The CD Collection -- Ultraman Complete Songs Box + 2 Bonus CDs

I am back to finish out a double-header of CD Collection Posts! This time I am finally breaking into a small portion of the 8,749 largely uninteresting Ultraman CDs that I own. In this post I will be talking about a massive box set, a novelty Christmas-themed album, and a brand new release. So here we go~!

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Ultraman Complete Song Collection
COCX-30717-21
1999.12.18

DISC 1

Ultra Q [1~7] What better place to start than the beginning? The first seven tracks are made up of all versions of the three songs from Ultra Q. The three Ultra Q songs that do exist are quite good actually. I especially love the instrumental theme song. There is a certain charm here that I know will wear out as the years and Ultra series wear on. Regardless, the Ultra Q section on this disc is probably my favorite and an easy one to revisit.

I should note that the first track of each TV series begins with the brief "Main Title" music that plays before the theme song starts.

Ultraman [8~16] You've all heard the Ultraman theme song. Have you heard all three versions included on this disc? Other tracks include two versions of Tokusou tai no uta, and three versions of the song Susume! Ultraman. Couple those eight songs with the "Main Title" and you have all nine original Ultraman songs.

I like the Ultraman theme song...who doesn't? Could I live a full life without ever hearing it again? Sure, but it doesn't mean I don't like it. The other songs are pretty bland, however. Naturally the only two tracks that get regular play from me are the Main Title and the theme song.

Ultraseven [17~24] Ultraseven has a similarly limited song collection as Ultraman. Of the eight tracks, half of them are different versions of the theme song. One is the Main Title, and the other three songs are ULTRA SEVEN, Ultra keibitai no uta, and Ultra shonen no uta.

Of all of the songs here I would have to say that ULTRA SEVEN is my favorite. It has some excellent horn work on display rather than being shoved in the background as it is on most of these songs. The jazzier/reworked version of the theme song isn't bad either.

Kaettekita Ultraman [25~33] Ultraman may have moved on to the 1970s, but the sound really didn't change much. Ultraman Jack is probably the first to receive a proper song collection. It isn't bad, either. After Ultra Q, this series probably gets the most play for me.

Stand out tracks to me are the Main Title, which is one of my top three favorite Ultraman Main Titles, the theme song, and Tatakae! Ultraman (which is probably the first legit action song in an Ultraman series).



DISC 2

Ultraman Ace [1~8] I really don't have much to say about the Ultraman A song collection. Like previous song collections, there are some duplicate tracks. This is probably one of the most boring Ultraman song collections, though. It's one of the lousier theme songs of the series. The rest are just incredibly bland.

Ultraman Taro [9~15] I wrote a Top 7 of Ultraman theme songs quite some time ago. If it were a Top 8 list, the theme for Ultraman Taro would be on it. Great song, but I stand by my list (pretty damn solid...even three years later). The covers are also pretty good. One of which is sung by Gentaro Takahashi, who would go on to sing the Bycrosser theme songs...and expertly belt this out on TV.

The rest of the Taro songs are...alright I suppose.

Ultraman Leo [16~22] Back to my Top 7 of Ultraman themes...the first Leo theme song was present and very much deserves to be there. The Leo theme song is so, SO good. I love it. The second theme song is also decent, but not nearly as good as the original. There are also covers of both theme songs by Masato Shimon.

I'm sorry if I'm kinda breezing through all of these 70s Ultraman song collections, but there really isn't much to say about such bland songs with little variety (so many duplicates). The MAC theme is good, but the rest don't have much to offer.

Ultraseven (Hawaii) [23~24] English covers of the Ultraseven theme song and the song ULTRA SEVEN (called ULTRA-7 here). Holy crap... Masato Shimon's English is awful. Mercifully his English is much improved by the time Gingaman happened.

Jissouji Akio Kantoku Sakuhin Ultraman [25~26] Two songs for this feature. The first is a very good cover of the original Ultraman theme song by Isao Sasaki. The second is Disco Ultraman, which is fun...but nowhere near as good as...

Disco Ultraseven [27] I love Disco Ultraseven. I love it so much. Shake your booty now. (I wrote about it previously)

Ultra6 Kyodai tai Kaiju Gundan [28] Theme song to the film. It's not very good...but not as bad as the resulting mess by a bunch of goons known as Chaiyo...

DISC 3

Ultraman Kaiju Daikessen [1~2] Two songs from Ichiro Mizuki as themes for this feature. Ultra ai no kane is my favorite of the two. Ultraman Monogatari is the second and slower song. It has some lashings of nostalgia, but is a bit on the dull side.

The☆Ultraman [3~13] Amazingly this is the first legitimate song collection for an Ultraman series...and it belongs to the anime. I watched a handful of episodes from this series some time ago. It's pretty good, especially if you dig that late 70s anime style.

Anyway...the songs. Referring back to my Top 7 of themes, I stand by my decision to include this one. A fantastic theme song by Isao Sasaki (who largely dominates this song collection). The song collection itself is great. I wouldn't say it's as strong as the Skyrider song collection of the same year, but it's certainly better than the nothing we got from the disappointing Battle Fever J song collection. There are a couple of snoozers, but the good songs on here are very good. And hey, there is even a song by Mitsuko Horie.

Ultraman 80 [14~19] 80! I love everything about the small section of space the Ultraman 80 songs take up in this box set. First off, the first opening theme song is one of my favorite Tokusatsu theme songs ever (it topped my Ultraman Top 7...spoilers). The second theme is also excellent...as are both ending songs. The IN song is just...alright, but a bit on the bland side. The Main Title is easily my favorite of the bunch. I love everything about the Ultraman 80 song collection.

