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 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 B - "Team B Oshi"

Team B's newest team song (or should we say, New Team B's first team song), "Team B oshi", was the highest ranking theatre song on this year's AX Request Hour, as high as fifth most voted song (out of more than three hundred eligible songs)!
It's a fun, uptempo, a little messy but very exciting song. Team B is my least favourite team, yet I really love this song.

"Team B Oshi" (Team B fan)
(from Team B 5th stage "Theatre no megami")
Team B (full team)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Yoshino Takao
point of view: female
theme: team song
original lyrics


listen to Team B Oshi on youtube

From today you're a Harukyan fan, look, it's Team B
(amazingly cute!)
From today you're a Maachan fan, look, it's Team B
(Maachan? "What?!")
From today you're a Tomoomi fan, look, it's Team B
(Chiyuu, Chiyuu, Chiyuu!)
From today you're a Yukirin fan, look, it's Team B
(I will send you in a daze!)

A! K! B! 48! Say B!
A! K! B! 48! B, B, B, B!

What do you think of our live show? What do you think?
We're so close, you're all "Oh my God!", aren't you?
What do you think of our singing and dancing? What do you think?
This is the notorious AKB!

Since there's so many girls you can't choose, can you?
Cheer for only one of us!

Ready, steady, go!

From today you're a Kitarie fan, look, it's Team B
(you still don't get it?)
From today you're a Kanachan fan, look, it's Team B
("So cute!" "I know")
From today you're a Komorin fan, look, it's Team B
(Hello there)
From today you're a Amina fan, look, it's Team B
(Hey, can you give me half of it?)

What do you think of us compared to the other teams? What do you think?
We're the cutest and just the best, aren't we?
What do you think of our messy speeches? What do you think?
This is AKB, anything can happen!

If my performance charms you
I don't mind if you switch your favourite for me

One, two, yahoo!

From today you're a Suuchan fan, look, it's Team B
(Suu melody!)
From today you're a Nacchi fan, look, it's Team B
(1+2= N Nacchi!)
From today you're a Mariyannu fan, look, it's Team B
(The 3 o'clock snack is Mariyannu!)
From today you're a Chikarina fan, look, it's Team B
(Mow mow meh!)

A! K! B! 48! Say B!
A! K! B! 48! B, B, B, B!

I will be happy
If you fall in love with me and cheer for me

Here we go again!

From today you're a Nacchan fan, look, it's Team B
(Nacchan!)
From today you're a Yukachan fan, look, it's Team B
(Octopus dumplings!)
From today you're a Myao fan, look, it's Team B
(One, two, three, duh!)
From today you're a Mayuyu fan, look, it's Team B
(Let's go!)

We are running for our dreams with all our might
Please, come see the growing up Team B
No matter how much we sell, we'll always be singing here
So all in all, everyone is a Team B fan, right?
Right? Yes!

Comment
Earworm, brainwashing technique, much has been said about "Team B Oshi". It's a fun and addicting song guaranteed to make the audience go wild.
"Oshi" (推し) is a term peculiar to the AKB48 fandom; it comes from the verb osu 推す, to support, and means "supporting a member as your number one". Therefore, one's number one favourite girl is called one's oshimen (推しメン), a combination between oshi and menbaa, the Japanese for "member".

Each of the 16 Team B members are introduced by their nickname, and then she says her catchphrase or some other representative phrase. I will explain them here one by one.

- Harukyan (Ishida Haruka) (amazingly cute!) → "amazingly cute" (超絶可愛い, chouzetsu kawaii) is a staple part of the in-song cheers. If Harukyan were to sing two solo lines, the fans would go "(first line) Harukyan! (second line) chouzetsu kawaii, Harukyan!"
- Maachan (Oku Manami) (Maachan? "What?!") → girls call out to Maachan and she replies "What?" in a half-bothered tone. It's an inside joke that Maachan never looks excited during shows.
- Tomoomi (Kasai Tomomi) (Chiyuu, Chiyuu, Chiyuu!) → Chiyuu is one of Tomoomi's nicknames. It takes its origin from the fact that when she speaks she tends to put "~chiyuu" at the end of sentences quite a lot. It doesn't have a real meaning.
- Yukirin (Kashiwagi Yuki) (I will send you in a daze!) → It's a part of the self-introduction catchphrase she used at the start of B5th. "Awake or asleep, Yukirin world! I will send you in a daze!". I hear she has changed it now.
- Kitarie (Kitahara Rie) (you still don't get it?) → Kitarie's impersonation of Yankumi, the high school teacher from the drama series Gokusen. "You still don't get it?" ("まだわかんねえのか？") is one of Yankumi's famous lines.
- Kanachan (Kobayashi Kana) ("So cute!" "I know") → Kana is known for being particularly silly and for having huge self confidence. Here's why she goes "I know!" triumphantly.
- Komorin (Komori Mika) ("Hello there") → She doesn't say "こんにちは konnichiwa", the Japanese for "hello / good morning), but actually she says "コニチハ konichiwa" with one N. It's a gag by a Japanese comedian, Kokado Kentaro of the duo Lotti.
- Amina (Sato Amina) (Hey, can you give me half of it?) → Amina is a well known sweets lover, and whenever she sees some other AKB member eating sweets or candy she'll ask to share it with her.
- Suuchan (Sato Sumire) (Suu melody!) → Sumire is a big fan of the Sanrio character My Melody, so she made up a new nickname for herself inspired by My Melody.
- Nacchi (Sato Natsuki) (1+2= N Nacchi!) → A part of her self-introduction catchphrase. She sticks out the index finger of her right hand for "1" and makes a kind of a peace sign for "2", and when joined together, the fingers form an N, her initial. If you watch the video I linked to you will understand it more clearly than from this explanation.
- Mariyannu (Suzuki Mariya) (The 3 o'clock snack is Mariyannu!) → this line, too, is a part of her self-introduction catchphrase and comes from a long-running advertising for a cake manufacturing company, Bunmeido, whose jingle was "Castela number one, telephone number two, the three o'clock snack is Bunmeido". Here is a post from an English language food blog run by a Japanese lady, about castela cake and Bunmeido, and in case you're curious here is the old CM.
- Chikarina (Chikano Rina) (Mow mow meh!) → Chikarina, together with Team K's Fujie Rina, is the spokesgirl for milk company Mother Farm. The "mow mow meh" line comes from the CM.
- Nacchan (Hirajima Natsumi) (Nacchan!) → They just call out her name.
- Yukachan (Masuda Yuka) (Octopus dumplings!) → Octopus dumplings, or takoyaki in Japanese, are a famous speciality of Yuka's hometown, Osaka. She loves them so much she even mentions them in her self-introduction catchphrase.
- Myao (Miyazaki Miho) (One, two, three, duh!) → Myao is a fan of the legendary prowrestler Antonio Inoki. "Ichi, ni, san, daa!" is one of his famous phrases.
- Mayuyu (Watanabe Mayu) (Let's go!) → this comes from the lyrics of the unit Mayu leads, Watarirouka Hashiritai's first single, "Hatsukoi dash".

