I never quite understood the low-stakes, no-budget nature of the Toei Fushigi Comedy Series. I never bothered to pursue them further extreme mild curiosities outside of maybe a few series.
Meaning...they were never easily accessible and I couldn't be bothered.
Now that Toei Tokusatsu World Official's Youtube Channel has been uploading the bulk of these series, I've been having fun digging in at random. Like Utau! Dai Ryugujo is one of the current series and.....I still have no flippin' idea what it's about. It's a half-assed musical series with Dr. Kubota from Megaranger as the family's driver. OK? And Zubat randomly shows up one episode... It's so weird...
There is one thing that I'm *very* familiar with when it comes to Toei Fushigi Comedy Series--the songs. Shocker, I know.
I have several compilations from over the years to make up the entire set of songs (and Karaoke) from these series (and then some...there are knockoffs out there!). For brevity's sake I will only be listening to the opening theme songs today. I don't know if there will ever be a need for me to swing back and review every song from something like Dochinko! Nemurin...but never say never!
Just a fair warning...I'm about to gush over some theme songs to some incredibly unremarkable shows. Please don't take these as endorsements to go check out the series. Or do? You never know...you may like them!
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01. Robot 8-chan - Robot 8-chan Hiroko Inomata, Young Fresh, Koorogi '73
I'd be lying if I said this was my favorite theme song of 1981, but with a straight face I can tell you today that I think this song is incredibly fun and catchy. I can't think of any other song that pairs a siren with a disco beat so seamlessly. If you're into some bass you'll definitely dig this one too.
02. Robot Battenmaru - Robot Battenmaru - Machiko Soga, Young Fresh, Koorogi '73
One thing makes this song a ton of fun. I'll give you a guess. Just one guess.
There was a brief little blip where Machiko Soga did a sharp 180 and instead of playing a terrifying villain played a Robot one year and Baseball the next?
I can't say this song is all that incredible, but it's worth a listen for Machiko Soga.
03. Pettonton - Pettonton - Ai Takano
This one makes my head spin a little.
First off, I really like this one. It's a catchy song in it's own right without being too frivolous. The thing that makes it bizarre is, once again, it's singer. If Ai Takano sounds a little familiar, he really should. Does this help? He is a little more mellow for the Pettonton theme, but it's definitely him.
04. Dochinko! Nemurin - Pink, Pink, PINK! - Satoko Yamano
I know I've said that two of the previous three songs are catchy...but this is the one that will seep into your brain and live there forever. The synth intro...the bass...the weird sound effects...all very catchy.
Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink
Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink
This simultaneously the most fun AND irritating song on the planet. Not bad for a show with Ako from Jetman and a pink doll.
05. Katteni! Kamitaman - Katteni! Kamitaman - Mayumi Tanaka
This is another song that is saved by the fact that it's done by a familiar voice. It's fun on it's own, but I cannot help but picture the singer being this deceptively strong little bald dude without a nose.
Mayumi Tanaka is the voice of Klilyn from the Dragonball franchise if you haven't been able to put together. Considering this series predates the Dragonball anime by a year, it's kinda fun to hear. Her singing voice is 100% Klilyn.
This one is fun, but I can't say that it makes my usual rotation.
06. Morimori Bokkun - Bokkun! Kimi ga inakya - Kazue Ito
I like the energy of this one, but it verges on being just a smidge too generic. The voice change in the background is irritating enough to bring down an otherwise capable song. It's really not bad.
07. Omoikkiri Tantei-dan Hardgumi - Matenro no Hero - Masae Ohno
Snore.
08. German Tantei-dan Maringumi - Question no bouken - Waffle
Big improvement over it's predecessor. Not only is the song much more lively thanks to that groovy bass, but the singer is a familiar name. If you're into Dragonball Z song collections you definitely know Waffle (Later KUKO). She has a wonderful voice and definitely crushes this song.
09. Mahoshojo Chuka na Paipai! - Anoko ga machi ni yattekita - Hiroko Asakawa
This theme song is almost Nemurin levels of catchy.
I dig this one a lot for a lot of reasons. It's very memorable for starters, but like many of these theme songs it has a great singer that went on to do some great work. Hiroko Asakawa later went on to sing one of my favorite Sentai songs ever--Seishun Circuit from Gekisou Sentai Carranger. She's also responsisble for the second Megaranger ending song as well as Carranger Ondo.
10. Mahoshojo Chuka na Ipanema! - Tamago yori manazashi - KUKO
I know I said that KUKO's previous theme song was good...this one is GREAT. It's incredibly 1989 for what it's worth. Lots of energy, lots of bass. It's really a lot of fun.
Having watched chunks of both of these series I have to say I liked Paipai episodes better, but this one definitely got the more fun theme song.
11. Bishojo Kamen Poitrine - 17 no koro - Sayuri Saito
This is probably the most recognized theme of the bunch...which is kind of a bummer since it's a bit weak. It's just a little too cheap sounding for it's own good. It isn't bad...it's just kinda there. A little *too* sitcomy. I get it...these are sitcoms.
The singer Sayuri Saito would also provide heroine songs for Jetman and Zyuranger. Skip the Jetman one and check out the Pteraranger theme. It's fun.
12. Fushigi shojo Nile no Thutmose - Genki ageru ne - Hitomi Ishikawa
This one kinda suffers the same fate that it's predecessor does. It's just a bit on the bland side. It has that cool intro and then it just kinda fades out into the boring abyss.
13. Utau! Dai Ryugujou - Ryu Miyagi de Shoobedoo wa - Time Five, Eri Ito
Until 2021 I hated this song so, so, so much. I don't know...I've kinda come around to it. It's fun in a weird and irritating way.
I guess context is important. The song collection is a whopping nineteen songs long. Without seeing any of the series the songs make NO sense. They're just these random bits of weirdness.
That explains the copious amount of IN songs, but the OP deserves some context as well. Like I said in the intro, I've caught a bunch of episodes of this show...so I guess it kinda clicked with me finally with what they're trying to do here.
14. Yugenjiko Sisters Shushutorian - Omoitatta ga kichijitsu - Sanshimai
The final and BEST Fushigi Comedy theme song. By far. No contest.
For as great as this song is, it kinda got robbed when it came to placement. The opening video to this series is weak as hell. I feel like a lot of Shushutorian was done to prepare for Kakuranger. The similar theme songs...Satomi Hirose... It's all there. The Kakuranger tribute episode with a legally similar enough version of the Shushutorian theme song is even proof of that.
The thing that this song has over every other Fushigi Comedy theme song is the depth. It's such a technical song...so much so that you forgot about the trio of girls singing it. If you're fortunate enough to own the CD single, you'll know just how good this song is through the Karaoke version. Same goes for the other song included on the single--Sweet Dreams.
I may have to visit this song collection some time...
Sadly I don't think this series will be reaching Toei International's Youtube channel. The ending song is something of a rights issue and the appearance of Ultraman as the series was winding up may not be favorable to Tsuburaya.
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Those are the opening theme songs to the official Toei Fushigi Comedy Series. Do I need to say more?
Check out my music collection page for more.
Later!
-CC
Previously...
A New Challenger Appears!?
Relieving Stress with my 1:64 Dream Garage
Stupid: Super Sentai Banparaban & Stars On Kamen Rider
Toy Story: Pladera Kamen Rider J Set
Kamen Rider Shin -- Designed to Fail (Also Shin Kamen Rider 2023)
A Huge Discovery in Time for 25 Years of Gekisou Sentai Carranger!
