Kuusou Forest

Kuusou Forest (空想フォレスト Kūsō Foresuto), previously titled Souzou Forest (想像フォレスト Sōzō Foresuto) and originally as Mousou Forest (妄想フォレスト Mōsō Foresuto), is the fifth song of the series.

Background

 * The song summarizes Marry's life before she became a member of the Mekakushi Dan.


 * Marry Kozakura is a 3/4 human, 1/4 medusa girl who is living all by herself in a house in a forest. She believes that the world is simple, but that she is too different to be a part of it. She tries to convince herself that her house, which is not easily noticed, is the reason no one comes to visit. With a hard heart, she resigns to loneliness. Since she is isolated from society, everything Marry knows comes from the books she reads. She longs for the real world and asks for forgiveness for doing so. She imagines a wild future and wishes for said future to knock on her door. Lost in her daydream about experiencing the world, she suddenly hears a voice. In a panic, she spills her tea and does not know what to do.


 * In the next scene, Marry's past is shown again, where her mother tells her not to look into anyone's eyes or they will turn to stone. This brings light to the fact that she is part medusa. Wanting to know more about what she is, she looks into her books and reads a story about the Medusa, realizing that creatures like her are feared. She is upset that she was born this way and throws both, the book and a mirror she was holding, to the floor.


 * Back to the present, Marry hears the owner of the previously mentioned voice knocking at the door, which has never happened before. She continues to panic and tries to pretend she did not hear the knock, then trips over a book, and the person opens the door.


 * Another flashback shows a five-year-old Marry, playing outside and making flower crowns, while her mother, Shion, is inside the house organizing books. Unfortunately, two humans come and try to kidnap Marry, pulling at her hair and harming her body. Shion runs to save her, but one of the humans grabs her leg and trips her up. To protect her daughter, Shion tries to turn the humans into stone, but is hit on the head with a wooden object and dies from the impact.


 * Back to the present, Marry hides under a table and covers her eyes. The boy at the door is surprised by her actions. Marry tells him that if he looks into her eyes he will turn to stone, and the boy, not knowing that she is a medusa, takes it the wrong way, as her warning did not specify that he would be turned to stone, so he thinks Marry is talking about herself. He thinks that she is afraid of other people and tells her that he was scared too, then asks if she thinks the world would be better without that fear. The boy puts headphones into Marry's ears and plays music from his phone, which sparks her imagination. The boy puts his hood over her head and gives it to her as a gift.


 * In the last scene, Marry is seen looking up at her house as the wind blows against her hood, which is now decorated by simple red roses along the edges. She turns around and smiles at Kido and the boy, who is revealed to be Seto.

Lyrics & Translation

 * -|Japanese Lyrics=


 * -|English Translation=

(Unofficial Translation)

The summer breeze knocks, And when I open up the window, I hear the chirps of birds wandering from afar. I put a half-read book aside, And say with a smile, "Where did you come from?" With my blindfold still on, three in the afternoon

The world is surprisingly simple, But it's me who's bizzare, With complication Which no one ever understands... Outside the town, in the forest, In this house beyond people's notice... Yes, that's why none ever come to visit.

Don't make eye contact! With a hardened heart, I resign to loneliness, Living out my days seeing only "things"... All I know is what's in stories, And if I long for the world, Just a bit, will you forgive me for it?

It faintly flowed along; Even in this irrationality I was born into, Surprisingly, there was life, Somewhere inside me. Tell me, won't that wide world In which I imagine a wild future, Whether it be today or tomorrow... Won't it knock on my door?

As I was having such fantasies, And gazing outside, I suddenly heard someone speaking... I knocked over my half-drunk herb tea, Spilling it all over the desk. "What am I to do...?" I thought, staring past the door.

"Look anyone in the eyes, And they'll turn to stone..." That's what my parents had heard, And it seemed my eyes were the same... And the way that always goes in stories Well, such people are to be feared. I knew that, and that's why.

A thumping sound echoed out, The first knock I'd ever heard. And to say I was nervous... It wouldn't be quite enough. Let me say, that wild world That I imagined to knock In reality, it opened the door Much more easily than I expected.

Finding me cowering, covering my eyes, The person was surprised; "If I look you in the eye... turn to stone.", I stammered, but he just smiled. "I've been living afraid as well, Afraid I'd turn to stone... But wouldn't the world be so much better Without that fear?"

Reverberating peacefully, My heart overflew with imagination, And a bit of it rang out into the world. And tell me, you who came to me To teach me about a wild future. That if I'm ever lost again, You'll be here waiting for me.

Trivia

 * This song has also received a million views on Niconico and is the first IA song to do so.
 * It is also known as 空想フォレスト/Kuusou Forest (Fantasy Forest) or Imaginary Forest. Jin later decided to officially call it "Fantasy Forest" instead of "Imagination Forest", but it's still most commonly known by its previous name.
 * It was voted as the #13 Kagerou Project song in the KagePro Song Popularity Ranking 2019.