Akuma no Ko – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: Samuel Kim

Lyrics & Translation

While Samuel Kim's "Akuma no Ko" is an orchestral cover of a Japanese song, its emotional depth and epic arrangement make it a powerful entry point to appreciate the dramatic language used in anime soundtracks. By listening to the nuances of this instrumental arrangement, you can begin to grasp the intensity and feeling that the original Japanese lyrics convey, even without understanding every word.

[English]

The iron bullet proves justice

If I pierce through, I'll be closer to a hero

If you close your eyes and try to feel it

It's the same shape, the same body warmth of a devil

Why am I no good while he is?

There was just a wall there

Don't lament the fate of being born

Because we are all free

Like a bird, if we have wings

We can go anywhere

But if there's no place to return to

Surely we can't go anywhere

I just don't want to live like this

The world is cruel, yet I still love you

No matter the sacrifice, I will protect you

Even if it's a mistake, I won't doubt it

To believe in what's right is to strongly believe in oneself

A second ago’s blink, a world left behind

If you can flap your wings, tell him

Countless birds burning their feathers

Spreading ashes, laughing in peace

Someone scatter them

Proof that I was here too

Bones will eventually turn to dust and disappear anyway

Still, I live even though bones will eventually turn to dust

...

The world is cruel, yet I still love you

No matter the sacrifice, I will protect you

The shadow of the chosen, the corpse of what was discarded

I realized that within myself, the devil's child grows

Behind justice, in sacrifice, there's a devil's child in my heart

...

[Japanese]

鉄の弾が 正義の証明

貫けば 英雄に近づいた

その目を閉じて 触れてみれば

同じ形 同じ体温の悪魔

僕はダメで あいつはいいの？

そこに壁があっただけなのに

生まれてしまった 運命嘆くな

僕らはみんな 自由なんだから

鳥のように 羽があれば

どこへだって行けるけど

帰る場所が なければ

きっとどこへも行けない

ただただ生きるのは嫌だ

世界は残酷だ それでも君を愛すよ

なにを犠牲にしても それでも君を守るよ

間違いだとしても 疑ったりしない

正しさとは 自分のこと 強く信じることだ

一秒前の瞬き 取り残された世界

羽撃けるなら彼に伝えて

羽根を焦がす無数の鳥が

灰を散らし安らぎ笑う

誰か散らせ

僕がここに居たという証も

骨はどうせ砂と化して消えるのに

骨はどうせ砂と化して消えるのに生きてる

世界は残酷だ それでも君を愛すよ

なにを犠牲にしても それでも君を守るよ

選んだ人の影 捨てたものの屍

気づいたんだ 自分の中 育つのは悪魔の子

正義の裏 犠牲の中 心には悪魔の子

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
正義 /せいぎ/ B2	noun - justice
英雄 /えいゆう/ B2	noun - hero
悪魔 /あくま/ B2	noun - devil
運命 /うんめい/ B2	noun - fate
自由 /じゆう/ B1	noun - freedom
世界 /せかい/ A2	noun - world
愛す /あいす/ B1	verb - to love
守る /まもる/ B1	verb - to protect
犠牲 /ぎせい/ B2	noun - sacrifice
信じる /しんじる/ B1	verb - to believe
瞬き /まばたき/ B2	noun - blink
骨 /ほね/ B1	noun - bone

Key Grammar Structures

• 鉄の弾が 正義の証明

  ➔ Nominalizer 'ga' + Subject Marker

  ➔ The particle 'ga' turns the verb '貫く (tsurannuku - pierce)' into a noun phrase, acting as the subject of the sentence. It signifies 'the act of piercing' *is* proof of justice. The 'ga' marks the subject.

• 僕はダメで あいつはいいの？

  ➔ Contrastive 'de' + Question Particle

  ➔ The 'de' particle creates a contrast between 'I' (僕 - boku) and 'that person' (あいつ - aitsu). It implies 'I am no good, but is *he* good?'. The question particle 'の (no)' at the end turns the statement into a rhetorical question.

• 選んだ人の影 捨てたものの屍

  ➔ Relative Clause + Nominalization

  ➔ '選んだ人 (eranda hito - the person chosen)' is a relative clause modifying '影 (kage - shadow)'. '捨てたもの (suteta mono - the things discarded)' is a noun phrase, and '屍 (shishi - corpse)' is used metaphorically to represent the remnants of those discarded things. The sentence structure is parallel, creating a poetic effect.

• 骨はどうせ砂と化して消えるのに生きてる

  ➔ 'douse' + 'to naru' (become) + '消える (kieru - disappear)' + 'no ni' (despite)

  ➔ 'どうせ (douse)' expresses a sense of inevitability or futility ('anyway', 'after all'). '骨 (hone - bones)' will inevitably become sand and disappear ('砂と化して消える - sunato nashite kieru'), *yet* the speaker is still alive ('生きてる - ikiteru'). The 'のに (no ni)' construction highlights the contradiction.