1. 見て見ぬフリしてるだけの作りもんさ

Romaji: Mite minu furi shiteru dake no tsukurimon sa

Cultural Nuance: Everyone is turning their eyes away from the truth; it is a world full of lies merely pretending to be at peace.

🗣 Japanese Insight: Literal meaning: It's just a "made-up thing" (fake) created by pretending not to see. Mite minu furi is a very common and distinctly Japanese idiom that refers to knowing a problem exists but acting as if one hasn't noticed it to avoid getting involved. By labeling this behavior as tsukurimon (a man-made object / a fake), the lyrics expose the cruel truths—such as discrimination and predation—lurking beneath the surface of a seemingly peaceful society. It expresses a fierce loathing for the adult hypocrisy required to maintain the precarious balance of "coexistence between carnivores and herbivores" depicted in the original story.

2. 目を覚ます本能のまま 今日は誰の番だ?

Romaji: Me o samasu honnō no mama / Kyō wa dare no ban da?

Cultural Nuance: Following the awakening of the irresistible wild instinct, whose turn is it to be the victim today?

🗣 Japanese Insight: Literal meaning: Following the instinct that has awakened, whose turn is it today? The phrase dare no ban (whose turn) is usually used for games or waiting in line, but here it functions as a chilling and horrific question pointing to the next target of "predation" (carnivores attacking herbivores). Even when trying to maintain reason, the "good smell" (the scent of blood and meat) pierces the nose and awakens the predator within. It is a raw depiction of the mixture of fear and exhilaration felt by someone who has realized that an uncontrollable "monster" resides inside them.

3. この間違いだらけの世界の中

Romaji: Kono machigai darake no sekai no naka

Cultural Nuance: Within this world full of contradictions, absurdities, and mistakes.

🗣 Japanese Insight: Literal meaning: Inside this world covered in mistakes. The suffix ~darake indicates a state where something undesirable is everywhere, such as being "covered in mud" (mudo-darake) or "full of trash" (gomi-darake). In this context, it defines both the narrator's own inescapable predatory instincts and a society that hides these truths behind flowery words as "mistakes." Despite having such a bleak perception of the world, the resolve to protect "you" (a precious existence) remains the positive core of this song.

4. 街に渦巻く悪い話も／知らない知らないフリして目を逸らした

Romaji: Machi ni uzumaku warui hanashi mo / Shiranai shiranai furi shite me o sorashita

Cultural Nuance: People avert their eyes from the ominous rumors and incidents swirling in the city, pretending to know nothing at all.

🗣 Japanese Insight: Literal meaning: Even the bad stories swirling in the city, I pretended not to know, not to know, and looked away. Uzumaku (to swirl/whirlpool) describes a state where negative emotions or rumors are violently intermingling. Repeating shiranai (I don't know) twice emphasizes the strength of the rejection. It sharply criticizes the coldness of modern society, where everyone fears becoming a party to a conflict and hides behind the veil of anonymity, as well as the atmosphere of concealing inconvenient truths like the "Black Market" (where meat is illegally traded) in the world of BEASTARS.

5. ありのまま生きることが正義か／騙し騙し生きるのは正義か

Romaji: Arinomama ikiru koto ga seigi ka / Damashi damashi ikiru no wa seigi ka

Cultural Nuance: Is it justice to live wildly according to one's instincts, or is it justice to live by deceiving oneself to fit into society?

🗣 Japanese Insight: Literal meaning: Is living "as you are" justice? Is living by "deceiving and deceiving" justice? While arinomama (as one is / naturally) is often used as a beautiful, positive phrase, for a carnivore, it literally means "predation." On the other hand, damashi damashi refers to a state of somehow getting by while smoothing over or appeasing contradictions and dissatisfaction. If one follows their instinct (the monster), they hurt others; if they protect their reason, they kill their true self. This ultimate question faced by Legoshi is a universal theme that strikes a chord with anyone struggling with their own identity and the masks they wear.

6. 今日も 答えのない世界の中で／願ってるんだよ／不器用だけれど／いつまでも君とただ 笑っていたいから

Romaji: Kyō mo kotae no nai sekai no naka / Negatterun da yo / Bukiyō da keredo / Itsumademo kimi to tada waratte itai kara

Cultural Nuance: In this world without answers, I am praying, though I am clumsy. Because I just want to keep laughing with you forever.

🗣 Japanese Insight: Literal meaning: In a world without answers today too, I am wishing. I am clumsy, but because I just want to laugh with you forever. The word bukiyō (clumsy/awkward) symbolizes the imbalance between Legoshi's large, powerful carnivore body and his delicate, sensitive heart. Despite possessing the physical form of a "monster," the wish he harbors is a modest and pure one: "I just want to laugh with you." This gap highlights the poignancy and tenderness of the song. Amidst the violent, aggressive sound, this particular verse resonates with a quiet, prayer-like heat.

7. ただ君を守るそのために／走る走る走るんだよ／僕の中の僕を超える

Romaji: Tada kimi o mamoru sono tame ni / Hashiru hashiru hashiru n da yo / Boku no naka no boku o koeru

Cultural Nuance: Just to protect you, I will keep running. I will transcend the "me inside of me"—the limits of the monster and its instincts.

🗣 Japanese Insight: Literal meaning: Just for the sake of protecting you, I run, run, run. I will exceed the "me within me." "The me within me" refers to the uncontrollable predatory instincts and the weak heart that feels ready to surrender to fear. Rather than denying or trying to erase these parts, the narrator declares that he will transcend them while embracing them for the sake of what must be protected. Repeating "running" (hashiru) three times expresses an urgent, visceral impulse where the body moves before logic can take over. The moment one accepts their own darkness, it transforms into the "true strength" needed to protect someone else.

🎤 Emotional Summary

"Monster" is an anthem for everyone who faces the "unknown impulses" within oneself lurking within. Through the struggles of a single wolf named Legoshi, YOASOBI vividly depicts the dark side of a society decorated with flowery language, as well as the unrefined but pure will to protect.

Even those intense impulses or feelings of alienation—to the point where you feel like a "monster"—can be transformed into the power to safeguard another. This powerful message gives those of us living in a "world full of mistakes" the courage to keep running, even if we are clumsy, and to embrace the monster within as a source of strength.