[Elegant Samba]
No.213 "Rain or Shine" by Ritsuko Okazaki
Hi. Today's song is "Rain or Shine -Futtemo Haretemo-" (Rain or Shine) by "Ritsuko Okazaki".
This is a joyful, acoustic, and elegant samba song performed by a popular singer song writer "Ritsuko Okazaki".
"Ritsuko Okazaki" was well known with her cute & delicate voice, as well as her great contribution to modern Anime songs. (Or Anison)
If you like, please listen to.
Links to the music shops, offering song samples, are located on the bottom of this page.
Some contents have been put away in tabs with "▶" mark in each section, so please click it to see.
We are now working on improving appearances of our posts.
If you find anything odd, please kindly let us know.
Thank you.
Cover art today
Song data
| Title | Rain or shine ‘Futtemo Haretemo’ (Rain or Shine) |
|---|---|
| Artist | Ritsuko Okazaki |
| Album Title | Rain or Shine |
| Catalog Number | TACP-1008 |
| Track No. | 4 |
| Duration | 3:36 |
| Released | 1997 |
| Publisher | egg plant (NU TAURUS) |
| Lyricist | Ritsuko Okazaki |
| Composer | Ritsuko Okazaki |
| Arranger | Tomoki Hasegawa |
About the creators
Ritsuko Okazaki Lyricist
Lyricist, "Ritsuko Okazaki" is also a singer of this song.
So, We would like to come back to her later in "About the artist" section.
Ritsuko Okazaki Composer
Composer "Ritsuko Okazaki" is a singer of this song as well.
So, we would like to come back to her in "About the artist" section later.
Tomoki Hasegawa Arranger
"Tomoki Hasegawa" is a composer, arranger, music producer, guitarist, and keyboardist active since around 1987.
"Hasegawa" has collaborated with dozens of Pop singers or bands like "PIZZICATO FIVE", "Spitz" or "Momoiro Clover Z" as a composer, arranger, or music producer since debut.
He is also known as a composer has written hundreds of advertising jingles, or created many theme songs for various TV anime series & video games.
Short Bio.
A profile page on his web site mentions that he learned the piano and violin in childhood, or when he was young.
He started his career in music as a keyboardist or guitarist in various bands.
Simultaneously, he began to work as an arranger by providing strings or orchestration arrangement on the album recordings of the other artists.
And gradually, the activity as a composer, arranger, music producer has increased the weight on his work balance as a musician.
Jingles and film scores
In advertising music category, "Hasegawa" is one of the known composers since he has written hundreds of adverting jingles already.
He has also written a lot of theme music or film scores for various TV variety, Anime series, or movies such as "Tameshite Gatten", "Trivia no izumi" or "Danchi Tomoo" until now.
References
For more details about him, please have a look at the references linked below.
-
(Ref: www.verygoo.jp,
Artist Tomoki Hasegawa)🇯🇵
Song image & Lyrics
Open
Link to the lyrics
Copyright notice on the lyrics link
Sound impression
Elegant Samba
This is a joyful, elegant, and acoustic pop song in a comfortable samba rhythm.
From quiet air to carnival
The classic guitar, percussion, and vocal start a gentle introduction, then the wood bass, and acoustic piano join.
In the main part, the drums, and the "tamborim" also join, and support a delicate, but sunny vocal of "Okazaki".
"Okazaki"'s self backing chorus is harmonic, and nice as well.
In the bridge, the saxophone also participates in, and plays a brief but impressive solo.
Samba instruments
This song quietly begins with a simple accompaniment by the Classical guitar.
But gradually, the typical musical instruments of samba, like "Shaker", "Repinique", "tamborim", "Agogô", "Pandeiro", "triangle" or , "Surdo" (and maybe some more) are joining one by one.
And it becomes complete samba carnival at the end of the song.
The drums and saxophone are already there, and help to create festive atmosphere.
Reference
About Google translate
About the artist
Ritsuko OkazakiSongbird for Anime songs
"Ritsuko Okazaki" was a singer-songwriter, composer, and a member of a pop-duo, "Melocure" active from 1985 to 2004.
"Okazaki" was known with her cute & delicate whispering voice, and sensitive, honest, but inspirational song world.
She was particularly strongly supported by Anime fans. Not only because she wrote many songs for various popular anime series, but also her such honest lyrics might resonate with anime fans who are mainly young adult.
