SPEED -- Alive

Hearing the opening lines of this SPEED single, I didn't quite recognize "Alive" but then the refrain came in and then things started getting familiar.

"Alive" is SPEED's 7th single from July 1998 and continuing from their previous single "my graduation", it became another million-seller at about 1.3 million copies according to J-Wiki. Written and composed by Hiromasa Ijichi（伊秩弘将）, the song is overall very nice but I have to admit that I even liked the verses even more than the refrain due to the melancholy and those strings imbued into them. "Alive" is also a bit mellower than "my graduation" and its message is the needed one about getting through adversity and seeing another day with hope.

"Alive" hit No. 1 and ended the year as the 16th-ranked single, also winning a songwriting prize at the Japan Record Awards. It first made its appearance on an album through the group's first BEST compilation, "Moment" which was released in December of that year. That also hit the top spot and was the No. 4 album of 1999, selling over 3 million copies. It was also used as the theme song for the Takashi Miike sci-fi movie "Andromedia"（アンドロメディア）which starred both SPEED and Da Pump.

I was shocked and saddened to hear about the destruction of one of Okinawa's most famous sites, Shuri Castle（首里城）some days ago. I'd never gotten to Okinawa but my student was able to visit and I had translated some articles on the place for a tourist website a few years ago. Its colour and scale were the elements that caught my eye, and it's sad to see the footage of Shuri Castle being burned down to the ground, especially after it had been restored following a long process back in the early 1990s. However, I've heard news already that there will be plans to start over again and rebuild the castle to its former glory, no matter the time and expense needed.