Sailor Moon op: Moonlight Densetsu

Sailor Moon has always been my all-time favorite anime. It was the show that proved to me anime was more than mindless violence and fan-service, I saw the characters grow and become complete, and it made me realize that Amercian animation and art is not always the best in the world.

The SM opening song is one that is dear to me, for the simple reason that it was the first original Japanese anime song I ever heard. To do my own translation and discover what the song is really saying was a wonderful experience, and even I learned a new grammatical rule or two. ^^

Unlike my previous song translations, I have seen at least five different fansub translations of the tv-sized version of this song. While writing my own English translation, I caught myself making my version different for the sake of being different, and at the expense of what I truly believed the lyrics were saying. I forced myself to stop being silly, and wrote what I felt was right. Some words and phrases will likely be similar to what has been done with this song before. I can, however, honestly say that I did not actually reference any of these other translations. I do not have them memorized, only certain words and phrases were rememebered as I worked through the song myself. Oh, and far as I can remember, I have never seen a translation of the full-length version of the song. ^^

As with the Bronze ed, I give my interpretation of the song and my opinion at the end of the actual lyrics and liner notes. I've also included the English-dubbed version, just for some contrast. And I must say, it DOES.

This translation is also different from my previous three in that I did not need any help from any of my translation sempai or classmates. I did ask Andoru-kun one question, but I ended up finding the answer myself anyway. Heh. ^^

Remember, I am not a professional, or anywhere close to bilingual in Japanese.  My litany remains the same: the only correct lyrics are the ones in original Japanese.  ^^  If you would like to see the scan of the lyrics from my CD book, please click here.

The dashes: -- in the romaji were added to preserve the spaces visible in the lines of kana and kanji.

Muunraito Densetsu, sung by DALI and Moon Rippers. Translation by Sailor Two Moons

Japanese kanji and kana, retyped from cd book	lyrics in romaji	English translation
	Muunraito Densetsu	Moonlight Legend
	Gomen ne--- suano o janakute	"I am sorry I am not more gentle"
	Yume no naka nara ieru	I can say if I'm within my dreams
	Shikou kairo wa shooto sunzen	And just before my thought ciruits overload
	Ima sugu-- aitai yo	At that moment, I yearn to see you.
	Nakitaku naru you na-- moonlight	The urge to cry is like...moonlight
	Denwa mo dekinai-- midnight	And inability to phone...midnight
	Datte junjou-- dou shi you	I am so simple, what can I do?
	Haato wa mangekyou	My heart is a kaleidescope.
	Tsuki no hikari ni-- michibikare	Guided by the moonlight,
	Nando mo-- meguriau	We happen to meet again and again.
	Seiza no matataki kazoe-- uranau koi no yukue	The shimmering of constellations foretells the whereabouts of our destined love
	Onaji kuni ni umareta no-- mirakuru romansu	Were we not born on the same planet? A miraculous romance
	Mo ichido-- futari de-- weekend	Just one more weekend as a couple,
	Kami-sama-- kanete-- happy-end	God, please, give us a happy ending
	Genzai-- kako-- mirai mo	Our present, our past, and our future
	Anata ni kubittake	Are all in your care.
	Deatta toki no-- natsukashii	I fondly remember the day we chanced to meet
	Manazshi-- wasurenai	I can never forget your expression.
	Iku senman no hoshi kara-- anata o mitsukerareru	From the countless stars, I find you.
	Guuzen mo chansu ni kaeru-- iki kata ga suki yo	If I had the chance to change this constant uncertainty...I would love such a life!
	Fushigi na kiseki kurosu shite	A wonderous crossing of miracles...
	Nando mo-- meguriau	We happen to meet again and again.
	Seiza no matataki kazoe-- uranau koi no yukue	The shimmering of constellations foretells the whereabouts of our destined love
	Onaji kuni ni umareta no-- mirakuru romansu	Were we not born on the same planet? A miraculous romance
	Shinjite iru no-- mirakuru romansu	Do you believe in it? Our miraculous romance.

