1. 空は青く澄み渡り 海を目指して歩く 怖いものなんてない 僕らはもう一人じゃない

Romaji: sora wa aoku sumiwatari umi o mezashite aruku kowai mono nante nai bokura wa mō hitori ja nai

Cultural Nuance: The sky is clear and blue, and we walk toward the sea. There's nothing to be afraid of, because we're no longer alone.

🗣 Japanese Insight: 澄み渡る (sumiwataru) describes a sky that is clear all the way across, to every corner. A cloudless sky also seems to mirror a heart whose doubts have cleared after the fight. Saori, who wrote this chorus, explained it in an interview. The line "we're no longer alone" is not a firm declaration. It came from feelings that were half hope and half anxiety: she didn't want to be alone anymore, and she hoped no one would end up alone. もう (mō) carries a sense of change: "it used to be that way, but not anymore." This suggests a past loneliness in the background. When the chorus is sung twice in a row, the second time replaces 怖いものなんてない with 怖くても大丈夫 (kowakute mo daijōbu, "it's okay even if we're scared"), and the song also ends with this line. Instead of denying fear, the line now says they can keep going while still carrying that fear. This can be seen as a shift toward a more honest, down-to-earth kind of strength. In another interview, Fukase said that friends, even when they fight, end up moving toward the same goal. With that in mind, the "sea" can be read as a symbol of the place the two are heading for together.

2. ペルセウス座流星群 君も見てただろうか

Romaji: peruseusu-za ryūseigun kimi mo miteta darō ka

Cultural Nuance: The Perseid meteor shower, I wonder if you were watching it too.

🗣 Japanese Insight: The Perseid meteor shower peaks every year around mid-August. In Japan, it is a familiar sight of summer nights. The lines just before this phrase describe "I" walking alone, searching for stars on "that night when something precious broke." Given the background of the song, this may be the night of the fight that drove them apart. In the second verse, the same night is sung again as 「僕は君を探して一人で歩いていた」 (boku wa kimi o sagashite hitori de aruite ita, "I was walking alone, searching for you"), and what he was searching for changes from the stars to "you." In 君も (kimi mo), も (mo) means "also," revealing the wish that the other person was looking at the same sky. だろうか (darō ka) is not a way of asking someone directly. It is a form of quietly wondering to oneself. It is as if the narrator is looking to the night sky as the only connection to someone he cannot meet.

3. 僕は元気でやってるよ 君は今「ドコ」にいるの？

Romaji: boku wa genki de yatteru yo kimi wa ima "doko" ni iru no?

Cultural Nuance: I'm doing fine. Where are you now?

🗣 Japanese Insight: 元気でやってるよ (genki de yatteru yo, "I'm doing fine") is a common phrase in letters and messages to family or friends far away. It has a warm tone that shares one's news and puts the other person at ease. What stands out is how ドコ (doko, "where") is written. It would normally be written in hiragana as どこ, but here it is deliberately written in katakana and set in quotation marks. Because of this, the line can be read as asking not only about the other person's physical location, but also where their heart is now and where they are trying to go.

4. 「方法」という悪魔にとり憑かれないで 「目的」という大事なものを思い出して

Romaji: "hōhō" to iu akuma ni toritsukarenaide "mokuteki" to iu daiji na mono o omoidashite

Cultural Nuance: Don't get caught up only in how to do things. Remember what you're doing it for, your true purpose.

🗣 Japanese Insight: Here, the abstract idea of 方法 (hōhō, "method") is personified as a demon that とり憑く (toritsuku, "possesses") a person. とり憑く originally describes a spirit or demon taking over someone. It clearly conveys the fear of having your heart controlled without even noticing. Fukase has looked back on a time when, after gaining some popularity and money, he forgot what he had been making music for. This phrase may carry that personal experience. The same pattern returns in the second verse: don't be misled by the demon called 世間 (seken), and remember the 答 (kotae, "answer") that you alone decided on. 世間 refers to "the eyes of the people around you" or "society's opinion." It is often said that in Japanese culture, worrying about what others think tends to shape how people act. The gentle forms 〜ないで (-naide, "don't…") and 〜して (-shite, "please do…") speak to "you," but they can also be read as Fukase's warning to himself.

5. 「約束のあの場所で必ずまた逢おう。」と

Romaji: "yakusoku no ano basho de kanarazu mata aō." to

Cultural Nuance: "At that place we promised, let's be sure to meet again," we said.

🗣 Japanese Insight: The verb au ("to meet") can be written not only as the everyday 会う but also as 逢う. 逢う is often used for meeting someone special or someone you have longed to see, and it is a kanji often chosen in song lyrics. Just before this phrase come the words 「あの日から僕らは一人で海を目指す」 (ano hi kara bokura wa hitori de umi o mezasu, "since that day, we each head for the sea alone"). At first this seems to contradict the chorus line "we're no longer alone." However, it can be read as meaning that even while walking separately, they stay connected by heading for the same place. The Japanese full stop (。) inside the quotation marks is also unusual for song lyrics. The phrase ends with と (to), and the verb such as "we swore" or "we promised" is left out. This ending leaves the lingering feeling of that exchange to the listener.

