"Seito techou no shashin ki ni ittenai" no housoku

Title:                “生徒手帳の写真は気に入っていない” の法則 | "Seito techou no shashin ki ni ittenai" no housoku | As a Rule,                         Nobody Likes Their Student ID Photo
Info:                 NMB48 2nd Album - Sekai no chuushin wa Osaka ya ~Namba Jichiku~
Member(s):        Kotani Riho, Jonishi Kei, Yamamoto Sayaka, Yoshida Akari, Kinoshita Momoka, Kondo Rina, Shiroma Miru,                         Murakami Ayaka, Yagura Fuuko, Yamada Nana, Kadowaki Kanako, Kinoshita Haruna, Shibuya Nagisa,                         Yabushita Shu, Watanabe Miyuki, Ogasawara Mayu

リュックサックの中 入れていたはずの 生徒手帳がなくなっていた 通学路　逆に 戻ってみたけど 道の途中に見つからなかった 携帯電話に見たことない番号 「駅で拾ったんだ」って 男の子の声ドキドキした 生徒手帳　その写真 気に入っていない法則 運命的　出会いだったら どうすればいいの？ だからちゃんと目をパッチリと メイクして加工して プリクラみたい裏技とかで 盛ればよかった なんて後悔しちゃう だって　そんな私だもん 可愛くない　最悪だわ 今すぐdelete 「どこでもいいから 預けてください」 そう　彼にお願いをしたのに… 「直接渡したい」 押し切られちゃって 駅の改札　待ち合わせした 少女漫画の 主人公みたいな めちゃカッコいい男の子が 私を見て　すぐに手を振ったの 生徒手帳　その写真 気に入っていない法則 運命的　出会いだったら どうすればいいの？ だからちゃんと目をパッチリと メイクして加工して プリクラみたい裏技とかで 盛ればよかった なんて後悔しちゃう だって　そんな私だもん 可愛くない　最悪だわ 今すぐdelete 「この写真よりも 生で会った方が 100万倍可愛いんで マジ驚いた」って言ってくれた 生徒手帳　その写真 そのままがいい法則 ノーメイクでハードル下げ 期待させずに… ほら　そうすれば　あら不思議 本人が輝くよ 「ねえ意外に可愛いね」って 言ってもらえる そうだ　証明写真 ありのままの自分でいい そこから先　会った時に キレイになろう

RYUKKUSAKKU no naka irete ita hazu no seito techou ga nakunatte ita tsuugaku ro gyaku ni modotte mita kedo michi no tochuu ni mitsukara nakatta keitai denwa ni mita koto nai bangou "eki de hirottanda" tte otoko no ko no koe DOKIDOKI shita seito techou sono shashin ki ni itte inai housoku unmeiteki deai dattara dou sure ba ii no? dakara chanto me wo PACCHIRI to MEIKU shite kakou shite PURIKURA mitai urawazato ka de moreba yokatta nante koukai shichau datte sonna watashi damon kawaikunai saiaku da wa ima sugu delete "doko demo ii kara adzukete kudasai" sou kare ni onegai wo shita no ni... "chokusetsu watashitai" oshikirarechatte eki no kaisatsu machiawase shita shoujo manga no shujinkou mitai na mecha kakkoii otoko no ko ga watashi wo mite sugu ni te wo futta no seito techou sono shashin ki ni itte inai housoku unmeiteki deai dattara dou sure ba ii no? dakara chanto me wo PACCHIRI to MEIKU shite kakou shite PURIKURA mitai urawazato ka de moreba yokatta nante koukai shichau datte sonna watashi da mon kawaikunai saiaku da wa ima sugu delete "kono shashin yori mo nama de atta hou ga hyakumanbai kawaiin de maji odoroita"tte itte kureta seito techou sono shashin sono mama ga ii housoku NOO MEIKU de HAADORU sage kitai sasezu ni... hora sou sure ba arafushigi honnin ga kagayaku yo "nee igai ni kawaii ne" tte itte moraeru sou da shoumei shashin ari no mama no jibun de ii soko kara saki atta toki ni KIREI ni narou

I must’ve put my student ID Into my rucksack But now it’s gone missing So I backtracked all the way to school To try and search for it But I couldn’t find it along the way An unfamiliar number called me on my phone “I picked it up at the train station” Said a male voice that made my heart pound As a rule, nobody likes Their student ID photo But as this was a fated encounter What was to be done? I promptly added some makeup To brighten up my eyes – If only I could use those beauty tricks From the purikura photo booth! I immediately regretted it It’s so horrible That I’m not cute at all I just wanted to delete my face "Please just hand it over To someone in charge" That’s what I asked him to do... "No, I want to hand it to you directly" He overpowered my objections So we arranged to meet at the ticket gate A guy just like the hero Of a shoujo manga So very cool and handsome Waved at me as soon as he saw me As a rule, nobody likes Their student ID photo But as this was a fated encounter What was to be done? I promptly added some makeup To brighten up my eyes – If only I could use those beauty tricks From the purikura photo booth! I immediately regretted it It’s so horrible That I’m not cute at all I just wanted to delete my face "Seeing you in real life You’re a million times cuter Than in this photo I’m really surprised” he said New rule: my student ID photo Is fine just as it is Having no makeup on lowers the hurdle So there wouldn’t be any expectations… That way, ta-da! The real person gets to shine "Hey you’re cuter than I thought" That’s what they’ll say That’s right, it’s okay For my ID photo to show me as I am From there, when they actually meet me I’ll become beautiful

The issue of natural beauty is becoming more and more prevalent in this age of increasingly accessible digital photo editing tools. And in case you don't know, Japanese photo sticker booths or purikura really take things to the extreme. Just Google 'purikura' and you'll understand. But the reality is that, all else equal, people often look better in real life than in photos. After all, human faces are, 3-dimensional, so something definitely changes when it is transferred to a 2-dimensional photo.

This song has a very good point. Why make yourself look so good in photos if your actual appearance is unable to live up to it? It's almost like inviting people to compare you with a prettier version of yourself. At the end of the day, no matter what tricks you use to make yourself prettier in photos, it's not going to change what you really look like; in fact, it might even make you look uglier. What an empowering message framed within a very cute setting. Thank you, Aki-P.

This song does not comment on the use of physical makeup, though. But I guess that is a much deeper issue that has been going on for thousands of years...

(All kanji/kana and romaji lyrics on this site are taken from Studio48 unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce anything from this site without giving due credit.)