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lagolunaThat’s right, the third song ever produced for Linda AI-CUE’s Taiko no 2000 series is about lesbian romance! I can’t wait to read what people on the internet think about this beautiful and sentimental work of art :D
Oh dear… (my sister)
(
(As it turns out, many English speaking players treat the ending of the song as a joke or a twist due to confusion over the use of ‘sister’ in the last lyric, interpreting it as revealing that the letter was actually addressed to the singer’s biological sister, and therefore rendering the punchline as either ‘it was never a love song at all’ or ‘incest’.
Even in more serious attempts to engage with the song this myth persists. (the lyrics linked are the taikotime translation I will cover shortly), even with the flaws in this translation obscuring the nature of the song a bit it seems odd to claim that it is about a girl who is struggling with feelings that she knows are wrong and abnormal, these things just aren’t being implied in the song. Just one line has completely colored this person’s interpretation of the lyrics!
so let’s take a look at the lyrics, narrated rather than sung by Ochiai Yurika (aka Hase Yurina):
春の木漏れ日暖かく
桜並木に抜ける風 [^1]
季節香る
白いアーチと煉瓦道いつもの景色流れてくセーラーカラー幾重に続き
乙女たちの声
光に溶けた
そっと肩抱き寄せられた
耳に触れる挨拶の言葉小さな胸ドキドキしてる
恋しちゃってるきっと
今手のひらの中伝わるぬくもり
想いは近づいてるいつもそばにいてね
本当の気持ち聞いてね
こぼれそうな想い受け止めてね
つないだ手の中にある
小さなモノを
ずっとずっと離さないでね｢誰にも話せない恋だけど誰より暖かい笑顔をくれるあなたが好き｣
｢刹那さに眠れない夜もあるけど恋は苦くて甘いものだと教えてくれるあなたが好き｣
｢出会った日から変わらないこの気持ち私と同じだと信じてます｣
…あなたが大好きです
いつもそばにいてね
本当の気持ち聞いてね
こぼれそうな想い受け止めてね
つないだ手の中にある
小さなモノを
ずっとずっと離さないでね
Dear my sister. [^2]
The Japanese lyrics are listed on the taikotime blog but I had to grab them from elsewhere because there are a couple errors in the romanji and some of the kanji are replaced with their simplified Chinese counterparts for some reason (ie 話 gets replaced with 话).
[^1] possibly a reference to Takahashi Macoto’s 1957 manga Sakura Namiki (桜並木)?
[^2] It’s customary for the younger girl in a class-S relationship to refer to the older girl as her お姉さま or ‘(older) sister’.
the taikotime English translation:
The sunny spring day is warm, the winds blow past the rows of sakura trees, how fragrant this season is
together with the white arched brick road, it's the same scenery
Wearing the colors of a sailor, the sounds of young girls melt the light
I gently carry my bag, greeting voices brush against my earsMy little heart is pounding
This love....I have it in my hands for sure
Forget the introductions, my thoughts are to get closer to youForever by your side, listening to your true feelings
My overflowing thoughts, I can't stop them
This little thing which I hold tightly in my hand
Forever, forever, I don't want to leave you"I've never spoken to anyone else about love
No one puts such a warm smile to my face as you can, I like you""At that moment in the night when I can't sleep
You remind me of all the bitterness and sweetness of love
I like you""Since our first date my feelings for you have not changed
I trust it's the same for you"...I love you.
Forever by your side, listening to your true feelings
My overflowing thoughts, I can't stop them
This little thing which I hold tightly in my hand
Forever, forever, I don't want to leave youDear My Sister
(from the taikotime blog, uncredited but likely original)
Yeah, I… don’t like this translation very much. Beyond the numerous errors to the point of being borderline incomprehensible I think its inability to communicate the class-S sensibilities of the lyrics is part of what created the mess of misinterpretations surrounding it, (esp. regarding the “Dear my sister” line)
my retranslation:
A soft breeze dances through the rows of cherry trees as a gentle light spills through the gaps in their branches. Everything is enveloped in the fragrant scent of Spring.
I pass beneath the white arch following the brick path, the scenery unfolds before me revealing the same picture as always:
Young maidens dressed in sailor suits congregating, their lilting voices softly melt into morning light.
I clutch the strap of my bag as their words of greeting brush against my ears.Within my young breast my heart beats loudly.
Somehow I’ve fallen in love… I’m certain that right now,
As warmth is exchanged through our palms, our hearts are being drawn together.You’ll stay with me forever, right? These are my true feelings, won’t you let me speak them?
Won’t you accept this overflowing heart of mine?
This tiny something which has blossomed in the space between our clasped hands,
Don’t ever, ever let it go.“No one can know of this love, I like you because you smile at me with so much warmth.”
“Some nights I lay awake with my mind full of our little moments, I like you because you were the one who taught me the bittersweetness of love.”
“I know that my feelings haven’t changed since the day we met, and neither have yours.”
...I really, really like you.
You’ll stay with me forever, right? These are my true feelings, won’t you let me speak them?
Won’t you accept this overflowing heart of mine?
This tiny something which has blossomed in the space between our clasped hands,
Don’t ever, ever let it go.Dear my sister,
~~~~
Hopefully this translation more accurately captures the style of the prose and the class-S aesthetics being invoked while leaving less room for misinterpretation, I also wanted to format it more like a letter (since the title implies we’re reading the contents of a love letter). I think this letter isn’t a confession as it’s commonly assumed to be. It seems to imply that these two have been together for a while, and is instead a plea to continue their relationship beyond graduation. Hence why the lyrics state both “These are my true feelings, won’t you let me speak them?” and “I know that my feelings haven’t changed since the day we met, and neither have yours,” the feelings the singer is determined to express is the desire to never let go of their love.
I really like this song, the juxtaposition between the delicate girlish lyricism and the harsh instrumental is comedic to an extent but through that it’s able to reach a stronger emotional resonance, you could say it becomes a love so pure you could call it violence (I am not immune to Togawa Jun). This tension exists within the lyrics themselves as well, there’s a feeling of restraint tugging on every word before it bleeds into desperation. “you’ll stay with me forever, right?”, “don’t ever, ever let it go.” through that desperation these lines evoke the transient nature of class-S relationships, within what’s meant to be a fleeting love the singer longs for an eternity together in spite of everything…
I wish I was able to find out more about its development process but all the information I can find is just unsourced wiki trivia… This article even sports an uncited claim that one of the suggested titles for the song was 揺り篭kara墓場まで2000, shortened to yurimade2000, and a more supported claim (judging by the song’s internal name) that another planned title was Slash2000, presumably a play off of thrash metal but with an S twist. Unfortunately I’m not able to find any statement from Linda AI-CUE verifying this even if it seems specific enough to not be coming from nowhere at least (Almost all the interview content I could find for Linda AI-CUE seems to be centered around his contributions to The Idolmaster, unlucky for me). The implications of 揺り篭kara墓場まで2000 as a title are interesting though… In English it would be From the Cradle to the Grave, considering that the ‘yuri’ in the title is an obvious play off of ‘百合(lily)’ it becomes From the Lily Basket to the Grave. A lily relationship that lasts to the grave… combined with the singer’s desire for an eternal relationship, unwilling to move beyond her love past its endpoint… It certainly conjures the image of class-S typical double suicide. (Wouldn’t be a proper 2000 series song without at least a little bit of a darker undercurrent haha).
