[romaji and translation] Sparkle

masa,thank you!I love your translations~

[SunshineSlayer]

Thank you for your version of translation of the song as always, though I'm sure it will be better once the full lyrics are known and what kanji was used. May I ask though why you completely changed some of the lines though such as "指を咥えてるつもり"? I know that it is always difficult to translate meaning from one language to another, but it does seem to me in this case that some of the lines may have been changed too much? It especially makes it difficult since no one has the actual kanji yet.
I don't want to seem offensive or anything since I know translating is very tough work and I always appreciate any translations that people do. I would just like to get more opinions from those with fluent or at least close to fluent Japanese ability about this song.

gotta get back to class now, haha.

[milky_way]

Thank you, masa

[BoBo]

10x

[AyUta]

"Be bolder until you look disturbing."
Weird O_o

Thanks for the translation masa!

[ayuayu798]

Thanks

[Tasked]

Thank you. I was really waiting for a good translation.. It's so cool that Ayu can make a sexy song and still stay Ayu

[ownsarai]

Well, it ends up not being sexual at all! Stand up for yourself! LOVE the lyrics~ Thanks a lot masa!

[Chibi_Venus]

Thank you very much for the translation, masa. I do have to admit that some parts are still strange to me. Like AyUta said: "Be bolder until you look disturbing"? I mean, it kind of makes sense, but kind of doesn't.

[shyguygurl]

i love the lyrics, very empowering, go ayu!!!!

[Andali]

If you only look, nothing happens
And it will never be yours

That part sounds similar to the first few lines of Catcher in the Light. It's a nice sounding song

[gogirlanime]

Perfect dance lyrics, makes me think of "Please don't stop the music"

[maikaru]

Originally Posted by waterballoon

Thank you! From what you've translated, it appears that Sparkle is NOT THAT dirty and sexual... but may I ask if what Sunshineslayer and Maikaru said are true, that in Japanese, Sparkle is full of offensive slangs and the like?

I have to make a correction.
Because, we all don't actually know what the real lyrics are.
And the the sexual things I was commenting on were lyrics posted on 2 Channel before I could actually hear the real song.
The only part I have problems with now is the first part..
About the hot and cute boys, and the girls they're with.
Also, she uses a lot of slang words, which is a bit new for her.

And in the first, I didnt say there was any offensive slang words..
Only to some people, they could be offensive.. because some are really not used to her using these slangs at all.
For me, at least, there is definitely a superficial qualities to this song..
About attack and defensive of the first meeting of woman and man..
Like it seems like a water-down version of American songs with this message ahaha.
And her talking about giving your body to the beat..

Sorry I laughed at that one.. ahahaha.

Although I still cannot connect to this song,
it is not as bad as 2 channel made the lyrics to be.

Well, we still cannot know what the correct lyrics are,,
So I am sorry if I made some wrong comments on some wrong lyrics from 2 channel.
I'm sorry about that~~ ._.);
I over-reacted. LOL

[bluegie]

^There's nothing wrong actually for making comments. At least SunshineSlayer agreed with you (and I believe both of you and masa knows Japanese better than us). Probly I do have to apologize if I did make wrong comment towards your comment (if I had made any lol).

I still love this song (in fact it grows on me very very fast). The thing makes me worried tho is the reaction from the Japanese. In reality, it doesn't matter if foreigners (us) loving the song or not. We don't affect the general reaction or cd sales as much as compared to the Japanese public. I dunno how "shallow" or bad grammar the song is (I accept the shallow part because I still think an artist doesn't need to create deep meaningful lyrics every single time... but the grammar part... oh well). I hope the Japanese will accept this song in the end.

Also, is it just ayu fans thinking this, or the causal listener agree with the shallowness as well??

OT: Did you join AHS in april last year? I thought you've been here for longer than that... ..

[pommy48]

thank you! always love your translations!

sparkle doesn't feel that dirty~!

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by maikaru

I have to make a correction.
Because, we all don't actually know what the real lyrics are.
And the the sexual things I was commenting on were lyrics posted on 2 Channel before I could actually hear the real song.
The only part I have problems with now is the first part..
About the hot and cute boys, and the girls they're with.
Also, she uses a lot of slang words, which is a bit new for her.

And in the first, I didnt say there was any offensive slang words..
Only to some people, they could be offensive.. because some are really not used to her using these slangs at all.
For me, at least, there is definitely a superficial qualities to this song..
About attack and defensive of the first meeting of woman and man..
Like it seems like a water-down version of American songs with this message ahaha.
And her talking about giving your body to the beat..

Sorry I laughed at that one.. ahahaha.

Although I still cannot connect to this song,
it is not as bad as 2 channel made the lyrics to be.

Well, we still cannot know what the correct lyrics are,,
So I am sorry if I made some wrong comments on some wrong lyrics from 2 channel.
I'm sorry about that~~ ._.);
I over-reacted. LOL

Really you don't have to apologize. It seems Masa romanized some parts differently than what you originally had - but it is hard to tell which one is actually the "correct one" - we probably won't know until the lyric booklet comes out. I do think masa softened some things from the original Japanese though - thats at least the feeling that I get from what we think are the original lyrics.

I just got back from class, but as soon as I got home I asked my boyfriend to take a look at the lyrics (as some might remember, he is native Japanese here in the states temporarily and has lately become my 'ayu checker' haha.) He said that the lyrics to him do indeed come off as kind of rough and rudish - definitely not Ayu's usual style of writing and he said he definitely didn't get a really 'female empowerment' vibe either. He is pretty much in agreement with you - that it's a "watered down version of American lyrics" and just like a typical dance song kind of lyrics.

I'm fine with it though as long as these lyrics don't represent what Ayu considers to be her "NEXT LEVEL."

[oneheart]

Startin version 2? really?

Thanks for the translation anyways!

[BluishDays]

Thanks masa for the translation <3

I always look forward to your translations

[RikkuChii]

I dunno how this song's possibly sexual..@_@

[Coelacanth]

I dunno about 'female empowerment', but maybe just 'empowerment' in general suits the song pretty well, don't you think? Maybe older generations of Japanese people wouldn't find it 'empowering' per se, but this sort of language may be aimed at a youthful crowd.

I like the lyrics, they're really inspiring to me atm since I feel like there's something I should be doing, but I don't have enough courage to step forward and do it. I think that maybe the first set of lyrics feel a bit disconnected from the song, but I think Ayu was simply experimenting and trying to do something "kakkoii", maybe for shock factor.

But for a 'step forward and do it' type song, I prefer Bold & Delicious. The lyrics and arrangement are just more uplifting and less aggressive. I feel like this is more of a 'you're in the club, go dance with her/him' because of the general dance sound and lyrics. Startin' too, perhaps, is a better 'step forward and do it' song, while it was aggressive, it had power. Sparkle seems kind of aggressive, but I don't sense too much power in it. Rather, it seems like it's telling you step forward and do something that you shouldn't be doing just for the sake of being crazy like 'hey come take some of these drugs, they'll make you feel good' lmao I'm sorry I'm not making any sense right now, am I?

Sparkle does remind me of a trashy underground erotic club with people on drugs though. Kouki Tange PV plz. <3