Maeda Jun has lost some of his storytelling luster after making Key the big name it is now, but he's still clearly capable of showing the "flashes" (Little Busters: Refrain) of inspiration that made him such a dominant storytelling figure in Japan. He's moved on to mostly composing music, but other than spot appearances as a contributor he's been mostly gone... until now, with a new album in collab with Nagi (previously from Supercell) coming out this month. He has basically moved his storytelling to music, a bit like Sound Horizon, but his "stuff" seems to convert better straight-up, at least on an individual song basis (Sound Horizon's albums are still epic though, worth checking out if you haven't before). They've so far put out music videos for four of the songs to be released in the album, and here's one. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did
"The Invincible Soldier"
The warrior hailed as invincible lay fallen before me Suddenly the crowd roared And I realized I'd emerged triumphant
That this would be how we'd part ways...
My livelihood was villainy (jan jan) Slitting a throat, blood spewed (ba ba) If you want to live, this is (cha cha) Nothing♪
This bag, the sound of money (ja ja) Give to me, leader said (ka ka) He beats me for no reason (ga ga) The worst way to live and I had nowhere to go When you appeared in front of me
You were an invincible soldier around these parts The bandits you looked at would one by one be destroyed Leader continued shouting things like don't pussy out
Blood splattered in front of my eyes (ba ba) With no problems or happenings (sha sha) The stunned leader tried to escape From behind, no questions asked From the corpse the treasure, he recovered And then said to me
"Are you hurt, everything is fine now, can you Go home by yourself?"
That day I became an apprentice and wandered with him I planned to steal his skills and start over again alone
We saw the same things, we spent a long time together
I gave away that I was a villain Because of antsy hands and old habits The shop owner huffed with pride as he showed me a sword I wanted to steal it
He noticed: this is bad, a pinch I pulled my sword, and turned around I cut him, I beat him A nostalgic feeling
My luck ran out, you were watching I resigned myself, like the leader You would kill me, no questions asked You then stated
"Duel me. Cut out your path with your own hands."
Amidst the cheers I looked at the fallen you It wasn't your dominant arm
I wonder if things would have been better if we'd met a different way
I heard this song on KawaiiRice's stream some weeks ago and I loved it. But I never figured out which song it was. Now not only do I know it, I also know the meaning of the lyrics! :D Thanks a lot for this!
WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS!? When you first posted it in ADT I was like "good thing I can't understand the lyrics or I'd probably be tearing up too. Image at the end is pretty sad." Now I know what the lyrics mean and it's worse than I thought Thanks though :D
Your eyes can't see but instead you can see the "truth" That's why everyone and anyone used you Who is the one that took the rations and ran You said the name of the one to be slain
But you didn't seek something like that
I'd realized One day I would, for you Kill someone, that day would come To keep "living" It would be needed
The seasons were still "crazy" when summer followed autumn Everyone and anyone was seeking water The water veins that only you could see, he strangled you to hear But that was connected to the well of an orphanage a long way off
I realized that the time had come
Pulling out a blade, glimmering dully I ran The darkness helped me I clearly felt it connect my hands were still shaking Then a light shined upon me His friends held me down And my Achilles on both legs was sheered off
I crawled to you with my hands, and told you what happened That I could no longer take you and escape But with a clear gaze, you said "If you slew one, then two or three is just the same."
From whatever direction you pointed, the enemy would always come So all I did was keep cutting and killing those You transformed me into a single warrior To protect you, that became my only reason for living
Time passed, and single legend would be whispered There was a castle that could never be felled, an unsolvable mystery:
The ruler of the castle could not see with his eyes His knight could not even walk properly That there existed love that could cause such a miracle
Being able to laugh together is a blessed thing You were the one that taught me that, you know
I knew everything since when I was little Your tastes, your ideal, I tried to make myself match
And then you quietly told me the person you like An older, pretty girl
I couldn't catch up So I used my power Leaping to the past
And then I'll meet with you and fall in love again
You cried yourself to pieces as you searched For me, after I suddenly disappeared
I should go back, immediately But my power is one-directional I could no longer fly into the future
I wanted to tell you that I'd come from afar But somehow I realized that I couldn't
You saw me, older, and asked "I'm looking for someone who looks like you, would you know anything about her?"
You tore yourself to pieces searching for that day You tried to bring together the two who'd been split apart Stop I'm Right here
So don't go anywhere anymore
Spring came again and you decided to leave this place "I wish you were that person," you left
To love, an extravagant feeling That's what I remembered So with all my strength, I grabbed that hand
I felt ripped apart as I told you the truth And I was sucked into the shattered continuum
And then when I opened my eyes it was an entirely gray-colored world What I held in my hand was a single, old photo There used to be an era that was colored like this
There, laughing, carefree To meet with you, I began my leap
Will I be able to laugh again in this world I left your photo and began walking again
Lets see if translating this can make me like it more (the viewership this one's gotten is amazing...)
