Patupaiarehe – Night spirits of the Maori people of New Zealand. Dwell in the darkness deep in the forest.
Patupaiarehe are legendary humanoid cryptids native to New Zealand that hide in forests and are said to have the power to induce a trance and to lure people away. They are supernatural beings (he iwi atua) in Māori mythology that are described as pale to fair skinned with blonde hair or red hair, usually having the same stature as ordinary people, and never tattooed.
They can draw mist to themselves, but tend to be nocturnal or active on misty or foggy days as direct sunlight can be fatal to them. They prefer raw food and have an aversion to steam and fire.
The music of their kōauau and pūtōrino (small flutes), along with their singing of waiata, which songs are sung solo, in unison, or at the octave, occasionally reveals their presence on foggy days. A kōauau is a small flute, ductless and notchless, four to eight inches (ten to twenty centimetres) long, open at both ends and having from three to six fingerholes placed along the pipe.
They could lure people away from safety with the music of their flutes, and had magical powers and special knowledge. Some believe that red-haired Māori are their descendants. Patupaiarehe sometimes taught people magical chants and other skills. They were good at fishing, and one chief spied on them to learn how to make nets.
Patupaiarehe were seldom seen. They were thought to live in several places in the North Island, including in the Waikato, around Rotorua and in the Urewera mountains. They also lived in some places in the South Island.
Valle Verde Episode 2 Japanese Translation and Speculation
As I mentioned in my previous post, this episode has a lot more Japanese in it than the first one. So much, in fact, that I won't be able to translate it all. I will try and transcribe and translate the most salient parts. As before, make sure you watch the original video before reading this or it will not make much sense.
All the locations are ??? except for "city hall."
"Hoc est verum" is a Latin phrase meaning "this is the truth." Searching gives me a longer phrase "Hoc est verum et nihili nisi verum," meaning "This is the truth and nothing but the truth." This is another clear reference to Christianity, echoing verses such as John 14:6 (using the NRSVUE):
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Mori no Machi would be "Forest Town," presumably another city in the world of Valle Verde.
This is the clearest shot of that poster so far, and I'm confident that it says 私を信じて "trust in me."
記録 "Records" as in a hall of records or archives.
Umi no Machi is "Sea(side) Town." Also, the name Berenjeno sounds like the word *berenjena* which means "eggplant."
キョロちゃんのプリクラ大作戦 is a real video game. The title means something like "Kyoro-chan's Great Photo-booth Tactics." Kyoro-chan is a mascot character for a chocolate brand, and apparently the game is a side-scrolling action game where you play as Kyoro-chan and go around to photo-booths to take your picture. This is the kind of game that I doubt ever saw the light of day outside of Japan, but it's listed as belonging to Matias, who is established as being from Argentina.
The Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology (SIST) is once-again involved with another game, this one called Tharsis: The Legend.
The title is meant to say something like "THARSIS: The Legend" but does so in a way that doesn't make much grammatical sense. I think 伝説のTHARSIS would have worked better.
The summer of 1997, which I'm pretty sure is the time the events of Valle Verde are taking place based on VHS timestamps.
Now we get into the meat of the untranslated Japanese in this part; the whole opening of THARSIS is narrated in Japanese without subtitles. The Japanese is quite stilted at points and probably wasn't written by a native speaker, so my translation will be what I think the writer was trying to say.
Bargoff 「私は今、主導権を握っている。状況は?」
B 「我々は、20分前に潜入させられた。誰かが、ダクトから入った。」
Bargoff: I am in control now. What's the situation?
B: We were infiltrated 20 minutes ago. Someone entered from the ducts.
Eva 「悲しいことに、彼らはどこにでもいることができます。」
Eva: Unfortunately, they could be anywhere.
Once the game is started, we get subtitles, so I'll only translate if there's a significant difference between the Japanese and subtitles.
"Connection lost"
"Sodom? Gomorrah? No, those who play (at being) God."
The base 64 decodes to "There can be no peace in the world."
Now for the speculation. It seems like whatever the monster in THARSIS is has leaked into Valle Verde - we're shown these insect-like things "sucking" the data out of entities from other games (including Angel Quest).
As for what Nottt is, he seems to be some kind of AI created for Valle Verde. Nottt saw the children that were absorbed into the game (through the THBrain?) and heard their screams in multiple languages. In order to not comprehend the screams any longer, he removed the modules that allowed him to know all languages except for Spanish.
I'm not sure how the THBrain works exactly, but it may be some kind of brain-computer interface. When the game is generating content (as opposed to playing scripted content), the text box changes color and a gear icon appears. Perhaps information from the brain of the user (such as subconscious thoughts, etc.) is used to generate new content?
