The second thing Maeda loves to do is -- I forget the technical name for it, but he loves to do these "rules of three" moments where he'll introduce a pattern by having it twice and then twist it in a way for the third instance that feels like a stab to the gut. Again I have to go back to the Song of Ticking Time for my canonical example. Every chorus opens with "Kimi dake ga" -- "You alone." "I loved you, and you alone." "I couldn't find you, and you alone." But then in the final chorus, it becomes "Bokutachi no" -- "Us together." "Time ticked for us, and us together! And now you want me to go on alone? No! Don't make me!" That moment, it -- There are literally tears in my eyes right now, just thinking about it.
I'll spare you a second canon example, but flipping back to Before I Rise, there's two fantastic instances of it. The first is the second pre-chorus segments, where we have things roaring (I forget exactly how I translated it). They're normal things you might experience around a city -- and then it's "An explosion roared." Done in an odd time segment too, it literally hits you faster than the other noises. Everything swings on a dime so quickly, just like you need to do in poetry.
The second is the end of each verse, which ends with an ask from the singer. First, it's "onegaishitanda." Literally, simply "Requested." Very formal, but past tense, saying she's asked her crush to try to keep smiling. The second time, it's "Nee, oojisama?" This one is so playful, but also more direct: she's outright asking her crush to ask her out. From the tone change, you know things have changed, and you can feel that yes, they're going to take things to the next level. Both of them, though, are defined by hope. But then the final time, we go to "Douka kamisama" -- Please, Lord God! Things are going wrong, and this whole chorus has so much fear, so much desperation, that it completely sells the whole scene there. I've bounced around how I want to translate them, but how I believe I did it was to start with "That was all I ever asked for," to "Is that too much to ask, my prince?" to "How is that too much to ask, God?!" Which I'm really happy with. It just shows that motion, that change in mental state, so very very well.
We never find out what happens to the couple, though I personally feel that After You Sleep is the direct sequel to this song. But it doesn't matter. It's a whole story, told expertly in a few lines. It's some of Maeda at his finest.
and i have failed it in its moment of need god DAMMIT.
Nonsense. "Testing" is for when you're still guessing--and now, I have no need to guess. -- Agatha, Girl Genius