My Personal Top 15 Off Course Songs | #10 “Toki ni Ai wa” ~From a Youthful Spark to an All-Embracing Bond~

◆ Explore the History of [Off Course] Here — A Prelude to Ultimate Sonic Refinement

🎧 No. 10 is “Toki ni Ai wa” (Sometimes Love Is)

Among the melodies woven by Off Course, there are many songs that depict universal human emotions that never fade over time. Among them, “Toki ni Ai wa” holds a somewhat special place.

This is because the form of “mature adult love”—which is not just the brilliance and passion of youth, but something spun together after spending time, getting hurt time and again, and still persisting—is clearly engraved there.

This song was released in 1980. It was the autumn of my junior year in college.
It is placed as the first track on the album “We are”.

At the time, I was drawn to the beauty of the melody and Kazumasa Oda’s crystal-clear voice. However, now that many years have passed and I have gone through various events, every single word of this song resonates in my heart with a completely different weight than before. This time, I would like to explore the charm of this masterpiece from the perspective of “the current location of love” that changes its shape over time.

Super Translation (Summary)

In the days that started casually, we walked together even while being hurt.
Even if love sometimes seems like it will break, it ultimately gently supports the two of us.
The town and the wind are changing, but there are feelings that remain unchanged since those days.
As long as you believe in me, I know we can move forward to a new future.

First, Please Listen to the YouTube Video

* Since the official video is not publicly available, we have linked a video shared by fans. If there are any copyright issues, we will take prompt action such as deletion. (Please click the image below!)

♪ Credits
Song: Toki ni Ai wa (Sometimes Love Is)
Artist: Off Course
Lyrics / Composition: Kazumasa Oda
Arrangement / Production: Off Course
Included in: Album "We are" (1980)
♪ 2-Line Commentary
Even love that seems about to break will support the two again over time—
A lyrical love song that quietly depicts such "fluctuations of love (ON and OFF)."

Next is the live version. This is also not official, so I will introduce it with an image link.

Looking Back, Love Has Always Changed Its Shape

What we call “love” is never in a perfect shape from the very beginning. With time and experience, it constantly changes its shape and color, gradually revealing its true essence. Every time I listen to “Toki ni Ai wa”, I feel like I am quietly confronted with this fact.

The “Blue Sparkle” I Gazed at in Setagaya / Higashi-Matsubara

For me, during my college days when I lived in Setagaya as a student, love was exactly what was sung at the beginning of this song, “just sparkling blue.”

At that time, we didn’t know what trials awaited us in our future lives, and just believed in the brilliance in front of us. Whether it was a whim or completely genuine, we innocently believed that everything would work out just with the pure emotion that was there. The true pain of being deeply hurt, and the helplessness of just standing there without knowing what to do, were not yet in my dictionary.

What I felt when I listened to this song back then might have been love as a dramatic story in some distant world. However, real life was dramatic, but at the same time more messy and more unforgiving.

In the Storms of My “Active Career Days,” Hurt and Standing Still

Eventually, when I went out into the real world and threw myself into the whirlwind of my busy active career days, the scenery I saw changed completely.

The “many new storms” sung about in the second half of this song relentlessly raged through our lives, not as a metaphor, but as reality. Heavy responsibilities, pressure, friction in human relationships, and the wall of reality that doesn’t go as planned. In such storms, we couldn’t remain unscathed. There were days when we just stood there, unable to do anything.

“Even if love sometimes exhausts its strength and seems to crumble away”

This phrase had a very vivid resonance for me living in the real society. The emotions that were supposed to be sparkling blue were exhausted by the rough waves of daily life, and there were many moments when I thought this was the end. There were certainly walls there that could not be overcome by the pure feelings of youth alone.

Even So, Love Will Eventually Embrace the Two

However, the true worth of this song lies in its depiction of that robust “resilience” to rise again from the depths of despair. From the moment it seems about to collapse, the true meaning of the bond is tested.

