Over the past year, I kept track of the music I enjoyed and put them into a YouTube playlist. I also decided to write my thoughts on some of them. The results vary by style and what they describe.
If I enjoyed the music in 2021 and it was on YouTube, I added it to the playlist. Those were the only criteria. Sometimes, I only included a piece if I listened to it a certain number of times over a few days. I may have also discovered it years prior, but this did not matter.
Music List
- Sota Fujimori – Wicked Child (arrange ver.) [Castlevania Chronicles]
- BlackY – Aqua Fairy [Diverse System]
- George Michael – I Want Your Sex (Parts I & II)
- missingsoul – Amour en Juillet
- BOOM BOOM SATELLITES – LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME [Kiznaiver OP]
- Masaki Kurihara – It’s a Stroll [Azumanga Daioh]
- TECHNOuchi – Sky Painter
- Fast Floor – Trippin On Sunshine
- RonWellsJS – Karma
- Atsushi Kitajoh – Time ATLUS Kitajoh Remix [Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight]
- Takeshi Nakashima – Fly To The Leaden Sky [Battle Garegga (Remix)]
- Galaxy 2 Galaxy – Hi Tech Jazz (Live Version)
- Quasimode – Hi-Tech Jazz
- RonWellsJS – Friend Chip
- Naoki Endo – In Search of Excitement [Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club]
- Röyksopp – Poor Leno (Jakatta Mix)
- Tappy – Aquarius
- 2号. – Secret Pure Love [Soupcurry Records]
- Hitoshi Fujima – Thinking Time [BanG Dream!]
- Mist:ical – Memory Jog
- m-flo loves Shadow the Hedgehog – Tripod Baby (Shadow The Hedgehog Mix)
- Jun Konagaya – Pilgrim
- Mario Più – Communication (Yomanda Remix)
- Ryo Watanabe – Dazzling Rays [Nanosweep]
- Mami Kawada – masterpiece [A Certain Magical Index OP 2]
Sota Fujimori – Wicked Child (arrange ver.) [Castlevania Chronicles]
This is one of the sickest Castlevania remixes ever. You’ve got your epic orchestral, rock and VRC6’s and then you’ve got this from Sota Fujimori. Fujimori later went on to compose and arrange a bunch of tracks for Beatmania and Dance Dance Revolution. Mystery, uncertainty and hidden danger permeate the entirety of this track. It’s a dangerously soothing soundscape: the mystique of the night is complemented by the harsh evils rising from the darkness. They’re fully in tune with themselves and grooving towards you with nothing currently stopping their trance. Simon can only go forward and he can’t just be strong: he must be agile and swerve through the dastardly schemes of his enemies.
The acidic sensations emphasise strain and challenge. I also imagine mist occasionally appearing on Simon’s path. The moon poised in the night sky is a guiding light for the wicked children that are both Simon and the monsters, even though dark clouds may occasionally block it. Simon has to prove himself by completing his mission and the monsters are but mere insects compared to what may lie ahead. The moon is also always watching, just like Dracula might be doing at the castle’s summit…
This will be a long night.
———
“Wicked Child :Stage3” (arrange ver.)
Composed by Konami Kukeiha Club // Arranged by Sota Fujimori
CASTLEVANIA CHRONICLE AKUMAJO DRACULA Original Soundtrack (2001)
BlackY – Aqua Fairy [Diverse System]
Close your eyes for a while and then open them again. Did you learn anything new during that time? Did you reflect on some past event, or where you are now? What does that tell you?
The piano starts playing and you’re in the ocean, slowly lowering in elevation but the view is either empty or filled with life, whichever one happens to be in your mind at the moment.
The tune calms down and becomes muter but a quiet pulse is there. It rises back up with moments and doubts in your life coming back. How do you tune yourself to your new surroundings? Slowly rising, or slowly drowning? Keep going up, or snap out of your stupor to take in the sights and swim up again. Take all your body, memories, worries, heart, and RISE! You are one small existence, and perhaps there is another small existence in the ocean that you can barely make out but is there nonetheless. Who or what is it? Is it magic? Follow it to get back up and fuse your body comprised largely of water with the water of life. Stop drowning. Get back to life. Go and live. The scenery will change and you’ll enter a whole new world!
