#Oh for anyone curious in English the Japanese lyrics I used for the link are something like

[alangdorf]

いつかきっと全部手に入れる、私はそう欲張りなアイドル！

On the subject of silly little experiments, here’s another one! I still struggle with foreshortening and painting so I don’t think this turned out perfectly, but it gets across what I was going for. I don’t watch tv very often anymore but I ended up watching Oshi no Ko because I got super obsessed with Idol and the plot intrigued me, and aside from one major caveat I actually really enjoyed it! Hoshino Ai, you’re a real one ＊

[dkniade]

Can I just say that I’m glad to see more fans of datsugoku here? LIKE ITS SO SO GOOD AND GOD SO TRAGICC THEY DESERVED BETTER!! Also also your analysis on Oktavia’s cover was FUCKING AMAZING HOLY HELLL/pos

(If anyone’s curious about the song mentioned here, note that the first link’s music video contains flashing lights and rapid motions, and the themes include violence and character death)

Thank you so much!! I really love Datsugoku’s MV for telling such a story in a mere 3 minutes and 47 seconds while combining music/lyrics/visuals together well. I remember how I used to really look up to sidu for her work on Datsugoku, particularly for its lighting and video editing haha. Over the years her artstyle has changed but Datsugoku is one of my favourite “phases” of her art style I’d say

(I think to this day if I’m trying to get someone into Neruke I’d just send them the MV haha)

But as a song it’s just really cool to listen to as well. The riff at the start, that guitar solo in the middle (I wrote a post about my interpretation of the solo’s narrative significance) IT’S SO GOOD. One of the best—or most memorable?—solos Neru has written I think. I like that you can get one interpretation based on the music/lyrics themselves, and another slightly different interpretation based on the MV (since what’s described in the lyrics don’t exactly match what’s happening on-screen even though they’re describing the same event.) This mismatch (?) in how the media forms are staggered (?) is so cool, like when the LYRICS say (using my translation)—

.

Slamming down on the rusted throttle

with all that I’ve got—

so hard that I’d break my bones—

Right now, let’s break through reality

.

—but the ANIMATION shows the moments before, where Kawasemi throws the knife to rip off Kuina’s blindfold, mouthes something in a cocky way, and runs away to start the chase…!

-

(Note that the next link here goes to a post which links to a video with flashing lights and rapid motions.)

AH speaking of a tragic ending that deserved better, back in 2021 I was able to participate in a Neruke 10th anniversary fan medley MV, and did the illustration for Datsugoku! The section chosen was of course the very guitar solo itself so I tried to depict a scene of freedom and happiness in the illustration. Whether the smiling and relaxed Kawasemi is alive in the illustration is up to interpretation, haha…

It’s to match lyrics like—(note that this section of the lyrics kiiind of alludes to metaphoric drugs, and again character death)—

.

“Increasing the altitude without a change in your expression, you laugh”

(“顔色変えず高度上げて君は笑う”)

.

and

.

“As the engine heats up, I don’t care about what’s happening to the plane’s body, so high I was in the blue heavens”

(“エンジンがヒートして　機体がどうしたって気にもしない程に　トリップしてしまう大空は偉大さ”)

.

UE UE UE KAWASEMI YOU BASTARD WITH NO SELF-PRESERVATION (affectionate). Looking at it again, as a loanword from English,トリップして (trip-shite) likely refers to tripping (on drugs)… as in he’s in such a state of ecstasy—in seventh heaven, if you will—it’s like he’s high. ….oh my god hence Oktavia’s line:

.

“Though the engine overheats, the plane begins to dive / I don’t care, it’s right in front of me / The Seventh Heaven finally on the bright side”

-

(Long ramble about Oktavia’s lyrics, Japanese lyrics, English translyrics, melody, and phonology here)

As for my initial reaction Oktavia’s encore cover, thank you!! As I’ve mentioned in the reaction/analysis post I really like how she writes lyrics. Rhythmically, I’ve realized that it’s not just about fitting the Japanese lyrics’ syllables to English words while retaining the meaning, it’s about sonority (relative loudness of a speech sound) and how the sonority of the English lyrics should sound with the melody—and as a poet and occasional (English cover) lyricist who tries to rhyme and keep the rhythm, THAT’S REALLY DIFFICULT. I think… a vocal melody written for a song in Japanese would probably take advantage of how Japanese is mostly consonant-vowel (e.g. Datsugoku can be split up to da-tsu-go-ku, but don’t quote my on the technicalities), but rewrite the lyrics to English without thinking of rhythm and suddenly it’s hard to sing lyrics when they’re all mushed together, be it because the sonority just don’t work, or that there are too many consonants…

For example, it’s easier to sing

.

