Well, well, where do I belong in this world?
INSIDE IDENTITY...居場所はどこ。。。？OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh. AHEM! Time to write it up already, I guess? Anyway, how are you? I'm doing fine. It's still less than 3 months since the new year started. Well, it has been a wild ride for the world since Donald Trump became president of the United States. I'm not gonna give further comment on that. Moving on...oh, before that, have you read the blog post of me talking about anime merch and figures? Just asking. Hope that you read it.
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| HAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
ANYWAY, I have decided to write this blog post about Chuunibyou Season 1 OP. For some reason, I got hooked once again after knowing that some Hololive Vtubers had sung it before. Nice! Plus, this song has always been somehow of a soul song (like soulmate) to me. I really like it! I will tell you about it in this post. Let's go!
WARNING:-
Although this post is just me talking about a certain anime song, there might be SPOILERS from the anime. If you plan to watch the anime without any spoilers, you can continue reading or move on.
P.S. If you want to be spoiled, well, go ahead and read it, you HAVE been warned. Don't blame me for it if you insist on continuing to read this post.
Introduction
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| ZAQ's limited edition cover |
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| Regular edition for ZAQ's single |
The song INSIDE IDENTITY was initially released in ZAQ's very first single in October 2012 before Black Raison d'être's version was released in November of that same year. What is Black Raison d'être? Well, it consists of the voice actresses Maaya Uchida, Chinatsu Akasaki, Azumi Asakura and Uesaka Sumire. They voiced Takanashi Rikka, Nibutani Shinka, Tsuyuri Kumin and Dekomori Sanae respectively. All of them except Asakura Azumi whose last work is voicing Isolde in Reverse 1999 in 2024. Not that she announced retirement but her marriage and having kids is definitely reducing her activity in recent times.
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| This cover...isn't it really cool? |
Anyway, back to the topic. The ZAQ version is in the single INSIDE IDENTITY while the Black Raison d'être's version is in the single with the same name as the song. As for ZAQ's activity, she is still pretty active in making and composing music for the anime industry. Anyway, without further ado, let's go to the lyrics. Oh, by the way, the Hololive Vtuber cover is down below.
Lyrics
Original
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| The 'fighting' scene |
Romaji
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| This action is super, man!!! |
English Translation
Just surviving alone is not enough
I wanna leave my legacy behind so I'm here.
The happiness that someone gave me
Doesn't necessarily translate into my own happiness!
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| Rikka! |
Note: I have made some major changes to the translation that I got from animelyrics.com in this segment. Why? Because there are parts where I don't think it's accurate.
Mandarin Translation
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| Dark Flame Master!!! |
Malay Translation
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| Meditating time? |
Commentary
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| SUMMON!!!! |
This song...man, oh, man, this time, I summoned the power of Gemini, Grok and ChatGPT for this one. OF COURSE, I do have my own take on this song. Man, oh, man, I'm really spoiled for choice. I will be real. They are way too long to put them all in. So, I will go with my take and integrate them.
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| Hmmm... |
The song sums up the life journey of the main characters (except Kumin as she is an exceptional case). Some suppressed their Chuuni tendencies and moved on to be a "normal" high school student, just like Yuuta (the Dark Flame Master) and Nibutani Shinka (the mage, Mori Summers), as shown in this part of the song which talks about repressing their emotions and their Chuuni past:
普通に流れていく日常に 無理して馴染ませた沈んじまった個性たちを 噛んで飲んで吐いて笑う
Some embraced it, just like Takanashi Rikka (the sorceress possessed by the Tyrant's Eye) and Dekomori Sanae (the one who wields the Mighty Mjolnir Maul). They love the moments and do not want to lose it just like that. Well, that reminds me of another character, Shichimiya Satone. She, like Takanashi Rikka, has not let go of her Chuunibyou delusions even when it comes to her love for Yuuta. Both did at one point in this series (not season 1) have a bit of hesitation on whether their love for Yuuta can exist with their delusions. OK, let's get back to the topic here.
