#Lyricist: Aso Keiko

[redfreesias03]

Hishochi no Mori no Tenshi-tachi (“Angels of the Summer Lodge Forest”)

“Love me; a friend group of four (it’s frustrating). Kiss me; it should be two and two, but it’s not that simple. You know? Me and her (and you…) There’s two guys, but one left over.”

OR: A girl’s in love with the friend who constantly teases her, but her other friend is also in love with him, and they’re all at a forest lodge for the summer with another guy friend who’s probably so not here for this.

n? ijiwaru ne BISHOnure yo

Hmm? How mean! I’m soaking wet

sumikitta ROJJI no kaze kimorebi no UINKU yoku MENDOKUsakunai ne mata, sensha shiteru

A perfectly clear breeze, at the lodge The wink of sunlight streaming through the trees We’re not quite tired out of it yet So we’re washing the car over again

mizushibuki    waza to HOOSU no saki wo watashi ni muketa no

A sheet of spray—you pointed the hose Towards me on purpose!

Love Me yonin de kousai (jirettai) Kiss Me    ni tai ni dakedo WA・ri・KI・re・NA・i・NO・yo

Love Me A friend group of four (it’s frustrating) Kiss me, it should be 2 vs 2 but iT’s・nOt・tHaT・SiMpLe

You Know? watashi mo ano ko mo (anata no) You Know? kare wa ninzuu・ni・ha・I・ra・NA・i・NO・yo

You Know? Me And her (and you…) You Know? There’s two guys but oNe・tOo・mANy

nee   SHIIZUN ne hishochi no mori no tenshi-tachi

Hey, it’s the season where There are angels in the summer lodge forest

hirusagari    futarikiri ne minna TENISU・KOOTO nukegake shitakute BAKA ne    DOKIDOKI shichau no

Early afternoon, it’s just us two Everyone’s at the tennis court I want to steal a march on her My stupid heart is    racing like crazy

sonna ni ne    soba ni chikayoranaide kimochi ga BAREsou

Hey, don’t get so close to me It feels like my feelings will get exposed

Love Me yonin de kousai (okureteru) Kiss Me   nipaku sannichi no BA・ka・N・su・Na・no・NI・ne

Love Me A friend group of four (we fall behind) Kiss Me, it’s a 2-night, 3-days VaCaTiOn・AnD・yEt—

You Know? onna no ko no yuujou wa (KARUI no yo) You Know? ki ni shinaide do・CHI・ra・KA・e・RA・n・DE

You Know? Friendship between Girls isn’t (some heavy, serious thing) You Know? So don’t worry pLeAsE・cHoOsE・bEtWeEN・uS

nee    watashi dake ijimeru no naze    kitai shichau

Hey, why am I The only one you tease? I can’t help but get my hopes up

Love Me TOMODACHI kankei (haji da yo ne) Kiss Me    kono manma ja na・TSU・wa・O・wa・RE・na・I

Love Me Being just “friends” (is a shame) Kiss Me, I can’t let sUmMER・eNd・LiKe・tHiS

You Know? KURUMA nanka yori (shitsurei yo) You Know? watashi dake ni kyo・U・mi・WO・mi・SE・te・YO

You Know? Instead of the car (Excuse me) You Know? Show some interest in mE・aND・OnLy・mE

nee   SHIIZUN ne hishochi no mori no tenshi-tachi

Hey, it’s the season where There are angels in the summer lodge forest

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No real notes, but in all honesty, the mix of upper and lowercase characters irritates me. Even so, I felt it was important in conveying the age and trendy 80′s aesthetic the original was going for with the use of alternate hiragana and katakana so there you go. : (

[redfreesias03]

Cecile

“People grow weak when they grow up: they suddenly lose their self-confidence and lose their way. And so they search for a love stronger than friendship—if only I could become that for you tonight.”

OR: A girl consoling her one-sided crush.

anata no kanashimi    kawareru nara watashi wa kono mama    soba ni itai kakato wo soroeta    futari no kage konna ni se no takasa chigau no eiga de mita    SESHIRU no you ni uso wa iitakunai

If it can replace your sadness, then I want to remain by your side like this The heels of our two shadows, lined up, Have such different heights. I don’t want to lie– Like Cecile from the movie we saw¹

hito wa otona ni naru tabi    yowaku naru yo ne futto jishin wo nakushite    mayotte shimau dakara tomodachi ijou no    ai wo sagasu no kon’ya watashi ga sore ni    narereba ii no ni

People grow weak when they grow up They suddenly lose their self-confidence and lose their way So they search for love stronger than friendship If only I could become that for you tonight

hohodzue tsuku te wo    kaeru dake de anata wa nannimo    hanasanai ne myouji de jibun wo    yobisute suru itsumo no watashi mo otonashii fui ni kidzuku    anata no namida minai FURI wo shita

Just switching the hand you rest your cheeks on You don’t tell me anything Meekly referring to myself by last name² Even on a normal occasion, I’d also be pretty quiet
 I pretended not to see The tears from you that I suddenly became aware of

koi wa tanoshii toki yori    kanashii toki ni sotto hajimatta hou ga    nagaku tsudzuku ne kitto dare demo hitori wa    mikata ga iru no itsumo watashi ga sore ni    narereba ii no ni

Love lasts longer when it starts off quiet and sad Instead of in a happy moment, doesn’t it? Surely each and every person has someone to support them If only I could become that for you forever

hito wa otona ni naru tabi    yowaku naru yo ne futto jishin wo nakushite    mayotte shimau dakara tomodachi ijou no    ai wo sagasu no kon’ya watashi ga sore ni    narereba ii no ni

People grow weak when they grow up They suddenly lose their self-confidence and lose their way So they search for love stronger than friendship If only I could become that for you tonight

hito wa otona ni naru tabi    yowaku naru yo ne futto jishin wo nakushite    mayotte shimau dakara tomodachi ijou no    ai wo sagasu no kon’ya watashi ga sore ni    narereba ii no ni

People grow weak when they grow up They suddenly lose their self-confidence and lose their way So they search for love stronger than friendship If only I could become that for you tonight

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¹ The ‘Cecile’ this song is named for seems to be the protagonist from Bonjour Tristesse (whose title may or may not have also loosely inspired the 1986 Saito Yuki single Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa). Despite being released in 1958 in the US, it only became easily accessible to the Japanese public in late November 1985, when TV Asahi ran it in their “Weekend Theater” slot. Cecile is a “hedonistically-live-by-her-instincts” “blunt-as-heck” teenager (to the point of shocking French readers when the novel came out), but the movie also ends in tragedy due to a specific scheme she manufactured, so I’m not sure if the lyric is “I’m a shy teenager that envies Cecile’s bold honesty, even if she isn’t the best role model ever” or “I don’t want to tell lies the way Cecile did.” I definitely feel like it’s the former (I feel like naming a song after a character implies some level of goodwill and the movie interprets Cecile fairly kindly), but I left it vague, just in case.

² Referring to herself by last name, in the third-person, gives off a very “polite”, non-confrontational air. The speaker has no problem thinking in pronouns (see the “watashi” in the line right after and in the song) so this is most likely a form of being gentle with her upset crush and tip-toeing around his feelings, even if she’s naturally meek and the kind of person to sit back and wait for him to open up (rather than being pushy) anyway.

Also, Muto Ayami’s cover of this is adorable.