It’s been almost three years since the dreaded end of my favourite gacha game: Kotobuki Hikoutai Ozora no Take-off Girls. The game released in February 2019 (while the anime was still ongoing!) and was shut down in December 2020. Maybe a minor tragedy in that cursed 2020, but I really like Kotobuki’s world and I find it hard to accept this project is dead: no new seasons, no new movie, no games, nothing at all. Not even the end of Darker than Black (which had no second season btw) or the lack of third season for Spice & Wolf was this hard for me to accept. So, why am I writing this after all those years? Because I want to contribute in keeping the memory of Kotobuki alive by translating the Team Songs. Yes, there are team songs and they SLAP because ZAQ is a musical genius. Let’s start with the first one: FLAP!
Harukaze Squadron – FLAP!
Lyrics: ZAQ
Composition: ZAQ
Arrangement: Takada Kyo
Singers: Euca (CV: Hondo Kaede), Erika (CV: Shiraishi Haruka), Akari (CV: Nanase Ayaka), Bell (CV: Iwami Manaka), Dahlia (CV: Kurosawa Tomoyo), Gerbera (CV: Kōno Marika).
細くて白い雲が
空に絵を描いていく
憧れの匂いがしたんだよ 深呼吸!
胸の奥で鳴ってる
こわいのにときめいて
視線のやじるしが重なる
強く強くなりたいから歩いて
はやくはやく追いつきたいと奔った
迷い惑いながら前を見据えて
硬い大地を 蹴り上げて
さぁ あの空まで
世界は広いんだ
遥か未来 まだまだ飛べるでしょう!
まばたきする暇も見逃せない
カゼは突き進む
今日よりも輝け
明日を超えて まだまだこれからさ!
夢馳せよう 立派になるんだよ
ひな鳥は羽ばたく
大空へと!
風を操るなんて
風乗りこなすなんて
出来るわけないと思ってた
生まれ育ちなんて関係ないのだと
笑い学び遊びながらでいいよと
空はいつも私達を諭すの
大きすぎるんだ 眩しくて
あぁ 冒険の予感
始まったばかりだよ
春が咲くよ 風を奏でていこう!
誓った絆は 一生物でしょ
最高の仲間達
溢れ出す思いは
誰かのためにあると信じてる!
夢馳せよう 大人になるんだよ
ひな鳥よ 今こそ!
空の真ん中 それはどこだろう?
わからないことばっかりさ
だからこそ 止められない感情
知りたいんだ
テイクオフ!さぁ 飛ぶよ!
世界は広い
遥か未来 まだまだ飛べるでしょう!
まばたきする暇も見逃せない
カゼは突き進む
今日よりも輝け
明日を超えて まだまだこれからさ!
夢馳せよう 私だけが見れる
景色を彩って
大空へと!
Thin white clouds
draw a picture in the sky
there’s the scent we long for. Take a deep breath!
It’s ringing deep inside our chests
we’re scared, but also excited
our glances meet.
I walk because I want to become stronger.
I run because I want to catch up quickly.
Lost and confused, I look ahead,
I kick up the hard ground
let’s go, ‘till we reach that sky
The world is vast
even in the far future, we’ll still fly!
Not even a blink of an eye can be missed
the wind pushes forward
shine brighter than today,
beyond tomorrow, there’s so much more to come!
Let’s chase our dream, we’ll become great
the little birds flap their wings
toward the great sky!
I can’t believe I can control the wind
I can’t believe I can ride the wind
I didn’t think I could do this.
It doesn’t matter how you were born and raised,
it’s okay to laugh, learn and play.
The sky always guides us,
it’s so vast and dazzling.
Aaah, it’s the presage of an adventure.
We just begun,
spring is blooming, let’s go play with the wind!
The bond we swore is eternal, right?
We’re the best of friends
I believe those overflowing feelings
are for someone!
Let’s chase our dream, we’ll become adults
little birds, now it’s the time!
Where’s the center of the sky?
There are so many things I still don’t know
that’s why I can’t stop the feeling
that I want to know more.
Take-off!
Let’s fly!
The world is vast
even in the far future, we’ll still fly!
Not even a blink of an eye can be missed
the wind pushes forward
shine brighter than today,
beyond tomorrow, there’s so much more to come!
Let’s chase our dream, I’ll paint a scenery
only I can see.
Toward the great sky!
A bit of context
The Harukaze squadron is composed by 6 kids who just earned their wings and still have a long way to go. The leader is the cheerful Euca who grew up in a orphanage together with Erika, which has a more composed personality. There’s also the lively Akari who has a photographic memory, the sisterly Bell which has a knack for gambling and becomes incredibly strong when drunk, the cowardly and timid Dahlia who wants to become brave and Gerbera, innocent and naive, who escaped from her Mafia family. Their names all come from flowers and plants, in case you haven’t noticed.
They’re broke newbies who admire the Kotobuki Squadron and strive to become like them and the lyrics of this song kinda reflect their dream: they’re little birds who want to fly high and explore the world. Maybe not the most charismatic squadron of the setting, but almost everyone was like them at some point in life, no? They don’t appear in the anime (except for Euca, which appears in a brief scene), but they’re the protagonists of the youtube specials “Oozora no Harukaze Hikoutai” which are pretty good. If you watched the original series, you should definitely check out the specials (*wink wink* they’re subbed).