I'm not exactly sure why I picked Winspector to kick things off, but it's certainly not a bad place to start. It's a song collection with memorable songs book-ended by two memorable theme songs. You may be wondering..."didn't CCLemon99 review this song collection already?". Well, I did...ish. In my haste to catalog my CD collection I blew through all four volumes of the Superhero Chronicles Metal Hero CDs. That's right...every Metal Hero song were reduced down to a single post. Hell, Winspector only got a brief paragraph. I mean, the post is still good if you're only looking for a brief synopsis. This new series will certainly be more in-depth...
Here is a look at all fifteen of the songs from the 1990 Toei Metal Hero series, Tokkei Winspector. Naturally I am reviewing these songs from my copy of Superhero Chronicles Metal Hero II...which, as of this writing, is miraculously still available new from Amazon. Definitely a must-buy set!
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01. Tokkei Winspector / Takayuki Miyauchi
One of the ear-wormiest theme songs in Tokusatsu history. It rightfully made number two on my list of Top 7 Metal Hero theme songs way back in 2012. There is more to it than the catchy "MAYDAY, MAYDAY" hook, though. Listen to all of the layers... This is an incredibly rich song when you put it up to it's contemporary Sentai theme song, Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman.
Easily my favorite theme song from Takayuki Miyauchi, but he certainly wasn't the sole factor in ensuring this song's greatness.
02. Yume no hitotsu no nakamatachi / Ichiro Mizuki
It had been a few years since we heard a song from Ichiro Mizuki in the Metal Hero catalog. His return? Awesome. This song isn't action-packed, but it also isn't a slouch either. The awesome synth accents give it an time-appropriate feel. It even has a great guitar solo for good measure.
While I can see this song having it's detractors for not really being fast enough, I love it!
03. Taiyo no yuusha Fire / Takayuki Miyauchi
Of the three songs devoted to Fire, this is easily the best. The verses are a bit on the slow side, but there is plenty of things to like thanks to that memorable hook and cool intro that slides back in toward the end of the song.
04. Hero wa yattekuru / Ichiro Mizuki
This one is kinda weak. The music is good, and Mizuki does his best...but the lyrics are just weak as all hell. I also don't really like the distracting filter they used on Mizuki's voice. This song would have been more at home on Fiveman's corny Song Collection, to be honest.
05. Moyase hitomi o / Hiroshi Miyauchi
I don't like Hiroshi Miyauchi as a singer. I never really cared for the Kamen Rider V3 theme song... I wouldn't be shocked if you told me there was a shelved theme song for Miura from the Ohranger Song Collection considering the weirdness that happened there. This song, however, is amazing.
Don't get me wrong, he's still not a great singer. This song just suits his natural grizzly voice perfectly. That high-pitched, paint-by-number yelp from the V3 theme? Not present. This is actually a really cool song.
06. Gekisou! Rescue Machine / Ichiro Mizuki
Ohhhhh how I love this song. The bassline is so cool and the fast-paced waviness is great. I was floored when I bought my copy of Metal Hero Karaoke Vol.2 and found that this song was selected as the lone insertion song from WSP. That said, it is better as a Karaoke song than it is a vocal song. It's still a lot of fun and legit has "DANGER ZONE" in the lyrics.
...the final minute of the song is pure magic, though. It's this random instrumental outro that is my favorite outro of any Tokusatsu song. Maybe the Biorobo song comes close, but this is so good.
07. Kimi ga shiawase nara / Masaru Yamashita
A snoozer of a character song sung by Ryoma/Fire himself, Masaru Yamashita. He isn't much of a singer...and a ballad really isn't the best choice to showcase those non-skills. They should have given him a grunty song like they did for Hiroshi Miyauchi.
08. Fire Hurricane / Ichiro Mizuki
A slick jam by Mizuki and a criminally good bassline. If there was ever a fast-paced Tokusatsu song that I can also call "smooth" it would be this one. It suddenly breaks into an awesome guitar solo for good measure. The only thing I don't really care for is the back-up singers. They're more barking than singing.
