ribbon -- Soba ni Iru ne (そばにいるね)

There was a time, in the late 80s/early 90s when aidoru was quickly becoming an obsolete aesthetic. Contrary to this sad chapter in aidoru’s history, a TV show called Paradise GoGo!! (田代まさしのパラダイスGoGo!!) trained a number of young girls and formed famous aidoru groups like CoCo and ribbon, and also soloists, like Yuko Hanashima (花島優子) and Michiyo Nakajima (中嶋美智代), during that period.

ribbon was a trio formed in 1989, and their first single, “Little Date” (リトル☆デイト), was used in the Ranma ½ (らんま½) anime. The group lasted four years, from 1989 to 1993, but even though active for just a few years, they released seven albums and thirteen singles, giving the fans a lot to have fun with.

“Soba ni Iru ne” was ribbon’s second single, released in April 1990. At first, I didn’t give too much attention to it, but, after a few more listens, the lovely melody from the pre-chorus, as well as the dated synths, just caught me. Also, as was the case with CoCo and other Paradise GoGo!!’s aidoru acts, ribbon seemed like a return to the aidoru’s innocent times after the more Eurobeat/dance-oriented divas like Chisato Moritaka (森高千里) and the girl band boom of the late 80s.

"Soba ni Iru ne" was used in the anime “Time Travel Tondekeman” (たいむとらぶる トンデケマン!). It reached #9 on the Oricon charts. Lyrics for the song were written by Yoshiko Miura (三浦徳子), while music and arrangement were done by Goto Tsugutoshi (後藤次利).

Source: generasia.com