あの頃僕ら夢を見ていたんだ

(Ano koro bokura yume o miteita nda)

.

than it is to sing, say,

.

“Back then the two of us would dream of better lives than this”

.

even though the syllable count matches (do you know how hard it was to intentionally write a line that’d mess with the syllabic stress in relation to the melody)

SO THAT’S WHY I LOVE OKTAVIA’S LYRIC

.

“Tell me you remember when we’d dream of another life.”

.

The way the consonants at the ends of the words follow the vowels at the beginning of the next word makes it flow SO WELL. It seems she writes the lyrics based more on the melody’s ups-and-downs itself instead of the Japanese syllables, if that makes sense?

Oktavia’s mentioned something similar about rhyming and syllables in Japanese vs English lyrics once

.

“it is interesting though that rhyming is so integral to english lyrics but like in other languages (japanese) that sort of culture doesn't exist

my theory is that it's because english has so many different pronunciations to learn rhymes are more appealing 'cause they're rarer? vs japanese where because of the syllable system you can write lyrics that rhyme MUCH easier so it's not as prioritized???? idk”

.

The syllable system in Japanese is different from English so maybe it sounds nice in English when a (relatively) complicated syllabic system suddenly has rhymes where it usually wouldn’t…?

Ahaha, anyway, thank you for the ask! I was able to ramble about Datsugoku’s lyrics and gain more insight on the song even after a year…

[lovecatsys]

130-140?☺️

130. What’s the craziest thing you’ve learned about the music business?

crazy in a "wow I had no idea way" but my mom told me about this episode of a show she was watching or smth where there was an interview with some sort of music production guy who said that almost all singers throughout the history of recording music needed minor adjustments from autotune to get the voice to the right pitch. Apparently this guy also said that David Bowie was one of the few musicians who NEVER needed that! Because he took so many voice lessons when he was younger, he had the training to hit the notes perfectly. I wouldn't quote me on this exactly but I can ask my mom what show and episode it was if anyone is curious.

131. What’s an artist band you couldn’t even be paid to see live?

Taylor Swift. Or Imagine Dragons tbh

132. What’s an artist you’d kill to see live?

Placebo, I wanna see them so bad dammit! But idk if they'll ever come to America and I don't have a passport :(

Also David Bowie if this hypothetical killing someone else could bring him back from the dead.

133. What’s some the most obscure band/artist you know?

Omg okay my favorite answer to give to this is Otis Zee and the Zambuka band who I found on this random obscure playlist album called "Gems of the 60s and 70s" that has like a stock photo cover of gems with SUPER obscure artists that I doubt anyone has heard of before. Anyways they only have two songs on spotify and both are about Christmas. They're like a funk band. I think I found this playlist through another artist on it who I found a spotify link to on this website that had like.... thousands of links to musical artists on Spotify categorized by genre. No clue what it was called this was a while ago and I'm no longer friends with the person who showed it to me 😭.

134. Which non English sung music(and excluding your mother language) do you listen to the most?

Oh man, I barely listen to anything non English at all, but I'm gonna say Japanese because I used to listen to YMO a lot and I have a headmate who listened exclusively to J-Pop when she was around.

135. What’s a music pet peeve of youre?

when I find an obscure artist who's music I love but they turn out to be a terrible person. Like with famous artists who are bad people its not really the same and u can just pirate them, but when you find someone who has like 2 fans and their music and vibes are immaculate but they turn out to be a TERF (actual thing that happened to me 😭) it sucks so bad

136. What are some of the most creative musicians you can think of?

Bowie is definitely up there for me. Also Nova Twins, their music is super creative and interesting. Maybe Placebo goes on this list to. I feel like Nova Twins though, you have a hard time really putting them in with a specific genre, they're just so unique!

137. What is your first favorite song based on memory?

My parents listened to a lot of folk, americana, bluegrass, and country when I was little, so that was pretty much most of what I had exposure to at the time lol. I remember my favorite song being Caroline by Old Crow Medicine Show at one point, probably the earliest I can think of.