09. Kono inochi eien ni / Takayuki Miyauchi
This song isn't all that bad, but it never really stuck out as a great song. Again, the back-up singers are kinda lousy. I think what I don't like about this one is the great build-up not having much of a payoff. This song is a little disjointed and sloppy. It sounds kinda like a leftover from the Jiban Song Collection more than anything.
It also doesn't help that this song is over five minutes long for no reason...
10. Aisuru daichi, aisuru umi yo / Takayuki Miyauchi
A march song. I never really liked these too much, but this one is actually pretty good. It has some decent structure and a catchy hook. If I can paint a picture, this is like a less decent version of Kakuranger's Muteki Shogun theme song...same singer and everything!
It also barely crests three minutes...yay!
11. Just Gigastreamer / Ichiro Mizuki
It's rare that a show's weapon has it's own theme song. Well, here we are examining the theme song to Winspector's BFG. Gigastreamer is such a beast that, if I recall correctly, it had not one but TWO episodes dedicated to how much of a handful it was in two different series. That's right, it's too much during it's return in Solbrain!
The song itself is great. Ichiro Mizuki was the better choice of the main singers for this one. It isn't an action song, but it speaks to the power of the weapon well enough to get the point across.
12. Honoo wa mirai e / Takayuki Miyauchi
The better ballad on this song collection. Takayuki Miyauchi is a singer for one, so this makes sense. It also has something resembling a pulse at times, which is more than what can be said for Kimi ga shiawase nara. This isn't a bad song. I never skip it during a listen-through.
13. Let's go! Fire Squad / Takayuki Miyauchi
I think this may be the very first song I ever heard from this series.
This is such an awesome song. If there is one song on this song collection that is a perfect balance of singing, action, and pace, it's this song right here. There is no concept or anything, just the perfect theme song for...uhhh...his car. Oh, and "DANGER ZONE" made it into the lyrics again.
14. Yuusha Winspector / Ichiro Mizuki
This isn't a bad song, but a little bit on the boring side. Mizuki's singing is great, but not enough to save the song from it's blandness. Even it's obligatory guitar solo is pretty boring.
15. Kyo no ore kara ashita no kimi e / Takayuki Miyauchi
Good enough to be number six on my Top 7 Metal Hero Ending Song list from 2018. The bassline is undeniably catchy along with the blaring horns. This song is delightful in it's overbearing cheesiness. Even Miyauchi's vocals are softer than usual to accommodate this aural confection.
BONUS: Winspector Action
Technically this isn't a vocal song, but it easily could have been. Hell, I think it was initially released on the second volume of the song collection in 1990. This song exists in two forms on the 2007 2-Disc Complete Music Collection--With or Without backing vocals.
I actually dig this song quite a bit. It's very 1990, but has some modernized elements of some of the music you would have heard in a hardboiled detective show of the 70s. When you listen to this, imagine it being done up with a jazz orchestra. It just...has that feel to it. That said, I enjoy the version without backing vocals better.
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I love this song collection. Back in my early days of collecting, I sought these songs out dearly. I don't even think I was able to score a legit copy until the Superhero Chronicle was released in 2004. Of the big three genres, Metal Hero always took backseat to Kamen Rider and Super Sentai.
Has the excitement of this soundtrack worn off over time? Nope! It's still one of my favorites. While it doesn't avoid the duds, it has some great songs from two of my favorite anison singers and a surpisingly good tune from Hiroshi Miyauchi for his Masaki character. Of the two Toei Tokusatsu series from 1990, Winspector definitely made out with the more memorable song collection.
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Now that you've made it to the end, I have a little confession to make. Sure, I love the hell out of this song collection...it's the main reason I picked this as my debut to the new series. The secondary reason is...I figured...why not start with a trilogy?
See ya next time!
-CC
The CD Collection
Song Collection: Tokkyushirei Solbrain
Song Collection: Tokusou Exceedraft
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