After the storm has passed, a quiet time eventually visits even the place where everything seemed to have been destroyed. Something that gently wraps the injured and exhausted couple like an invisible blanket. That must be the form of a genuine bond that has increased its purity through numerous trials.

It is not just a sweet and gentle emotion, but the will to choose to be together even after knowing pain and accepting weakness. Precisely because we have overcome various conflicts during our active career days, the depth of the words “Love will eventually gently embrace the two” is painfully clear to me now. It is a temperature of comfort that could never be understood when young, something that can only be felt by those who have passed through the filter of years.

A Quiet Conviction Noticed at the Twilight Street Corner

If I stop and think, my life too might be entering the calm hours of twilight. The depiction in the middle of this song of the darkening townscape and hair swaying in the wind goes beyond a simple sketch of beautiful scenery; it seems to be the very mental landscape of having reached the mature stage of life.

The days of our youth, frantically running through that scorching sunlight. As the sun gradually sets from there and the town is dyed orange, I suddenly look up at the person next to me, and there is a gentle gaze different from before. At that moment, a quiet conviction crosses my mind: “I love you more deeply than back then.” It hits me with a real feeling that this is a state that only those who have shared many years together can reach.

In the hectic days of my active career, there were many things I lost and dreams I had to let go of. However, there is a quiet and unwavering affection there that more than makes up for all those losses and pains. It is a bond called “trust,” something more fundamental that cannot be summed up by the word passion alone.

The “Resolution” Contained in the Eyes Silently Gazing

As the song heads towards its final stages, Kazumasa Oda’s vocals take on an even more earnest resonance. The days ahead will not just be peaceful forever. A premonition that new storms will come again and again in different forms.

Even so, or rather, exactly because of that, the scene depicted at the end of this song brings an overwhelming sense of salvation.

That presence who chose to believe, just looking at me with a silent nostalgia. A silent affirmation that is far heavier and warmer than any exaggerated verbal vows. It proves, more beautifully than anything else, the fact that no matter how many storms come, I won’t have to face them alone anymore.

The precious things that we sometimes almost lost sight of in the tense, high-strung atmosphere. They emerge again with clear outlines in a silence that seems to envelop everything.

The Contrast of Turbulence and Calm Depicted by the Sound

The charm of “Toki ni Ai wa” is not limited to its profound lyrical world. Off Course’s outstanding arrangement skills elevate the dramatic nature of this song to the limit, stirring the hearts of listeners.

A Prologue Starting from Silence

The opening of the song is a quiet, transparent sound, almost like ripples spreading on the surface of the water. Like those blue days spent in Tokyo during my student years, everything has a pure and innocent resonance. The crystal-clear high-tone voice gently sings about the beginning of love that didn’t even know what it meant to get hurt, instantly pulling us back to that era.

The Ensemble of the Surging Storm

However, as the story progresses, the band sound gradually heats up, increasing in weight and complexity. It is truly the rough waves of life itself. With weeping guitars and a powerfully grooving rhythm section, the fierce conflicts and the depths of despair—as if “love is exhausting its strength”—are magnificently and dynamically expressed through the acoustics.

The Great Calm That Envelops Everything

And then, the magnificent climax that comes after the storm has passed. The melody line repeated over and over is also like the sound of waves slowly healing a broken heart. While powerful, it remains endlessly gentle.

Conclusion: Our Journey Is Not Over Yet

I have presented “Toki ni Ai wa” as the 10th song in my “Selfish Best 15.”

It is a magnificent hymn to life that goes far beyond the framework of a simple love song. From the blue sparkle of the beginning, to the despair in the storm, and the sublimation into a deep bond that forgives and envelops everything. It is no exaggeration to say that the entire lifetime of a single human being—or rather, two human beings living close to each other—is condensed into this one song.

Listening to this song now in a quiet moment like this, various memories from the past run through my mind like a slideshow. The days I was reckless, the days I stood completely still—all of them are now endearing, irreplaceable, and precious pieces of my life.

We will continue to walk forward, knowing that new storms will arrive. Holding closely in our hearts the warmth of that solid presence silently believing in us right by our side.

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