#daisuke ono

The various copy across the magazine covers about the anime says:

"Let's Go Karaoke! is an ode to adolescence."

"A masterpiece sung from the bottom of the heart."

"An uncharted, age-gap friendship."

Sebastian Character Song — Translation & Notes

This is one of the character songs sung by Daisuke Ono for the third disc of Kuroshitsuji Sound Complete Black Box. Spoiler: it feels like Sebastian’s poem about the night their contract was made.

This song has to be my favorite piece across the entire soundtrack. Ever since I first heard it, I wanted to merge with it — to drown in the melody, the poetry, the vocals, the quiet ringing of bells that emphasizes every verse. It was literally the reason I started learning Japanese. And now, ten years later, I finally get to give something back.

P.S. Japanese is highly contextual and often ambiguous, especially in poetry. I did my best to stay true not just to the meaning, but to the feeling of the song as I hear it. I’ve also included a more in-depth version with personal notes below. Please feel free to share your personal interpretation. I'd geniunely love to know.

P.P.S. If that's your cup of tea, I also made a slowed/reverbed version with boosted vocals and strings — it scratches my brain just right → Google Drive

P.P.P.S. Fun-fact: the “gibberish” at the beginning is actually the song title played in reverse.

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Without further ado—here are the lyrics and translation.

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刹那　希望　剥がれ 意識　失い　遠く聞こえるる涙 今夜　命　惹かれ 業火 蝕み　暗黒に潜みながら

A fleeting moment — hope is torn away Consciousness fades — tears echo in the distance Tonight, life itself is drawn under Hellfire consumes, lurking in the dark

満月の闇に落ち 主に仕える翼 絶望を見つめている その孤独を護れるのなら

Falling into the full moon’s darkness Wings in service to my master Gazing directly into despair If I can protect that loneliness—

I guard you どんなに暗い琥珀より どんなに蒼い髪より どんなに赤い記憶より 狂おしく

I will guard you No matter how deep the darkness, No matter how cold the sorrow, No matter how painful the past, To the point of madness

全てを失うう時が来ても 最期の痛みに変えても それが、赦し得られるならば

Even if everything is lost one day, Even if it ends in nothing but pain, If it grants you release, it is enough.

理性　硝子　崩れ 決意影で甘く仄暗くゆらめく炎 身体　視線　刻まれ 絆　悲鳴　美意識すら　削りながら

Reason shatters like glass In the shadow of resolve, a dark, sweet flame flickers The gaze, engraved into the body As bonds, screams, even aesthetics are stripped away

礼節と血の海で 死の歌奏でる肱 絶命の火が灯り この惑いが消えぬのならば

Amidst decorum and a sea of blood, My arms perform a song of death The fatal flame is kindled If this hesitation does not fade—

Kill me tight こんなに白い温もりも こんなに苦い想いも こんなに遠い微笑も 愛おしく

Kill me tight Even such pure warmth, Even such bitter feelings, Even such distant smiles, All of it, I hold dear

切り裂く言葉が闇に消え この身が歌に変わっても 永久の誓い　守れる　ならば

Cutting words fade into the darkness Even if this body turns into a song If the eternal vow can still be kept—

壊れた　瞳の奥　眠る狂気 誓約の血が　降り注ぐ

Madness sleeping deep within broken eyes The blood of the covenant pours down

贖う　深紅の唇 解かれる　心の　吐息 かすかに　迷った　指先 触れそうで

Crimson lips offer atonement A breath escapes the heart Fingertips waver, just barely  Almost touching—

白刃　と　光が　疾走って 業苦の海に融けゆく それが、赦し得られるならば

A white blade and light race forward, melting into a sea of suffering, If it grants you release, it is enough.

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Now for some yapping!

刹那　希望　剥がれ 意識　失い　遠く聞こえるる涙 今夜　命　惹かれ 業火 蝕み　暗黒に潜みながら A fleeting moment — hope is torn away Consciousness fades — tears echo in the distance Tonight, life itself is drawn under Hellfire consumes, lurking in the dark

The language here breaks into fragments, like flashes of perception rather than complete thoughts. It feels like witnessing: someone watching a soul descend, without trying to stop it. The phrase 命惹かれ ‘life itself is drawn under’ has a broader meaning of being drawn into something inevitable, almost like succumbing to fate.  And the hellfire isn’t external, it devours from within, hidden in the dark.

