I love Aqua Timez. I fell in love with them after an unusual discovery of their music. Years ago, a friend sent a group message, which says she was addicted to “No rain No rainbow” (NARUTO Shippuuden Movie 2 ED performed by HOME MADE KAZOKU). There was nothing to lose in checking out the song, so I just searched “No rain No rainbow” without the artist keyword. A result I clicked led me to the Aqua Timez song with the same title instead. I found it beautiful and I didn’t notice my mistake because I was mesmerized by the song. And Aqua Timez pretty much became my gateway band to Japanese music appreciation. If it wasn’t for that small mistake, I wouldn’t be able appreciate Japanese music this much.
How it got stuck in my head
Nothing really special happened. It was just me and my friend, who’s also my senior in the university, riding in a public vehicle home-bound. After having a lengthy conversation on a subject I don’t remember now, silence filled the cool air around us. In order for me not to fall asleep in the vehicle and end up waking up past my dropping point, I browsed for songs to play in my head. Sadly, I don’t have a music player with me, so nowadays I only rely on the music-filled portion of my head. Many songs have played, but what ultimately kept replaying was Shabondama Days (Soap Bubble Days) by Aqua Timez. (You can listen to it here and sing along with the lyrics I found)
Soap Bubble Days (2006), being a track from their second album or first major record label album, is one of the first songs this band had released and, as such, embodies the freshness of the music style of Aqua Timez. Its overall feel is very nearly the representative of their music, having sweet melodies, beautiful amalgamation of the instruments (thanks to Daisuke, OKP-Star, Tasshi, and Mayuko), frequent but cool raps by Futoshi (the adorable vocalist of the band), and the overall “gentle” rock feel that surrounds their songs.
Thoughts
As most of Aqua Timez songs, this song is filled with energy and happy tunes. Even the melody of the lyrics is catchy that I want to always sing along. Apparently, this song is about a guy who is getting over his past love and sending his best wishes for the girl he loved, not only for her own happiness but also for his. That summary does not really capture all that is in the song. It might seem sad at first, but even when I tried reading the lyrics, it is full of hope. The persona doesn’t drown himself in depression and self-hatred, but instead moves on with his life and looks back on their distant memories with fondness, not bitterness. Those soap bubble days must have been too ephemeral, but for sure, they were beautiful. I must say that this song is totally the opposite of what most artists try to convey about past loves–that they are all heartbreaks that crushes not only the heart of the persona, but also the feelings of finding hope and chances in both love and life. However, the more common interpretations of breakups may also be attributed to betrayal and miscommunication, which I doubt had happened at all with this song’s persona. What I believe to have happened between the former lovers is that they were in agreement that their relationship must have been getting dry and that they ended it with full acknowledgement of that fact and with good feelings, and no hatred, towards one another.
This song reminds me of how I really feel towards the band–that I really love this band exactly because of the music they make. It is a given that not everything they make will be memorable. If everything is, what is the point in having favorite songs? Soap Bubble Days is one of my favorites, although I began liking it even before knowing the lyrics and the meaning of the song. Aqua Timez is a band that doesn’t rely on their looks or cool stunts to sell their songs. They use their music to show hope and love to many people. Their earnest feelings, for sure, are received well by a simple individual who has been saved by their meaningful sounds.
This post is an entry to the Anime Song Syndrome series of posts.
Anime Vios 