Maximum impulse

Romaji and English translation of the song Maximum impulse from the album DISORDER by the GazettE.

I waffled on whether I should give this the explicit tag for drug use (though it’s kind of metaphorical because while the song is definitely about being high, in reality, it’s meant to be a comparison of how music and drugs can both be addicting and stimulating). I decided to use the tag, mostly because I also translated one line with a curse word later in the song. Either way, there’s your warning.

Lyrics originally sung in English are in italics , and words or phrases I felt were implied are in [brackets] in the translation.

I also (usually) put repeats of chorus/verses/stanzas in [brackets] if they’re not written that way in the original lyrics for ease of singing along.

If he writes a word in the lyrics but doesn’t sing it, I put it in light grey to make it easier to skip when singing along.

I usually romajize katakana characters in CAPITALS, and keep punctuation and line spacing as close to the original booklet as possible. If you see me putting spaces before punctuation at the end of a sentence or writing things in mixed-case capitals, that’s because it’s how it was in the booklet.

Any comments I had during the romajization/translation process will be included as footnotes so as not to disturb the flow of the song. They’re not required reading, but Ruki does some pretty nifty things with his lyrics/kanji choices, or sometimes there’s further explanations about words or phrases in there.

Maximum impulse: Romaji

GAN GAN GAN furueru GAN GAN GAN kodou ga
AUTOROO na koudou ga motarasu shoujou wa
MAJI yabee gurai ni MAJI HAITENSHON da
DAN DAN to furueru nouzui shigekisuru
Miminari chouonpa kikoeru genchou ga
Saikou ni IKARE tenze COKE¹ no kouka
DON DON to shikai ga DON DON hirakeru ze
CUCUMBER DEVIL² ga BURAUNkan ni toujou da
MAJI kiitekita warai ga toman nee
GAN GAN GAN furueru GAN GAN GAN kodou ga
Yameran nee genjou ga karada ni ketteida
Wakacchairu ga sore ga COKE no wana

Tanoshikerya ii sa　UPPER’S³ RISKY POGO DANCE
Kimochiyokerya ii sa　UPPER’S RISKY YEAH
[Tanoshikerya ii sa　UPPER’S RISKY POGO DANCE
Kimochiyokerya ii sa　UPPER’S RISKY]

The impulse and dream of teens
to run until the body breaks
do not stop…
It consents with the reckless thing
however. I continue wanting
to run until I die…

⁴

[DON DON to shikai ga DON DON hirakeru ze
CUCUMBER DEVIL ga BURAUNkan ni toujou da
MAJI kiitekita warai ga toman nee
GAN GAN GAN furueru GAN GAN GAN kodou ga
Yameran nee genjou ga karada ni ketteida
Wakacchairu ga sore ga COKE no wana]

[Tanoshikerya ii sa　UPPER’S RISKY POGO DANCE
Kimochiyokerya ii sa　UPPER’S RISKY YEAH
Tanoshikerya ii sa　UPPER’S RISKY POGO DANCE
Kimochiyokerya ii sa　UPPER’S RISKY]

[Ladies and gentlemen]
⁴[Let’s go]

[The impulse and dream of teens
to run until the body breaks
do not stop…
It consents with the reckless thing
however. I continue wanting
to run until I die…]

[The impulse and dream of teens
to run until the body breaks
do not stop…
It consents with the reckless thing
however. I continue wanting
to run until…]

Feeling is lost little by little
surely singing even becomes impossible
Feeling is lost little by little
I am gazing at the heavenly direction

Ashita ga moshi nakunatte mo koukainanteshinai sa
Takusan no suteki na takaramono wo te ni iretanda kara

[Thank you]

Maximum impulse: Translation

I’m shaking, shaking non-stop; my heart is pounding, pounding: ⁵
My symptoms are caused by my outlaw⁶ behavior
It’s so insanely exhilarating
When my jittery brain starts getting ramped up
The supersonic buzzing my ears and auditory hallucinations
Are the craziest-ever side effects of COKE¹
Along with the thumping, everything suddenly looks so vivid
The CUCUMBER DEVIL² appears on the TV screen
And this must be some really good shit⁷ because I can’t stop laughing
I’m shaking, shaking non-stop; my heart is pounding, pounding:
Man, it just won’t stop, and it’ll be the end of me
But I always knew that’s the trap of COKE

C’mon, it’ll be fine, so let’s have some fun　UPPER’S³ RISKY POGO DANCE
C’mon, it’ll be fine, it feels so good　UPPER’S RISKY YEAH

[C’mon, it’ll be fine, so let’s have some fun　UPPER’S RISKY POGO DANCE
C’mon, it’ll be fine, it feels so good　UPPER’S RISKY]

The impulse and dream of teens
to run until the body breaks
do not stop…
It consents with the reckless thing
however. I continue wanting
to run until I die…

