Perfect slumbers

perfect slumbers
Music Information
Artist	Yui Horie
Type	Nekomonogatari Black Opening Koyomimonogatari Opening 1
Span	Nekomonogatari Black Episode 01 - Episode 04 Koyomimonogatari Episode 01
Opening Song Guide
Previous	Platinum Disco
Next	chocolate insomnia

perfect slumbers is the opening theme song of the Nekomonogatari Black anime. It was performed by Yui Horie, who voices Tsubasa Hanekawa. During the TV broadcast, it was only featured on Tsubasa Family: Part 1. During the home media release, its usage was expanded to Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

It is also featured as the first opening theme of Koyomimonogatari in Episode 01.

Background

"perfect slumbers" is a J-pop song with instrumentation from acoustic guitars, bass guitars, strings, drums and piano. It is set in common time, and is currently the slowest song used for the Bakemonogatari series at a tempo of only 80 BPM. The song is mostly accompanied by acoustic guitar and bass guitar, and begins with soft strings, joined by maracas softly added into the song up to the rest of the song. The drums, on the other hand, are added from the first verse, with rhythm changes during the bridge sections. Throughout the song, the vocalist sings alone, accompanied by backup vocals at key portions of the song. The major 7th chord is used frequently. The song ends with a short instrument coda by piano.

The song carries a slow and somber pace compared to the dramatic rhythm of Horie's other song for the Bakemonogatari series, "sugar sweet nightmare", and that of other songs in the series. It tells about a girl's feelings blooming from the darkness, away from her lover's sight, and how she sees the lover's hand as a beam of light, which despite her lover's best efforts, is unable to reach her heart.

Opening Credits

The opening credits animation used to accompany the song depicts Tsubasa Hanekawa riding a train and traveling through different places alongside a guitar. Throughout the credits, she is seen with a guitar or a portable CD player with her, and bookmarks are commonly seen. By the last verse of the song, Tsubasa is depicted standing in front of Koyomi Araragi, who is performing a dogeza. At the end, Tsubasa's hair is untied as the background and foreground colors invert, turning black to white and vice versa, and Tsubasa's cat hair ribbon is shown.

The animation is heavily stylized, and is mostly made of silhouettes and shapes that smoothly transition through each other. In the credits, only Tsubasa is rendered in 2D animation.

Lyrics

TV Size

• Kanji
• Romaji
• English

<poem>
黒い闇の中 そっと咲いてた 初めての心 君はきっと知らない

差し伸べてくれた手を 努めずにいる私は あと少しもう少し 君にもっと求めている それは一筋の光

心の行方を

今は私にたくない

<poem>
Kuroi yami no naka sotto saiteita Hajime no kokoro Kimi wa kitto shiranai

Sashinobete kureta te wo Tsukamezu ni iru watashi wa Ato sukoshi mou sukoshi Kimi ni motto motomete iru Sore wa hitosuji no hikari

Kokoro no yukue wo

ima wa mada shiritaku nai

In the blackest darkness
my first emotion
was blooming quietly
I'm sure you don't know that

Although I can't grab your hands
that are reaching out to me
Just a little more
I am longing for more of you
That is a ray of light

I don't want to know yet
where my heart is heading

Full Version

Original Japanese	Japanese Rōmaji	English Translation
黒い闇の中 そっと咲いてた 初めての心 君はきっと知らない	Kuroi yami no naka Sotto saiteta Hajimete no kokoro Kimi wa kitto shiranai	Inside the black darkness It was gently blooming My first heart And you surely don't know of it
差し伸べてくれた手を 努めずにいる私は あと少しもう少し 君にもっと求めている それは一筋の光	Sashinobete kureta te wo Tsukamezuni iru watashi wa Ato sukoshi mou sukoshi Kimi ni motto motomete iru Sore wa hitosuji no hikari	The hand you held out to me Without even trying hard A little more, just a little more I'll be seeking it out It's a beam of light
心の行方を 今は私にたくない	Kokoro no yukue wo Ima wa watashi ni takunai	And right now It doesn't shine where your heart lies
黒い闇の中 そっと咲いてた はじめての心 今日も云えないままで	Kuroi yami no naka Sotto saiteta Hajimete no kokoro Kyou mo ienai mama de	Inside the black darkness It was gently blooming My first heart And I can't say it up to now
あきらめたふりをして 期待してしまっている 君になら君となら だからこそ怯えている	Akirameta furi wo shite Kitai shite shimatteiru Kimi ni nara kimi to nara Dakara koso obieteiru	Pretending to have given up I’m counting on you instead If it’s you, if it’s with you That’s the very thing I’m scared of
それは　あたたかな光	Sore wa atataka na hikari	That’s my warm light
多分今はまだきっと夜明け前 君のとなり微睡みながら明日を待ってる	Tabun ima wa mada kitto yoake mae Kimi no tonari madoromi nagara asu wo matteru	I think I’m sure that dawn still hasn’t come yet I’m waiting for tomorrow while napping by your side
差し伸べてくれた手を つかめずにいる私は あと少しもう少し 君にばかり求めている	Sashinobete kureta te wo Tsukamezu ni iru watashi wa Ato sukoshi mou sukoshi Kimi ni bakari motometeiru	I’m unable to take your outstretched hand But I’m almost there, give me a little longer You’re the only one who I’m asking for
それはひとすじの光	Sore wa hitosuji no hikari	That’s my one ray of light
はじめての心 君に　気付いてほしくて	Hajimete no kokoro Kimi ni kizuite hoshikute	I want you to notice this emotion that I’m having for the first time

Trivia

• The theme of the opening credits appears to tie up with Tsubasa's dream of traveling in the Bakemonogatari series.
• A verse shown, albeit shortly, in the opening credits reads: "Books with your life. And bookmark to your heart's."
• Tsubasa is seen using a DMP, a conceptual music player that is supposed to play mp3 files and CDs as well.
• In Tsubasa Family, Part 4, the last verses of the TV Size version are changed from Kokoro no yukue wo ima wa mada shiritaku nai (I don't want to know yet where my heart is heading) to Hajimete no kokoro kimi ni kizuite hoshikute (Hoping that you will notice my first feeling)

Gallery

Perfect Slumbers FULL SUB HQ (Nekomonogatari-Nekomonogatari (Kuro) Op - perfect slumbers

Nekomonogatari Black Opening ("perfect slumbers")