AOI TORI

COVER SONG

Music, lyrics, images used in this clip, and all other credits are copyright properties of their respective owners. I do not own any part of them except for my own vocals of course :)

SONG INFORMATIONS

Original Artist: Fumika
Lyrics: Hidenori Tanaka & Shogo Ounishi
Music: Shogo Ounishi
Arrangement: Kenji Tamai & Shunsuke Tsuri
Available on: Bleach 27th ED Aoi Tori (Single)
Taken From: Bleach TV Series (27th Ending Theme)
Copyright Property: Aniplex / Sony Music Entertainment
Cover Recording Date: 2011-12-08 18:21
MORE INFO ABOUT THIS SONG

LYRICS

Aoi tori otogibanashi no you ni shiawase wo hakonde kureru shinjiteta
Aoi sora jiyuu ni tobu sugata ni kono omoi kasanete wa negatteta
Dakedo itsuka wa kiete shimau
Maboroshi no you ni aimai na sugata

A blue bird just like in fairy tales. I believed that it would bring me happiness

Seeing it flying in the blue sky, I prayed that my feelings would overlap

But someday it'll end up disappearing

Like a legend, turning into a hazy form

Wasureta koto nante nai kedo suberi ochiru you ni
Surinukete awa no you ni kieru
Sore demo omoi wa zutto zutto mune no fukaku fukaku de
Nemuru you ni tada iki wo hisome matteru
Tokihanate kago wa mou iranai

I've never done something like forget, but as if I tripped and fell,

I go through and disappear like bubbles

But even so, these feelings are always, always within my heart, deep deep within

As if I'm sleeping, I conceal my breath and wait

Set me free, I don't need a cage anymore

Doko made mo tsuzuku kagami no naka ni shiawase na ano hi no watashi utsushiteta
Tooi sora katachi no nai sekai ni hontou no nukumori wo sagashiteta
Tama ni kokoro wa yurete shimau
Kyuukutsu na sora wo miageru hitomi

Within the mirror that goes on forever, the happy me from that day reflected

In the faraway sky of the world with no form, I searched for true warmth

From time to time, my heart ends up swaying

When I gaze at this narrow sky with my eyes

Afuredasu negai to onaji dake kizutsuki mo suru kedo
Furimukeba yume no you ni aoku
Kotoba ni naranakute mo kitto kono te nobasu yo tooku e
MONOKURO no niji ga iro wo tsukeru sono toki
Kiseki wa mou hajimatteiru

It hurts just as much as an overflowing wish, but

If I look back, it's as blue as my dream

Even if I can't put it in words, I'm sure I'll reach out my hand, no matter how far

When a monochrome rainbow gets it's colors,

A miracle will begin

Namida to issho ni koboreta kimochi ano hi to onaji kokoro ga RINKU shita
Kako wo nugisute asu wo kakagete PEEJI wo mekureba ugokidasu kara
Yobikakeru aoi tori hontou wa...watashi no naka?

That feeling that dripped together with teardrops linked with the same heart as on that day

I throw off the past and post up tomorrow, because if I flip through the pages, I will start to move

Is the blue bird that calls me... Actually inside of me?

"Wasureta koto nante nai kara..."
Furishiboru koe ga ikutsu mono yume ni hikari wo tomosu
Kanaetai omoi wa zutto zutto mune no fukaku fukaku de
Tobitateru toki wo iki wo hisome matteru
Tokihanate kago wa mou iranai

"I've never done something like forget, so..."

My strained voice turns on the light of dreams for so many people

These feelings I want to make come true are always, always within my heart, deep deep within

Ready to fly, I conceal my breath and wait

Set me free, I don't need a cage anymore

NOTE: Lyrics and translation from Anime Lyrics... you can go to the web and look for it on the Bleach section. 

PERSONAL THOUGHTS

Did anyone notice that today is a very special date of the year? People might brag that 12-12-12 is the special date for this year, but I can always argue that the year itself has a prefix 20, which means it will be 12-12-2012. So yeah, in my personal opinion, 20-12-2012 is a much much special date that the triplets number. Or.... you're right, we can always have a special MIRROR date of the year, and that referes to... *drumroll* 21st February 2012 a.k.a. today XD. Still don't get how it's a mirror date? ...

