Lyrical Deep Dive Collaboration: ジュビリー - The Cosmic March of Celebration

Cinderella Girls, the IDOLM@STER branch carrying the motifs of Cinderella. The fairy tale where an ordinary girl escapes a dusty basement to become a princess. The 12 year old franchise with the power to transcend the 4th wall and grant the desires of those who dared to wish upon a star. For some, the franchise was their escape from poverty or retirement. To many more, it was the impetus that kickstarted their career. With its age, it eventually became something people grew up with and aspired to be part of. Now in 2024, a new wish will be granted, and it begins with one girl.

Somewhere in the universe, there was a girl who desired to be part of the franchise she loved. But unlike the others that have gone before her, who made that dream happen by becoming staff, musicians or voice actresses, this Cinderella decided she would forge her own path. Fortunately this girl was no stranger to setting new precedences. Just last year in 2023, she became the first VTuber to perform on the music channel "THE FIRST TAKE". That girl goes by the name Hoshimachi Suisei.

Suisei, the singer and VTuber is one of the most prominent names of the Hololive brand. Outside of her numerous original songs as a virtual singer/artiste, she is also part of the music unit Midnight Grand Orchestra together with the famous and well loved Cinderella Girls composer TAKU INOUE who did hit tracks like Hotel Moonside and Radio Happy. Her massive audience and industry connections gave her the power to grant her wish to enter the world of Cinderella Girls through collaboration.

ジュビリー (Jubilee), the collaboration song, represents the climax of the collaboration. A duet between Suisei and her favorite idol Takagaki Kaede, the song encapsulates the wish granted, for the virtual to connect with the fictional. The song, as one might expect, is composed by TAKU INOUE with lyrics by TAKU INOUE. Notably, his lyricist nickname MCTC is absent here, which makes it feel more like Midnight Grand Orchestra Taku Inoue rather than Cinderella Girls Taku Inoue.

Today, we will take a deep dive into the Jubilee and understand the festival that transcends the cosmos. So strap up for the ride as we're just getting started. But before that, you really should make sure you've already heard the song at least once. Fortunately the full version is available for streaming, meaning its on youtube like right here.

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Standard disclaimer: Translations are not meant to be perfect English and comprehensible sentences to give the reader who may not understand Japanese a chance to derive meaning from the original literature with the original contextual clues, instead of having someone else already making that interpretation for you. Read the discussion under each section for some suggestion on the interpretations.

始まるよジュビリー
ねえ超新星と行進しよう

Lets start the Jubilee
Hey, lets march with the supernova

A Jubilee represents a special anniversary. The song was unveiled as a surprise on Suisei's 6th Anniversary Live. It's a joyous occasion and the due to the timing that was orchestrated in the planning of this collab, the name is quite apt for the situation. After all, there's nothing more special than being able to finally make your dream come true.

Next we get introduced to a supernova and a march. Marching is a major theme of this song, something that we will be exploring in detail quite soon. A supernova is a giant explosion caused by a star. Interestingly, its kanji is literally "super new star". If you come from other Suisei songs you are probably no stranger to all the space and star motifs that are common in her other tracks. I mean her name is literally the words for star, street and comet. In this song the supernova represents this landmark event where an idol and a VTuber combine to make this new song. A new star unlike any other. Lets follow the journey of this comet through the universe.

合図を待っている
フレーズを確かめて
目を合わせた
きっと太陽はいまごろ夢の中

Wait for the cue
Check the phrase
Made eye contact
Surely the sun is in the midst of a dream

The first half of the section here resembles a live pre-check where things are assessed to be in order before the songs begin. The last line on the other hand talks about the sun sleeping. With the strong motif of stars and night sky in some of Suisei's other songs, it seems to tie into the idea that during the day, the stars in the sky are not visible due to the amount of light provided by the sun. It's silly since the concept of night on earth is only due to the side of the earth not facing the sun. Therefore if the context of this galactic performance was the cosmos, we'd need to be very far from the sun or covered by some other object. Still, the night and starry sky motif is strong in a number of Suisei and Taku Inoue's works.

The tie in between the last line and the first 3 are about timing and opportunity. The theme here considers something that is both well planned with a hint of chance considering the assumptive nature of the last line.

ようこそパレードへ
チケットはいらない
君がそこにいる
音楽が始まる

Welcome to the parade
Tickets are not needed
You are here
The music starts

Fortunately (or unfortunately?) Jubilee is not a Live Parade event in Starlight Stage.

This section talks about being here and now for the music festivities. As mentioned earlier, a parade also has some relation to the idea of marching, but we haven't gotten to the meat of things yet, so continue to keep this in mind. The rest of this section describes what can only be described as a YouTube livestream. After all if you think about what Suisei's 6th Anniversary Live is, its a "parade" where you are "there" and there are no tickets required. All you do is join the stream and the music starts. Simple, elegant and it works.

