Junko and Ai's arcs in the story are interwoven with each other, and both this song and 目覚めRETURNER have parts to play in getting them back into action. However, I've always felt that this one is more Junko's song than Ai's, especially after Junko steps up during the Saga Rock Festival and takes charge when Ai is struggling to hold herself together (further fueling the #純愛コンビ shippers).
Junko, I think, has the hardest time out of all the zombies adjusting to her new circumstances. Sakura, Ai, and Lily have been dead for no more than ten years, so while some things have changed for them, most is still recognizable. Saki never had anything to do with the entertainment industry to begin with so it's a whole new world to her anyway, Yugiri lived back in the 19th century so basically everything is new to her and she's (usually) very easygoing regardless, and Tae is, well, Tae. Junko, though, was an idol thirty years ago, and although enough has stayed the same that it feels like it ought to be familiar, so much has changed that many of the things she takes for granted simply aren't the way things work any more. She's also used to being a solo act, not part of a group.
And so it's Junko, more than any of the others, who struggles to find a way to exist in the modern world while still being who she longs to be, who needs to blaze her own trail and carve her footprints into the world, and who finally lets her song resound and soars across the ages. It's all right there in the lyrics.
| Performed by: | フランシュシュ * | FranChouChou * |
|---|
| Japanese | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| intro, ~25 seconds | ||
| わかり合えずに 空回りばかり 馴れ合っても向き合えないこと たくさんあって 邪魔なプライドで(もつれて) 心掻き乱れ(助けて) 何もかも 放り出したい 耐えきれないの |
wakariaezu ni karamawari bakari nareatte mo mukiaenai koto takusan atte jama na PURAIDO de (motsurete) kokoro kakimidare (tasukete) nani mo ka mo houridashitai tae kirenai no |
Unable to understand each other, we just spun our wheels And there are so many things we couldn't face even as we grew closer Pride gets in the way (tripping us up) Throwing hearts into confusion (help us) We want to toss it all aside It's more than we can bear |
| interlude that completely changes the mood, ~15 seconds | ||
| 自問自答なんて No！No！No！ あ～あ目を開けて 自分解き放て Dance！Dance！Dance！ あ～あ甘えないで |
jimon jitou nante No! No! No! a~a me wo akete jibun tokihanate Dance! Dance! Dance! a~a amaenaide |
Just thinking out loud? No! No! No! Ahh, open your eyes Set yourself free! Dance! Dance! Dance! Ahh, don't act so spoiled |
| アツクナレ！LIVE1！ 本気でぶつかって 痛みを分け合って 世界に歌声響かせ アツクナレ！ BURN！絶対伝わるって 必死に舞い踊って みんなを笑顔に出来るはず We can do it！ 強く眩しいあの光を掴み取ろう！ wow wow wow wow wow wow 2 精一杯やるだけさ 胸の鼓動を信じて 転んでも立ち上がって 死んでも這い上がって 目の前の手を握って 時代なんて飛び越えて！ |
ATSUKU NARE! LIVE1! honki de butsukatte itami wo wakeatte sekai ni utagoe hibikase ATSUKU NARE! BURN! zettai tsutawaru tte hisshi ni mai odotte minna wo egao ni dekiru hazu We can do it! tsuyoku mabushii ano hikari wo tsukami torou! whoa whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa 2 seiippai yaru dake sa mune no kodou wo shinjite koronde mo tachiagatte shinde mo haiagatte me no mae no te wo nigitte jidai nante tobikoete! |
Heat up! You're live! Let your real selves meet head-on Share your pain Across the world, let your song resound Heat up! Burn! Dance your heart out like you're positive the message will get across Surely we can bring smiles to every face We can do it! Seize that bright shining light! Whoa whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa 2 Just put your all into it, and believe in what your heart beats Standing back up even if you fall Clawing your way back up even if you die Hold the hands that are right in front of you and soar across the ages! |
| brief interlude, ~3 seconds | ||
