1. 君とのラブストーリー それは予想通り／いざ始まればひとり芝居だ

Romaji: kimi to no rabusutōrī sore wa yosō dōri / iza hajimareba hitori shibai da
Nuanced English meaning:
“Our love story went exactly as expected. Once it began, it turned out to be a one-person play.”

 🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Hitori shibai (“a one-person play”) describes a situation where only one person is emotionally invested.
Although it looks like a shared relationship, the feelings exist on only one side.

2. 感情のないアイムソーリー それはいつも通り

Romaji: kanjō no nai aimu sōrī sore wa itsumo dōri
Nuanced English meaning:
“An emotionless ‘I’m sorry’—just like always.”

 🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
The katakana English aimu sōrī suggests a habitual, hollow apology.
Using English here highlights emotional distance rather than sincerity.

3. もっと違う設定で もっと違う関係で／出会える世界線 選べたらよかった

Romaji: motto chigau settei de motto chigau kankei de / deaeru sekaisen erabetara yokatta
Nuanced English meaning:
“I wish I could have chosen a different worldline, with different circumstances and a different relationship.”

 🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Sekaisen (“worldline”) is a modern if expressed through SF vocabulary.
It reflects imagining an alternate reality not because fate can change, but because accepting the present is too painful.

4. 君の運命のヒトは僕じゃない／辛いけど否めない でも離れ難いのさ

Romaji: kimi no unmei no hito wa boku janai / tsurai kedo inamenai demo hanaregatai no sa
Nuanced English meaning:
“I’m not the one meant for you. It hurts, but I can’t deny it—and still, I can’t let go.”

 🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Inamenai means “cannot be denied.”
It expresses intellectual acceptance of a fact even when emotions refuse to follow, capturing the gap between reason and feeling.

5. それじゃ僕にとって君は何？／答えは分からない 分かりたくもないのさ

Romaji: sore ja boku ni totte kimi wa nani / kotae wa wakaranai wakaritaku mo nai no sa
Nuanced English meaning:
“Then what are you to me? I don’t know—and I don’t even want to know.”

 🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Even though he knows they can never be mutually in love, he cannot suppress his feelings.
Wakaritaku mo nai shows a refusal to confront the irrational part of himself—a form of emotional self-protection.

6. 誰かが偉そうに 語る恋愛の論理／何ひとつとしてピンとこなくて

Romaji: dareka ga erasō ni kataru ren’ai no ronri / nani hitotsu toshite pin to konakute
Nuanced English meaning:
“People speak confidently about theories of love, but none of it resonates with me.”

 🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Pin comes from onomatopoeia expressing a sudden flash of understanding.
Pin to konai means something may make sense logically, yet fails to move the heart.

7. 繋いだ手の向こうにエンドライン／引き伸ばすたびに 疼きだす未来には 君はいない その事実に

Romaji: tsunaida te no mukō ni endo rain / hikinobasu tabi ni uzukidasu mirai ni wa kimi wa inai sono jijitsu ni
Nuanced English meaning:
“Beyond the hands we hold lies the end line. The more I delay it, the more the future—one without you—begins to ache.”

 🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Endo rain (“end line”) is a visual metaphor for the endpoint of a relationship.
Uzukidasu describes a dull, growing ache—physical or emotional—that intensifies as reality becomes unavoidable.

🎤 Emotional Summary

Pretender depicts a person torn between what they know to be true
and what they cannot emotionally accept.

The feelings are real.
The relationship is not.

By continuing to pretend, the narrator postpones the inevitable,
and that unresolved tension is what gives the song its lasting power.