kake wasureta kagi
heya no oku ni okareta kiroku
taisetsu ni shiteita hazu datta noni
nani mo ima wa omoi dasenai
hitori de ni hiraita doa
utsushi dashita itsu ka no bideo
are hateta miraizou to
kako wa totemo chokushi dekinai
Left behind inside a room accidentally left unlocked were recordings I was supposed to treat them carefully but I can’t remember anything anymore A door opened on its own A video from another time started to display By no means could I look directly at the image of a ruined future and past
背景だけ描かれたノイズのような
かすれている操作できない
フィルムに時を重ねてる
haikei dake egakareta noizu no you na
kasureteiru sousa dekinai
firumu ni toki o kasaneteru
The film with only the background pictured, blurry like noise, inoperable, is overlapped with time
扉を開いたまま叫んだ
いつだって側にいた
だって一人自由いま
しまわない隠された世界
tobira o hiraita mama sakenda
itsu datte soba ni ita
datte hitori jiyuu ima
shimawanai kakusareta sekai
I screamed with the door left open It’s always been right by me After all, I’m free on my own now A hidden world I won’t put away
背景だけ描かれたフィルムを見る
かすれても傷ついても刻んだ時とここにいる
haikei dake egakareta firumu o miru
kasuretemo kizutsuitemo kizanda toki to koko ni iru
I look at the film with only the background pictured Even if it’s blurry, even if it hurts me, I’m here with the time engraved in it
Commissioned translation. These may be the most straightforward Asriel lyrics I’ve translated. There really isn’t any room for interpretation here. That’s not a bad thing though.
☆ Title: ファム・ファタール
★ Album: 汝を照らす朧のアリア
☆ Album Artist: Asriel
★ Vocals and lyrics: KOKOMI
☆ Arrangement and composition: 黒瀬圭亮 (Kurose Keisuke)
三つ先角曲がって
路地裏を真っ直ぐに
この道は 私を
一番に秀て魅せるんだ
mittsu saki kado magatte
rojiura o massugu ni
kono michi wa watashi o
ichiban ni hiite miseru n da
Take a turn three blocks down and go straight down the back alley This is the street that attracts me the most
hitomi o mireba sugu ni wakaru mono
sono mokuteki mo sono taika mo
hibi kuri kaesu kotori tachi no shiire mo
sono rensa ni wa hitsuyou mitai
All it takes to understand right away is a look in the eyes Your goal and how much you’ll pay Procuring little birds repeatedly everyday seems necessary for the chain
作りたて拙いリズムに
理想ばかり詩に乗せたの
tsukuritate tsutanai rizumu ni
risou bakari uta ni noseta no
Nothing but ideals put into a song with a shoddy rhythm made moments ago
rojiura Dancing room
dare mo shiranai no watashi no namae o hitsuyou nai?
kiite watashi wa kou iu mono desu
chotto sureta girigiri tenshi ja dame?
The dancing room in the back alley Nobody knows my name – It’s not necessary, is it? Listen up, this is the kind of person I am Slightly scuffed, but still barely an angel – is that wrong?
kyou mo sorosoro asa ga yatte kuru no ne
kono michi wa mata nemuri dasu
asu wa doko kara nan darou
sonna monoomoi ni fukeru watashi ga iru dame?
Looks like the morning is about to come upon us again today This street starts to fall sleep again What time and place could it start tomorrow? Here I am engrossed in such thoughts – is that wrong?
三つ先角曲がって
路地裏を真っ直ぐに
夜になり燈が灯る
楽しくね この手を取りましょう
mittsu saki kado magatte
rojiura o massugu ni
yoru ni nari hi ga tomoru
tanoshiku ne kono te o torimashou
Take a turn three blocks down and go straight down the back alley It becomes night and the lights turn on How about you take my hand, playfully
wazato midashita narenai doresu wa
sono me no saki no sono nerai o
atsumete katai riido o musubi tsuke
sono rensa ni wa sakaraenai
My unfamiliar dress, purposefully disheveled, gathers your aim, the end of your line of sight and ties a tight leash to you You can’t go against the chain
開き掛けたドアの向こうには
理想ばかりあると思ってた
aki kaketa doa no mukou ni wa
risou bakari aru to omotteta
I thought there would only be ideals on the other side of the open door
路地裏 Dancing hall
誰も知らないの私の名前を 必要ない？
聞いて 私はこういう者です
ちょっとズルいギリギリ天使じゃダメ？
rojiura Dancing hall
dare mo shiranai no watashi no o hitsuyou nai?
kiite watashi wa kou iu mono desu
chotto zurui girigiri tenshi ja dame?
The dancing hall in the back alley Nobody knows my name – It’s not necessary, is it? Listen up, this is the kind of person I am Slightly cunning, but still barely an angel – is that wrong?
rojiura Dancing room
dare mo shiranai no watashi no namae o hitsuyou nai!
kitto anata wa watashi no oujisama
chotto sureta ohimesama kidori dame?
The dancing hall in the back alley Nobody knows my name – It’s not necessary! I’m certain you’re my prince Is it wrong to pretend to be a slightly scuffed princess?
kyou mo sorosoro asa ga yatte kuru no ne
kono michi wa mata nemuri dasu
asu wa doko kara nan darou
sonna monoomoi ni fukeru watashi ga iru dame?
Looks like the morning is about to come upon us again today This street starts to fall sleep again What time and place could it start tomorrow? Here I am engrossed in such thoughts – is that wrong?
