Let’s turn back the hands of time as we look back at the songs that made the Japanese music industry what it was on the Oricon Weekly Chart. This week we look back at the fifth week of March* for both 2010 and 2015, where two female idol groups Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 and Nogizaka46 reigned supreme with “AkKanbe Bashi” and “Inochi wa Utsukushii” respectively. But just what exactly made these songs so great?

“AkKanbe Bashi” was Watarirouka Hashiritai 7’s fourth single and first and only single to hit number one on the Oricon charts despite having the lowest sales. It originally sold 27,441 copies during its initial release week and sold a total of 34,296 that year. The single was original available in six different editions; a CD+DVD Limited Edition in Type A, B, CD+Photobook (Type C), a regular edition, a DVD single edition, and a special low priced edition re-named “Otameshi Ban”. Takanori Fujimoto composed “AkKanbe Bashi” and had also composed their previous single “Kanpeki Gu~no ne”, which made it to number seven on the Oricon. “AkKanbe Bashi” is a school tune with an interesting composition that makes it feel like an Anthem song. The track is easy to follow with its simple lyrics and composition which anyone could dance and sing to. “AkKanbe Bashi” is a music that begins very simplistically such as a School Anthem, then ramps up for the chorus, and goes back down to being a simple easy to follow along tune. Watarirouka Hashiritai 7’s showed how they can make their own way despite being a subgroup of AKB48 and made their mark on the industry even if it was for a short period of time.

“Inochi wa Utsukushii” was Nogizaka46’s eleventh single and their tenth consecutive number one single on the Oricon chart. It originally sold 500,297 copies the first week and had a total sales of 622,248. The single was originally availabe in four editions; three CD+DVD limited edtion versions Type A, B, C and a regular edition. Each version of the single had different track listings and it also came with a ticket to vote in the Senbatsu. “Inochi wa Utsukushii” was written by Akimoto and composed by Hiroki Sagawa. Akimoto has written most of the 48 and 46 groups songs and is also the creator of Nogizaka46. This was the first song for Nogizaka46 that Hiroki Sagawa composed and would go on to produce the B-side track “Sorezore no Ise” later on. “Inochi wa Utsukushii” is a heavy vocal track with beautiful piano composition throughout. Nishino Nanase is the center of this track both vocally and in the video. The song shows off the vocal capabilities of the group and the center Nishino Nanase with moving lyrics and a beautifully memorable composition. Nogizaka46 continues to make an impact in the music industry today as they have continued to release more number one tracks, with their latest being “Shiawase no Hogoshoku”.

*Note that we are following the sales listing for the Japanese Oricon chart for 2010 and 2015 which has five sales week.