[Fish Sandwich]

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP22)

This episode and this two-parter as a whole are real special for me. Like I mention in the old post, I literally went right back and watched them both together after finishing the second part for the first time, which I don't do often, if ever. It just made such a massive impression that way, and I think it absolutely cemented, after a steady uphill climb, that Zi-O as a whole was also going to turn out to be something special for me. This is easily one of my favorite form debuts ever, and it really brightened my day seeing Die give such well-stated praise to the themes it's exploring.

One of the other really cool things this episode does is bring back Toki no Ouja, and well... do you remember when I said in the Kabuto thread that I wasn't going to rewatch Kabuto right then and there? Because I talked myself into doing that translation of the lyrics after all. なんか行ける気がしちゃってさ。I mean, what better way could there be to show my appreciation for one of my absolute favorite Zi-O episodes, right?

The whole reason I hesitated was because there's just no way my efforts are going to get across how spectacularly precise and clever the word choice of the original lyrics is, but this song ended up shaping my perception of Sougo so much that I figured that was no reason not to try. It deserves a way better, prettier translation than I can give it (like something as nice as Over-Time's rendition of Over Quartzer, which I'm incidentally quite fond of), but hopefully I gave it one that conveys at least some of that original brilliance. This is a song that made me love this show even more than I already did, and I'd be happy if I could help it do the same for someone else.

時の中を　駆けるように
Within time itself, I race onwards
真実だけを　探して
Seeking out truth, and truth alone
止めさせない　誰の時も
I won't let anyone's time be stopped
掛け替えのない物語　繋げる　あるべきよう
Those stories are precious, and I'll see them connected, as they should be

目を閉じれば　内なる声が響く
Close your eyes, and the voice within will lead the way
偽りなき未来　往く
Heading towards a future free of falsehood

ジオウ　時の王者
Zi-O, the ruler of time
この世界の　運命導き
Guiding the very fate of this world
Cuz I still dream on　真の王者
Because I still dream on, of a true ruler
時を越えるSAGA
In this saga that goes beyond time!

人は出会い　変って行く
People cross paths, and those meetings change us
それを進化と　呼ぶなら
And if that is what it means to grow
対峙してる　力さえも
Surely someday, even the forces that stand in my way
いつかきっと願った夢を　支える　希望になる
Will become the hope that supports me, as I reach toward my dream

信じるため　僕らは生まれてきた
Never lose faith, for we were born to keep believing
いつだって"自分"であれ
Stay true to yourself, no matter what

ジオウ　時の王者
Zi-O, the ruler of time
戦うのさ　時空飛び越えて
Fighting on, across all time and space
Cuz I still dream on　真の王者
Because I still dream on, of a true ruler
受け継ぐのはLegend
The one who inherits this legend!

伝説を知るたび毎に
With every legend I encounter
未知なる価値を　飲み込むように
It's as though I start to grasp potential I've never known
手に入れる
I take into my hands
自分らしく新しい　強さを
A brand new strength, that can only be my own

ジオウ　時の王者
Zi-O, the ruler of time
この世界の　運命導き
Guiding the very fate of this world
Cuz I still dream on　真の王者
Because I still dream on, of a true ruler
時を越えるSAGA
In this saga that goes beyond time!