Iron Chef Collection

The Music of Iron Chef Japan, Part III

by William “Blissey” Raymer

In this installment, I will focus on still more movies who contributed music to the original Japanese and Food Network U.S.-dubbed versions of our obsession.

A word of notation before I begin: I do not own the majority of the soundtracks you’re about to see listed here. Therefore, I may not know which particular cue goes with which usage and the exact length of the track used in each case. If you recognize which cues I reference, e-mail me at Blissey01@yahoo.com.

CONFRONT 3: EVEN MORE MOVIE MUSIC

I’d like to thank Keith Brock (you know him as “tuthead”) for providing me with the music list from the late and lamented ironchef.com website, which I used as research material for this article.

First up is Mulan, the 1998 Disney film (and number 36 on the company’s list of “Official Canon” animated features). Composed and conducted by the late Jerry Goldsmith, the soundtrack contributed various cues for episodes in the latter year-and-a-half of Iron Chef’s run. (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)

Most noted of these is the “Suite from Mulan” (Track 6 on the Walt Disney Records soundtrack album), which was used during the original U.S. version of the 2000^th Plate Special (ICC episode number 631) in a recap of the 1994 Prawn Battle between Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi and challenger Takashi Saito (ICC episode number 238). The recap was shown as part of the “Chairman’s Top 5” dishes countdown, whose Number 1 was Iron Chef Chen’s version of his father Chen Kenmin’s famous Prawns in Chili Sauce.

Three other scores composed by Jerry Goldsmith made their way to Kitchen Stadium as well.

• U.S. Marshals—used during the introduction of the 1999 Spiny Lobster Battle between Iron Chef Chen and Grand Chef Xie Huaxian of Hei Chin Rou (ICC episode number 701); (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)
• Air Force One—used in the 21^st Century Battle (ICC episode number 901); (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)
• First Knight—used during the 1999 Stingray Battle between Iron Chef French II Hiroyuki Sakai and challenger Yoshihide Koga (ICC episode number 732). (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)

A movie whose music was only used in the original English dubbed version of Iron Chef was Akira, the 1988 anime classic. (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.) Composed by Tsutomu Oohashi (under his pseudonym Shoji Yamashiro) and performed by his ensemble, the Geinoh Yamashirogumi, the Akira soundtrack contributed a cue here described in the list from the late ironchef.com: “Akira” Soundtrack – “Requiem” (track 10) The gong that is heard as we see the chef and challenger are pictured facing each other after the commercial break before the dishes are presented again and before judging is from the anime movie is from seconds 20 to 28 of track 10. This footage is seen in the International Iron Chef seen on the Food Network.

• Gong Excerpt
• Full Track

4TH CONFRONT: OTHER MEDIA, PART 1 Three more anime shows/movies had music used on Iron Chef—specifically, in the New York Battle (ICC episode number 802). These cues, all composed by Yoko Kanno (Yoko Kanno Amazon Store), were used in various places during the New York Battle special.

• “Flying Dragon” (from Escaflowne-Purchase Soundtrack)
• “Break out/Cantabile” (from Macross Plus – Purchase Soundtrack)
• “My Little Pony” (Brain Powerd - Purchase Soundtrack)
• “Home” (Brain Powerd - Purchase Soundtrack)
• “Power of the Light” (from Brain Powerd – Purchase Soundtrack)

The 1986 musical Variations, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, gives us the original ascension music of Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe. (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)

Here’s the description from the ironchef.com list:

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Variations” – Used for Kobe’s introduction music. The Song & Dance musical, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, features singing in act one and dancing in act two. Since act two is just instrumental, it will sometimes be sold separately from the singing portion of the musical. Such is the case for the recording used on the show. The instrumental music is on a CD entitled “Variations” (Philips label, released 1986). Track 11, approx 2:27 – 2:57, is Kobe’s music.

