Top 7 Kamen Rider Opening Theme Songs!

Back so soon? I posted a mini rant the other day about the current state of Toei's bullshittery regarding their Metal Hero franchise. Check it.

I've done this before and people seem to like my lists. Let's get to it. Here are my top seven favorite Kamen Rider theme songs.

7. Alive A life [Kamen Rider Ryuki-2002]

It was between this or Kamen Rider Agito to be the lesser bookend on my Top 7. I *HATE* the show, but this is definitely one of the best theme songs to head up a Rider show. The first few seconds are kind of lame, but once the song gets going I love it. It's a great beat with some nice pacing. It also helps that it is sung by the great Rica Matsumoto.

6. Kamen Rider Kuuga! [2000]

This song is great for a few reasons. For one, it marked the return of the man with the mask and motorbike. It also has a somewhat retro feel with the guitars and elements. There is a good reason for that... This song plays sliiight homage to Pink Floyd's Welcome To The Machine [Listen to it a couple of times to pick up the "borrowed" elements, mostly around the 2:40 mark, also 6:23]. I mean it's pretty obvious, but it isn't really a total ripoff. Not quite BSTTF material...but maybe I'll revisit it in the future. Such a kickass theme song.

5. Round ZERO~BLADE BRAVE [Kamen Rider Blade OP1-2004]

It's only natural that I also like this song. It is an incredibly catchy tune and very upbeat. Great singing. What else is there to say? I really liked this song for whatever reason.

4. 輝 Kagayaki [Kamen Rider Hibiki OP1-2005]

Fun Fact: This song chills me out when I fly. I hate flying. I'm not sure why this song relaxes me on a plane, but I'll take it! It really is a beautiful song no matter which version you listen to [or if you listen to the "Full" version which is just all of the variations linked together]. I absolutely love the direction they went with just using an instrumental piece instead of a pop song. I truly reserve the word "Epic" for Oceans, Deserts, Canyons, and, well THIS...but kagayaki is epic.

3. Kamen Rider BLACK RX [1988]

Here comes the nostalgia. Kamen Rider BLACK and BLACK RX were my first Riders. I was a kid and the idea of waving your hands around using a belt to unleash your inner kaizo ningen was amazing. I love both shows equally, though I wish they would've subbed Kotaro out for a new character in RX.

Oh right, the song.

Well Tetsuo Kurata did such a lame job on the Kamen Rider BLACK theme that they brought in a pro for the sequel. Takayuki Miyauchi. I genuinely think that this is the song that cemented his place as one of the greatest Tokusatsu singers ever. Remember, up to that point he'd done most of the Bioman songs, some Flashman songs, and a Shaider song. He was always a great singer and really didn't bring anything new to this song, but his style was juuust right. Paired with a serious and catchy beat, this song is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of Kamen Rider themes.

2. Let's Go!! Rider Kick~Hiroshi Fujioka vers. [Kamen Rider-1971]

I am a little picky with this one. I only really like the original Hiroshi Fujioka version [the 2000 one he did with Rider Chips is also acceptable-ish]. I couldn't quite get into the Masato Shimon version. Infact, I don't really like Masato Shimon's singing BLASPHEMY. Shimon's version is just flat and boring. The injustice is that Hiroshi Fujioka's version was replaced once he was injured doing his own stunts LIKE GOD FUCKING INTENDED, YOU MODEL PANSY "ACTORS".

Hiroshi Fujioka is not a singer, he's is a mountain with a digestive system. He did a pretty good job on this song. The music is like most late 60s, early 70s children's television theme songs, so ofcourse it has a good rhythm. I will take this theme song over any others from the era. It's fantastic.

Oh, and I have to mention Segata Sanshiro. We all know the story...we all fear the man. The only people who don't fear Segata Sanshiro are the record label. The Segata Sanshiro theme that plays during the commercials is not sung by Hiroshi Fujioka despite the fact that he recorded a version. Once again, people are messing with the wrong guy.

