Song Collection: Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya

Welcome back to my series of documenting Tokusatsu song collections through the ages. This time around I am going to listen to the song collection from Sheriff Skyfire Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya! I guess I'm just picking things up from where I left off. All last month I was listening to all of the song collections from 1987 (Hikari Sentai Maskman, Kamen Rider Black, and Chojinki Metalder) so why not join my Chojuu Sentai Liveman review with another from 1988? 

For this post I'll be listening to the Jiraiya Song Collection through the Superhero Chronicle Metal Hero Vol. 2. I previously talked about this set here.

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01. Jiraiya / Akira Kushida

This is the series opening theme song. It's so slick and smooth that it almost feels like it could be from the 90s. Akira Kushida returns to Metal Hero after sitting out '86 and '87. He even sounds a bit refreshed. Honestly, I think he did a great job matching the vibe that this song has. 

While I loooove this song deeply, I can't really say it's the most memorable Metal Hero theme song. It's a great song to chill to, but it doesn't really have too much memorable bite to it. Sure it has that great guitar part, but it's missing out on that crazy hook like "MAYDAY! MAYDAY! SOS!".

Fun fact: In addition to being the opening theme song to this series, it's also considered an IN song to Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. How about that??

02. Jiraiya Sanjo! / Akira Kushida

A great action song that kinda picks up the slack from the opening theme song. It has the "Sanjo!" drops and a really memorable guitar lick. It's hard to describe... Songs like Seigi no tame ni from Tokusou Robo Janperson are the same way. 

03. Hikaru Kaze / Akira Kushida

This is something of a prototype for a lot of songs we would hear in Metal Hero song collections going forward. You'll hear synth-heavy songs with some chill singing well into the Excreedraft days. I like this song. It has energy, but it's almost anti-action. 

I think the only thing I can knock on this one are the irritating background singers. It's not even Koorogi '73 this time! I don't know, they're a bit distracting in their over-singing.

04. Yami no Karyuudo ~Yoma no tema~ / Akida Kushida

The villain's theme song if you weren't able to tell from the title...or the opening notes. 

Maybe we were spoiled by the wacky Koorogi '73 villain songs from Maskman and Metalder...hell, even Shaider. This is kinda generic in terms of evil theme songs. If you can't make it stand out, why do it at all? 

It's not a bad song, I just... *sigh* I just miss Koorogi '73. Just this once. I want some funky ninja jam for this one instead of a generic rock song.

05. Kagayake! Jiraiya / Takumi Tsutsui

This is Toha's theme song by Toha's actor Takumi Tsutsui and a gaggle of brats. Yeah, this song is incredibly lousy. I haven't listened to it in years, but man...it's unforgettable how bad this is. 

The only nice thing I can say is that Tsutsui isn't as bad of a singer as Kamen Rider Black/RX's Tetsuo Kurata, but he is just about as flat. They at least had the sense to give the theme song to Akira Kushida instead for this series. Thank heavens.....

06. Unare Jiko Shinkuu ken / Akira Kushida

This is *the* song from this song collection. It represents the series on the Metal Hero Karaoke Collection Vol.1, so you know that this is held in decent regard. While Kushida is borderline lethargic in the rest of his song on this collection, he comes at us in full force for this one. It has pace and energy. Really, I challenge you not to at least dig this one a little bit. 

The title of the song is in reference to Jiraiya's sword, which also has some fantastic BGM during his finisher. I miss the days of awesome finisher music... Bimotion Buster... Howling Cannon... Rolling Vulcan... 

10/10 I love this song the most out of all of the Jiraiya songs. This is actually probably my favorite 80s Metal Hero song *fullstop*. 

07. Kei to Emiha ~Emiha no tema~ / Megumi Sekiguchi

The second of the two character songs on the Jiraiya song collection. This one is by Emiha actress Megumi Sekiguchi and...no brats to hide her skillz. Yikes. This is some really bad singing on top of a generic sweet track. It's not a song I listen to often for obvious reasons. I can't say I'll give this one more of a chance in the future either.

08. Sora kara Hibiku Koe / Akira Kushida

This is pretty much the lone ballad of the series. Kushida isn't the greatest choice for something like this, but does a serviceable job. Really, I wish I had more to say about this, but this is the most standard ballad ever.

09. Soko ni Paradise / Akira Kushida

This is a pretty bland song. It isn't a ballad. It isn't an action song. It's just a song. It exists. It fits in with a lot of the other chill songs on the song collection, but this is definitely the least memorable of the bunch. 