———
“Aqua Fairy”
George Michael – I Want Your Sex (Parts I & II)
———
“I Want Your Sex” (Parts I & II)
missingsoul – Amour en Juillet
July: the middle of summer. Powerful leading notes and sweat fill the air. There’s a feeling of melancholy perhaps, but it’s calling out to something. It gradually gets fuller with the steady passage of time. In the midst of magical, mysterious and intensifying surroundings, the constant communication keeps beating with the notes typing out the words. It changes along the way and keeps going. This is the opportunity to really feel the passion. It grows and grows until fading out into another peace, to be carried to another day.
———
“Amour en Juillet”
Yuji Takenouchi (as missingsoul)
BOOM BOOM SATELLITES – LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME [Kiznaiver OP]
It begins with a metropolitan soundscape of voices and footsteps. These sounds that surround us all mix together in a spiral. They then fade out and we enter a light, like finding a clearing in a dense forest. Inside the mix is a single unifying echo from which “Lay your hands on me” rings out. While it’s bleeding dry, it’s calling for a blessing. The blessing is not just for itself, but for the other party as well. Under the blue sky that we all share, everyone has their dreams and energy. We must fly through the sky to assert our dreams but also reach out to those of others. Even after some people have gone, the things they have done and left behind will stay by our sides in spirit.
There will undoubtedly come sadness with these feelings of passing. This most likely occurred in the family of the singer — Michiyuki Kawashima — who died with a brain tumour after this song’s release. The EP containing it was the final release of Boom Boom Satellites. Him and us were made possible thanks to remnants of the stars. Like the stars that shine in the sky and have possibly already gone, our loved ones will always watch over us as we wake up in their embrace. Their dreams, energy, love, and life are ever-encompassing and fill the world. Never forget these people. You can feel sadness, but lay your hands on their spirit and keep going. Fly into your essence; live life with the cosmos! You can sing the song they sang too and make them proud. Those are Kawashima’s final words.
The music video shows one of Kawashima’s daughters having fun and one can imagine the camera being him watching over her. The teddy bear could also be him, being flown off on balloons in acceptance of his death and in celebration of his life. At the end of the video, we see someone who could be his daughter grown up and pregnant, looking out to the ocean and sky where her father now rests. The song itself gradually fades out, but in the last 10 or so seconds a few more pulses chime as the cycle of life continues in the next generation.
We’ve only got one life to live. Make it count.
———
Masaki Kurihara – It’s a Stroll [Azumanga Daioh]
I was 10 when I discovered what “anime” was. In elementary school, one of the anime I watched was Azumanga Daioh. I decided to listen to a part of the soundtrack and within 1 minute and 19 seconds of feeling a powerful wave of nostalgia from the first few notes, I shed a tear from my left eye. The music of Azumanga Daioh’s 2002 anime feels much like the music of 2001’s Fruits Basket anime; an early 00s nostalgia brought forth from these series being early experiences in my anime watching career. The violin and recorder seal the deal.
The title of the track in question being “It’s a Stroll” makes it feel like just another day; another day where these feelings are always there even if you don’t realise it. Finally, what I think pushed me over the edge was looking at the video’s image where Chiyo stands happily with her dog, and it reminding me that Chiyo is 10 at the start of the series.
———
“お散歩です”/“It’s a Stroll”
AZUMANGA-DAIOH Original Soundtrack Vol.1 (2002)
TECHNOuchi – Sky Painter
The phrase “sky painter” evokes planes making shapes in the sky with vapour. The layers of this creative process, and any creative process, is explored throughout the track. At first, there’s a spark to trigger ideas that swirl in your head. You start painting and develop those ideas. You then face challenges that force you to think. You create a first version of the work and spice up more polished ones. The image of what you paint then solidifies and your excitement rises. Finally, you finish painting and reflect on your creation. There are things you could’ve done to improve it, and maybe you’ve realised something about yourself. The album’s cover art enforces this by evoking an incense or artist exhaling smoke in a studio. The smoke is of different colours, representing your spectrum of creativity and emotions. As Kairi from Kingdom Hearts said: “There are many worlds, and they share the same sky”. You come back repeatedly to paint your world onto the shared sky, reflected in the very end when the beginning returns. You move your body to the rhythm too. Isn’t that cool?