Interestingly this entire section in both the game and full version is being sung by Kaede and not Suisei, despite the possible vtuber related interpretation we've pointed out earlier. I have since been schooled that looking at the choreo for this section makes the answer very obvious. Kaede turns around to look at Suisei in this part, so it's effectively her extending the invitation to Suisei. Now that she's part of the game and part of the song, she doesn't need a ticket to participate in the live. She's on the stage. An invitation from your favorite idol.

高らかにホーンズアップ
めくるめくようなフレーズは
一夜のトロイメライ
艶やかなトランペット
夜空を渡って
照れ屋の月さえ顔を出すんだ
さながら僕らは天の川

Horns up high
The phrase that appears dazzling is
[a] one night Träumerei
Bewitching trumpet
Crossing the night sky
Even the shy moon shows it's face
Just like we are the milky way

Here is where the marching motifs start to kick in harder. "Horns Up" is a marching band command to raise instruments to playing position, indicating a readiness to play. Interestingly this also has some rock/metal significance it can also be interpreted as a cue to do the "horn gesture" with their hands. Not terribly common to do in terms of idol lives, but I guess with Taku Inoue and his plethora of DJ events its also something in line with what a clubgoer might do as well. Either way you slice it, it appears the line is about readiness for the celebration.

Next we get to talk about a dazzling one night Träumerei. This is the title of one of Robert Schumann's piano pieces from Kinderszenen, Op. 15, no. 7. A relatively simple piece compared to some other well known classical piano songs, with a lot of room for the quiet sections to breathe. There's some dreamlike quality to pieces like this, which may be what the song is going for thematically since Cinderella has a lot to do with the idea of granting a wish.

The rest of the section talks about the presence of this celebration, something that crosses the night sky. A performance capable of attracting the "shy moon", which would represent some others who have not heard of either Suisei, Cinderella Girls or even both who have started to notice what's going on. Finally, we talk about "we" are the milky way which could be about the size of the celebration being on such a grand scale.

宇宙までよろしくドラムメジャー
星の街　恋の風
出会いは音楽になってまた咲く

Best regards to the universe, Drum Major
Streets of stars, Wind of Love
Meeting is become music and bloom

The marching theme continues here. A drum major is the leader of the group, or the conductor. It can be seen as the conductor sending their regards to the universe, which is talking about the scale at which this event is happening at just like the section before. Could it be referring to the management on both sides? I'll leave that one for you to decide. A last note for this line is that in terms of musical phrasing, this line groups with the last line of the previous chunk instead of with the rest of this verse where the music shifts in mood.

The next part talks about... Well actually, its just a bunch of name drops since the streets of stars and wind of love refer to part of Suisei's name, Hoshimachi (星街) and Kaede's solo song koikaze (こいかぜ). Once you have figured that out it's quite easy to see what exact this "meeting" is about. Simply put, it's referring to this very song, the music that bloomed out of the meeting of the Idol and the VTuber.

銀河系の隅っこで
同じ呼吸と同じハーモニー
ほら　ほら　奇跡はここにある

In the corner of the galaxy
Same breathing and same harmony
Hey, Hey, the miracle is here

Continuing the theme about the celebration taking place somewhere in space, this part talks about the singers being connected in this corner of the galaxy. The idea of breathing the same really dives deep into the idea of an intimate connection between the two. This is the dream-like miracle of the collaboration.

Wait... a miracle in the middle of the night? Why does this remind me of some other Taku Inoue song...?

始まるよジュビリー
さあ朝夕　薄暮　薄明
Let the music swing and swing
星屑のチューニングキーで
電光石火ドラムライン
もっと遠く　遠く

Let's start the Jubilee
Come, morning and evening, twilight, daybreak
Let the music swing and swing
With the tuning key of stardust
Exceedingly fast drumline
More further, further

First we have part that talks about the different times of day. 朝夕 (Asayuu) can mean "from morning to night". The other two are about the stages of the sun. 薄暮 (Hakubo) is about a low light state where the sun is about to set completely, while 薄明 (Hakumei) is about a low light state when the sun rises in the morning. Put together it talks about a Jubilee, the party that transcends time of day. A party so grand it goes on and on.

A tuning key refers to one of those things on an instrument like a guitar or drum where you turn it to tune the instrument to make sure that it sounds right. Since the next part talks about a drumline, this means that we're most likely thinking of drums in this case. In marching terms a "drumline" is a formation involving a section of percussion instruments. Typically, moving in the formation is involved when we talked about "drumline" (because without the movement it's usually called a "front pit" instead). To string the whole section together, the last line talks about going further and further, moving in formation. The parade that continues to transcend space. In idol songs, the concept of reach and going the distance are very common themes, so this song is no exception here too.

終わらないジュビリー
さあ十人十色ベルアップ
Let the music sing and sing
探してよ Who is me?
ねえ超新星と行進しよう
ずっと遠く　遠く

Unending Jubilee
Come, to each their own, bell up
Let the music sing and sing
Lets search, Who is me?
Hey lets march with the supernova
Continuously further, further

The party continues. We got another tricky to translate line here. The phase 十人十色 (lit: ten people ten colors) is an expression about individuality. Everyone has their own minds and tastes. Alternatively sometimes translated to the english expression "different strokes for different folks". The other part of this line is "bell up" which is a marching band command to raise the instrument. Note that this is different from "horns up" in that horns up is for readiness, whereas "bell up" is for physical height of the instrument. This typically is done for emphasis as a choreographic effect, sometimes used to signify heightened tension.

