wandering-ace

[wandering-ace]

恋しくなったら手を叩こう (Koishiku Nattara Te Wo Tatakou) English Translation

If You Feel a Longing, Clap Your Hands

MIMI

ある時日常が 寂しくなっちゃって

朝が怖くなって 今眠れないのかい

大人になったらさ

治ると思ってた

自己肯定感が 溶けてく毎日かい

Occasionally the day-to-day becomes lonely,

the mornings so frightening that you're having trouble sleeping now?

Becoming an adult,

thinking this would get better,

yet self-affirmation dwindles everyday

耳に張り付いた君の涙声

こんなにつらいから

この夜だけは 2人で歌いましょう

The sounds of your crying linger by my ear

are full of such distress,

Just for tonight, let's sing, just the two of us

甘いお砂糖に 溶けるように

回る空気に ほら舞うように

君と踊る 君と踊る

ウォーアイニー

最後までさ

Like melting in the sweetness of sugar,

like dancing through the swirling air,

dancing with you, dancing with you,

I love you

Until the very end

浮かぶ空 色付くまでに

その言葉が 灰になる前に

君と歌う

それ��それでいいな

Until the sky above is stained with color,

before those words crumble to dust,

singing with you,

maybe just that is enough

せーのっ

ready, setー

恋しくなったら手を叩こう

明日の前笑顔で叩こう

幸せの意味も知らんけど

今日だけは笑顔で叩こう

If you feel a longing, clap your hands

As you brave tomorrow with a smile, clap your hands

We may not know the meaning of happiness

But just for today, smile and clap your hands

少しだけ深呼吸して

君はまだ君で居られる

生きてゆく意味も知らんけど

恋しくなったら手を叩こう

Just for a bit, take a deep breath in

you can still be you

We may not know the meaning of living on

But if you feel a longing, clap your hands

ココロの空調が 整えらんなくて

頬を伝う音に ふと戸惑っちゃったのかい

なんにも知らないよ

この世の定理とか

誰か偉い人が 教えてくれたらね

Unable to regulate the heart's AC,

feeling at a loss from the sound trickling down your cheeks?

Don't really know anything at all.

The principles of this world and such,

it would be nice to be taught them by a noble someone

震えるつま先

明日の前でさ

なんとか踏ん張って

このまま夜を 2人で歌いましょう

Toes trembling

before the dawn of tomorrow,

still standing strong somehow.

Just like this, let's sing the night away, the two of us

甘いお砂糖に 溶けるように

回る空気に ほら舞うように

君と踊る 君と踊る

ウォーアイニー

最後までさ

Like melting in the sweetness of sugar,

like dancing through the swirling air,

dancing with you, dancing with you,

I love you

Until the very end

浮かぶ空 色付くまでに

その言葉が 灰になる前に

君と歌う

それもそれでいいな

Until the sky above is stained with color,

before those words crumble to dust,

singing with you,

maybe just that is enough

せーのっ

ready, setー

恋しくなったら手を叩こう

明日の前笑顔で叩こう

幸せの意味も知らんけど

今日だけは笑顔で叩こう

If you feel a longing, clap your hands

As you brave tomorrow with a smile, clap your hands

We may not know the meaning of happiness

But just for today, smile and clap your hands

少しだけ深呼吸して

君はまだ君で居られる

生きてゆく意味も知らんけど

恋しくなったら手を叩こう

Just for a bit, take a deep breath in

you can still be you

We may not know the meaning of living on

But if you feel a longing, clap your hands

[wandering-ace]

死神様にお願い (Shinigami-sama ni Onegai) English Translation

I Beg of You, Shinigami-sama (1)

Mafumafu

醜い翼　不定の体躯　きっと誰かが望んでいた

物語は今日加筆が済み　ボクは化け物になる

These unsightly wings, this wavering constitution, surely someone had wished for this.

Today the revisions to this story end; I'll become a monster

猫も杓子もその指を差した者勝ちのゲームなら

どうせ罪人の皮被り　退治される筋書きなんだな

If this is a game where pointing a finger guarantees victory (2)

Then we're just walking a storyline where I don the sinner's clothing and get exterminated, huh

白む　薄明光線　ボクを嘲笑う

The holy light, growing ever brighter, mocks me

消えたいよ　消えたいよ　醒めない悪夢に彷徨って

繕って　強がって　脈打つ心臓はもう呪いになっていく

嘯いてまで　悪役の顔した人生なんていらない

君の一振りで　ボクを抉ってお願い

I want to disappear, I want to disappear, wandering in this unending nightmare

Keeping it together, holding down the fort, my beating heart is already becoming a curse

