Note: This post is spoiler-free for The First Soldier. Also, Happy New Year! (LOL) There was a lot about Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis that caught me by surprise or that I just didn't understand having never played a gatcha game before. One of those surprises was the Japanese voices during battles, particularly the fact …
exist†trace — SKY
Happy November Igu Day! It's been a while, but here we are. We've come to the last track on ROYAL STRAIGHT MAGIC. It's pretty straight-forward, but I was wondering about the choice to call this track "SKY" when the last track on VIRGIN had been titled "SORA," which means "sky" in Japanese. Fortunately for me, miko addresses …
exist†trace — ROYAL STRAIGHT MAGIC
This song is, fittingly, straightforward. I didn't need to read miko's blog about it to understand anything about the song, though I did read it anyway and found it funny that she said the interlude sounded like something from an RPG, which made her envision a hero raising their sword. Personally, I get more Yugi-Oh …
exist†trace — GET BACK
When I hear the words "get back" by themselves, I think "get back [away from a dangerous person/situation in front of you]." So this song threw me a little at first. It probably doesn't help that the way they sing "get baaack" sounds to me like "Bat-maaan" as sung in the theme song from the …
exist†trace — Kimi to ame to himitsu
This track appeared on Royal Straight Magic and later on NEO JAPANESE HEROINE under the translated title "You, Rain, and Secrets." At the time of said compilation album's release, miko described this song as "a quiet, fiery love ballad" in a blog post in English, and said it was about a man who doesn't know what he has until …
exist†trace – Tokoyami no Yoake
A belated Happy New Year, O Readers! I can't remember why I decided to do this song next and it's not particularly happy, but it was in my drafts so I'm going with it. This song appeared on the 2011 EP True and is the "prequel" to Omi's "Yoake no Hikari." Her blog post about …
exist†trace – Psychedelic Black Night
This song first appeared on Royal Straight Magic and was also included on the Western release Neo Japanese Heroine. Given the time of year and the title, I was thinking it would be fitting for Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. But I digress. On the occasion of that Western release, miko posted to her blog in English …
exist†trace — Unforgive You
Thanksgiving heralds the (un?) official start of the Christmas season. It’s a bright time that can also be depressing depending on what’s going on in your life. So, I thought it fitting to reblog this song. Maybe I’m also thinking of Jason David Frank, AKA Tommy from Power Rangers. He was my first childhood TV crush.
The back of a shirt I have, with a quote by William James reading “Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.”
The song that most caught my attention on Twin Gate when I first listened to it was “Unforgive You.” It’s such a haunting track, and the specificity of the person described made me wonder who it was written for. Actually, I think that’s how I came to find miko’s blog, as she explains there exactly what prompted her to write this song.
Normally, I post translations of miko’s blog posts after the lyrics, but for this song, I think it’s better to do it the other way around.
Right now a lot of people are posting the number to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) on social media and such given the passing of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. I’d like to share…
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My Best of Inktober 2022
When I first heard of Inktober, I thought the rules were that you had to draw straight in ink from the get-go, and that you didn't know what each day's prompt was going to be. I don't know why I thought this, but even years after finding out these weren't really the "rules," I still …
exist†trace — Shout Out
Happy September Igu Day! I've had this song in my drafts since July. (^_^;) I hadn't actually started working on it, I just transliterated the lyrics and copied links to the relevant blog posts. And then I went off to do other things. But, well, here we are now! As is written on Archangel Diamond's …