138. What is your first favorite band/artist based on memory?

I really loved Dido at one point, idk how early that was but I think it might be her. I still listen to some of her stuff occasionally, I love her voice and her style, plus it gives me nostalgia now.

139. What is your first favorite album based on memory?

Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette was the first "album" I was really conscious of, and it definitely was my favorite when I was like 12, because my mom would play the CD in the car as we drove places. Funny, because she would always tell me it was her favorite album when she was 12-13, because thats how old she was when it came out, and shed play it in the CD player in her room.

140. What’s a lyric you’ve horribly misheard?

Oml I just figured out I was wrong abt this one like a couple weeks ago but for a long time I thought Bowie was saying "inspiration have I none just to touch the flaming gnome" instead of "flaming dove" 😭

[putschki1969]

Kadokawa: Wakana’s Personal Interview  ✧⁺⸜(●′▾‵●)⸝⁺✧

A translation for all of you ❤ DO NOT REPOST THIS on other sites! This is a public post so if you want people on other websites to read it, just link to THIS post!

Please credit me when you use parts of these translations! => http://putschki1969.tumblr.com/

Disclaimer: It’s been 84 years....Oh God, I am so sorry, I can’t believe how long it took to finish this interview. Please forgive me, Wakana!!! I translated 「Keiko’s Personal Interview」 as well as 「Keiko’s Eye」 a million years ago. Then I decided to translate 「Hikaru’s Personal Interview」 too, which was also finished AGES ago. Of course I also did 「Hikaru’s Eye」 :P. For some reason, I lost all of my motivation after that and then I got distracted with other stuff. Only recently I was reminded that I still hadn’t translated 「Wakana’s Personal Interview」. @vagabon80 was kind enough to provide some extra motivation which pretty much made me finish this in record time XD 「Wakana’s Eye」 will follow soon. Sorry I made all of you wait so long, I hope you’ll still enjoy reading the interview (even though it’s quite old by now).

As always, be aware that I am by NO MEANS fluent in Japanese (tbqh, my Japanese sucks), English is also not my first language. I put a lot of effort into this but still, there will most likely be mistakes in my translation. I sometimes take certain liberties because I am just not a big fan of super literal translations. I think it can really interrupt my flow of reading. So yeah, I’ve tried to make it sound as natural as possible. But don’t worry, I am trying VERY hard to stay true to the original meaning.

Check out all my other translation HERE!

Personal Interview – Favourite Things – Wakana (Bessatsu Kadokawa/別冊カドカワ)

“I wanna become a person that isn’t afraid of being who they are”

Wakana charms people with her amazing singing ability and her almost translucent voice. In private, she enjoys reading and watching movies, intellectually she is incredibly curious; when she loves something she will become deeply absorbed in it, she will investigate it thoroughly with the “temperament of an otaku”. I became increasingly fascinated by this lively girl, whose voice is completely different to her singing voice and who kept laughing cheerfully throughout our conversation

“I think none of the things I have done so far have been a waste of time”

- With this section’s interview and pictures I’d like to show the private side of Wakana-san. Therefore you brought some books which we could use as props for our pictures.

“When I thought about what to use, I was pretty undecided because there are so many different things I am doing at home but I ended up choosing my hobby ‘reading’. I really love books! For today’s occasion I thought it would be best if I was photographed with the books I am currently reading.”

- Whose works are they?

“It’s 『Masquerade Hotel』 by Keigo Higashino-san and part 2 of Miyuki Miyabe-san’s series 『Solomon’s Perjury』. They are two of my favourite authors, I think I would pretty much read all of their published work. Of course I enjoy the suspense and mystery solving part but what I really love is the way both Miyabe-san and Higashino-san describe their characters. The main characters in Higashino’s works are always spot on, they are very relatable. I can’t really explain it but I often get the feeling that his books are truly capable of pleasing the reader. Miyabe-san is great at depicting the inside of people, it feels very real, I get the impression that she just writes whatever she wants and whatever comes to her mind. I think Kajiura-san is a lot like that as well but that’s just my personal opinion *laughs*. I think they are strong woman who do not stray from their beliefs. They are people who pursue the things they wanna create, the things they wanna express.”

- Do you mostly read books when you are at home?