Ahhhhhh! He came to us from a star~!

It should be noted...all but the IN song are by TALIZMAN, whose singer Harley Kimura later did songs for Uchuu Keiji Gavan.

Ultraman Zoffy: Ultra no Senshi VS Daikaiju Gundan [20] Just the theme song for this feature. ZZZ

Ultraman Kids M.78 hoshi no yu kaina nakama [21~22] Two songs from the 1984 Ultraman Kids feature. I will talk about these a bit more below in my review of the Ultraman Kids Music Collection.

DISC 4

Ultraman Monogatari [1~2] The theme songs from Ultraman Story. Both of them are by Ichiro Mizuki...and aren't all that great. They both feature this pretty weak drumbeat. These aren't very good, I would just move along.

Ultraman Kids no kotozawa monogatari [3] TV version of the theme Kids no chachacha. I explain more in the Ultraman Kids CD review below.

Ultraman USA [4~5] Making his Tokusatsu debut--it's Shinichi Ishihara. Well...it's kinda Tokusatsu. I'm counting it (!). Ultraman USA was an animated feature (by Hanna-Barbera no less!) that kinda came in went for good reason. It was pretty lame. The only saving grace were the two awesome songs we got from Ishihara. I didn't realize it until much later, but Koorogi '73 are also on these songs. Kinda surprising since they're usually pretty distinct when they show up.

Ultraman Great [6~11] Oh man. Everything about the Ultraman Great song collection is delightfully cheesy. The theme song literally features duh-duh-duh-dah-da-dah! Charge! (minus the "charge!"). The other songs are just as weird...but two in particular stick out...

The tracks THE EARTH IT'S HURTIN' and ULTRAMAN are both English versions of two other IM songs found on the Ultraman Great song collection. They're both sung by Jay Hackett. The song ULTRAMAN is exceedingly awesome in it's terribleness. Have a look for yourself. The best part about that song is that it was apparently used as the opening song in some versions of the series. I know I previously wrote about English-version songs in Tokusatsu...and I intentionally left this one out. Since Great/G/Toward The Future is an Australian production, there is valid reason for there to be English songs included.

Ultraman Kids haha o tazunete 3000-man konen [12~19] I talk about the themes to this show below in my Ultraman Kids CD Set review. What I don't talk about below are the five image songs that the set didn't bother including. Honestly, it's five pretty boring songs. One of which, however, is a duet called Day by Day~otonaninattara featuring Shinichi Ishihara, which is nice.



DISC 5

ULTRAMAN -LOVE FOR CHILDREN [1] *ahem*

TSUBURAYA PRODUCTION HISTORY OF MUSIC [2-5] A group of songs that are exclusive to the MASSIVE 15-Disc CD set that was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tsuburaya Pro.

All songs are by Ichiro Mizuki with Satsuki Tsuburaya joining him on the final track. The only weak song is Zoffy no Ballad. Rule of thumb...if any song has anything to do with Zoffy, it's going to suck.

Ultraman VS Kamen Rider [6~7] Hell yeah! These are the two songs from the 1993 TV special with Ultraman and Kamen Rider. Both songs are by Hironobu Kageyama. Both are fantastic songs, but I kinda prefer the low-key IN song over the crazy ending song. Hironobu Kageyama used to be a crazy talented singer...

Image Song [8] I love how this is just given the title "Image Song" in the track list. It is a song called Bokutachi wa minna Ultraman datta by Akihiko Sawaki. It is a bit of a forgotten ballad from the 90s. It really isn't too bad to be perfectly honest.

Ultraman Powered [9~10] Now... These aren't THE Ultraman Powered theme songs. These are the Columbia covers. This basically means that Columbia didn't want to spend the cash on licensing the real versions of the theme songs, so they commissioned one of their artists to do cover versions. In this case we got Shinichi Ishihara!

To be honest...he might not have been the best fit for these covers. He is more at home singing the B-Fighter, Gogo Five, or Kamen Rider Agito theme songs. They're perfectly fine covers, but I really prefer the originals by Tatsuya Maeda.

Ultraman Neos [11~12] Same as before. These are also Columbia Cover Versions of the Ultraman Neos songs. Once again, these are by Shinichi Ishihara. These songs are a little more form-fitting to his style than the Powered songs.

Ultraman Tiga [13~14] Once again, Columbia Cover Versions. This time around we have Tatsuya Maeda (!) and Naoto Fuuga (!) joining Shinichi Ishihara on the cover of TAKE ME HIGHER (which is easily the best version of the song out there) and a duet of Ichiro Mizuki (!) and Takayuki Miyauchi (!) singing Brave Love, TIGA. Off the top of my head, these tracks are the only time any of these gents worked together. They really went all out to make these versions memorable.

In all seriousness, these are the definitive versions of both songs. There are seemingly endless covers of TAKE ME HIGHER...and this is the easiest on the ears by far. Boy band...or established singers...? You decide. The cover of Brave Love, TIGA is just an all around better production.

Both original versions of the Tiga themes are related to TM Network...and yet...I hate them so much...

Ultraman Dyna [15] Columbia cover of the Dyna OP by Masaaki Endo. It's great...but I have to prefer the original by Tatsuya Maeda.

