Friday 4 June 2004

Pic of the day: I apologize for breaking my self-imposed rule of not using other people's pictures without modification. However, this moving .gif was posted on the animesuki boards, in the midori section. (I've renamed it, obviously, so as to fit it into my file system. Original was named 1705Midori.) There are many moving Midori .gifs out there, but this one captures the exact feeling of listening to Mou sukoshi, the song that ends each episode of Midori no Hibi.

Mou sukoshi!

Midori no Hibi (Days of Beauty Bird) is a romantic comedy anime enjoyed by young boys and girls alike. Its main character is a high school boy, Seiji, who was raised by his rather wild older sister and taught to fight back against those who bullied him. He learned this so well that he has a reputation as a violent troublemaker, and now finds himself unable to get a girlfriend. It does not help that he has the social skills of a grumpy porcupine, and has only vague ideas how one comes about such things as girlfriends, or even friends in general. He despairs, fatefully foretelling that his only girlfriend will be his right hand. (I believe the American euphemism is "Rosy Palm".)

At the same time, in a different place, the young girl Midori struggles with her secret love for Seiji. Because of his fierce reputation and her own shyness, she is unable to confess to him or even attract his attention in any way. The only thing she wants is to be close to her beloved Seiji-kun. And this is where the song, "Mou sukoshi", comes in.

***

By the time I noticed
I was thinking about you
I thought that was really embarassing
and I really hated it.
It's because I'm afraid to convey my feelings.
Even if I suppress it in my head,
I can't do anything about my heart.
To make you unable to notice, when we meet,
and to make it no different from normal,
is how I planned to talk to you, but couldn't.
I am suffering.
I ended up lying to you, but...
Just a bit more ...
just a bit more ...
if I can get closer to your heart;
just a bit more ...
just a bit more ...
now, that this moment not disappear,
please God, give me courage!

(Translation by Anime-Empire, with correction to last verse by Roots. I also touched up the English marginally.) This is my favorite translation, for the most part.)

In some quiet moment,
I started thinking about you;
which embararrassed me to no end,
and that disgusted me.
That's because I am afraid to disclose my feelings.
Even if I can control my mind,
I can't do anything about my heart.
To conceal our meeting,
I always try to act as if nothing has changed.
That's how I planned to talk to you, but
I felt so desperate.
It hurt me to end by telling you a a lie, but ...
Just a bit more ...
just a bit more ...
If I could get closer to you ...
Just a bit more ...
just a bit more ...
so that I won't lose this moment,
Please God, give me the courage.

(Translated by Froth-Bite. Very coherent but telling a slightly different story. "Conceal our meeting"??)

The song is performed with one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard, sounding just as young as you would expect from the content. It is even more obvious if you know a little bit of Otaku Japanese ...the singer refers to herself as "boku", meaning "I" but usually used by children and young boys. Girls rarely use this form after they begin to think of themselves as women, so the girl singing this song cannot be far past puberty. That's the way she sounds too. That's OK, because the song evokes sympathy rather than desire. It is just so cute!

***

As for the further story, some unnamed higher power decides to combine the wishes of the two characters. And so Seiji wakes up with a small Midori in place of his right hand. They both freak out at first, but soon learn to get along. As usual at the age, the boy is more hormone- driven and does not consider a doll-sized girl particularly romantic. Midori, on the other hand (so to speak) is happy to be close to her beloved Seiji-kun and help him with all things. Well, almost all things. There are certain boundaries of privacy even in such a relationship.

Despite the possibilities, the anime is not particularly indecent. There are some parts that can certainly fuel your imagination, but it is far from pornographic. The focus is on humor and to a lesser degree romance. The humor tends to center on Seiji and the romance on Midori, and so the anime lets both the male and female audience identify with their favorite character. The series is based on a manga (comic) which is said to be even better; but usually manga is a little more provocative than anime. I haven't seen this one, as I don't want to spoil the experience of the anime.

But nothing can spoil the priceless beauty of the ending song. As a matter of fact, I have ordered the CD from Japan. That won't be entirely cheap, with the freight and all, but at least it gives me the moral high horse to download the MP3 and play it day after day on my pocket PC. "Mou sukoshi ... mou sukoshi ..." (Just a little bit more, just a little bit more...)