Translation: Akane Sora [Madder Red Sky] (Chihayafuru 2 ED Theme)

This is probably my favourite theme song so far this season, though that’s not the only reason I decided to translate it. Chihayafuru 2 ends tonight, and with the final episode, the way this song echoes a key point in the series will become clear. But I will get to that after tomorrow.

There is also an interesting comparison to be made between this song and the ending theme to the first season. As already observed by astute viewers, two different versions of Akane Sora have played over the ending credits. The main one consists of the first verse and chorus; but a version featuring the second verse and chorus was used instead for the 6th and 23rd episodes.

Well…I’m not sure if they noticed it for the 6th episode, but a few on the mangafox forums certainly did for the 23rd. On the other hand, looking through RC and AS, I can’t find anyone who said anything, which is something of a disappointment given the importance of ‘songs’ (首) in this series…

Returning from that tangent, it’s pretty clear who the singer is referring to in each verse, right? If not, just watch the two episodes mentioned above again and think about it. The point, however, is that this marks a departure from the first season’s ending theme, which really was all about one person…

Let’s play karuta together again!

茜空
Madder Red Sky

歌：瀬戸麻沙美
作詞：coffa
作編曲：新屋豊
Artiste: Seto Asami
Lyrics: coffa
Music: Shinya Yutaka

Translation: Bakemonogatari ED: Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari (君の知らない物語)

I’m actually rather depressed, because the limited edition of this (which is officially released this coming Wednesday), and the Bakemonogatari drama cd that was released a week ago are both sold out at all the major online retailers. The single was ranked #2 on the music charts on amazon.co.jp…*sighs* I guess it’s about time I learned that music sells out a lot faster than DVDs do.

Well, the lyrics are out – probably have been since the full version has been on the airwaves. This is the first song I’ve attempted to translate, and I don’t quite understand some of it, Japanese being rather ambiguous compared to English and all that. But it’s about time I ate, so I’m just going to leave this until I can look around for more clues on the meaning. Aug 12: I think I’m done. I’ve rearranged some of the lines so that the flow makes a little more sense (to me anyway). But if you spot anything (else) wrong, or have any other comments, please feel free to voice them. (^_^)