NOT FOR SALE OR RENT
Translation & Subtitles: Ginga Station
Latest revision: 1/12/99
The Bell of Chirin
CHIRIN NO SUZU DE OMOIDASU
When you hear the bell of Chirin,...
YASASHII MATSUGE WO HOHOEMI WO
...recall those soft lashes and that gentle smile.
CHIRIN NO SUZU DE OMOIDASU
When you hear the bell of Chirin,...
KONO YO NO SABISHISA MATA KANASHIMI
...recall the sorrow and the loneliness of this night.
CHIRIN NO SUZU YO IMA WA DOKO
Where has it gone, the bell of Chirin...
NAN DO KA KISETSU WA MEGURU NO NI
The season cycle has since turned many times.
CHIRIN NO SUZU YO IMA WA DOKO
Where has it gone, the bell of Chirin...
IMA DE WA TAZUNERU HITO MO NAI
Now, not a soul comes in search of it.
Right...!
Chirin is a little lamb who was born just this spring.
Now, lambs are white, adorable little things...
...around whose necks we hang bells...
...so they'll be easier to find if they tumble into the valley.
Listen well, Chirin.
You must never go beyond this fence.
Fence?
Yes, dear. Beyond the fence is a very scary place.
See that mountain? Up there lives a wolf named Howl...
...who's always hungry to eat tender lamb meat.
He's silly.
Why?
Sheep are shaggy. They'd be hard to eat.
Clover leaves taste a lot better.
Nonetheless, wolves do eat sheep.
Promise me, Chirin.
Promise you'll never step outside this fence.
Don't forget, Chirin.
Yeah.
Chirin!
CHIRIN NO SUZU NO OTO GA SURU
Off in the distance, you can hear...
DOKO KA DE KIKOERU URESHIGE NI
...the bell of Chirin tinkling happily.
CHIRIN NO SUZU NO OTO GA SURU
The bell of Chirin sounds...
YASAHII MAKIBA AKAI YUUYAKE
...down the soft pasture, by the red glow of the sunset.
Chirin!
Chirin, where have you gone?
Umm, do you know where Chirin is?
Have you seen Chirin?
Did Chirin pass by here?
What are you doing out here so late?
I was so worried.
You're a very bad boy.
Sorry.
It's all right, Chirin... my precious little boy.
KYOO ICHINICHI MO KAWARAZU NI
Today passes by...
ASHITA MO KYOO MO KAWARAZU NI
...just the same as yesterday...
KAZE WA YASASHIKU YAWARAKAKU
...the breeze blowing gently, softly.
AKUGI MAJIRI NO TAMEIKI GA
Mischevous sighs alone...
MAKIBA NO HANA WO YUSURU DAKE
...rock the pasture flowers back and forth.
It was one year in late autumn...
Hey... Where did Howl the wolf go?
Did he leave already?
Good thing we didn't get eaten by the wolf...
Eh, mother?
Mother.
What's the matter, mother? Wake up.
Mother!
Come on, wake up.
Did the wolf get her?
Wake up, mother. Please wake up!
No! You can't die, mother!
No! No! Mother! You can't die!
Please, no! Wake up!
Wake up, please!
I don't want you to die...
Mother...
...don't die!
Chirin didn't understand why his mother had been killed by the wolf.
Why do we sheep always have to get killed?
We've done nothing wrong.
Damn you, Howl!
Hey, Howl! Where are you?
Show yourself!
Howl! Give me back my mother!
My mother's dead because of you, Howl!
She was killed for trying to protect me!
Give me back my MOTHER!
Howl, make me your apprentice.
I want to become strong like you.
I'd rather be a strong wolf like you than a weak cowardly sheep!
So could I become your pupil?
Howl! Teach me how to become a mighty wolf!
I'll follow you anywhere. I'll put up with anything.
Please let me! Hey, wake up, you! HE-EY!
Pipe down, you little squirt.
That's big talk from a mere sheep.
I want to become a wolf.
Be a good kid, go back to your pasture.
Once you're nice and fat I'll drop by to eat you, too.
NEVER!
I'm determined to become a wolf.
Kill me and eat me if I don't become one!
Hmph! Treating me like an idiot just because I'm a kid.
Fine! I'm through asking you!
I'll show you I can become a wolf without your help!
Howl!
I'm a wolf! Howl!
I'm a wolf, I tell you!
Say your prayers, 'cause I'm gonna eat you!
Maybe he was a little out of my league.
Now it's you who's gonna get it!
W... Where are you going, Howl?
Wait, Howl!
Take me with you!
Howl!
This is no place for you, kid.
Go back to the pasture where sheep like it.
NO! I'm never going back to the pasture!
I'll follow you to the end of the earth, Howl!
Hmph. Stupid lamb.
I'll show you I can keep up with you.
I dont' want to lose to a wolf!
I...
I want to become... a wolf.
Stop!
I broke them.
I killed these little baby birds!
I did... But why? Why?