Even feigning ignorance, I don't want a life where I play the villain

With a wave of your hand, gouge me out, I beg of you

恐れ嫌われる風貌だとか　ロールプレイの道理で

噂の類は何処かの誰かから聞けるらしい

醜い容姿　非道な手口　それは邪悪なモンスターだそうだ

討たれるべきだ　然るべき措置だ　例えボクが何もしていなかろうが

"With a complexion so feared and despised", by the rules of roleplay,

Such rumors are surely heard from someone, somewhere

An unsightly appearance, depraved ways, that's a wicked monster alright

I should be cut down, it's only appropriate, even supposing I didn't do anything at all

消えないよ　消えないよ　見えないほどに治りづらくて

這いずって　擦りむいた　瘡蓋とは違う傷が増えていく

汚れていない手のほうが　不自然な人生なんていらない

ご自慢の正義で　ボクを壊してお願い

They won't disappear, they won't disappear, healing so poorly you can't even see it

Crawling, scraping by, it's not scabs but wounds that continue to increase

I'd rather have untainted hands than live an unnatural life.

So with that high and mighty justice, destroy me, I beg of you

咎人らしく爪を噛み　人目忍んで灰被り

ボクの気持ちがわかるものか　神も仏もあるものか

恨み合って　妬み合って　僻み合って

言いたい放題言いやがって

暴き合って　叩き合って　壊し合って

Biting my nails like a sinner, covered in ash, hidden from view (4)

Is there anyone that understands me? Is there a god or a buddha?

Hating each other, envying each other, resenting each other

How dare you say whatever you want?

Exposing each other, fighting each other, destroying each other

消えたいよ

I want to disappear

消えたいの？

You want to disappear?

消えたいよ　消えたいよ　醒めない悪夢に彷徨って

繕って　強がって　脈打つ心臓はもう呪いになっていく

嘯いてまで　悪役の顔した人生なんていらない

君の一振りで　ボクを殺してお願い

I want to disappear, I want to disappear, wandering in this unending nightmare

Keeping it together, holding down the fort, my beating heart is already becoming a curse

Even feigning ignorance, I don't want a life where I play the villain

With a wave of your hand, kill me, I beg of you

Translator's Notes:

(1) Shinigami are at their core like grim reapers (directly, "death god") but I think they're also prevalent enough in pop culture that this doesn't need to be translated (also flows better when it isn't)

(1.5) A more direct translation would just be "A Wish to the Grim Reaper" (also considered Please, Shinigami-sama), but I feel this song uses "onegai" with a desperation such that "please" and "wish" don't really cut it imo

(2)猫も杓子も is a saying meaning "any and all", and probably most similar to "everyone and their mother" but I fear that doesn't really fit the vibe

(3) 薄明光線 are technically referred to in English as crepuscular rays (best to look up a picture), but this weather phenomenon is also sometimes called "God's rays" or "Jacob's ladder" (ie. the ladder to heaven)

(4) 灰被り, in addition to meaning "covered in ash", is also the Japanese name for Cinderella. It feels thematically relevant but I'm not 100% sure hence why it's not currently in the main translation

[wandering-ace]

逃非行 (Touhikou) English Translation

Truancy (1)

Mafumafu

叶うならば今すぐに 死にたいだなんて言うボクを 笑い飛ばしてくれた君が 飛び降りたらしい

"If it's possible, then right this moment,

I want to die" I would say,

And you, who had laughed it all off then,

Seem to have already taken off.

ずっと認められたくて 何もかも憎らしくて 誰かに愛されたくて かかと潰していた

Always hoping to be acknowledged,

Anything and everything becomes repulsive,

Wanting to be loved by somebody,

I wore down my heels.

逃非行　夏空の下 噎せるくせに煙草ふかして 浮かぶ煙見て君は ボクたちみたいだなと笑った

It's truancy, under this summer sky

Despite choking, I smoke the cigarette

Watching the smoke float up, you said

"It's just like us," and laughed

強い人になりなさい 間違ったら正しなさい B5の本に書かれていた 大人の条件

Become a strong person,

Correct your wrongs,

All written in a B5 notebook (2)

The conditions of adulthood 破り　飛ばした飛行機で 歌を歌っているボクじゃ 君の歩いた行く先に たどり着けないや

With the take off of a torn-up plane,

I, as I am singing this song,

Can no longer follow along

The path you tread. 4限　サボって���校舎 捌け口のない不安を隠して どうでもいい笑い話が 今も響いている気がした

Fourth period, we ditch the old school building,

Hiding the unease we have no outlet for.

Those meaningless conversations,

I realized, resonate even now.

