“Moonlight Densetsu” is the 1st opening song of the Sailor Moon anime. Listen to its Japanese lyrics, read the words and phrases written in kanji or kana, and study the English translations and Japanese grammar explanations that I have included to help you learn Japanese with anime songs.
The anime song “Moonlight Densetsu” or『ムーンライト伝説』in Japanese is sung by Dali, a J-pop idol group that was active from 1991 to early 1992. The song was released on March 21, 1992, and was used as the opening theme for the first two seasons of Sailor Moon‘s anime adaption.
Sailor Moon Anime Opening 1
Song Title: Moonlight Densetsu
日本語： ムーンライト伝説
ひらがな： むうんらいと でんせつ
Romaji: Muunraito Densetsu
English: Moonlight Legend
Anime: Sailor Moon
日本語： 美少女戦士セーラームーン
ひらがな： びしょうじょ せんし せえらあむうん
Romaji: Bishoujo Senshi Seeraa Muun
English: Beautiful Girl Warrior Sailor Moon
Type: Opening – OP 1
ムーンライト伝説 (Moonlight Densetsu)
(this Youtube video might only be viewable in Japan and available for a limited time)
0. Song Title
| ムーンライト | むうんらいと | moonlight | muunraito | |
| 伝説 | でんせつ | legend tradition, folklore | densetsu |
1. Verse 1
Line 1 (from 0:17) – Gomen ne
| ゴメンね | ごめん ね | ごめん + ね I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… (katakana works like all caps) | gomen ne |
| ね | sentence-ending particle ね …, right? …, don’t you think? (adds softness and femininity) | ne | |
| ごめん | (I’m) sorry (My) apologies, … | gomen | |
| 素直じゃなくて | すなお じゃなくて | 素直 + じゃなくて (I’m) not upfront but… (I’m) not honest but … (te-form indicates conjunction) | sunao ja nakute |
| じゃなくて | じゃない + く + て (I’m) not (honest) but … (te-form of じゃない) | ja nakute | |
| じゃなく | じゃない + く (adverbial form of じゃない) | ja naku | |
| じゃない | is not am not, are not, … (negative form of copula だ) | ja nai | |
| 素直じゃない すなお じゃない | not honest not frank, not obedient, … not upfront about one’s feelings (negative form of 素直) | sunao ja nai | |
| 素直 すなお | frank honest upfront (about one’s feelings) obedient, meek, docile, plain, … | sunao |
Line 2 (from 0:20) – Yume no
| 夢 | ゆめ | dream(s) | yume |
| の | particle の in (a) dream in (my) dream(s) (indicates possession/link) | no | |
| 中 | なか | in inside among, within center, middle, … | naka |
| なら | if in case if it is true that if so, if that’s the case, … | nara | |
| 云える | いえる | to be able to say to be possible to say, … (potential form of 云う) | ieru |
| 云う いう | to say to utter to declare to name, to call | iu |
Line 3 (from 0:24) – Shikoukairo
| 思考回路 | しこう かいろ | train of thought patterns of thinking | shikou kairo |
| は | particle は topic: 思考回路 (marks topic of sentence) | ha (wa) | |
| ショート | しょぉと | short (circuit) shortstop, s/c, short selling, … (bypass, impede, hinder, frustrate, …) | shooto |
| 寸前 | すんぜん | just before on the verge of on the brink of | sunzen |
| ショート寸前 しょぉと すんぜん | on the verge of a short circuit on the brink of a short circuit | shooto sunzen |
Line 4 (from 0:28) – Ima Sugu
| 今すぐ | いますぐ | at once immediately right now | ima sugu |
| 今 いま | now just now, the present time, … | ima | |
| すぐ 直ぐ | immediately at once, right away soon, before long, … | sugu | |
| 会いたい | あいたい | 会う + たい want to meet (you) want to see (you) (desiderative form of 会う) | aitai |
| 会う あう | to meet to see, to encounter, … | au | |
| よ | sentence-ending particle よ works like exclamation mark “!” (adds emphasis and masculinity) | yo |
2. Verse 2
Line 5 (from 0:31) – Nakitaku Naru
| 泣きたくなる | なきたく なる | 泣きたく + なる feel like crying want to cry want to start crying become to feel like crying | nakitaku naru |
| なる | to become to result in to get, to reach to change into, … | naru | |
| 泣きたく なきたく | 泣きたい + く (averbial form of 泣きたい) | nakitaku | |
| 泣きたい なきたい | want to cry (desiderative form of 泣く) | nakitai | |
| 泣く なく | to cry to weeb, to sob, … | naku | |
| ような | よう + な like similar to feels like, feels as if (I) think (that), (I) have a feeling (that), … | you na | |
| よう 様 | like similar to appearing… looking (like)… | you | |
| な | connective form of copula 〜だ (needed before nouns and na-adjectives) | na |
(line 6 is in English)
