Colour-Coded Kalafina: Blue

A continuation of my Kalafina song recommendations. Read Colour-Coded Kalafina: Red here if you’re interested. Lyrics are from canta-per-me.net with some translations modified by me.

Sky Blue

Light, soothing, angelic.

“heavenly blue” (2015)

Associated work: Aldnoah.Zero

Colour justification: “何処までも眩しい heavenly blue” (dazzling wherever it reaches, heavenly blue), what other colour can it be?

Highlight: [2:41-2:56/3:45] “飛び立つよ/まだ暗い空へ” (set flight / towards the still-dark sky) + Kajiura-go bridge

Notes: Choosing a highlight was so hard. I’ve heard people complain that “heavenly blue” is too similar to “Believe,” but what I want to ask is…how? (“Believe” is a song that I would put in “Blue” as well, but unfortunately, it didn’t make this list. Maybe it’s because I’ve listened to it too many times)

“into the world” (2017)

Associated work: Rekishi Hiwa Historia (NHK documentary series)

Colour justification: The lyrics talk about seas, waters, and water droplets. There’s a lot of sky as well as water in the MV.

Highlight: [1:13-1:31] “何も見えない場所まで行く/新しい種を探して/初めての水を大地に落とすための旅路” (travel to where you can’t see a thing / in search for new seeds / a journey for the sake of bringing the first water to the land)

Notes: This song was originally a tie with “far on the water,” both being similar in arrangement, content, and even the music video with the three girls in flowing white clothing walking near the water. “into the world” eventually won for a more uplifting chorus.

Teal

Refreshing, healing, touching.

“Natsu no Ringo” (2009)

Colour justification: This song is really a green one, but I had to put it in this list, and teal is close enough to green. The lyrics talk about a “green apple,” and the song reminds me of an open field.

Highlight: [3:21-3:34] “その夏のあどけない林檎/いつまでも胸にある果実” (the innocent apple of that summer / will forever be the fruit in my heart)

Notes: “Natsu no Ringo” = Apple of Summer. This performance of the song is gorgeous, and I highly recommend finishing it in its entirety. It’s a moving 4-minute experience you wouldn’t regret. It had been difficult for me to choose a highlight.

“Seventh Heaven” (2009)

Associated work: Kara no Kyoukai/Garden of Sinners

Colour justification: I associated teal with healing, and “Seventh Heaven” just falls under this category perfectly with its lyrics about pain and salvation and the context of Kara no Kyoukai’s touching final movie (the last full movie for the main story arc, that is).

Highlight: [3:43-4:04] “夢のような/日々の中/貴方が笑ってる” (within dreamlike days / you smile)

Notes: Another deliciously layered song in which each singer gets several beautiful solo lines. This one’s MV actually attempts to tell a story. Not a particularly deep one, but interesting nonetheless. The high notes in this one may be the highest in any Kalafina song.

Royal Blue

Regal, elegant, deep.

“Sapphire” (2010)

Colour justification: Sapphires are elegant and precious.

Highlight: [1:05-1:50] “哀しみさえ貴方の手で/蒼い宝石に変わるの/甘い吐息 古い嘆き/全て飲み干してくれたら/側にいるわ” (Even sadness turns into a blue jewel by your hands / sweet sighs, ancient sorrows / if they are all drunk up / I will be by your side)

Notes: The song has the air of a classical serenade. The gorgeous chorus stupefied me when I discovered it only recently. Another underrated song from Kalafina’s earlier age.

“Manten” (2013)

Associated work: Fate/Zero

Colour justification: A whole sky of stars that “blaze fiercely” feels like a deep and intense shade of blue.

Highlight: [3:44-4:01] “焼け焦げた願いが/空を抉じ開ける頃に/懐かしい故郷は/きっと花の盛りでしょう” (When a scorched wish bores a hole in the sky / the homeland I miss / will surely have flowers in full bloom)

Notes: “Manten” (満天) literally means “filling the whole sky,” and is usually used in relation to stars. Listen for the interludes that incorporate epic motifs from Fate/Zero’s OST for additional feels.

