“Ano hi no boku he” feat.Hiro Shimono 【HYADAIN】
You can stay as yourself, as I will be myself.
Until someday we say goodbye, the time that fades into the sky.With an awful face you made, I know you were crying.
Because on that important match, you missed the penalty kick.
But that’s OK, since you will keep practicing.
And around this time next year, victory flag will be in your hands.That’s right; I am you, all grown up now.
Though I couldn’t really become a Serie A player.Nonetheless, I am chasing a new dream now.
For that day that has taught me chagrin of defeat.Kicking the empty can flying, you glare at the sky.
The tear that runs through your cheek, has made me stronger since that day.You can stay as yourself, as I will be myself.
Until someday we say goodbye, the time that fades into the sky.The world of grown-ups differs from your imagination.
Sometimes it needs a fake smile to get the job done.Yet the memories of laughters and tears form that day,
illuminate on things that I must protect.Although unhappy and unpleasant things may be depressing,
you keep marching forward without hesitation.No matter what to happen, I can stand tall to embrace it.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, my crying self of that day.An unrequitted love, the graduation ceremony,
and the soccer ball that missed the goal –
merci, merci beaucoup (Thank you, thank you so much)You can stay as yourself, as I will be myself.
Kicking the empty can flying, you glare at the sky.
The tear that runs through your cheek, has made me stronger since that day.You can stay as yourself, as I will be myself.
Until someday we say goodbye, the time that fades into the sky.Until someday we say goodbye, the time that fades into the sky.
Please excuse the potentially uninteresting translation of the lyrics, I tried, I really did. PS: appreciation to umeboshi for the translation tips 
It all started as I spotted an inconspicuous new entry on Niconico Douga’s Top Chart… with Shimono (下野紘, the famous Seiyuu) in the title. I figured a trap or fake it may be; for it is not uncommon on Nico to “fish” for view counts with traps or fakes. It is also not uncommon for “fishing” or troll videos to be borderline interesting; so I gave in to my curiosity.
Curiosity proved to be a damn good thing in this case. I watched the PV once; knew it to be awesome. Watched again to confirm. Watched the third and fourth time to find out why exactly I found the PV to be awesome.
First of all, SHIMONO Hiro (下野紘) is the man behind…
Upper Left, Upper Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right
Shimono has a signature voice, hence the repeated roles in anime as male leads. He is known as a voice actor, but not really a singer (outside of theme songs from shows of character whom he voiced, maybe). In this song, however there are certain segments that one can obvious spot Shimono, many times his voice blends in with “the other guy” of the duo.
His name is Hyadain (ヒャダイン).
Hyadain is a Nico celebrity, who was unknown to me up until I looked him up. He probably is better known of the guy who composed, wrote, and vocalized Nichijou (日常)‘s two opening themes–if you ever watched the anime there is no way you can forget the seemingly erratic opening song–I know I haven’t :p
Out of context of Nichijou (or something I perceived as a more erratic imitation of Lucky Star anime’s OP), I feel the above two songs make more sense. They demonstrated a slightly deranged Hyadain to be a brilliant musician, singer, performer, and entertainer. (Note the female vocal is Hyadain’s own voice with a different pitch, cutely dubbed as “Hyadainko”.) Also, Shimono makes a guest appearance in the second PV… an interesting fact in retrospect.
Hyadain’s previous works (which many are obscure and has a cult popularity on Nico) are listed here. Two videos have over 2 million views and 6 others scored over 1 million views.
A mad genius makes every story colorful. I’m glad there is one in this story. Almost forgot to mention. Hyadain is also the composer and the lyrics writer of Ano hi no boku he.
Finally, to fully appreciate Ano hi’s animator, DNA, who helped to create one of the most iconic pop cultural hit songs originated from Niconico douga, Omoideha Okusenman (思いでは億千万), it is an obligatory honor of mine to show the probably most recognize version of Okusenman…
Okusenman is a phenomenon in Nico’s early history, and its exact origin is hard to trace. (For those who are interested may consult the link to Nico Wiki; see link above the video.) Many of Nico’s oldest singers took part in creating the legend we know today. With all due respect, there are songs that Gomu, the singer, has arguably performed better. Anyway, the success of Okusenman is multilateral: a classic BGM from a classic game, a cool remix and a refined lyrics written by the many, and finally: DNA’s unique, FLASH animation being the final piece of the popularity formula.
DNA has a few other collaboration works with Hyadain as the pair seemingly shares their obscurity of taste. With exception of a Vocaloid related PV, and a rather creative “image movie” that has over 100k views, all his other works are unfortunately in the realm of occult and less known online neta.
I like the “doodly” drawing of his. I really do. I think the use of primitive and even crude form of sensory input to invoke a much grander sensation is an art by itself. Bias is forgivable: Okusenmen and Ano hi certainly share a common theme: appreciation from the perception of maturity.
It made me ponder: why do I feel that youth is a fleeting, and it is bittersweet of Life that replaces cavity? Or maybe I was, and still am, looking for reassurance of something… something nostalgic?
To bad it’s too late, or is it too early, to answer that.
PS:
On a coincidental note, I suppose it is appropriate to show a vampire-y themed video of his during this time of the year. (Although without causal relationship with Halloween being near, I find myself in middle of reading the original Dracula novel, lol.)
Yes, the BGM is remixed by Hyadain.
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