———
“Sky Painter”
Yuji Takenouchi (as TECHNOuchi)
ChainDive -Arrangements- (2017)
Fast Floor – Trippin On Sunshine
The ticks tiptoe around the room. The resulting taps electrify the floor. The sunshine induced is inner happiness, or it could be drugs. Whatever the case, what matters now is that you’re having a good time and enjoying the sunny day. Your body bops back and forth and everything clicks with the particular state of mind you’re in. There’s a central force that keeps you steady and pounds with each pulse. Tingling sensations reflect your delicate movements or sun rays passing between your fingers. You move onto skipping right on top of the sun, which rotates according to where you want it to go. Or you’re passing a ball of sunshine around to different people. Finally, you slowly rise out of the trance. The trip ends. Things are normal again. But maybe you can go back to those previous feelings, any time, anywhere…
———
“Trippin On Sunshine”
Trippin On Sunshine / Timeless (1994)
RonWellsJS – Karma
One half of the electronic duo behind “Trippin On Sunshine” returns with a fresh and popping track. It’s quite rich. The sounds that surround the main melody and beat are streams of music notes or gusts of wind moving past you. I imagine Honoka from Love Live! skipping around urban and suburban streets and hopping over fences. That could be happening because the track is a little cheerful and stirs an urban landscape. Though it also sounds a little mysterious, like the track’s title. It could be commenting on the cause-and-effect of our actions within our environment. The same notes from previous sections constantly return in different places. It also sometimes feels like an elastic spring moving up and down. It’s our actions that recede into the past, storing elastic energy. At some point, the energy unleashes a result that influences the present. 2:00 – 2:32 is an interesting transition where most of the instruments go mute at the beginning of it. It could be a cleansing of karmic debt after rebirth, with new actions following. Interpreting music without lyrics can be hard. But regardless of any suppositions, I know for sure that this track is a bop.
———
“Karma”
Ron Wells (as RonWellsJS)
Atsushi Kitajoh – Time ATLUS Kitajoh Remix [Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight]
The Kitajoh remix of “Time” from Persona 3 Portable is an immediate jam with spliced voice samples. That’s something I quite enjoy. The instrumentation distinctly feels like it’s from the late 2000s to early 2010s. That’s nostalgic. It specifically reminds me of the Vocaloid classic “What Do You Mean!?” by Kuchibashi-P. I can also picture a Vocaloid-esque music video of the song with on-screen lyrics.
Time repeats and surrounds you. It’s also an external existence that doesn’t pay us any heed. We have to co-exist with it as we find purpose in our lives. Along the way, we deal with the inevitability of time moving forward. To fill up some of that time, I’m writing my thoughts on this song. I’m glad I am, and I will be smiling in the future when I do it with other music. I also want to play those video games and watch those anime! Yet, happiness isn’t guaranteed with whatever we do. A melancholic lyric is “No one really belongs”. How comfortable can we truly feel? How can we form meaningful connections within a limited time and not be lonely? At least there’s solace in how we share similar unsaid feelings that can get us through the uncertainty.
At about two minutes in, the song swerves to a different perspective. It’s a black and white scene from the past. We walk through it and think about how much time has passed since then. Afterwards, we reemerge in the present and wave goodbye to the old days. The final stretch of the song then elevates the wistfulness already present. At the end of the day, which direction we take with our conflicting feelings on time is up to us.
———
Composed by Shoji Meguro (ATLUS) // Lyrics by Reiko Tanaka // Vocals by Mayumi Fujita // Remixed by Atsushi Kitajoh (ATLUS)
P3D & P5D FULL SOUNDTRACK (2018)
Takeshi Nakashima – Fly To The Leaden Sky [Battle Garegga (Remix)]
Your fighter plane is ready and the battle is about to begin. Your determination pounds on your ears. Accelerate and surge off the runway! Advance and dance in all directions to dodge the waves of destruction darting at you. Lead and death pollute the sky, but you can sweat your mission out. Cut deep into the enemy and bomb the bastards that get too close. There may be a little breathing space once you’ve cleared out a rush of reinforcements, but don’t expect it to last long. There’s still more to come.
———
“Fly To The Leaden Sky”
Composed by Manabu Namiki // Arranged by Takeshi Nakashima
Galaxy 2 Galaxy – Hi Tech Jazz (Live Version)
It’s a sizzling revolution in space. The technology around us creates a brand new sound, and you’re walking on a spinning record among the stars. The sound progressively elevates and unlocks more daring flows. With them, you’re entering another dimension. Conventional jazz provides familiarity, but it also harmonises with the computerised expanse. The steps to the boogie diversify along the way. You’re obtaining grandiose knowledge on this galactic journey. With your mind awakened, you will transform everyone’s lives.