1. Moero! Kamen Rider [Kamen Rider/Skyrider-1979]

What is it about Kamen Rider that it is so damn awesome everytime it has a rebirth? This was the first time 'Rider came back after an absence and it turned out to be one of my favorite Rider series. The theme song is, however, my favorite full-stop. Ichiro Mizuki! Backing vocals that don't suck! GREAT music! It's not even a case of me not fully understanding why I like this song. I know this is a good song. This is a song for a superhero who can fly. It's big and it's majestic. It's full of action and it's just well made. This has it all.

Honorable Mention: Ai ga tomoranai [Kamen Rider ZO-1993]

I figure that I will mention this because when the hell else will I be able to talk about it?

The Kamen Rider ZO movie didn't have an opening song, it just featured some kickass score over the title. It did, however, have an ending song. It had a new sound that was lacking from Tokusatsu songs. This song might even be responsible for the JPOP creep in to Tokusatsu song collections. This song felt like the first Tokusatsu song with serious production quality. Well, besides the Turboranger songs--they sounded very rich as well.

It was nice to hear such a quality song in a Tokusatsu movie. As a bonus, the song itself is pretty killer. It reminds me of a cold, rainy day in the wood [which I happen to like].

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All-in-all it's amazing that nearly half of my list is made up of "avex" era Rider themes despite the fact that avex mode seems to be in the business of pumping out music to shit to. Things were better in the Columbia era [Agito was the last series to release music under Columbia], but maybe a little too predictable.

If you want to check out my other Top 7 lists, go for it!

Top 7 Sentai OP themes
Top 7 Sentai Mecha themes
Top 7 Sentai Suit designs
Top 7 Metal Hero OP themes

That's all for now. I love this list...

See ya next time!

-CC

ENOUGH!

I happen to love Uchuu Keiji Gavan. I mean, it's hard not to. The problem is, I loved him in his 1982 series. Now we have Blowkaiger vs. Gavan, Gavan: The Movie, and his appearances in Go-Busters. The prob....you know what, no. Let me get to the point...

Make a new Metal Hero Series!!

Toei took an enormous gamble with Kuuga, and it has paid off for them. Why won't they do the same with Metal Hero? They clearly have an interest. I just want a new Metal Hero series. The stunt work in Metal Hero shows tended to far more involved and fast-paced than that of Rider or Sentai. Sure you got the slow-mo heroes like Jiban and Janperson but think of the fast cars, big guns, big explosions, big stunt action we've been missing since the 90s.

Toei is living in the past in all the wrong ways. Bring back all the heroes that you know and love with the current cheese that they call "effects".

Short and sweet. I want a new Metal Hero series. I want a GOOD Metal Hero series. Stop living in the past, it's lame.

-CC

P.S. Canceling Super Sentai would be stupid. I really want people to stop kicking around this theory.

Why I Turn The Comments Off...

Some people seem to think it's a good idea to make comments like "were ddi u get ur astor morphr?" on whatever is my most recent video is. This...is pretty damn annoying. I reply that they should really stay on topic and comment on the video above. They then reply "well u shtu teh commments of". What a brilliant observation!

Let's get this straight...

I shut my comments off for a myriad of reasons. If there was one single reason that I shut my comments off, I would be the first to admit that I was being rather dense. However, five years of being on Youtube has drawn me to one simple conclusion: Nothing of use will EVER be left in the comment section after the first week the video has been published. I could end this blog entry on that note right there, but I feel the need to elaborate.

1. I am not afraid of critism.

I delete comments from the trolls. It's as simple as that. I know what my videos are, and I know that my videos have an international appeal thank you Google analytics because I don't speak in them. I also know that the noisiest bunch of ingrates seem to speak English...because they comment in English...and they want me to speak it in my videos. Fantastic. I will do just that and isolate my Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean viewers. The United States fluxuates between third and fifth place in terms of my highest viewed countries, yet they rank number one in terms of countries with the sorest vaginas. Frankly, I don't care that you need someone to hold your hand and explain a toy to you. Whats there to explain? They're pieces of plastic and metal in colorful boxes that sometimes make sounds if you put batteries in them.

