FACES
| Voice | Line | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Verse | ||
| Keito | We all have many different faces, right? Everyone has their own different kinds. | |
| There’s just no one "me" that can match up to everyone's ideals. | ||
| I lose my way every now and again, but that’s how I | ||
| sketch the lines of what makes me me. | ||
| Verse | ||
| Keito | Every time I turn a page, an unknown world | |
| Calls to me like a siren. | ||
| No matter what kind of scene it is, I should just accept the call | ||
| And let myself be swept away. | ||
| Chorus | ||
| Keito | The fantasy I obsessed over has as many scenes as it does readers. | |
| Even though we read the same ending, someone laughed, “It’s a comedy!” | ||
| It made me feel like Pedestrian A and I were in on the joke.1 | ||
| My heartstrings are always free. | ||
| Verse | ||
| Keito | We all have many different solutions, right? Everyone has their own different kinds. | |
| Certainly, as I play the part that each scene requires | ||
| Doing things like throwing myself into the villain role, authentic to the me in the moment | ||
| I’m choosing the here and now. | ||
| Verse | ||
| Keito | The plotlines in a multi-perspective story intersect, and the coherence of the story looks like it’s about to fall apart. | |
| In reality, with the perspectives of all involved and the emotions backing arguments, | ||
| This is just as common as the mere whim to metamorphosize from the inside out.2 | ||
| One singular page of mine. | ||
| Chorus | ||
| Keito | The night sky of a castaway story, gazed upon by a legendary hero and his tears, | |
| It was as if I’d seen it all myself, as if it’d actually happened to me | ||
| Despite my sensibilities being dyed by all these different stories, | ||
| I stay free to feel freedom as much as I like | ||
| without wavering. | ||
| Verse | ||
| Keito | We all have many different faces, right? Everyone has their own different kinds. | |
| There’s just not one "me" that can match up to everyone's ideals. | ||
| I lose my way every now and again, but that’s how I | ||
| Sketch line after line after line, drawing strong, elegant FACES. | ||
| Verse | ||
| Keito | We all have many different solutions, right? Everyone has their own different kinds. | |
| Certainly, as I play the part that each scene requires | ||
| Letting myself be drawn in, authentic to the me in the moment, | ||
| I’m choosing the here and now. | ||
| Verse | ||
| Keito | There are STORIES even I don’t know yet, and one day, those STORIES will connect with you. | |
| Stories that color the world with multiple perspectives. | ||
| There are FACES even I don’t know yet, and one day, there are FACES I want to show you. | ||
| So I’ll keep on sketching those lines. |
Interpretation Notes
Given the huge theme between Keito's fondness for reading books, weaving tales and drawing as the mangaka Mizuhanome-sensei, as well as his history of playing roles to suit a story (like the War), I translated this song with a strong first-person perspective for Keito in mind.
One thing I've always been enamored by Keito about is his hunger (that is basically the antithesis of "liberation from earthly desires"), that bubbles up past his serious, solemn veneer. You can see this most obviously in The Legend of KAGETSU, although this aspect has always existed within him, like when he first hits nirvana in Crossroad, or is forced to fight for what he loves (rather than play the role of "Yumenosaki's No. 2" for Eichi's sake) in Quarrel Fes.
It reminds me of Kuro in Blade and Fist, worn down from trying to play a role that doesn't suit him, where he learns to embrace who he is without feeling shame: as Keito has let these desire bubble up and take precedent more and more, he becomes more insatiable and obvious about them, no longer intent on suppressing those desires. This solo feels like the culmination of his desire to change and rock the boat.
Translation Notes
- ↑ "Pedestrian A" here is like a random extra in a story (like someone who'd be called "Construction Worker #1" in a script.)
- ↑ 変身願望 (へんしんがんぼう; henshin ganbou) is the strong desire to change or transform; this can be changing your appearance or changing something internal like self-development. Given Keito's in-story motivation to change AKATSUKI in The Legend of KAGETSU stemmed from his same personal desires to break from a mold, and the theme of the unit's change in BUTTERFLY was "metamorphasis", that's the word I went with here.