Kotringo -- Edible Melodies: Original Soundtrack for "Koufuku Graffiti"（幸腹グラフィティ）

 

The above is a shot of my grilled eel lunch that I had in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture almost a decade ago. I figured that this would be the ideal shot for my latest entry in the "Koufuku Graffiti" (幸腹グラフィティ...Gourmet Girl Graffiti) franchise, a category that I haven't updated since 2015 when I first saw the anime at my friend's place. Up to now, I had covered the opening and ending themes along with the insert songs.

As with anything in the movie field, anime has covered everything from the goriest horrors to the zaniest comedies, and basically for me, I've always had a preference for the quiet slice-of-life type of show, and "Koufuku Graffiti" has been one of the most famous examples (mind you, it has those rather orgasmic scenes of ingestion). Having a couple of good friends enjoy Japanese dishes from episode to episode has been my manna from heaven...no psychological angst, no fierce rivalries and plenty of deliciously portrayed food that I've been eating since I was a tadpole myself.

Well, yesterday, as I was finishing off my usual five in the Urban Contemporary field as would befit a KKP Friday, my mind went back to that 2015 anime and wondered about its original soundtrack. Foe one thing, it was composed and arranged by singer-songwriter Kotringo（コトリンゴ）who already has a fair number of articles posted including her time with the cool band Kirinji during the 2010s and her cover version of the folk classic "Kanashikute Yarikirenai"（悲しくてやりきれない）as the theme song for the acclaimed anime film "Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni"（この世界の片隅に...In This Corner of the World）.

For another, the soundtrack for "Koufuku Graffiti", known as "Edible Melodies" (the link will take you to Amazon), never seemed all that obtrusive which I think fits Kotringo's personality. There was never any hint that an electric guitar would be shredded at any time during the series. The music is all very whimsical, wistful and warm with the priority given to the visual joy of some of my old dishes from my childhood being animated in most glorious detail. The above track for example, Track 11's "Ippon Yozakura Tamagoyaki"（一本夜桜卵焼き...Night Cherry Blossom Fried Egg） centers around the flute and strings and sounds just like a number one would hear in an art gallery cafe. 

By the way, you can also access this link to hear very brief excerpts from the soundtrack at Apple.

One trope that pops up throughout the soundtrack is that Kotringo herself provides some of her vocal effects through humming or scatting, and that is the case with Track 15 "Omurice Horror"（オムライス・ホラー...Rice Omelet Horror）. It really does sound rather sinister although Kotringo's vocal beats let us know that it's not all bad out there. I do recall one episode where there was indeed an omurice accident. Omurice isn't exactly a novice dish, you know.

I definitely remember this piece, Track 22 "Atatakai O-nabe"（あたたかいお鍋...A Warm Bowl）, playing in the background, although the video here is of a cover version by AniMuffin Piano. If I'm being accurate here, it was playing during the quiet scenes and since there were a whole lot of quiet scenes in "Koufuku Grafitti", I'm sure that it was getting played at least once an episode. There's quite the nice waltz-y lilt.

I guess because the soundtrack was so subtle and relaxing, it hasn't gotten a lot of videos up onto YouTube, so I just have the above Episode 1 in its entirety to show off a few more tracks. Right from the start, there is a rendition of Track 1 "O-inarisan no Aji"（おいなりさんの味...The Taste of Sushi Rice in Deep-Fried Tofu Skin） which pops up whenever the main character of Ryo remembers back to the past, including her memories of her late grandmother. 

At about 5:00 of the video, in comes the petite force of nature that becomes Ryo's foodie friend, Kirin, so her theme song which is Track 3 has some of those Kotringo verbal beats and a circus-like arrangement. One more song that I'll throw in is "O-ryori Humming"（お料理ハミング...Cooking Humming） Track 20 which gets played at 13:40 and is one of my favourite parts of the soundtrack because it not only sounds a tad Xmas-y but it also comes across as something cheerful from an old-timey sitcom or Hollywood comedy. 

As I hinted above, "Edible Melodies" isn't a soundtrack to emphasize the action or the laughs for an anime. Think of it as a light and tasteful vinaigrette to add a little something to the salad.

