Song of Words – 40mp

  art originally by niboshi ( mylist/7378631 )

( lyrics are already provided in the video )

This song is so cute, to me personally. It shows a daily struggle of a young boy. We all know the feeling, as we were all children before. We always had the guidance of our parents through our small struggles and our parents always taught us the right and wrong things to do. Without them, we’d just be irresponsible, immature people.

In this song, a young boy’s day in his life is shown. First, he wakes up to his mother making breakfast for him and his father telling him to say his morning greetings, claiming they were magical charms just as his mom tells him to say his “thanks-for-the-food” phrases. Both parents claimed that these “magical charms/spices” allowed him to smile for the whole day (from this, we can guess the kid is pretty well mannered). It proceeds with the boy saying that “there’s a ‘good morning’ for every ‘good night’ and a ‘thanks for the meal’ for every ‘the food was good'”. I guess this could mean be polite and appreciate the things your parents provide for you?

Of course, there has to be a struggle in this little, happy song. The poor boy. His toy broke and hit his little lady friend by accident. The girl runs off crying (in pain?) and he didn’t even get the chance to apologize. He cries as well as he tumbles into a dark circle of regret and loneliness. Of course, it’s papa to the rescue (and mama)! Both encourage him to go to the girl’s house and apologize. And so he does and everything becomes happy, happy and fluffy, fluffy again.  The song ends with a cute scene of the boy giving a flower to the girl and they both say ‘thank you’ to each other (by this point, I’m squealing because it’s so cute).

I believe this song is a great example of family because it shows the care and love a parent has for their children and the support they give in order to raise us up well. So give this song a listen and perhaps tell me how you felt about it? I’d love some input! Goodbye for now!

Laying Down in the Center of Tokyo – 40mp

image originally drawn by pichyoko ( ぴちょこ )

Author Update: I am feeling much better than I did the past few weeks!! I hope that means I can write a longer post this time…

So, the song “Laying Down in the Center of Tokyo” (translations here) by 40mp  (have fun reading the Japanese, folks) can be very relatable to young adults who have the same fears, struggles, and anxieties.

The song primarily focuses on a young adult man, as seen on the right in the image, who struggles throughout his everyday life. The song repeatedly says, “A single tear fell” after every chorus. However, after meeting (or perhaps reuniting) with the girl seen on the left of the image, the phrase changes to “Two tears fell together”. This could symbolize the hope we get from others and how their help could in turn help us move along in life. Aside from that, the song also discusses the fear of being an outcast as the first verse talks about the man being pointed out (and ultimately, called out) by a kid, in which the kid’s mother quickly pulls him away. We all get that in real life, getting picked on, pointed at, avoided. The second verse (after the first chorus) also discusses being unable to tell one’s emotions, something we’ve all gone through at one point in life.

However, I find it interesting that the male decides to lay down in the center of a crowded intersection or as the song says, “an asphalt”. I could not decipher the deeper meaning of it, but I assume that it symbolizes the exhaustion we feel and us deciding to just lay down, facing the blue sky, while life is bustling by.

This song is very catchy (at least to me). I feel as if I can relate to this song, in terms of the stress and anxiety I can get from something, whether it be about school or social life. I can also connect to the “single tear fell” in the beginning which turns to the “two tears falling together” as I was alone in my struggle, but my family and friends came to my aid just when I was about to lose hope.

I suggest you listen to the song as it is motivational and simply beautiful! I personally like these two covers by ENE and Yoru. Go ahead and enjoy your day, munchkins!

” Having risen up beneath the sky atop the asphalt

I clung to it, the warmth I felt, from your outstretched hand

the crowd of people began to move in that harshly blue sky

A pair of tears, fell down together “

Nagi Yanagi

Nagi Yanagi. Digital Image. Lyricsakura.files.wordpress.com. WordPress. 13 May, 2014. Web. 13 Dec, 2015.

Her musical career started off when she sang as an utaite, a person who covers vocaloid songs or J-Pop songs in general, named Gazelle. She was then scouted and signed into Geneon as a professional singer. Since then, she has sang the opening and closing songs for a variety of anime and released many albums.

Personally, I first fell in love with Nagi’s voice after listening to her songs from the FlamingJune series. After which I found her song “Kimi No Shiranai Monogatari” or “The Story You Don’t Know”. It has since been a song I listen to constantly as her voice is very calming, sweet, and powerful in this song, as it is in every song she sings. Another song that I love from Nagi Yanagi is “Hero“.

There are many things about Nagi Yanagi that make me admire her in each and every way, but I can’t list all of that within one blog post.

So give her music/songs a try and maybe, just maybe, you will fall in love just as I did. Happy listening!

– Butter