I started rewatching Gundam Wing yesterday. I absolutely loved it when I first saw it on Cartoon Network twenty years ago. I had forgotten how absurd any lines mentioning Zechs Merquise by name sounded. Like “Zechs is in the atmosphere!” I was like, isn’t that a T-Pain lyric? LMAO But, this show was my introduction …
This is a bit of a deviation from my usual fan translation fare, but I see it when I’m scrolling down my iTunes Music Library on my way to exist†trace, so I figured I could translate this too. As passionate as this song is, my main memory of it is not being able to get …
I became interested in Arabic geometry and zilij around the same time that the “Moroccan trellis” type of quatrefoil pattern started showing up everywhere. I’ve got a camera case, computer screen wipes box, and even a kitty litter mat with variations of this pattern on them. I’m both delighted by the availability of this design, …
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 …
I had bought issue #44 of Rock and Read back when it came out in 2012, solely for the GACKT article. In 2013 I learned of YOHIO through his collaboration with GACKT on the song “Sakura, falling.” It wasn’t until this year, when I sat down to translate the aforementioned GACKT interview, that I realized …
This interview comes from the November 2012 issue of Rock and Read (#44). The interviewer is Ayano NISHIMURA. Usually, I don’t mind if someone posts a copy to their own site of a fan translation I’ve done (as long as they link back to me), but given how much work I put into this one …
I posted a translation of this song yesterday based on the lyrics as I heard them only, since official lyrics haven’t been published online and my digital copy of The Only Garden and the “Existence” single didn’t come with liner notes. Reader Silphion was gracious enough to show me the liner notes from his physical … Continue reading
UPDATE (4/11/2021) A million thanks to Silphion for showing me the liner notes! I wasn’t too far off, but there are several things that I can correct now so I’ve made a separate post for the updated translation. I’m leaving this here because it’s fun to see what I got right, wrong, and why. I’m … Continue reading
Back in early February the world was blessed with what is, to me, the best remix of “One-Winged Angel” since “Advent: One-Winged Angel”: When “The Prelude” comes in tho!!! When I read the line “Sephiroth and his entire gang show up with a boombox” I knew I had to draw it. Originally I thought to … Continue reading
Happy March Igu Day! And Happy Birthday to Omi, as it’s already the 20th in Japan! Well, it’ll probably be the 20th here as well by the time I finish proofreading this and post it. (^o^;) Talk about cutting it close… Anyway, when I finished the songs on Twin Gate, I was excited to start … Continue reading
March 7th is miko’s birthday, as well as that of BUCK-TICK’s Atsushi Sakurai. Might I suggest the song “Mortal” from his solo project The Mortal as an appropriate pairing for “Owari no Nai Sekai”? Anyway, this song isn’t terribly appropriate for a birthday (which is why I’m somewhat superstitiously publishing it on the 6th instead), … Continue reading
Happy Igu Day! Today we come to “Blaze,” which is one of Omi’s songs. I realized reading over some of Omi’s other songs that I’ve been inconsistent in how I handle cases of the written lyrics not matching the sung lyrics. Lately I write what’s sung and add a footnote explaining what’s written. For this … Continue reading
I haven’t counted the number of sunny days versus dark days in the winter. But I like winter, so maybe that’s why I notice the sunny days more than the gloomy ones, and see winter as a bright and shiny season. When my cat SamSi was still alive, I would go outside with him to … Continue reading
One of the challenges of translating poetry versus prose is that when an artist takes poetic license in a unique way, the translator might not be able to figure out what the artist meant without asking the artist directly. In this case, the line “Burn that trembling voice” left me scratching my head. Though that … Continue reading
Dark though things are in the States right now, for what it’s worth, Happy Igu Day! This track appears on both TWIN GATE and Ambivalent Symphony. Lyrics in Japanese can be found here on Rock Lyric. Below is the short version of the music video. Not gonna lie, I’m unsure about whether or not I’ve … Continue reading
I’ve always loved the track “On Our Way” from Final Fantasy VII but for some reason I’d come to associate it strictly with Icicle Inn. Maybe because I used to stay in the inn to let the inappropriately-dressed party warm up before going back out into the snowy mountains, so I’d hear the music there … Continue reading