| チラつく不安を Bang！Bang！Bang！ あ～あ悔やまぬように 楽しんでみれば Fun！Fun！Fun！ あ～ああるがままに |
CHIRAtsuku fuan wo Bang! Bang! Bang! a~a kuyamanu you ni tanoshinde mireba Fun! Fun! Fun! a~a aru ga mama ni |
Take that flickering unease, and Bang! Bang! Bang! Ahh, give yourself nothing to regret Just try enjoying yourself, Fun! Fun! Fun! Ahh, just be the way you are |
| brief interlude, ~4 seconds | ||
| アツクナレ！LIVE1！限界突破って 道なき道進んで 世界に足跡刻んで アツクナレ！BURN！ 絶対負けないって まだ！まだ！駆け上がって 望んだ自分になれるはず l can do it 高く大声出して気持ちを届けたいよ |
ATSUKU NARE! LIVE1! genkai tsukiyabutte michi naki michi susunde sekai ni ashiato kizande ATSUKU NARE! BURN! zettai makenai tte mada! mada! kakeagatte nozonda jibun ni nareru hazu l can do it takaku oogoe dashite kimochi wo todoketai yo |
Heat up! You're live! Break past your limits Blaze your own trail and carve your footprints into the world Heat up! BURN! Keep on, keep on running higher and higher, making a statement that you'll never give in I can be who I've longed to be l can do it! I want to shout out loud and tell everyone how I feel |
| interlude, ~18 seconds | ||
| もがき足掻いた涙にも 意味があるから |
mogaki agaita namida ni mo imi ga aru kara |
For the tears shed while writhing and struggling are meaningful in themselves |
| アツクナレ！勇気を振り絞って 飛べ 飛べ 風に舞って 世界に歌声響かせ… 響かせ 響かせ 響かせ |
ATSUKU NARE! yuuki wo furishibotte tobe tobe kaze ni matte sekai ni utagoe hibikase... hibikase hibikase hibikase |
Heat up! Muster your courage Fly, fly, dance in the wind Across the world, let your song resound... resound, resound, resound |
| アツクナレ！LIVE1！本気でぶつかって 道なき道進んで 世界に足跡刻んで アツクナレ！ BURN！絶対伝わるって 必死に舞い踊って みんなを笑顔に出来るはず We can do it！ 強く眩しいあの光を掴み取ろう！ wow wow wow wow wow wow 2 精一杯やるだけさ 胸の鼓動を信じて 転んでも立ち上がって 死んでも這い上がって 目の前の手を握って 時代なんて飛び越えて！ |
ATSUKU NARE! LIVE1! honki de butsukatte michi naki michi susunde sekai ni ashiato kizande ATSUKU NARE! BURN! zettai tsutawaru tte hisshi ni maiodotte minna wo egao ni dekiru hazu We can do it! tsuyoku mabushii ano hikari wo tsukamitorou! whoa whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa 2 seiippai yaru dake sa mune no kodou wo shinjite koronde mo tachiagatte shinde mo haiagatte me no mae no te wo nigitte jidai nante tobikoete! |
Heat up! You're live! Let your real selves meet head-on Blaze your own trail and carve your footprints into the world Heat up! Burn! Dance your heart out like you're positive the message will get across Surely we can bring smiles to every face We can do it! Seize that bright shining light! Whoa whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa 2 Just put your all into it, and believe in what your heart beats Standing back up even if you fall Clawing your way back up even if you die Hold the hands that are right in front of you and soar across the ages! |
| closing, ~16 seconds if you count the lingering reverberations | ||
1 Based on the pronunciation, this is "live" as an adjective, as in a live concert (or it's the Japanese usage of it as a loanword noun that refers to that type of performance), and isn't a verb exhorting someone to show some signs of life.
2 These "wow"s are pronounced "whoa", so I've written them that way in the Romanization column. Blame the discrepancy on the Great Vowel Shift that put English vowels out of sync with most other languages several centuries ago.
* FranChouChou consists of 本渡楓 (Kaede Hondo) as 源さくら (Sakura Minamoto, stage name "#1"), 田野アサミ (Asami Tano) as 二階堂サキ (Saki Nikaido, stage name "#2"), 種田梨沙 (Risa Taneda) as 水野愛 (Ai Mizuno, stage name "#3"), 河瀬茉希 (Maki Kawase) as 紺野純子 (Junko Konno, stage name "#4"), 衣川里佳 (Rika Kinugawa) as ゆうぎり (Yugiri, stage name "#5"), and 田中美海 (Minami Tanaka) as 星川リリィ (Lily Hoshikawa, stage name "#6"). And also the legendary 三石琴乃 (Kotono Mitsuishi) as the legendary 山田 たえ (Tae Yamada, stage name "#0"), but Tae can at best barely vocalize and doesn't sing.