“Recently, I have really been addicted to Western TV shows! I recommend the cop show 『GRIMM』 which is full of suspense, very intriguing and heavily inspired by Grimm’s Fairy Tales! I also watch a LOT of movies. I am a big fan of the actress Meg Ryan.”

- She does a lot of romantic comedy, right?

“I love it! 『City of Angels』 is among my favourites! It’s about an angel called Seth who falls in love with a surgeon called Maggie who is played by Meg Ryan . Due to him being an angel, he doesn’t realize he is in love at first. When he asks one of his angel friends, »There’s this tightness in my chest, I wonder what it is...?« he gets the answer, »That’s love what you are feeling.« From then onwards, the love story of Seth and Maggie begins...it’s quite a sad story but I still love it very much, I’ve watched it multiple times. I have this habit of watching my favourite scenes again and again. I am quite the maniac when it comes to things like that *laughs*. At one point in 『City of Angels』 Maggie just won’t believe that Seth is an angel, in that moment the two of them become very distant. But then she reconsiders her thoughts and realizes that Seth wouldn’t be capable of lying to her. There’s a scene that follows where Maggie says, »I can’t see you but are you here right now? Please, can you stay by my side tonight?« The song that’s playing in the background in that moment is truly beautiful! Just by watching this scene, I feel like I can fall asleep easily *laughs*.” [Note: The song Wakana is referring to is “In the Arms of an Angel”]

- The song fits perfectly.

“I love it so much, there are no words *laughs*! Aside from romantic-comedies, and that’s something our fans already know about me but I should still mention it here, I really love 『Jurassic Park』, 『Back to the Future』 and all works by Ghibli.”

- Yeah, those are well-known facts *laughs*

“Hehehe *laughs*! Ah! Right now, if someone were to ask me where I would really like to go in Japan, I’d reply ‘Fukui’.”

- Because...?

“I wanna see the ‘Fukui-Raptor’ of course! *laughs* A dinosaur fossil was discovered in the Fukui prefecture, it’s the first time that an entire skeleton of a carnivorous dinosaur could be reconstructed. It’s a holy ground for every dinosaur fan!”

- Ah, I see!

“Speaking of dinosaurs, recent research suggests that all dinosaurs may have grown hair. Like, they seemed to have had real feathers....For us fans it’s really...well, there are many mixed reactions...” [Note: Wakana has mentioned this in one of her B-Pass interviews in case this sounds familiar to anyone]

- It’s a complicated feeling, right?

“That’s true *laughs*. Even if they are like that, I just love imagining them in a certain way and coming up with many wild ideas. I also enjoy seeing things from a different viewpoint and getting different ideas when it comes to manga, novels and films. I am constantly thinking, »I wonder what’s gonna happen next?« and I try to find out all by myself *laughs*. I talked about it earlier during our interview for my ‘Spiritual Message’ but ever since I was in elementary school I was in a chorus group, I really loved the Shiki Theatre Company and all I did was sing. Then, I also became interested in manga and oil-painting, during my time as a junior high school student I was lucky to become the head of our art department. I imitated the styles of painters such as Renoir and Millet. I used tons of paint trying to create bumps and unevenness *laughs*. I remember sitting by myself during the summer holidays, drawing oil-paintings while listening to Hide’s 『Pink Spider』. Then of course I also took lessons in rhythmic sports gymnastic and by the time I came into middle school I also started with vocal music, afterwards I’d take gospel lessons...my mother taught me how to play the piano. I was scolded if I didn’t practice as often as possible *laughs*.”

- So your mother was your first music teacher?

“Yes, she was. Once I had entered high school I really started to concentrate full-time on my singing so I ended up abandoning everything else I had been doing halfway through...I feel very grateful for my musical education because once I became a part of Kalafina, I needed to be able to read musical scores and that was something I had been taught. But still, thinking back, I feel like none of the many things I have done have gone to waste. This is just a little story but one of our songs is called 『lapis』 and while we sang it, I was able to imagine it by thinking back to my time in the school art department, where I had once come across a certain blue, this particular shade of lapis lazuli. I think Kalafina is a classical-pop group. We each have our own genres and we all bring them together to create our music. Such as it is, I add a sense of classical music to Kalafina with my high voice and I think that I am assigned to my position simply because my family provided this environment ever since I was a child. Right now I think I have reached a point where those parts can’t be developed any further within Kalafina.” [Note: I am really not sure about that last sentence. I don’t know how to translate it so I just wrote this. But meh, take it with a grain of salt.]

