She also composes and writes lyrics (for herself as well as other singers in I've Sound) for numerous other song collections. She frequently works with the producers I've Sound, and has contributed songs to numerous anime and video games including Onegai Teacher, Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu, Onegai Twins, Ren'ai CHU!, Maria-sama ga Miteru, Hayate the Combat Butler, Colorful Kiss, Kannazuki no Miko, Starship Operators, Shakugan no Shana, and BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger.
In 1999, she became a professional singer. Her first successful audition was with I've Sound, a team of producers using the talents of various female vocalists for their productions—best recognized for their many dating sim and eroge game soundtracks. Since then, she has performed opening and ending themes for a few anime and has gained significant recognition from her two I've Sound-related album releases. Her second album, Garasu no Kaze, released in June 2005 has been praised within multiple online communities. On October 13, 2005, she released her fourth maxi single, which featured a song from her Garasu no Kaze album, "421: A Will" and its B-side song called "Shuusou" (秋爽, The Refreshing Autumn Breeze), which is featured in her third album, Uzu-Maki.
Although not listed on her official Geneon website, KOTOKO has actually released four albums. Her very first album was called, Sora o Tobetara, which was released in 2000. Many of the tracks on this album were later re-recorded for her first I've Sound album, Hane (羽 -hane-, Feather), and was attributed as her first album. Her first I've Sound CD appearance was on the CD "Dear Feeling" (only released at "Comic Market 59".) with previous singer Aki. She then appeared on I've Girls Compilation Album Vol.3 "Disintegration", a series of albums with various songs from the I've Sound singers.
KOTOKO's first official performance in North America was her highly successful American concert debut at Anime Expo 2005, followed soon after by the KOTOKO Lax Tour. Now that her self-composed hybrid of pop and techno beats—sometimes pop—have crossed the Pacific, KOTOKO's lyrics have elevated her presence among thousands of North American J-pop/anime fans.
In 2009 she did the theme song for the Mamoru Oshii live-action movie Assault Girls. The song 蒼-iconoclast has also been featured as the opening theme song to the console version of the widely popular game Blazblue:Calamity Trigger.
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Personality: Quiet, likes making new friends, optimist, caring, emotional, perfectionist, romantic.
Interests: Movies, shopping (online), photography, flowers, darts, softball, dancing, collecting cute things.
I want to go to: Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Morocco, Greece, Egypt, Tuvalu, Bolivia, Nepal, New Zealand, India, Thailand, Australia.
Favorite food: Cherries, and particularly fond of strawberries, actually likes all fruit except melon, noodles, curry soup, avocado, cheese, milk, pudding, mint, cooked rice, chocolate, cookies, coffee.
Favorite things: Music, poetry, movies, the sky, the sea.
Favorite animals: Rabbits, turtles, sheeps, insects.
Dislikes: The dark, narrow spaces, a bad liar, rain, people without dreams.
Dreams: Go to Los Angeles, plant a lemon tree and build a house in the hills with a view on the sea.
Asura
KOTOKO Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Watashi no naka wo kishimi nagareru shinku no suna tomenu you ni
Sure chigau hito ni furezu
Nukumori wa genkaku dato kotoba wo togisumasu
Mikansei egaku chizu wa ueta emonogatari
Kizutsuke kizutsuite itsuka hateru
Bukakkou na kono mi made terashidashite
...mada, owaranai...
Kuraberu mono ga soko ni aru kara muda na namida nagarete yuku
Yasashii basho wo motome aratai mizu no you ni nagarete yuku
Ketsui nado kuchi ni sureba hakanakute
Dare no sei? to ikari wo hakisuteru
Mikansei egaku yume wa kiita otogibanashi
Shiranu wa tsumi fukaku uragirenai
Takaku sobieta kage yaketa sora wo miteru
"itsuka are ni todoku" nobashita ude
...mada, orosenai...
Uchi no mesu koe wa itsumo genjitsu de
Yasuragi nado yurameku kageboushi
Mikansei risoukyou e wa haruka oitsukenai
Okunen sumitsuita ai wa izuko
Erande kita no nara semete mabuta hiraki
Katachinai ano yume no owari sagasu
...mada, shinjiteru...
The song Asura by KOTOKO is a soulful and deeply emotional piece that touches on themes of inner turmoil and the desire for peace and enlightenment. The first verse describes the singer's weak and fragile heartbeat, which they hide within themselves as they navigate the world. They use the metaphor of flowing crimson sand to describe the emotional pain and chaos within them that they try to suppress. The second verse goes on to highlight the singer's emotional struggles with intense anger and frustration, feeling as though they are wasting their tears on pointless comparisons with others.
The chorus of the song features a juxtaposition of a fairytale-like ideal and the harsh reality that the singer ultimately faces, as they sing of incomplete maps drawn with dried-out ink, wounds that gradually worsen until they cannot be healed, and a light that illuminates only the beautiful things around them. The bridge breaks out of the intense emotion of the chorus to highlight the singer's persistence in their hopes, willing to stretch out their arms and keep chasing after it all. Despite the uncertain and imperfect nature of their reality, the singer maintains their belief in a better future and remains firmly convinced of it.
Line by Line Meaning
Tada iki wo haku mune de namiutsu yowai kodou tomenu you ni
I breathe out from my chest like waves, as if controlling my weak heartbeat.
Watashi no naka wo kishimi nagareru shinku no suna tomenu you ni
Inside me, crimson sand flows and grinds as if controlled.
Sure chigau hito ni furezu
I won't touch those who are different.
Nukumori wa genkaku dato kotoba wo togisumasu
The warmth sharpens the words, like an illusion.
Mikansei egaku chizu wa ueta emonogatari
The incomplete drawn map is a dried-out fairy tale.
Kizutsuke kizutsuite itsuka hateru
Hurting and being hurt, one day it'll end.
Utsukushii mono ni dake ataerareta hikari
The light given only to beautiful things.
Bukakkou na kono mi made terashidashite
Illuminate even this unbalanced body.
...mada, owaranai...
...it's not over yet...
Kuraberu mono ga soko ni aru kara muda na namida nagarete yuku
Because there are things to compare to, there's a flow of useless tears.
Yasashii basho wo motome aratai mizu no you ni nagarete yuku
I seek a gentle place, like fresh water that flows.
Ketsui nado kuchi ni sureba hakanakute
Decisions made from the mouth are fleeting.
Dare no sei? to ikari wo hakisuteru
Whose fault is it? I spit out my anger.
Mikansei egaku yume wa kiita otogibanashi
The incomplete dreamed dream is a heard fairy tale.
Shiranu wa tsumi fukaku uragirenai
Not knowing is a deep sin of betrayal.
Takaku sobieta kage yaketa sora wo miteru
Looking at the burnt sky high above my profile.
"itsuka are ni todoku" nobashita ude
"One day it'll reach there" my outreached arm.
...mada, orosenai...
...I won't let go yet...
Uchi no mesu koe wa itsumo genjitsu de
My inner voice is always in reality.
Yasuragi nado yurameku kageboushi
Peace is a flickering shadow.
Mikansei risoukyou e wa haruka oitsukenai
I can't reach the incomplete ideal world far away.
Okunen sumitsuita ai wa izuko
Where is the love that has accumulated over the thousands of years?
Erande kita no nara semete mabuta hiraki
If it's what I choose, at least I'll open my eyes.
Katachinai ano yume no owari sagasu
I search for the end of that incomplete dream.
...mada, shinjiteru...
...I still believe...
Contributed by Samuel V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@aosola
loli ripe