Favorite J-pop Singles: Shinohara Ryoko / Heibon Na Happy ja Monotarinai

Me and my friend Car are about halfway through the j-dorama Haken no Hinkaku [ハケンの品格], starring the lovely Shinohara Ryoko as uber-temp Oomae Haruko, and I have to say how wonderful it is to see Ms. Shinohara finally getting the recognition and accolades she deserves for her work after all these years.

  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!

Haken No Hinkaku

  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 had come wearing these sexy purple nylons and a VERY skort sparkly dress. When the camera panned her outfit from her feet to her head, she gasped in a horrified voice as she shoved her skirt down saying, “Ah! You can see my panties!!” Everyone had a good laugh but I was going: “Damn, that’s one fine-ass chick!”

 This SEXY performance of Heibon Na Happy Monogatari features Ryoko slinked back on a pink silk bed with her heels kicked off (plus pet bulldog in tow), and despite her concerns about keeping her panties under wraps, no matter how she twisted and turned, she inadvertently kept on exposing them throughout the song!

An Ultra-Hot Shinohara Ryoko on Music Station

Needless to say, this was a performance that I watched over and over and OVER again, and of COURSE it soon became one of my favorite songs and I had to run out and buy the single- What guy out there could EVER refuse such an AWESOME endorsement like this one?! AHAHAHAHAHA!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Ribbon / Taiyo Ni Hi Wo Tsukete

A Quick recap on how I first fell in love with Pony Canyon idol girls ribbon:

1: My Love of CoCo led me to purchase the “Otomejuku Matsuri” festival concert, where CoCo and other Pony Canyon artists took turns performing.

2: Ribbon came out and did two amazing performances of catchy songs “Taiyo No Yukue” and “Wakatte Nai Ne.

3: I try to purchase ribbon’s greatest hits “Delicious” which has both of the songs, but am informed that it is out of print. A co-worker tells me she has a copy of ribbon’s SECOND greatest hits, called MORE DELICOUS, and gives it to me as a gift!

4: While the second greatest hits doesn’t have the two songs from the Matsuri, it introduces me to a whole slew of new incredible Ribbon tunes, including “Deep Breath”, “Sensational Wind” and an amazing rockin’ little tune called Taiyo Nihi Wo Tsukete”.

5: I now have a desperate need to see THESE songs performed live, and pick up the live ribbon concert ZOKU HARLEM NIGHT JOINT, which promptly blows me away and makes me a ribbon fan for life!

The Zoku Harlem Night concert is without a doubt the live event that all ribbon concerts before and after must compare- the performances absolutely ROCKING- the girls are in top form, pretty and enthusiastically singing their hearts out, and having a terrific live band playing behind them just made the songs come alive!! And special mention MUST be made for the girls’ outfits in the last set, which started out as a neon patchwork oversized suit, but slowly peeled down to a micro-short dress! The “suite” in which this costume dress-down occurred filled up most of Side Two of the Zoku dics, and ended up closing the concert, as well. This awesome run of songs included songs that would go on to become my all-time favorites from ribbon!

This performance is of ribbon’s 9^th single Taiyo Ni Hi Wo Tsukete, the song that was my favorite song off of the More Delicious compilation, and remains in my top five ribbon songs of all time! Nice looks, moves and singing by the girls, and boy does that guitarist go for it in this one! Coming in right after their fun performance of "Circus Parade", the show was picking up speed as it sped on down to the show's conclusion!