Top 7 Toei Sentai Heroine Songs + CD Review!

Super Sentai Song Collections seem to have a loose set of rules since the inception of the genre. There is usually a theme song for the mecha and there is usually a song dedicated to the heroine(s) of the series. As a result of this, many song and music collections have been dedicated to both mecha and heroine songs.

Since I am talking about my favorite Heroine songs...why not do a little review before I get to my list? Honestly, I don't know when else I'll have the opportunity to talk about this CD, so why not here? Let's take a quick look at Toei Sentai Heroine Song & Music Collection!

Toei Sentai Heroine Song & Music Collection
COCC-13106

 



I mentioned this CD briefly in my mega-post about the Super Sentai Music Collections of 1996-1997 last month. To summarize, this CD is part of a massive catalog of music releases by Toei and Columbia in the mid-90s. This is actually one of the first CD releases in all of the madness.

While the mecha music sets were spread out on to four discs, the Heroine Song & Music Collection is only one disc. In all honesty, it really didn't need to be much more than that. There is a pretty clever layout to this disc. Here is an example...

Series 1
01. Eyecatch A
02. Heroine BGM
Series 2
03. Eyecatch A
04. Heroine Song

If your reading is up to scratch, here is a photo of the back cover tracklist:

As you can see, there isn't much in the way of description from the tracklisting. Most of them just say something like "Ninja White Image BGM", etc. In a handful of instances, vocal songs sung by the actresses are used (Flashman, Liveman, the Ako-chan Ramen song from Jetman, and the slow versions of songs from Goggle Five and Dynaman).

The actual BGM tracks are hard to explain. There are some pretty rare gems included, but not too much that isn't included in the Music Collection series that followed this set. Sometimes the BGM tracks are nothing more than one-chorus instrumental versions of the heroine songs. Other times it might be a few BGM tracks strung together. For Dairanger, Kakuranger, and Ohranger it is a medley of BGM *and* instrumental versions of the heroine songs.

The eyecatches...are strange. Only the outgoing eyecatch (Eyecatch A) is included. The Goggle Five Eyecatch actually sounds better here than on the Music Collection. Some of the eyecatches sound like they were recorded off of fourth generation VHS copies of the shows (Turboranger, Fiveman) while others were clearly recorded from TV, but sound decent enough (Dairanger, Kakuranger). The Kakuranger one bugs me because this is the only CD release of the proper Eyecatch A...and the quality is a bit off. The Eyecatch A that was used in the 2-Disc Music Collection is missing the percussion. Ugh. The only way Toei can make this right is by letting me raid their music vault.

Overall, this is a pretty good CD. There is a lot of variety and they made some good selections. The format may be offbeat, but it is definitely fresh.

 



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Top Seven Sentai Heroine Songs!

Alright, on to the main topic. I will try to include links for songs if they're available. If not, you might have to do a little internet digging on your own if you don't already have the tracks.

07. Mermaid & Phoenix / Dengeki Sentai Changeman 1985

I could only find the Karaoke version on Youtube for this one. > <

I think that this is one of the more underrated songs from the Changeman Song Collection. It isn't upbeat like a lot of heroine songs, but it is still a nice little song with great singing.

I also really like the song "Love Forever" from Changeman. It's kinda similar to this one.

06. hana no Momoranger / Himitsu Sentai Goranger 1975

The song that started it all from the series that started it all. I'm not a fan of too many of the songs from Goranger (or Gorenger if you're a PUTZ) but this is clearly one of the better ones. Also, Mitsuko Horie sings this song! Anison legends can't do wrong!

05. Spark! Umi e / Chojuu Sentai Liveman 1988

I'm not a fan of too many songs by the cast members. For the most part they can't sing...and recently they can't act... This time around we have Megumi Mori, who was an established actress prior to her year on Liveman. On top of this, she is also a decent singer and displays that here.

The great thing about this song (and a lot of the Liveman songs) was that this was a genuine return to a rock sound. I'm also a fan of synthesizer/dance stuff, but it was nice to have a brief break from the norm.

In the end, this song was a very nice combination of great music and vocals.

04. kagayaki no mai / Choriki Sentai Ohranger 1995

Another underrated song in my opinion. I think a lot of people favor the Tsuruhime song from Kakuranger since it has the same singer, Mari Sasaki, and sounds a little similar. I just think the music wins out overall here.

03. Seishun Circuit / Gekisou Sentai Carranger 1996

This one is sung by Hiroko Asakawa. She was an anison regular from the late 80s until the mid 2000s it seems and it's fair to say I'm a fan of her work. This is my favorite Sentai song of hers...actually, this is probably my favorite of hers overall.

It's a catchy little song that manages to have a certain sweetness to it at the same time. If I recall correctly, this song was used during the montage in Gaoranger vs Super Sentai...so atleast I'm not alone here.

02. Cosmic World / Denji Sentai Megaranger 1997

Alright, now we're getting serious.

For a while I kinda ignored this song. I always thought it was decent, but never thought too-too much of it. Recently it popped up on random in a playlist and I was won over completely.

This has to be one of the most lively Sentai songs of the 90s. It's right up there with the Megaranger theme song itself in terms of intensity. The singing is great on top of the music. Great song.

01. hard rain~yamanai ame wa nai  / Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger 2004

This song pretty much knocked me on my ass. Not only is it a song from a show I didn't care for at all, it's also a song by a cast member. The fact that it goes against all odds and made it to the top of my list.

Ayumi Kinoshita played Dekayellow in the show and actually did a decent job here singing this song. Who knew? On top of this, the music is a solid imitation of the kind of stuff other record labels were putting out at the time *cough*avex*cough* while managing to sound fresh.

It's a killer song. I'm definitely not alone in liking this one either...

THE ABSOLUTE FUCKING WORST: Girls in Trouble / Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger 2004

...and then there is this shit. Fuck this song. I know a lot of people out there like this one...but nope--I don't.

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That's it for my latest list! Be sure to check out my other Top 7 lists on this page right here. Stay tuned for more Top 7 lists if that's your thing--I have plenty more to write about!

See ya!

-CC