Village Man’s Store - 地獄のメロディー(The Melody of Hell) - Lyrics English Translation
夜汽車を降りて噂通りさ
I get off the night train, it’s just as the rumors say
右も左も乱痴気騒ぎ
From left to right everyone is partying like mad
排水口は煌めいていて
The drain is glowing
ダクトに甘い風が吹く
A sweet sweet breeze blows in the ducts
日々はね有刺鉄線の中に全部あるよ
My life is actually, guess what, completely within a barbed wire fence
見分けらんないよ錦通りで
I can’t tell heads from tails, on the Nishiki-doori highway
右も左もおんなじ顔して
From left to right everyone’s making the same faces
怖くなったんだ ギラついていて
It freaked me out, everyone glaring like that
帰り道も分からない
I don’t even know how to get home
行かなきゃ有刺鉄線で後にゃ���れない
I gotta go, ‘cause of the barbed wire fence there’s no going back
地獄のメロディが
The melody of hell
夕闇の中を
Slipped out
すり抜けて街に響き渡った
From amidst the darkness of twilight and echoed throughout the streets
地獄のメロディは
The melody of hell
誰にも気付かれず
Unbeknownst to anyone
路地裏で静かに啜り泣いた
Sobbed silently in an alleyway
小高い丘を駆けてく刹那
The moment I started dashing up a small little hill
本当は気付いてたんだよ
I actually realized
地獄のリフは僕の鼓動だった
That the riff of hell was my heartbeat
曰く人生はメリーゴーランド
Life is a merry go round
楽しいだけで堂々巡り
It’s fun but I’m just going around in circles
一人考えたワンルームアパートで
I ruminated alone in my one room apartment
持ち込んだ夢の置場所のこと
About where to put this dream I brought up
腹が減っちゃって
I’m getting hungry
有り金尽いちゃって君に
I used up all my money to
電話したんだ
Call you up
声は電波に乗っかって
Your voice came broadcasted over to me
薄っぺらになった
And got artificial
行かなきゃ有刺鉄線の先の鉄塔の
I gotta go, to the steel tower on the other side of the barbed wire fence
軋む音を聞いて
To hear that grating sound
地獄のメロディが
The melody of hell
夕闇の中を
Slipped out
すり抜けて街に響き渡った
From amidst the darkness of twilight and echoed throughout the streets
地獄のメロディと
Along with the melody of hell
高速のナイフが
A knife the speed of sound
すれ違う誰かに届きゃいいんだ
I hope it’s heard by somebody passing by
Footnotes:
夜汽車を降りて噂通りさ
I get off the night train, it’s just as the rumors say
+
見分けらんないよ錦通りで
I can’t tell heads from tails, on the Nishiki-doori highway
He did a pun with the word 通り, a word that means “Street” or “According to”.. 錦通(Nishikidoori) isn’t supposed to be spelled with the り either, so it’s definitely on purpose!
Related interview:
https://skream.jp/interview/2014/05/village_mans_store.php
-これまでと違ってレーベルに所属して作品を出すことについてはどのように感じていますか?
Interviewer: How did you feel about releasing an album through a label for the first time?
水野:楽曲はみんなが丁寧に作ってくれてるのがわかってたんで、そこに心配はなかったし、戸惑いとかは全くないんですけど、今回初めてスピーカーの向こうにいる人たちの存在を意識しましたね。ライヴで言う"いけ~!"っていう言葉に重さがないとか、なんて無責任なんだろうと思って。だから今回は歌詞を書くのに凄く時間がかかって。書きたくないことを書くことによって自分の嫌な部分や汚い部分、弱い部分が見えるから、それが恥ずかしいし、出したくなくて凄くつらかったんです。自分のイメージの"やれ~!"とか、これまで歌ってきたことは本当にみんなが聴きたい言葉かなって。"いけ、やれ"っていう言葉自体は間違いではないと思うんだけど、そこに重みがないといけないなって。そこに行きつくまでの言葉が今までなかったんです。だから書きたくないなと思いながら、ファミレスで3日間とか帰らないで注意されながら歌詞を書いてました(笑)。
Mizuno: I knew that everyone would play nice and neat, so I had no worries in that regard, no confusion at all. For the first time I was conscious of the people out there listening from home. The “Come on!” stuff I do live at concerts has no weight here, to do it would be irresponsible in a way. So it took me a long time to get the lyrics right this time around. By writing stuff I didn’t want to write, did the parts of myself I hate, the ugly parts, the weak parts all seep out, and that stuff is embarrassing, I didn’t want to show it. It was really painful for me. The stuff I’ve been singing up until now was just what people wanted to hear, like my definition of “Do it!”. The words “Go on, do it.” themselves aren’t bad but, if they have no weight then what’s the point, y’know. And my words had never quite reached that point up until now. That’s the reason I had such an aversion to writing such, so I had to force myself to stay at a family restaurant for 3 days until I finished the lyrics, getting in trouble all the while.
-え?3日間ずっとファミレスで?
