Team A - "Shinkirou"

Sorry for being late to post again x_x I'll finish A3 and start on the Sakura Special asap!

"Shinkirou" (Mirage)
(from Team A 3rd stage "Dareka no tame ni")
Kojima Haruna, Nakanishi Rina

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Miyajima Ritsuko
point of view: female
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Shinkirou on youtube

As my heart sways, sways
I will disappear from your sight
Excuse me for my love
Excuse me for my love

The train platform at dawn
Is like a letter with nothing written on it
Without even managing to say goodbye
I'm heading to a town I don't know
On the first morning train

Ah, because I love you
I will throw everything away
And leave on a journey

A swaying, swaying mirage outside the window
The time that goes by is like an illusion
I'm glad I could dream
The summer sky is swaying, swaying outside the window
The big clouds look like they're about to cry
Love is so mean
Love is so mean

If I talked to you
You'd make sad eyes
And keep me here
This is my foolish decision
Please, don't look for me

Ah, because I still love you
I will just disappear
Forever...

Even if big, big drops of tears fall
My memories are my treasure
I'm glad the two of us met
Even if big, big drops of tears fall
I can't wipe my love off
Excuse me for my love
Excuse me for my love

A swaying, swaying mirage outside the window
The time that goes by is like an illusion
I'm glad I could dream
The summer sky is swaying, swaying outside the window
The big clouds look like they're about to cry
Love is so mean
Love is so mean

Going far away...

Team A - "Nagekiss de uchiotose!"

Here comes Queen Acchan! This fun, uptempo unit also has Tomochin and Miichan who went on to become frontgirls in their own right.
Also, in NMB's version my (probably) favourite NMB member, Milky aka Watanabe Miyuki, takes the centre position, and another favourite, Riichan aka Kondo Rina, has Tomochin's position. ♥

"Nagekiss de uchiotose!" (Shoot me down with a blown kiss!)
(from Team A 3rd stage "Dareka no tame ni")
Maeda Atsuko, Minegishi Minami, Itano Tomomi, Masuyama Kayano, Hirajima Natsumi, Narita Risa

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Okada Mio
point of view: female
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Nagekiss de uchiotose on youtube

La la la...

Every girl in school is aiming at him
His seniors, his juniors and even his classmates
Everyone's crazy for him
They're all my rivals, yeah!

I'm madly in love with him
I'm head over heels
Sorry, but I'll take this love for me

Shoot me down with a blown kiss!
I want to catch in my hands the hearts flying in the sky
Shoot me down with a blown kiss!
Your smile's missile
Hits the target more precisely than an angel!

After lessons, the American football club is training
His whole fanclub has gathered on the stands
Whenever he tackles they shout hysterically, yeah!

He's the best
He's just too cool
I'll have my happy end at all costs

You hit me repeatedly like a machinegun
Those darling bullets
Knock me out as I can't move
You hit me repeatedly like a machinegun
My whole body
This baptism is crueler than a gangster

When just one popular guy like you is here
This boring school looks like a pink paradise

Shoot me down with a blown kiss!
I want to catch in my hands the hearts flying in the sky
Shoot me down with a blown kiss!
Your smile's missile
Hits the target more precisely than an angel!

Comment
Not much to comment. It's a classic high school love song, where the girl likes the most popular boy and wants to have him for herself. The dance is really cute.

Team A - "Bird"

Despite having two popular girls in the unit alongside Takamina (Oshima Mai, now graduated, and Mariko), and although Takahashi now has a solo song (which I'll translate too, since I feel it's the follow-up to this song), Bird is Takamina's signature song even now. It's also one of AKB's best songs and performances.
(As a Sae-oshi, I feel compelled to inform you that whenever this song is performed in a non-shuffle occasion, Ms.Miyazawa is the substitute for Maimai. 8D)

"Bird"
(from Team A 3rd stage "Dareka no tame ni")
Takahashi Minami, Oshima Mai, Shinoda Mariko

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Morikawa Naoki
point of view: female
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Bird on youtube

Chased and surpassed by the dawn
Just when you turned off your car's headlights
The Aqua Line¹ that takes us back to our town
Is too long for us to talk
There's nothing to do but run