I always felt that music was a much better alternative. A slideshow is the absolute fastest and most consistent way to show off all angles of everything [using hands to turn things to show off all the angles just looks kinda clumsy since the reviewer is most likely looking through the viewfinder, which throws off coordination]. It also becomes a good exercise in timing through editing to the music. That's just my style. It's the kind of review I would like to watch if someone else were to make them. If it isn't interesting to me, then why bother?

Also, if you have a channel and are as brash as to describe yourself as "professional", please detach your wang from your lips. I'm not, and you aren't. They're toys and this is a hobby. Get over it.

2. I am not here to help you find the magic cave that I get all of my toys.

Learn the language. Figure out where and how to get toys from Japan. Rinse, lather, repeat. I've been an avid user of Yahoo! Japan Auctions for over ten years now. There are several sources to get new toys from. I know where to get toys because I really really wanted to know where I can find toys over the internet. If you want them enough, you will use Google to find out the process to find toys from Japan. I never advertised my assistance, yet people think they're entitled to it for some reason. Common sense will lead you down the right path. Once you get there, don't come bitching to me that Japanese toys are too expensive for you. I genuinely don't care.

3. I am not here to sell/give you my toys.

That's strictly for eBay. Moving on...

4. I am not here to take requests.

This one baffles me. I know that I have a lot of toys. I can't esacpe that fact physically. The typical request seems to be 100% off-topic. For example, on my review of the Dragon Buckler I might get a comment saying "when r u reviewing victory marz?/". Um, I don't own it. I've never indicated that I own it. I don't want to own it. Therefore....never. So why ask? Your shitty comment will never inspire me to add it to my schedule. If anything, I would put it futher back into my schedule out of spite.

People think this is a dick move on my part but I'll never understand why. I've never requested anything from anyone on Youtube. I just let nature run it's course. Youtube is rarely anybody's career. It certainly isn't mine. I figure that every toy I own is something that someone wants to see reviewed/videoed. Even if my latest upload isn't your cup of tea, it's probably someone elses.

Oh yeah, and it's my channel. I think the way to get the best work out of me is to let me review what I want. If I don't want to review something, the video will be subpar. See: DX Chogokin Jet Icarus.

5. I don't care.

I don't care about your comment. I don't care that the Power Rangers version of these toys are inferior. I don't care that you can't find some toys. I don't care that they're too expensive. I don't care that you finally found one after years of searching. I don't care that you want one. I don't care that your parents won't let you have it. I don't care that your dog ate it. I don't care that I shouldn't be buying toys at whatever age I am Happy Birthday to me, BTW. I don't care that so and so's review is better. I don't care that I'm months behind everyone else's review.

I. Don't. Care.

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In the end, I like to hear what my loyal viewers have to say. I leave my comments open for a week after I upload a video to hear what my top subscribers have to say because they're the best in my book. Anything after a week just becomes a sea of drivel the likes of which I mentioned above. I don't know why this is, but I've been able to spot the trend and the one-week comment window is my best defense against it.

The only exceptions I make are for my car videos, special videos, and reviews of custom toys since...well, it isn't fair to @kingrangerprops that I am the one shutting off the praises of his excellent work.

Besides...if you were nearing 300 videos, would you have time to even read all of the comments let alone reply to them?

Well...see ya.

-CC

P.S. Why don't these ninnies ever have the common sense to private message me? It's always easier to ignore their BS privately. : p

BSTTF! My new video series!

Hello!

I am currently working on a new video series for one of my burner Youtube accounts. In this series I will be looking at the many times Toei's composers have outright stolen music from Western composers and each other in some strange cases.

