Well, technically, this song is from the very first Gakuensai that was performed after Myu6. Back then, it was performed by Kanegae Kou as Senzou and Ebisawa Kenji as Monjirou. Their current actors, Yumoto Kenichi and Watanabe Kazuki, covered it in 2021. And because I'm biased, you get subs from their version.
6-i usually gets very intense duets, like Yami wo kakenukero or the mashup of Senshuu Senzou Souten Monjirou. Usually, they'd never be caught being vulnerable over Feelings like this, so it makes this song really special, doesn't it?
There are multiple instances of Monji and Senzou giving cold reminders to their friends of what being a ninja entails ; not just in the musicals, I guess The Strongest Tactician is a good example in animation. Duty, hard work and reaching one's goal are all more important than feelings... Or are they really?
I love how the first lines show contrast between Senzou and Monjirou. One is calmly reflective, asserting his perfect kanpeki self by stating he overcame the goals he had set for himself. The other expresses that same effort by evoking physical exhaustion. But in the end they're pretty much the same ; in their quest towards perfection they grew dangerously close to alienating themselves from everyone else (extremely i-class trait!!), indeed felt that they grew apart, and are feeling genuine sorrow about it. No matter how much they try to bottle up their feelings, fond memories and sorrow will "leak" through...
The song continues by tackling a matter Ninmyu looooves to bring up : post graduation anxiety. They both put on airs and acted better than anyone else, but when the time comes and they'll have to say good bye, when they'll be alone to fend for themselves in a land at war, will they be able to keep up with that facade?
Thankfully, no matter how far away from each other Monji and Senzou end up in the future, they'll never feel alone knowing they live under the same sky. They just need to look up to remember that wherever they are, the other is somewhere out there sharing the same dreams, goals, and drive. Igumi never look down to cry, after all!
All pretenses are laid bare with "I probably knew it all along, the sky was right above me". And the song ends with a gentle plea : "You don’t have to walk alone, I’m watching over you.", breaking all sense of distance previously established.
Interestingly, the Japanese line goes like this:
一人で歩かないで 見護っているから hitori de arukanaide mimamotteiru kara
The first part uses a gentle negative imperative, literally "Please don't walk alone". It sounds very soft, like an affectionate, gentle request.
The second part sounds like 見守ているから mimamotteiru kara "I'm watching over you", but luckily we got official lyrics provided! And they specifically spell it 見護っているから, which sounds the same, but notice how one character is different?
守る and 護る both mean "to protect", and if the first one is very common the second one is much rarer, so its use is definitely deliberate.
守 is to protect in the broad sense of the word. Protect from physical danger, sure, but also can be used in more casual situations like literally "protect the rules" as in, uphold/adhere to the rules (The good old "protect good manners" announcements from the station....)
護 looks more complex and is more specialized. It specifically means protecting, guarding something extremely precious and important. The left part of the character, 言, means "word", or "spoken word", and here it evokes a prayer : the thing to be protected is so important, almost sacred, that it needs to be protected not just physically but through prayers for divine protection. It's a much stronger word than 守る that is used only to convey strong determination.
So basically, even if they aren't physically here for each other, they'll support and pray for each other's safety. They'll never truly walk alone!
Ahhh, 6-i. While 6-ro can openly talk about how much they adore each other and want to stay together forever, 6-i really loves to skirt around it huh? It's really good how difficult it is for them to be upfront about their feelings. You'd think "wow, their feelings are really laid bare in this song for once!", but then you scratch the surface and you find even more unsuspected, subtle expression of their mutual affection ... It's a lot...
Fuwa Raizou-senpai believes that the Cafeteria Lady might have forgotten to return a book she borrowed from the library. He goes to tell her about it together with Ayakashimaru, but...
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