Ultraman Gaia [16] Columbia cover by Masaaki Endo & Takayuki Miyauchi. Man, they really got all of my favorites together for these covers, which were exclusive to this box set when it was released. I'm a little divided on this one. I think I prefer the production on the original by Masayuki Tanaka (Kamen Rider Kuuga), but this is still an excellent cover of a great theme song.

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SET SUMMARY: I can finally talk about this set as a package!

This set contains five individually cased CDs, a large booklet containing lyrics and other information, and a small battery-operated Ultraman timer that can be linked to a Nokia cellphone of the era. All of this is packaged up in a very sturdy cardboard box.

Naturally the timer has very little use to me or my iPhone, so why don't I just move on to the CDs (it's a neat concept at least!).

None of the discs come with booklets or covers of any kind. They're just jewel cases with back covers to provide tracklists. They probably could have been a little more efficient in their packaging by, perhaps, using a larger hinged jewel case (I have CD sets like this that contain six discs in a very compact package). In the end, though, this is a hefty set with a lot of content.

Speaking of content...uhhh...this set isn't anything new. In 1996 Columbia released pretty much all of the content of this set over six discs. Why six discs instead of five? Well, they included Karaoke tracks of all of the theme songs at the end of each volume! Now, I'm not rushing to get all of these volumes since they're quite rare and don't strike me as being essential to my collection. I do have half of them, however. Mainly, these are the ones I wanted due to their coverage.



I will probably end up with the rest over time (holding out for good deals)...but don't expect me to write anything about them. They literally have the exact same track list as the 5-CD Box minus all of the Columbia Covers on Disc 5



Overall...a good set. Things really don't pick up for me until Disco Ultraseven, but you might enjoy classic Ultraman songs a bit more than I do. Every once in awhile I see this set go for a reasonable price. Or you could go the Superhero Chronicle route, which does have even more content...

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Ultraman Christmas Song & Story
COCX-35863
2009.11.04

I was about halfway through the seventh (of eight) tracks and I damn near wrote this entire disc off in a spectacularly profane fashion. Then.......I got to track 8. All was forgiven.

As one would expect, this is a Christmas flavored disc made up mostly of cover theme songs (Mebius, Ultraseven, Ultraman) as well as traditional Christmas standards (Santa Claus is coming to town, Jingle Bells, Rudolph). Track seven is a fifteen-minute story in which Ultraman (they got Susumu Kurobe to come in and lend his iconic voice, which was nice) saves Christmas from Baltan. Basically, this is like Merry Xmas! from Carranger.....but not great. Terrible, in fact.

Track 8, though. Holy cow. It is basically a medley made up of manipulated soundbites of Baltan, Ultraman, Ultraseven, and Ultraman 80. I really wish I could put this one on Youtube to share...because it has to be heard to believed. Here is a not-great taste of what it's like. The full version of the song is absolutely bonkers... Really, it turned this dud of a purchase around into...just breaking even (I only spent like $6 total on this disc...heh).

Oh yeah, and I have to admit that the artwork is pretty cool.

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Ultraman Kids Music Collection
COCX-39298-99
2015.10.21

DISC 1

Ultraman Kids M7.8 hoshi no yu kaina nakama [1~9] The first nine tracks from this disc are made up with music from the 1984 debut Ultraman Kids theatrical film. Composing the score to this film is recently fired Kamen Rider composer Shunsuke Kikuchi. Tracks 2 and 9 are the Movie Size and Movie Full Version (respectively) of the Ultraman Kids theme song Kids no chachacha sung by Kyoko Yamada. Track 6 is the Movie Size version of the song Nakayoshi Piguko to Midorichan by Kumiko Osugi. There isn't a whole lot to say about this honestly. Since it's the score of a feature--there isn't a whole lot to it.

Ultraman Kids no kotowaza monogatari [10~34] The same players are back for the 26-episode (24 aired) 1986 TV anime series for Ultraman Kids. A new version of Kids no chachacha (Track 10-TV Size, 28-TV Version Full, 30-Karaoke With Chorus, 31-Karaoke No Chorus) by Kyoko Yamada and Full and Karaoke versions of Nakayoshi Piguko to Midorichan (tracks 29 and 32 respectively). Both songs are pretty nice, but not especially memorable. As always, it is very nice to have all versions of them in one place. Oh, and I suppose it's worth mentioning that the only difference between TV and Movie versions of the theme song is that the vocals were re-recorded. That's it.

Shunsuke Kikuchi's score has pretty much been expanded to cover the entire series. Well... I really enjoy all of his 1970s Kamen Rider background music. The 80s just weren't a good time for him. I don't dislike his work, but it's just so...blah. There is no other way to describe it. This soundtrack in particular is extremely forgettable. Combine this with Kamen Rider Super 1, Dr. Slump, and Dragonball and you have a massive storm of just bland score. Enjoyable in a sort of nostalgic and nebular way I suppose.

Here is where a little confusion sets in for me. Tracks 33 and 34 are full-sized versions of the theme songs (Cosmos Adventure and Twinkle Twinkle Wink~onegai Shooting Star~) from the 1991 Ultraman Kids series. Disc 2 is entirely made up of music from the 1991 series...and I suppose it is a little tight on space. For whatever reason they're at the end of the first disc and marked as being from the 1986 series. Again...I'm really not sure why it isn't at least listed as being from the newer series.