Why do the weak always have to die?
Why?
One creature must die for another to live.
That is the law of the wild.
Do you understand, Chirin?
Here fighting is what the world is all about. It's kill or be killed.
But I don't have fangs or sharp claws like you do.
I can't fight!
Knowing that, why did you try to become a wolf?
I was frustrated.
I didn't want to live in fear in that tiny shack for the rest of my life,...
...doing nothing, just waiting to be killed.
But... But...
Good. Cry it out. That frustration shall eventually give you fangs.
Fangs? Me?
That's right, Chirin. To live is to know grief.
Sharpen the fangs of your heart upon that grief.
The fangs of my heart...
With those, can I become strong strong like you, Howl?
Come with me. I'll teach you how to live as a wolf.
I hope you realize, Chirin... This world is hell in which death lurks around every corner.
You'd better be prepared.
I don't care if I'm damned to hell. I'm not even afraid for my life.
Howl, I'm going to become stronger than a wolf... and kill you!
...and kill you!
What's the matter, Chirin? It'll take more than that to defeat me.
Chirin trained daily to become an animal as strong as a wolf.
It was anything goes; do whatever it takes to defeat your opponent.
That is the wolf's method of survival.
That is the philosophy of the wolf.
Chirin was covered with bruises and scratches.
He cheated death often.
Through death, he learned how to live.
JAMA SURU NA
Back off!
JIYUU NI IKYOO TAIYOO NO SHITA DE
Let's live in freedom under the sun.
JAMA SURU NA
Back off!
JIYUU NI IKYOO CHIKYUU NO UE DE
Let's live in freedom on the earth.
JAMA SURU NA
Back off!
MAEBU DE HASHIROO KAZE NI UTATTE
Let's run with the wind beating against us.
JAMA SURU NA
Back off!
After three years, Chirin was transformed into a fearsome beast.
Look at me, Howl. I'm not a weak lamb anymore.
I have razor-sharp horns instead of fangs.
My hooves have become harder than stone.
But most importantly, I've gained the wildness to fight without fear of death!
Even I may be no match for those sharp horns of yours. Well done, Chirin.
I have you to thank for everything.
My goal all along, Howl, has been to kill you.
I've lived only for the purpose of avenging my dead mother.
Many times I thought of seizing the opportunity to kill you.
But I couldn't do it.
I was reborn on this mountain!
I even think of you as my own father now.
I've made up my mind to follow you into hell.
Look, Howl!
The forests, the mountains, the plains... All of it is ours!
So it came to pass that Chirin and Howl became violent killers known to all in the region.
Dashing insanely ahead, eyes aflame and...
...body thin as a cadaver, Chirin appeared more terrifying than a devil.
That's the home where you were born.
My home?
Hmph. I have no home.
I have only the instinct to hunt for my prey.
Tonight we attack this pasture. Can you do it?
Of course I can do it.
This pasture has some ferocious guard dogs on it.
Smash through them and make a dash for the sheep pen...
...and kill them all.
Okay, the direction of the wind has changed. Go!
Mother...
Mother!
Mother, I'm scared!
My baby!
I can't do it! I can't!
Where are you going, Chirin?
I can't...
Looks like you can't handle it. I'll show you the right way to kill sheep.
Stop!
Howl... Stop!
He's run amok.
I'm a sheep!
Revenge for my mother!
Well done, Chirin.
This is the destiny of the lone wolf.
I knew this would happen someday... and that I'd be left in a ditch somewhere to die.
But I'm glad it was you who killed me... I'm happy.
As in bygone days,...
...a golden bell hung around Chirin's neck.
But nobody could believe Chirin had once lived amongst them as a friend.
What they saw before their eyes was an animal neither wolf nor sheep,...
...but a deeply chilling creature of the unknown.
I hope you realize, Chirin... This world is a hell in which death lurks around every corner.
You'd better be prepared.
I don't care if I'm cast into hell. I'm not even afraid for my life.
Howl! I'm going to become stronger than a wolf...
...and kill you!
Howl.
Howl!
You took me in and taught me how to live... as a wolf!
The end of the strong. Forgive me, Howl.
I wasn't able to become a wolf. Yet I've gone and...
Where am I supposed to go now that you're gone?
Howl!
The snow fell for days and days without relenting,...
...burying with it all memory of the events which occured in these mountains.
They say at night during a blizzard you can still hear the sound of a bell...
...ever so faintly behind the roar of the wind.
But Chirin was never seen again.
Original Story & Lyrics: Yanase Takashi, "Chirin no Suzu", Sanrio Publishing
Music: Izumi Taku
Theme Music: Brothers Four
Voice Actors
Narrator: Takagi Hitoshi
Chirin: Matsushima Minori & Kamiya Akira
Mother: Nakanishi Taeko Howl: Katou Seizou
Art: Abe Yukio
Producer: Hatano Takemasa
DIRECTOR: HATA MASAMI
Executive Producer: Tsuji Shintarou