Between Linux and Anime

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Category: Anisong (Page 1 of 2)

Anisong: Sora wa Takaku, Kaze wa Utau

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On December 24, 2014

In Anisong, Fate/Zero

Not an update worth writing home about, but an update nonetheless, with what little significance it brings. I guess this is a giving of voice, however small, to a defiance of sorts – a flail and a flinch that says I’m not quite ready nor willing to throw the towel and let the blog die just yet, notwithstanding the curveballs life has been throwing me of late. The great difficulty with the issue of blogging, at least for me, is that blogging – or more specifically writing – is for me immensely beneficial and stimulating, but also demanding of a synchrony of time, place and mood – mental room and solitude – that is getting harder and harder to achieve nowadays. One is tempted more and more to say “this isn’t working out, I’m busy, there is much to do. Better to put it down with finality than to have it forever hanging on my conscience – always desired but rarely reached”. At least for the near future, the plan is still to hold out somehow until the next time I am able to find the right spirit, topic, time and place to write a good blog.

… There’s still more android manga to translate too.

Anyway, back on topic. I had the pleasure of looking up the lyrics of this song recently – the second ED of that great series Fate/Zero. It was wonderful. Suffocatingly beautiful. Almost poetic. And as usual, not being satisfied with available translations that I’ve found, here is my own. Reflect on Kiritsugu and Irisviel as you listen – their romance and ideals. And then in the backdrop, the ideals, the passions, the efforts of the many other participants of the Fate/Zero stage – how they burned bright and intense, to eventually fizzle and fade, but not without first adding heretofore absent illumination to the Fate/Zero whole.

Merry Christmas from Between Linux and Anime. May the dream never cease to light our horizons, and may our weary steps thereto never falter for long.

Hit F8 to listen to it while it’s up (or play it from the player at the sidebar). Hit the jump for some pictures, Romaji lyrics, and translations.

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Anisong: Koi Boudou

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On November 1, 2012

In Anime/Manga, Anisong

So I didn’t watch too much last season, but amongst the limited set of stuff I perused this song caught on to me best. Koi Boudou is the ED to Binbougami Ga, which is a show that looked somewhat cheap at the beginning, but which turned out to be something quite worthwhile after all. The shoddy production values and the non-novel (but still funny) slapstick comedy aside, the show took the “reach through Ichiko’s apparently bad personality into the lonely but kind person underneath” part of the story surprisingly seriously and played it all out with a satisfying level of depth. I liked it. I also like that “people are nicer than they seem on the surface” is a commonly recurring theme in anime. It’s an idea well worth being constantly reminded of.

The song Koi Boudou has this bouncy, cheeky feel that I felt helped define the mood of the show. Also in particular, one of the things that really caught me is how the lyrics and the presentation of the accompanying video made the song seem to resonate deliciously with the outwardly-obnoxious yet innerly-lovable nature of Ichiko’s personality, as well as with her love-hate relationship with Momiji. Alas the world is sometimes an ugly place – I listened to the full version and realized that the setting is really that of a girl complaining about another girl flirting with her guy. Le yawnz, terrible! So terrible that we at Between Linux and Anime are just gonna pretend the full version never existed. Ostrich head-in-sand style.

So what we have here is the TV version! The one ambiguous enough that we could fancy it being about the broken relationship between our main characters – hate, dislike, laced with grudging care and inexorable love. In fact the way the video is arranged I think hints that Sunrise themselves intended this fancy to some degree. We shall fancy away and savor it then. As usual, you can hit F8 to listen to it while it’s up (or play it from the player at the sidebar). Hit the jump for some pictures, Romaji lyrics, and translations. Enjoy!

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Anisong: Vidro Moyou

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On August 7, 2012

In Anime/Manga, Anisong

Here’s a nice little anisong post while I continue working towards my next editorial, on KnK 04 (finally!). I’m trying to get into a regular-ish posting schedule with the high-effort, high-time editorials punctuated by stuff like these. I know that similar attempts have spectacularly crashed and burned in the past, but hey, no harm in one more try :)

This is a pretty nice song, possibly my favorite in its season. Vidro Moyou felt like an essential component of the overall mood and style projected by NatsuMachi (Ano Natsu de Matteru), and its wistful, relaxed yet melancholic tune really contributed to the sunny, rainy, adolescent feel of the show. NatsuMachi tended to end its episodes on slight cliff-hangers, and Vidro Moyou, ever dreamy, ever contemplatory, was always a great tune over which one could lightly reflect on the going-ons of the show. Some EDs are great like that – they almost become an extension of the show itself, and contribute directly to its appreciation. The lyrics are pretty nice too. It’s a little difficult to translate, but I’m fairly happy with my version.

As usual, hit the jump for lyrics, translations, and a pic. Also, hit F8 to hear the song while it’s up. Enjoy :)

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Anisong of the Season: Oath Sign

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On January 22, 2012

In Anisong, Fate/Zero

So I decided to resurrect Anisong of the Season. Fall 2011 was an overall pretty awesome season with plenty of great music. It felt like almost every show had an OP, ED or both worth sitting through – Tamayura, Last Exile, Chihayafuru, Guilty Crown, Mirai Nikki, even the idolm@ster songs got better in the second half. So I was left with the happy problem of actually being spoilt for choice for Anisong of the Season, in contrast with the season before where I basically just gave up because I didn’t particularly like anything.

