The first drama I ever saw Ms.Noriko Kato in was in the so-so drama Garasu No Kutsu, with Kato playing the lead character as the humorously named Ando Natsu. This show was supposed to be a kind of “modern day” retelling of the Cinderella story, but ended up as nothing more than another dreary, dragging show where the slings and arrows of misfortune just keep on coming Natsu’s way, over and over each episode.
The show was supposed to show what a great character Natsu was by having her keep a stiff upper lip in the face of continued hardship, but it really became an exercise in frustration, and in fact, I remember my friend’s mother watching the show one night, and as yet ANOTHER bad thing happened to Natsu, Golden’s mom yelled out, “Why doesn’t she DO anything? All she does is just SIT there looking pretty!”AHAHAHAA
The first time I saw Noriko Kato as a singer was on an episode of Music Station. Though Kato had released a couple of CD as well as a few singles, I hadn’t heard any of them, but as soon as I saw her amble out onto that stage, dressed adorably in her kimono, she immediately got my attention, and when that song started…MAN! I was hooked!
Opening with a vocal chorus like a breath of fresh air, once the drums kick in it turns into a groovy George Harrison twanged little number that I found immediately catchy!!! Now, admittedly, Noriko doesn’t have a really strong voice, but her sincerity really shone through with this one! And the thing that really sealed it all up for me was that open mouthed smile at the end that seemed to say “I did it!!!” Too Cute!
I ordered Fuyu Ga Kita that following day, and enjoyed it so much that I went ahead and picked up both of her albums, Le Beaux and Flower Diamond, the latter of which became another GREAT album that spawned many, many favorite songs for me! Though she didn’t appear in too many things after this, and I didn’t get to hear much from her musically, I DID become a big fan of the releases she HAD done! Here’s Fuyu Ga Kita!