The '90s was an evolutional decade for Japanese animation, since it morphed into an entertainment for all generations all over the world.
In this movement, "Okazaki" took an important role as a singer-songwriter for a new generation of anime movies, then she is regarded as one of the pioneer in this category.
As a singer, "Ritsuko Okazaki" debuted in 1991 with a single, "Fuyu-no nai calendar" (Winterless calendar). Since then, 9 singles, and 7 original, 1 mini album, and 1 best albums have been released until now.
(Ref: Wikipedia-en, Ritsuko Okazaki)
Early times
According to some references including Wikipedia, "Ritsuko Okazaki" was born in Nagasaki in the end of '50s, and moved to Tokyo when she was a child.
In high school in Tokyo, "Okazaki" formed an amateur band with 2 other music friends, and became a keyboardist, and a backing vocalists of the band.
Actually, her band named "Elena" became a full-fledged amateur band, and surprisingly in 1986, the group became a finalist at a prestigious "The 31st Yamaha Popular song contest".
After graduating from college, she got a job with a company in Tokyo, but soon she left the firm to begin a new life in music industry.
"Okazaki" started her career in music by writing advertising jingles or songs for other pop singers, like "Toshihiro Itoh" or "Mami Ayukawa", sometime under her alias "Ritsu Morino".
And finally in 1991, she debuted as a singer by singing a pop song "Fuyu-no nai calendar" (Winter-less calendar), a main theme song for an original anime video series, "Ichi-gatsu niwa Christmas" (We might celebrate Christmas by January).
Magical Princess Minky Momo
Interestingly, the heroine voice actor of the anime video series "Ichi-gatsu niwa Christmas" was a rising star "Megumi Hayashibara".
"Hayashibara" was much impressed by the song and singing of "Okazaki", and she introduced "Okazaki" to "Toshimichi Ōtsuki", a famous music director of "King Records" at that time, hoping to work more closely with "Okazaki" from here on.
A competent music director "Ōtsuki" was also aware of the potential of "Okazaki".
"Ōtsuki" requested "Okazaki" to write songs for a new TV anime series "Magical Princess Minky Momo (season 2, 1991-1992)", which he was working on at that time, and "Megumi Hayashibara" was set to play the leading voice actor on this as well.
"Okazaki" fulfilled their expectations by writing good songs, and singing them together with singers like "Megumi Hayashibara" and "Manami Komori".
Luckily, the anime series "Minky Momo" (season 2) also became a hit series.
And afterwards, "Okazaki" come to be a preferred singer-songwriter for "Ōtsuki" and his team, and they began to work together more frequently.
In a sense, this happenstance stimulated "Okazaki" to step up her support on Anime music further.
First album
In March 1993, "Okazaki" finally released her first single "Kanashii jiyū" (Sad Freedom) and first album "Sincerely yours" as a singer-songwriter "Ritsuko Okazaki".
(Because her 1991 single was released as a theme song for an anime series, and not counted as a part of her discography.)
The songs contained in "Sincerely yours" were a little naive and delicate, but album itself a well balanced nice album.
So, we imagine this might be interesting for you as well, if you favor soft & delicate vocal, and OK with slightly folkish, and acoustic stuff.
In a sense, this first album represents the music style of "Okazaki" well.
Her basic song style is soft, delicate, naive, but elegant like no other, and we suppose it well overlaps with the scope of modern TV anime series for young adults.
We suppose that was why "Okazaki" became a significant music artist in the modern anime scene.
Contribution for anime series
A tie between "Okazaki" and a certain category of TV anime series is thick & strong even now. That was perhaps because of the first job in her music career, and personal relations formed through that work.
And her delicate, cute & whispering voice, which matches well with "magical-girl anime" series or love stories, might also contributed to connect her with TV anime production.
We came to know "Ritsuko Okazaki" in the '90s as a pop singer, however had no much idea about her active interaction with anime scene at first.
The following is a list of animation titles which we noticed that "Okazaki" had participated in.
The members here are a bit too old for these modern Animes, and not well-versed in them at all, particularly the TV series released after the '90s. (But knew Love hina.)
How many of them do you recognize?
