A special feature on Mariya Takeuchi’s best songs: a must-hear collection of masterpieces for both longtime fans and first-time listeners.

Midnight NightingaleTakeuchi Mariya

Mariya Takeuchi – Midnight Nightingale (Official Music Video)

This is a song released in 2001, written specifically as the theme for the TBS drama Shiroi Kage.

The drama, a medical love romance starring Masahiro Nakai and Yuko Takeuchi, was popular, and the song was also a hit.

It’s a medium-tempo ballad whose lyrics, linked to the storyline, made many fans’ hearts race.

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Yoshizaki Keiko

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Final movementTakeuchi Mariya

Final Movement (Mariya Takeuchi) Lyrics cover by pu-san

A song provided to Hiroko Yakushimaru in 1988 (Showa 63).

It was self-covered on the album “Denim,” released in 2007 (Heisei 19).

While many of the songs feature a bright tone despite dealing with heavy themes, this one feels like something you listen to carefully and take in slowly.

Cheer up.Takeuchi Mariya

Cheer Up – Mariya Takeuchi

This song is meant to cheer up a friend after a breakup, but it’s also the kind of song you want to listen to when you need a boost.

When I was having a tough time with a string of unpleasant things at work, I listened to this song every day.

Listening to it made me feel wrapped in kindness and helped me calm down.

Color · White BlendTakeuchi Mariya

MIKKO “Color: White Blend” Music Video

It’s famous as a song provided to the idol singer Miho Nakayama.

It was also used as Shiseido’s spring 1986 campaign song.

The version sung by Mariya Takeuchi herself has a mature vibe that brings out a different charm, and I highly recommend it.

It’s a track I really want you to listen to.

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Yoshizaki Keiko

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Plastic LoveTakeuchi Mariya

Mariya Takeuchi – Plastic Love (Official Music Video)

Mariya Takeuchi is a singer-songwriter who is also active as a lyricist and composer.

She is one of the indispensable artists when discussing city pop from the 1970s to the 1980s, and around 2010 she was one of the sparks that drew global attention to the genre.

Her sultry, laid-back sound and lyrics depicting cityscapes and the push-and-pull of romance are particularly memorable.

Along with Tatsuro Yamashita, who produced Plastic Love, she can be considered a key figure in shaping the culture of city pop.

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kappamaki

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Plastic LoveTakeuchi Mariya

Mariya Takeuchi – Plastic Love (Official Music Video)

This is the song that became a huge topic as a Japanese classic unearthed by music nerds around the world, especially in the United States: Mariya Takeuchi’s “Plastic Love.” From the perspective of overseas music fans, when you say “Japanese city pop,” this track became the go-to example.

Riding that wave, countless remixes and covers were uploaded to YouTube and elsewhere, making a big splash in the 2010s.

Funky and urban, it’s a masterpiece that truly embodies city pop with an unmistakable metropolitan mood.

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Murakami Shinpei

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Regretting the past won’t change anything, and worrying about the future won’t help.Takeuchi Mariya

Mariya Takeuchi – Plastic Love (Official Music Video)

These are words spoken by singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi in a 2019 interview with the magazine Kateigaho.

She cited two sayings that serve as her mottos—“Today is the first day of the rest of your life” and “Live today as if it were the last day of your life”—and then explained that the common message in both is to cherish the present moment.

Perhaps the reason she continues to shine so wonderfully is because she lives with this mindset.

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Hane Keisuke

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