“As part of Kalafina I want to convey enjoyable music, an enjoyable voice, an overall enjoyable time.”

- All right, are there any songs or vocalists that Wakana-san is paying attention to aside from Kalafina that is?

“Someone other than the artists I aspire to be like, if I had to think of one, that would probably be...Masamune Kusano-san from 『Spitz』! I really love his voice! One day, I would love to sing together with him, it’s one of my little dreams. Then of course I’ll often hear a voice on the radio or on other media and I’ll think, »Oh my God, what a gorgeous voice!!«, »Who the heck is this?« I’ll be immediately intrigued. Then as if my life depended on it, I’ll memorise as many lines from the lyrics as possible and I’ll try my best to search for the song, I’ll also ask all of my friends about it. I won’t give up until I find it *laughs*.”

“My fortune-telling note described me as »not being able to just take the simple and easy route due to an otaku temperament«”

- Hearing this story, I feel like you are naturally very determined and fixated on things?

“Hahaha, I really have the temperament of an otaku, I totally believe that about myself *laughs* It even says so in my fortune-telling, it said »stubborn with the temperament of an otaku«!”

- Fortune-telling? *laughs*

“Yes. It’s not like I 100% believe in it but I find fortune-telling quite fun as a sort of entertainment *laughs*. Keiko and Hikaru are always like, »Oh, that fortune-telling note you brought us was really interesting«, everyone gets super excited about it. Recently I’ve been really into the very popular »Hoheto-fortune-telling«. I totally recommend it to you *laughs*! If you search for it online, I am sure it will come up at the top; it uses your birth date to tell you your fortune. The results are unexpectedly accurate and a little too real and harsh if you ask me. By the way, I got the same results as Kajiura-san. It described us as »not being able to just take the simple and easy route due to an otaku temperament«. When I told her about it, she said, »That makes sense! I always want to be as thorough as possible!« To which I will reply, »Yes, Sensei is really quite like that. Always contemplating and worrying whether or not it’s okay with this or that kind musical scale, then deciding it’s not sufficient, there are three voices after all...« It is very demanding music after all. We ourselves can do our best simply because we can see and feel that music, those specific chords, within Kajiura-san. I often want to understand the feelings that go through Kajiura-san’s head, when for example, she decides to add a sharp to a note. All three of us think like that. We will ask ourselves things like, »Why do only this melody line and the center melody work together like this?« One of us will come up with a suitable answer, something along the lines of, »It’s the best way to make use of the upper and lower harmonies!« The three of us will have conversations like that all the time. Keiko is also the type of person to be very stubborn, she has a strong fighting spirit, she will always see things through till the very end. Hikaru does things her own way and at her own pace but she is very hard-working and determined as well, she never gives up. All of us can get extremely fired up. It’s like a bonfire! Daily, we are adding fuel to it.”

- This combination of otaku temperament, fighting spirit and relentless persuasion in one’s own way is really strong, right?

“We are truly a very passionate group *laughs*!!”

- Now, to conclude our interview, I’d like to ask what kind of woman Wakana-san would like to become in the future?

“It’s kinda vague but for the most part I would just like to be more cheerful and kind. I wanna keep being a part of Kalafina forever. But I also love cooking...I LOVE cutting onions *laughs*, having that in mind, I think I would also love to pursue cooking seriously and become a great wife. One day I’ll start thinking about a future like that but right now all I want to do is convey an enjoyable voice, enjoyable music and an overall enjoyable time as part of Kalafina.”

- What are your goals for 2015?

“I think it would be nice if I could live as honest and natural as possible, maintaining the status quo, no, scratch that,  I don’t wanna maintain the status quo, I want to grow. As Kalafina, I want us to make a lot of progress. And as a human being, I would just like to become a person that isn’t afraid of who they are. No matter what, it’s gonna be very hard...to live more freely...ugghhh...maybe it’s not a good thing for me to do things more freely...”

- I am sure it will be fine!

“It will be fine because Keiko and Hikaru are there for me. They will surely provide some sort of regulation, »STOP Wakana! You may do as you please till this point and no further!« *laughs* The three of us will continue to do our best in order to become stronger women.”