1. ありったけの夢をかき集め

Romaji: arittake no yume o kakiatsume
Cultural Nuance: "Gathering every single dream you have."

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Arittake" is a powerful word meaning "everything one has" or "to the very limit." Rather than just "having" a dream, using the verb "kakiatsume" (to gather/scrape together) emphasizes a proactive energy—collecting every scattered hope and expectation to fuel the journey ahead.

2. 羅針盤なんて 渋滞のもと

Romaji: rashinban nante jūtai no moto

Cultural Nuance: "A compass (common sense) is just a cause of traffic jams."

🗣 Japanese Insight: This is a unique metaphor that dismisses the compass—an essential tool for sailing—as a "cause of traffic jams." The message is that following the "correct" paths or rules set by others prevents a truly free adventure. It captures the wild, carefree aesthetic of pirates who refuse to be bound by existing norms.

3. 熱にうかされ 舵をとるのさ

Romaji: netsu ni ukasare kaji o toru no sa
Cultural Nuance: "Driven by a fever (passion), I'll take the helm."

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Netsu ni ukasareru" originally refers to being delirious with a high fever, but here it means being so captivated by something that you lose yourself in the passion. It portrays a straightforward, shonen-manga-style drive—trusting impulses and intuition over cold, calculated logic.

4. 確かめたのなら 伝説じゃない

Romaji: tashikameta no nara densetsu ja nai
Cultural Nuance: "If you’ve confirmed it for yourself, it’s no longer a legend (a fairy tale)."

🗣 Japanese Insight: This is a bold declaration to stop worshipping "legends" from afar and instead dive in to turn them into "reality." In Japanese, the word "tashikameru" (to confirm/verify) carries the weight of physically going to a place and seeing the truth with one's own eyes, showing a will to actively carve out destiny.

5. ぜんぶまに受けて 信じちゃっても

Romaji: zenbu mani ukete shinjichatte mo
Cultural Nuance: "Even if you take it all seriously and believe in it."

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Mani ukeru" (to take seriously) is often used to tease someone for being "naively honest" or taking a joke too literally. However, in this song, it is depicted as a strength. The spirit of Luffy—who never laughs at someone's dream and believes in the impossible—is distilled into this short phrase.

6. しみったれた夜をぶっとばせ！

Romaji: shimittareta yoru o buttobase!
Cultural Nuance: "Blast away the miserable, shabby nights!"

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Shimittareta" is a gritty Japanese word meaning "miserable," "shabby," or "uninspiring." By choosing a word that isn't traditionally "pretty," the song expresses a raw, wild energy capable of pulverizing the gloom and stagnation that can build up inside.

7. 宝箱に キョウミはないけど／ポケットにロマン

Romaji: takarabako ni kyōmi wa nai kedo / poketto ni roman
Cultural Nuance: "I have no interest in treasure chests; I just need 'Romance' in my pocket."

🗣 Japanese Insight: Despite being a pirate song, this iconic phrase declares a lack of interest in the treasure chest itself. It places the ultimate value on "Roman" (dreams/passion/adventure) rather than the end result of wealth. This selfless, pure passion is the biggest reason fans worldwide love this story.

🎤 Emotional Summary

"We Are!" is a perfect linguistic crystallization of the philosophy of "Freedom and Bonds" found in ONE PIECE—the freedom of discarding the compass, the power of pure belief, and the aesthetic of loving the process ("Roman") more than the reward.

Instead of a simple "Good luck," it pushes the listener forward by encouraging exciting actions: "Discard your compass," "Enjoy the pinch," and "Go verify the legends yourself."

The reason this song continues to shine after a quarter-century is that it gives us the courage to believe that no matter how harsh the reality (the storm), as long as you have a little "Romance" in your pocket and comrades by your side, the world is your stage for adventure.