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Kanako Ito · Steins;Gate · Steins;Gate OP
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suujuuoku mono kodou no kazu sae
Even a count of several billion heartbeats —
Several-billion (emphasis) heartbeats' number even
数十億もの = 'as many as several billion'. The もの quantifier amplifies the number to feel staggering. The line sets up a god's-eye view that will dismiss billions as trivial in the next line.
anata ni wa matataki teido no saji na toukyuu
...is, to you, a triviality on the order of a single blink
You-to as-for, blink-extent's trivial grade
あなた is addressed to a higher power — time, fate, the universe — not to a person. The narrator is small, the addressee is vast.
kako ni torawarete mirai o nageku mo
Trapped by the past, even as we mourn the future,
Past-by trapped, future (object) lament-even
嘆くも is a literary 'even though we lament' — equivalent to 嘆いても. Setting up a contrast with the next line's relentless 'inevitability'.
chiri hitotsu gosan o yurusanu hitsuzen
An inevitability that won't permit even a speck of miscalculation
Dust one (= one speck), miscalculation (object) won't-permit inevitability
塵一つ ('a single speck of dust') is an idiomatic minimum — 'not even one tiny thing'. Pairs with 許さぬ ('won't allow') for absolute, mathematical insistence.
mugen ni hirogaru yume mo egaku mirai mo
Both 'infinitely' expanding dreams and the futures we paint —
'Infinity' adverbially expand dream also, draw future also
bokutachi ni yurusareta kyoei no kenri
...are vain privileges granted to us
We to permitted, vanity's right
Passive 〜される framed with 〜に = 'were granted by [unstated higher power]'. The implication: someone else permits us this illusion of free dreaming.
yuugen sore wa futatsu no hari ga shimesu
'Finiteness' — that is what two clock hands point to
'Finite' that as-for, two needles (subject) point-to
二つの針 ('two hands') = clock hands. Visualizing time as the rigid sweep of an analog clock. A central Steins;Gate motif (the show's logo includes a clock hand).
zankoku na yakujou to sentaku e
...toward a cruel covenant — and a choice
Cruel covenant and choice toward
約定 (やくじょう) is a more legalistic 'agreement / contract / covenant' than 約束 ('a casual promise'). Suggests an inescapable, formalized binding.
hacking to the gate
Hacking to the Gate
Title hook — refers to forcibly punching through to the next world line ('Steins Gate')
In the show, 'Steins Gate' is the one timeline where everyone the protagonist cares about survives. 'Hacking to the Gate' = forcing reality back to that line through repeated time loops.
dakara ima ichibyou goto ni sekai-sen o koete
So now, every second, I leap across world lines
So now, 1-second every-at, world-line (object) crossing
世界線 (sekai-sen) is the show's term for parallel timelines, drawn from physics/sci-fi (Minkowski 'world lines'). The series treats them as nearly-identical universes that the protagonist hops between.
kimi no sono egao mamoritai no sa
It's that smile of yours I want to protect
Your that smile, want-to-protect (it.is) (assertion)
soshite mata kanashimi no nai jikan no ruupu e to
And so, once more, into a loop of time without sorrow
And then again, sadness without, time's loop toward
nomikomarete yuku kodoku no kansokusha
...the lone observer, swallowed up little by little
Swallowed-up-going, loneliness's observer
孤独の観測者 ('the lone observer') is the song's recurring epithet for the protagonist — the only one who remembers each abandoned timeline. 観測者 borrows from physics ('observer' in quantum mechanics).
inochi no shuchou to muimi na shoumei
Life's claims, and meaningless proofs of them
Life's assertion and meaningless proof
anata ni wa taikutsushinogi ni taranu kokkei
...are, to you, a farce not even worthy of killing time with
You-to as-for, time-killing for not-enough farce
退屈しのぎ literally 'enduring/dispelling boredom' — a way to pass time. The line throws this dismissively at the higher power: 'we're not even good entertainment for you.'
shihaisha kidori no oroka na shuzoku wa
A foolish species, putting on the airs of rulers
Ruler putting-on-airs's foolish species (topic)
Noun + きどり ('putting on the airs of X / pretending to be X') is sharp and dismissive: 学者きどり ('would-be scholar'), 大人きどり ('acting all grown-up'). Always sarcastic.
unuboreta chisetsu na teiri o narabeta
...arranged a row of conceited, crude theorems
Self-conceited, crude theorem (object) lined-up
mugen to shinjita ai mo sora no kanata mo
Both the love I believed was 'infinite' and the far side of the sky —
'Infinite' (quote) believed love also, sky's beyond also
bokutachi ni shimesareta kasou no jiyuu
...are virtual freedoms that have been shown to us
We to shown, virtual freedom
yuugen sore wa mujihi ni toki o kizami
'Finiteness' — it carves time with no mercy
'Finite' that as-for, mercilessly time (object) carving
時を刻む ('to carve time') is the stock J-pop phrase for the steady tick of seconds. Adding 無慈悲に turns the metaphor sharper — like a chisel cutting away at our days.
ashita sae mo hiteisuru sentaku e
...toward a choice that even denies tomorrow
Tomorrow even-also deny choice toward
hacking to the gate
Hacking to the Gate
Title hook — refers to forcibly punching through to the next world line ('Steins Gate')
In the show, 'Steins Gate' is the one timeline where everyone the protagonist cares about survives. 'Hacking to the Gate' = forcing reality back to that line through repeated time loops.
ikutsu mono kagayakeru hibi nakama to no yakusoku
Countless shining days, promises shared with friends —
How-many (quantifier) shine-can days, companions-with promise
いくつもの ('how many...!') is an emphatic plural — 'countlessly many'. Same structure as 数十億もの from the opening line.
nakatta koto ni wa shite wa ikenai
...I must not let them be erased from existence
Didn't-exist thing into, do must-not
〜を無かった事にする ('to make it as though X never happened') is a key phrase in Steins;Gate — every timeline jump erases someone's reality. Negating it: 'I won't make this nothing.'
sono tame ni toki o azamuku nokosareta shikake ni
For that, in the contrivance left behind that deceives time —
That's-for, time (object) deceive, left-behind device in
仕掛け ('a contrivance / device / mechanism') in this case = the time-leap machine of the show. 時を欺く ('deceive time') frames it as cheating physics rather than mastering it.
mou mayoi wa nai kodoku no kansokusha
No more hesitation — the lone observer
Anymore hesitation (topic) not, loneliness's observer
dakara ima ichibyou goto ni sekai-sen o koete
So now, every second, I leap across world lines
So now, 1-second every-at, world-line (object) crossing
世界線 (sekai-sen) is the show's term for parallel timelines, drawn from physics/sci-fi (Minkowski 'world lines'). The series treats them as nearly-identical universes that the protagonist hops between.
kimi no sono egao mamoritai no sa
It's that smile of yours I want to protect
Your that smile, want-to-protect (it.is) (assertion)
soshite mata kanashimi no nai jikan no ruupu e to
And so, once more, into a loop of time without sorrow
And then again, sadness without, time's loop toward
nomikomarete yuku kodoku no kansokusha
...the lone observer, swallowed up little by little
Swallowed-up-going, loneliness's observer
孤独の観測者 ('the lone observer') is the song's recurring epithet for the protagonist — the only one who remembers each abandoned timeline. 観測者 borrows from physics ('observer' in quantum mechanics).