“ARIA” (2009)

Associated work: Kara no Kyoukai/Garden of Sinners

Colour justification: “ARIA” is the ED theme of Kara no Kyoukai 4: Garan no Dou (伽藍の洞). “Garan” is incorporated into the lyrics. It’s written with the character for blue (though the word is just a phonetic translation of the Sanskrit word for “temple” and has nothing in particular to do with the colour).

Highlight: [1:16-1:42] “もう この止まない雨の中で/昨日に怯えることもない/今 君を失くした未来は/始まったばかり” (In the midst of this never-ending rain / there’s no longer a need to be afraid of yesterday / now, the future after losing you / has only just begun)

Notes: This video is from one of the more awkward early lives. The members all seem so restless. Former member Maya is in this one! The lyrics never made much sense to me, as it talks about a “you” that was lost, but also a “you” with a bright future and a “you” who gives kindness. A “future” that “has begun” is another thing I can’t wrap my mind around, especially when I tried to make translyrics for this song. I guess Shiki does deal with some weird personality-disintegration thing, especially in this movie.

Navy Blue

Serious, modest, subtle.

“fairytale” (2009)

Associated work: Kara no Kyoukai/Garden of Sinners

Colour justification: A tranquil but deeply rueful song.

Highlight: [6:10-6:39] “君を好きになって/永遠は終わる/生きて行く喜びと/痛みが始まる” (Ever since falling in love with you / eternity has come to an end / the joy and pain of being alive / are beginning)

Notes: Long intro in this video – skip to 2:30 if you don’t care for it. The lyrics of this song were composed by Kajiura and also Kinoko Nasu, the author of the Kara no Kyoukai light novels. “fairytale” has quite a nice music video with the band members draped in black and white veils. Keiko said it felt like she was getting married in this interesting video that documents the shooting of the MV.

“Kyrie” (2010)

Colour justification: It’s a pretty soothing song with a title based on the Christian liturgy “Kyrie Eleison.”

Highlight: [4:05-4:17] “Kyrie/追憶の木霊する/その庭に” (Kyrie / in the garden where recollections echo)

Notes: The lyrics don’t have much to do with religious emotions, although the line “kyrie eleison” means “Lord, have mercy” in Greek. Fun fact: the Chinese translation of this song’s title is apparently “Ode of Pitying from Above” – the same translation used for “kyrie eleison,” according to this YouTube video I chose. The song seems to me to be more about grieving for a love or lover that is gone.

Ultramarine

Mysterious, succulent, tragic.

“Serenato” (2009)

Colour justification: The background vocals create a mysterious atmosphere. “Serenato” probably came from “serenade” – a form of music that feels ultramarine to me.

Highlight: [1:26-1:48] “愛しい人と/寄り添って生きて行きたい/いつも祈っているのは” (I want to live entwined with the one I love / I always pray for…)

Notes: Apparently, “serenata” is a thing in music (Italian for “serenade”), but “serenato” isn’t. Is this a masculine version? Maybe Kajiura just felt like a word ending in an “o” rhymes better. Given that she’s a woman who basically created her own “language” for the sake of producing desirable sounds, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the case.

“lirica” (2013)

Colour justification: A song so “lyrical” seems to go with ultramarine.

Highlight: [40:33-40:50] “海鳴りが木霊する/懐かしい空遥か遠く” (The sea’s rumbling echoes / the nostalgic sky is far and distant)

Notes: The song is too underrated for me to even find a complete performance of it on YouTube. Definitely check out this entire compilation video if you have the time though (or just let it play in the background). I believe I discovered many good Kalafina songs through this video when I first found it a few years back.

 

That concludes the Blue edition of my Kalafina song posts! I had so many “blue” songs I like that I had to shove some into “white” for later. Blue and white feel interchangeable for some reason. I have a Wakana bias, so take that into account if you decide to check out my highlights. Trust me though, it was extremely difficult even trying to choose a highlight in most of these.

Hope you enjoyed – there might not be new posts for this series until the term is over for me in some two weeks.