To get things started I put together three episodes... Here we go:

Episode 1: I really wanted to start things off with this ripoff for several reasons. The top two reasons being a) Back To The Future is the best damn movie ever and b) this is hilariously blatent. If you're wondering, yes, they used this music quite often during Blue SWAT, yet it is tucked away as the last track on the music collection. Makes me wonder if they were having second thoughts about using this particular piece...

 

Episode 2: This one is also pretty obvious/hilarious. The music in question is Tsubasamaru's theme music. I always thought it sounded kind of odd and out of place when I was watching Kakuranger in the 90s. Years later imagine how I felt when I finally got around to seeing Blade Runner. It suddenly made sense... The Kakuranger version is almost exactly the same, just sped up quite a bit.

 

 

 

 

Episode 3: This is where things get a little dicey. That strange intro to the Zyuranger Opening theme song is...well, strange. Like the Tsubasamaru track above, this one was picked up after I saw the film that it was lifted from. It is also very out of place. I will say this, however...it actually sounds much better than the original.

 

There you have it! I will be adding more of these as I go. If you have any pieces of music that you'd like to suggest for this series please let me know! You can contact me on Youtube [CCLemon99 account, please] or Twitter [Ummm...also CCLemon99]!

 

More to come. See ya!

 

-CC



Schedule Adjustment. Ugh.

Hi all,

Things have been quite lousy recently so I have to make adjustments to my release schedule. Here is the updated schedule to make it right...

19.August.2012 Ranger Key Set Gekiranger
26.August.2012 Ranger Key Set Go-Busters 2
02.September.2012 McLaren F1 Stealth
09.September.2012 Ranger Key Set Abaranger
16.September.2012 Ranger Key Set Magiranger
23.September.2012 DX Go-Buster Oh
30.September.2012 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (KPGC10)

What it comes down to is me needing some time off from editing videos. Since the Gekiranger and Go-Busters 2 RK Sets are already completed, this gives me some time to actually have a couple of weekends to myself. Car videos are insanely easy to edit, which is why the McLaren F1 video snuck it's way in stealthily.

I am working on what I want to do in October. I have some weapons I need to review, some more old mecha (I've been trying to get a Red Puncher video done for years), and hopefully some more custom toys. More of the same, eh?

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A little while back I posted my review of my long-awaited Hot Toys Ryo Saeba action figure. This 1/6th Scale work of art was exactly what I've been dreaming of for years. Check out the video!

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Finally I just want to say a big "Thank You" if you are subscribed to my Youtube Channel. I recently passed the 4,000 mark! It makes me feel great that not only are my videos getting tens of thousands of views a day, but thousands of users want to be notified when I upload something new.

Thanks again!

-CC

The Top Seven Sentai Mecha Songs!

Oh wow, another CCLemon99 Top Seven List! In case you didn't see my last entry, I suggest you check it out. I break down my video schedule through mid-September.

Mecha songs have always been hit or miss. They should be the best songs on the song collection, but some times they fall flat. Who cares about the flat ones though...I'm here to talk about the best!

7. Hyakujuu Gattai! Gaoking > Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger

Good way to start off the list, eh? This is perfect song for the 25th Anniversary mecha. This is technically the first Sentai mecha song by Ichiro Mizuki, and what a debut! Granted, he is the master of mecha songs from the 70s/80s but this is his first Sentai mecha song. Naturally a veteran singer will do an excellent job. 'Nuff said.

6. Makkana tokkon! Red Puncher > Choriki Sentai Ohranger

This is one of the few secondary mecha songs that I like. The intro alone is wonderful, it is Red Puncher being introduced to a match. This song has a unique energy to match a unique mecha. Hironobu Kageyama at his finest. Before he became the empty shell of a singer that he's been since 1999.

5. Dash! Liverobo > Chojuu Sentai Liveman

This song might not have the energy of the other songs on this list, but it definitely a winner. It starts off quiet and doesn't really get very exciting. It is, however...Badass. It's the perfect song for the best mecha of the 80s.

