Recently we already did a deep dive into リリカ (Lyrica)’s work through their very first single and MV “Strange Rabbit”. And in that review we already revealed that we did the same thing with their second MV “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade). You’ve seen the title of this review, I don’t think I have to tell you what our subject for today’s review is based on that, right?
However, before we start I do want to go through some basics with you.
リリカ (Lyrica) is a band in the メンヘラ系 (Menhera Kei) subgenre, which means that their visuals and lyrics might be perceived as shocking to some people. While “Strange Rabbit” looked fairly innocent and tame based on the music video alone, the lyrics told a much deeper, more shocking story than the visuals suggested. This is also the same for “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade).
I’ll disclose right now that this second MV not only features obsession, but also hints at murder and even cannibalism. (Mind you: I said ‘hints at’, not ‘fully describes’.)
Normally I wouldn’t highlight this information in the introduction of a review, but because リリカ (Lyrica)’s lyrics dive deep into mental health and a poor mental state of the narrator of their songs, I am very serious about informing you about these topics beforehand. If their work upsets you, or deals with topics that upset you, this group isn’t something you should look into further. And the same goes for this review. So, much like the previous installment of リリカ (Lyrica)’s work: this was the warning part. I will now continue with the rest of the deep dive into their work.
With that being said, with the release of their second MV, the lineup of the group has changed slightly due to drummer Toh-ya being fired from their lineup. This means the group officially exists out of three members at this point in time, namely: vocalist うさぎ (Usagi), guitarist マイム (Mime) and bassist 欠-kakeru-.
“ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade) was released as a free digital single on September 1st, 2024, followed by “Rabbit Parade” on the 9th of October and “バスルームに毒の花。” (Bathroom ni Doku no Hana.) on November 22, 2024, meaning that at the moment of writing the band has 6 singles to their name. Starting in February of 2025, former support member 喪那 (Mona) officially joined the group as their new drummer. He is however not featured in the music video for “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade), so we’ll be treating the group as a three-member one for this review.
With the formalities out of the way, it’s finally time to look at “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade) in more detail. Are you ready? Then let’s go!
Thank you for the meal
Where the lyrics for “Strange Rabbit” were written in hiragana only, “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade) makes use of the full range of Japanese writing methods, meaning that our narrator is at least a little older than before. Something that’s probably a good thing based on the content of the lyrics.
For the shock aspect I’ve already given away the conclusion in the introduction, but “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade) is just as mentally instable as “Strange Rabbit”, at least in terms of lyrics. This time we’re guided into the deeper parts of the human psyche by うさぎ (Usagi)’s lyrics, where ‘obsession’ is the name of the game.
Despite the narrator being a bit older, the familiar ‘childish’ play on words is still present in the lyrics, where the subject of the narrator’s obsession is compared to a sweet strawberry or a dessert. “My beloved strawberry marmalade.”
However, the obsession doesn’t stop there. The only English lyrics of the song can be found in the chorus, namely the “Inner lie, kill me insanity”, which would sum up the mental state of the entire story quite well, but the biggest reveal definitely is the following verse: “Leaving an inedible scar in my heart, unspeakable secrets melted in my throat, a sweet end to the window we parted. A hideous display of vomit and gangrene. Tell me.”, which heavily suggests that the narrator didn’t just kill their obsession, but also proceeded to consume them to some extent before throwing up. If the mentioned gangrene is the result of regret or actual decomposition of the remains is up for your interpretation.
Looking at the music video for “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade), the main question as always is “does it translate the lyrics into a visual format”. And much like “Strange Rabbit” the answer is both “yes” and “no” at the same time. リリカ (Lyrica)’s intention is not to shock you with their visuals, since there is a big line between shock aspect and メンヘラ (Menhera). While some might blend the two together, that’s definitely not the style for this group, a decision I personally appreciate – and that’s coming from a big horror fan who has seen so many gore movies she’s probably desensitized to it by now, and enjoyed quite a few shock-bands throughout the years too.
Again, since visual shock is not リリカ (Lyrica)’s style, you won’t be seeing anything truly upsetting here. The video starts with a plate of pills on a television, and a more ‘normal’ looking version of うさぎ (Usagi) being fascinated by the television before the full, in costume version pushes an unconscious (yeah, let’s go with that one) girl in a wheelchair into the room, making sure her hands don’t get caught in the wheels while doing so. Much like the previous MV we see both versions of うさぎ (Usagi) throughout the video, mixed with solo shots of the other members in full costume, and the entire band performing the song in the same building as where the story is taking place. Both versions of うさぎ (Usagi) are seen interacting with the girl in the wheelchair throughout the video, but they share the same mental state: both are clearly obsessed (or at least very fascinated) with the girl, and the costume version even suggests a few bite-like motions in some of the shots while the ‘regular’ version is clearly under the influence of the pills shown earlier, binding the girl to the wheelchair with tape and force feeding her pills.
Here and there you’ll also see shots of marmalade being put on bread, which does pull the visuals and the lyrics together. Because again, gore is not the style リリカ (Lyrica) are going for with their work. This is also why you won’t see the visual translation of the verse I highlighted earlier.
Much like “Strange Rabbit”, the music video for “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade) walks a fine line between translating the lyrics into a visual format and not doing so at all. If you see the lyrics in detail you can draw some conclusions on how certain visuals were made, but it’s also not a direct visual translation of the story being told here. There are snippets of it, much like it’s predecessor, but it also doesn’t earn them an outright ban for being too explicit right out of the gate. Which is also something that attracts me to their work, it’s well thought out and despite the more shock-type of subjects, the visual and even the verbal presentation of them are respectful without reeking of censorship.
Conclusion
While I hate to repeat myself, I have to do so for this song and music video. Much like “Strange Rabbit” the topics discussed in “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade) are heavy ones, and even without doing the deep dive I just took you on the story of obsession shines through, even with a language barrier. For this reason I, again, have to say that both the song and the music video compliment one another in a way for fans of the genre and リリカ (Lyrica) to enjoy, since even though I didn’t go into the instrumentals and intonation of the vocals for this review, both compliment the story being told. There is less use of the band’s heavy style that we briefly saw in “Strange Rabbit”, but dark topic is complimented by a slower rhythm at the start, speeding up a little afterwards and featuring a heavier bass undertone coming from bassist 欠-kakeru- and a rhythmic, yet eerie guitar sound from マイム (Mime) from start to finish. Almost as if you’re witnessing the descent into madness and the eventual conclusion in real time as the song progresses.
Since “ストロベリィマァマレィド” (Strawberry Marmalade) was released as a single-track digital single exclusively, there is no reason for us to give you more information about a CD (I mean, there isn’t any physical version…). We will however more than gladly provide you with the Spotify version of the release below (and you can find the MV embedded in the article too, of course):
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.