2102 | 2012

Hahaha.... you might think I'm crazy, and you have all the rights to do that... but I simply like this kind of stuff ^v^, simply because time does not rewind (history does not repeat, time can only move forward) and it can only happen once in a lifetime. So, yeah... this is a once in a lifetime special date. A mirror date, which means a perfect date to be reflective with ourselves... Mirror-Reflect Got it? And with such a melancholic mind that I had, to be honest... I've been saving this kind of date for special occasion as well. It might goes for something poetic-romantic like love confession, wedding proposal, marriage date, or plain crazy single stuffs like having a once in a lifetime experience (of anything -don't think negative), or a huge party that everyone will remember. Yeah... sometimes I wish I can do that. So what kind of special occasion will I be doing today then...? ... NONE! Hahaha.... Yup! No romantic stuffs? Of course not. I'm single, not looking, and not having any crush to anyone. Not doing crazy bachelor fun? Well... I wish I could, but I'm kinda broke hahahaha... so that option is totally scratched from my list. So why don't I post a song instead...? That'll do just fine! XD

Today it's from one of the most (and currently) popular shounen anime of the century. I don't think I need to say the title, cause it's too obvious when you see the video or see the image I put beside this paragraph XD. So... after my male masculine rendition of YUI's 5th Ending Theme -which can now be considered CLASSIC due to the fact that it was released years ago-, on this special date, I'm back with another male cover masculine rendition of the show's 27th ending theme from the 15th Season out of 16 so far. O_O Ooouuccchhh.... I didn't even survive the 1st season hahahaha. It's an awesome accomplishment for the series though. So, this one is the modern era song... ^o^v

I first listened to the song last year, sometime around July, when I got myself a full batch of the show's ending themes. Though I'm still wondering the reason why I ended up getting them on the first place, I discovered only some of them have original karaoke tracks. After YUI's song, I've wanted to do another one from this shounen Anime. My choice was initially nominated to "Life is Like a Boat" and my personal favorite -from my favorite artist- "Tane wo Maku Hibi", which were both -unfortunately- didn't have any official instrumental. I simply didn't want to butcher those songs by removing the original vocal (the result is usually bad as well), disappointed, I choose to let them go. So, I found and chose this song instead.

The title of this song is the one that intrigued me the most, and upon that first try, I was immediately hooked by the music, and most of all the lyrics. AOI TORI (I wrote it in caps, since the official title is in katakana), literally means BLUE BIRD, which I think, is a very common -albeit not quite popular- term in literature. The myth of the blue bird, and its many meanings has been used in many art forms, and one of the most well known, is the story of Mytyl and Tytyl by Maeterlinck. I was introduced to this sibling story, by my beloved Sakura Taisen, when it was used as one of the play, that became one of the best Song Show live performance for me. Blue Bird, represents HAPPINESS.


The lyrics of this song, stayed true to the title, describing the search for happiness, a.k.a. that blue bird. Since I haven't been following the series, I can't tell how it relates to the show, or particularly the season. According to the info I read on Bleach Wiki, I can personally concluded that this song is speaking about a new character Nozomi Kujo who ran off and became a hunt target by Inaba. I'm lost at the characters, so I have no idea who Inaba as well XD. She wanted to be FREE, and I guess that's the connection to the lyric "Set me free, I don't need a cage anymore". I think she's also looking for true happiness, hence the whole 'Blue Bird of Happiness' message. Please don't quote me on this though, cause this is my own -very personal- deduction. Please consult a more sophisticated fan of the series for a more detailed legit info Haha. Oh, and don't bother looking at the official PV of the original artist as well, cause IMHO, it's TOTALLY unrelated to both the song, the lyric, and even the anime T_T.

Anyway, I took this song, and tried making it as my own. My 1st take was on 21st September 2011. Exactly! A precise 4 months ago... and the result was totally meh! I'm not talking about my vocal though, but it was the sound quality that was very painful. Yes, I was still using my old-now-retired microphone. This song is LOUD, so no matter how I tried to boost the volume of my recorded vocals, it just couldn't match up. So, I had to scrap those recordings, and decided to wait until I get a new microphone to do a better re-take. After I got my new microphone, I re-recorded the song on December. Vocal-wise, the 1st take was a bit better, but volume-wise this is absolutely much better. All I need to do next is the editing part, and it's definitely not as huge as an annoying problem as I experienced with the 1st one. Then another trouble struck me... yes, the internet let me down real bad that I actually felt lazy to do it. So, I left it on my HDD just like that, until early last month. With a new spirit of the new year, I've wanted to post this song as one of my resolution for the new year. It was scheduled to be released shortly after "Kono Michi wa" but then again, once more, my internet started behaving again. That tiny nitpick, kinda let me down, got me on my lazy couch, and thus never finished the editing that has reached 75%. Somehow, I got my spirit back (along with the still-shitty-but-okay internet) and it's finally done at the start of February.