In the end from among my favorites of the season (Which included tracks like Memoria of Fate/Zero, Starboard of Last Exile) I chose Oath Sign, the ringing, beating OP for Fate/Zero. Fate/Zero was to me the best show of Fall 2011, head and shoulders and waist, and Oath Sign just had that certain “just right” quality to get you into the correct mood for the show every time, almost on the level of what Bouken Desho Desho did for the original Haruhi. The spectacular animation sequence that accompanied it and LiSA’s rough-and-raw rock-out style only added to the awesome. Loved it, love it. I only hope that the new OP that would in all likelihood surface for the next half would be as awesome. It’ll be a long wait :( Especially since, Nisemonogatari awesome notwithstanding, Winter is thus far looking like a really dry season compared to what we got in Fall.

(Random insert: why does Last Exile 2 appear to be so off-the-radar, at least among the aniblogs that I follow? That stuff ended up something I would consider top-three material even in the stacked season that it fell in, and yet no one seems to be murmuring a word about it. Weird.)

So anyway, here’s Oath Sign by LiSA. As usual, you can hit F8 to listen to it while it’s up, and hit the jump for a picture, Romaji lyrics, and translations. Enjoy.

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A New Theme and a Christmas Anisong!

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On December 23, 2011

In Anisong

And so not to be out-awesomed and outdone by Eri Uri, I have also decided to give my blog a makeover!

Hamzou says Not Bad

Oh who am I kidding, the new Neonovic has got more bells and whistles and tinkerdust than a confetti-showered parade of Christmas trees, well beyond anything I can hope to match, especially in a day (and yes, that means it’s awesome and you should click through to check it out, even if the last post was dated October). So what’s up with the makeover then? What was wrong with the old theme? What’s awesome about the new? Nothing and nothing much, really. The old one’s just been alive for far too long, and the yellow-orange motif was beginning to look like withering parchment to me, and so I decided, having recently returned from snow-covered Hokkaido, to switch into a cozy dash of white and blue. And so et voila. Everything is pretty much arranged to work like the old theme, except I finally caved and decided to support threaded comments. Hope the new look is a breath of fresh air though. I at the very least find it quite pleasant, and seasonally apt too. Of course, little teething problems and issues might still lurk around little dark corners, so if something breaks or misbehaves, just drop me a comment.

Anyway, it’s nearly Christmastime! And with it becoming increasingly clear that my next editorial isn’t going to make the next two days, I did the next best thing – I wrote this post :P Well, I guess an Anisong post is kinda better in the way of a season greeting anyway. Here’s “Attaka na Yuki“, or “Warm Snow”, which was a Christmas-episode insert song by Miki, Yayoi and the Futami twins in the Idolmaster anime. Now that’s a show I’ve been enjoying somewhat more than I expected to. In a sense the Idolmaster anime is somewhat like Christmas. There’s plenty to complain about if you’re set on complaining. Strawman villains, moe-mongering, manufactured drama, just like how the cynics would tell you Christmas is a capitalistic farce where the name of the game is to tell your loved ones you love them by spending lots of money. But just as Christmas is also (is more, I’d argue) about giving, about sharing and cheer; you could say the Idolmaster is really about the cocktail of positive themes that form the core of its storytelling: positivity within adversity, pursuit of a dream, comradeship, and danketsu, as Keiri would put it. And while there are points in which things get a little contrived, and points where more tender loving care for character development could be desired, they are counter-balanced by the handful of moments where the show manages to hit strong, evocative highs. All in all it’s a pretty enjoyable watch, and the long history of the franchise also translates into a lot of depth in terms of inside jokes and fun little seiyuu intrigue, but I’ll refer you to Keiri-the-veteran’s blog for more of that.

As for here, as usual, you can hit the jump for romaji lyrics, translations, and a picture, and hit the F8 key to listen to the song while it’s up. Hope you folks had a great year, and enjoy Attaka na Yuki.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Between Linux and Anime!

(PS: Speaking of the Idolmaster…)

Spoilered Show

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Anisong: Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete yuku

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On August 16, 2011

In Anisong, Kara no Kyoukai

Decided to do this one after all. This is the ED to the second film of the animated film series Kara no Kyoukai – the Garden of Sinners. It is a pretty nice song on its own, but it only truly resonates when savored in its intended context – as a curtain-closer to the second film. So if you haven’t watched it yet, I highly, highly recommend you go do so. Yes, watch all seven films. You won’t regret it.

Anyway here it is, “Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete yuku”, or “You return it to light”. Quite possibly a love song at its core. A dreamy song that traverses a spectral path from shimmering melancholy to triumphant catharsis. As usual, hit F8 to listen to it while it’s up, and hit the jump for a picture, romaji lyrics, and translations.