Love is a bird who's lost its wings and can't fly
I feel the wind from the passenger's seat's window
Love is a bird who's lost its wings and can't fly
Trapped inside the cage of my heart
Ah, the day when that sky is no longer mine has come

There aren't other cars either
So my loneliness just goes on and on
When we surpassed Umihotaru²
That profile of yours I used to remember
Got blurred by my tears

I am a sad bird who's forgotten how to fly
I just squat down in the place I am in now
I am a sad bird who has forgotten how to fly
I cannot make my way to your heart
Ah, on this ground,
Deprived of my freedom, farewell

Love is a bird who's lost its wings and can't fly
I feel the wind from the passenger's seat's window
Love is a bird who's lost its wings and can't fly
Trapped inside the cage of my heart
Ah, the day when that sky is no longer mine has come

Notes
¹ The Aqua Line is a freeway running from Tokyo to Kisarazu, a city in Chiba prefecture. Most of it consists of a tunnel + bridge combination crossing Tokyo Bay.
² Umihotaru (literally meaning "sea firefly" is an artificial island that lies in the middle of Tokyo Bay, at the crossover point between the tunnel and the bridge. It also has amusement and dining facilities.
If you want to know more about the Aqua Line and Umihotaru, you can check its English-language wikipedia page or just look at it on Google maps.

Comment
"Bird" tells us about a couple who's going back to their hometown in Chiba (after presumably a night out in Tokyo) at daybreak. The girl feels like she loves him much more than he loves her, therefore she feels like a wingless bird who has lost its freedom and can't fly anymore. The imagery perfectly conveys the sadness, and the words used are particularly suggestive - with most verbs and nouns chosen to represent certain feelings. I can only hope I have written a translation good enough for you to feel those feelings evoked by the original lyrics.

Team A - "Tanjoubi no yoru"

Sorry for not updating for days x_x! "Tanjoubi no yoru" is musically my least favourite song from Team A's 3rd Stage "Dareka no tame ni", so I guess my mind was unconsciously postponing it? (that, and the fact that I am currently without a job, and looking for employment is a full-time job, at least in this part of the world >_>)
Without further ado, here we go! Unit songs coming up next. Bird = ♥

"Tanjoubi no yoru" (Birthday night)
(from Team A 3rd stage "Dareka no tame ni")
Team A (full team)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Okada Mio
point of view: female
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Tanjoubi no yoru on youtube

Love me, darling!
Love, Love me, baby!
We can't say, yet.
Kiss me, darling!
Kiss, Kiss me, baby!
We can't do it, yet.
Love me, darling!
Love, Love me, baby!
We're fighting now.
Kiss me, darling!
Kiss, Kiss me, baby!
Cause we're stubborn.

Since you like doing childish things
Like shaking a can of coke on purpose
And then handing it to me looking all innocent,
Of course I immediately realized
That your unconcerned-looking face
Was scheming something

You said we'd celebrate my birthday together
And at the seats booked at a restaurant...

Happy!
Happy birthday to you!
You've started singing out loud
Putting on airs as if you were an opera singer
Even though there are other customers in the restaurant
Happy!
Happy birthday to you!
I'm embarassed,
Everyone is looking at us
You just keep on singing
Earnestly, your eyes closed

On top of the cake in front of me
As many candles as the number of my years are swaying
I wonder from which candle
Since what candle have the two of us been together?
I have to blow them out in one breath
I kind of feel under pressure
I'm a coward, aren't I?

The only person in the world
Who'd sing to me so proudly
Is you

Happy!
Happy birthday to you!
Everyone in the restaurant starts singing
There's no turning back now
Yes, I am the leading actress tonight
Happy!
Happy birthday to you!
I did the impossible to catch as much breath as I could
And on that second,
You had the nerve to kiss me suddenly on my lips

Amidst the cheers and applauses
You whispered to me
"I'll sing next year, too"

Happy!
Happy birthday to you!
You've started singing out loud
Putting on airs as if you were an opera singer
Even though there are other customers in the restaurant
Happy!
Happy birthday to you!
I'm embarassed,
Everyone is looking at us
You just keep on singing
Earnestly, your eyes closed

Notes
The lines in italics are in English in the original lyrics.