Koh Suzuki -- Moonlight Lovers

 

Perhaps not the most well-known of City Pop singer-songwriters, Koh Suzuki（鈴木こう）nonetheless came up with a fine 1982 album titled "Sa-Ra-Vah Street". I focused on some of the tracks from the album back in 2020.

Well, I have encountered another track from "Sa-Ra-Vah Street" titled "Moonlight Lovers" that sounds so quintessentially City Pop/J-AOR that my teeth just shimmered as if I ingested a huge spoonful of ice cream. Yup, it has the bluesy sax solo, the essential wailing electric guitar and the Doobie Bounce in the arrangement by Masaki Matsubara（松原正樹）. Suzuki, of course, is the congenial vocal host with his resonant and comfortable delivery. The singer and Toshiyuki Shibayama（柴山俊之）came up with the lyrics while Satoshi Takebe（武部聡志）whipped up the tasty urban melody. Nice way to finish up a Friday.

Makoto Saito & Mai Yamane -- Our Love

 

I always enjoy those bird's-eye night views of Tokyo. I've never been all that high up but at least I got to the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government buildings to catch the Coruscant-like scene of the megalopolis spreading out on the horizon.

I also enjoy making discoveries of songs from that past that I'd never got to hear before. One example is this one by the duet of Makoto Saito（斎藤誠）and Mai Yamane（山根麻衣）. Both of them have had their feet in both City Pop and rock, but I think for this collaborative effort it's safe to say that this is a splendid mid-tempo pop love song. However, I also feel that there is enough of an urban contemporary element in there that I can imagine flying in the night sky or driving on the night highway while listening to "Our Love". This is a track from Saito's October 1990 album "Egao ni Go-chui."（笑顔に御注意。...Watch Out For That Smile）, a title that may be the only purely Japanese-language one among the mostly English-titled album discography by him.

Izumi Kobayashi & Flying Mimi Band -- Angel Sky

 

It was back in 2018 when I first wrote on Izumi Kobayashi（小林泉美）& Flying Mimi Band, a group that had been listed within my first edition of "Japanese City Pop" for a number of years before I started exploring on YouTube. There I found their "Naze"（なぜ）which was some fine downtown City Pop funk from 1978. 

Well, that was from their October 1978 2nd album "Sea Flight" (considering the slightly daring cover, I thought it was called "Sexy Flight"). I have also found another track from "Sea Flight" which is "Angel Sky", which was composed by saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu（清水靖晃）and written by Kobayashi herself. It's a nice dusky form of jazzy City Pop disco, and though I was a bit dismissive of her vocals in "Naze", I think Kobayashi has got a better handle of them here. But I think for this one, it's all about the instruments coming to the fore, especially the sax, keyboards and bluesy guitar. 

Kirinji -- Daikanyama Elegy（代官山エレジー）

 

I've been to the neighbourhood of Daikanyama, Tokyo on a few occasions, all due to the fact that my friend was living in the area at the time. My impression of this very stylish area is that it was filled with college students dressed all in black (and perhaps reading stuff like Sartre). I probably stuck out like a hillbilly in Beverly Hills (I think there was an old TV show about that😊) and perhaps not surprisingly, I don't have any photographs of Daikanyama, as if someone from the great beyond (but a spirit who could afford an apartment in Daikanyama) whispered in my ear "YOU ARE FORBIDDEN FROM TAKING ANY PHOTOS IN THIS VICINITY! YOU ARE NOT DAIKANYAMA ENOUGH!". Ahem...regardless, enjoy the above video by Tokyo Weekender.

Perhaps then, this song by the cool fraternal duo Kirinji (before they exploded into a full-fledged band some years later) can be considered to be a contemporary form of a go-touchi（ご当地）song. "Daikanyama Elegy" hails from the Horigome brothers' November 2002 self-cover album "Omnibus". I also read that the smooth-as-silk song was actually first sung by actor-comedian-singer Takashi Fujii（藤井隆）but I can't seem to find hide nor hair of his original version. 

