The reissue of "Bishojo Uchuu" by Kayoko Matsunaga, also known as a hard-to-find collector’s item, has been confirmed. Featuring the participation of an exceptionally star-studded lineup of artists, it also includes the theme song from the film "Urusei Yatsura 4: Lum the Forever."
Included is "Melancholy no Kiseki," the theme song from the film "Urusei Yatsura 4: Lum the Forever," widely known as a classic written by Natsuo Giniro, composed by Koji Tamaki, and arranged by Masahiro Omura. To mark the 40th anniversary of this legendary album, which has become a premium rarity in both CD and LP form on the secondhand market, the reissue of both the bonus-disc CD and LP has been set for the same release date as the original. Kayoko Matsunaga’s debut album, recorded for Kitty Records when she was just 17, is a masterpiece now ripe for reappraisal, with its fresh, transparent singing voice and sophisticated 1980s sound appealing across city pop fans, idol kayou listeners, and anime fans alike.
Above all, the songwriting team is extraordinarily luxurious. All lyrics were written by Natsuo Giniro, while the music was provided by Koji Tamaki, Shinji Harada, Toshinobu Kubota, Tetsuya Komuro, Akio Dobashi, Ichiro Hada, Morio Agata, and others. In addition, Tomoyasu Hotei, then a member of BOØWY, also participated on guitar on two tracks.
With Kayoko Matsunaga’s floating vocal style and the still-fresh world created by Natsuo Giniro on lyrics and Koji Tamaki on music, M-1 "Melancholy no Kiseki" is a number perfectly suited to open the album. Toshinobu Kubota, who provided the languid waltz M-3 "Ima wo Ijimete Nakanaide II," also joins on chorus for M-6 "Sonna Tsumori ja Nineteen." M-5 "Tenshi no Kyujitsu" is a sparkling number in classic Tetsuya Komuro style, while M-7 "Amaryllis" is a work for which Natsuo Giniro handled not only the lyrics but also the music. It is also worth special note that Tomoyasu Hotei’s guitar can be heard on that track and on M-9 "Shonen Uchuu." M-4 "Tsuki no Hikari ga Komaraseru" and M-8 "Kyuni Sayonara to Itta kara," which share the same melody but differ in lyrics and arrangement, were composed by Rebecca’s Akio Dobashi, and the innovative arrangements by Hoppy Kamiyama are equally striking, from the water-drum-like sound on the latter to the distorted keyboard on M-2 "ALICE'S ROMANCE." The album closes with the gentle ballad M-10 "Pierce no Namida."
