"Sunday Theatre" is a drama slot on the TBS network that airs at 9pm on Sundays. It is a slot that has produced many masterpieces, such as "GOOD LUCK!!" broadcast in 2003, which caused a social phenomenon by increasing the number of people looking for jobs in the airline industry, and "Naoki Hanzawa" broadcast in 2013, which recorded a final episode viewership rating of 42.2% (according to Video Research, Kanto region, same below). In this third installment of a project that introduces the history of "Sunday Theatre" from every angle, we will focus on the theme songs that have colored many masterpieces, and introduce the number of times each theme song artist has been used since the drama became a serial drama.
◇Started in 1956, became a serial drama slot in 1993
"Sunday Theatre" started in 1956 as "Toshiba Sunday Theatre", a one-off drama slot sponsored by Toshiba alone. In 1993, it became the serial drama slot that it is today. In 2002, Toshiba withdrew its sponsorship and the name of the slot was changed to "Sunday Theatre".
From "Sunflowers on the Hill" based on a story by Yamada Taichi, which began airing in April 1993, to "Diamonds Sleeping in the Sea" starring Kamiki Ryunosuke, 126 works have aired in the past 31 years.
◇Ranking of the number of theme songs used
In the 126 works since they were made into serial dramas, there are artists who have been used to sing theme songs multiple times. The ranking is as follows (artists with the same number of songs are listed in alphabetical order).
1st place: Yamashita Tatsuro - 4 times
Yamashita Tatsuro has been used the most, four times. He was in charge of the theme song "RIDE ON TIME" from "GOOD LUCK!!" (2003), which became a hot topic for Takuya Kimura's role as an airline pilot, "Machi Monogatari" from "Shinzanmono" (2010), a live-action adaptation of Keigo Higashino's mystery novel starring Hiroshi Abe, "Aishiterutte Ienakuttte" from "Fuyu no Sakura" (2011), a love story co-starring Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Miki Imai, and "RECIPE" from "Grand Maison Tokyo" (2019), in which Kimura played an unconventional French chef. It is also interesting that two of the works were starring Kimura.
Second place: Arashi, Kazumasa Oda, and Ken Hirai - 3 times
Arashi, Kazumasa Oda, and Ken Hirai tied for second place with 3 times. Arashi was in charge of "Troublemaker" from "Tokujou Kabachi!!" (2010), in which Sakurai Sho and Horikita Maki co-starred, "Daylight" from "99.9-Criminal Lawyer-" (2016), starring Matsumoto Jun, and "Find The Answer" from "99.9-Criminal Lawyer- SEASON II" (2018), the sequel to "99.9~".
Oda was in charge of "Goodbye" from "Veterinarian Dolittle" (2010), in which Oguri Shun played a skilled veterinarian, "This Way" from "Black Pean" (2018), a medical suspense drama starring Ninomiya Kazunari, and "What Lies Beyond" from "Black Pean" season 2, which aired this year.
Hirai wrote the theme song "Itoshiki Hibi yo" for the popular drama "JIN - The Final Chapter" (2011), starring Osawa Takao, which recorded a viewership rating of 26.1% for the final episode; "Kimi no Kodou wa Kimi ni Shika Nare nai" for "Napoleon no Mura" (2015), in which Karasawa Toshiaki played a "super civil servant"; and "Nonfiction" for "Little Giants" (2017), which depicts the internal struggles of the police force and stars Hasegawa Hiroki. 5th place: B'z, BUMP OF CHICKEN, King Gnu, KinKi Kids, MISIA, ORANGE RANGE, Superfly, Uru, Kanjani∞, Spitz, Mariya Takeuchi, Tomoyasu Hotei (2 times)
Uru has been in charge of the theme songs for two works in the 2020s, "Because You Are Here" for "The Ship of Theseus" (2020) and "If It's Called Love" for "My Family" (2022). King Gnu has also been in charge of the theme songs for two works in a short span of time, "Ame San San" for "Old Rookie" (2022) and "Nekko" for the currently airing "Diamond Sleeping in the Sea", and it seems that they will be used more frequently in the future.
Other songs that have been included are "Tonight, On the Hill Where the Moon Can Be Seen" from "Beautiful Life" (2000) by B'z and "Still Alive" from "A LIFE~Aishikihito~" (2017), "Aria" from "Aogeba Totoshi" (2016) by BUMP OF CHICKEN and "Aurora" from "THE GOOD WIFE" (2019), and "Hey! Are You All Well?" from "Gakko no Sensei" (2001), starring Tsuyoshi Domoto, and "Mint Candy" from "Ex-Boyfriend" (2003) by KinKi Kids.
MISIA's songs are "Aitakute Ima" from "JIN" (2009) and "Boku wa Pegasus Kimi wa Polaris" from "S -The Last Policeman-" (2014). ORANGE RANGE's songs are "Kizuna" from "Be With You" (2005) and "SAYONARA" from "Teppan Shoujo Akane!!" (2006). Superfly's songs are "Kagayaku Tsuki no Youni" from "Summer Rescue -The Clinic in the Sky-" (2012) and "Ashes" from "Gekokujou Kyuji" (2023).
Kanjani∞ (now SUPER EIGHT)'s songs are "LIFE -Me no Mae no Mukou e" from "GM -Odore Doctor" (2010) and "I Told You" from "Gomen ne Seishun!" (2014). Spitz's songs are "Scarlet" from "Melody" (1997) and "Haruka" from "Love Story" (2001).
Mariya Takeuchi's songs for the drama were "Midnight Nightingale" from "Shiroi Kage -Love and Life in the White-" (2001) and "Your Eyes" from "Andou Lloyd -A.I. knows LOVE?-" (2013), while Tomoyasu Hotei's songs for the drama were "Saraba Seishun no Hikari" from "Kacho-san no Yakutoshi" (1993) and "NOBODY IS PERFECT" from "Good News" (1999).
When it comes to "Sunday Theatre," there are many theme songs whose melodies recall scenes from the drama when you hear them, so it will be exciting to see what great songs will be created along with the dramas in the future. [Drama Reporting Team Z]