DISC 2

Ultraman Kids haha o tazunete 3000-man konen [ALL] This time the background music is composed by Shinsuke Kazato. I don't know too much about Shinsuke Kazato, but the name did ring a bell when I first read his name on the credits for this disc. I looked him up and realized that he arranged the two unused Kyoko Sound Laboratory songs for the 1995 Jinzoningen Hakaider movie. That's right... DAMN YOU, FORTE!!!!!!!! Right, anyway... I don't know much else about the composer, but he put together a nice score for this series. It's mellow, but has some upbeat moment (which the 1986 series has NONE). I dig this. It's good, not great.

There are two versions of both theme songs by Satoko Yamano. The opening theme (Tracks 01 and 14) and ending theme (29 and 11) are represented in TV size and Instrumental versions respectively. I've liked Cosmos Adventure a bit over the year, so it's nice to hear it once again. It is kinda strange that they didn't include the Karaoke versions of these songs, which I do have from another disc. It also would've been nice to have some instrumental love for some of the IN songs. Oh well.

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SET SUMMARY: I wasn't sure what to expect with this set. As I said earlier in my Machineman CD Set review, I am in love with Columbia for their recently vault diving for rare and unreleased music from Tokusatsu shows. Maybe I was hoping this would be as awesome of the Kamen Rider SD soundtrack...and maybe I am a tad bit disappointed. Eh, not really. I enjoy the music from the 1991 series, so it isn't a loss.

If you are a fan of Shunsuke Kikuchi...check out all of his Kamen Rider, Dragonball, and Dr. Slump work. THEN, check this out. His work here is the kind of nondescript music that Ned Flanders would snap his fingers to.

In all seriousness, I really wish they would have expanded this to three discs to include all of the songs from the 1991 series as well as the Karaoke and Instrumental versions. You know, for completionist's sake. I still need to refer to another CD for Karaoke versions of the themes...and even then, no Karaoke versions of the IN songs exist anywhere. I'd be happier with this set if it were the full package.

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Thank you once again for taking another trip into my CD collection. You can always check out my CD Collection/Music page for more articles as well as a partial list of what I own.

I will be back soon with something new!

-CC

The CD Collection -- Superhero Chronicle Metal Hero I-IV

I'm back once again for another entry in my never ending series of articles on my CD Collection. Seriously. I did a massive update to my collection page that pretty much tripled the size of the page. At my current rate of writing these spotlights...I'm never going to finish.....

It might seem like today's entry is light on content...but you'd be wrong. I did a review on some Superhero Chronicle CD sets in the past and it was quite a lot of work. When all was said and done I had reviewed songs from tons of shows of the 1970s and 1980s. I'll never have to talk about Kikaider again...! This time I'll be covering songs from all Metal Hero series. All of them. From Gavan to Robotack. Here it goes!

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Superhero Chronicle Metal Hero Shudaika Sonyuuka Daizenshuu I

COCX-32504-06

2003.12.17

DISC 1

Uchuu Keiji Gavan [01~10] I previously talked about the Gavan song collection in my review of the Hit Song & Original Soundtrack set. To recap--this is a great song collection. Akira Kushida owns it in a way few other singers have dominated a series song collection before or since. It might not be my overall favorite Tokusatsu song collection, but it is as close to perfect as they come.

Uchuu Keiji Sharivan [11~19] Sharivan's song collection is, much like the series and BGM, mostly carryover from Gavan. There is plenty of Akira Kushida, but we also got a song from Poplar (who later sang the songs from Lady Battle Cop as well as the Japanese dub of the Duck Tales theme.......look it up) called DANGER MELODY and two songs from the late Kiyohiko Ozaki. Another very solid set of songs, but maybe not as memorable as Gavan's soundtrack. Personally...I think I like this one a little bit better than Gavan. Songs like SON OF SUN and DANGER MELODY give it the edge to me.

DISC 2

Uchuu Keiji Shaider [01~10] This one is a favorite of a lot of people, but I'm not a huge fan of it. Sure there are songs like Shaider Blue (Takayuki Miyauchi's lone song here), Shouketsu Shaider, and Ginga no hate made (anything solo Koorogi '73 is great...whenever they have background involvement on a song it tends to suck) but there are also boring songs like Seigi no Hunter, aoi inazuma, and Hello! Shaider. Naomi Morinaga's singing on Annie ni Omakase is pretty dreadful also. This one is pretty much mixed right down the middle to me. OH and the short song Nanda Nanda Boogie by Ao Gakitai (Haa...)  is also missing. Luckily it was included in the 2-Disc Music Collection along with the Karaoke version. 

Kyojuu Tokusou Juspion [11~22] I rarely listen to this song collection, and I'm not entirely sure why. It has some stinkers like Kyojuu tachi yo and the "English" theme songs, but everything else is pretty solid. There aren't a whole lot of familiar names among the singers. Akira Kushida sings four IN songs but the rest are from singers like Henry (English Themes), BOBBY (Itsu no hi heiwa ga), and Ai Takano (Both themes, two IN songs) who is an OK singer. I might catch some crap for saying this, but I like this song collection over Changeman's. The production quality is noticeably better and the songs are just...tighter. Give both of these song collections a listen to and see for yourself. 

DISC 3

Jiku Senshi Spielban [01~10] Another song collection I don't listen to much. I kinda have good reason for this one though--it isn't very good. I love the opening and both ending themes, but the IN songs are pretty lame. The three leads each sing their own songs (of which I only like Diana Action). The Waller theme is one that I gave a recent re-evaluation to...and I actually dig it quite a bit. I remember not liking it much in the past...but it's actually not bad. The IN songs by Ichiro Mizuki are rightfully forgotten. He is on point for the theme songs, but really just not very good on the two lame IN songs.