満月の闇に落ち 主に仕える翼 絶望を見つめている その孤独を護れるのなら Falling into the full moon’s darkness Wings in service to my master Gazing directly into despair If I can protect that loneliness—

The first verse was descent, fragmentation, loss of self, while this one is a presence emerging and choosing to stay.  The ‘full moon’s darkness’ feels like a contradiction: a world that should be illuminated, yet isn’t. Clarity that only reveals despair, beauty that contains darkness, much like Ciel himself. So “falling into it” means entering his world. The wings are not necessarily literal — they read as identity, someone that exists to serve, a being defined by devotion. Sebastian looks at Ciel’s despair, his loneliness and sees it as not something to be erased. The kanji used here 護る is not just “protect” (守る). It has a deeper sense of guarding something sacred, worth defending. There’s something gentle in that and something quietly unsettling. A vow not to change the darkness, but to remain within it.

I guard you どんなに暗い琥珀より どんなに蒼い髪より どんなに赤い記憶より 狂おしく I will guard you No matter how deep the darkness, No matter how cold the sorrow, No matter how painful the past, To the point of madness

The original lines directly translate to colours: darker than any amber, bluer than any hair, redder than any memory. But they don’t describe objects so much as states of being. Dark amber feels ancient, preserved, already heavy with time and weight. Blue carries distance, coldness, nobility. Red is a memory soaked in pain and blood. So, to tie it all together:  “I will guard you in all that you are, your past, your nature, your suffering, even if it turns unbearable.”

全てを失うう時が来ても 最期の痛みに変えても それが、赦し得られるならば Even if everything is lost one day, Even if it ends in nothing but pain, If it grants you release, it is enough.

Here, the vow sharpens. Everything may be lost and collapse into suffering, and still, if it leads to 赦し (forgiveness, permission, release)... In this context I think that translation leans more towards ‘release’ — an end to the weight carried all this time.

理性　硝子　崩れ 決意影で甘く仄暗くゆらめく炎 身体　視線　刻まれ 絆　悲鳴　美意識すら　削りながら Reason shatters like glass In the shadow of resolve, a dark, sweet flame flickers The gaze, engraved into the body As bonds, screams, even aesthetics are stripped away

Something begins to break here. Reason gives way first. What remains is resolve, but it no longer feels pure. It dimly flickers — sweet and dark. The body and the gaze become indistinct, as if something has been carved into both. Not just a mark, but a binding. And as it deepens, everything else falls away — connection, voice, the sense of beauty itself.

礼節と血の海で 死の歌奏でる肱 絶命の火が灯り この惑いが消えぬのならば Amidst decorum and a sea of blood, My arms perform a song of death The fatal flame is kindled If this hesitation does not fade—

Elegance and violence coexist without contradiction. Everything is carried out with precision like a perfect performance. The scene is painted black with blood.

Kill me tight こんなに白い温もりも こんなに苦い想いも こんなに遠い微笑も愛おしく Kill me tight Even such pure warmth, Even such bitter feelings, Even such distant smiles, All of it, I hold dear

Then, such a twist. Suddenly, something tender. “To hold and to destroy at once” — the phrase itself feels wrong, almost broken. Where before the vow endured darkness, here it expands to include everything else: warmth, pain, distance. He cherishes what makes Ciel human, even though it might destroy them both.

切り裂く言葉が闇に消え この身が歌に変わっても 永久の誓い　守れるならば Cutting words fade into the darkness Even if this body turns into a song If the eternal vow can still be kept—

Words that wound lose their shape here, dissolving into the dark. Even the body can be reduced to nothing but voice, memory, a trace. And still the vow remains unchanged.

壊れた　瞳の奥　眠る狂気 誓約の血が　降り注ぐ Madness sleeping deep within broken eyes The blood of the covenant pours down 贖う　深紅の唇 解かれる　心の　吐息 かすかに　迷った　指先 触れそうで Crimson lips offer atonement A breath escapes the heart Fingertips waver, just barely  Almost touching—

Everything narrows down to the moment of resolve. The blood of the covenant carved into a broken eye, the fingertips about to touch. The decision has been made and can’t be changed for all eternity.

白刃　と　光が　疾走って 業苦の海に融けゆく それが、赦し得られるならば A white blade and light race forward, melting into a sea of suffering, If it grants you release, it is enough.