逃非行　畦道の坂 二人乗りで下る未来が ずっと続くと思っていた ずっと続くと願っていたんだ

It’s truancy, on the slope of this bumpy road,

this future we would coast down in tandem,

I thought it would never end,

I had wished it would never end.

逃非行　夏空の下 噎せるくせに煙草ふかして 浮かぶ煙見て君は ボクたちみたいだなと笑う あの日に続け

It's truancy, under this summer sky,

Despite choking, I smoke the cigarette.

Watching the smoke float up, you say

"It's like us," and laugh.

Let's continue from that day.

Translator's Notes:

(1) The actual title is "escape", but with the usual middle kanji replaced with one that means not, incorrect, or otherwise unacceptable. Due to the other academic nods in the lyrics I chose to translate this as "truancy". (couldn't figure a pun that wasn't too cringe lol)

(2) Think composition notebook

[wandering-ace]

神様の遺伝子 (Kamisama no Idenshi) English Translation

God’s Gene

Mafumafu

不意に施された命を胸に抱え 唯一の役割は人であろうとするくらい 死んで許されればどれほど楽なことか いつか読んだ漫画の中じゃ ぽっけから何もかも出していたのに

Embracing the unexpectedly bestowed life,

the only possible role is to try to be a person.

How easy would it be if I could be allowed to die?

In a manga I read once,

despite emptying their pockets of anything and everything...

心の深層　言葉と真相 未だ気持ちでイエスが言えない 未熟なシグナルが浮かんで消える

The heart’s emotional depth, words and truth

I still can’t muster a “yes” from the heart,

the undeveloped signals drift away and disappear

神様ごめんなさい ボクを組み替えてしまって 大差もない顔が憎くてたまらない 翼を生やせば何処へでも 飛び去ってしまえそうな 絶えまぬ虚しさに夢を見る 貴方の遺伝子をボクに頂戴

I’m sorry, God

Please rearrange me (1)

I hate this indistinctive face so much I can’t stand it.

If I were to grow wings, then it seems,

I could fly away to anywhere.

I dream in an unending emptiness,

please give me your genes

どうでもいいことさ　ブレる視界の先には 大層なものなんてひとつもないと知るんだ 「死んで許されれば」なんて不都合の詩より 斜に構えた物語ほど　うまくイヤホンに流れるらしい

It doesn’t even matter, in my blurred line of sight

I know that there’s no such thing as such fantastic things.

More so than inconvenient poetry like “If I could be allowed to die”

it seems that cynical stories flow much better through people’s earphones (2)

誰か殺した人を殺して その手で幾度こ��りつけた？ 両目が赤くなる　眠れぬほどに

Killing someone who had killed someone else,

how many times have you wiped those hands?

Both eyes turn red to the point of sleeplessness

神様お願い 心を取り去ってしまって 天罰が後悔が溢れて止まらない どれだけ白く色を抜いても 隠そうとしないような 裁かれる今日日を夢に見る 貴方の作った出来損ないです

Please God, 

take my heart away.

Divine punishment and regret overflow endlessly

No matter how white it is bleached,

it can’t seem to hide anything.

I see the day of judgement in my dreams,

A failure that you had created.

電脳にシグナル　最適な形を与え給えよ 難解なキミの生まれ変わり それは誰の形代？

The computer’s signal, give me the ideal form

The reincarnation of a profound “you”

Just whose replacement is that? (3)

我欲で満たす座席の隙間 指さし泣いてりゃ穴の貉 偉そうな顔すんな ボクらは　懲役人生年さ

A gap on the seat filled with selfishness

The gang that points fingers and cries

Don’t make such a smug face

We are prisoners since birth, you know

いつまであの日に 遠い日々に縋っているのだろう どこかへここじゃないどこかへ 消えてしまいたい いっそ　死んでしまえたら

Just how long had I held onto that day,

those days so far from the present

To where? Somewhere that is not here,

I want to disappear

Or better yet, I would die.

神様ごめんなさい ボクを組み替えてしまって いつまでもボクでいられるはずもない せいぜい夜の果てに泣き崩れ もう何回そうしているんだ 絶えまぬ虚しさに夢を見る 貴方の遺伝子をボクに頂戴

I’m sorry, God

Please rearrange me

No matter when, there’s no way I can remain as myself

Even at my best, how many times

have I broke and cried by night’s end?

I dream in an unending emptiness

please give me your genes

虚勢を張って　仮面被って ところでボクは何していたっけ 泣いていたっけ　泣いていたんだ 世界を散々壊していたんだ

Put up a front, put on a mask

By the way, what was I doing again?

Was I crying? I had been crying.

