I was first introduced to Shinohara Ryoko in 1995 as the sexy student in the drama Kagayaku Toki No Naka De [輝く季節の中で], and soon after became a fan of her music. As I recall, at the time she was a pretty big deal for singing a Tetsuya Komuro song for Street Fighter II. My favorite song of hers was a tune called Motto, Motto (also penned by Komuro), a song I loved enough that I even tried to sing it at karaoke, with cringe-inducing results! Then came other singles like Lady Generation, and who can forget Dame! The singles just kept on comin’!
Soon after, she appeared in the drama “Pure” with Wakui Emi as a foiled lover, then a stint in "Nanisama?" with Yasuko Matsuyuki. Aoi No Jidai, Kirakira Hikaru, it seemed like all she’d ever end up doing were these bit-parts in dramas, and after awhile I really didn’t hear too much from her, and I guess part of me thought she’d retired fom the biz or something (Silly Me)
It wasn’t until 2006 or so when Car started watching a new show called Hanayome wa Yakudoshi [花嫁は厄年ッ！] that I was surprised to see she was still around, and starring in her very own drama, to boot!
Well, the show was about halfway through so I didn’t bother trying to watch it, but Car said “You should check out this show-that girl is really good!” She was quite surprised when I informed her that Ryoko Shinohara had been around since the mid-90’s- more than a decade ago! Car said “She doesn’t look that old”, and when I glanced at a random episode, I had to agree… in FACT, if anything, Shinohara Ryoko had gotten even PRETTIER with age!
So when Haken No Hinkaku started up, we jumped on that drama, and I have to say, Shinohara Ryoko is just WONDERFUL in it! Playing a role suited for an Esumi Makiko-type of character might have seemed like a stretch at first, but I think she pulled it off magnificently! Smart, Sexy and Tough, she's completely won me over all over again! Going online, I’m seeing that there’s been a huge surge of love directed towards her (at last), and I can’t say enough how happy that makes me!
And speaking of happy, another one of my favorite songs from hers was a peppy song called Heibon Na Happy ja Monotarinai [平凡なハッピー じゃ物足りない], another impeccable pop tune crafted by the incomparable songstress Hirose Kohmi!
I remember the first time I got to see Shinohara Ryoko perform the song on MUSIC STATION, she was wearing a VERY short skirt, and as the camera crawled up to give a body shot of her outfit, she realized the camera was shooting right up her skirt, and gasped “Aah! Panties!” as she quickly pushed her skirt down! Everyone laughed, including me, but maybe that’s why this song has just a little bit more of a sentimental attachment for me- who can forget an endorsement like that! Ahahaha...
The first time that I actually got to see Judy and Mary on TV performing live was during the Japan Record Awards (Recordo Taisho) that New Year’s. It was 1995, and the band was promoting MIRACLE DIVING, the album that would ultimately be their “Sgt. Pepper’s” i.e. the album that would explode them into the mainstream audience! The song up for the award that night was a single from the album called Over Drive, a tune that up until that point I hadn’t heard before…but BOY would I remember it afterwards!
Now, the Record Taisho usually had a mix of live performances and video clips featured throughout the show, and so it wasn’t unexpected that when Judy and Mary’s song was announced, a huge screen was dropped down to show the Over Drive PV. Once the song started though, the announcers danced over to the screen, and lifted it up, revealing the band playing right behind it!
There was Takuya on Guitar, Onda on Bass, and Kohta on Drums…but where was Yuki? Why, she was in a carrier sailing over the audience as the band played! By the time Takuya got to his blazin’ guitar solo, she’d reached the stage, sashaying out of the cage, revealing a cute kimono outfit! In fact, everyone was dressed up in very matsuri style costumes as befitting the occasion!
Once all together, the band got into it in earnest, and MAN… I had known how zany the group was already, but for some reason, I still didn’t expect the amount of energy and passion that the group would radiate! It was truly a heartful performance!
“Motto asonde yubi wo narashite yondeiru koega suru wa
hontou mo uso mo kyoumi ga nai no yo
yubisaki kara surinuketeku youbarina waraigoe mo
gochamaze ni shita suupu ni tokasu kara
yoru ni ochitara koko ni oide...
oshiete ageru saikou no MELODY
anata wa itsumo naiteru youni waratteta
mayoi no naka de kizu tsukiyasukute
chizu wo hiraite itazura ni pen de nazoru
kokoro no hane wa umaku mawaru desho?
otoni awasete kutsu wo narashite
atashi dake no himitsu no basho
Hashiru kumo no kage wo tobi koeru wa
Natsu no nioi oikakete
aa yume wa itsumademo samenai
Utau kaze no youni... “
At this point Yuki reaches the stage and Takuya takes over, belting out a
guitar solo in his matsuri animal outfit in all its zaniness..!