Comment
I might not like the tune of this song but the situation depicted in the lyrics is rather cute. I love how it's like a short story, telling us a little anectode from beginning to end.

Team A - "Warning"

Here is the second song off Team A's 3rd Stage "Dareka no tame ni".

"Warning"
(from Team A 3rd stage "Dareka no tame ni")
Team A (full team)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Ezaki Masaru
point of view: female
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Warning on youtube

Giving my all for a pure love isn't worth it even for 10 minutes
Even if I were too honest it'd be incorregibly hard
I rather look at things case-by-case
See, when tomorrow comes I won't be able to meet him
But I want to

If sticking my tongue out becomes the best part of it, that'd be nice
If it's for the sake of being loved why not try to depend on you
Side by side, in a girly way
I whisper to you as if you've already spoiled me, I'm the worst

Love is a girl's ambition
I want to get it more easily
Even if I try to look more adult than I am
If it doesn't match reality
I won't be able to put the pretense on for long

Of course I want you to change me
But if you restrain me, I want to cancel it immediately
Yeah, surprisingly I'd just go bye-bye-bye
If I make you feel good
I won't even be able to keep breathing

Love is everything for a girl
I don't need anything else, no
I believe that meeting you by chance is destiny
Although there are exceptions...

Love is a girl's ambition
I want to get it more easily
Even if I try to look more adult than I am
If it doesn't match reality
I won't be able to put the pretense on for long

Wow wow wow・・・
Warning!
Warning!
Warning!

I'll warn you!
Don't be let girls deceive you!
Because
Despite only saying selfish things
They are fickle double-tongued beings

Warning!
Warning!
Warning!

Comment
There isn't much to say. The theme is: don't trust girls cause they'd do anything when they want to win over someone. I like the music and the performance much more than the lyrics, in this case.

Team K - "Kimi wa Pegasus"

Sorry for not updating earlier. I meant to, but things keep adding up and making me proceed at a turtle's speed T_T

Today, I happily fulfill a request I've received - I feel that Team K, despite being my favourite team, is under-represented on these pages, and moreover this is one of my favourite songs ♥
Next up I'm planning to translate my first full stage! Can you guess which one?
(For who made me other requests, don't worry, I'll get around to them soon ^_^)

Also, if someone is good at making screencaps (which sounds easy, but I obviously suck at it) and wants to help me out sending me good quality screencaps for about 50/60 songs, I'd be really happy to use your help. ;_;

-

"Kimi wa Pegasus" (You are Pegasus)
(from Team K 3rd stage "Nounai paradise")
Akimoto Sayaka, Miyazawa Sae, Sato Natsuki, Noro Kayo

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Oka Naoki
point of view: male language, but the song looks rather gender-neutral
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Kimi wa Pegasus on youtube

The wings on your back have broken
And the dream ends all too soon
Even if I try to stretch out my hand,
Our love waves goodbye without leaving a trace

Your glance looked sadder than a pearl
And it saw right through the loneliness inside me
Through the crack in my heart which no one ever filled up
One cound only catch glimpses of my deep despair

Ah, my Pegasus flying through the sky
What were you thinking when you chose separation?

You cast aside your wings yourself
And fall head down from above
Your heart bleeds
Our love story is like a red sunset
If the two of us had never met, I would have never lost you
I would have just looked up to the sky
And kept believing in legends

An uncorrupted affection is an illusory knife
Without even realizing it I hurt you, and that hurt me too
"If we got closer, we would understand each other more"
I mistakenly believed this was the only way

Ah, even if I can't see you anymore
Now I understand that you're always here

The wings on your back have broken
And the dream ends all too soon
Even if I try to stretch out my hand,
Our love waves goodbye without leaving a trace
For me, since the beginning,
You were the Pegasus I had imagined in my mind
This is my punishment for keeping on dreaming
Of a love that no one had ever seen

