The title song is the opening theme for the second season of the currently airing anime “NieR:Automata Ver1.1a,” and is an emotional song that sings of the despair, confusion, anger, and other feelings of an android who has lost his comrades and is left behind on Earth.
The coupling songs are the fast-paced “MAKE A MiRACLE,” a tie-up song for the “Boat Race 2024” TV commercial, and the rock number “Brainwashing,” written and composed by Kitani Tatsuya, who is active not only in anime but also in a wide range of other scenes.
To commemorate the release of “Black Box,” which features three songs with different charms, we conducted an interview!
We spoke to her at length about the highlights and attention to detail of each song, as well as stories from the music video and jacket shoot, and her live tour “LiSA LiVE Smile Always ~ COCKTAiL PARTY ~ SWEET & SOUR” which begins on Saturday, September 14th.
–First of all, please tell us your impressions of playing the original game that NieR:Automata is based on.
LiSA (hereinafter, LiSA): The visuals of “NieR:Automata” and the pictures and backgrounds in the game world are so detailed that at first I thought, “Is this a movie?” It was such a beautiful world, and I was really drawn to it.
Also, people around me who like “NieR:Automata” told me a lot about it, and as I learned more about how the story unfolded, I felt more and more that, although it is very cruel, it is an important theme in the society I live in and something that we should all think about.
–It’s heartbreaking to see an android that was created to repel invading android lifeforms begin to have emotions and become confused and wonder “what are we fighting for?”
LiSA: It’s tough, isn’t it? I think that the idea of humans using androids as combat weapons and being in a safe place can be substituted for our society. I think there are many people who think they are on the android side, and many people who feel bad when they think about androids.
–What was your impression of the first season of the anime “NieR:Automata Ver1.1a”?
LiSA: The story is different from the “NieR” I know, and I think the anime is able to go into more detail, such as the expressions and feelings of the girls called “YoRHa units” that I couldn’t feel in the game. I was looking forward to the start of the second season.
–The opening theme song for the second season of “NieR:Automata Ver1.1a,” “Black Box,” was written and composed by Hiromu Akita of amazarashi, who was also in charge of the ending theme song for the first season. How did you come to entrust this to Akita?
LiSA: When amazarashi was working on the game “NieR:Automata,” they created music that was closely aligned with the world of the work, and I felt that amazarashi and “NieR” were a perfect match.
So when I found out I would be performing the opening theme song for the second season, I thought that amazarashi would be the one who understood NieR the best and would be able to create a song that was close to it, so I asked them, even though I didn’t think they would do it.
▲amazarashi
- Were there any requests from the anime production side?
LiSA: I received a message from Akita saying that if he were to write a song, I’d leave it to him.
–Please tell us your impression when you first heard the “Black Box” recording.
LiSA: It fits in with the worldview of “NieR,” and although you can’t feel it in 2B and the others’ story, I felt the sadness, sorrow, and pain that they must be feeling.
Their hearts are called “black boxes,” and when I compared this to that, I felt like I was singing about the human heart, and I believe Akita-san also based his song on that.
–I don’t think there has ever been such a sad opening song for an anime before.
LiSA: I feel it has a similar worldview to the “Fate” series (her solo debut song, “oath sign,” is the opening theme for the TV anime “Fate/Zero”). Machine lifeforms… in “Fate,” they are servants, beings close to humans… but the sadness and sorrow of controlling them and making them fight is also felt in “NieR,” and I felt a pain that was even more cruel from this song.
–I was also really moved by the way the song was sung, going from confusion and despair in the A-melody to an explosion of pent-up anger in the chorus.
LiSA: When I sing songs like this, I first break it down and sing it with a blueprint in mind, but with this song I didn’t just follow the blueprint. As I expressed myself more naturally, my emotions started to explode towards the end.
–Was there anything you paid particular attention to when singing?
LiSA：Aメロの訥々（とつとつ）としているメロディと言葉の置き方がとても好きで。やり場のない感情を、ひとり言をつぶやくように、そしてどこに向かって歩いていったらいいのかわからない、せつなさや悲しさみたいなものと、あとは孤独感などを表現していくわけですが、私は感情を「わかってくれ！」と歌に込めがちなので、そうではなく歌で訥々と表現していくことが私にとっての挑戦でした。
――秋田さんからの反応はいかがでしたか？
LiSA：公式サイトに寄せたコメントにて「LiSAさんの歌声で、2Bが見る無情な世界の情緒と感傷がより彩度を増して表現できたと思います」とおっしゃってくださって。それを見て秋田さんは、女性の声で再生されること、2Bの目線でこの楽曲が歌われることを思って書かれたんだなと改めて思いました。
――お気に入りのフレーズを教えてください。
LiSA：気に入っているところばかりですが、一つ挙げるとすれば、教えのように与えられた気がした「あらゆる悲しみは星を目指す」です。
「ブラックボックス」というタイトルで、『NieR』に寄り添った楽曲を秋田さんが意識的に作ってくださったんだろうなと感じた理由の1つに、『NieR』の世界観の中での星と地球の距離、宇宙の距離や引力みたいなものを楽曲に落とし込んでくださったところで。「あらゆる悲しみは星を目指す」は、亡くなった方が星になると言われることと似ていて、悲しみの気持ちも星になっていく……願いという意味の星かもしれないし、希望の光という意味の星かもしれないし。
“星”が何なのかは明示されてはいませんが、私の感覚としてはいつも自分を見守ってくれるものなのかなと。このフレーズにはいろいろな意味が込められているんじゃないかなと感じました。
――そのサビの始まり「壊してくれ その腕で 何度でも名を呼んで」からが特に心に響きました。キャッチーだからループしたくなるのではなく、苦しみや悲しみの感情を突き刺されたからこそ何度も聴きたくなるなと。
LiSA：アニメの第1クールから視聴されている皆さんには、この曲を聴いていただくことで、作品のメッセージがより明確に感じられるし、もっとせつなくなっていくので心にぐっと刺さるはずです。第2クールの最終話を見終わった後に聞いたらきっと泣いてしまうと思います。
人の心に触れたいけれど、触れられない優しさや繊細さを持っている皆さんは『NieR』の世界を知らなくても、この曲を聞けばきっと心に染みたり、共感していただけると思います。『NieR』ファンの方も『NieR』未体験の方にも聞いていただきたいです。
コメント