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
Category Archives: Translation
exist†trace – Umi no Shizuku
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
exist†trace – “Owari no Nai Sekai”
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
exist†trace – Blaze
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
exist†trace – VANGUARD
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
exist†trace – RESONANCE
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
exist†trace – Cradle
Happy New Year, O Reader! May 2021 treat you well. ^o^/☆ I’d been going through the songs on TWIN GATE in order, but “RESONANCE” isn’t particularly fitting for these last hours of 2020 (as I write this) heading into the first hours of 2021 (when I will finish writing & publish this). The track “Cradle,” … Continue reading
Shinjitsu wo Tsukamitore – ISHINO Ryuzo (Gundam Wing)
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 … Continue reading
exist†trace – Neverland
It’s raining where I am, so I couldn’t see the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Oh well. Moving on to the next track on the TWIN GATE EP: “Neverland,” clearly inspired at least in part by Peter Pan. Lyrics in Japanese can be found here on Rock Lyric. ☆ Neverland Take me… fukigenna sora … Continue reading
exist†trace – KNIFE
Happy Belated December Igu Day! I thought I could make it before midnight, but alas. ^o^; Anyway, I love how clear Jyou’s voice is on this track. I think miko wasn’t doing deep per-song commentary on her blog this far back in the day, but I did find an interesting tidbit about the song “KNIFE” … Continue reading