However, I am not complaining at all at this self-cover which says Kirinji（キリンジ）all over. It was a combination of the brothers along with Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）coming up with the result, and this "Omnibus" version sounds like the type of music that customers in a Daikanyama cafe would hear. It's such a kakkoii and laidback song that would make Tomita Lab（富田ラボ）weep for joy and envy. I can talk on the music to a certain extent but as I've mentioned in past articles, I'm not so much of an expert on lyrics. However, I have to state that one person's Japanese blog entry that covers the song is absolutely enraptured by the words in "Daikanyama Elegy" so that I felt I had to say something about it. Feel free to use Google Translate to find out what he's saying.

Pretty moody music video for such a relaxing song. You may recognize the two actors in there. As for "Omnibus", it reached No. 42 on Oricon.

Masayuki Suzuki/Yosui Inoue -- Kazarijanainoyo Namida wa (飾りじゃないのよ涙は）

 

Yes, the man so cool his sunglasses sprouted from his face organically is back on KKP. Indeed, I'm talking about the God of Love Songs himself, Masayuki "Martin" Suzuki（鈴木雅之）.

I'm usually not a huge fan of tribute albums of famous artists in Japan, although I did buy one for Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）several years ago. And so I was surprised to find out a few days ago that such a tribute album dedicated to the songs of Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）had been produced and released in May 2025. Titled "Meikyo: Tribute to Akina Nakamori"（明響...Akina Resonates）, it apparently consists of two CDs with the first one consisting of those other singers covering her hits while the second one has the original versions of those hits sung by Akina herself back in the 1980s.

Speaking of Martin, he contributes his golden tones to one of Akina's biggest hits, "Kazarijanainoyo Namida wa" (These Tears Ain't For Show) and I gotta say that he hits this one right out of the park like a Kazuma Okamoto homer (which I hope the newest Blue Jay will do later today on Opening Day). I remember when I first heard the original version and thought it a pretty upbeat song which got my OK. But then when I heard the extended album version of the original 1984 single which launched her landmark "Bitter & Sweet" album from 1985, my ears and brain were sent into the stratosphere so that I ended up hearing the track a few times that night when I purchased it in Chinatown. 

A similar feeling rammed into me when I heard the Suzuki cover version a couple of nights ago, and it combines quite the potent cocktail of crystalline Neo-City Pop, funk and 60s guitar rock. Singer-songwriter Yosui Inoue（井上陽水）probably smiled through his own dark sunglasses and said "Yes, we have the singer" (a slight joke from "F1"). If there were going to be a fourth season of the anime "Kaguya-sama"（かぐや様は告らせたい）, I wouldn't mind having this be the theme song.

Continuing with the name segues, Inoue brought his own cover of "Kazarijanainoyo Namida wa" from his own self-cover album "9.5 Carat"（9.5カラット）from December 1984 which ended up as the No. 1 album for 1985. For some reason, I never got around to posting this one up until now, despite the fact that I remember hearing it on my old beloved CHIN-FM radio program "Sounds of Japan" decades ago. Anyways, Inoue's cover seems to have a darker and more haunting tone. Plus, the other notable thing about it is that it was arranged by Joe Hisaishi（久石譲）, the man behind all that Studio Ghibli music.

Kenji Sawada -- Minna Ii Ko（みんないい娘）

 

Apparently, there have been a few songs known as "Minna Ii Ko". One is the Japanese title for rockabilly singer Carl Perkins' "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" from 1956, and the other is the Beatles' cover of said tune.

Well, this "Minna Ii Ko" isn't that "Minna Ii Ko". For one thing, it's a perfectly homegrown song with lyricist Shigesato Itoi（糸井重里）and composer Kunihiko Kase（加瀬邦彦）having created it for Kenji Sawada's（沢田研二）14th original album "BAD TUNING" released in July 1980. Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）took care of its arrangement as a somewhat New Wave piece. Not sure if the original Perkins' song title would apply for this "Minna Ii Ko". Perhaps we can go with "Everyone's A Good Girl" since although I couldn't track down any lyrics online, I get the impression that this one lass out of the usual flock that the song's protagonist runs around with is not only the one who doesn't fall for his charms, but she's the one that he's most interested in. Such is life and love. Maybe I ought to extend my translation to "Everyone's A Good Girl (Except You)".