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| Shichimiya Satone! Remember her? |
Since these girls constantly go into these moments in their club activities and also in a huge part of their lives, they can be seen as weird and hard to keep up their Chuuni moments, just as shown in the lyrics below:
こんな僕をわかってほしい言いたいけど言えなくってなんで誰もわかってくんないのと思うのは贅沢なのかな？なのかなぁ？
Well, I’m not sure about you but this situation feels so relatable to me. Too often, I felt that nobody understood me and refused to understand. The constant mention of finding that unique identity and that yearning for a place of belonging resonates with me and of course, the main characters in this anime. The song also brings out the internal struggle through its lyrics and singing (both versions), yearning for recognition and vulnerability. Same for me. I resonate with it.
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| Pain comes with growth... |
As Grok mentions regarding this song:
The song doesn’t shy away from the pain and confusion of this journey—acknowledging that misunderstandings can feel shameful and honesty can sting—but it also carries a defiant tone, rejecting the idea that there’s a single "right" way to be.
That is just what resonates with me and the main characters in this anime. I really do not want to be anyone who just follows the flow but to have the freedom to pursue my own happiness. The struggle to not follow the flow is real. Sometimes, it’s quite hard to not follow the crowd's flow when everyone else is doing it. I understand that so well.
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| Dark Flame Master |
The song’s rock nature is also really important in giving me those feelings that I’ve mentioned because of the touch of rock music, youthful enthusiasm, and underlying melancholy that hints at insecurities and the pain of letting go of those childish delusions. These are all mentioned by Gemini when I asked it. Great job, Gemini. Oh, it also talks about the group, Black Raison d'être. It mentions that their powerful and emotive convey a sense of yearning and vulnerability. Yes, I know it’s basically the same thing as what I have said but again, it is important to bring out the lyrical meaning through your singing.
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| The 'fighting' scene |
Just a brief mention of the difference between the different versions (official), I prefer the Black Raison d'être version to the ZAQ version because the musical background feels much more full in the Black Raison d'être version. The electronic sound in the background kind of fills up the whole room as you listen to it. As for ZAQ’s version, it feels more spacy and stronger in the rock music department. Regardless of that difference, both parties bring out a powerful sense of yearning, vulnerability and melancholy from the lyrics.
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| Rikka's 1st chuuni moment |
Anyway, before we move on, I would like to talk about one part of the song regarding its translation. This is the part that I'm referring to:
中二病と呼ばれてもモラトリアムの渦の中
The word モラトリアム can be translated as “moratorium”, which is a legal term for delay of execution (usually regarding legal matters). It's kinda weird because it doesn't fit the song at all. Also, it's not like it's some sort of "Chuuni" thing shown in Inou Battle, like reading the Japanese word for 悪魔 (akuma) as デーモン (demon). Here is a scene from Inou Battle (a classic in Japanese voice actor super skill as she managed that rant in one cut):
So, how? Well, if you look up モラトリアム in the Japanese dictionary, you will find this meaning:
Postponement (of social responsibility); immaturity; not having developed emotional maturity; mental state of a young person who does not want to become an adult
There is even a term for it, which is モラトリアム人間, which means a person who has not developed emotional maturity or a young person who does not want to become an adult. Well, well, that fits with the Chuuni theme and the whole anime better. So, that is why I do not translate the Japanese word, モラトリアム as moratorium. I gotta thank that game forum site that provided that Mandarin translation for that revelation. Otherwise, I wouldn't have caught it. Anyway, time to move on, isn’t it?
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| Ah, yes, I had forgotten that Kumin had that moment. To be fair, it's just very brief. |
Conclusion
Oh wow, it's almost time to wrap up the blog post. Man, until now, I'm putting this song on repeat on my phone when I'm . I even put it as my ringtone for this year. Listening to the ZAQ version, listening to the Hololive version and then listening to Black Raison d'être's version...AHEM! Time to snap back to reality.
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| Ouch... |
Well, I have no guarantee that the translations are 100% accurate as I do put in my own understanding of this song during translation. Also, song lyrics are usually more ambiguous in meaning and depend on the person when translating. This song is much easier to translate than I thought. Probably because it's an old song. Oh? No ChatGPT in my post? Well, it has contributed to the Malay lyrics translation. I'm not including it in the commentary because it basically says the same thing and will become overly repetitive if I include it. Anyway, that's all I could say. I hope that you enjoy reading and browsing this blog. Goodbye, and God bless you!
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| That moment...Rikka is so cute |
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