Himawari-gumi, "Tonari no banana"

Second request, with a particular question I'll address in the comments.

"Tonari no banana" (The banana on the other side)
(from Himawari-gumi 2nd stage "Yume wo shinaseru wake ni ikanai")
Himawari-gumi (Kasai Tomomi, Ono Erena / Kobayashi Kana, Oku Manami)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Maeyamada Ken'ichi
point of view: female (two people)
theme: teenage song
original lyrics


listen to Tonari no banana on youtube

Banana banana...

"Even if I look like this, I'm quite an adult
I wear clothes that make me look more slender than I actually am, but I'm surprisingly glamorous nonetheless...
I wear adult makeup, and I have quite a bit of experience in love, too... Yeah!"

"You're still a little kid
You just look pretentious
Baby, go home"

The banana on the other side of the fence is too green
Friends who have no secrets are boring
Doing this and that, we ripen
We hope we'll turn into delicious bananas... V!

"They call people like me 'adults'
I even know the name of the American president,
the characters for the word 'sasuga (as expected)', and I worry about the pension problem... Yeah!"

"But you cry for horror movies
And you eat your sushi without wasabi
Baby, stop pretending you're older"

The banana on the other side of the fence is hard to peel
The skin that protects it is too hard
It will turn sweeter just thanks to curiosity
We hope we'll turn into delicious bananas... Yes!

"The other day I had free time so I read the morning newspaper.
Aren't I an adult?"
"People who can eat the skin of eels are adults, aren't they?"

The banana on the other side of the fence is hard to peel
The skin that protects it is too hard
We, too, one day,
Will be delicious bananas...

The banana on the other side of the fence is too green
Friends who have no secrets are boring
Doing this and that, we ripen
Please eat us, two delicious bananas... V!

NOTES
- "Tonari no banana" literally means "The neighbour's banana" (cough...) or "The banana next to me", but when we see it in the context of each chorus's first line, it's actually a pun over the saying "Tonari no shiba wa aoku mieru", which is none other than the good old "The grass is greener on the other side of the fence". "Aoi" (green) might also mean "unripen" when referred to fruits.
- "V!" at the end of the chorus stands for "victory". It doesn't have a particular meaning here, just like "yeah".
- Tomomi claims I know the characters for the word 'sasuga'. "Sasuga" ("as expected") is a fairly common word but it's usually written in hiragana, the Japanese 'alphabet'. Being able to write it in kanji characters is not a common feat, especially among youngsters.
- In the second part, Erena reveals that Tomomi still eats sushi without wasabi (and grilled eel without its greasy skin, to mention another part of the song). Wasabi is considered a food for adults since it's so hot, but, unlike Western sushi places where it's served at the side, Japanese sushi has a thin layer of wasabi spread between the fish and rice, so you have to order a wasabi-less sushi expressedly.

Comment
The question from the person who requested this song was:

I was wondering if you could analyze tonari no banana sometime if you have the chance xD I love that song and I know it's got a kind of adult edge to it (my friend from japan started laughing when she heard the lyrics) but I want to know in a more concrete sense why it's more adult.

Well, if we look at the song literally, we have two girls talking to each other about acting grownup while they're actually still young girls. It looks quite innocent.
But the sexual innuendo is clearly there, albeit in a jokingly way. I think "banana" in this case doesn't stand for what you all are thinking about right now, but for a sexually mature girl. The girls singing are still "unripe", the "skin" protects the fruit inside them; and the fruit can only ripen thanks to curiosity (quite obviously, the sexual curiosity most teenagers feel).
For once, this is an AKB song about virginity that doesn't talk about girls wanting to give it away as soon as possible, but contains hints about giving oneself time to grow up without acting like an adult, and only then do it.

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.