I had been tearing the world to pieces

Translator’s notes:

(1) the term 組み替え means “rearrangement”, and is often used in the context of gene recombination.

(2) 斜に構えた literally means “held at an angle”, but it seems can also refer to something cynical or ironic

(3) 形代, which I translated as “substitute” is also the name of human-shaped dolls (often paper) used as a substitution for a person. They are often used in purification rituals, where a human transfers their sins to the doll.

[wandering-ace]

万花繚乱 (Banka Ryoran) English Translation

Ten Thousand Flowers Bloom (0)

After the Rain

浮足立つ世の滴り　宵は焼けて燈涼しの

風よ導いて　祭りの日

後先は其れの二の次　今宵は気の向くままに

ただ君を追い越して　振り向く道理

A drop of the wavering world, the twinkling lights setting fire to the night (1)

Oh wind, guide me, on this festival day

Consequences are secondary, tonight I follow my heart

Overtaking you is just an excuse to look back

夏風の抜けた長髪が

ふわり　鼻をくすぐるくらいに近づけば

この想いは絶え間ない夜の中 

Your long hair, blown by the summer wind

when it gets so close as to tickle my nose

This feeling resides in the midst of the unending night

 天よ詠え 空よ眩ませ

万花の咲いた　世の果てに

今日の続いたこの夜に

いらないものなどない

Oh heavens, sing (2), oh sky, dazzle us

The bloom of ten thousand flowers at the world’s end

In the night that continued today,

there are no things that we have no use for.

酸いも甘いも宵闇の火花 

悔いて恥じることなどない 

千夜未来まで煌めいておくれ

白日と成るままに

The sour and the sweet, the fireworks at twilight

there’s no regret or embarrassment or anything of the sort.

Until a future of a thousand nights, please shine for me

As it turns to broad daylight

不慣れな差下駄鳴らして 蛍火の続く道を

風の呼ぶ方へ歩いている

手を取るは君の左手　今は理由（わけ）も知らぬように

首傾げて笑う　それは始まり

Clumsy wooden clogs sound out (3) along the path lit by fireflies,

walking toward the call of the wind.

Your left hand takes my own,  even now it’s as if the reason is unknown

A tilt of the head and a laugh, that was the beginning 

ああ

宙へ浮かぶ心模様

君で色づいた 夜さり

叶わぬ恋としても

今だけは鳴りやまぬ夜のまま

ah,

a heart pattern floating in the sky 

the falling night stained with your colors

even if it is an unattainable love

for now, in the ceaseless ringing of the night

いつかたとえ君を忘れたい

夏になってしまうとしても

今日の想いは消えぬように

夜空に焼き付けて

Even if someday I want to forget you,

even if it becomes summer once more,

in order to prevent the feelings of today from disappearing,

let’s burn them into the night sky

パッと開いて　夜這いの星の

踊りだす　月夜を背に

恋の憂いなんて連れ去っておくれ

この夢見のままに

Opening in a flash, the stars rendezvous,

breaking into dance before a backdrop of the moonlit night

The melancholy of love and other such things, please take them away

and leave us in this dream

宵闇の風を 楽の音を

君で色づいた日々を

ボクは忘れない...られもしない

絶え間ない夜の中

the twilight wind, the sound of music

the days stained with your colors,

I will not forget them, nor will I be forgotten (5)

in the midst of the unending night

禁忌と知った今は尚更

愛しく想うばかり

何度世界に阻まれど

悩めるものもない

I knew it was taboo and now it’s even more so

with only affection between us

no matter how many times the world bars our path

there is nothing to worry about

酸いも甘いも宵闇の火花

悔いて恥じることなどない

千夜未来まで煌めいておくれ

白日と成るままに 

The sweet and the sour, the fireworks at twilight

there’s no regret or embarrassment or anything of the sort.

Until a thousand nights into the future, please shine for me

As it turns to broad daylight

 解き明かして

Let us shed light upon it! (6)

Translator’s notes: (0) 繚乱 is often used to describe a ton of flowers blooming at once and I don’t think there’s a specific english word for it

(1) The literal translation is “burning the night” based on the lyrics, but because Soraru pronounces 焼けて as “akete” rather than “yakete” I’m inclined to believe that this is a play on words also involving the term 夜明け (yoake) or the breaking of dawn.

Also part of this line, 燈涼し refers to a kind of refreshing feeling brought on by distant twinkling lights that come on as night falls. Kind of think of it like you’re watching a small town from a distance and all lights/lamps sporadically blink on all around the same time.