“Yoru ni ochitara yume ni oide...
takaramono wo mitsukerareruyo...
SHINJITERU NO!
Itoshii hibi mo koi mo yasashii uta mo
Awa no you ni kieteku kedo
aa ima wa itami to hikikae ni
uta kaze no you ni...
Hashiru kumono kagewo tobi koeruwa
Natsu no hizashi oikakete
aa yume wa itsumademo samenai
utau kaze no youni...”
Then Yuki wraps up the song with a heartful little ending that totally MAKES the song:
“La la la la la Yah…
Oh la la LA LA LA LA Whoa….YEAH!”
and with that, all four members start “pogoing” around on stage totally into the music as the song ends!
After that single, they would go onto releasing the acclaimed Sobakazu single (of Rurouni Kenshin fame) and take Japan by storm, one great single at a time. Through songs like Classic, Sampomichi, and the killer jazz/pop/punk masterpiece Music Fighter, they just kept churning out the hits! But to me, Over Drive will always be the one song that stands head and shoulers above the rest, It ALWAYS makes me feel good, the passion of the song always captivates me, and IMHO, I truly believe it’s one of the greatest j-pop singles of all time!
A few years ago there was this Kyoko Fukada drama co-starring Yuki Matsushita about a poor girl who goes to work as an apprentice in a major Television studio, called Shiawase Ni Naritai. While the drama itself wasn’t anything too spectacular, (although Fukakyon was adorable as usual) the theme song was a catchy little pop tune called “Himawari”, sung by a korean j-pop quartet called Sugar. I’d never heard of this vocal group before, but that song was a must have!
A single from their album COLORS 4 WISHES, it was one of those songs that stuck with you even after the show had ended, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face! In fact, I’d even confess that towards the end of the show, it was the main reason to keep tuning in to the drama!
Later, I was able to download the PV of the song, and was blown away by how gorgeous these four girls were! Featuring the talents of Ayumi, Soo-Jin, Hye Seung and Haleen, I was kind of surprised that this group didn’t have a bigger following, as their look seemed part Morning Musume and part MAX!
I was saddened to find that the group has since split up, but with songs like Take It Shake It, Real Identity, Go The Distance, Heartful, and Loveaccele, they’ve left behind a few great little singles for us to enjoy!
Sugar-Himawari MP3 and PV...Soooo Sexy!
Below: Sugar performing "Himawari" live on Music Fighter!
Well, they’re both shows that feature a family comprised of a mother, father and little girl, but more importantly,
both shows feature terrific theme songs! Yes!
First up we have Pokka Poka, the drama based on the heartwarming manga by Jun Fukami. This theme song is “Shiawase Madakai” as performed by Seishiro Kusunose. This is an updated version of the song which graced the beginning of Pokka Poka1. The original version is a bit more relaxed, a slower tempo that shocks you when you are trying to sing it at karaoke! But both are fine, just fine!
Asami Tadokoro: Nanase Natsumi (truly adorable, she out-cutes Asuka!)
Yoshiko Tadokoro: Haba Yuichi
Asuka Tadokoro: Kamiwaki Yuu
The opeining credits to Pokka Poka 2 features Seishiro Kusunose's song while scrolling over home movie footage of the Tadokoros’ wedding, building their life, and the birth of their daughter Asuka! This song just hits you in all the right places when you combine it with those visuals! One of the best drama openings ever, at least in my opinion!
Asuka's growing up:
Asai Kagetora: Jinnai Takanori
Minako Kagetora: Kaku Chikaku
This single from Tatsuya "Carl Smoky" Ishii came out just after KK2 called it quits back in (I think) 1996 or so, and while this wasn't a substitute for the real thing, It sustained our hunger til the group reformed in 2006!
And MAN, when Smoky sings the lines
"Subete Futari No Rhythm, Oh My Love Kokoro No Rhythm",
You realize that whether it be Kome Kome Club or solo, this is as good as it gets!!
This drama was a fun show to watch- it’s about Tomoko trying to get her child into a upscale elementary school, but to do that, she will have to overcome the obstacles of a domineering teacher (played by Tomoko’s co-star in Double Kitchen,Yoko Nogiwa) and an apathetic husband!
The theme song was the wonderfully lush “My Sweet Home” by Koizumi Kyoko, and here’s where the rub comes in! It seems the reason my friend had the series on VHS tape was that he’d taped it for his parents who had gone on some extended trip and didn’t want to miss the drama! Unfortunately, in the interest of saving space on the tapes (not to mention the fact that his mother would have just fast-forwarded over the credits, anyway), he cut out each and every opening theme! ☹
The way each episode began was with a 5 minute-or-so teaser which would have its punchline, then- poing! the title would ”stamp” on the screen,and then it would segue into the theme song… it was heartbreaking to see about 2 seconds of the song before it would unceremoniously cut and go directly to the show!