Many atheists proclaim with confidence that nothing happens after death, or rather that there simply is nothing after death. That all that awaits is an eternal nothingness. I’d argue all people, religious or not, should be scientific when it concerns the world we inhabit, and those who argue boldly that there is no god should be scientific most of all. If we are to be strictly scientific, then evidence points towards reincarnation being the most likely outcome.
A scientific view is one of materialism. In other words, the physical world is not directly influenced by anything outside of it (unless you consider brane cosmology, but even then, if hyperspace is confirmed to be real, our definition of physical reality would simply extend to include it). This means taking the stance of souls not existing, and god not having direct influence in the world. In such a material world, we have to answer the question of “What is consciousness?” the hard way. Some may say that it is a result of the brain, or even just a small portion of the brain, but the true answer is that it is neither. There is nothing inherently special about the neurons that make up your brain in the same way that there is nothing special about the cells making up your hand. Every cell in your hand has been replaced at one point, in a manner akin to Theseus’ ship, and yet it is still your hand. Similarly, you could replace all the neurons in your brain, but as long as they behaved in the same way and were set up in the same arrangement, you would still be you. In other words, it is the specific configuration of neurons rather the neurons themselves that make you. One way to think of it is like a circuit. Regardless of whether you use one wire or another, a circuit made to light a lamp is still a circuit that lights a lamp, and if you remove any of the necessary components (such as the lamp), it by necessity becomes something else entirely. But that is only part one of the puzzle.
The second part, and the most important, is that there is tangible evidence for coming into life from death. We have all experienced it. Before we were born, we were dead. In math, and logic in general, all that you need to disprove a statement is one single counterpoint. The shortest academic paper ever written is a famous example of this.
If one is to say that death is the end, then they are objectively wrong as death is where we have all come from, and if it is possible to change from a dead state into a live state once, then it can happen again unless a new condition makes that impossible. If we were approaching the end of the lifespan of the universe, then perhaps a more convincing argument for death being the end could be made, as no new life would be able to come into being, but even then, until we know that this universe is all there is (brane cosmology says hi again) then it is still not a definite answer.
Just as the same computer can be built again, the patterns in our brains that make up the phenomenon known as our consciousness will inevitably form again and again given enough time, bringing us back into material reality. That is, unless an eternal heaven, hell or wherever else are real and we do have souls. Buddhist cosmology accounts for non-eternal heaven and hell realms which are fully possible in our reality, as long as you think a utopian society can exist (and we already have examples of hell on earth). If there is an argument to be made against suicide for the atheist, it is that you may find yourself in a new vessel where excruciating pain and suffering is more common than it is here and now.
Some may argue that you are not yourself if you do not retain any memories or life experiences, and if that is your stance, then I will concede that my line of thinking will not convince you, but I will invite you to research the Buddhist idea of no-self. If there is a flaw in this argument, it is in the thought-experiment of two of you existing at the same time. Take, for example, a clone. You simply can’t be conscious in two places at once, can you? With all that said and done, I’ll take the easy way out and choose to believe in the existence of a soul.
Commissioned translation. Unable to stand the silver sky above, giving up everything to pursue someone else’s blue sky. Can you ever reach it, or is it just a delusion caused by their magic flute?
☆ Title: 魔笛の慟哭
★ Album: 汝を照らす朧のアリア
☆ Album Artist: Asriel
★ Vocals and lyrics: KOKOMI
☆ Arrangement and composition: 黒瀬圭亮 (Kurose Keisuke)
この身体を寄せて 感じたものは何？
前をゆく背中に 白い翼を見つけた
kono karada o yosete kanjita mono wa nani?
mae o yuku senaka ni shiroi tsubasa o mitsuketa
What did I feel, when I brought my body closer? You moved forward, and on your back I found white wings
fukashigi ni yuganda keshiki wa kitto
mebiusu no wa deai no kousa
sore ijou fumi komeba modoranu okite demo
ima mukau yo
The strangely twisting scenery is surely a Möbius loop – an crossing of encounters Even if the rule is that you can’t go back if you step beyond, I’m on my way now
Aria 仰ぐ空は青く
君の手をぎゅっと握った
Aria aogu sora wa aoku
kimi no te o gyutto nigitta
Aria – The sky above you is blue I held your hand tightly
giniro no sora dare ka no tame ni
ikiru nara tsuyoku mo nareru kana
ooi kakushita nanika o hanatsu
doukoku no kyoukaisen fumi koeta rimitto no sono saki ni
Under a silver sky, I wonder if it’s even possible to become strong living for someone else What I’ve been concealing, I let out The borderline of weeping – Beyond the limit I crossed over
fushigi da ne futari no sekai fiction?
mebiusu no wa kasanari atta
kore ijou fukai basho wa kiken to shitteru yo
soshite boku wa —
Isn’t it strange? Are our two worlds fiction? Möbius loops, overlapped upon each other I’m fully aware that anywhere deeper than this is dangerous And so, I —
mateki no kanade dare ka no tame ni
ikite yuku no mo machigai janai
sono sekai o shinjiru no nara
doukoku no kyoukaisen sono saki ni aru no wa dare no rakuen?
Under the magic flute’s music, it’s not a mistake to live on for someone elses sake as long as you believe in their world On the border of weeping – whose paradise lies beyond?
giniro no sora dare ka no tame ni
ikiru nara tsuyoku mo nareru hazu
ooi kakusu mono wa nani mo nai
doukoku no kyoukaisen fumi koeta rimitto no sono saki ni
Under a silver sky, it should be possible to become strong if you live for someone else I have nothing to conceal The borderline of lament – Beyond the limit I crossed over