(2) This can also be translated as “to recite” or “to chant” but either way it is a verb closely associated with poetry and similar literature (ie. reciting poetry, singing a hymn etc)

(3) “clogs” here refers to traditional Japanese footwear (sashigeta), not just normal shoes with wooden bottoms

(4) The grammar structure of this line is a little interesting, so I am actually pretty unsure about my interpretation but let me present my case. The first half (ボクは忘れない) is pretty straightforward, but what I think the second half is indicating is adding the られ to the verb forget, therefore making it 忘れられない, meaning the quality of not being forgotten is now also applied to the subject (僕 or “I”). The もしない is what I basically translated into the “nor” but means something like “I will not do [blank] either.”

(5) 解き明かして generally means to reveal or unravel something. I chose to use “shed light” due to 明かり also meaning light, and given the continued references to lighting up the sky, the night sky lighting up into day etc. I thought this may be part of the theme, and could also, as the end of the song, be a subtle way to indicate the festive night transitioning into day but that’s just me.

[wandering-ace]

折り紙と百景 (Origami to Hyakkei) English Translation

Origami and A Hundred Sceneries (0)

After the Rain

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

これは　やがて　辿る世界を 祈る私の　願いの詩 これは　今じゃ　悔やんでばかりの 弱虫な恋歌

For the world that will soon follow,

This is my poem of wishes. (1)

But right now, this is a weakling’s love song,

filled only with regret.

花を　風を　飾るあの日々を 覚えていますか 貴方のくれた　百余の景色を 今は　お暇しても

Those days decorated with wind and flowers, 

Do you remember them?

The hundreds of sceneries from you,

now, even if I take my leave

四季折々の夢でありますように 色を変える　折形の様 ひらり落ちて　貴方のそばへ 寄り添えるなら

For the existence of dreams that sway from season to season,

I change colors, like folding shapes (2)

I will drift down to your side,

if you wish to nestle close.

ずっと　ずっと　気づいていました 貴方のことに　叶わぬことに 人も　実り　麦秋至 知れたことでしたね

I noticed long, long ago

you, something unattainable 

People too, are crops of early summer (3)

But it seems that goes without saying.

あれも　これも　間違いだなんてさ 言わないでいてよ 枯れたる草も　蛍となる日を ひどく　待ち望むように

“this” and “that” are all mistakes

Please don’t say things like that

The day that even wilted grass becomes a firefly,

I will wait eagerly for that day. 

貴方の行く畦道を照らせたら この未来も　笑えているような 叶わない恋を知った 知られずひとりで泣いた

If I could light up the path you tread,

Even this future will appear to smile

I knew it was an unattainable love,

I cried, alone and unknown.

そんなふたつの声は交わらない 絶え間なく四季は去った 忘れられないまま夢になってしまった 悪戯な恋と　ただ一枚折って

Those two voices do not mix.

The unending seasons have gone,

yet in their unforgettableness became dreams.

With this mischievous love, fold one sheet (4)

貴方のくれた　貴方の景色を 今は　お暇しても 四季折々の夢で会えますように 色を変える　折形の様

what you have given me, the scenery that belonged to you,

now, even if I take my leave. 

For the sake of meeting in the dreams that sway from season to season,

I change colors, like folding shapes.

ひらり落ちて　貴方のそばへ 寄り添えるなら

I will drift down to your side,

if you wish to nestle close.

Translator’s notes: (0) For 百景, a hundred sceneries is the literal translation, but it often refers to famous scenery/places known for good views. For instance you may see a list like “Japan’s Hundred Sceneries” that lists out good sightseeing spots.

(1) Generally 詩 refers to poems. However because Mafumafu uses the “uta” pronunciation, I’m not entirely sure if this is referring to a poem or if this kanji can be used for songs as well. I’m like 98% sure this means poem here but idk

(2) 折形 is the kanji for “origami” the Japanese art of folding paper that you probably know. However, Soraru uses the pronunciation “origata”, essentially pronouncing the two kanji separately. 形 on its own basically only means “shape” or “form”, but 折 seems like it can mean folding or an occasion (like a single-time event). I ended up choosing the translation “folding shapes” since it makes more sense and is more on theme but I just thought this was kinda interesting.

(3) To be honest, I don’t know if I translated this correctly. Translating the parts individually, it would be 人も = people too, 実り = harvest/crop, and 麦秋至 is best described as one of 72 “microseasons” observed in Japan, when wheat ripens. It spans from May 31- June 5, which is technically before summer by western standards, but I called it “early summer” due to it occurring after 立夏 (can be translated as “the beginning of summer”)

(4) 折って also means to break, but given that 一枚 uses the counter for sheet-like objects and also to stay on the origami theme I chose to go with fold.