It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is probably the first JPop/Anime song I’d ever heard in my life.  I found it immediately attractive and had to actually look for help looking it up, because I immediately knew I wanted it as part of my life.  I’ve had a few songs that I’ve had that experience with.  Saint-Saens fourth piano concerto, fourth (second half of second?) movement.  Negaigoto no Mochigusare by AKB48.  And this.

Stylistically, it’s just JPop, but it’s really good Jpop.  See, there’s a reason why I’m so hard sometimes on groups like AKB48.  They try hard, bless their hearts, but their first goal in life is to be cute.  Nothing wrong with that, as they do that job extremely well, but they’re generally not really vocal powerhouses.  Sure, later, some of the aces grew into that role of being able to sing competently, but they’re not really singers, and I think most of them realize it.

Of course, that’s not to diminish them.  They have a job to do and they do it well.  It’s just not to be a professional singer.

But Hayashibara-san is a professional singer.  And from the very first note, you can tell.  She sings clearly, with power and passion, and she is not pulling any punches.  Is she up to the quality of, say, an opera singer?  Maybe not, but you can’t compare a JPop singer to an opera singer any more than you can compare a TV Newscaster to an actor (though these days you can’t really tell the difference).

She is competent.

The song itself is also really catchy, with thoughtful lyrics.  It’s about not stopping until you reach your dreams, even though the world – and yourself – might be against you.  Probably the most touching lyrics are this:

計り知れない
大きな闇が
音を立てて
向かって来ても
朝が来れば
誰かが居れば
心にある
絶望は消せる

The translations out there for this don’t really seem to encompass what it’s trying to say.  I imagine a deep despair of there not being anyone around, but then the morning comes, and you see someone, and you’re relieved, because the day can start again.  It feels a bit like when I was a child and a thunderstorm would come at 6 am when it was dark, but as the storm started to recede, the sun rose, and the terrors of the night receded.  Something like that.

I really love this song.

The only thing I don’t understand is why she sings “e” as “we”.  Maybe someday I’ll find out.

Now let’s do a lone star rating.  Yeah, we gotta do it, sorry.

links

Wikipedia – Lyrics

Cover art used under fair use, and belongs to its owner, which is not this site.