Not only "Sazae-san"!　Aiken 50th Anniversary Aiken Theme Song Selection", a collection of theme songs from the long-established anime production company "Aiken" [Ryozo Fuwa's "Anime no otto" Vol.05

In this fifth installment of "Anime No Otto," we focus on "Aiken 50th Anniversary Aiken Theme Song Selection," which went on sale on April 24, 2019.

Aiken is a long-established animation production company known for its long-running program "Sazae-san" (Fuji Television Network/1969 - on air), which boasts the longest-running TV animation program in history. Since Aiken's predecessor, "T.C.J. Animation Center Inc." was established in March 1969, this year's release commemorates the 50th anniversary from that time. Aiken's roots as a company go back even further, to 1952, when Yanase, now known as a major importer and distributor of automobiles, established "Nippon Television Corporation" to import and sell television receivers in preparation for the coming age of television (terrestrial television broadcasting in Japan began in 1953). Ltd." to import and sell TV receivers in preparation for the coming TV era (terrestrial TV broadcasting began in Japan in 1953). The company began producing TV commercials and specializing in animated commercials, which led to the establishment of Aiken. As you can see, Aiken was a very astute company that anticipated the TV and animation eras. If you think of ...... as a laid-back animation company that has been making only "Sazae-san" for a long time, you would be mistaken. In that perfect sense of stability, there is a sense of the unexpected, such as an enterprising spirit and a pioneering spirit, firmly engraved.

The "Aiken 50th Anniversary Aiken Theme Song Selection" is a compilation project that includes 21 songs selected from the theme songs of all the animated programs that Aiken has produced. The first song in the collection is "Theme of the Hermit's Village. Nine months after "Astro Boy," Aiken began broadcasting an animated television series. Although it was a 15-minute program, it was broadcast at 23:40 (later moved to 22:30), a late-night slot, and was a bold project as it was an animation program for adults with a sexy atmosphere. The second and third tracks included themes from "Tetsujin 28-go" (Fuji Television) and "Eightman" (TBS), both of which were renowned as big hits in the early days of TV animation. However, closer examination reveals that the timing is surprising: "Hermit's Club" began airing in September 1963, "Tetsujin 28-go" in October of the same year, and "Eightman" in November of the same year. At a time when the know-how for weekly broadcasts of animated television series was not yet firmly established, Aiken took on the challenge of producing three works at the same time. Both Mushi Productions, which was running at full capacity with "Astro Boy" and Toei Doga (currently Toei Animation), a long-established animation production company that was preparing to enter the TV animation market with "Ken the Wolf Boy" (which started broadcasting in November, the same month as "Eight Man"), were surprised by Aiken's audacity. Although we cannot simply compare the current situation with that of today, when production systems and technologies are different, the enthusiasm and passion of the staff at that time for betting on the emerging medium of TV animation is quite heartening.

From this point on, the theme songs of science fiction hero animation continued with "Super Jetter, the Boy from the Future" (TBS/1965), "Planetary Boy Papii" (Fuji TV/1965), and "Planetary Mask" (Fuji TV/1966). Super Jetter" came after "Eightman," "Planet Boy Papii" came after "Tetsujin 28-go," and "Planet Mask" came after "Planet Boy Papii," indicating that the Aiken-produced animation slots continued during this period. The theme songs for "Tetsujin 28-go," "Planet Boy Papii," and "Planet Mask" were all composed by the composer Miki Torio, who is regarded as the father of Japanese commercial songs. Although it has become less common in recent years due to the decrease in the number of programs provided by one company, there was a culture in television at that time of carefully carrying on the "image of the broadcast slot". In the early works of Aiken, you can feel the atmosphere of those days.

Next are the theme songs for "Sasuke" (TBS/1968) and "Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden" (Fuji TV/1969). Following the ninja boom that was preceded by live-action dramas such as "Ninja Hattori-kun" (NET/1966) and "Masked Ninja Akagage" (Fuji TV/1967), Aiken successively adapted the original ninja manga by Shirado Sanpei for TV animation. Sasuke" became Aiken's first TV animation series in color. It should be noted that "Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden" was broadcast in the "Toshiba-provided slot" of Fuji Television's Sunday 18:30 slot. That is right, Aiken's anime in the "Sazae-san" broadcast slot, which still continues to this day, began with "Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden". When "Kamui Gaiden" first aired, it opened with the narration "Toshiba presents Oshinpuu Kamui Gaiden in color" and a large image of the Toshiba logo on the main character Kamui, which is typical of a program provided by a single company.

As you are well aware, "Sazae-san," which began as a follow-up to "Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden," is currently setting a Guinness World Record as the longest-running animated television program in the world, and has become Aiken's signature program. Both the opening theme "Sazae-san" and the ending theme "The Sazae-san Family," which have remained unchanged since its broadcast, are of course also included in this product. The opening and ending themes for "Manga Meisaku Gekijo Sazae-san" (1975-1997), a rebroadcast program popularly known as "Tuesday Sazae-san," were numerous, but this product includes "Sazae-san's Song" and "Akarui Sazae-san no Uta," which was used the longest and was also a favorite of Machiko Hasegawa, the author of the original work. This product includes two songs, "Sazae-san's Song" and "Akarui Sazae-san," which was used for the longest period of time and was a favorite of the original creator Machiko Hasegawa.

