The story behind the birth of Eva Takajin's lyrics 3
The lyrics of "Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis", "Mythology ni nare" was originally "Weapon ni nare"...lyricist Neko Oikawa

　Lyricist Neko Oikawa, 56, has revealed that when she writes lyrics, she tries not to get too close to the person she is writing about. She said she wrote Wink's hit song "Ai ga Tomarenai Turn It Into Love" (released in 1988) without even meeting the singer. The famous anime song "Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis" (released in 1995) was.... (Interviewer: Megumi Kinoshita)

　-- "Cruel Angel's Thesis" was my favorite too. I'm interested in how you made it.

　Oikawa: I wrote it when I was in my mid-thirties. When I placed the order, it was naturally before the broadcast, so I was given two unfinished episodes of the video and a proposal, and the producer told me to be "difficult" and "philosophical".

　--So that was all the material you had to work with, assuming you read the proposal carefully?

　Oikawa: No, I never read the proposal carefully.

　--Oh no, you haven't!

　Oikawa: I'm convinced that it's not something to be read carefully. If you read it in a stream, the important parts will come out quickly and easily. An older woman", "a mother", "a 14-year-old boy and girl". The important thing in writing lyrics is the relationship. That's all there is to it. The theme itself is not so difficult. I used rhetoric to describe a mother's wish that her little boy would never grow up. She's so cute now, but one day she'll leave the nest...

　--Do you ever rework your work?

　Oikawa: Yes, I do. Almost never for "Zankoku na -", but for "Mythology ni nare", at first I changed the lyrics to "Weapon ni nare". Then I was told that it would sound like "madness"...

　--There seems to be a subtle overlap between the lyrics and your life with your ex-husband...

　Oikawa: That was a coincidence. I'm a professional writer, so when I write, I kill myself. There's no need to show off what I am. But it's one of the things that came out of me, so I guess there are elements of that.

　--The song is very popular in karaoke and also in pachinko. Isn't the amount of royalties amazing?

　Oikawa: I don't know the details because I transferred the rights to this work when I was working for a music publishing company. I'm sure I could find out if I asked, but I don't ask every time...

　But in the last 20 years, my annual income from royalties on all my works has never been less than 30 million yen. You may be surprised to hear the amount, but 30 million yen for us freelancers is like less than 10 million yen for a salaried employee. We have to pay for our own entertainment, transport and even business cards. We also have to pay half of our income in taxes.

　--So you don't feel so attached to your "breadwinner"?

　Oikawa: It's out of my hands and I'm not attached to it. I don't mind at all if it's made into a new song, and even if the content is changed, I'll say "it's fine". It's very easy for me as a lyricist. Some writers don't want to change the lyrics, but I don't think there's any right way to do it.

I only have feelings for things that are not out there. I'm more attached to the ones that didn't make it to the world, for whatever reason. I could have written something very good, and I like it very much.

　I like it very much.

　Neko Oikawa was born in Wakayama City in 1960, and won the top prize at the Mitsubishi Minica Mascot Contest in 1960. She made her debut with Kanako Wada's "Passing Through". Her best-known songs include Wink's "Lonesome Tropical Fish", and she has performed in a wide range of genres including pop music, musicals and animation. She also writes, and has published several books, including "Yume no Inzei Seikatsu-sha" (A Dream Life of Royalties) (Kodansha).