———
“Hi Tech Jazz (Live Version)”
Hi Tech Jazz (Live Version) (2002)
Quasimode – Hi-Tech Jazz
“This is why I’m alive.” That’s what radiates from Quasimode’s cover of “Hi Tech Jazz”. It’s about leaping outside no matter the weather. The sky is always there, after all. There may be sudden stops as you encounter obstacles, but the keyboard will keep ringing. There are refreshing scenes to witness around each corner. You’re enjoying the hi-tech jazz that’s inside you. Though there’s also some turmoil. But without a battle, success is less satisfying. Effort moves your legs up and down and it will go on. It’s also a mental exercise to free yourself from any restraints. Continue to feel the breeze and dance. You can rise above it all and reach an elevated state of freedom. The repeated chorus drills the ritual into your body. Do it. Fly! Because if you don’t take that first step, where the hell are you going to go?
———
RonWellsJS – Friend Chip
There’s warmth in our computer chips. They’re friends that help us with gargantuan endeavours and keep everything turning. We embed them in various hosts and contexts, such as robots in a manufacturing process. They also have different levels of performance. Sometimes, they need to push the limits to perform a set of operations. In addition, they perform background tasks that laymen don’t perceive. Even if you’re an expert, they could be hiding secrets in their artificial minds. There’s still much potential in them to unlock. They’re a complicated existence, and we can’t do without them.
———
“Friend Chip”
Ron Wells (as RonWellsJS)
Naoki Endo – In Search of Excitement [Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club]
This track is about the journey towards a new place and then curiosity abounding once there. At 0:34, the energy rises when you turn around and something big catches your eye. The pace of your walk increases as you go towards the excitement. This is the best part of the track and it’s a shame that it ends so early on. But afterwards, there’s time to delve into the uncovered wonder. The situation then calms down as if there’s a need to carefully analyse the experience that just occurred. From 1:08, it sounds exactly like menu music from The Sims Bustin’ Out. I swear that it uses the same samples. Anyway, in the end, the experience was a pleasant ride. There’s an additional leg of skipping around to find another interest and a bigger beat pounds out before it all ends. That was fun.
———
“トキメキを求めて” (~“In Search of Excitement”)
Naoki Endo (HOVERBOARD.Inc)
Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club Original Soundtrack: Sound of TOKIMEKI (2021)
Röyksopp – Poor Leno (Jakatta Mix)
The original “Poor Leno” by Röyksopp is a definitive classic. It’s a contemplative piece about how nostalgic times have passed. However, we can always reach out to them again because we know that they lie inside us. At least, that’s one interpretation of it. The Jakatta mix elongates the song while retaining the same sentiment. It also moves your head more with more prominent kicks. The song switching up at around 3:29 is impactful. The space for the vocals gives more weight to the expressed knowledge that your childhood doesn’t disappear. 4:58 – 5:29 features stillness with a mulled piano. It could be the breather we need from all this travelling. Or it’s a period of melancholy as we struggle to capture the past. It could also be the moment we reclaim childhood innocence. It feels like that’s the end of the track, but then it picks back up again as we continue to the future. And now l want to snowboard down the peaks of SSX 3 again.
———
Original by Röyksopp // Vocals by Erlend Øye // Remixed by Dave Lee (as Jakatta)
Poor Leno (Jakatta Mixes) (2001)
Tappy – Aquarius
We’re going underwater where your body can move wherever it wants to. It’s a wonder zone compared to hard ground, where gravity suppresses you. It’s also somewhere you can’t really see from above. That makes the bright patterns and strange shapes you find once you dive in all the more fascinating. You swim over coral and through schools of fish as your mind is liberated. The second part of the track doesn’t want to go back to harsh reality, but it wonders if this experience can be recreated elsewhere. The answer could lie in something not found in the ocean. It could be in a refreshing wind blowing to an unknown world.
———
“Aquarius” by Tappy
2号. – Secret Pure Love [Soupcurry Records]
It’s a wild dance of confusing emotions. Its driving force is the high-pitched plea of your innocent and young self. It’s the craving of the heart originating from your “secret pure love”. This new development pleases but also torments your mind. It must be hidden from not only the person you’re thinking of, but also the rest of society. Society’s pressure on you to find a partner and its scheming sexual imagery only puzzle you even more. From 2:05, there’s further instability and your voice lowers into distaste for your inner chaos. But at 2:32, you start coming to terms with your desire. You accept it and then resolve to confess your love to your sweetheart.