⁴

[Along with the thumping, everything suddenly looks so vivid
The CUCUMBER DEVIL appears on the TV screen
And this must be some really good shit because I can’t stop laughing
I’m shaking, shaking non-stop; my heart is pounding, pounding:
Man, it just won’t stop, and it’ll be the end of me
But I always knew that’s the trap of COKE]

[C’mon, it’ll be fine, so let’s have some fun　UPPER’S RISKY POGO DANCE
C’mon, it’ll be fine, it feels so good　UPPER’S RISKY YEAH]

[C’mon, it’ll be fine, so let’s have some fun　UPPER’S RISKY POGO DANCE
C’mon, it’ll be fine, it feels so good　UPPER’S RISKY]

[Ladies and gentlemen]
⁴[Let’s go]

[The impulse and dream of teens
to run until the body breaks
do not stop…
It consents with the reckless thing
however. I continue wanting
to run until I die…]

[The impulse and dream of teens
to run until the body breaks
do not stop…
It consents with the reckless thing
however. I continue wanting
to run until…]

Feeling is lost little by little
surely singing even becomes impossible
Feeling is lost little by little
I am gazing at the heavenly direction

Even if tomorrow never comes, I’ve got no regrets
Because I’ve stored up tons of great [memories]⁸

[Thank you]

So. Many. Notes! for such a relatively short song. (Also, a little salty that now Google thinks I’m in need of rehab because I did some research for the translation. LOL)

As in cocaine.

However, in interviews Ruki said he was comparing the rush of enjoying music to being high on drugs, so yeah, it’s drugs, but kind of metaphorically because both drugs and music can be addicting and stimulating and exciting. So, the dude in the song is tripping balls, but Ruki’s not saying, “Hey kids, let’s go do cocaine! All the cool kids are doing it!” OK? 🙂
As far as I’ve found, no one knows what the heck he means by this. I’m guessing since it came on the TV and he can’t stop laughing at it, it’s probably a kids’ show character or mascot for something. Maybe a kappa? They supposedly like cucumbers. IDK. I’m putting way too much thought into this, aren’t I? It’s the coffee, I promise.
Cocaine is considered an “upper” – a stimulant that increases heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure. It can also cause an intense rush/euphoria, feeling like you’re invincible, reduced need to sleep, auditory or visual hallucinations, dilated pupils, sweating, incessant or super-fast talking, sometimes aggression or paranoia, etc.

Basically, uppers used as recreational drugs amp everything up to 11. (Coke is also, obviously, really really bad for you and extremely addicting. One of the reasons so many people overdose on it is that your brain kind of becomes accustomed to the effects, so you need bigger and bigger doses to get to the same level of “high” as the first time you used it.)
He says/sings stuff in the background here that is not in the lyrics.
ガンガン gangan is an onomatopoeic word that can be used in a couple different ways and doesn’t really translate perfectly because it’s kind of fluid and multi-purpose. In reference to the actual “trip” the singer is on in the lyrics, it can be used to describe such things as a pounding headache, getting intense shakes, or a thumping/galloping heartbeat. It can also be used to describe the pounding/throbbing beat of really loud music (which is what drug use is being compared to). See? Multi-purpose.
Aka ‘illegal’ – but he specifically wrote “outlaw” in katakana, so I didn’t change it.
OK, so if you couldn’t tell, I’m being kind of loose with the translation on parts of this song. Some of this stuff just doesn’t translate word for word and still keep the same “trippy/high” mood of the song, and it’s written kind of casually/slang-y to begin with, so…

Basically this phrase, マジ効いて来た maji kiitekita would probably translate a little closer to “what came from it/what was caused by it was super effective” (or another less-literal way of saying it could be like, “I’m tripping so hard”) – so basically the coke is really potent and did its job and he’s totally high. It just… doesn’t sound right in English. I try to avoid adding expletives when translating (because if Ruki had meant for them to be there, he’d have put them in himself; he’s not shy about that), but “this must be some good shit” is basically the only way I could think to convey what I was trying to say in the style of the song’s flow without it sounding really stilted or forced.
This whole sentence translated more literally would be something like, “Since lots of amazing treasures were within my grasp.”

Basically, by the end of the song, it seems like the guy realizes he’s overdosing – either because the shit he took was more potent than he realized, or because he just used too much. The side-effects were cool at first, but they’ve been steadily getting worse and aren’t stopping; he’s starting to lose feeling and “gazing at the heavenly direction” – which I take to mean he’s realized, “Oh shit, I think I’m gonna die,” and his life is flashing before his eyes, given that he’s talking about all the good times he’s had in the next line.

But still, he’s like, “Hey, I knew this was bad for me, it looks like it’s even gonna kill me; but if it does, I don’t care because at least I had fun, right? YOLO.” (Yes, I hate myself for saying YOLO. God.)