Interviewer: What? You stayed at a family restaurant for 3 whole days?
水野:ずっと(笑)。注意されて、ごめんなさいってお金払って家に帰って服を着替えてからまた戻ってきて(笑)。
Mizuno: The whole time (laughs). Once I got in trouble I would say I’m sorry, pay, go home, change my clothes, and then go straight back (laughs).
一同:ははははは
Everyone: Hahahahaha.
水野:1曲書くまで絶対帰らんぞって決めてて。書きたくないからやめてた言葉を横に書いてたんですよ。それを絶対入れなきゃいけないと思って。
Mizuno: I decided that I wasn’t allowed to go home until I finished 1 song. I scribbled down the words I had given up on because I didn’t wanna write them on the side too. I felt like I needed to include them.
-それは今回のアルバム『刃の上を君と行く』の中でいうと例えばどの曲に反映されていますか?
Interviewer: Which songs on the album, “Yaiba no Ue wo Kimi to Yuku”, did this reflect into?
水野:「地獄のメロディ」、「眠れぬ夜は自分のせい」とか、今回のアルバムを通して同じことしか言ってないんですよ。現状とか自分が朝起きてから寝るまでのそれだけのことで。でもそれを言わないと伝わらないのかなと。いわゆる名刺ですよね、わかりやすく言うと。
Mizuno: Like “Jigoku no Melody”, “Nemurenuyoruhajibunnosei” and such. I’m just expressing the same stuff throughout this album. My current life, just whatever I do from when I wake up in the morning to when I fall asleep at night. If I never express this then nobody will ever know me. It’s a type of business card, to put it in simple words.
-家の中では煮詰まっちゃうから外に出て歌詞を書かなきゃいけないって思ったんでしょうか。
Interviewer: At home you can get stuck easily, so I guess you decided that you needed to leave the house in order to write your lyrics.
水野:部屋が凄く大好きなんで(笑)、部屋だとただ好きなことだけしちゃうんです。(外で書くことで)自分がどれだけ狭いところから世界を見てたのかなと思ったし、そこじゃないところからじゃないと見えないこともあって。家で書いてもあんまりうまくいかなくて、色んなところで書いてるうちにファミレスに(笑)。名古屋の栄の大通りにずっと座って書いてたりもしてたんですけど、寒いだけだったし(笑)。
Mizuno: I really love my room (laughs), I just do whatever I want in there. So by going outside do I realize how small my perception of the world is, there’s stuff I can’t see unless I leave my room. The stuff I wrote at home wasn’t very good, so after going around to places I then ended up at a family restaurant (laughs). I had sat and hung out at the main street in Nagoya’s Sakae to write for a while also, but it was just too cold (laughs).
一同:(笑)
Everyone: (laughs).
-"錦通で右も左もおんなじ顔して"というのはその時に名古屋で書いたんですね。
Interviewer: So the lyric “On the Nishidoori highway - From left to right everybody’s making the same faces” was written while you were in Nagoya.
水野:それまで地元にいたんですけど、"これじゃ駄目だ"って思って1人で覚悟を決めて名古屋に出てきて。でもその時に楽しすぎて帰りたくなったんですよ。周りが凄い輝きすぎていて。
Mizuno: I had been in my local area up until then but I realized it just wasn’t working. So I mustered up the conviction to go out to Nagoya alone. I started having too much fun that I never wanted to go home. Everything around there is so shiny and sparkly.
-"日々はね有刺鉄線の中に全部あるよ"という歌詞はそういう街の中を描いているんでしょうか?
Interviewer: The lyric “My life is actually, guess what, completely within a barbed wire fence“ was based off of that city then?
水野:名古屋から自分の家の方を見ると山が見えるんですよ。そこに鉄塔があったり電線が張ってるんです。地元から出てきて帰り道を自分でわざとなくしたということを有刺鉄線に置き換えたんです。
Mizuno: If you look towards the direction my house while standing in Nagoya, you’ll see tons of mountains. There’s steel towers and telephone wires all over too. I likened the way I left my local area and purposefully lost my way home to a barbed wire fence.
~~
-「地獄のメロディ」は先程おっしゃったように水野さんの心情が綴られている曲ですけど、曲調はこのアルバムで1番ポップですよね。意図的にギャップを作ったんですか?
Interviewer: As you mentioned before, “Jigoku no Melody” is a song spelling out Mizuno’s feelings. The melody is the most pop out of everything on the album, so was this disparity intentional?
加納:そうですね。歌詞は決してポップじゃないし棘があるんだけど、それを組み合わせると面白いと思いまして。
Kanou Yasunori: It was. The lyrics are anything but pop and they have thorns, but to put two opposite things together makes it interesting.
水野:サウンドはモッズ的ポップを意識したんです。
Mizuno: I aimed for something like Mod style pop. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mod_(subculture))