Some people always seem to be at the center of the story. They are brave, step up when needed, and win people's love. Looking at such a person can make one's own day feel like an unnamed backdrop upon returning home. Minami's "main actor" does not hide that shabby feeling. It is a song that makes you want to say, rather than how to become a wonderful protagonist, that even someone who cannot be that kind of person exists here.
Watching the protagonist, I forgot my own name
The hero that comes to mind first is someone who shields others, even while hiding their own exhaustion. I see myself as closer to the one leaning on such a person or running away from them. The line where they refer to themselves as an unnamed villager carries a joking tone alongside a rather deep sense of resignation.
However, this comparison is inherently disadvantageous from the start. I am looking at other people's most brilliant moments while focusing only on my own moments of inaction. When attention shifts to an ordinary room with a bed, dining table, and television, that gap feels even wider. My story seems as though it has not even begun.
But the guitar was something he couldn't bring himself to throw away.
Amid days when everything feels tedious and nothing seems likely to change, the guitar in her room remains. This small object shifts the direction of the song; if she truly wanted nothing, she wouldn't have held onto it.
I don't yet know what I can do that no one else can. Still, I'm singing because I want to find something. That order stays with me: it isn't about proving talent before speaking up; rather, it's about carrying even the feeling of not knowing into the sound and gradually figuring out what you want.
Someone precious to a particular person rather than an extraordinary figure
As the song progresses, the wishes become smaller and more candid. Rather than a grand stage, it longs for a small place where its presence is welcome; rather than universal popularity, it wants to be special to just one person. What lay hidden beneath the label of 'protagonist' ultimately turned out to be close to a simple desire to be loved.
That is why the desperation at the end is hard to hear as a declaration of success. The speaker still lacks confidence and cannot easily change, so it remains a plea not to look away from someone like this. Listen closely to the repeated chorus. Rather than sounding like an argument that grows stronger with each repetition, it feels more like hidden inner feelings are being revealed layer by layer.
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“main actor” is a song written and composed by Minami. It was first introduced on the early single of the same name, then later included on “Kawaki wo Ameku,” released on January 30, 2019. The flow from a small breeze in a room to pushing the voice as high as possible is impressive.
Minami Official Album Introduction: Track Information from FlyingDog
If you liked this song
Hollowness — Minami conveys the anxiety of one's own self fading into obscurity behind the facade put on to be loved.
Lilac — Minami: For those who are tired of adjusting themselves to other people's standards, this song offers a space to read that weariness together.