4. Engine Gattai Engineoh > Engine Sentai Go-Onger

Easily the best mecha song of the 2000s. Shinichi Ishihara began his Tokusatsu singing career in 1989 with the theme song for Turborugger from Turboranger. During the 90s, he had some of the most memorable Tokusatsu songs of the time. Since then, however, he has only done a handful of Tokusatsu songs. This song is one of those instances that makes you wonder why they don't let him sing theme songs anymore. Great song, great singer.

3. Biorobo no uta > Chodenshi Bioman

This was the oldest mecha song that really kicks ass. Takayuki Miyauchi (more on him later) did a great job singing, but that isn't the real reason I like that song. Listen to the last forty seconds of the song. It's completely unnecessary, but it is completely awesome. They decided to include some of the show's soundtrack into the mecha's theme song. I approve of this. It blends in, and it sounds awesome.

2. Ginga no ouja Gingaioh! > Seijuu Sentai Gingaman

Takayuki Miyauchi began his Tokusatsu singing career in 1984 with Bioman. Since then he has done it all...Themes, IN songs, mecha songs, the lot. However, he has been most strongly linked with mecha songs for some reason. I think this has to do with quality. Is there a bad mecha song by this guy? Nope. He's put out nothing but gold. I've mentioned before that the Gingaman theme song is my favorite of the era, which still seems right to me. Gingaman has two song collections with excellent songs in them. They're all well composed and well sung. However, this song is the shining star of the series. It is the catchiest of all of the excellent Gingaman songs and almost the best mecha theme song of the 90s...

1. Denji Gattai Galaxymega > Denji Sentai Megaranger

Yeah. I said it. This is MY favorite mecha song ever. This song has it all to me. It's majestic in the same way that the Liverobo theme is. It's upbeat in the same way the Engine-oh theme is. It's as solid as all of the others on this list. Yet it doesn't seem to get a lot of love from people I talk to. I think my favorite touches in this song are when the music breaks from the intro and the backing vocals singing "5-4-1! 5-4-1!!", which is Galaxymega's code on the Degitaizer. This song is a perfect match for one of the coolest mechas ever.

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Well there you have it. My favorite Sentai mecha theme songs of all time. There are dozens of mecha themes out there, and I've heard them all. I definitely recommend those Mecha song collection CD sets when they release them every few years.

Take care!

-CC

At long last...schedule for the next 10 videos!

I'm back! I've been putting this off for awhile, but here is a schedule for upcoming reviews...!

22.July.2012 Ranger Key Set Hurricaneger
29.July.2012 Ranger Key Set Boukenger
05.August.2012 Hot Toys City Hunter Ryo Saeba
12.August.2012 Ranger Key Set Dekaranger
19.August.2012 Ranger Key Set Gekiranger
26.August.2012 DX Go-Buster Oh
02.September.2012 Ranger Key Set Go-Busters 2
09.September.2012 Ranger Key Set Abaranger
16.September.2012 Ranger Key Set Magiranger
23.September.2012 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (KPGC10)

A little over half of those videos have been completed already. The Abaranger and Magiranger RK Sets haven't been released yet, but they'll be in house with plenty of spare time for their scheduled dates.

I really look forward to everything on that list... Catching up with and (hopefully) concluding the Ranger Key Sets, Ryo Saeba (!!!), and my annual current Sentai Mecha video. Also, I've been lazy on finishing that Skyline 2000GT-R review. Holding it off for that week since it'll be a special week for me.

I just want to say thank again to everyone for the well-wishes on my five year anniversary last month. If you have gotten atleast an ounce of entertainment out of my video hobby, it's an ounce more than I ever set out to give. : p Seriously, thanks for watching all these years!

Off to do some more editing. I'll be back with a new Top 7 next week-ish.

-CC