Today’s post compares the original “Succeeded Wish” (受け継がれる想い Uketsugareru Omoi) to the officially localized version, “A Love Passed On.”
The first translation is my own that I translated a few posts ago. It is a literal translation from the Japanese lyrics. The localized lyrics follow. I add some notes at the bottom.
Japanese Translated:
Your smiling face
Conveyed a warmth from your home
It gave me courage
The sadness that flows from this morning we separate
As I look up to the sky with the wind blowing
I finally see the same dream
Before my tears
That happiness you had
I still hold close to my heart even now
One day I want to return
to this hill where flowers bloom
I will never forget that wind
That flows from your hometown
The sky will reverberate
With a chime conveying peace
I swear by my heart
That your wishes will carry on
to the future
English Lyrics:
You start always smiling
Every quiet, ever tender
And I, a lost child
Always frightened, I remember
That you came and found me
Blinded by unshed tears
The tears we cried are echoes
That tell what tomorrow will hold
And I wept
In your arms
And I heard
Bells ring out across the land
Bringing peace at last
To your heart my dearest friend
And now, the love that you gave me
Blooms and will live on
Through the tears in us all
Without end
—
-A major note to keep in mind going forward is that the localization did an excellent job considering they not only had to get the feeling across –but they had to do it in the amount of syllables that fit with the Japanese lyrics of the song. It is certainly an amazing feat!
-However, it seems the Japanese song focuses on the hopes that will pass on (indeed, the title is “Succeeded Wish”) where as the English song focuses on the loss of a friend (“A Love Passed On”), subtle differences.
-There are some similarities as well. The bells that toll for peace is in both songs, for instance. However, the subtle differences seem to far out do these small similarities.
Japanese:
English:
kantopia 
Great work! Beautiful song, interesting in the subtle differences between versions.
Thanks! Yes, it’s always nice looking at the small differences like this : )