From 3:02, you gather courage and the hope that your feelings will be matched. You bet on your confession and want to hit the jackpot. A slot machine spins and you sweat bullets as the pivotal moment arrives. At 4:34, you finally say the precious words. The machine is slowing down and it’s still unknown what the result will be. Your squealing subsides as a more mature phase of your life approaches. Rejection would spell the end, but you will grow from the experience. Reciprocation would mark the dawn of a deeper adventure. Either way, you’ve felt and expressed an emotion that you hadn’t encountered before.
———
“Secret Pure Love”
2号.
Hitoshi Fujima – Thinking Time [BanG Dream!]
[Not available online.]
I don’t know when this plays in the anime, but it’s a banger. I like how it tingles my ears. I also enjoy how every instrument is quite distinct and how they all contribute to a frenetic movement. It’s the activity of the thinking brain and of peoples’ ideas being flung across the room. The ideas emerge from people of different personalities. Some of the people are also walking up and down the room with their fingers on their chins. At about 0:43, the situation appears to settle down. The meeting could progress to the next stage. But no. Chaos returns and it jams even harder. What’s the final result of this crazy brainstorming session?
———
“シンキングタイム” (“Thinking Time”)
Hitoshi Fujima (Elements Garden)
BanG Dream! 2nd & 3rd Season Original Soundtrack (2020)
Mist:ical – Memory Jog
Where the hell is that piece of information in my brain? I need it NOW! My operating system opens and closes a million windows. I need to make my way through this maze, but I still can’t find what I’m looking for. It’s been about 1 minute and 47 seconds since I started and I realise that I really need to dive into the depths. I augment my efforts. Around 2 minutes and 34 seconds altogether have now passed. I’m wondering if I’ve lost the thing completely. There are so many memories to keep track of and I fear that I’ll eventually lose them all. From roughly the 3 minute and 17-second mark of my journey, I ponder whether any of my memories are even real. I’m lost, but I have to keep digging. I progress and then note around 4 minutes and 1 second of collective processing time. I start to think about if my memories tell the truth. For some of my experiences, only remnants of them remain. Were the other fragments even that important?
5 minutes and 7 seconds have now elapsed. What if I remembered events that surrounded the memory? I could build the scene from them. I also know that I’m not just searching for a memory anymore; I’m hunting for everything associated with it. That’s even if the memory is painful or there are details missing. I proceed and get closer to the destination. I perform the final calculations and a total of 6 minutes and 55 seconds has now flown by. I think I’ve found it! About 7 seconds later, I confirm that I’ve retrieved a piece of myself.
———
“Memory Jog”
Just A Little Herb / Memory Jog (2006)
m-flo loves Shadow the Hedgehog – Tripod Baby (Shadow The Hedgehog Mix)
There’s no violence in this Japanese promotional song for Shadow the Hedgehog (2005). “Tripod Baby” by hip-hop group m-flo has been electrified and now features the name of the cool hedgehog. Its funky groove attests to how Shadow stylishly runs and slides all over with ease. You should check who’s on the mic, since the ultimate life form will grab your attention. We can also channel his speed into our wicked dance moves. The song overall is about finding genuine love through song and dance. That’s important because despite Shadow’s cold exterior and attitude sometimes, he ultimately protects humanity and their shared experiences. It’s what he does in the true ending of the game as well. Shadows always watch over us. And we can all enjoy the pure fun of this tune because it’s Shadow the Hedgehog, baby.
———
“Tripod Baby (Shadow The Hedgehog Mix)”
m-flo loves Shadow the Hedgehog
Jun Konagaya – Pilgrim
There’s a sinister road. I don’t know where I am. All I have is my haunted past and sorrow. My hope fades in and out of existence. I start walking and hear owls whistling. It’s coming from my own head. Afterwards, I rewind to footage I’d rather not see. Someone is now cheering me on…or leading me to hell. The xylophone reminds me of childhood. If I went back there, I could fix everything. But I can only go forward. I keep on going and going and going. Will my hope return? It might. As long as this road doesn’t fall into darkne-IHBEOUTHGPIREGIRWHGOETGOUIEHOUIHOGE GHET OUT OF THERE I NEED TO GET OUT YE-YE-YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YO! WOOEOE EOEOEOEOW WOWOWOWWOWOWWOWOWOWOW IAYYEAH TYEAH YEHA YEHA YEHA YEAH YEAH YEAH DEDEDEDEDEDDEO9JIDSG HWPAA EYAHE AFU BUSTA WOLF GET OUT OF THERE DEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDE YEAH GUAEGOA HELL HELL LUCIFER UYEAH YEHA YEHA YEAH YEAH YEAH AAAA FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIERE AGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DEDEDEDEDEDEDEDEDE HUH UYRGT9WERT9T0HSGSJKFNASDFNAF ADGF WOMBO COMBO WOMBO COMBO WOMBO COMBO YEAH YEHA YEHA YEHA DEDEDDEDEDEDRFERFNEUSGBIO RNJW
.
