Learning Japanese with Again (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Opening)

The Brotherhood Opening That Sounds Simple But Isn't

If you know Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, you know exactly what the opening image does to you. The alchemy circles, Ed's silhouette, Alphonse running. And then Again by YUI kicks in and the show's emotional tone arrives in under two seconds.

Here's the thing about Again: it sounds like a simple J-pop song. YUI's delivery is clean and clear. The words are not arcane. But the vocabulary she chose - kioku (memory), mata (again), mada (still), te wo nobasu (reaching out) - is exactly the Japanese you need for talking about loss, persistence, and trying once more. This song is N4 vocabulary delivered at N5 clarity. That makes it unusually useful.

Again (アゲイン) was the first opening theme for FMA Brotherhood. Let's go through the TV version.

Key Takeaways

• Mata (また) and mada (まだ) are two of the most common and most confused Japanese words: mata = again, once more; mada = still / not yet. The song title uses mata (again), and mada appears in the lyrics
• Kioku (記憶) = memory - N3 vocabulary that appears throughout serious Japanese writing; in Again it covers both what Ed remembers and what he is trying not to forget
• Te wo nobasu (手を伸ばす) = to reach out one's hand - a phrase that appears constantly in anime and manga to describe reaching for something that might be just out of range
• YUI's clean pronunciation makes every syllable audible - this is one of the best songs for ear training in Japanese
• The grammar pattern 〜ていた (was doing, past progressive) appears throughout: wasurete ita (had forgotten), kakushite ita (was hiding). Ed's memories are things that were in states, not things that simply happened
• Mune (胸) = chest/heart - in Japanese, the chest is where emotions live; mune ga ippai (chest is full) means overwhelmed with feeling

About the Song and Its Creator

Again was released in 2009 as the first opening theme for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, running through approximately episode 14. It was written and performed by YUI (Yui Yoshioka), a singer-songwriter from Fukuoka who became prominent in the mid-2000s with guitar-pop songwriting that emphasised emotional honesty over production complexity.

YUI's approach to lyrics is direct: she tends to use everyday vocabulary to describe emotional states with high precision. Again follows this pattern - the words are learnable, the feeling is exact. The song captures Ed's cycle of loss, memory, and renewed attempt without requiring vocabulary that only literary scholars would recognise.

The FMA Brotherhood opening role for Again was significant: it was the first song of a series determined to be faithful to Arakawa Hiromu's manga after the divergent 2003 adaptation. The title again - doing things over, cycles of attempt - encoded Brotherhood's own position as a return to the source.

The TV Version: Every Line Translated

The Opening - What He Had Hidden

Verse 1, lines 1-2

Wasurete ita yo / sonna egao wo

忘れていたよ / そんな笑顔を

Translation: "I had forgotten / a smile like that"

Notes: 忘れていた (wasurete ita) = had forgotten - this is the past progressive: wasurete (te-form of 忘れる, to forget) + ita (past of iru, the auxiliary for ongoing states). The progressive here means the forgetting was a state that persisted up to a moment. よ (yo) is an assertive particle - a gentle emphasis. そんな (sonna) = that kind of, such a. 笑顔 (egao) = smiling face, smile - a compound of 笑い (egaoi, laughter/smile) + 顔 (kao, face).

Verse 1, lines 3-4

Kimi ga kakushite ita / nukumori wo

君が隠していた / ぬくもりを

Translation: "The warmth that you were hiding"

Notes: 隠していた (kakushite ita) = was hiding - past progressive of 隠す (kakusu, to hide, to conceal). ぬくもり (nukumori) = warmth - a gentle, tangible warmth, the kind you feel from another person's presence. This is a noun derived from ぬくい (nukui, warm, cosy), slightly more poetic than the common 暖かさ (atatakasa). The line: whatever warmth someone was quietly carrying, hidden and unexpressed.

Verse 2 key lines

Kizutsuite mo / mata egao de / hito wo aiseru

傷ついても / また笑顔で / 人を愛せる

Translation: "Even when hurt / smiling again / (you) can love people"

Notes: 傷つく (kizutsuku) = to be hurt, to be wounded. ても (temo) = even if, even though. また (mata) = again, once more. 愛せる (aiseru) = can love - potential form of 愛する (aisuru, to love). The line: capability for love survives injury. Even after being hurt, the ability to smile and love is still there.