• Variations 22-23 (Kobe Excerpt)
• Variations 22-23 (Full Track)

When Iron Chef Kobe’s music was replaced for post-2001 airings of the show on Food Network, it was changed to a cue from the anime series The Big O. This cue, entitled “Stoning” (composed by Toshihiko Sahashi) would be used until the music of Iron Chef was totally replaced for post-2008 airings of Iron Chef on the U.S. cable channel Fine Living Network (check out the “Fine Living Version” of the 1998 Mango Battle between Iron Chef Kobe and challenger Yousei Watanabe [ICC episode number 615-B] for an example of the new music).

• Stoning (from The Big O)

Finally on our itinerary this time is the 1996 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire media initiative. The soundtrack inspired by the novel and later used in the videogame (composed and conducted by Joel McNeely based on original thematic material composed by John Williams) would contribute two cues (“Imperial City” and “The Destruction of Xizor’s Palace”) to the opening sequence of the U.S. version of the 21^st Century Battle (ICC episode number 901).

Both of the Shadows of the Empire cues I just mentioned can be downloaded from Joel McNeely’s official website, which you can find here.

According to some reports, a theme from some incarnation of the Star Trek franchise was used in the original Japanese opening of the 21^st Century Battle (and was subsequently replaced in the U.S. by the Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire music). However, since I have not seen the OJV of the 21^st Century Battle as of the date this article was written, I cannot comment on this myself.

Anyone who has a tape of the OJV (Original Japanese Version) of the 21^st Century Battle, please send me an MP3 or video file of the opening at the e-mail address above. If I can correctly identify the Star Trek theme in question, I will properly credit you in a revision of this article.

In our last episode, we’ll wrap up our look at miscellaneous cues not mentioned up to this point.

William “Blissey” Raymer

Yuma, Arizona USA

15 September 2009

I’m always surprised at how frequently I come across Iron Chef connections in the other Japanese media I enjoy. While I now actively search for BKS videos, a lot of my early contributions to Beyond Kitchen Stadium were found purely by accident while watching other Japanese shows. Today, I present a few new videos that were found when my other Japanese entertainment interests intersected with Iron Chef.

I got this message not too long ago: “Just wondering if that guest judge on Chen bean sprout battle was the guy that Fujimoto Miki did the enka song with. He looked familiar.” I looked up the episode in question and found that it was indeed the same singer. Takao Horiuchi was a judge for three of our episodes. (Judge: Milk-529OA, Spanish Mackerel-612, Bean Sprout-717). Below are six songs that judge Takao Horiuchi sang with members of Hello Project. Most of these came from the Japanese television show Uta Doki! Pop Classics. (You know some of the girls from Hello! Project from Ryori no Tetsu-Kappa, Ryori no Tetsu-Musume, and these two BKS videos.)

• Takao Horiuchi with Maeda Yuki – Tokai No Tenshitachi (City of Angels?) – April 2007
• Takao Horiuchi with Yaguchi Mari – Canada Kara No Tegami (Love Letter from Canada) – June 2007
• Takao Horiuchi with Yoshizawa Hitomi – Koibito Mo Nureru Machikado – September 2007
• Takao Horiuchi with Yasuda Kei - Wakaretemo Suki Na Hito – November 2007
• Takao Horiuchi with Takahashi Ai – Beautiful Name – March 2008
• Takao Horiuchi with Fujimoto Miki – Okitegami – April 2008 (I also posted Fujimoto’s version of the song for those interested.)

Coming later this week, two new Japanese language episodes.

It’s time for the second installment of this post by a guest author, William Raymer. (Remember, if you purchase any of the soundtracks through the links in the article, you are helping to support the Iron Chef Collection.)  –Keith

The Music of Iron Chef Japan, Part II

by William “Blissey” Raymer

This time, I shall focus on some of the lesser-known (compared to the “Triple Crown” films in Part I)films whose music was used on the original Japanese and English-dubbed versions of Iron Chef.

