Urashimasaka…wha?

 

For a short-episode show that I’ve thrown on to my fall 2019 plan to watch list out of sheer lack of not having any good short-ep shows this year, this seems pretty good.

I was staring at AniChart to compile my fall 2019 hype list and encountered a short anime called Urashimasakatasen no Nichijou (whew! That name is a mouthful…). The name didn’t ring any bells, but I figured, “Hey, I haven’t watched a simulcast short anime in about a year now. Not to mention, it has bishies, even if they’re chibis.”

Turns out that’s not the only reason I have to care about this.

Y’see, there exists a Vocaloid song called Kami no Manimani (神のまにまに, At God’s Mercy). The person responsible for writing this song is Rerulili (れるりり).

Sidebar: This Rerulili is also responsible for Chuubyou Gekihatsu Boy, an anime which is airing in the same season as Urashimasakatasen no Nichijou...but that’s neither here nor there.

I seem to remember crying the second time I heard Kami no Manimani in Japanese class – it would’ve been about a year ago from when this post goes live. Basically, had things gone the way I hoped they would, I would have had to turn my back on Japanese classes entirely and that truth was only hitting me then. Of course, things didn’t go that way, which is why I’m where I am now. (I also seem to remember I was tired after wrestling with an assignment for a few hours more than necessary, the frustration of which may have also contributed to that.)

Tl;dr: The song holds some significance to me because it represents lost opportunities. It’s also pretty darn catchy and very recognisable.

…So, when I looked at AniChart for the second time (this one was to refine my list and see if I’d glossed over anything potentially good, the first one was to compile the initial list), I figured this Urashimasakatasen was an idol group and checked them up on Spotify.

Turns out Urashimasakatasen is not an idol group, but rather what is known as (a group of) utaite. I was already familiar with utaite, given Valshe did the song Butterfly Core for Detective Conan.

Sidebar 2: Butterfly Core is good, but unfortunately I haven’t found it on Spotify…

But here’s the real kicker: when I checked Urashimasakatasen up, one of their covered songs was Kami no Manimani, which I previously had only ever found through YouTube. It sounds pretty good to me, but I’ll link it here for you to judge for yourself.

(It’s like a “6 degrees of separation” thing, only with anime and related songs…can we make up something similar to a Bacon number for anime then? Let’s start with Detective Conan…)

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I was joking about the Bacon number, but it’s always funny to see how this thing leads to that thing and that brings you full circle.

So, what’s your favourite artist/group that you’ve discovered through anime music?