10. SHI NO BI '88 / Akira Kushida

The series ending song. As subdued as this is, I actually like it a lot. Not only is it pretty catchy, but Kushida does a great job matching it. I know I said the same thing about the opening theme song, but fast forward a year to Jiban and listen to that ending theme song. Kushida sounds...off compared to the music. 

This is a great and chill song to close the show out to every week.

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OVERALL: There are a handful of terrific songs on this song collection...but there is one thing sorely missing. I don't know what it is about the song collection and the BGM from this series, but there is not a shred of Japanese-style flair. The ending theme song is titled in a way where you think it may have something, but no. It really took composer Eiji Kawamura to bring a little specific flavor to shows like Dairanger and Kakuranger with their respective series BGM collections. 

I guess Jiraiya was so ahead of it's time that they didn't really know how to handle it the songs and music. In this case, I would check out the songs I highlighted, sure, but definitely check out the BGM. I've always found that to be a bit more engaging than the song collection on a whole.

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Thanks for swinging by once again for another song collection review. I really wanted to have some more in depth content for this post, but life is pretty complicated in 2020. Anyway...I hope you enjoyed the post. I have at least one massive post on the horizon to kick off 2021. Stay tuned...

Take care!

-CC

PREVIOUSLY...

Song Collection: Chojinki Metalder
Song Collection: Hikari Sentai Maskman
Song Collection: Kamen Rider Black
Song Collection: Dennou Keisatsu Cybercop REVISED

Song Collection: Chojinki Metalder

Hey! It's another song collection from 1987! You thought I was done with this year after my listen to Hikari Sentai Maskman and Kamen Rider Black? Well, no. In fact, I may have dropped a little fib when I mentioned that the only reason I was checking out the Black Song Collection was due to it's upcoming third SHFiguart attempt. The *real* reason I started reviewing 1987 was due to this...

When was the last time you saw a Toei label like that? 1999ish???

Yeah, this brand-spankin' new Metalder figure that was released last week! My thoughts on it? .....eh! It's alright. I would have MUCH rather have gotten the SHFiguarts Metalder that they previewed eons ago, but there are Marvel variants that are way more critical. This figure is too big to scale with SHF. It's more Ultra Act size if you remember those things. Also Springer is missing...and the eyes are too shiny...and it's pretty expensive...but the severed arm is included! Just sayin'...

Anyway...

For this post I'll be listening to the Metalder Song Collection through the Superhero Chronicle Metal Hero Vol. 1. I previously talked about this set here.

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01. Kimi no seishun wa kagayateiru ka / Isao Sasaki

The un-opening theme song-theme song to this series. The tone is a clear message that the interstellar adventures of past Metal Hero series are gone. The song and the series are the result of the realities of life. There is a lot of humanity here. The music is militaristic and grim, with Isao Sasaki performing his lone Metal Hero song. The lyrics are actually quite motivational, though. 

Despite it's dour presentation, this song has endured in popularity over the years. I can only imagine the thoughts of someone encountering this song for the first time in 2020. Would they like it? I know I've loved it over the years! It has a great start with those pounding drums similar to the (outstanding) Macross opening theme but continues on with a monotonous and retro melody. I think that Isao Sasaki was the right choice, but I don't think he delivered his best performance. Speaking of Macross, this would've been a great song for Makoto Fujiwara. I think the only Tokusatsu songs we ever got out of him were the two IN songs from Kyodai Ken Bycrosser.

Sore wa hitori no Ningen no kokorooOoooooOooo!

02. Fighting Shoot da! Metalder / Koji Kaya

The first action song by future Liveman/Turboranger songster Koji Kaya. I used to be kinda warm on this, but it's actually pretty great. The beat is a little generic, yet it serves the energy of the track well. Everything leads up to that "Ikaru! Ikaru! Ika-ru!!". 

Kaya is truly an underrated gem. This may not be my favorite song of his, but it's pretty damn good.

03. Hoshikara no Tegami / Da Capo

This weird little generic ballad is a little bit of a mystery to me. This sounds like the type of off-soundtrack song you would randomly hear in an episode (it did play in the final episode). It's even by a legitimate married Columbia folk group called Da Capo. 

Part of me thinks this was a grab for an older audience...but I also think the fifth track kinda invalidates that theory. Hmmm...