Notes:

This song is full of imagery which likely sounds poetic in Japanese, but unfortunately comes across as silly in English.  At least, silly until you stop and think about it.   ^^  One of the more obvious examples, and the one that always seems to be made fun of:

/ Haato wa mangekyou / My heart is a kaleidescope.

The meaning here becomes clear when you read over the lines before it:

"I am sorry I am not more gentle"
I can say if I'm within my dreams
And just before my thought ciruits overload
At that moment, I yearn to see you
The urge to cry is like...moonlight
And inability to phone...midnight
I am so simple, what can I do?
My heart is a kaleidescope.

"My heart is a kaleidescope" means she is confused, dazed, and dizzy. She says as much in the previous lines, particularly "I am so simple, what can I do?" If you stop and consider that at the beginning of the show, Usagi is only 14, and an immature 14 at that, the song's viewpoint fits perfectly. She doesn't have the courage to admit she is immature, she's so dazed and worried she feels like crying, and she cannot call her beloved on the phone to talk about it. Sounds like a teenager to me, right down to the slightly overdone imagery. ^^

/ Seiza no matataki kazoe-- uranau koi no yukue / The shimmering of constellations foretells the whereabouts of our destined love.

This important line truly establishes the importance of the stars to the singer's relationship with her lover, and it was interesting to translate.  The line literally translates to "The amount the constellations shimmer, the location of fortune-told love".  A bit complicated, ne?  And no verb, either! 

"Kazoe" really does mean "count, amount", but I could not decide on a more poetic way to imply it was the exact amount of winking that the line is addressing, so I decided to gloss over that one.  The line still stays it's the shimmering that foretells it, just not that it's the exact number.  ^^

Yes, the 2nd half of this line does have a verb, but it is playing the role of an adjective.  "Uranau koi" is "fortune-told love", and "yukue" means "location/wheareabouts".  The line needs an active verb in English to tie the two concepts together, so I chose "fortells", which reinforces the fate-in-the-stars theme of this song.  I admit "destined" for "uranau" is a bit of a fudge on my part.  It certainly sounds better than "fortune-told" or "forecasted" or somesuch, while still implying their love is being predicted by the shimmering of the constellations.

/ Onaji kuni ni umareta no-- mirakuru romansu / Were we not born on the same planet? A miraculous romance.

This line contains yet another alernate reading (or "kanji-switch", as I call it).  The 2nd and third kanji are actually read "chikyuu", which any anime fan who knows subtitled anime will recognize upon hearing them as "earth".   In the original lyrics, the two kanji have furigana over them, giving the reading actually sung in the song, "kuni".  In all the previous kanji-switches I've encountered, the meanings between the written kanji and the sung reading matched.   Not so, this time!  Chikyuu means "earth, globe, planet", and kuni means "country, home place."  I chose the meaning of chikyuu in this instance, since "planet" fits in better with the repeated stars and constellations referneces.  ^^

The "no" at the end of the first half of that line can be interpreted two ways.  The first is making the line into a question, and the second is a woman's speech pattern that has no true grammatical reading.  When I listened to the song and looked at this line, I decided to go with the former.  After all, their being born on the same planet would make for a miraculous romance, since the stars are so important to their love.

/ Anata ni kubittake / Are all in your care.

This line contains a Japanese expression.  Kubittake is made of the kanji for "neck".  When you add "ttake" to the end in kana, you get the meaning "up to the neck; complete devotion".  It actually has a similar expression in English.  If you're up to your neck up in something, then you are truly involved, right?  If you are truly involved, then you can certainly also be truly devoted.  ^^  My translation here is the biggest stretch of the song, which you likely noticed.   In the two previous lines:

God, please, give us a happy ending
Our present, our past, and our future

The singer is imploring God to watch over them, for the reason in the third line.   It's literal translation, "complete devotion to you" makes sense, but isn't very poetic.  In my mind, "are all in your care" shows the same absolute trust and hope the singer has, only says it with a bit more style.  ^^

/ Guuzen mo chansu ni kaeru-- iki kata ga suki yo / If I had the chance to change this constant uncertainty...I would love such a life!

