Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai - [romaji and translation] Sparkle

Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/index.php)

- Ayu Music News (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2)

- - [romaji and translation] Sparkle (http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86439)

thank you for translation!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 1830762)

I don't think it is really a "dialect" persay. It's not like Fukui-ben or something like that. It's more like Maikeru said - she uses more slang in this than usual. And just overall makes it more rough and un-ayu sounding I guess? Its something probably only totally native would completely get - 'cause I don't totally understand it either. I think I used the Koda comparison before, but when she talked about amniotic fluid getting bad, it really didn't sound bad in English right? But there was something in the way she said it that pissed a whole bunch of Japanese off for what reason, you and me will probably never figure out. :)
I don't know whether the lyrics are really going to be a problem in Japan or not, probably not, I just think they are just very different for Ayu. Some reactions to the lyrics have just been like 'eh whatever' while others are like Maikeru and don't like that style of lyric writing for Ayu.

To give an example, in the very first line she uses the term "kusubutte" which I was hard pressed to find in a dictionary (I tried 4 different ones) finally I was able to figure out that it means "to smolder". So its not just that she is saying "Hey there are cute boys here", she is literally saying "Hey there are smoldering hot cute boys here". It definitely makes the meaning of that line more sensual don't you think? And definitely not something you usually hear from Ayu I think everyone can at least agree on that. So naturally, some people just won't like that direction for Ayu. Also, if the romaji based on listening is correct there is a line about putting fingers in your mouth, which is supposed to imply want (and here is translated as "enviously"). But there are other ways of saying envious in Japanese without using the imagery of fingers and mouths, so it seems Ayu chose that kind of imagery deliberately. So yeah, new style for Ayu for sure. :yes

Sorry for the long post, didn't mean for it to become a lecture!

A new writing style from her indeed :yes

Thank you for the further elaboration... so it's more of the slang. Well, we would only know if such a lyric style is well-received by Japan when the sales result come out, and we would know if anyone is boycotting this single. ;)

Thanks for translating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by masa (Post 1829926)

Be bolder
Until you look disturbing

Hehe, why would we want to start disturbing someone? ^_^

"Bold & Disturbing" would be an interesting Ayu title. Actually, it doesn't make any more or less sense than using "Delicious". :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArchangelLegend (Post 1830904)

Thanks for translating.

Hehe, why would we want to start disturbing someone? ^_^

"Bold & Disturbing" would be an interesting Ayu title. Actually, it doesn't make any more or less sense than using "Delicious". :D

'Delicious' sounds cuter and funnier, though. :)

I love it! something full of energy and positive

Thanks for the translation. Like someone else said, those look much cleaner.

So is it a women encouragement song or a encouragement song for young people? At first I thought "kawaii" refered to the boys and girls, so I thought the first part refers to both of them, just like the whole song. maikaru translated it as "the girls who are with them", though, which gives the whole lyrics a different meaning. I guess they're probably both right.
Those lyrics are so confusing. I don't know what to think about them. Really. One time it's "They aren't so bad" the next it's "They're superficial". There could be more to them than what they seem to be (for example, using a club scenery to talk about life), but I never felt like that about ayu's lyrics. And I never felt so disconnected to them.

You are welcome.

To SunshineSlayer
"Yubi o kuwaeru" is not a slang but an idiom we commonly use with no sexal image. It means "do nothing but look on something (someone) enviously".

Quote:

Originally Posted by masa (Post 1830968)

You are welcome.

To SunshineSlayer
"Yubi o kuwaeru" is not a slang but an idiom we commonly use with no sexal image. It means "do nothing but look on something (someone) enviously".

Right yes, that is what I mean. But do you have an idea for why she wanted to use that particular idiom in this song instead of just using another word for envious? It seems to maybe have some more deeper kind of meaning to me. maybe not :shrug Is there a reason you decided to leave the yubi part out of the translation or did you just think the idiom would appear too odd in English?

I would love to hear more what your opinion of these lyrics are though as I have been reading very mixed reactions of them from Japanese fans. Do you like this type of lyrics for Ayu?

This is getting interesting :D Ayu did say (if I remember correctly it was after she completed Days) that she would like to write more straight-forward songs in the future. As for my opinion I consider Sparkle a catchy/addictive and cool song like STEP you was and I hope the casual listeners in Japan will too.

here in Brazil we have that "sucking your thumb" too, with the same meaning by the way... It's most like... a children sucking his/her thumb looking to something he/she can't get.. there's really no sexual conotation here, when I ready the first translation I understood the idiom without any trouble...
I'm think it's pretty much the same thing in Japan (there are some words and idioms here and there that are a bit similar cause Portuguese, who colonized Brazil, had comercial contact with Japan some centuries ago...)

If we say "look on enviously" in Japanese without using the idiom, it should be "urayamashi sou ni mite iru". As you see, it's far longer than "yubi o kuwaeru". And I feel it's smart and poetic to use this idiom than to say "urayamashi sou ni mite iru" in direct way.

Because there are still missing parts in the lyrics now, I refrain from telling my opinion on this song. But if my romaji translation is all correct, I have to say that the first stanza disappointed me. Because the way of using words in the first stanza doesn't seem to me good, unusually.

^Yeah, I always think its interesting how so many Japanese ended up in Brazil.

Quote:

Originally Posted by masa (Post 1830994)

Yes, it is a more poetic way of saying I think. I almost prefer having the original idiom in the english though (sucking on your thumb/finger) but yeah I suppose many people would probably read that as strange in English.

Quote:

Because there are still missing parts in the lyrics now, I refrain from telling my opinion on this song. But if my romaji translation is all correct, I have to say that the first stanza disappointed me. Because the way of using words in the first stanza doesn't seem to me good, unusually.

Yes, that is what I had been thinking as well, even though my Japanese is not perfect at all. Some parts of the original Japanese lyrics just seem very odd. Not Ayu's usual standard.

I've been reading a few Japanese that actually think she is saying "VOICE"-tachi and "CHORUS"-tachi instead of "BOYS" and "GIRLS", but that doesn't really make sense either. :)

I'm interested in what the rest of the lyrics will be.

Thanks for replying! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 1830995)

^Yeah, I always think its interesting how so many Japanese ended up in Brazil.

If i'm not wrong it's the country with most japanese after Japan itself...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi (Post 1830999)

If i'm not wrong it's the country with most japanese after Japan itself...

Yep, it is. Its just odd because people really wouldn't guess that at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer (Post 1831002)

Yep, it is. Its just odd because people really wouldn't guess that at all.

:luv2 I had no idea!! :thud that's great though :D We only have a solid number of Chinese people here.

There's a fair amount of Germans in brasil also I believe...

thanks for the lyrics, and for all the discussion you guys, it's very interesting, especially for a song like Sparkle :)

OMGH!!!!!
thanks....

i don't 'see' any sexual things behind these lyrics...
anyway ur translation made me love Sparkle more!:luv2

the lyrics do not seem like the usual ayu type lyrics. it's a refreshing change!

Thank you for the translation masa!!! :) :) :D