Their debut single “Hitohira No Hanabira (ヒトヒラのハナビラ)", released on November 5, 2008, was the 17th ending theme for the famous anime series Bleach and ranked #25 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Their second single "Namida No Mukou (泪のムコウ)" was the second opening theme for the second season of the Sunrise series Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and it ranked #2 in the Oricon charts.
In March 2009, the girls performed at SXSW 2009 in Austin, Texas, and received a thunderous ovation.
Their third single "I do it", released on April 22, 2009, is a collaboration with fellow Sony Music Entertainment Japan singer YUI. Their debut studio album "Hydrangea ga Saiteiru (ハイド.ランジアが咲いている)" was released on June 17, 2009 and ranked #7 on the Oricon weekly charts. The song “Seishun ni, Sono Namida ga Hitsuyou da!” from the album was featured in a Japanese Lipton Iced Tea television commercial. Shortly after, the band went on their first tour, A hydrangea blooms. Along with the tour goods, there were 50 signed score band books in each venue for purchase.
In August 2009, Stereopony released their fourth single "Smilife (スマイライフ)." “Smilife” was used as the theme song for the 2009 anime film Yatterman: Shin Yatter Mecha Daishūgō! Omocha no Kuni de Daikessen da Koron!. Their fifth single "Tsukiakari no Michishirube (ツキアカリのミチシルベ)" was also released with a tie-in with the second season of hit anime series Darker than Black: Ryūsei no Gemini; it ranked #8 on Oricon. Stereopony’s seventh single, "OVER DRIVE ", was released on May 12, 2010 and was used for the opening theme for the Japanese drama Pro Golfer Hana.
After releasing four singles, in June 2010 the girls released their much anticipated second studio album "OVER THE BORDER" and returned to the United States to perform at AnimeNEXT. It would be the first time for the band to perform at an anime convention in the United States. Their eighth single "Chiisana Mahou (小さな魔法)," the opening theme of anime series Letter Bee: REVERSE, was released on December 8, 2010.
Stereopony performed at Anime Boston 2011 as special guests at the Hynes Convention Center on April 23, 2011. They played a wide selection of songs from both albums and their latest single, as well as a cover of Green Day’s “American Idiot.” Shortly after returning from their appearance at Anime Boston, the group announced they would be providing the theme song to the 2011 film Tengoku kara no Yell (天国からのエール). Stereopony will collaborate with the band Kariyushi58 to produce the single "Tatoeba Utaenakunattara (たとえば唄えなくなったら)" to be released on August 10, 2011. Stereopony will contribute the song “Akashi” (証) on the Zone tribute album Zone Tribute: Kima ga Kureta Mono (ZONEトリビュート～君がくれたもの～) to be released on August 10, 2011; “Akashi” is a cover of Zone’s 2002 single. On July 16, 2011 Aimi officially started an Ameblo blog. The band's tenth single, "Arigatō" (ありがとう?), will be released on September 28, 2011. The movie version of the music video for the single, released on September 1, 2011, featured well known movie actor Abe Hiroshi. He also will be on the cover of the Version B single.
Stereopony decided to disband in October 2012.
Hanbunko
Stereopony Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ima demo mada motte masuka
Dokoka de onaji kuuki ki wo sute
Dokoka de onaji koto wo kangaete
Dokoko ni tsunagare michi wo aruki
Dokoko de onaji suki wo miru
Doushite ano toki anata ni
Doushite ano toki anata to
Sayonara shite shimattan darou
Taiyou ga nobori kiru mae ni
Anata wo dakishimete itai
Tsuki ga yami yomi komu mae ni
Anata wo dakishimete itai
Hanbunko shita ai no kakera wo
Ima demo mada motte masu ka
Hanbunko shita ai no kakera wo
Ima demo mada motte masu ka
Futari de aruite machi nami
Futari de kawasu hajimete no kisu
Futari de nemuru yume no naka
Futari de utau koi no uta
Futari de eranda koubu ya
Futari de warau warui shashin
Futari de kawasu de yakusoku
Anata wa mou wasurette tanda
Anata nukumori kitte komai ni
Mou ichido dakishimete itai
Anata no ni wo ii kitte komai ni
Mou ichido dakishimete itai
Hanbunko shita omoide tachi wo
Ima demo mada oboete masu ka
Hanbunko shita anata no kokoro wo
Mada mo dete mou ii desu ka
Mou ii ya akira meyotte
Ata mada wakatte iru no ni
Kono te ga mimi ga kuchibiru ga
Anata no kakera sagashiteru
Aitakute aitakute
Hanbunko shita ai no kakera wo
Ima demo mada motte masu ka
Hanbunko shita ai no kakera wo
Ima demo mada motte masu ka
Hanbunko shita ai no kakera wo
Ima demo mada motte masu ka
Hanbunko shita ai no kakera wo
Ima demo mada motte masu ka
Otsubu no shiro karai
Namida ga afurete kuru hodo
Anata wo aishiteru anata wo aishiteru
Otsubu no shiro karai
Namida ga afurete kuru hodo
Anata wo aishiteru anata wo aishiteru
The lyrics to Stereopony's "Hanbunko" talk about a love that has ended, leaving behind pieces of a broken heart. The song begins by asking if the pieces of the half-hearted love are still being held onto, even now. The singer reflects on the times shared with the former love, wondering why they couldn't communicate better and why they had to say goodbye. The chorus repeats the question of whether the fragments of leftover love are still being held onto.