But wait! The English release has dubbed songs—no sign of written lyrics anywhere, though. I haven't even been able to find them anywhere on the Internet, which seems... strange? Anyway, I listened to it a few times, normal speed and sped up and slowed down, and did my best to pick out the words.
My main gripe with the dub is that it takes a romantic angle on the whole thing and puts that front and center. Sure, you can ship Junko and Ai no problem, and you could maybe argue that there's some romantic subtext to the original lyrics, but it's subtext at most, and certainly not meant to be the focus of the song.
| Dub lyrics | Original Japanese | My translation of the original |
|---|---|---|
| intro | ||
| Was I just misunderstood, or was my affection too much? Never seemed to connect, though you swore you were on my side, still couldn't see eye to eye. Our pride always gets in the way (gets in the way)1 Our hearts fall into disarray (to disarray)1 Don't know what [to say]2. Have we thrown it all away? I can't take it anymore! |
わかり合えずに 空回りばかり 馴れ合っても 向き合えないこと たくさんあって 邪魔なプライドで(もつれて) 心掻き乱れ(助けて) 何もかも 放り出したい 耐えきれないの |
Unable to understand each other, we just spun our wheels And there are so many things we couldn't face even as we grew closer Pride gets in the way (tripping us up) Throwing hearts into confusion (help us) We want to toss it all aside It's more than we can bear |
| interlude | ||
| No more hesitations, no no no Aaah, time to be empowered Let go of inhibitions and dance, dance, dance Aaah, no one likes a coward |
自問自答なんて No！No！No！ あ～あ目を開けて 自分解き放て Dance！Dance！Dance！ あ～あ甘えないで |
Just thinking out loud? No! No! No! Ahh, open your eyes Set yourself free! Dance! Dance! Dance! Ahh, don't act so spoiled |
| Why don't we live it live? No more of your excuses Meet face to face, learn what the truth is Stop hiding! Let our song ring out through the world Why don't we let it burn, our passion for each other, and light the dark by being braver? 'Cause real love has the power to light up the night We can do it! Let the light of the truth shine brighter3 than the sun; we'll show 'em how it's done Whoa whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa Don't give up, give all that you've4 got; your heart knows what it needs to go on We fight no matter what the past is No matter if we turn to ashes We will rise like a burning phoenix and fly hand in hand, so let's take a stand! |
アツクナレ！LIVE！ 本気でぶつかって 痛みを分け合って 世界に歌声響かせ アツクナレ！ BURN！絶対伝わるって 必死に舞い踊って みんなを笑顔に出来るはず We can do it！ 強く眩しいあの光を 掴み取ろう！ wow wow wow wow wow wow 精一杯やるだけさ 胸の鼓動を信じて 転んでも立ち上がって 死んでも這い上がって 目の前の手を握って 時代なんて飛び越えて！ |
Heat up! You're live! Let your real selves meet head-on Share your pain Across the world, let your song resound Heat up! Burn! Dance your heart out like you're positive the message will get across Surely we can bring smiles to every face We can do it! Seize that bright shining light! Whoa whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa Just put your all into it, and believe in what your heart beats Standing back up even if you fall Clawing your way back up even if you die Hold the hands that are right in front of you and soar across the ages! |
| And this shorter version ends here. | ||
1 It bothers me probably more than it should that the meaningful words in the backup parts here were reduced to just echoing the main lyrics in the dub.
2 Since this is from the Saga Rock Festival performance, Ai trails off here as lightning strikes nearby, and never finishes the sentence. However, "to say" are just about the only words that make sense in this context, especially with the established rhyming sceme.
3 This part really bothers me, too. The meter makes the emphases fall on the "er" of "brighter", and... yeah. It's almost painful to my sense of rhythm. The worst part is how easy it would be to fix it—just change "brighter than" to "as bright as", and it sounds so much better.
4 This one's not as bad, but it still bothers me a bit. The emphases here falls on "you've", which sounds a bit off to my ear. I'd prefer to change this line from "give all that you've got" to something more like "give all you've got now". I do at least have to applaud using "you've got" to suit the tone, and not "you have".