Translations: ハッピーエンドをはじめから by Lize Helesta
In her birthday on May 25 2020, Lize premiered her original song composed by TOKOTOKO (NishizawasanP) titled ハッピーエンドをはじめから (lit. Doing Happy End from the Beginning) on her channel. It is a very upbeat, cheerful song. I attempted to translate it and give my own breakdown on why the song is very Lize, which hopefully will also tell you more about Lize Helesta.
Romaji
GEEMU no naka de wa itsudemo shuujinko de
sekai wo sukuu yume wo miru
donna bouken ga kono saki matterunda
netemo sametemo kangaeteita
chiisana hane wo BATABATA ugokashite
hiyoko wa sora ni yume wo miru
konna mitame de umareta riyuutte nandarou
konna koe de umareta riyuutte nandarou
itsumo hitori de ita
kono heya no sumi wa boku no basho ne
dare ni mo ubaenaize
sonna tokoro ni yatte kita
uwasa ni tagawanu RAFU MEIKAA
onegai!
chotto chotto chotto matte tte
kidzuita toki ni wa modorenakute
ajikenai hibi ga
irodzuiteiku you ni
motto chanto SHANto tatte
shiwa ni natta SHATSU wo nobashi naoshite
yume no hajimari wa kitto konna fuu ni
kyoushitsu no naka de wa itsudemo sumikko de
sekai ga kawaru yume wo miru
dareshimo mondai, kotae wa onaji janai noni
machigai wo machigai to ieru no wa naze?
michi no hitotsu ya futatsu ya machigattemo
sono saki de dokka ni tsunagaru tte
atama de wakattetemo nayanjau no ga fushigi
motto chanto honki dashite
boku wa boku wo daisuki ni naritakute
yume no tsudzuki made
miteite hoshii
(HEY!)
nemurenai yoru ni wa
kossori himitsukichi ni atsumatte
sekai wa sukuenai kedo
boku wa yuusha ni natte
taikutsu kara kimi wo
sukui ni iku no sa
kyou ga ii hi, warui hi docchi datte
tsuki wa boku no ue de kagayaite
nanigenai hibi wo irodotte iku you ni
motto chanto rin to tattara
okubyoukaze ni yuretemo heiki
DOKIDOKI wo sotto gyutto
dakishimete
hora
chotto chotto mou chotto
te wo nobaseba saisho kara aru youna
shiawase no shippo wo
Ima, tsukanda toko
Translations
In game, I'm always the main character
looking at a dream of saving the world
be it in my wake or my sleep,
I thought of what adventures lie await beyond here
Flapping small wings
the young bird is looking at a dream in the sky
I wonder why am I born with this looks
I wonder why am I born with this voice
I used to always be alone
The corner of this room was my place
No one would take it away
and into such place, living up to its name,
came a Laugh Maker
Please! Wait, wait,
wait just for a moment!
when I realized it, I just can't go back
the insipid days are now catching colors
stand up taller, straighter,
tug and tuck this wrinkled shirt
I am sure the beginning of a dream
starts this way
I am always at the edge of the classroom
I am seeing a dream of the world changing
everyone has problems, and despite the answers to them may not all be the same
I wonder why one can say 'a mistake' is 'a mistake'
Even if your path is wrong, once, or twice
beyond it, it will still lead somewhere
Although my head understands that, it's strange how it still troubles me
more earnestly, rightly, giving my all
I want so much to come to love my self
I want you to watch over me until the continuation of this dream
(Hey!)
In nights where you can't sleep
lets gather around the secret base quietly
I cannot save the world but
I'll become your hero, and I will go
save you from boredom
No matter if today
a good day or a bad day,
The moon is shining over me
As it continues to paint colors on white blank days
when I stand up taller, straighter, dignified
even if I am swayed by my fright, it's alright
I embrace this excalating throbs gently, strongly
Hey,
a little more, a little more,
when I reach out just a little more
Now, I'm grabbing at the tail of happiness
that feels like it's been there all this time
---------------
Breakdown
Before this breakdown, I recommend you to read Lize's letter to her listeners she wrote during her 3D stream in this post. Of course, I will also explain in the breakdown, but this letter will be referred many times during the breakdown.
In game, I'm always the main character
looking at a dream of saving the world
be it in my wake or my sleep,
I thought of what adventures lie await beyond here
Lize really loves games in general and she especially loves RPG. She is a part of RPG Club Nui Sociere and her made (though at this moment they are also the only members of the club lol). Among her most popular stream is her RPG playthrough stream of Mother series (Earthbound series, in English). Her Mother 2 and Mother 3 streams were so popular they were trending on Twitter and actually caught the eyes of the main director of Mother/Earthbound series, Shigesato Itoi, who commented "the player has a really good sense" on her playthrough. In late 2020, Lize had the opportunity to meet and talk with Shigesato Itoi a long with a Mother-fan Youtuber Koala. You can read the interview here (Japanese).
Flapping small wings
the young bird is looking at a dream in the sky
A reference to all of her bird-like design. Feathers is the symbol of Helesta and is revered to.
I wonder why am I born with this looks
I wonder why am I born with this voice
If we look at her letter, she said she used to 'spend time doing nothing in particular' and she felt she had nothing special she could boast when compared to others, probably as a whole referring to the 'state' itself, wondering what to do in life.
