EMCA-0007: Makenai ze! Gunleon / Koji Hayama

[Ramza]

Hey y'all, doin' some updates on this one.

The packaging claims that Hayama didn't just arranged. He's composer, arranger, lyricist, and performer for all songs on this album.

Also, despite widespread 'net info that claims this album was released January 9 2009, the obi and back of the album clearly call out Dec 28 2008.

[CHz]

Originally Posted by Ramza

Also, despite widespread 'net info that claims this album was released January 9 2009, the obi and back of the album clearly call out Dec 28 2008.

This annoyed me when I was messing with the release dates, because the pages at EGG MUSIC for all of their albums (including this one) specifically say that the albums were prereleased at various Comikets and had later release dates, but the dates printed on the backs of the albums are the supposed prerelease dates.

[Ramza]

This is indeed frustrating.

I don't know, or particularly care, which date you guys want to list on VGMdb. I changed it to Dec 28, but if you wanna switch it back, I won't complain or be annoying about it.

Anyway, I made an attempt at a tracklist translation. That last track (name appears twice) baffled the hell out of me. If anyone has a better suggestion, go for it.

[Ramza]

A friend suggested "Oh Spirit, To The Sky" for the last track. It doesn't directly translate the parenthesized part of the Japanese text, but it makes more sense. So I'm gonna use that.

Ramza

[Secret Squirrel]

I'd go with "Oh Spirit, Into the Sky" myself.

[Gigablah]

The parenthesized text just means that 宇宙 (normally "uchuu" / space) is supposed to be read as "sora" / sky. If you want to be poetic you can put it as "into the heavens".

[Arc1984]

魂 | よ | 宇宙 | (そら) | へ

魂 - soul/spirit
宇宙 - space/universe
(そら) - (noun) sky / the air/heavens / *context-based interjection*
へ - to/towards/for / *suffix used as a rough indicator of location, direction, time, etc.*

よ - I opt to explain this word last, because it can mean different parts of speech, hence many definitions, but in this context, positioned between two nouns (魂 and 宇宙), it should imply an interjection ("o/oh/yo/hey") which, when translated to English, might appear funny and out of place. This track is an arrangement of "The Universe in Eternal Harmony" (宇宙のハーモニー永遠に) from the third Super Robot Wars α original score (https://vgmdb.net/album/11492 - track 25). Literally, it would translate to something like "Oh Soul, To Space/Universe" omitting "(そら)", because that is clearly an equivalent for 宇宙, as in certain Japanese OST tracknames, so it needs no translation. Phrased it to "A Soul into Space". Though I earlier employed the word "universe" for the abovementioned original track source, "space" would read smoother as a whole

[Phonograph]

Originally Posted by Gigablah

The parenthesized text just means that 宇宙 (normally "uchuu" / space) is supposed to be read as "sora" / sky. If you want to be poetic you can put it as "into the heavens".

Originally Posted by Arc1984

魂 | よ | 宇宙 | (そら) | へ

... Literally, it would translate to something like "Oh Soul, To Space/Universe" omitting "(そら)", because that is clearly an equivalent for 宇宙, as in certain Japanese OST tracknames, so it needs no translation. Phrased it to "A Soul into Space". Though I earlier employed the word "universe" for the abovementioned original track source, "space" would read smoother as a whole

it's not for you to decide if furigana must be omitted or not, the word is meant to be "sora" so the translation must reflect "sora" not "uchuu"

@Secret Squirrel it should be rejected

[Arc1984]

Wrong. The original track 宇宙のハーモニー永遠に (The UNIVERSE in Eternal Harmony) this track is based off (https://vgmdb.net/album/11492 - track 25), which is an ENDING theme, already implies "universe/space". In plot, it has nothing to do with "sky/heavens", even though そら has such definitions. If you think "A Soul into the Sky/Heavens" (or even a full translation - "A Soul into the Space/Universe (Sky)") sounds fitter for a robot-themed game, by all means. That furigana is merely there for reference. Forcing yourself to precisely translate it to English is not sensible

[Aifread]

Gundam has used 宇宙 with the そら reading since the 80s (including on that album you linked if you check the liner notes). In a literary sense it's meant to bring the notion of space into a more familiar domain. I agree with Gigablah and Phonograph that "sky" is the mood the writers are trying to evoke here.

[Arc1984]

Originally Posted by Aifread

In a literary sense it's meant to bring the notion of space into a more familiar domain. I agree with Gigablah and Phonograph that "sky" is the mood the writers are trying to evoke here.

This analysis is more rational and mature. Here are a few combinations:

(Literary)

Oh Soul, Into the Sky
Oh Soul, Into Heaven
Oh Soul, Into Space

(Poetic)

Oh Soul, Into the Skies

(Mythical)

Oh Soul, Into the Heavens

(Ignoring the interjection よ - "o/oh/yo/hey", etc.)

A Soul into the Sky/Skies
A Soul into Heaven/Heavens
A Soul into Space

(Ignoring the Japanese grammatical structure)

Spirited into Space
Spirited into the Universe
Spirited into the Sky/Skies
Spirited into Heaven/Heavens

Among the list, "Spirited into Space" seems to depict this track most accurately (even if it defies grammar), since the word "soul" is technically a singular noun, and, by SRW fashion in endings, we know the word refers to the robots (real/super) returning to space (thus, by using a verb here, we can negate the word "soul"), as shown here (https://youtu.be/lyjER470d6c?si=cU8VyI539Jj8rFOc - seek to 22:19). I shall use this translation for my own archive, and in due course revise whichever translation this community deems best