For me, this line truly made the song's meaning clear.  Guuzen means "by chance, happen to", and it took a bit of puzzling on my part to realize it was being used as a noun instead of an adjective.  The constant chance meetings between the couple, arranged only by the whims of the stars, weigh heavily upon the singer's mind, and that is what she wishes she could change. If that random element were made to certainty, if she could KNOW when she would be meeting him again, how much she would love such a life!

This line also contains the often-used English word "chance", which comes out "chansu" with a Japanese accent.  The meaning is a bit changed from the original English.  In Japanese usage, "chansu" is not just a chance, but is the concept of an opportunity.  For example, if you are waiting in your car to turn onto a busy street, and suddenly an opening appears, you would shout "Chansu!" and immediately go for it.

What the song is about...or rather, what *I* think it's about.  ^^

After translating this song, I do not believe that a more perfect opening song for Sailor Moon could ever be written. Through the entire song, the singer continuously proclaims how their love is out of their own control, and exists only at the whim of the stars. She even asks God to help them stay together, in her fear of never meeting again! And line 20..."If I had the chance to change this constant uncertainty...I would love such a life!" WOW.

One of the underlying themes of Sailor Moon is the story of the tragic, destined love between Usagi and Mamoru, and their past lives of Princess Serentity and Endymion. The moment things are finally good between them, they are separated again. First in the past as their former selves, they meet, fall in love, and then are separated by war and death. When they are reborn, they quibble and annoy each other, then finally realize their identities and true emotions--only to have Queens Beryl and Metallia steal away Mamoru to create the evil Endymion. Usagi heals him, they both die, and are reborn without their memories. Usagi remembers, tries to remind him, and then Ail enters the picture and almost distracts her. Mamoru finally remembers himself, they have a few moments of happiness, and then Chibi Usa lands on Usagi's head.  Not long after, Wiseman's visions of Usagi dying scare Mamoru away. That is finally resolved, Chibi Usa goes back to the future, and we actually have a bit of peace for two seasons. Then BAM! Stars happens. X_x It's no wonder the singer is so frightened and wary of letting the stars predict when and how they will meet!!!! Ghaaaa!

You might be wondering about the predestined love theme throughout the song and even the anime. Girls in Japan just love fortune-telling. Think of how often fortunes and horoscopes come up in anime, particularly with girls to help in matters of love. Right off the top of my head, I can think of scenes in Kodomo no Omocha, Yawara, Escaflowne, Marmalade Boy, and of course references in Sailor Moon. Be they meant as jokes, toys, or serious predictions, they all are examples of the Japanese schoolgirl's love of fortunes and superstitions. And of course, the very idea of love being controlled by the stars is fatalistic, tragic, and that much more romantic.

Sugoi....

Now, for a bit of contrast, I have included the opening of the English-dubbed version of SM. This is the opening song created by DIC for their dub of Sailor Moon, and was the anime's official English opening. In my opinion, it is an excellent example of how much anime is diluted and dumbed down for broadcasting in North America.  Brace yourself!

"Sailor Moon Theme", lyrics by Andy Heyward
Fighting evil moonlight
Winning love by daylight
Never running from a real fight
She is the one named Sailor Moon

She will....never turn her back on a friend
She is...always there to defend
She is...the one on whom we can depend
She is the one named Sailor....

....Sailor Venus
....Sailor Mercury
....Sailor Mars
....Sailor Jupiter

With secret powers
All so new to her
She is the one named Sailor Moon

Fighting evil by moonlight
Winning love by daylight
With her Sailor Scouts to help fight
She is the one named Sailor Moon
She is the one named Sailor Moon
She is the one...Sailor Moon

Words escape me. Do the broadcast film companies here really consider kids to be so shallow????   Yes, I enjoyed the dub of Sailor Moon, but that was before I knew any better.  The first time I watched the entire original season in its unedited, subtitled form, I was blown away with the sheer superiority in character development and story.  I truly do wish I could go back, erase the dub from my mind, and only know pure, Japanese SM.  DICed, indeed....

Regards,

s2m, devoted purist of SM and all anime and manga. Death to dubs!

SM tv op lyrics translation finally finished on 1-26-03, last tweaked 2-8-03.  It only took me a week, but the week was spread out over a year. Heh! ^^