04. Isshun no Chance / Ichiro Mizuki

This is something of a rehash of the opening theme song in tone. It kinda carries on without becoming anything big. It has some grumbly guitar work and sedated horn bits, but never carries on to become an action song. It isn't a ballad either. Still...I like it. Mizuki's voice was just perfect in this era. Even Koorogi '73's uncredited backing vocals are good.

Speaking of Koorogi '73......

05. Neros Tekoku 4 Gundan / Koorogi '73

This song is utter madness. 

This is the same year that they performed the crazy Ungler song from Maskman. This time around we have another spooOooOooky villain song with a dash of 1987 thrown in for good measure. See...this is the sort of thing I enjoy Koorogi '73 for. The Fushigi Song from Uchuu Keiji Shaider is their wheelhouse, not invasive backing vocals in otherwise decent songs.

For added fun, I would try to track down the Karaoke version of this from the 2-Disc Music Collection. The music is a lot of fun on it's own.

06. Voltage Up / Koji Kaya

Another awesome action song. Once again...Koji Kaya is the man for this. Less questionable is that we say more of him in 1988 and 1989. More questionable...why didn't we hear more since then?

Regardless, this is a great song. You'll definitely not mind having this one as an earworm.

07. Never Give Up / Koji Kaya

Koji Kaya gives us a ballad this time around. He isn't really made for this type of song. This should've been a Mizuki song. He does the "Never Give Up!" well, but yeah...

OK, so maybe the man isn't a jack of all trades...but I stand by how good his action songs are.

08. Shunten! Yume no senshi / Ichiro Mizuki

Rumor has it that *this* is what the theme song to the series was meant to be. It kinda makes sense with the "Motor Heart" lyric and overall safe, peepy feel of it. It even name drops the name of the series right before an obvious cut point for the TV size version. The fact that Ichiro Mizuki sings this with an uncredited Koorogi '73 assist kinda backs this up as well since it's the same gang that did the ending theme song.

Rumors are rumors, though, no matter how real they may feel. Hahaa.

This song does rule, though. If this really was the proposed theme song, it would've worked perfectly well to carry in the show each week. Is it incredible? Nah. Should it have been the theme song over the one they went with. Nah again...but I can see it. The biggest thing that it does share with Kimi no seishun wa kagayaiteiru ka is that it scraped away the space-adventure mystique of the previous Metal Hero themes. No whimsical opening like Spielban. No funky beat. NO COW BELL. Yeah, this is Earth in 1987. Haha

09. Dash! Side Phantom / Koji Kaya

One more belter of a song from Kaya. This is the theme song for Side Phantom and Metal Charger. What series would be complete without a vehicle theme song? Even if the vehicles are a sidecar motorbike (perfect for the solo hero man) and grandma's flying Mazda Familia.

Love the song. I would say that this is my favorite Koji Kaya song of this set.

10. Time Limit / Ichiro Mizuki, Koorogi '73

We're at the series ending song. I...love this song. It's my favorite Metal Hero ending song. The urgency 100% lives up to the name of this song. I would best describe the energy as frantic... Once again we have some nice backing vocal support from Koorogi '73. Come to think of it...this song collection is probably my favorite use of them. Reviewing these songs has kinda opened my eyes to how weak they are, but they're actually pretty solid this time around.

More than an ending song...as a song in general this is awesome!

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OVERALL: Outside of a few little bumps, this is an incredibly solid song collection. 1987 in general was a great year for Tokusatsu songs and music ('cept Maskman BGM). We got the lone Isao Sasaki Metal Hero song, but more importantly we got some great songs from the rare Koji Kaya and some excellent final Showa songs from Ichiro Mizuki (he did one song for B-Robo Kabutack). Even with it's unusual theme song, this is a textbook song collection.

Yeah, I definitely recommend checking this one out. It's a very easy listen!

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Thanks for checking out the last of the 1987 Tokusatsu Song Collections! Who knows...maybe I'll take it a step further sometime and talk about Sukeban Deka III songs. Hahaa. Be sure to check out the CD Collection page for more!

Maskman, Masked Rider, and Masked YOU. Stay safe!

-CC

PREVIOUSLY...

Song Collection: Hikari Sentai Maskman
Song Collection: Kamen Rider Black
Song Collection: Dennou Keisatsu Cybercop REVISED
Ghost Warrior--That Time Hiroshi Fujioka Was In a Fish-Out-Of-Water Action ThingK2--That Time Hiroshi Fujioka Was In a Mountain Climbing Movie