is that she was starting to get mellower. She still possessed that boomer voice from her beginnings in the mid-1980s but I think she was no longer bouncing off the walls like that eternal teen with the huge anime eyes as she entered the mid-1990s..

Her 31st single was "My Love, Your Love" with the Japanese subtitle of "Tatta Hitorishika Inai Anata e"（たったひとりしかいない あなたへ...To You, The Only One）from June 1996. Now if my memory serves me correctly, the song had been used as a campaign song for the Atlanta Olympics in the summer of that year for one of the commercial networks. Maki Ohguro's（大黒摩季）"Atsukunare"（熱くなれ）was the pop/rock barnburner for NHK, while Anri's（杏里）"Ano Natsu ni Modoritai"（あの夏に戻りたい）was the relaxing and tropical entry for TV Asahi's contribution to the Games. "My Love, Your Love" then was more of the pub-friendly singalong for those folks who may have wanted to watch the Olympics on the bar TV with buddies.

The song got as high as No. 13 on Oricon. It made its debut on an original album via Misato's 10th release "Spirits" which was released in July 1996. That album peaked at No. 5 and ended up as the 93rd-ranked album of the year. It's also included on her 15th-anniversary BEST album "Sweet 15th Diamond" from July 2000. And no, it's not on "She Loves You" which was her 10th anniversary album since it was too early.

Noriyuki Makihara -- SPY

Watching the NHK music-variety show, "Banana Zero Music"（バナナ♪ゼロミュージック）the other night, singer-songwriter Noriyuki Makihara（槇原敬之）appeared and brought out his 12th single from August 1994, "SPY" to be analyzed by the hosts and guests.

I haven't heard from Mackey for quite a while so when I was listening to "SPY", I was reminded of what a pure voice the fellow has. "SPY" is still not in my Top 3 favourite Makihara singles but it was interesting with the analysis of the lyrics by the "Banana Zero Music" crew since it was about a man catching sight of his girlfriend and deciding to surreptitiously follow her, much to his ultimate heartbreak. Ironically, the official music video seems to take the opposite tack of a woman tracking her target for even worse ends. The spy theme is also not lost on Makihara since there is a slightly twangy guitar in there although I would never mistake the song for anything from James Bond or Peter Gunn.

"SPY" was the third No. 1 hit for Makihara and his final one to date as it sold about 860,000 copies. It is also included on his 5th album "PHARMACY" which came out in October 1994 and was also a No. 1 hit and a million-seller. The single itself would end up as the 25th-most popular song of the year. Finally, "SPY" was the theme song to a TBS comedy-drama "Otokogirai"（男嫌い...Manhaters）about a group of four sisters who have some major grudges against men.

Seiko Matsuda -- Hoho ni Shiokaze （頬に潮風）

Well, TGIF! I guess this can be considered an anniversary of sorts since I am writing the 50th article for Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". My last article on the quintessential aidoru of the early 1980s, "Sukoshi Zutsu Haru"（少しずつ春）had that hint of spring...appropriate since we were technically still in that season, so for this one, let's go with the summer theme.

As I mentioned in "Sukoshi Zutsu Haru", I've pretty much done all of the A-sides of her singles from her heyday in the early 1980s at least, so I'm now going onto her B-sides. And as much as "Sukoshi Zutsu Haru" was the B-side to "Cherry Blossom"（チェリーブラッサム）, "Hoho ni Shiokaze" (Sea Breeze On My Cheek), was the flip side to Seiko-chan's April 1981 5th single, "Natsu no Tobira"（夏の扉）, the very first Seiko song that I had ever heard.

The intro sounds almost suited to a light City Pop/J-AOR number, especially with that saxophone, but then the melody kicks into high gear into something that we've all been familiar with when it comes to early Seiko and those slightly raspy and earnest vocals of hers back then. The beat starts galloping, the strings start soaring and Seiko starts singing about that happy summer on the seaside.

(vocals only, sans instruments)

The song was created by a couple of songwriters that I had never heard before: lyricist Sakiko Asakawa（浅川佐記子）and composer Jukichi Moriie（森家住吉）. Since "Natsu no Tobira" was another No. 1 hit, the A-side has appeared in a lot of albums, but "Hoho ni Shiokaze" has only shown up on three of Matsuda's BEST compilations: "Seiko Box", "Complete Bible" and "Touch Me, Seiko II".