2ND CONFRONT: OTHER FILMS I

Other than the “Triple Crown” films, there are still some other films whose music was used on Iron Chef. Here is a look at some of them.

First up in this section is the score to the 1994 film Star Trek Generations (the seventh film in the Star Trek franchise), which was composed and conducted by Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series composer Dennis McCarthy. (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)

• Track 1, the “Star Trek Generations Overture” (which was used as the film’s end credits) (1STGO time code 0:00 to 0:26) was used in the finals of the unaired-in-America “Iron Chef World Cup 1997” special (ICC episode number 538b) during the pre-verdict entrance of Iron Chef Japanese II/Japan Representative Komei Nakamura and France Representative Alain Passard. (The 0:04 to 0:10 section of the cue was also used to introduce countdown segments in the (also)unaired-in-America “Iron Chef Best 50 Battles” special (unnumbered in ICC episode list).)

1. Excerpt used in the World Cup 1997.
2. Full Track

• Next up is composer Bruce Broughton’s score to the 1998 film version of the ’60s sci-fi series Lost in Space. The cue “Thru the Planet” (19TtP time code 0:40 to 1:07) was used during the introductory film of Dominique Bouchet in the unaired-in-America “Iron Chef Millennium Cup 2000” special (ICC episode number 801a). (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)
• Next up is the score to the 1995 film Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Movie, composed and conducted by Graeme Revell. The cue “Freddy to the Rescue” (17FttR time code 0:00 to 0:11) was used in a sequence deleted from the American version of the 2000 “Iron Chef: New York Battle” special (but left intact in the original Japanese broadcast–ICC episode number 802aOA). In this scene, Fukui-san and the four Iron Chefs (Michiba, Morimoto, Sakai and Kobe) are en route to an event at a Harlem community center. The “Freddy to the Rescue” clip plays over the establishing shot of the van bearing Fukui-san and the four ICs.

1. Excerpt used in show
2. Full Track

• Next up on our list is the score to 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, composed and conducted by Cliff Eidelman. Track 13, the “Star Trek VI Suite” (the film’s end credits) (13ST6S time code 0:00 to 0:11) was used in the unaired-in-America “Iron Chef Best 50 Battles” special (unnumbered on the ICC episode list) during a recap of the 1994 Potato Battle between Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi and challenger Katsuyo Kobayashi (ICC episode number 232), which was at #10 on the Best 50 Battles list. (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)

1. Full Track

• Our next stop is the 1999 film Wing Commander. The theme of the film, composed by David Arnold (01O time index 0:11 to 0:42) (For the record, the other cues in the Wing Commander score were composed by Kevin Kiner), was used as Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai’s personal entrance theme during the original Japanese version of the “King of Iron Chefs Tournament.” You can hear the Wing Commander theme during Sakai’s entrance to the “Grand Finale” (ICC episode number 736cOA). (Click Here to purchase this soundtrack.)

1. Excerpt used on show
2. Full Track

In the next installment, we will focus on even more films whose music was used on the original Iron Chef. We will also focus on items from other media, such as TV shows and video games, whose music was also used.

William “Blissey” Raymer

Yuma, Arizona USA

7 August 2009

Takeshi Kaga is still active on Japanese television. Today, I present a short clip of The Chairman from the new Japanese drama Dandy Daddy?. He plays Sasaki Taizo, a literary critic who seems to play a foil to the main character. In the two episodes I have watched, Kaga appears primarily on the TV show within the TV show. These episodes aired new in Japan about a month ago. This video contains all of Kaga’s scenes during the first two episodes of the series. (If anyone is interested in watching the entire episodes, contact me and I can point you in the right direction.) If Kaga’s role in this drama increases, I can post more video of his appearances. I never knew the Chairman Kaga had a Scooby Doo laugh.

New in the database this week: BKS – Kaga in Dandy Daddy?. (The clip is in Japanese with English subtitles.)

