Song of the Week
10/14/10 - "Tabidachi"
Welcome back to Song of the Week, Myu Corner's weekly feature on songs from SeraMyu. This week's featured song is a favorite of many myu fans, especially Anza or Morino fans – "Tabidachi" ("Setting Out on a Journey"), a duet by Usagi and Ami.
"Tabidachi" debuted in the second musical, set in the context of Usagi rushing to the airport to catch Ami before she leaves for Germany to study medicine. Having not caught her, Usagi sadly reflects on how all her friends are leaving her – since the other girls have decided to chase their own dreams as well – and regrets not doing more for them. Then, perhaps the greatest myu duet ever begins as Ami, appearing on the steps behind Usagi, answers her, saying that if she'd seen Usagi's face before she left, it would've been too painful for her to leave. She promises Usagi that her heart will stay inside her (Usagi) and tells her not to cry and to stay well till they meet again. However, Ami's departure is then interrupted by the arrival of Kaolinite and the Death Nightmares, who proceed to steal Ami's heart crystal, blocking Usagi's path so she can't stop them. After the resulting fight, Usagi runs to the unconscious Ami and says she's sorry she couldn't help, while Uranus and Neptune run in and, realizing they're too late to see if Ami's heart crystal is a Talisman, run off to find the Death Busters.
"Tabidachi" also appears in two other myus, Eien Densetsu (Kaiteiban) The Final First Stage and Last Dracul Jokyoku (like many songs from musical 2). The version in Final First Stage is called "Tabidachi '98" and contains almost completely different lyrics due to being in a battle context, sung as the Inners are heading off for the final showdown with Galaxia. Moon is prepared to fight alone, though she wishes she could fight with her friends; Mercury then appears (with the other Inners by her in silhouette) and tells her not to follow them. After the two of them ask everyone to believe they'll meet again, the Inners teleport away without Usagi. While this version appeared in the normal musical, it was particularly featured (with different staging) in the senshuuraku, in honor of Anza and Morino's graduations. In Last Dracul Jokyoku, the context is similar to the second musical: Usagi has learned Ami is leaving and sings about it, Ami answers it, and at the end Ami gets attacked (by the vampires in this instance). It has only appeared in one fankan, the Final First Stage fankan, and also appears on the Love Ballad Edition CD, a CD containing ballad-style songs from Gaiden to Transylvania no Mori (Kaiteiban). Its tune was also reused later in the Mugen Gakuen myus for the song "Usagi to Yonin Zureru Omoi" ("Usagi and Her Four Friends' Conflicting Feelings"), where Usagi and her friends discuss their feelings about the Outers' attitudes toward them.
It's interesting to compare the three performances of this song – the first in 1994, the second in 1998, and the last in 2000. Between the original 1994 version and the Final First Stage version, Anza and Morino's voices and confidence in their roles both got a lot stronger, resulting in an even stronger version in Final First Stage than seen in the original. If we need any proof of the massive improvement Nishina Yuri claims she saw in Anza and Morino over the years, "Tabidachi '98" is among the best examples. The Last Dracul Jokyoku version, sung by Kanbe Miyuki and Akamine Hisano, on the other hand, is not nearly as good. I mean no disrespect to the dead here, but Miyuki just cannot rival Anza on this song. To be honest, there are few myu actors who can rival Anza on her songs. One can forgive Miyuki though somewhat, as this was her first myu. One can't say the same about Akamine-san, however, who comes into this myu a veteran of the Fuminamoon era like a large majority of the Last Dracul Jokyoku cast. Even if Miyuki struggled with the song, Akamine-san with her musical experience should have been able to save the song, but she doesn't. She just doesn't have the power Morino shows with this song. (I'm not loving her costume and wig much either). To be honest, I haven't really seen much of the Mercury actresses between Morino and Chieco-chan (Izawa Mariya, Akamine-san, and Miyagawa Yukiko), but I know some fans don't like them. Morino, Chieco, and Manami seem to be the strongest ones. I suppose I'll see as I watch more myus.
That's all for this week. Tune in next Thursday for another Song of the Week!