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Anisong: Natsukage (Misuzu version)

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On June 16, 2011

In Air, Anisong

Haven’t made an anisong post in awhile, so thought I’d do one and take the chance to put my music playing scripts back.

I will always remember Air (TV) as the first show to profoundly affect me after Haruhi first got me serious about anime. In retrospect now Air wasn’t perfect. The way the plot was arranged and presented was somewhat confusing and jarring. Even so Air still contains, in my opinion, some of the most powerful and evoking storytelling I’ve ever seen. It was beautiful, and it had a very unique taste that I feel nothing has quite been able to parallel to the present day. Oh how I wish I could feel it again. I vividly remember that stormy midnight, 3 years or so ago now, when I finished episode 6 with my breath stolen and my heart burning in the exultant realization that I was watching something truly great.

Anyway, I don’t believe this song was actually from the TV series. May have been from the source game, or perhaps released as a character song or something in the soundtrack. In any case I like it a lot, and I think it fitting to the solemn nature of the true purpose of this post:

This is a dedication to Kawakami Tomoko, who passed away from ovarian cancer on the 9th June 2011. Voice roles I will remember her by include Athena Glory of Aria, Sayuri Kurata of Kanon, and Kamio Misuzu of Air.

As usual, hit F8 to hear the song, which I believe was performed by Kawakami Tomoko herself. Hit the jump for a pretty picture, romaji lyrics and translations.

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Anisong: Maigo Sagashi

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On September 18, 2010

In Anisong, Katanagatari

Or “Looking for a Lost Child”. As promised, this is Nanami’s song at the end of Katanagatari’s episode 7. Expectedly, the seemingly idyllic melody hides sorrowful lyrics, of death-seeking and final release. Very beautiful, very lonely song by Mai Nakahara, and the only song I heard this season that had a real chance against K-ON’s “No, Thank You”.

Anyway, it seems like official lyrics for the song has not been released yet, and the transcriptions I’ve found from fishing around vary slightly. I have chosen to use the one from here, which is the one my ear seems to agree with the most.

So here we go. As usual, hit F8 to hear the song while it’s up, and hit the jump for Romaji lyrics and translations – plus the usual bonus picture of course ;)

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Anisong of the Season: Listen!

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On July 17, 2010

In Anisong, K-ON!

Late as usual! But then it was pretty damn hard to finally decide on the Anisong of the Season this time round, actually.

I nearly gave it to “Brave Song”, the Angel Beats ED. I really like Listen!’s tune and I adore the awesome animation sequence that accompanies it, but Brave Song was itself a pretty great song and it had this really amazing resonance with Angel Beats and its themes that gave it an evocative, emotive power, something Listen! doesn’t quite enjoy as much with K-ON!! IMO. Ultimately though, it was the lyrics and lyrical arrangement that clinched it when I looked them up for this post.

Brave Song has great lyrics, but I really like the musical, rock spirit of Listen!’s. If you have not been paying attention to what Mio was singing in those ED’s I invite you to give my translation below a taste-over and see if you agree with me. The rhythmic way some words are slurred and hop-scotched over and the unstoppered gush during the chorus was great, and Yoko Hikasa just blitzing through the whole thing was fantastic. KyoAni’s composers sure know how to make Mio sound awesome.

… try and ignore the Engrish bits though, as usual ;)

Speaking of Angel Beats, that was quite the disappointment :( In a bizarre coincidence I had been doing a rewatch of Munto with a friend and at the end of Angel Beats I found that I had mostly similar complaints for both shows – not enough build-up and flesh-out, rushed pacing, bad endings. Just… wasted potential. Maybe I should do a rant-post on Angel Beats sometime.

Back on topic, I present you my chosen Anisong of the Season – Listen! ED to K-ON!!. The full version too for extra awesome. Hit the jump as usual for romaji lyrics and translations, and hit F8 to hear the track while it’s up.

(btw, did you see that new K-ON!! ED? I’m not sure I like the idea of giving away two Anisong of the Season awards to K-ON!!, but if an outstanding rival doesn’t appear soon…)

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A Couple of Anisongs, My Piano, and Me

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On June 6, 2010

In Anisong, Railgun

Pic mostly unrelated, unfortunately.

And that post title just flowed its merry way out of my typing fingers like it owned the place, causing me to gag in an uncontrolled, appalled fashion at its terrible cheesiness.

Anyway, as you might hopefully have guessed from the cheesy title, I have decided randomly to make a recording of myself playing stuff on my tragically neglected piano, a feat long adrift within the realms of impossibility due to a critical lack of passable video cameras. With my recent acquisition of a shiny new Nokia N900 though, that shortcoming has at long last found itself addressed. Somewhat. Anyway so without further ado, here are two Anisongs on piano, wrought by yours truly, that you can torture your ears with during your idle times :D

Tori no Uta (OP to Air TV)

Only my Railgun (OP to To Aru Kagaku no Railgun)

On the off chance that anyone might be disappointed that this isn’t in fact my long overdue Angel Beats post – it’s coming, I hope. Rapidly catching up on my backlogs for that show now, and it definitely deserves something. Just hope I get to do it sooner rather than later.

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