Time Bokan References in Masa's Tunes

 While it's a shame Masayuki Yamamoto's songs outside anime music doesn't get much attention (same thing with other anison singers or seiyuus with their own music careers), going into his own career doesn't stop him from being recognized as the guy who makes anime BGM. In this article, I'm going to dig in Time Bokan references and related songs during his singer-songwriter days.

First and foremost, we stumble into one of his themed songs: the Nantokaman Series. These are series of songs set to Time Bokan-esque music dealing with the events that happened recently at that time, mostly based on Yamamoto's experience. For example, Fukkyuu Okaeriman no Uta deals with the January 1995 earthquake, infamously known as the The Great Hanshin Earthquake; it was the reason a planned concert based on his then upcoming album was cancelled. Another has Zensen Tabidachi! Otazuneman no Uta as its theme song to the Masayuki Zensen biannual tour.

A couple of those songs are nods to the Time Bokan series:

• Omataseman no Uta -- Time Patrol-tai Otasukeman
• 100-ten Shuppatsuman no Uta -- Gyakuten Ippatsuman (even the intro was sampled from the latter's OP)
• Kittokuruman no Uta -- Yattodetaman
• Shinjitsu Ittaman no Uta -- Yatterman
• Nippon Jindaman no Uta -- Zendaman
• Yuuyake Time Dokan -- Time Bokan

Commentary for Omataseman no Uta courtesy of Masayuki Yamamoto '88 CD booklet.
Illustrated by Hideo Okamoto

The intro for Bouken Langerhans-tou was borrowed from the intro to the Time Bokan OP, but instead of the series title after the countdown, Pink Piggies yelled Hassha~~!  The intro would be later reused in two of Time Bokan-related media: the radio drama Heisei Time Bokan and Kaitou Kiramekiman.

In his next album Kane no Ne Hibike, the Time Bokan series (and Yattodetaman) got a mention from one of the verses to Ginza no Pachira:

Moshi moshi Tatsunoko Pro no shachou-san

Time Bokan wo yarimashou

"Soiu anata wa donatadesu"

Daikyojin shokubutsu pachira desu

Going outside his music career for a bit, Yamamoto led his voice in the aforementioned Heisei Time Bokan as Sasurai no MASA (Wandering MASA), who is just Yamamoto himself serving as the Doronbo's conscience in the Kaettekitaman arc. By the sixteenth episode, MASA got exposed by the Doronbo gang when they perform karaoke in front of him, and appeared to be Zesshou Karaokeman in disguise. In a reverse side, two of Yamamoto's original songs were referenced and sung: LEXINGTON and Hakubutsukan no Hone.

Anime no Daiou contains some Time Bokan opening themes self-covered by Yamamoto. On its final track, which is also the title track, the song begins with over a minute of an ambient-sounding instrumental. The instrumental intro is actually is a mashup of various Time Bokan OPs that is pretty interesting to listen to if you listen carefully. The interlude part plays a rearrangement of Anime ga Nanda. Speaking of which, Anime ga Nanda includes snippets of anime songs he composed during the interlude sections.

On the topic of Single Bunko, while there's not much references throughout the entire series, there's a melody snippet that would be later incorporated in the opening theme to Gyakuten Ippatsuman. Geshukumachi Banka was said to be made around 1981, and Ippatsuman premiered in 1982. This meant that the verse melody from the OP was in fact sampled from an earlier song of his own! Yamamoto just loves to sample his own melodies from his own works.

If you thought you've overheard the doo-wop progression just yet, wait til you find out that the Ippatsuman OP was sampled!

As with references come the related songs included in his albums. While it's not common to see much of anime songs he made, the Time Bokan series can get a mention anytime he wants. The first song centered on this anime franchise was in 2003 with Sainou no Honnou, when he made a tribute song titled Bokan de Sodatte Otona ni Natte. In addition, a prototype ED for Kaitou Kiramekiman was included, until it was replaced with Furaran Rendevous in the final product.

His next album, Sainou no Rakuen, featured a rearranged, extended version of...you guessed it -- Gyakuten Ippatsuman (I have already commented what the song was about on my previous post).

Nine years later, in 2016, came with the release of Sainou no Jukusei. While it was his first original album with very limited sales, it included a Yatterman-related track. It was the theme song to a Yatterman pachinko game that many people haven't heard about or haven't played with. Gamblers escort the heroes of the Time Bokan series (sans Kiramekiman) in defeating the Doronbo gang using various modern pachinko styles and techniques, engaging the Yatter Mechas throughout the gameplay. This is one of the few game-related media that Yamamoto provided a song for.

Finally, we have the tanpen intermission tracks. A rearrangement of Yarechatta Kuyashii na from Yattodetaman can be heard in his tanpen-focused album. Recently, a Yatterman-themed tanpen (Naninani Yatterman) was performed in his virtual live DVD The Jitaku Live, marking his first tanpen song in about 22 years.

I might have missed a couple more, but these are all (or mostly) the Time Bokan media mentioned in Masayuki Yamamoto's discography. There are also some non-Time Bokan anime references across his discography, but there's one more thing I noticed whenever I listen to his songs: he loves using the doo-wop progression, also known as the 50s progression. The one that goes C-Am-F-G (or G7). It can be heard in some Time Bokan songs if you listen closely; it's heard in Shibibiin Rhapsody, Ganbare Ojamaman, Dobibi~n Serenade (a little bit), ZE-ttai Kienai, and Sora Kara Buta ga Futtekuru to name a few. Yamamoto can create a song that comes to mind with his own style, and sprinkle some touches in producing a really catchy tune that we Masayukists couldn't stop listening to.