Chojinki Metalder [11~20] I suppose I can get right to it and say that I love this song collection. We have that badass theme song from Isao Sasaki, some great IN songs from Ichiro Mizuki and Kouji Kaya (who went on to also rock out the Liveman song collection). The only thing that sticks out here is the lone song from Da Capo. Outside of being signed to Columbia...I really don't know why they were included on the Metalder song collection. Regardless, it's a nice song. The only legit lame song is the deceptively-titled Never Give Up.

As a side note, I have read a number of times that the IN song Shunten! Yume no Senshi was intended to be the theme song to the series. It definitely has that vibe...and it is the only song on the collection that mentions the full title of the show. I have even seen some people craft together the OP sequence with this song laid down on it. It totally works! Could this rumor be true??

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SET SUMMARY: I imagine that this set was the biggest seller of the lot--and rightfully so. It contains all of the memorable and popular Metal Hero Song Collections and has a fairly accessible and easy to navigate layout (more on that later). It's still actually available on sites like Amazon Japan. You won't be disappointed if you decided to pick this one up.

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Superhero Chronicle Metal Hero Shudaika Sonyuuka Daizenshuu II

COCX-32600-02

2004.02.18

DISC 1

Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya [01~10] The boss is back! Akira Kushida returns after a two year absence from Metal Hero. He's back so much that he sings all but two of the IN songs as well. The other two are character songs by Takumi Tsutsui and Megumi Sekiguchi...and are the only weak songs on the song collection. 

Kidou Keiji Jiban [11~20] Just as fast as he was back, he's now gone. Akira Kushida sings all but three of the IN songs for the Jiban song collection in what will be his (almost) final appearance on a Metal Hero song collection. The three other songs are character songs by Shohei Kusaka and the other by Michiko Enokida (who is an awful singer). Of the character songs, Jiban no himitsu is probably the only decent one. All of the Kushida songs are great with classics like Hoero Jiban!, GOYO da!, and the vehicles theme.

DISC 2

Tokkei Winspector [All 15] We've now gotten to (IMO) the heavy-hitters. There is something about the Rescue Hero (Winspector, Solbrain, Exceedraft) song collections that make them extra special to me. Winspector is particular is a great set of songs from Takayuki Miyauchi (who I think is in top form when he sings Metal Hero songs), Ichiro Mizuki, a lone song by Hiroshi Miyauchi (his best song by far, IMO...I don't care much for the Kamen Rider V3 theme), and a song from Fire actor Masaru Yamashita (which is alright, but probably the weak link of the collection). This song collection is a little synth-heavy for 1990, but it all kinda works. There is tons of variety on all of the songs. I would have to say that is this isn't my favorite Metal Hero song collection...but it is at least top 3 material.  

DISC 3

Tokkyushirei Solbrain [All 14] Continuing on with the awesome-song streak we arrive at the Solbrain song collection. Ichiro Mizuki may be gone, but Takayuki Miyauchi keeps the flame burning by once again singing the themes and the bulk of the IN songs. The two other singers for the IN songs are three songs from Yasuhide Sawazaki (who I have never been able to find much information on) and two songs from Kenji Konuta. This collection definitely has a more fast-paced rock vibe than the synth heavy Winspector collection. I will also say that this is right up there with Winspector fighting for the top spot of my all-time favorite Tokusatsu song collection. How did they get it soooo right for two years in a row? The song Rescue Action kokoro o sukue is easily one of my favorite Tokusatsu IN songs ever (Top 5 even). For me, there really isn't really a weak point. If I haaad to pick one, though, it would have to be kimi mo Solbrain.

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SET SUMMARY: Naturally I love this set since Winspector and Solbrain are two of my all-time favorite Tokusatsu song collections. The Jiraiya and Jiban song collections are also fan-bleeding-tastic. While I think the first CD set is probably a favorite among fans, this set is my personal favorite of the lot. Who knows, you might like it too. Oh yeah, and this one also appears to still be available for sale at Amazon Japan. Recommended!

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Superhero Chronicle Metal Hero Shudaika Sonyuuka Daizenshuu III

COCX-32641-43

2004.03.17

DISC 1

Tokusou Exceedraft [All 15] Takayuki Miyauchi returns to round out the song collections for the trio of Rescue Hero series shows. As great as this song collection is, it kinda pales in comparison to Winspector and Solbrain. Rather than being good AND different, it kinda feels like a continuation of the Solbrain song collection. That said, I do listen to this batch of songs often. Takayuki Miyauchi does twelve of the fifteen songs with Ushio Hashimoto (she is probably most famous for the original Dragonball Ending Song Romantic ageru yo), and the returns of Yasuhide Sawazaki and Kenji Konuta with a song apiece. Like I said, this is an excellent rockin' song collection, but not quuuuite as good as the previous two.

Exceedraft Grade Up! and Arashi o makiokose! are two of my favorite Tokusatsu songs ever at least. Especially Exceedraft Grade Up!--it's a damn near perfect song. 

DISC 2

Tokusou Robo Janperson [01~08] The twilight of greatness has come upon us. What we are left with is...actually still very good. Despite the awful, awful record label that took control of Metal Hero in 1993 we managed to get eight solid songs for Janperson. Half of the songs are by a singer called Susumu Ooya (whose only other claims to fame are some Dragonball Z image songs) with the other half by Hironobu Kageyama (who is making his Metal Hero debut!). All of the songs are very good, with Seigi no tame ni being the best by far. That said, there are no bad songs...just not a lot of them. Damn Forte.....