The wings on your back have broken
And the dream ends all too soon
Even if I try to stretch out my hand,
Our love waves goodbye without leaving a trace
For me, since the beginning,
You were the Pegasus I had imagined in my mind
This is my punishment for keeping on dreaming
Of a love that no one had ever seen

Comment
As I said above, while the lyrics use the pronoun "boku", generally male, the song could be sung from the point of view of a man or a woman as there aren't other elements that strenghten the "male point of view" theory.
This is a heartbreaking song that speaks figuratively about losing one's partner to depression or even suicide. Of course it is just my own interpretation which everyone is free to disagree with, but I think that behind the delicate, fable-like imagery of the beautiful Pegasus (the winged white horse of Greek mythology), there is a very dark, sad background.
"Pegasus", with his sad glance (let's set on Pegasus being a man and the first person being a woman just for the sake of explaining it easily - it wouldn't change if it was the other way around), could see through the sadness and loneliness the first-person girl was hiding, because he felt the same or even a sharper pain. The girl, who felt understood and saw his tragic beauty, fell in love with "Pegasus", and tried to get closer to him, trying to save him; but this had no other result than hurting both of them. "Pegasus" can't be saved. He eventually "chose separation" and "cast his wings aside", disappearing, leaving only his shadow behind.
I am amazed at the lyrical perfection of this song, at how the words can convey such a dark, heavy message in such a beautiful way. Akimoto Yasushi really is a master of words.
The performance is really good too, with all the girls (the best singers in Team K at the time) dressed as princes, singing out about "uncorrupted affection" with collected emotion. One of my favourite AKB performances ever.

Team A / Theatre Girls, "Hikoukigumo"

Clearing one request ^_^
I am pleased to translate this song, one of my favourites ♥

"Hikoukigumo" (Airplane trail)
(Team A version from Team A 5th stage "Ren'ai kinshi jourei" / Theatre girls version from "RIVER" single and "Kamikyokutachi album")
Team A (full team) / Theatre Girls (selected members from AKB: Nakata Chisato, Matsubara Natsumi, Umeda Ayaka, Chikano Rina, Masuda Yuka, Sato Natsuki, Kobayashi Kana, Nakaya Sayaka, Nakatsuka Tomomi, Tanabe Miku, Hirajima Natsumi, Yonezawa Rumi, Iwasa Misaki, Oya Shizuka, Suzuki Mariya, Matsui Sakiko, Nonaka Misato, Uchida Mayumi)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Ouchi Tetsuya
point of view: male
theme: Naruse Hideki
original lyrics


listen to Hikoukigumo on youtube

On the way from Autumn to Winter
We believed we had taken a shortcut
But we had forgotten
About the corner that leads to the future,
About kindness,
And about the wind

Your face
As you whisper "goodbye"
Isn't reached by sunrays
Love has already withered

An airplane trail in the sky
A white line lingering
Whose thoughts will remain?
As we haven't even got the time to look back...
The airplane trail of time
I gazed, absent-minded,
At that thin, fresh scar
Like a scratch made by sharp nails

A cat coming from somewhere crosses the street in front of us
How does it see us?
The asphalt, scribbled on by kids,
Straddles our memories

I wonder if the two of us will meet again somewhere
Because there are too many people
On the street corner of memories

Love is an airplane trail
One delicate brush stroke
That day that won't ever come back
Makes me painfully reluctant to leave this place...
Just like an airplane trail
You raised your right hand up
To hide your tears
And watched your sadness as it left

An airplane trail in the sky
A white line lingering
Whose thoughts will remain?
As we haven't even got the time to look back...
Love's airplane trail
Looks like it's chasing its back
A little late,
I heard the sound of it flying through the sky
And the sound of someone crying
Just like an airplane trail
You raised your right hand up
To hide your tears
And watched your sadness as it left

Comment
Just like "Only today", "Hikoukigumo"'s strength relies on the gap between the bittersweet, end of a love story themed lyrics and the cheerful melody and fun tempo that made it a live favourite.
One of the characteristics of this song is that it's AKB's "towel swinging" song. Most Japanese pop acts have a song of this kind, in which the audience cheers for the singer(s) by swinging their towels (bought, of course, in the official goods stalls outside the concert venue) in time with the music. (It's actually more fun than it seems.)