6. “煌めき”のような人生の中で 君に出逢えて僕は本当によかった

Romaji: kirameki no yō na jinsei no naka de kimi ni deaete boku wa hontō ni yokatta

Cultural Nuance: In a life like a sparkling moment, I'm truly glad I met you.

🗣 Japanese Insight: 煌めき (kirameki) describes light twinkling and sparkling. In the lyrics, only this word is set in quotation marks (“ ”), giving it special emphasis. By comparing life to "a sparkle," the line expresses both its fleeting nature and its beauty. It also seems to echo the image of shooting stars crossing the night sky in an instant. 出逢えて (deaete, "being able to meet") uses the same kanji 逢 as Phrase 5. The writing itself consistently shows that this is a meeting with someone special. 本当によかった (hontō ni yokatta, "I'm truly glad") is a simple, honest expression. Considering how the two overcame their fight, it feels all the more meaningful.

7. 僕らはまた出かけよう 愛しいこの地球（せかい）を

Romaji: bokura wa mata dekakeyō itoshii kono sekai o

Cultural Nuance: Let’s set out again, to travel this beloved world.

🗣 Japanese Insight: 地球 is normally read chikyū (“Earth”), but here it is sung as せかい (sekai, “world”). This technique of layering the meaning written in kanji with the sound actually sung is common in J-pop lyrics. The sound sekai also overlaps with the band’s name, SEKAI NO OWARI. The band was named from a despair so deep it felt like “the end of the world,” with the wish to “start again.” At the end of this song, that band sings about traveling this beloved world once more. One can find a message here that connects to the band’s origins.

Remembering that the song’s working title was 僕らを乗せて地球は回る (Bokura o Nosete Chikyū wa Mawaru), it feels like no coincidence that the kanji 地球 appears at the very end. This phrase also ends with を (o) because it is an inversion. 愛しいこの地球を (itoshii kono sekai o) would normally come first, but by moving it to the end, the word 地球 (sekai) is what lingers last. Just before this phrase comes the line 「街を抜け海に出たら 次はどこを目指そうか」 (machi o nuke umi ni detara tsugi wa doko o mezasō ka, “once we pass through the town and reach the sea, where should we head next?”). Reaching the goal and then heading for the next adventure is just like the world of an RPG, where you finish one quest and move on to the next journey.

🎤 Emotional Summary

"RPG" is like an exchange of letters between two people who joined hands again after a major fight. Saori's chorus says "we're no longer alone," but behind those words lay as much anxiety as hope. Fukase, as if replying, describes the night he walked alone searching for stars, the "purpose" he nearly lost sight of, and the promise to meet again. The shift from "there's nothing to be afraid of" to "it's okay even if we're scared" also reflects the process of finding real strength rather than bravado. This song was born when a band that restarted from "the end of the world" overcame a second "end": the crisis of breaking up. Knowing that, its words resonate even more deeply. Beneath the bright march lies gratitude toward friends, sung by people who know what loneliness is. Even after reaching the sea, the journey doesn't end. It continues on to the next adventure.

📚 Sources & References

• Cinema Today (シネマトゥデイ)「SEKAI NO OWARI、大ゲンカから誕生した『クレヨンしんちゃん』主題歌の制作秘話を明かす」(April 24, 2013)

• MANTANWEB「SEKAI NO OWARI：初の映画主題歌！クレヨンしんちゃんとコラボ」(February 19, 2013)

• MANTANWEB「SEKAI NO OWARI：新曲はFukaseとSaoriの大げんかから生まれた」(May 4, 2013)

• eiga.com (映画.com)「「映画クレヨンしんちゃん」第21弾、主題歌はセカオワ新曲に決定」(February 18, 2013)

• CDJournal, release review of SEKAI NO OWARI “RPG”

• ORICON NEWS, SEKAI NO OWARI single chart rankings

• livedoor NEWS (Techinsight Japan), article on the “RPG” music video passing 100 million views

• THE FIRST TIMES, article on the “RPG” music video passing 200 million views (2022)

• Modelpress (モデルプレス)「SEKAI NO OWARI、豪華セットで航海へ＜紅白リハ最終日＞」(December 31, 2016)

• TOKYO FM “SCHOOL OF LOCK!” Sekaowa LOCKS!「SEKAI NO OWARI の はじまり」(October 4, 2019)

• Entame Cross (エンタメクロス)「SEKAI NO OWARIのメンバーは？セカオワの代表曲も解説！」

• SEKAI NO OWARI Official Website, “Heart the eartH TOUR!” (2010 schedule)