I was being thrown around in God’s circus.
———
“Pilgrim”
Mario Più – Communication (Yomanda Remix)
You’re bolting around at work doing the usual busy chores. Pressure builds as that report needs to get done. A phone then rings. You’ve got to make your way to it through the labyrinth of desks. More phones start buzzing elsewhere. It takes ages to reach your destination. And when you finally take the call, glitches corrupt the connection. You’ve also spent all your energy in the rush, so you can’t even speak. No one can help you as everyone else scrambles towards the other nuisances. Disorder erases the sanity of the day. There’s too much to do! The situation overwhelms your mind. Life is collapsing and time is running out! But keep steady and the next sprint will succeed for sure. Respite arrives as tasks conclude. It’s over now. Alright, let’s continue wi- There’s another ring! Oh my god. How can we communicate whatsoever with all this noise? Please…SOMEBODY ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE!
———
“Communication (Yomanda Remix)”
Original by Mario Più // Remixed by Paul Masterson (as Yomanda)
Ryo Watanabe – Dazzling Rays [Nanosweep]
Enduring light embraces the world and also arises from within. It flows through tree leaves and radiates from you jumping and skipping. Energy builds up. A little break occurs to catch your breath and then the blooming goes on. But at a certain point, the light contrasts with uncertainty and timid desire. Amid doubt, you rise up by asserting yourself. Up and out the light goes, ending in a release of pleasure and pain. You can now relax and find peace.
———
“Dazzling Rays”
Mami Kawada – masterpiece [A Certain Magical Index OP 2]
I could’ve become a lawyer, studied astronomy, or studied psychology. They are possibilities I flung to other timelines. I’m now pretty dead-set on my current path, but who knows how that’ll change. Yet wherever I am, nothing will come about if I don’t continue writing words onto the blank future. Unfortunately, I still freeze up when faced with many choices and don’t commit to things well. Then I get frustrated when I later realise that I’m not any closer to what I envisaged.
The writing of my story isn’t perfect. It’s an experimental process with failures I can learn from. Not that I actually do that, since I’m partly procrastinating studying by writing this. The heavens are unobtainable and I can never be certain of what the most appropriate course of action is. But I can still run to pursue the best use of myself. I also know that I can always look up at the sky and enjoy nature. That helps a little bit.
Additionally, I am very aware that I am myself and have a unique story. I want to use that originality to my advantage and do things only I can do. However, a unique story by itself is not what I’d call a masterpiece. It’s a story that’s carved into the lexicon of the world. As a teenager, there was a period of time where one of my vague goals was to “prove I existed”. I don’t think that way anymore. Still, typing this out might be one small way of asserting my identity and passion as a firm existence in the world. It might make me feel a tiny bit more alive. With the right approach, that fires people up to take positive action. It also forms part of competition, which can be good. And if you don’t do it at all, the spiders in the cobwebs might take advantage of you. That’s because you won’t have an assertive picture of your self-worth. The world will drown you instead of you taking control of it.
With each step, I will have an even better idea of where my passions lie and the place I want to be. That’s motivational for it also forms a sense of living for a specific purpose. Each new stage is then followed by yet another one, so there’s always something to achieve.
I might have my head in the clouds a bit. But anime songs contain dramatic framing and they hype me up through that drama. Not to mention the relation to Kamijou Touma, the main protagonist of A Certain Magical Index. He never gives up on believing that there’s always a better way for people to solve their personal problems than what they think. He asserts himself through that and changes the world in the process. And in whatever form it takes, I will continue communicating my personal desires. I know that it’s part of what makes me happy. It’s important that those desires exist and that my own unique inspirations are what shape them.
It’s only my thing!
———
Lyrics and vocals by Mami Kawada // Composed and arranged by Maiko Iuchi