Blue SWAT [09~16] More Forte badness. This time around, the songs aren't all that great. Tatsuya Maeda (famous for the themes to Ultraman Powered, Ultraman Neos, Ultraman Dyna, as well as a Catch The Wind from Carranger and some Ultraman IN songs) sings six of the eight Blue SWAT songs. He's a great singer...and the only song that really does him justice is the OP TRUE DREAM (more on that later). The music is kinda cheesy on these songs. Other songs are sung by Kaoru Ito (lyricist and composer...interestingly he is behind both of this show's themes. Kinda reminds me of what happened with Ohranger), and the Blue SWAT cast...who are not great singers. Maybe if there were a few more than eight songs there could've been a chance for this to be better.

OK, so I mentioned that I bit more to say about TRUE DREAM? When I first got this set I noticed that the version of TRUE DREAM included here is very different from pretty much every other CD I own with the song on it. I am probably going to write a full article on this eventually, but yeah...Forte is still screwing with us from it's deep, dark corner in Hell...

DISC 3

Jukou B-Fighter [01~10] The B-Fighter theme songs wrote checks that the song collection couldn't cash. Sure there are some gems like the Beet Machine theme and the movie ending song Kono hoshi no tame naraba, but the rest of the songs are a complete waste of the Metal Hero debut of the amazing Shinichi Ishihara (who is one of only four singers who has sung theme songs for Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Metal Hero, AND Ultraman--I believe Hironobu Kageyama, Ichiro Mizuki and Isao Sasaki are the only others). Feh to this one. Just stick with the four good songs that I mentioned.

BF Kabuto [11~17] This is where the format of this set starts to get hairy. With little disc space left they decided to plow right ahead and include six of the seventeen BF Kabuto songs. We get two songs by Nobuhiko Kashihara (previously he had done the Won Tiger theme in Dairanger...which I guess is enough to warrant him singing a set of Metal Hero theme song), four songs by Shinichi Ishihara, Pretty Cast (who did a song for Sailormoon Super S *shrug*) and a Metal Hero debut from then-newcomer Masaaki Endo. I kinda dig the Neo Beet Machine theme more than the Beet Machine theme from B-Fighter. Honestly, the BF Kabuto songs on this set are some of the more decent ones. Even Hero ni naru hi by Pretty Cast has some charm to it.

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SET SUMMARY: Worth it for Exceedraft and Janperson. It's kinda strange being able to watch a franchise fall apart through the shabby treatment of their song collections (the music collections are another story). I really don't know why they decided to go ahead with BF Kabuto rather than using filler from the next set to close this one out. Oh well. Not as essential as the previous two sets, but there is still some gold to be had here.

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Superhero Chronicle Metal Hero Shudaika Sonyuuka Daizenshuu IV

COCX-32757-59

2004.05.19

DISC 1

BF Kabuto [01~11] This jumps right in some IN songs from BF Kabuto with Track 11 as the series ending song Oogoe de utaeba. The charms of BF Kabuto IN songs wears off fast. They start to sound alike after a bit...but they aren't terrible. The standout song is probably the glorious Kabuterios theme song. Other than that...meh. Four more songs by Shinichi Ishihara, two by Nobuhiko Kashihara, a cast song (which isn't terrible), one by Kazuhiro Konishi (who is a singer...I guess), two by Masaaki Endo, and another by Pretty Cast (the one on the previous set wasn't bad, but this one is pretty lame).

B-Robo Kabutack [12~19] The first eight of the ten Kabutack songs are on this disc. The singer of the OP is a Toei man all the way. Takeshi Kusao (voice of Kabutack himself and Trunks from Dragonball Z) sings the OP and three IN songs on this disc (five of the ten total Kabutack songs). Ichiro Mizuki, Akira Kushida, Takayuki Miyauchi, and Yoko Ishihida (who, strangely, later appeared on the Chumei Watanabe Tokusatsu Oh CD) all did one song on this disc. These songs are OK. I'm not crazy for the Takeshi Kusao songs (Super Change! Kabutack is pretty good), but the other singers did some nice work.

DISC 2

B-Robo Kabutack [01~02] The final two Kabutack songs open up this disc. The first is the awesome Super Dream 13, which is Akira Kushida's final Metal Hero song. It's kind of a bummer that the man who started it all had his final song as an IN song on the next to last series. Whenever you hear Super Dream 13, give a little salute. The second track is the lousy Kabutack ending song by Takeshi Kusao.

Tetsuwan Tantei Robotack [03~13] It's been awhile since a show's song collection fit nicely on one disc. For the final Metal Hero song collection we do get some treats. For one...Hironobu Kageyama sings the theme song! Wow, they really waited until the last minute to get it in, eh? Not only that...it's riiiiiight before he started to suck. I have almost pinpointed the moment he started to suck to about late 1998. He sings the great theme song and is joined by Masaaki Endo on two tracks (credited under their duo name Kotetsu Kyodai...check them out sometime). Both of the Kotetsu Kyodai songs are great...especially GET HIGH!, which despite it's kinda funny name is one of the top best Tokusatsu songs ever...no lie. Other songs... One by YURIA, one by LAMUSE, one by Shinichi Ishihara, the second ending song by Robotack All-Stars, one by Kamerock voice actor Hideyuki Hori and three by Robotack voice actor Nozomu Sasaki (two versions of the first ending theme and one IN song). In the first of the two versions of the first ending songs you are given instructions on how to draw Robotack, Darkrow, and Kamerock. The second version is only one verse and teaches you how to draw Special Mode Robotack. Fun song collection.