Coming early next week: The Music of Iron Chef – Part 2

Today, I present the first part of a special article written by a guest contributor. Enjoy.

The Music of Iron Chef Japan, Part I

by William “Blissey” Raymer

A few months ago, I submitted a post on the “Kitchen Stadium” message board (partner to this site), asking for any assistance possible in locating music used on the original Japanese and Food Network U.S. dubbed versions of Iron Chef.   I did this in preparation for an audio adaptation of my fan-produced Faith of the Heart: An Iron Chef America Movie script. Little did I know that it would lead me into writing this article.

For this article, I have viewed all 24 of my dubbed Iron Chef episode video tapes (each containing 4-6 1-hour episodes per tape), plus separate tapes for the 2000^th Plate, New York Battle and France Battles specials as well as downloaded episodes from the Iron Chef Collection File House in order to compile this article.

For each movie/TV series I have detected, I will describe which cues are used where (to the best of my knowledge), including Iron Chef Collection episode database code numbers. For the purposes of identification of the used sections of each track, the track number and an acronym of the track’s title will be shown (i.e.: [9SMYF time code-0:22 to 1:12; extend to 1:37 for special battles]).

A word of warning: the list in this article is, in no way, definitive! If you find some information I have missed, please e-mail me at Blissey01@yahoo.com. If your information is proven accurate, I will properly credit you in a future update of this article.

Now, let’s get down to business. Or, in other words, Allez Cuisine!

1ST CONFRONT: THE “TRIPLE CROWN”

When you discuss music used on Iron Chef, you must first mention the three films comprising what I refer to as the “Triple Crown” of Iron Chef music. The first leg, of course, is Backdraft, the 1991 fire-fighting drama.

Composed by Hans Zimmer and conducted by the late Shirley Walker, the soundtrack to Backdraft provided the majority of music heard in a regular episode of Iron Chef. (Click here to purchase this soundtrack.)

• Track 2, “Fighting 17th”

1. Track 2, “Fighting 17th,” is primarily heard in the prologue and pre-tasting battle review only seen in the original U.S. dubbed version of Iron Chef . (2F17 time code: 0:00-1:26)
2. Another segment of the “Fighting 17th” track (2F17 time code: 1:26-2:31) is used as the end credits music for special battles. Examples of this include: the U.S. version of the “King of Iron Chefs Grand Finale” (ICC episode number 736c), the U.S. version of the “Mr. Iron Chef 1995” Final (Michiba’s Retirement Special (ICC episode number 401b) and the 21^st Century Battle (ICC episode number 901). The “special battles” end credit music was also used in the U.S. version of the 1994 Lamb Battle between Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai and challenger Mario Nakagawa. (ICC Episode number 215)
3. Nearly the entire 0:00 to 2:31 sequence of “Fighting 17^th” was used in the “Iron Chef Data File” seen exclusively in the original Japanese version of the “King of Iron Chefs Grand Finale” (ICC episode number 736cOA).

• Track 3, “Brothers,” is often heard during segments in which Chairman Kaga has a wise statement (or two) regarding the day’s theme ingredient. (3B time code-0:00 to 1:06)




• A clip from track 4, “The Arsonist’s Waltz,” is heard over the Brillat-Savarin quote (you know, “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you what you are”) on the original U.S. dubbed version only. (4TAW time code-0:30 to 0:38)

• Now we arrive at track 6, “Burn It All.” This track provides cues for multiple sequences on the show.

1. First, the entrance of the challenger into Kitchen Stadium. (6BIA code-0:02 to 0:41; looped as needed)
2. Next, the overtime declaration cue-the music heard when the Chairman declares an overtime. (6BIA time code-2:55 to 3:17) A sequence from earlier in the track (6BIA time code-2:14 to 2:34)is sometimes used as the overtime declaration cue.
3. And finally, the unveiling the theme ingredient music(6BIA time code-5:01 to 5:16, at which point, the track ends).

