Kagerou Daze (song by Hatsune Miku)
"Kagerou Daze" (カゲロウデイズ), also known by its translated English title as "Heat-Haze Daze", was released on September 30, 2011. It was composed by Jin. It was his third song and one of the tracks for his Kagerou Project. The story revolves around a boy who witnesses a girl running out into the street to take a cat to safety, but is hit by a truck. Waking up to find it is the day before the incident, he strives to save her from impending doom.
The song currently has 7 million views on Nico Nico Douga.
Producer's Comments
An old story speaking of summer.
"It's because I hate summer."
Song Information
- Jin (music, lyrics, composition)
- Sidu (illustration, video)
- Gacchan (mixing, mastering)
- Chuuta (encode)
- Hatsune Miku (vocals)
Lyrics: Jin
Composition: Jin
Published by Dwango Fifth Division under JASRAC
JASRAC Works Code: 703-7151-2
Lyrics
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| こんなよくある話なら結末はきっと1つだけ | konna yoku aru hanashi nara ketsumatsu wa kitto hitotsu dake | There's really only one way this kind of story can end |
| 繰り返した夏の日の向こう | kurikaeshita natsu no hi no mukou | at the end of these endlessly looping Summer days |
Interpretation
Kagerou Daze, as part of the Kagerou Project, is merely part of a fictional story and thus likely has no real-life theme. In the song, the main character, Hibiya, repeatedly witnesses the day of August 15th, when his friend Hiyori dies no matter what actions he takes to try and prevent her death. This time loop repeats for decades, until he eventually sacrifices his own life to save her, only for the song to switch to Hiyori's point of view - she had also been in a time loop where Hibiya repeatedly dies, only ending when she sacrifices her life to save him; a never-ending time loop where neither Hibiya or Hiyori has any redemption or salvation. Time loops are a popular sci-fi theme and the song, being released in 2011, may have drawn inspiration from other similar time loop related works such as Steins;Gate which was released only a few years before. The song utilizes this powerful and fascinating theme, touching on the loneliness, desperation, and despair that someone stuck in a time loop might feel.
Kagerou Project
Kagerou Project is a multimedia project by musician, novelist and screenwriter Jin, focusing on the concept of "eyes", where each individual character has a unique eye-related power. In addition to the songs that Jin has released since 2011, he has written novels based on the story in 2012, and a manga by Mahiro Sato has been released based on Jin's original story. The animation "Mekaku City Actors" was broadcast from April to June 2014 to great success. For the vocals in his songs, Jin used the voice synthesis technology Vocaloid, especially with Hatsune Miku and IA. The most defining songs from the artist include Kagerou Daze, Children Record, Lost Time Memory, and Yobanashi Deceive. The Kagerou Project has sold over 700,000 CDs as of April 2016, and 14 million copies of published books, novels, and comics as of December 2017.
Kagerou Project has been one of the most successful spin-offs from Vocaloid, being very popular among younger fans to the extent that it has been instrumental in introducing and popularizing Hatsune Miku to them. During its popularity surge from 2013 to 2014, many of the Kagerou Project songs were sung in karaoke that it was common to see upwards of four songs in the top 20 ranked songs at any one time.
After the series concluded, many of the songs dropped from the rankings but they still remain popular.
The project had been so successful, that Jin's popularity soared and allowed him to join 1st Place and work with Vocaloid IA almost exclusively due to the contract. This series is one of the first examples where a Vocaloid producer has started working with a company affiliated with it directly.
Song Information
- Jin (music, lyrics, arrangement)
- Sidu (illustration, video)
- Gacchan (mixing, mastering)
- Chuuta (encoding)
Links
【Hatsune Miku】Kagerou Daze【Original Song with PV】 - Nico Nico Douga
Kagerou Project - Wikipedia
Kagerou Project - Wikipedia (Japanese)