The Chorus - Reaching Again

Chorus lines 1-2

Te wo nobashite / todokisou de / todokanainda

手を伸ばして / 届きそうで / 届かないんだ

Translation: "Reaching out my hand / it seems like it will reach / but it doesn't"

Notes: 手を伸ばして (te wo nobashite) = reaching out the hand (te-form, indicating the action is ongoing or preparatory). 届きそう (todokisou) = looks like it will arrive/reach - the sou form of 届く (todoku, to reach, to arrive) attached to the i-form means "appears to be about to." で = but/and (connective). 届かないんだ (todokanai n da) = it doesn't reach - the んだ (n da) form emphasises the reality: it actually doesn't. The sou (appears likely) vs. the reality (n da) creates the gap.

Chorus lines 3-4

Mada mada mienai / ashita e to tsuduku michi

まだまだ見えない / あしたへと続く道

Translation: "Still, still I can't see it / the road that continues to tomorrow"

Notes: まだまだ (mada mada) = still not yet / still not even close - the doubled form expresses more distance or difficulty than single まだ. 見えない (mienai) = cannot see. 明日 (ashita) = tomorrow (future). へと (e to) = toward (combined directional particles, slightly more formal/literary than just へ). 続く道 (tsuzuku michi) = the road that continues.

Key line

Kimi ni aitakute / mune ga ippai de

君に会いたくて / 胸がいっぱいで

Translation: "Wanting so much to see you - my chest is full"

Notes: 会いたくて (aitakute) = wanting to meet/see you - te-form of 会いたい (aitai, want to meet), creating a causal te-form: "because I want to see you / wanting to see you so much that..." 胸がいっぱい (mune ga ippai) = chest is full - a Japanese idiom for being overwhelmed with emotion. 胸 (mune) = chest, the body location where Japanese culture places emotion. いっぱい (ippai) = full, a lot. The idiom does not distinguish positive from negative emotion - your chest is full because feeling is full.

Closing lines

Mata koko de / kimi wo matteiru

またここで / 君を待っている

Translation: "Again, here - I'm waiting for you"

Notes: また (mata) = again, once more. ここで (koko de) = here (location). 待っている (matte iru) = waiting (progressive form of 待つ, to wait). The combination: here, again, at this place, in the same spot, still waiting. The mata is the song title delivered as an action - not just "again" as a concept but "waiting again, from the start, once more."

Grammar Deep Dive

〜ていた (Past Progressive: Was Doing) - N4

〜te ita combines the te-form of a verb with ita (past of iru) to express a state or action that was ongoing at a past moment. It is the past version of 〜te iru (is doing).

• Wasurete ita = had forgotten (was in a state of forgetting)
• Kakushite ita = was hiding
• Matte ita = was waiting

The key distinction from simple past (wasureta, forgot): the progressive implies the state was maintained over time, not just a single event. Ed had been forgetting - not just forgot once.

More examples:

• Kitto shinjite ita - I was believing (throughout that time)
• Hashitte ita - was running
• Benkyou shite ita - was studying

〜そう (Appears To / Looks Like It Will) - N4

〜sou attaches to the i-form of a verb (the masu-stem) to express apparent likelihood: "it looks like X will happen."

Todokisou = looks like it will reach. Ochisou = looks like it will fall. Nakisou = looks like they will cry.

The gap between sou (appears likely) and the actual result (todokanai n da = it doesn't reach) creates the song's central tension: everything looks reachable. It isn't.

More examples:

• Ame ga furi sou - It looks like rain.
• Wakarisou de wakaranai - It seems like I understand but I don't.

まだ vs また (Still/Not Yet vs Again) - N5

Mada (まだ) = still / not yet. With affirmative: still doing. With negative: not yet. Mata (また) = again, once more, also.

These two words are confused by almost every beginner because they look similar. The song title is mata (again), and the lyric uses mada (still not seen). They work together: things are still not visible (mada mienai), but he will look again (mata).