The second half of the song reminisces about past moments shared between the two, like walking through the town together, sharing a first kiss, and singing romantic songs together. The singer wishes to hold onto the warmth of the former love once more before finally moving on. The repeated lines of "anata wo aishiteru" (I love you) highlight the depth of the singer's feelings for the former love, despite the breakup.
Overall, "Hanbunko" is a song that captures the lingering feelings of a past love and the longing for what has been lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Hanbunko shita ai no kakera wo
Do you still have the remains of our love that we parted into pieces?
Ima demo mada motte masuka
Do you still keep them with you?
Dokoka de onaji kuuki ki wo sute
Let's breathe the same air from somewhere far away
Dokoka de onaji koto wo kangaete
Let's think about the same things from somewhere far away
Dokoko ni tsunagare michi wo aruki
Let's walk down the connected path from somewhere far away
Dokoko de onaji suki wo miru
Let's see the same things that we love from somewhere far away
Doushite ano toki anata ni
Why couldn't I tell you anything at that time?
Nanimo tsuttaerarera katan darou
Did I fear that everything that I would tell you would be severed?
Doushite ano toki anata to
Why did I end up saying goodbye to you at that time?
Sayonara shite shimattan darou
Did I have to say goodbye to you?
Taiyou ga nobori kiru mae ni
Before the sun rises
Anata wo dakishimete itai
I want to hug you
Tsuki ga yami yomi komu mae ni
Before the moon gets swallowed by darkness
Anata wo dakishimete itai
I want to hug you
Futari de aruite machi nami
We walked through the waves of the city together
Futari de kawasu hajimete no kisu
We shared our first kiss together
Futari de nemuru yume no naka
We slept in the dream together
Futari de utau koi no uta
We sang the song of love together
Futari de eranda koubu ya
We chose the shoes to wear together
Futari de warau warui shashin
We both laughed at the bad photos together
Futari de kawasu de yakusoku
We exchanged promises together
Anata wa mou wasurette tanda
But you had already forgotten about them
Anata nukumori kitte komai ni
I get lost in your warmth
Mou ichido dakishimete itai
I want to hug you once again
Anata no ni wo ii kitte komai ni
I get lost in your breath
Hanbunko shita omoide tachi wo
Do you still remember the memories that we parted in half?
Ima demo mada oboete masu ka
Do you still remember them even now?
Hanbunko shita anata no kokoro wo
Can I still have a copy of your heart that we parted in half?
Mada mo dete mou ii desu ka
Can you still give it to me now?
Mou ii ya akira meyotte
I'm getting tired of pretending everything's okay
Ata mada wakatte iru no ni
Even though I still understand everything
Kono te ga mimi ga kuchibiru ga
My hands, ears, and lips are all searching for a piece of you
Anata no kakera sagashiteru
I'm searching for your pieces
Aitakute aitakute
I miss you, I miss you
Otsubu no shiro karai
My tears are as bitter as mustard seeds
Namida ga afurete kuru hodo
I'm overflowing with tears
Anata wo aishiteru anata wo aishiteru
I love you, I love you
Otsubu no shiro karai
My tears are as bitter as mustard seeds
Namida ga afurete kuru hodo
I'm overflowing with tears
Anata wo aishiteru anata wo aishiteru
I love you, I love you
Contributed by Annabelle D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.