• Track 7, “You Go, We Go,” provides cues for two sections on the show.

1. First, the “tale of the tape” cue as I call it. This section plays prior to the Allez Cuisine start call where it shows             Challenger’s Name vs. Iron Chef’s Name       XXXXXXXX Battle (7YGWG time code-0:34 to 0:55; extend to 0:58 as needed).
2. On the original Backdraft OST, “You Go, We Go” shifts next to the Iron Chef’s profile cue. This plays as Fukui-san reads the profile of the Iron Chef selected to do battle on this day (7YGWG time code-1:00 to 1:28)

• Track 8, “Fahrenheit 451,” contributes two cues as well.

1. First, the dish description cue (8F451 time code-0:28 to 2:02; loop point 1:16 to 2:02-repeat as needed).A variation of this cue (8F451 time code 0:00 to 0:59) is also played in the original Japanese version of the “King of Iron Chefs Grand Final” (ICC episode number 736cOA) as the Iron Chefs “go to sleep” during the closing ceremony.
2. And finally, there is the victory cue, which plays after the Chairman declares the winner of the battle (8F451 time code 2:09 to 2:58, at which point the track ends).

• At last, we arrive at the key track from the Backdraft score when it comes to Iron Chef… track 9, “Show Me Your Firetruck.”

1. First, the main theme of the show, which I call the “Iron Chef March” cue (9SMYF time code-0:22 to 1:12; extend to 1:37 for special battles). As indicated, the track normally goes from 22 seconds into the track to 1 minute and 12 seconds in for a normal episode. However, when the cue is used for a special battle introduction, such as the summoning of the Honorary Iron Chefs, the ICM cue is extended by an additional 25 seconds.
2. Then, there is the “post-match interviews/end credits” cue (9SMYF time code-1:38 to 3:32, at which point the track ends), which plays over the post-match interviews with the judges/challenger/supporters/Iron Chef, if any. If an episode has no post-match interviews, the end credits (9SMYF time code-2:43 to 3:32, at which point the track ends) begin after the scores are shown.

Next up is the second leg of the “Triple Crown” of Iron Chef music-the 1987 U.S. Civil War drama Glory, composed and conducted by James Horner. (Click here to purchase this soundtrack.)

• Prior to 2001 (for the original U.S. dubbed version) and up until the Japan Cup 2002 special in Japan, the Glory cue “Charging Fort Wagner” (10CFW time code 0:00 to 1:23, omitting sequence from time code 0:15 to 0:27) was used when the Iron Chefs are summoned into Kitchen Stadium. This music is also used as the Iron Chef’s profile cue when an Iron Chef is making a solo ascent.

And lastly in the “Triple Crown” is the 1993 bio-pic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, composed and conducted by Randy Edleman. (Click here to purchase this soundtrack.)

• In addition to miscellaneous cue segments used in various ways throughout Iron Chef’s 1993-1999 run, the cue “The Challenge Fight Warm-Up” (5CFWU time code 0:00 to 0:27) was used (prior to 2001 [for the original U.S. dubbed version] and up until the Japan Cup 2002 special in Japan) as the introduction to who was on the week’s tasting panel.

(If you can offer any information on specific episodes of Iron Chef in which cues from Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story are heard, please e-mail me at the e-mail address above. If your information is proven accurate, I will properly credit you in a future update of this article.)
In the next installment, we will focus on more films whose music was used on the original Iron Chef. We will also focus on items from other media, such as TV shows and video games, whose music was also used.

William “Blissey” Raymer

Yuma, Arizona USA

20 July 2009

The movie Backdraft was on television tonight. I always find myself watching it whenever I see it in the listings because so much of the music from Iron Chef comes from the Backdraft Soundtrack. I thought this might be a good night to share an a cappella version of the song “Show Me Your Firetruck.” You might know it better as the opening and closing theme song to Iron Chef. Enjoy.

A Cappella Iron Chef Theme