More examples:

• Mada tabete iru - Still eating.
• Mada dekinai - Can't do it yet.
• Mata aimashoo - Let's meet again.
• Mata chikoku shita - I was late again.

Vocabulary Callout

Why This Matters for Your Japanese

The mata/mada distinction (また/まだ) trips up every learner at some point. Again is memorable exactly because the title is one and the lyrics contain the other. Once you associate mata with "trying again" and mada with "still not there," you have fixed the pair. It is the most efficient confusion resolution in any anime song.

Te wo nobasu (reaching out the hand) is one of those set phrases that Japanese uses as a unit. Anime and manga use it constantly: the hero reaches out as someone falls, the person being rescued reaches back. Learning the phrase as a unit - not as three separate words - is how Japanese idioms work. You need to know te wo nobasu the same way English speakers know "reach out."

And mune ga ippai (chest is full = overwhelmed with feeling) is the Japanese way of saying what English calls "heart full." The chest (mune) is the physical location of emotion in Japanese - not the heart as an organ but the chest as a space. Mune ga ippai, mune ga itai (chest hurts = heartache), mune wo tataku (beat your chest) - all put emotion in the body's midpoint.

The KitsuBeat song library has the full Again lyrics synced word by word. More Japanese lessons through anime are in the KitsuBeat journal.

The road to tomorrow is still not visible. But there's still time to reach.

FAQ

What does Again mean in the context of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood?

Again refers to cycles - the repeated pattern of attempt, failure, loss, and attempt once more that governs Edward Elric's journey. The alchemical law of equivalent exchange means every gain requires a price: Ed keeps paying it and trying again. The Japanese lyrics use mata (また, again) as the title and weave in mada (まだ, still not yet) and kioku (記憶, memory) to describe the emotional experience of that cycle.

Is Again by YUI hard to understand in Japanese?

No - Again is one of the clearest anime openings for Japanese learners. YUI's pronunciation is clean and her delivery is slower than bands like KANA-BOON or TK. Vocabulary is N5-N4 throughout: wasureta (forgot), mune (chest), te wo nobasu (reach out). The past progressive 〜te ita and the apparent form 〜sou are N4. For learners in their first year, this is an excellent song to use for listening practice because every word is audible.

Who sings Again from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood?

Again is performed by YUI (Yui Yoshioka), a singer-songwriter from Fukuoka. She is known for guitar-pop with direct, honest lyrics and a clean vocal style. Again was released in 2009 as FMA Brotherhood's first opening theme. YUI later pursued music under the band name FLOWER FLOWER after stepping away from solo activities.

What does kioku mean in Japanese?

Kioku (記憶) means memory. The character 記 means to record or write down; 憶 means to remember or recollect. Together they describe stored memory - both the act of remembering and the content of what is remembered. It appears throughout serious Japanese writing, anime, and songs about the past. In Again it covers both things Ed remembers and things he had forgotten but which return.

What does te wo nobasu mean in Again?

Te wo nobasu (手を伸ばす) means to reach out one's hand, to extend the arm toward something. Te (手) is hand. Nobasu (伸ばす) is to stretch or extend. The phrase appears constantly in anime and manga to describe reaching for something just out of range - physically or metaphorically. In Again it captures Ed's persistent reaching toward what he lost and what he hopes to recover through his journey.

What does mada mean in Japanese?

Mada (まだ) means still (when used with affirmative verbs - still doing something) or not yet (when used with negative verbs - not done yet). In Again's lyrics, mada mada mienai means "still not visible / still far from seeing." The doubled form mada mada intensifies it: not just not yet, but nowhere near yet. Contrast with the song title mata (また, again) - two words that look similar and are both essential N5 vocabulary.

Is Again from FMA Brotherhood based on the alchemist concept of equivalent exchange?

The song's cycle of forgetting, remembering, reaching but not reaching, and trying again implicitly mirrors equivalent exchange: every attempt costs something, and the question is whether you make the next attempt. YUI has said she wrote the song with the Elric brothers' emotional persistence in mind. The word again itself - encoded in the title and in the final lyric (mata koko de, here again) - is the emotional truth of equivalent exchange: you pay, and then you try once more.