Before I introduce the band or their work to you in detail, I want to start off this review saying that we’re covering the works of a メンヘラ系 (Menhera Kei) band today. And why does that need an extra introduction? Well…
The メンヘラ (Menhera)-genre is received very differently in Japan opposed to the rest of the world. The name is an abbreviation of the English term “mental health”, so the artists in this genre are very likely to cover topics that include (emotional) trauma or mental illness in some shape or form. And while this is accepted in the Japanese scene as something “positive” or “relatable”, it may be seen as way too outspoken or even shocking to a more western audience.
With this in the back of my mind I really doubted if I would release a review of リリカ (Lyrica)’s work in English (and Dutch and Spanish, but you know what I mean) or keep it only available for our Japanese audience. Since their first single “Strange Rabbit” very much goes in the category I described just now. During my research I did see a lot of English speaking fans saying they loved the band’s work, so this makes me a little more confident in releasing this review.
That being said, I’m going to betray right now that we’re covering “Strange Rabbit” today, but there’s also a deep dive into their other music video “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Mamalaid) coming very soon. So yes, we have decided to cover their works for our non-Japanese audience, but I can’t stress you enough to decide for yourself if this is something you are comfortable with. I’m taking a lot of time to point this out to you, so if this review or リリカ (Lyrica)’s work upsets you or makes you feel uncomfortable – there was a massive introduction to warn you about this topic and you chose to continue regardless.
This is the last time I bring this up: we will be discussing emotional trauma from the view of a minor today. If this upsets you, please stop reading now.
Okay. With that massive disclaimer behind us, let’s look at the band themselves, which is normally the first part of the introduction:
リリカ (Lyrica)’s single “Strange Rabbit” came out on July 25 2023 already, but you already know why we’ve taken so long to cover it. リリカ (Lyrica) initially started as a continuous session band named うさぎのはらわた (Usagi no Harawata) in 2021, but changed to a formal band in 2023, right before releasing their first single “Strange Rabbit”. At this moment in time the lineup exists out of vocalist うさぎ (Usagi), guitarist マイム (Mime), bassist 欠-kakeru- and drummer Toh-ya (who is no longer a member of the group today, but he was for this release), and they have released five singles in total at the moment of writing.
A playful, frayed white rabbit
Aside from the メンヘラ系 (Menhera Kei) genre, リリカ (Lyrica)’s music also very much makes use of a metal and metalcore sound, which means that they’re also very worthy of the ラウド系 (Loud Kei) label. We’ll go into the lyrics in a bit, but this metal influence is clearly audible in their work – “Strange Rabbit” not being an exception. うさぎ (Usagi)’s vocals might sound a bit strange initially – ha (that pun wasn’t even intended, since “うさぎ” means “rabbit” in English…) but he also manages to produce quite the growl if he wants to.
Before we get into the story of this song, let’s look at the MV itself first. The rabbit theme is visible throughout the whole video, and not just with うさぎ (Usagi) himself wearing lop ears, but the mannequin heads seen throughout the video all have lace rabbit ears on them too. The video switches between the band and a makeup-less version of うさぎ (Usagi) who is seen both inside the building, and outside of it between the grass and flowers growing there, more often than not holding a large white stuffed rabbit which is also covered in blood and bandages.
And in good メンヘラ (Menhera) fashion, you’ll spot pills scattered on the floor throughout the video, or うさぎ (Usagi) sort of consuming them.
Since you probably know by now that I also look into how much a music video tells the story of the lyrics, we’re getting to that part now. Does “Strange Rabbit” translate the lyrics into a visual format? Honestly, yes and no. Because if yes, they’d probably get in trouble with the authorities, but they did go for the next best thing.
The lyrics are all written in Hirgana, which already suggests that the storyteller here is suggested to be a child, since children in Japan initially learn to write in Hiragana only before Katakana and Kanji are introduced when they get a bit older. The way the events in the lyrics are described are also somewhat childish, but vague enough to leave a lot of things up to interpretation. Though, as an adult you’ll understand what is suggested in the second verse perfectly. “Mommy takes me to a secret game with someone I don’t know, but I have to be a good boy. Tonight I have to talk to daddy again. Connected by a collar, I’ll play a game.”
(And this verse is exactly why I was in doubt for so long about this review, because I can’t not mention it, but it’s also a topic you can’t just throw out there without a warning. I don’t want to go too deeply into this topic myself either, actually…)
Aside from that, there’s also a big feeling of loneliness and despair coming from these lyrics, even in the part that is actually sung (or actually – growled, since it’s in the more metal-part of the song) in English: “Please break my despair. Before forget who one is. Bells ringing at midnight. Take me away from alone. Even in the chaos. Nobody shows up. Nobody turns up ever.”
Loneliness is something everyone experiences differently, since even in a place crowded with people you can feel lonely and alone – a topic that comes to the surface time and again when discussing mental health in any shape or form. But, returning to the topic of the MV showing the lyrics in a visual format: I would say yes, but in a later stage in life. Since the lyrics do suggest that the storyteller ran away from this situation at some point. However, they did take their emotional trauma along with them as they did, and probably their Strange Rabbit as well, even with it’s long ears cut off and it’s round eyes hallowed out (something we see うさぎ (Usagi) do in the MV as well), it’s still “only your voice that can comfort me, who is anxious”.
Conclusion
As mentioned before, “Strange Rabbit” discusses a topic that is considered to be quite heavy. Even without going into detail the story is clear as day, and so is the result of the initial event on our young storyteller. And in my opinion the results of this emotional trauma are translated into a visual format very well in this video.
Regarding the music itself, you’ve probably already guessed that I am a fan of the ラウド系 (Loud Kei) genre, but the subtle use of the heavier verse where the band actually makes the metal influence come forward a lot more while combined with the heavier emotion of the storyteller really complete this story for me. Especially as a first release, “Strange Rabbit” is a very strong start for リリカ (Lyrica), and like I’ve mentioned in the intro already, we also did a deep dive in their second music video “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Mamalaid), but how this one fares when compared to this one… You’ll have to wait a little bit longer for that answer…
There are unfortunately no “if you wish for your own copy of this CD”-section for this release, since リリカ (Lyrica)’s releases are quite hard to obtain in physical form if you don’t live in Japan and don’t attend their live shows. Sometimes they are available through their webshop, but then there’s the international shipping that most bands often don’t provide…
Luckily, they do share their work on Spotify as well, so we can provide you with that. (Even though it’s a bit odd to do so, since the single only exists out of one song, and we also have the music video embedded in this review…):
More about リリカ (Lyrica)
 (Lyrica)       |  (Usagi)  |  (MIME) |  |  |
雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years, she's still the one responsible for the interviews and most of the live photography you see here at Arlequin, but the majority of reviews and behind-the-scenes work is also done by her.
The reviews she writes are from the viewing point of an overseas fan, and thus written in English before being translated to Dutch, Spanish and Japanese. In the English versions she also tries to explain the meaning behind certain kanji or song titles to the readers, but what you don't see here is that these explanations are omitted in the Japanese versions in order to appeal to these readers more.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.