OP Instrumental Collection [14~19] Not too much to say about this. It's instrumental versions of the theme songs from Gavan, Sharivan, Shaider, Juspion, Spielban, and Metalder. The technical term that the CD uses is "Meroke" or Meloke" which is one of those portmanteaus that don't quite translate to English. It's a combination of Melody and Karaoke. Calling them instrumental versions is easier and just as accurate.

DISC 3

OP Instrumental Collection [01~09] Continuing from the previous disc we start with the...Jiban theme? You've gotta be kidding me. They skipped over Jiraiya? Ugh...what the holy hell? Alright, well let's move on. Winspector, Solbrain, Exceedraft, Janperson... No Blue SWAT. Awesome. On second thought, the instrumental version of TRUE DREAM is garbage, maybe they were just too embarrassed to use it. B-Fighter, BF Kabuto, Kabutack, and Robotack are all represented here. So Jiraiya and Blue SWAT are missing...ugh.

DIGITAL TRIP Uchuu Keiji Sharivan SYNTHESIZER FANTASY [10~17] I really don't have too much to say about this that I haven't said already. This is the very first CD release of 'Synthesizer Fantasy. It was later included in the 2-Disc Sharivan Music Collection, which I previously reviewed. I love the hell out it, but it certainly isn't for everyone. It's also criminally out of place on this set. Oh well, at least it was released on CD in the first place.

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SET SUMMARY: Weird. Just...very, very, very weird. The somewhat confusing layout that began at the end of the third set is full-on out of control on this set. The third set should have ended with the Sharivan Synthesizer Fantasy. It would have been a perfect fit. Then BF Kabuto could've taken up the first disc here, Kabutack, Robotack, and the OP Instrumental could've finished it out. It's hard to build any kind of atmosphere from this set when it's so broken. I should also mention that this is the hardest set to find of the four. Long out of print and even difficult to find second-hand without paying a hefty sum. The other three are still available new.

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Thank you for reading another one of my CD Collection posts. I hope that these are at least a little bit informative...especially if you're looking to buy. This one in particular was one I was looking forward to writing. Metal Hero is probably my favorite sub-genre of Tokusatsu songs. I genuinely think that Metal Hero that is consistently the best when it comes to song collections. It started right around the time all of the repetitive 70s music had died out and before the awful 2000s came in to kill it. Song Collection-wise, Metal Hero was fortunate to have the misfortune of dying off.

Thanks for reading. For more, check out my CD Collection page.

-CC

P.S. I thought of two new blog topics while writing this...stay tuned! Also, the promised Ultraman CD review will be next. I have it partially written, but held off since there is a CD I want to review being released at the end of this month. I like reviewing brand new CDs.

CCLemon99 Magazine Issue One

Welcome to my latest blog experiment. I have been absolutely swamped recently but have had a lot of time to dream up ideas to try out here on the blog and elsewhere. This week I want to try out something that is a little bit of a continuation of my previous blog, but some actual content weaved in. These are going to be little blurbs that aren't quite enough content to warrant full articles, but deserve some attention.

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Maybe SHFiguarts Fire Isn't Such A Bad Idea...

Many of us were pretty disappointed that Bandai decided to go a different route by skipping Spielban and jumping ahead to Winspector. I did have a thought concerning the switch though. Maybe the reason Bandai decided to move on to Winspector is a little bit less obvious than it seems.

Now that we've endured an entire year of a car based Kamen Rider series (seriously...a friggin car?? The show just finished airing and that concept still baffles me) it seems like now would be the time to unload the franchises that are car heavy. Obviously I haven't seen any sales figures, but the SHFiguarts return to releasing vehicles is possibly behind the move on to Winspector. Factoring Kamen Rider BLACK RX into the mix, it kinda seems like a no-brainer that Bandai would want to get in on the action of revisiting franchises with popular vehicles. Fire's car, Winsquad, is easily one of the most popular Tokusatsu vehicles from the past. It's popularity stems from being both a rad Chevy Camaro (and not a busted out 20 year old used car........Kamen Rider Drive...) and also the fact that it's transformable. It's entirely possible that Drive's thing and Rideron are pretty hot sellers (I know I have my Rideron preorder!) and they want to strike while the iron is hot.

It's a longshot...but who knows! Maybe that is the real reason behind the switch. We need a crazy transforming Figuarts car that isn't that Akibaranger eyesore.

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CCLemon99,000,000... CCLemon100,000,000!

My calculations were actually pretty spot on with this one. I talked about my upcoming video schedule in my last blog. Well...I was careful not to release the schedule too soon as I wanted to make sure I had something special to mark the occasion. Last week I posted my 450th video, which was an accomplishment on it's own. I didn't quite reach 100,000,000 by the time that video dropped, so I wanted to make sure I had something really cool for my 100 millionth view video. Instead of going into my Sentai Mechanix month like I planned, I decided to expedite my DeLorean review to have it ready for this weekend. Well, here we are. I finished the video about a week ago and 100,000,000 is here!