Slotted right in the middle of the chorus block here is an introspection section. It's asking us to search, but search for what? I think it would be a mistake to consider this line only in isolation. If you look at the grander picture, this question represents a journey of self discovery. Within the Jubilee, the grand celebrations that are going on, the whole idea of marching on together with the explosion of the star to new further reaches describes this quest and objective within the joy, happiness and celebrations.

今夜君の涙と
僕の弱さが出会って
歌になればいいなって笑う

Tonight your tears and
My weakness meet
"If it could become a song it would be good", I laughed

This part slows down and discusses vulnerabilities. The themes here are very much idol related. Crying in the concert is not something uncommon, at the same time the high and emotional atmosphere can open performers up to talking about more sensitive topics that display weakness or sometimes even make the performers cry too. This is the live (concert) aspect, where the tears and weakness meet.

The last line translates weirdly because it uses a quoting expression. Basically it's trying to say the singer jokes that it would be nice if it would become a song. Literally it could mean that this moment of shared joy and vulnerability would literally be turned into a song about that. Alternatively, it could be loosely interpreted as "I wish I could still sing [after this]" because in some contexts, 歌になる is sometimes interpreted as "to sing something" even though it literally means "to become song". Since its said jokingly, both meanings sorta can apply here. In fact, the second meaning ties into the next part a little bit better because...

待っちゃくれないぜ Show must go on
未完成な夜を救いたいから
ほら　まだ　奇跡を
僕らの奇跡を
祈って歌うよ

They wont wait for you. Show must go on
because I want to save the incomplete night
Hey, yet (still) the miracle
Our miracle
pray and sing [about it]

Regardless of what happens in the live, the show must go on! The night isn't done yet, and so even if things don't turn out the way they are supposed to be it can still be saved. The course can be corrected if necessary and we can get back on course.

Of course, there's more to it than just that.In the spirit of cinderella, it necessitates having to sing and pray for a miracle. She hasn't stopped praying for the miracle. The miracle that first gave her the collab and this song, and now is what continues it.

続けようジュビリー
さあ乾杯よりも先に
Let the music swing and swing
ありえない瞬間速度
革命前夜マークタイム
もっと遠く　遠く

Let's continue the Jubilee
Come before we get to the toast
Let the music swing and swing
Impossible speed of an instant
Revolution night before mark time
More further, further

This brings us on to the continuation of the miracle night.

This might be the most pointless translator note ever, but in this case the toast refers to the "kanpai" or the call to raise their drinks, not some bread. Of course, it will immediately be obvious if you've paid attention to the whole party theme of this song.

Next we talk about "mark time". As you might have guessed, this is a marching band related expression that refers to marching in place or being at a standstill. The revolution in an instant, the night before the standstill... If you haven't figured it out yet, this is about the Cinderella's broken spell. When the night is over in the instant, the spell will break and the time of Jubilee will come to an end and so will the collaboration. No new cards will be added, no new songs will be added and content for Hoshimachi Suisei in Starlight Stage will come to a standstill. Still, before the night ends that's an even stronger reason to progress onwards and enjoy the moment to bring the festivities to the ends of the cosmos. The cinderella and the clock are major themes in the franchise, coupled with the clock ticking sound that is present in various parts of the song really serve as the reminder of the finite time of the magic spell.

終わらないジュビリー
もう最高潮カラーガード
Let the music sing and sing
探してよ Who is me?
ねえ超新星と行進しよう
ずっと遠く　遠く

Unending Jubilee
Already the climax color guard
Let the music sing and sing
Lets search, Who is me?
Hey lets march with the supernova
Continuously further, further

君と遠くまで

With you to the furthest distance

To round off the song we have one more marching band term to go through. The "Color Guard" are teams that perform choreographed dances with some equipment such as flags, rifles, sabres or maybe even some other prop. These people perform according to the music being played to enhance the experience. Part of the reason for "color" being a part of the name for such a section is due to the flags being colorful or maybe even multiple colored flags being used. In the context of a live, there's usually a different kind of light show of colors, that being the penlights of the audience. The way I see this, the climax color guard in this part of the song describes the audience enthralled by the performances and celebration. Their penlights being the prop that goes along with the music of the live.

The rest of the song is very much more of the same, the call to self discovery on a journey as mentioned before. The song concludes that the journey is not one made alone, but together to the deepest reaches.

Jubilee consists of a lot of different things. The power of music as a transformative tool. The shared experience and quest for self discovery in the vastness of the universe. The appeal that draws one and all to the celebrations and festivities.

More than that, it's about a girl who prayed for a miracle, and didn't stop praying until it happened.