Line 7 (from 0:34) – Denwa Mo
| 電話 | でんわ | phone call telephone call telephone, phone | denwa |
| も | particle も phone call too = can’t do even phone call = can’t do (marks an inclusive topic) | mo | |
| 出来ない | できない | 出来る + ない not able to do, cannot do not up to the task (negative form of 出来る) | dekinai |
| 出来る できる | to be able to do to be up to the task, … | dekiru |
(line 8 is in English)
Line 9 (from 0:37) – Datte Junjou
| だって | after all because, … | datte | |
| 純情 | じゅんじょう | naivete innocence pure heart | junjou |
| どうしよう | どう しよう | What to do? What should I do? | dou shiyou |
| どう | how how about in what way | dou | |
| しよう | する + 〜よう Let’s do…! (volitional form of する) | shiyou | |
| する | to do to carry out, to perform, … | suru |
Line 10 (from 0:41) – Haato ha
| ハート | はあと | heart | haato |
| は | particle は topic: ハート (marks topic of sentence) | ha (wa) | |
| 万華鏡 | まんげきょう | kaleidoscope | mangekyou |
3. Pre-Chorus
Line 11 (from 0:44) – Tsuki no
| 月の光 | つき の ひかり | 月 + の + 光 moonlight | tsuki no hikari |
| 光 ひかり | light happiness, hope ray, beam, glow, illumination, … | hikari | |
| の | particle の moon’s light light of (the) moon (indicates possession/link: A’s B, B of A) | no | |
| 月 つき | moon month | tsuki | |
| に | particle に got guided by the moonlight (marks target of passive verb) | ni | |
| 導かれ | みちびかれ | 導く + 〜れる + ます-stem got guided and… got shown the way and… (stem-form indicates conjunction “and…”) | michibikare |
| 導かれます みちびかれます | 導かれる + 〜ます get guided (polite) get show the way (polite) (passive form of 導きます) | michibikaremasu | |
| 導きます みちびきます | 導く + 〜ます to guide (polite) to show the way (polite) (polite form of 導く) | michibikimasu | |
| 導かれる みちびかれる | 導く + 〜れる get guided am guided (passive form of 導く) | michibikareru | |
| 導く みちびく | to guide to lead, to show the way, … | michibiku |
4. Chorus
Line 12 (from 0:52) – Nando mo
| 何度も | なんども | many times many times over, often | nando mo |
| 巡り合う | めぐりあう | to meet fortuitously to meet by chance to happen across | meguriau |
Line 13 (from 0:58) – Seiza no
| 星座 | せいざ | constellation star sign, zodiac sign, … | seiza |
| の | particle の star sign’s twinkling twinkling of star signs (indicates possession/link: A’s B, B of A) | no | |
| 瞬き | またたき | twinkling (of stars) flickering (of lights) blink (of eyes), wink, … | matataki |
| 瞬く またたく | to twinkle (stars) to flicker to blink (one’s eyes) | ||
| 数え | かぞえ | 数える (stem) (counting and…) | kazoe |
| 数える かぞえる | to count to enumerate | kazoeru |
Line 14 (from 1:01) – Uranau Koi
| 占う | うらなう | to tell someone’s future to predict (one’s future) to forecast, to divine, … | uranau |
| 恋 | こい | love romantic love first romantic feelings | koi |
| の | particle の love’s outcome outcome of love whereabouts of love (indicates possession/link: A’s B, B of A) | no | |
| 行方 | ゆくえ | outcome (one’s) whereabouts | yukue |
Line 15 (from 1:05) – Onaji Kuni
| 同じ | おなじ | same identical, common (origin), … | onaji |
| sung: 国 | くに | country home (country), … | kuni |
| written: 地球 ちきゅう | Earth the globe | chikyuu | |
| に | particle に born on the same globe born in the same country (marks target place of verb) | ni | |
| 生まれた | うまれた | 生まれる + 〜た was born were born (past tense form of 生まれる) | umareta |
| 生まれる うまれる | to be born | umareru | |
| の | sentence-ending particle の falling tone: confident conclusion rising tone: indicates a question (adds emotional emphasis) | no |
Line 16 (from 1:09) – Mirakuru
| ミラクル | みらくる | miracle | mirakuru |
| ロマンス | ろまんす | romance | romansu |
(line 17 – 34 are in the full version of the song)
5. Outro
Line 35 (from 2:41) – Shinjiteiru No
| 信じている | しんじている | 信じる + 〜ている am believing is believing (present continuous of 信じる) | shinjiteiru |
| いる 居る | to be (animate) to exist, to stay, … | iru | |
| 信じて しんじて | 信じる + 〜て Believe…! Have faith in…! (te-form of 信じる) | shinjite | |
| 信じる しんじる | to believe to believe in to have faith in to place trust in, … | shinjiru | |
| の | sentence-ending particle の falling tone: confident conclusion rising tone: indicates a question (adds emotional emphasis) | no |