Team B - "Boku no sakura"

Again, a request. I'm starting my full stage project after this ^_^v

"Boku no sakura" (My cherry blossoms)
(from Team B 3rd stage "Pajama drive")
Team B (full team)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Kashiwara Nobuhiko
point of view: male
theme: sakura song
original lyrics


listen to Boku no sakura

Tracing again the white lines on the field ¹
I have run under the sun
Throughout the days of my youth

Your path goes on straight
The wind that blows for a second
Goes beyond our memories
Carrying dust with it

What was I fighting against
When I said "I don't want to lose to anyone"?

I couldn't reach the goal I was aiming to
So I started walking
You, my seniors who ran before me
And wiped with the back of your hands
The tears you shed on the road to your dreams
The cherry blossoms that watched us go away
When our shadows were long ²
Have fallen, leaving only their branches
They will bloom again next year

When the cheers for the soccer club had died out
I watched the sun set
That summer's loneliness

I was troubled
And I had stopped in front of the curve of my dreams
That time, you patted me on my shoulders
And surpassed me

Your back told me
That every person runs with a different pace

The blue sky was waiting
At the goal I was aiming for
Who will cut the tape at the finish line first
Doesn't really matter
During the graduation season
Wind blows inside my heart
Today's cherry blossoms will go their separate ways
Somewhere, I'm thinking of you

I couldn't reach the goal I was aiming to
So I started walking
You, my seniors who ran before me
And wiped with the back of your hands
The tears you shed on the road to your dreams
Our long shadows

Notes
¹ One of the duties of a high school sports club's junior members is to trace the white lines on the field using a cart full of chalk powder.
² "Long shadows" means late afternoon or sunset, when the sun is low and thus it casts long shadows on the ground. So, it means that the club members practiced for a long time after the school lessons.

Comment
One of AKB's many "sakura songs", school-themed songs set in April, the month when cherry blossoms bloom and school graduations take place.
This time the first-person character, a boy in a school's soccer team, reminisces about his club seniors who have graduated, and whom he is grateful to for teaching him to never give up. A really classic sakura song.
If you like the genre, I plan on having a "sakura special" in late March ^__^

Team B - "Junjou shugi"

A B3 unit. Because B3 is a really good stage, because I'd like to celebrate SKE Team E who have just debuted with their version of this stage, and cause Haachan is one of my dearest oshimen. XD

"Junjou shugi" (Policy of purity)
(from Team B 3rd stage "Pajama drive")
Team B (Katayama Haruka, Nito Moeno, Matsuoka Yuki)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Kusano Yoshihiro
point of view: female first person, female language
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Junjou shugi on youtube

Sorry, but I believe in purity
I have sworn on it
Even if you embrace me, it won't work
I can't kiss you

Love is always a shooting star
It suddenly appears and suddenly disappears
Rather than talking a thousand words,
Give me time to stare into each other's eyes

I believe in purity, my guard is perfect
I'm protecting it
Try your luck with someone else
Sorry, but I believe in purity
I have sworn on it
Even if you embrace me, it won't work
I can't kiss you
I'm sorry

Dad used to tell me "Tease them"
You'll see right away if they lie or they're sincere
Until the day when I hand you the keys,
Rather than opening at today's knock

My heart is cowardly, I believe in pure love
I never want to get hurt
If we're together, you must believe in pure love, too
Just a little, I slip through your arms and runaway
Understand my childishness

I believe in purity, my guard is perfect
I'm protecting it
Try your luck with someone else
Sorry, but I believe in purity
I have sworn on it
Even if you embrace me, it won't work
I can't kiss you
I'm sorry

Comment
I don't have much to comment on this. The lyrics are really easy, without hidden or obscure references.
My only comment is linguistic. The word "主義" (literally meaning policy, belief, principle) is often used as a suffix with the same meaning English sees in the suffix "-ism" (examples: 共産主義 = communism, 超現実主義 = surrealism, etc). So to be completely correct I would have needed to translate "Sorry, but I'm a pure-heartist". I don't have enough courage to use neologisms in my translations, so I loosened it while keeping the translation as close as possible to the original.

Team B - "Shonichi"

As the last installment of the Team Songs series, let me introduce to you the legendary "Shonichi" by Team B.

"Shonichi" (Opening day)
(from Team B 3rd stage "Pajama drive" - AKB48 12nd single "Namida surprise" - AKB48 2nd album "Kamikyokutachi")
Team B (full team)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Okada Mion
point of view: female first person, female language
theme: team song
original lyrics


listen to Shonichi

I'm standing on the stage I have always aspired to
Amidst the cheers and applauses
During those strict lessons I surpassed my limits
And here's today
When the curtain of chance opens

There were days when I was the only one who couldn't dance well
And I cried on my way home
There were days when I couldn't sing like I wanted
And I lost my confidence
My rivals always looked
So perfect to me

Your dream is a flower
That blooms slowly among your sweat
Your efforts will never betray you
Your dream is always waiting for you
Budding among your sweat
Until the day when, surely, your wish will come true

I didn't know that spotlights were so dazzling
Just like the morning sun breaking after a long night
I absolutely don't want to lose to my senpais
We wanted to build our own show

There have been days when I injured myself
And I cried, feeling frustrated for having to skip lessons
There have been days when I just gave up
Juggling between lessons and school
But I could always hear somewhere
Someone calling out for encores

Your dream is beyond the tears,
The flower of your smile after you've stopped crying
The buds of your efforts will eventually bloom
My dream is beyond the tears,
I believe in it without losing to rain and wind
Until the day when my prayers reach the clear sky

I'll dance
As if my life depended on it!
I'll sing
As if my life depended on it!
Without ever forgetting
My initial resolution
I'll pitch with all my might!

Your dream is a flower
That blooms slowly among your sweat
Your efforts will never betray you
Your dream is always waiting for you
Budding among your sweat
Until the day when, surely, your wish will come true

Comment
And here's Team B's arguably most important team song, "Shonichi".
The word "shonichi" is used for the first day of a show in theatre/music environments, and it all makes sense when we think this was the first song in Team B's first original stage, after performing "Seishun girls" (originally team K's second stage) and "Aitakatta" (team A's second stage). This was the first time the girls in team B could shine with songs tailored upon them.
The lyrics talk about the road to "Pajama drive", and are so perfect for Team B. Unlike Team A (who by then had only got a AKB48 theme song, and no team songs of their own) and Team K's "Korogaru ishi ni nare", Team B's first team song's lyrics adopt a softer, "real life" approach. Listening to them we can picture clearly in our mind the girls at rehearsals, doing their best, "climbing beyond their own walls" (the literal translation of 自分の壁乗り越えて I translated as "surpassing my limits", which is the meaning of this idiom), crying out of frustration for not being able to dance and sing as they wished, but still giving their utmost best thinking of the opening day.
The simple message "efforts will make your dream come true" is backed up by the fact that it parallels the girls' experiences. It has the strenght of an example, and the power to move. "I'll dance as if my life depended on it"... They didn't write it, but looking at them, you can feel how true it is.

This is just a beautiful song. It's no wonder that many A and K members have often said they can relate to it, too, as it describes feelings that they all have experienced during their career as AKB48 members. It's no wonder that it's a fan favourite, as well. In 2009's "Request Hour" (a yearly event in which fans get to vote for their favourite songs and the girls showcase the top 100 in a series of 4 concerts), "Shonichi" took the top spot - such is the power of this song.