"Last Smile"
I was looking at you Silently looking at you That you, I wanted to touch Between us, an invisible wall Filled with bad germs Unable to brush with anyone
Long ago you were a passionate researcher For children You wanted to heal the world
There was nothing left that you could do For yourself, you cried Every time I had time I went and heard The state of research, in your stead Was there anything I could do, I thought But my head would only hurt I couldn't understand anything I couldn't do anything for you
But you would then say to me, with a smile, "Thank you" Lets drop the difficult topics and just speak
And then the two, peacefully, conversed About frivolous things Across the glass Even if they couldn't touch They were still contacting each other And passed the time laughing Until your last
nice songs... thanks for the translation i already knew the second and the third song because i listened to them when they were released at C81 but i never knew they had such nice storytelling music videos
凍る夢 (A dream that freezes) - no video, album track
April 11, opening ceremony, I suddenly fell in love Love at first life, he wouldn't be mistaken for the best-looking, but he was like, right down my alley
April 12, surprise, he actually ended up sitting behind me He was speaking casually with the boy sitting beside him After pondering that night, I decided to act like I was an amnesiac Because I thought then he might talk to me a bit more
April 13, I told some of my acquaintances from middle school about it, to act like they didn't know me
April 14, after homeroom, he turned to me, "by the way, what was your name?" I told him my name, but then said I didn't really remember much else Of course, he made a surprised face, because I didn't have memories about the past, I added He clearly began looking at me differently. My plan worked.
April 31, today is Sunday; he politely guided me around town in an effort to help me remember "Do you remember anything?" he'd ask, but I'd shake my head Of course, I knew everything
May 9, I looked at the diary I wrote every day, and noticed something odd: I'd walked around town with him yesterday, too But I remember no such thing
May 16, I read my diary, and again I had apparently walked around town with him yesterday I vaguely recall such a thing, but my memory of it is hazy: I can't remember?
May 31, after school, he asks me if I still can't remember anything "No," is all I answer.
June 4, he suggested we visit the temple tomorrow, to pray for my memory to return I'd been there many times since I was little and had grown tired, but I decided to go with him
June 6, I'd gone to the temple with him, and pulled my fortune, and he got great fortune, and I got great misfortune He offered to swap, but I wondered if there was any point in doing so
June 10, my cell phone rang, the number was unknown, for some reason I decided to answer When I answered, the person on the other side had a similar voice as me, and introduced themselves with my name She asked me, "who are you?"
June 13, I had apparently walked around town with him again: I remembered no such thing, it was as if another me existed
June 20, I had apparently eaten coconut curry with him and was in good spirits, but I remember eating no such thing. Who in the world is hanging out with him?
June 24, a girl I didn't know spoke to me. "It looks like you two are getting along well," she said. What is she talking about? I didn't know. I don't know.
June 25, the cell phone rang. It was from me again. "You're getting in the way, can you disappear?" I shouted and pleaded. But then, "You're the one who's actually the fake," she answered. What does she mean by fake? Why was I dragged into this weird situation? I just wanted to become closer to him. That was it.
June 30, I was spaced out during classes. I wanted to speak to him, who sat in front of me. Exactly who have you been hanging out with?
June 31, when I came home, my mother, who answered the door, looked pale as she told me, "You're in the midst of eating dinner!" I lost my place to return. I ran away from home. Everything started from my lie about being amnesiac. It's all because of that. I shouldn't have said such a lie! I disappeared from everyone's memories. I'm sorry for lying. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
When I next awakened, a girl wearing a headset and mic looked down at me and told me. "A bug has occurred."
Somehow I am turning into TLADT's resident lyric translator:
CORE OF SOUL - 目覚めの光 (the light of awakening)
I, invincible, gained a single dream A mountain's worth of fears of losing Right now I probably need more than the word "impossible" To wait for the certainty named "coincidence"
Get over the time before the time is over Get over the time before the time is over Even if I awaken to the same light as yesterday It's still too early to give up
Even if I have no means of overcoming the peak in front of my eyes I still feel like I can reach the other side It's probably just time to silently prepare To relax and allow myself to follow the flow
Get over the time before the time is over Get over the time before the time is over If I can still greet the light tomorrow Then I'll take even a single step forward
Get over the time before the time is over Get over the time before the time is over If the battle is still to continue to tomorrow Without progressing Even if I can't move forward This dream This dream This dream, I'll protect
EPT
Thanks though :D