Not that I’m really complaining, mind you…if it wasn’t for this chance of my friend taping the show in the first place would I have ever seen the show, period! So thanks for “Sweet Home”, braddah, and thanks for all the fish…
Back in the early days of j-pop, I would hang out at j-pop guru Dan-o’s house, and we’d watch the latest japanese shows like Hey Hey Hey Music champ and Pop Jam on Fridays. Another fave for us to watch was the show called “Mori Mori Dreams”, which starred SMAP and Moriguchi Hiroko. The reason we loved watching it so much was that it was the one show airing that still featured CoCo as guests, often joining in their soccer games and other activities.
After awhile we really started loving the show, Hiroko Moriguchi and SMAP were so darn funny, and the skits I still have on VHS tapes stil crack me up! In my opinion this show did a lot in the way of showcasing the talents of SMAP with the various clips and "mock documentaries"...
Anyway, There was this one particular clip that really entertained us: Hiroko Moriguchi is attempting gto sing her latest single “Let’s Go!” with Dual Dream, but she keeps flubbing her lines. At first she's laughing and joking about it, but after a while, she becomes more and more serious as she CANNOT GET THROUGH THE SONG WITHOUT MAKING A MISTAKE! For some reason, they get Kimura Takuya and the boys to come over and give her a “pep talk”, which actually more or less involved them kind of hanging around her.
Then after many, many takes, they try to knock out the song one more time, and much to Hiroko’s relief, she FINALLY GETS IT! She lets out a breath of exhaustion, she’s finally finished the song, and more than that, she’s done her job promoting it, because after hearing her sing (more or less) the single over and over, we’d all just fallen in love with the song, and had to go out and buy it!
I was introduced to the world of j-pop through Pony Canyon artists CoCo and the spin-off solo artist ventures such as Miura Rieko and Senou Azusa.
The very first non-Pony Canyon/CoCo related j-pop artist I ever heard was Hirose Kohmi, and what a beginning it was! Performing her earth shattering single “Shiawase Wo Tsukamaetai”, Kohmi immediately floored me by her ferocious take on the song, and I quickly knew that I was going to be buying more of her stuff soon!
As I got more involved with Hirose Kohmi’s songs and performances, I realized that among other things, She was way outta left field, a real eccentric performer, or, as J-pop buyer Dave once said, “She’s Weird”.
Another artist that will appear many times on my Favorite j-pop singles list!
Best performance of this song for me just has to be the 1996 Kohaku (yes, THAT Red and White, again!) where she signed the love message of Hoshi No Kinka during the musical break in the song. She looked pretty fine, too!
One of the first major songs I've ever loved from j-pop, and the opening piano notes will always take me right back to those days...a sad, melancholy song befitting the sad, melancholy drama it was from!
Followed by the theme for the sequel to Hoshi No Kinka, Kagami No Dress.
Along with the cool “Melody”, Fukuyama also performed fan favorite single “It’s Only Love”, a song that first caught my attention as a Beatles’ Tune title, then really caught my ear with the powerful beat and melody, with his sincere singing! I was hooked!
There are about three songs from Masaharu Fukuyama that I really love trying to sing at Karaoke, including “It’s Only Love”, “Heart”, and the rocking (but wacky) “Peach!!”, and I’m always afraid someone will sing them all before I can get to them, but as a wise man once told me,
“There’s enough Fukuyama to go around for everyone!”.
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Recent Comments
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Saburo said:
She also had her first child a few days ago! I still gotta see what daddy looks like... read more
on Favorite J-pop Singles: Shinohara Ryoko / Heibon Na Happy ja Monotarinai -
Saburo said:
Dang, I can't sleep -- too much coffee tonight.Anyway, I was wondering if Kamiwaki was doing any work after "Kinpachi... read more
on Favorite J-Pop Singles: Seishiro Kusunose/ Shiawase Madakai -
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zdorama said:
One of those beginning credits that just perfectly mold the theme song and the cast montage together seamlessly. read more
on Favorite J-Pop Singles: Field Of View / Kimi Ga Itakara
Yeah, I'd read about it at Japan Zone!http://www.japan-zone.com/news/2008/05/12/happy_news_for_shinohara_ryoko_sakai_miki.shtmlI wonder how much time she'll be spending acting now that she has... read more
on Favorite J-pop Singles: Shinohara Ryoko / Heibon Na Happy ja Monotarinai