Team A - "Only today"

I have some requests pending, but after following the latest Request Hour -Set list best 100- concert this song made me want to translate it so much. It's a song I have always loved, and to see it ranked at 45 made me happy (it might seem low at first glance, but if you think 300+ songs were eligible for voting it's definitely not low ^_-)

"Only today"
(from Team A 4th stage "Tadaima ren'aichuu")
Team A (full team)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Ouchi Tetsuya
point of view: male
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Only today on youtube

I wanted to come at all costs
To this beach in the middle of Winter
We get off the clattering bus
Inside the freezing wind

Putting in my pocket
A can of hot coffee bought at a vending machine
And holding your hand, I felt warmer
In this world where no one is

Sorry for inviting you
Even if I know
That now you are his girlfriend

If you just stay here for me, it'll be enough
Here right next to me...
Like if nothing changed from then...
Just stick with my foolish love
Only today, one last time
Until the evening sun hides

You're thinking I'm an egoist, aren't you?
With my sudden phone call
A love that is over
Is a pointless visit to our memories

Sitting on the breakwater
I realized only now
That precious treasures
Can only be seen after they're gone

The waves that go back and forth
On the back of a time that can't be turned back
Feel so sad

If you just stay here for me, it'll be enough
On this beach full of memories
Let's watch the sunset together
We'll be together only today
From tomorrow, we will just be
Three friends again

You came with me
Without saying anything
To me today is an eternity

If you just stay here for me, it'll be enough
Here right next to me...
Like if nothing changed from then...
Just stick with my foolish love
Only today, one last time
Until the evening sun hides

If you just stay here for me, it'll be enough
On this beach full of memories
Let's watch the sunset together
We'll be together only today
From tomorrow, we will just be
Three friends again

Comment
One of those songs that have a cheerful melody and bittersweet lyrics, and such a gap is the strength of the song. The lyrics are told from the point of view of a boy who is still in love with his ex-girlfriend, despite she is the girlfriend of a friend of his now; so, to put an end to his unrequited love, he invites her one last time to a place that was special to them.

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.

Undergirls - "Nusumareta kuchibiru"

"Nusumareta kuchibiru" (Stolen lips)
(from "Ponytail to shushu" single)
AKB48 Undergirls senbatsu members (A: Iwasa Misaki, Katayama Haruka, Kuramochi Asuka, Maeda Ami, Ota Aika, Sashihara Rino / K: Akimoto Sayaka, Fujie Reina, Kikuchi Ayaka, Nito Moeno / B: Komori Mika, Oku Manami, Sato Amina, Sato Sumire / SKE48: Matsui Rena, Yagami Kumi)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Inoue Yoshimasa
point of view: female
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Nusumareta kuchibiru on youtube

Spangles embroidered
In the midsummer's night sky
I pointed at the constellations
And asked you their names

The two of us were lying on a beach
The world up above us was so beautiful...
I thought I was the happiest person in the world
Just by being able to be at your side

Stolen lips
In the blink of an eye
Just as if wind had passed
You were in front of me
And for a second you were above me
My heart beat so fast
I was shaking

Words are always fumbling around
It's so hard to catch the real feelings...

Whenever the lighthouse on the cape shone
Your face appears in the darkness
Your embarassed eyes are so dear to me
I thought I loved you the most in the whole universe

Kiss me again
Let me prepare for it
So that I can feel your love
I want to gaze at you
Until we close our eyes
If it was just a kiss out of the excitement of the moment
Stop it...

Stolen lips
In the blink of an eye
Just as if wind had passed
You were in front of me
And for a second you were above me
My heart beat so fast
I was shaking

Kiss me again
Let me prepare for it
So that I can feel your love
I want to gaze at you
Until we close our eyes
If it was just a kiss out of the excitement of the moment
Stop it...

