"Chou", sung by Tsukiko Amano, contains various pieces of influence from the "Zero" of the developers.
"Chou" (Butterfly), sung by Tsukiko Amano, plays during the end credits of Zero ~Akai Chou~, and its lyrics capture the emotions of Mio and Mayu and the exquisite world view of Zero. While listening to Chou and being immersed in the lingering memory of the impact of the last scene when playing for the first time, many fans are gradually pulled into that world.
The key to this divine link is the plot summary written by Akai Chou's director, Mr. Makoto Shibata. That plot summary is published in this book, and so to speak was written specifically for Ms. Amano while writing the image song. The plot summary also reflects Mr. Shibata's intentions and aims for the image song.
Well then, what was the impression Mr. Shibata wanted the image song to convey? Perhaps it was Mio and Mayu's emotions, or their sad, cursed destiny... On this page, a different look at Zero, from "Chou", is discussed.
Lyrics/composition: Tsukiko Amano
Arrangement: Hirotomo Tokura
(JASRAC 0405381-401)
chika ni moguri ana wo horitsuzuketa
doko ni tsuzuku ana ka wa shirazu ni
tsuchi ni nureta sukoppu wo katate ni
kimi no ude wo sagashiteita
tsugihagi no shiawase wo yose atsume
makinagara kimi no tsuyosa ni oshitsubusareteita
yaketsuki yaketsuki
hagarenai tenohira no ato
chigireta tsubasa de akaku somaru kumoma wo saite
jouzu ni habataku watashi wo mitsumete
mayu ni komori egaita eien wa
doko ni mebuki hana hiraku no darou
asa wa yagate yamiyo wo tsuremodoshi
watashi no me wo ubatte yuku
tsukiakari tesaguri de kasaneai
motsurete wa kimi no arika ni nareru to shinjita
moetsuki moetsuki
modoranai yakusoku no basho
chigireta itami de kuroku somaru daichi wo kakete
jouzu ni habataku watashi wo mitsumete
sakende mo kikoenu nara sono te de kowashite hoshii
mada watashi wo watashi to yoberu uchi ni
dakitomeru kimi no ude ga odayaka na chiri ni kawaru
tada shizuka ni sora wo aoida
yaketsuki yaketsuki
hagarenai tenohira no ato
chigireta tsubasa de akaku somaru kumoma wo saite
moetsuki moetsuki
modoranai yakusoku no basho
jouzu ni habataku watashi wo mitsumete
"Chou"
It's somehow quite a lonely game.
This "loneliness" conveys a fearful memory from childhood - the feeling of, "It doesn't matter who; I want to tell someone how scared I am right away."
That's the kind of impression it has.
Loneliness is equal to fear.
Even now, remembering the warmth of the hand extended to you during that time.
If a time comes when you lose that outstretched hand, when Mayu's hand parts from Mio's, in that state, that might be what I would wish for.
This is what I thought while writing the song.
Tsukiko Amano. Released "Chou" on 12 November 2003 as Akai Chou's image song. Her favourite motto is "innocence", and her hobbies include taking photos, drawing and playing games.
-Makoto Shibata
When the producer, Kikuchi, told me he wanted to put a theme song into Zero ~Akai Chou~, I had a definite feeing that it could be no one but Tsukiko Amano. If we were to put a song into a game like Zero, it had to be the kind of song that wouldn't simply be in the guise of an image song - a song that, while it diverged from the details of the game, would resonate with the story and create a single world.
Since I heard her debut song, Hakoniwa, I'd felt like the world of Ms. Amano's songs and the world of Zero shared some kind of deep similarities in places, so I remember feeling a sense of relief when we chose her. However, the song she created had a swaying power that resonated with the game, and surpassed it. Certainly, for the process of creating the song I went through the procedure of giving her the plot and story of the game. However, this song isn't simply a copy of the game's story.
Based on the butterfly, the two's relationship, and the game's image, it probes into Ms. Amano's own world. So the song also lurks in the edges of my own world, which I thought through thoroughly in the form of the game. All of that comes together in Akai Chou's ending, which takes you down to the same world from our two perspectives, making momentary contact at the deepest part, which I think miraculous. I think people who have seen the game's ending should definitely listen to "Chou" once more. I want them to feel the lyrics. And I want them to play the game once more. By going back and forth between "Chou" and Akai Chou, I think you can touch on the deepest parts of them.