If I haven’t made it obvious already, I absolutely love this band. The band’s sound has a definite pop appeal, but there’s also a very healthy amount of depth to it as well. German label Bis Aufs Messer describes Tokyo Karan Koron’s sound as “a joyful mix of influences, ranging from progressive breaks to math-rock skills, new wave moods and 60’s rock hooks, while remaining typically Japanese,” and I can certainly get behind that quote. It’s also pretty clear that the band draws influences from a lot of different places. While I wasn’t able to find any specific musical influences, I did see that they have covered “Fake Plastic Trees”, which is perhaps one of Radiohead’s greatest standalone songs. They have a pretty deep discography, with four major label albums and other early independent releases. Tokyo Karan Koron is a five piece band that started in 2007, now consisting of (from left to right here) Satō Zenbu on bass, Oitan on guitar, Sensei on vocals and keyboard, Ichiro on vocals and guitar, and Kamimaru on drums. However, there is so much more to the band behind this gem. I’d say that this instance has the same effect for “Spice” as it did for “Kibou no Uta”: it further deepens the connection of “Spice” and Food Wars.Īll in all, “Spice” is an essential part of this show. This is in a particularly hilarious and memorable scene in episode 9. Speaking of humming, I should also mention that “Spice” appears in the show itself just as “Kibou no Uta” did. The kind where I am often caught happily humming the chorus, especially when I am making food for myself. “Spice” gets stuck in my head in the best kind of way.
It also really complements the insanely catchy melody for the song. I already talked about the strings in the verse, but the chorus also has this simple ascending keyboard line that I simply adore. Of course, there’s more about the song that I love than just the guitar. It’s very playful and hectic, bringing so much life to an already very lively song. Beyond the verse, the guitar continues to provide interesting parts to the song.
It’s extremely technical, but it serves the song rather than showing off the guitarist’s skills. The fast playing guitar part demands your attention and adds a lot of color to the mix without drowning out the other pieces of it. I feel the same would be the case if the main guitar part was just palm muted chords or something more standard. These parts work quite well, but would feel pretty barren supporting the melody on their own. The strings provide some staccato punch, and the bass and drums provide a pretty infectious uptempo groove. The rest of the instrumentation is the standard bass and drums, and some midi strings/keyboard work. However, it doesn’t feel like that’s the case here. First off, that is some incredible two handed tapping! A lot of the time, when I hear parts like that in music, I get rather cynical and assume the guitarist is just trying to show off. The first thing that grabbed my attention with this song was the guitar part, and it deserves a lot of praise. It was surreal, colorful, and fun, with the perfect song accompaniment. Once that chorus hit, coinciding with who I would learn to be the residents of the Polar Star Dormitory doing their best A Charlie Brown Christmas-like looped choreography while impersonating The Last Supper, I fell head over heels for this closer. While certainly not as symbolic as the nudity present in Ano Natsu’s closer, or in the entirety of Ghost in the Shell for that matter, this instance somehow works with the surreal food dream world. Here’s the thing though: After all that I had experienced with the first episode, I was pretty much over the shock of having sort of nudity in the show (you know, the type where it never actually shows anything), and was honestly quite okay with it. I was immediately drawn in by the guitar part, as well as the mesmerizing visuals of floating peppers, peppercorns (I think), cinnamon, and… naked people…. When the closing theme started for the first time, it really sealed the deal for me. I had such an entertaining/funny/slightly awkward experience watching the show, that I knew it was something special. After the absolute insanity and “meat juice” present in the first episode of Shokugeki no Soma, I was already sold on the series.