Stolen lips

Comment
This translation is a request from a S48 user, and I'm happy to help him out :D
It's a pretty simple song. "Stolen kiss" songs are a staple of idol repertory since the 70's, by the way :)

Team K - "Kiseki wa ma ni awanai"

Finally, here it comes. "Kiseki~" is a song that is most precious for me, the song I voted for for this year's Request Hour, it HAD to come around asap. :D

"Kiseki wa ma ni awanai" (Miracles don't make it on time)
(from Team K 6th stage "RESET")
Team K (Miyazawa Sae [centre], Yonezawa Rumi, Nonaka Misato)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Miyajima Ritsuko
point of view: male
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Kiseki wa ma ni awanai

A windy bus stop
Even if I wait for you
You definitely won't come
I knew that much

Over a not so high hill
There's a bench that looks like someone has forgotten it there
My hat flew away...
I kept looking for you since then

But miracles never make it on time, do they?
Love is always such a hasty thing
How many buses will have to stop and leave
Until destiny catches up?
My future lover

The reason why my heart's beating fast
Suddenly sped up
And got closer
To my heart's curve

It feels like
the green trees are staring at me
And I can't calm down
The probability that the two of us will fall in love

But miracles never make it on time, do they?
Pure love is never something that goes smoothly
Even if you weren't on the last bus either
I will forever wait here
I am the only lover

But miracles never make it on time, do they?
Love is always such a hasty thing
How many buses will have to stop and leave
Until destiny catches up?
My future lover

Comment
I LOVE THIS SONG. (wow, a scholarly comment. XD) It's the first unit song that Sae got to lead and it was written exactly for her: it's fun, happy, boyish and cool and cute at the same time, just like she is.
This song has no hidden meaning or cultural references in particular. It talks of a boy/young man who was sitting on a bench next to a bus stop, when suddenly the wind made his hat fly away. When he goes to pick it up, he sees a girl on the bus passing by and falls in love at first sight; so he ends up waiting everyday all day at the bus stop to see her again, hoping for a miracle.
It's as simple as this. Yet, I find it so charming. I find that this songs suits who performs them so perfectly I just can't help but love it as if it were a part of Sae-chan. Rumi and Micha are great in this song too, and the voices of the three of them blend really nicely.
In short: there's nothing about this song that's not to like. XD I might not have a deep lyrics analysis this time, but this song gives me energy and positivity every morning when I have to face a hard day, so it deserves its place here. ♥

AKB48, "Ponytail to shushu"

As I promised, a single!
This time I wanted to go for something lighter, but still meaningful, so let me introduce to you...

"Ponytail to shushu" (Ponytail and scrunchie)
(from "Ponytail to shushu" single)
AKB48 senbatsu members (A: Kojima Haruna, Maeda Atsuko, Shinoda Mariko, Takahashi Minami, Takajo Aki / K: Itano Tomomi, Minegishi Minami, Miyazawa Sae, Ono Erena, Oshima Yuko / B: Kasai Tomomi, Kashiwagi Yuki, Kitahara Rie, Miyazaki Miho, Watanabe Mayu / SKE48: Matsui Jurina)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Ota Shinya
point of view: male
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Ponytail to shushu on youtube

Before the set date on the calendar
I roll up my shirt's sleeves
It's the sign that the sun is getting closer
I'm changing to summer uniform starting from my arms¹

Blue sea
On the shore
I want to see you
Splashing water with naked feet

(Shaking) your ponytail
Into the wind
You run (I run)
on the sand
(Shaking) your ponytail
You turned my way
Your smile
My summer begins

Sunrays lighten the classroom
The temperature of my dreams got higher
When I look at you, sitting some rows ahead of me
My heart aches

I'll never be able to say I like you
I whisper my feelings to your back

Your ponytail (makes me feel sad)
Inside my dreams
I have all of you (all of me)
For myself
Your ponytail (makes me feel sad)
One-sided love
When our eyes meet
Now, we're just friends

Your long hair in a ponytail
In a polka dot scrunchie
I can't catch the tail of love
It's an illusion that will disappear if I touch it

(Don't take out) your ponytail
Without ever changing
Just keep running
As you are (as I am)
(Don't take out) your ponytail
Please be forever
The happy young girl you are

La la la...

