When I first got into J-pop, the J-pop Buyer at work made me a cassette (the first of many, it would turn out) of the latest j-pop singles out at the time, and it was then that I first heard artists I would later come to love, like Nakayama Miho, Hiramatsu Eri, and Koizumi Kyoko!
Anyway, the mix began with an explosive little number called “Shiawase Wo Tsukamitai (which I’ve gushed about in an earlier post) by quirky singer/songwriter Hirose Kohmi, and that wasn’t all, as the second song on that cassette mix was yet another Kohmi song, but this one was a lot more fun and playful, a GREAT contrast to the previous ROCKIN’ tune!
The song was called “Dramatic Ni Koishite” and for a while I ‘d thought my friend had simply put the Shiawase Wo Tsukamitai single and its B side together,(as they almost seemed connected) but it wasn’t, as I was to find out when I actually purchased the Shiawase Tsukamitai single and found a DIFFERENT song entirely as the B side! It wasn’t until I picked up Kohmi’s stellar HARVEST album that I finally GOT the happy Dramatic Ni Koishite tune in my possession!
Anyway, fast forward a few years, and I’m not only quite heavily into j-dramas, but have reached the point where I’m trading with other j-drama enthusiasts online. It was there that I hooked up with someone who had a copy of a wacky little comedy called UE O MUITE ARUKO, which I was DYING to see because of my burning love for its lead star, Nishida Hikaru!
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| Nishida Hikaru in Ue O Muite Aruko |
Ue O Muite Aruko is the story of a gofer named Chiaki (Nishida) at a zany TV station where she’s the perpetual slave to the station’s snobby and bossy Sports Commentator played by Tachi Hiroshi; from the get go, they are at each other’s throats, and the running gag is that he calls her “Kobuta” (Piggy) and she retaliates by calling him “Wani”! With a supporting cast that included Katsunori Takahashi, Ishida Yuriko, the ever-zany Ibu Masato, as well as a very young Tomosaka Rie, this show was as fun as it could get!
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| Nishida Hikaru as Chiaki "Kobuta" Hosoi |
And with every fun drama, comes an equally fun theme song and opening credits, right? In this show, I was kind of expecting the theme song to be the latest single from Hikaru herself, or (most likely) some rendition of the famous Kyu Sakamoto song that the show was named after! So I’m sitting there watching the show, and as it goes into its wacky opening credits, who do I hear, but Ms. KOHMI HIROSE, belting out DRAMATIC NI KOISHITE!
I just fell over- THAT SONG WAS JUST PERFECT!!!! Sooo much fun as the song follows Nishida Hikaru battling against Tachi Hiroshi in the grand “Wile E. Coyote/Roadrunner style- it REALLY matches the visuals as the two chase each other across the cartoon town, ultimately coming to a Three-Stooges-style ending with the title proclaiming (in “Looney Tunes font): The KOBUTA and WANI Show!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Below: Hikaru, Hiroshi Tachi and Yuriko Ishida magazine promotion for Ue Wo Muite Aruko!
This must have been only the fourth or fifth drama Yuriko Ishida ever did...who could have guessed from these humble beginnings what a terrific career she had ahead of her!
