So I’ve stated a few times before that I’m a big fan of supercell. In the anime world, the band is most famous for Black Rock Shooter, a (rather disappointing) OVA that was spawned from its song of the same title, as well as The Story You Didn’t Know (Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari), the ending theme to Bakemonogatari. Of course, originally being a Vocaloid band, supercell has ties to plenty in otakudom, including having the opening song to the PSP game Project Diva 2nd (Come Over Here Baby (Kocchi Muite Baby)) and the ending song to Type-Moon’s delayed (first non-eroge) visual novel, Witch on the Holy Night (This Star Sparkling Night).

Well, wouldn’t you know it, supercell has now added a manga to the list, with the online release of Hero (ヒーロー), the theme song to a manga called AOHARU.

Here’s the short 45 second preview video that’s on AOHARU‘s official site:


And, released on Sony’s official supercell page on 11/30, is the full 5 minute version. I actually didn’t take a liking to the song at first, but the song started growing on me the more I listened to it. And now that I’ve read the lyrics, I think this is a solid song, definitely up there with supercell’s other hits. And speaking of the lyrics…

Below is a translation of the lyrics along with the Romanji. Note that the bulk of the translation was lifted from Timeless Grey; I merely made some corrections when needed and prettied things up, both visually and aurally.

Hero by supercell. Written by ryo. Sung by nagi

Tomodachi to shabeteiru sono ko no egao wa amari ni karen de
Sono sugata wa omoi egaita manga no heroine no you da

As she talked to her friend, that smile of hers looked so pitiful,
Her form was like the heroine of a manga I drew in my head

Hitome mite koi ni ochita
Honki no honki de suki ni natta
Demo ne boku no mitekure ja
kitto kirawareteshimau

It was love at first sight
I truly, truly came to like her
But with the way I look,
She would definitely hate me.

Hora mata da kusukusu warau koe
Iin da sonna no narekko dakara
Wasurete shimae dakedo mune wa hari sake sou da

See, I can already hear the giggles of “heehee”
But it’s okay, since I’m used to it
I’ll forget about it, but my chest still feels like it’s about to burst

Shounen wa soshite deau
Sore wa kitto guuzen nanka janakute negatta
Kimi ni deae masu you ni
Nanman kai datte negaou
Itsuka kanarazu!
Keredo hito wa sonna kiseki
Shinjirareru wake nai to itta

That’s how the boy met [her]
I wished that was definitely not just some coincidence
So that I would meet you,
I shall wish for it tens of thousands of times
Someday, definitely!
But for people, that kind of miracle
Is something they say they can’t believe in

Shoujotachi wa sasayaita
“Ano ko sakki kara kocchi miteru
Nanna no are kimiwarui wa
Chikazukanai de nekurasan”

The girls whisper,
“That boy has been looking here since just now
What’s up with that, it’s gross
Don’t come any closer you downer”

Sumimasen sonna tsumori ja……
Utsumuku boku ni kanojo no koe
“Watashi kono hito shitteru!”
Amari wa azen boku mo bouzen

Sorry, I didn’t mean to…
As I hung my head down, her voice called out,
“I know this person!”
Everyone was amazed, and I was dumbfounded as well

“Michattan da na ano tsukue no e wo ne
Zenbu kimi ga kaitetari suru no?”
Aa! Mata warawareru
Dakedo kimi wa
“Aa iu no suki nan desu”

“I saw the drawings on that desk
You drew them all, right?”
Ah! I’m going to be laughed at again
But then you went,
“I like those things too”

Shounen wa soshite deau
Tatoe nan oku nan man kounen hanarete iyou ga sa
Zettai hikare au kara
Soko ni donna
Shougai ga atte mo

That’s how the boy met [her]
Even if you were hundreds of millions of light years away,
His mind would be drawn to you,
No matter what obstacles might lie in between,
He would overcome them

Norikoeteiku sore wo unmei to yobu nara
Kare wa masa ni hero da!

If that is to be called fate,
Then he’s sure to be a hero

Dakedo sono hi boku wa mitanda
Hitori me wo harashi naku kimi wo
Boku wa nante muryoku nan darou
Ii ya kanojo wa nante itta?
Utagau na jibun no sonzai wo
Shoujo wa sukui wo matteiru

But that day I saw
You alone, crying so hard your eyes swelled
Why must I be so powerless
No wait, what did she say?
Don’t doubt yourself [because]
That girl is waiting to be saved

“Tsuyogari de honto wa nakimushi de
Etto korette maru de watashi mitai”
Yatto waratta! yorokobu boku no mae de
Porori porori to naki dasu kanojo
Doushitara ii!?
Kimi wa
Ittanda “Arigatou”tte

“You act all tough, but you’re actually a crybaby
Umm, that’s exactly like me”
She finally smiled! In front of me who was delighted
Her tears kept falling, plop plop
What should I do!?
You said,
“Thank you”

Shounen wa kimi to deai
Ikiru imi wo shirunda
Uso janai honto sa
Soshite kimi wo mamoru naitou ni naru
Itsuka kitto ne
Kare no hidari te ni wa kanojo no nigi te
Gyutto nigitte hanashi wa shinai kara

Because this boy met you,
He learned what it means to live
It’s not a lie; it’s the truth
And so, he’ll become a knight who will protect you
Someday,
Onto his left hand, her right
Will hold tightly and never let go

Soshite boku wa kimi ni de au

And so I met you

Notes

• The original lyric sheet from Sony’s site had large blocks with lots of lines. I think having the translation come in every 3-4 lines is ideal, but since many of these blocks contained single threads that really shouldn’t be broken up, I kept most of them intact.
• I added words in brackets when the word was clearly implied but harder to get from the context when translated to English. They are technically not parts of the actual lyrics.

I think it’s pretty clear that ryo is sticking with the theme of first or budding love, with this one. He’s explored that theme a lot, from his Vocaloid hits Melt, This One Second of Slow Motion, and When the First Love Ends, to all of his professional hits with Nagi: The Story You Didn’t Know, Sayonara Memories, Utakata Hanabi, and Utakata Hanabi‘s 2nd track, This Star Sparkling Night.

Given that all of his songs have been sung by female voices, the stories were all told from the girl’s perspective, making this the first one that is explicitly told from the boy’s. Somehow, nagi’s distinctly feminine and high pitched voice doesn’t detract from that. I’m also glad to see that, like This Star Sparkling Night, this is a song filled with hope for a new beginning, not one of regret and looking back, like most of supercell’s recent songs have been (When the First Love Ends, The Story You Didn’t Know, Sayonara Memories, and Utakata Hanabi all follow that theme).

Credits

• Words of My Life transcribed the Romanji.
• Again, Kagekyuubi of Timeless Grey deserves the credit for this English translation. I did only minimal translating for this.
• Cenco’s How to Live deserves credit for the Korean translation that I used most to help me in the translating I did do.
• I got information about the song and the manga from Tokyo Hive.