Note
¹ The whole first verse refers to the Japanese school tradition of changing from long-sleeved winter uniform to short-sleeved summer uniform on a set date (usually at the start of June).

Comment
This song is cheerful only in appearance. It is actually a melancholy song, sung from a schoolboy's point of view, about his unrequited love for his classmate. The literal story is as follows: he sees her frolicking on the beach, her hair in a ponytail, and in their sunlit classroom at the beginning of Summer, and thinks that he will never be able to confess to her, he'll just keep loving her from a distance.
But the ponytailed girl is also a symbol of idealized youth. Her ponytail (tied with a colourful scrunchie), her school uniform, taking off her shoes and socks to play with the sea in the first Summer days... The schoolgirl symbolizes youth as it is often idealized in the Japanese adult world: innocence, simple beauty, cheerfulness. Youth is beautiful and fleeting, the only carefree time in a lifetime before being lining up in the "shakaijin" (productive worker) ranks; therefore it is an object of longing - this is the real reason why idol industry is so florid in Japan. They don't sell an image of sex as many Westerners think: idols are the image of perfect youth.
Back to the song, of course the literal unrequited love story is the prevailing part of the song, but the "symbolized youth" metaphor is a pivotal element of Japanese, and especially idol, culture, so I thought I'd point it out since it would be easy to overlook it for someone who is not very knowledgeable with Japan's idealization of youth.

Team B - "Itoshiki Natasha"

Here's the song that got the silver medal in the poll: Team B unit song "Itoshiki Natasha".


"Itoshiki Natasha" (My dear Natasha)
(from Team B 4th stage "Idol no yoake")
Team B (Sashihara Rino [centre], Katayama Haruka, Tanabe Miku)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Yoshino Takao
point of view: non specified in the verse, male first person and language in the chorus
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Itoshiki Natasha on youtube

Aiming for the distant Siberia
There was a man who smuggled himself on a freight ship

On the soil of the tundra even dreams freeze
He can't even see any future in this sky

The meaning of keeping walking over iced snow
looking for his most beloved woman

Natasha, how many times
Do I have to call out your name for it to reach you?
You should be there, beyond the wall of despair
Ah- love is my only reason to live

How much time has passed?
The never changing scenery is closing in the colour of his loneliness

He wanted to know the tears
That lie inside a speechless kindness

Has he forgotten how to put an end to something
Because of his footsteps and of the words brought by the wind?
His love lies at the furthest end

Natasha, my memories
See an illusion of you
This eternal Winter deludes my heart
Ah- love will be tomorrow's miracle

Even if I, dead tired, should collapse on the road
And lose my life I wouldn't have any regrets

Natasha, how many times
Do I have to call out your name for it to reach you?
You should be there, beyond the wall of despair
Ah- love is my only reason to live

Comment
"Itoshiki Natasha", music-wise, is a classic rock, powerful song. The lyrics tell the story of a man, presumably Japanese, who crosses over to Siberia to look for his lost Russian love, Natasha. It has the feel of a novel set in the XVIII or XIX century: the main character smuggles on a freight and gets to Siberia as a clandestine, and he keeps walking from town to town, in freezing weather, under snow storms, looking for the slightest hints (the "words brought by the wind"), without ever giving up his quest for his dear Natasha. The verses in the second part of the song seem to hint that he will never find her - but it's only the memory of Natasha, his illusion of her, that gives him the strenght to go on living.

The characteristic of these lyrics is that while the verses tell the story of the man in third person, the chorus switches to first person and have the man call out Natasha's name.
I also really like the Winter imagery with their strong relation to the unescapable loneliness of the man.

Not lyrics-wise, I think this is my favourite song from any Team B stage, ever (although none of the three members of this unit is in Team B anymore). One funny tidbit is that when Sashihara Rino, Katayama Haruka and Tanabe Miku took on "stage names" for this song: Dorian Sashihara, Divas Senorita Katayama and Glorious Tanabe, forming "Team Karyuudo" (Team Hunters). XD I think it started as a joke but then it stuck; if you watch the performance, you can hear the audience calling "Dorian", "Divas" and "Guro-chan" instead of the idols' real names.