Just to be clear...today is the actual date that I hit 100,000,000 views on Youtube. It's the first of October in 2015. I guess the next milestone is 50,000 subscribers. There is also the matter of my ninth anniversary next June. Oh yeah...I already know what I'll be reviewing for that. Hehe

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New and Upcoming CD Releases

Believe it or not, I don't really keep up on my Tokusatsu news. From what I see, though, I might actually be the only person on the internet who gives a damn about what kind of Tokusatsu CDs are on the horizon. Here is what's new in the CD world...

-The Ninja Captor CD Set is a month old at this point. It's been getting pretty solid reviews, which is nice since it might mean more releases of the like, but I have literally zero interest. I can't stand Ninja Captor in any capacity...so I don't feel that I'm missing much. Naturally, of course, I recommend purchasing CDs of classic hero series to promote further vault digging.

-Dekaranger 10 Years After will be getting a soundtrack release in a few short days (07.October). Speaking of things I literally have no interest in... I might have actually come around on something that has been a long running joke of mine. Dekaranger might actually be a bigger nemesis of mine than Magiranger is. Why is Toei celebrating their 2002-2006 lowspot so much lately?

-In addition to the Dekaranger 10 Years After Soundtrack, there is also a new single from Isao Sasaki for the 10 Year After version of Midnight Dekaranger. Now this is one I am actually looking forward to. His songs from Dekaranger are probably the one thing I actually enjoyed from the series...so it's cool that they got him back in to revisit them. Even if the new versions suck...they won't suck. It's Isao Sasaki...the man who gave us the great song collection to that lame animated Ultraman series.

-ZZZ Oh yeah... The Ninninger Character album just came out on 30.September if that's your thing.

-In non-Tokusatsu releases from Columbia there are a whole lot of Lupin The Third CDs being re-released this Autumn. I don't know much about Lupin, but I enjoy the music from the series greatly. The composer, Yuji Ohno, did the excellent Seiun Kamen Machineman music collection (which is my nomination for Tokusatsu CD of The Year).

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Name That Tune (Tokusatsu Edition)

I am still compiling a new list of songs to feature in an upcoming entry of Non-soundtrack Tokusatsu songs. I had a lot of fun making my previous entry, and I have just about as many songs as I did the first time around. I would like some more though.

If you have a song that you would like to have identified that played in an episode of a Tokusatsu series, please drop me a line. I ask that you follow some of the following criteria in your request...

-Show, episode number, and ballpark timestamp (Believe it or not, I can't ID a song that played "at some point in one of the early episodes of Carranger" at least not quickly...). This one is a MUST.

-A link to where I can watch said episode. Again, please save me some legwork. Help me help you...

-Even better--if you could just dice me up a clip and toss it on Youtube...that would be ideal.

-A thank you would be nice. Heh. Sometimes it takes quite a lot of effort to ID a song. While it's beneficial for me to be able to add it to my list, it's also kinda shitty when that person doesn't say thanks or anything after I hit them back with an answer or at least try.

I did recently help out someone with a bit of music from Megaranger. He was nice enough to pull the audio from the episode of the song in question and I was able to answer his request in less than a minute (I happened to know the music in that case...but even if I didn't, it would have saved me a ton of time.

So please hit me up here, on Youtube, or on Twitter if you have any Tokusatsu ear worms. I will do my best to identify them. I also welcome any tracks you identified on your own. My upcoming list will cover a lot of mid to late 90s shows...as well as some from shows like Bycrosser.

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New Computer

I recently bought myself a new computer. Once I get the hang of it, I'll start working on some new projects on it. For now my $300 2007 Chicago Roadtrip computer is still my workhorse. I'll be slowly moving things over and getting it set up to my liking. Hopefully this means cool new things for the future...

It is nice to be able to work without constant lock-ups now...

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That is all for now. Hopefully this is something I can continue in the future. I feel like I get these ideas that are never good enough for their own entries, but still worth discussing. I'll try and keep it a solid mix of CCLemon99 and non-CCLemon99 topics if I do this again.

See ya next time...

-CC

P.S. I debated throwing in a quick movie review only because this movie pissed me off so much. I took myself to the movies on my Birthday to see Black Mass. What a massive disappointment. On the other hand, I'm entirely sold on SPECTRE. Screw you, I loved Skyfall.

Older...wiser...?

Apologies in advance. I don't have a lot to say right now. I'm currently writing this from my phone, so it's going to be brief.

I managed to add about six months worth of videos to my video schedule. The list is pretty solid. I genuinely considered running it until June, but I find it's always best to leave some slack at the end in case something crazy pops up in the next few months. Some people seem to not be able to find it, so here is a helpful little picture...

There is some pretty good stuff there and I highly recommend taking a minute to scroll through. It's a pretty set list...so I wouldn't expect too many changes over time since January has always been Sidearm Month (this is the third annual Sidearm Month) and February will be my third or fourth Carranger Month. I am really looking forward to the DeLorean review since it took the manufacturer four years to make it from start to finish. This just might be the first DeLorean worth owning...

Oh yes, and December is blacked out. I definitely have those videos figured out...but I want to keep *some* things a surprise. They will probably be revealed in the days leading up to each video. So be sure to check back during the weeks of December. If you do some dectective work...one of the videos should be an easy one to guess.

Recently had a birthday. Didn't get anything new in the way of Tokusatsu stuff, but I am excited for my early copy of Shout Factory's Dairanger DVD set sometime in October. When you get old enough, you buy all of your own gifts...nothing really struck me this year since the current shows are lame and there isn't too much recent excitement from Bandai. Oh well.

That's really it. Sorry I don't have anything profound to say. I will return soon with one of the half finished blogs I have written.

Bye now...

-CC