- Ichi-gatsu niwa Christmas
- (We might celebrate Christmas by January, 1991)
- Magical Princess Minky Momo (Season 2)
- (Mahō no Princess Minky Momo (Season 2), 1991)
- Wedding Peach
- (Ai Tenshi Densetsu Wedding Peach, 1995)
- Fruits Basket
- (Fruits Basket, 2001)
- Princess Tutu
- (Princess Chuchu, 2002)
- Jūbei-chan, The Ninja Girl 2
- (Jūbei-chan 2, 2004)
- Love Hina
- (Love Hina, 2000)
- Sister Princess
- (Sister Princess RePure, 2002)
- UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie (As Melocure)
- (UFO Princess Warukyūre, 2002)
- Stratos 4 (As Melocure)
- (Stratos 4, 2003)
- Bewitched Agnes (As Melocure)
- (Oku-sama wa Mahō Shōjo, 2005)
Melocure
In April 2002, "Okazaki" teamed up a new pop rock duo "Melocure" with a rock singer "Megumi Hinata" (or Gumi or Meg Rock).
According to Wikipedia, the band name "Melocure" is a shortened form of "Melodic hard cure", which was inspired by "Melodic Hardcore", a name of sub-genre of Punk rock, and means a "drastic remedy with melodies".
"Melocure" seems to be formed primarily to record theme songs for "UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie", a new midnight TV anime series for young adults.
But "Melocure" eventually continued as a pop group, and has been active even now as a solo unit.
A pop-rock duo "Melocure" started its activity by releasing a opening theme & a insert song for the first season of "UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie".
The group has recorded few more opening theme, ending theme, and insert songs for this TV anime series, and greatly contributed to increase the popularity of the series.
In fact, the songs that "Melocure" sang for this series were excellent.
Particularly, the song titled "Agapē", which was written as an insert song for the first series, is often applauded as a cream of the crop, or a milestone of anime song.
As a proof, "Agapē" received a grand prix together with "A Cruel Angel's Thesis", the main theme for "Neon Genesis Evangelion", at "Heisei Anime Song award".
"Heisei Anime Song award" was a unique, Anime song specific music award originated by Sony Music Entertainment in 2019, aiming at selecting the best songs from whole lot of Anime songs released in 30 years long "Heisei era" (1989-2019) by judging from various point of view, and granting awards to those chosen exceptional songs.
We suppose it was an only award for anime songs in the history. And it has been continued under new title, namely "Reiwa (new era name) Ani-song Award".
"Melocure" also participated in anime series like "Stratos 4", or "Oku-sama wa Mahō Shōjo" (Bewitched Agnes) by singing their opening theme or ending theme.
And "Melocure" has released three singles and 2 full albums, including the theme songs of the above anime series, so far, and the unit is still active even after the member "Okazaki" departed in 2004.
Tribute
As mentioned in the above, but sadly, "Ritsuko Okazaki" passed away from illness on the 5th May 2004.
A lot of messages of sympathies and condolences were sent by her music friends, colleagues, and fans.
In 2017, a prominent voice actor & singer "Megumi Hayashibara", who is the first, and one of the most important creative partner of "Okazaki", released a double CD album, "with you" in tribute to "Ritsuko Okazaki".
The 2 disks contains 25 songs, including not only all the song written &provided for "Hayashibara" by "Okazaki", but also some original songs of "Okazaki" newly covered by "Hayashibara".
If you like, please check.
In 29th December 2021, which was the birthday of "Okazaki", all (perhaps) of her songs became available as a digital music from various online music shops.
References
For more details about "Ritsuko Okazaki", please have a look at the references linked below.
-
(Ref: www.ritzstar.jp,
indexjp)🇯🇵 -
(Ref: web.archive.org,
Ritsuko Okazaki Book)🇯🇵 -
(Ref: love.life.coocan.jp,
profile)🇯🇵
Video clip
Lastly, we would like to introduce a video clip about the today's song "Rain or Shine".
The clip does not contain any promotional movie, but it might be even enjoyable for a song like this.
If you like, please listen to.
Music Samples
4
(試聴する)
AD: Listening samples (Free)
Amazon JP(en)
recochoku.jp
music.apple.com (Track No.4)
Japanese Letters
| Song Title | Rain or Shine 降っても晴れても(Futtemo Haretemo) |
|---|---|
| Artist | 岡崎律子(Ritsuko Okazaki) |
| Album Title | Rain or Shine |
Comments