I used to always be alone
The corner of this room was my place
No one would take it away
Lize is an 陰キャ, she often talks about how she enjoys being alone or doing activities alone and she gets intimidated by loud extroverted people in her class. She also said she is good at talking in playthrough because she is 'good at talking alone/to herself/to the screen', while not exactly good at 'communicating' with others, thinking hard to simply answering to messages or striking up conversations.
and into such place, living up to its name,
came a Laugh Maker
As Lize had said in several occassions and also clearly in her letters, one day she stumbled upon Tsukino Mito's Louis copy paste voice changer video. This very moment was what introduced her to Vliver, giving her motivation to become one. "Laugh Maker" is taking reference from Bump of Chicken's Laugh Maker, where someone named a Laugh Maker came knocking on the door uninvited to make the singer who was about to cry to laugh. At first the singer shooed the Laugh Maker away only to cry together, and eventually as the Laugh Maker came breaking in, showing the singer that he had now a smile on his face. "Laugh Maker" is probably illustrating not only Tsukino Mito came and gave smile with her presence, but also fits the 'came uninvited' part and the 'sharing laughs together' nature of Laugh Maker in Bump's song. In the MV during these lines, you can also see a flash of two lines, one white and one pink akin to Tsukino Mito's signature hairpin.
Please! Wait, wait,
wait just for a moment!
when I realized it, I just can't go back
the insipid days are catching colors
stand up taller, straighter,
tug and tuck this wrinkled shirt
I am sure the beginning of dream
starts this way
'The insipid days are catching colors' is probably a symbolism to her getting into NIJISANJI (as "Niji" in NIJISANJI is often illustrated as rainbow). The stand up taller, straighter, also probably referring to her prim and proper character design, and with her stepping to NIJISANJI, it was the beginning of her dream. This also refer to Ichikara company's catchphrase, 'delivering you a dream-like experience'.
more earnestly, rightly, letting out my all
I want so much to come to love my self
I want you to watch over me until the continuation of this dream
Probably refering to the lines in her 3D stream letter "if I do what this person is doing, probably I will be able to love myself, I will be able to enjoy life more" as among the reasons she started to become a Vliver. To her listener, she also said 'Its strange how I feel like giving my best for all of you, whose faces and names I dont know' and her letter asking everyone to please support her through.
In nights where you can't sleep
lets gather around the secret base quietly
I cannot save the world but
I'll become your hero, and I will go
save you from boredom
Probably refering to how she usually begin her streams at golden hours to late at night, if we take the symbolism of secret base as her channel or her streams where everyone gathers. Lize wrote in her letters "I will try refine myself so that I can be an important presence to you, so that I can make your days a better ones", which you might say, 'I cannot save the world, but I will be your hero and save you from boredom'. This is might also points out at how that was exactly how Tsukino Mito's presence affected her life.
No matter if today
a good day or a bad day,
The moon is shining over me
As it continues to paint colors on blank days
Lize is well known rain lady (Ameonna) that wherever she goes it is almost always raining. This is basically a character trait at this point at how the other livers also confirmed this phenomenon (especially Ange and Inui). "The moon is shining over me" is probably referring, again, to how Tsukino Mito is now watching over her (Mito revealed that she watches Lize's streams and actually had her in her watch note, particularly taking interest in her) as they are now together doing their activities in NIJISANJI (in which the lyrics again, signify it as 'painting colors').
when I stand up taller, straighter, dignifiedly
even if I am swayed by my fright, it's alright
I embrace this excalating throbs gently, strongly
This is probably more of a coincidence, idk, but the kanji in this lines, "凛っと立ったら" and 臆病風, might have been slightly refering to both Shizuka Rin 静凛 and Higuchi Kaede 樋口楓, JK Gumi members along with Tsukino Mito. JK Gumi is often being brought to up to conversation at how 'similar' they are with Sanbaka, Lize's unit. JK Gumi is also the spearhead of NIJISANJI in their early days, unmistakably among an important factors in NIJISANJI success today.
Hey,
a little more, a little more,
when I reach out just a little more
Now, I'm grabbing at the tail of happiness
that feels it's been there all this time
If you read these lines in Japanese, it is
hora
chotto chotto mou chotto
te wo nobaseba saisho kara aru youna
shiawase no shippo wo
Ima, tsukanda toko
which might have been a reference to Sanbaka, Lize's debut unit. Ange Katrina might have been the presence "that has been there all the time", as Ange is her childhood friend who has known her long before her debut as Vliver (in fact, Ange's reason of joining NIJISANJI is to accompany Lize). The "tail" might have been refering to Inui Toko the Cerberus, who, yes, has tails. The ending "Ima tsukanda toko" is like a wordplay of using Ange's signature stream greeting "Uun, Ima kita toko" and also at the same time Inui Toko's name. The whole lines might means that along with Sanbaka, they together begin to walk together as NIJISANJI, and mark the beginning of Lize's story in Nijisanji.
Other trivia: You can find Sanbaka's photo in the photo frame in the MV, as well as Helesta Saber, Lize's weapon, used during her 3D.
Anyway, that is all, I hope that this post is able to give you information about Lize, as well as adding in a bit more into the songs. As they say, the more you know, the more something might mean to you. There are probably a lot that I missed, but anyway, these are my takes. Thank you very much for reading.