In 1976, the robot animation "UFO Warrior Diapolon" (TBS) was broadcast. You may be surprised to hear that Aiken is doing a robot animation? As mentioned above, Aiken was the creator of Japan's first giant robot animation "Tetsujin 28-go," and since "Mazinger Z" (Fuji TV) in 1972, the robot animation market had been booming, and Aiken was the first to reenter the market with a full hand. This is the first time that a robot anime has entered the market since "Mazinger Z" (Fuji TV) in 1972. It introduced a variety of new innovations, including a system in which three small robots combine to form the main character, Diapolon; a style in which the main character fights not by "piloting" but by "joining" Diapolon; and a smart robot design modeled after the fashionable American football uniforms of the time, which was applauded by children at the time. The robot's design was applauded by the children of the time. Composer Masayuki Yamamoto created the theme song "UFO Warrior Diapolon," which was sung in high spirits by legendary anime song singer Masato Komon, before he came into the limelight as an anime song writer with the hit "Yatterman" (Fuji TV/1977), and is also included on this record.

In addition, this product also includes "Captain" (NTV/1980), "Glass Mask" (NTV/1984), "Hi, Akko Desu" (TV Asahi/1988), "Kobo-chan" (TV Asahi/1988), and "Kabochan" (TV Asahi/1988), which showed the stability and underlying strength of Aiken by carefully adapting the already popular original manga series into anime since the 1980s. (NTV/1988), "Kobo-chan" (NTV/1992), "Cooking Papa" (TV Asahi/1992), "Bonobono" (Fuji TV/2016), and other theme songs.

To conclude, this "Aiken 50th Anniversary Aiken Theme Song Selection" is a bold project, as it is only available on analog vinyl, and no CD product exists. In recent years, with the resurgence of popularity of analog records, there has been an increase in the number of projects to simultaneously release analog records as bonus items when CDs are produced. This is a very challenging attempt. This is another example of Aiken's corporate spirit of stability and unpredictability that has coexisted over the past 50 years.

This October, the TV animation "Sazae-san" will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Since its broadcast, "Sazae-san" has reflected various aspects of the world and life and culture, and has lived with us in our daily lives. In recent years, "Sazae-san" has undergone various changes, including a generational change in the cast, whose voices have long been familiar to our ears, and Toshiba, which has supported the program since the "Kamui Gaiden" era, has dropped its sponsorship. It is also worth remembering that as part of the 50th anniversary project, films from the early years of the broadcast were digitally HD remastered and distributed on Amazon Prime Video. Many of you may have been surprised by the completely different workmanship, sense of color, and innovative screen design from the "Sazae-san" of today.

This is precisely the unexpectedness that Aiken has within itself. How about dropping the needle on a vinyl record of Aiken's famous theme songs while taking a look back at the 50-year history of Aiken, which has always kept a challenging spirit amidst a sense of stability?

(Text by Ryozo Fuwa)

Product Information

Analog "Aiken 50th Anniversary Aiken Theme Song Selection

Release date: April 24, 2019

Price: 6,000 yen (excluding tax)

Label: Nippon Columbia

■Contents

12inch

Side-A

Hermit's Village Theme* (from "Hermit's Village")

　Song: Three Graces

Tetsujin 28-go* (from "Tetsujin 28-go")

　Song/Duke Aces

Eightman's Song <Record Version>* (from "Eightman")

　Song/Shigeru Katsumi

Super Jetter (from "Mirai kara kita shonen Super Jetter")

　Song/Kamitakada Boys Choir

Song of the Planet Boy Papii* (from "Planet Boy Papii")

　Song/Duke Aces

Planetary Mask* (from "Planetary Mask")

　Song/Duke Aces

Sasuke's Song (from "Sasuke")

　Song/Honey Nights

Shinobi Theme (from "Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden")

　Song: Hiroshi Mizuhara

Shippo ha Gugundo (from "Norakuro")

　Song: Nobuyo Oyama

Onbubobake no uta (Song of the Onbubobake) (from "Ryuichi Manga Theatre Ropobobake")

　Song by Yoko Maekawa

Side-B

UFO Warrior Diapolon (from "UFO Warrior Diapolon")

　Song: Masato Komon

2.You Can Do Something (from "Captain")

　Song/99 Harmony

Glass Mask (from "Glass Mask")

　Song/Ashibe Mariko

Ai wo aiko de Kitchen kara ai wo aiko de (from "Hi, Akko desu")

　Song/Akiko Kosaka

Gambare Boy (from "Kobo-chan")

　Song/Ikue Otani

Happy 2 Dance (from "Cooking Papa") *"2" is squared.

　Song/YASU

7.bonobono to do (from "Bonobono")

　Sung by MONOBLIGHT

*Monaural recording

7inch

Side-A

Sazae-san (from "Sazae-san")

　Song/Yuko Uno

The Sazae Family (from "Sazae-san")

　Song/Yuko Uno

Side-B

Sazae-san's Song (from "Manga Masterpiece Theater Sazae-san")

　Song by Miyako Horie

Akarui Sazae-san (from "Manga Masterpiece Theater Sazae-san")

　Song by Miyako Horie