What's funny is that, somehow, all these dramas, is probably leading this song to be released today. Every little things in this world happens for a reason, and I realized that this song is meant to go on a special note. What song would be much better to describe such special date, compared to this one? A special mirror date that let us reflect, our own mirror image, and see what kinda of person we have become over the years. AOI TORI, is the song that I can hear when I saw my own reflection, and that is probably the main reason why it got postponed long enough to get to this point.

source: http://kimaloo.deviantart.com

As with YUI's song, I was very surprised when I started paying attention to each sentences on the lyrics, cause well... it's like listening/reading to my own story. Not just these two, but also the other 2 songs I've mentioned above, and most others song from the series, had this 'personal feel' to me, that they sounded like reading pages from a personal diary of mine. I started to wonder if I should just 'bleached' my hair so I look like Ichigo... (pun intended). Wait! I've done that before... (honestly, I'd show you the pic if I still have one) WOW! Talk about such deep connection to the series...!  

All those stuffs about looking for a true warmth, searching for happiness, throwing the past, can't forget everything that has happened, straining voice to reach out for others. I've lived through all chronological lines that were written in the song. In fact, I think I'm living them at the moment as well. So it's like, doing a cover by retelling my own journey. I've been through lots of ups and downs in my life. It used to be bright, but it have been very dark for me (especially these last few year). I even lost faiths to many things that I used to believed in the past. Friendship, family, brotherhood, all different aspects of my life have been harsh for me (even the smallest thing called internet), that I felt that I've changed into a different person.

This song is a true reflection to what I've been feeling these years. Not just that, as I said, it's a story of the journey of my life. Thankfully, as I grew older each passing day, I've brought to realize about something critical that is happening in my life. A clear revelation for me, as summarized by the song. Yes, I'm looking for 'true happiness'. In fact, I've always been, and I guess for now, I will still have to. It's a bit late to realize, but I'm glad I've finally realized it. Somehow, I just want to go out, to be released from my 'cage' that has been locking me in, reach high and far away and just go beyond my deepest imagination to a place I've never been. Discover my blue bird somewhere out there!


What is a 'true happiness' for me? That true happiness is 'the blue bird', whose shape, form and figure are yet to be revealed. It's still an absurb thing for me, and unknown object that I'm still trying to figure out myself. All I know is that it's blue, a tender and gentle blue, a comforting blue, a heartwarming blue. Something that will ease or stop the pain in my heart, and give serenity to my soul. Perhaps I can find it, if I go the distance? Then again, as the lyric (and the folktale) said, the 'true' blue bird is actually deep within me, it's already hiding inside, and waiting to come out. So all I can do now, is to try my very best, to keep on looking, searching for its figure, till the day that it will eventually be born from me. A time when I will finally have that peace of mind, a serene tranquility that I've been yearning, without the need of running away or chasing wind anymore. 

*sigh*

So, in such special date... a special mirrory reflective date, I want to face myself in the mirror, see my reflection, and sing this song! Simply to remind me to continue on searching, until I can see that cute little blue bird of happiness smiling deep within me. Thanks for listening, wishing that you all will find your own 'Blue Bird', in your own way... in your own path, by your own hand!

Have an awesome MIRROR date of the year...! \(^o^) | (^o^)/

~Furede Riko

PS: Btw, in case you didn't realize as well... this special date like today, will NOT going to happen again in the near future. 31-02-2013 is NOT going to happen since February definitely has no 31st. After that, no way will we have 41-02-2014, 51-02-2015, and so on. So... be sure to do something awesome today, it's a one in lifetime date that comes very rarely in our life. Celebrate this mirror date with a memory that you will remember for the rest of your life, one that you can reflect to as you grow old. Have fun!

"Birds fly over the rainbow, Why then - oh, why can't I? If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why, oh why, can't I..." (Lyman Frank Baum)

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved..." (Victor Hugo)

ORIGINAL SONG

Here's the official PV of the song....

fumika - Aoi Tori

which was totally NOT the slightest close to what I had in mind when I listened to the song T_T. Hope you enjoy it though! ^^

This is my final cover for the month, but not the end of the Shounen Anime/Show theme yet... So... see you again NEXT MONTH!

-oOo-

What's Next?
- More songs from Shounen Anime/Shows... let's open the new month by channeling our hidden Nine-Tailed Demon Fox...