As a philoaophy teacher in the making, i see what he is trying to say. "Does meaning have meaning" in this contest probably mean "is there even a point into looking for a meaning in the first place"? I am not an expert of GG lore, but Asuka sound very tired of all that shit that happened, so i can see why he goes from questioning if there a meaning to it, to ask himself if it's even worth to keep asking themselve those questions.
I love how his theme song sounds like absolute *boss music.* Considering how this character is basically responsible for this *ENTIRE* series existence, and is rocking the Utsuho Reiuji Galaxy Cape, yeah this fits That Man to a *T.*
One of the most powerful characters in all of Guilty Gear and he walks in wearing sneakers while wearing the cosmos as his robe. We reaching never before seen levels of drip.
His cape containing the universe is probably another nod to the album cover of Helloween, the Keeper of the Seven Keys. THAT MAN always resembled him in a way or another.
Asuka is such a unique character. Ever had a villain which you knew in the franchise for 20+ years, that you've only ever learned their name and face a few years back, has only been recently playable, and has actualy been an anti-villain the whole time? Absolutely insane.
The whole "there are actually 2 That Man" can feel a bit cheap though. I don't know how much Chaos was teased in games previous to Strive, maybe he was always there.
I absolutely ADORE the line "As the Universe turned black, did the Sun ever defy fate?" Outside of the obvious lore implications, standing on its own the line is such an elegant and powerful way to ask if someone could best impossible odds. Honestly one of Daisuke's best from Strive so far in my opinion!
also, sun in spanish is sol so I really like that line cuz its like "did Sol Badguy ever defy fate?" then right after the line "beyond it all, do you recognize me?" which is Asuka asking sol if he still recognizes him after everything that's happened. peak storytelling in music
@@ninBENdotaking it a step further, one of the laws of gravity states that particles are always attracting each other, so when he says “Beyond it all, do you recognize me? The gravity holds all the answers” he is essentially saying that Sol must recognize him because they’re always coming back to each other.
Asuka is basically the best wingman ever, completely manipulated fate and causality to make sure his two best friends could hook up. Chad as hell, man.
I’m going to analyze the lyrics as if they are Asuka is asking them to himself. “Did the Sun ever defy fate?” Sol means sun. This is asking if Sol was able to defy fate. One point where he did was literally not dying when Ino made him fight his young self. Another time could be when Axel stops time to allow Sol to charge up Junkyard Dog MK II, and fuse Jack-O with Justice’s body. “And love embraces the darkness of the night” This part also is referring to the lines about the universe going black, or Asuka’s creations, Gears, attacking humanity, and how it caused his two friends (Fredrick/Sol & Aria/Justice) to be fated to fight each other. Love embracing darkness could represent a few things. The first thing that comes to mind is Dizzy. When Asuka learns of her, he says that she is another reason for Sol to beat the shit out of him. This is because Dizzy is Justice’s daughter, and Asuka knows that Justice is Aria. Therefore, Dizzy is the Daughter of Fredrick, aka Sol. Dizzy is able to find acceptance in a world that hates gears, and is able to find love also. This could also again represent Fredrick and Aria. One thing is turning back time. I think in this context is Asuka wanting to right the wrongs he made, but also sees the indirect affects he has made. TLDR: Asuka reflects that he made a huge oopsy, though is happy that people were able to grow, though still wants to fix his mistakes and atone for his sins. This is all my opinion, and my take on what the lyrics could mean. I might be reading to much into it. I will say that again, Daisuke’s music slaps hard. Edit: Fixed a spelling mistake I made that I only noticed after sleeping. Doh.
"Beyond it all, do you recognize me" that's probably him asking Sol and Aria if they still see him as a friend, even after all his mistakes the song's definitely about repentance
my guy there are pages online where people post the lyrics to these songs, or the parts they decipher beforehand, and that's probably what this other dude uses
Starting at 2:10 you can hear the ticking of a clock in the background. It is especially noticeable because it follows a different rhythm than the rest of the song. When measuring the BPM of the ticking, you are not left with 60, like you would expect for a clock, but 42: "the meaning of life, the Universe, and everything"
Jack-O: this clock is running a bit fast... Asuka: it's... Just decorative. Sol: then why is it running? [It hits 12 o'clock] I have heard that tune before -- Asuka: ANYWAY! XD
I was about to say you must be trippin but then I finally found where it is, the ticking is in the center of all the other sounds and very faintly but it does follow a rhythm with the bassline (until the baseline changes)
It took me forever to hear it, but eventually I did. For those also struggling, it's specifically the sound an analogue clock makes when its hands move
As a big Dream Theater fan, it makes me really happy that Daisuke once again took heavy inspiration from it when composing this song, just like with Necessary Discrepancy!
Always their friend, in spite of it all. A normal man, facing impossible, inconceivable realities. Who always meant for all the suffering and horror to *mean* something. "Frederick? Aria? Despite it all, it's still me. It's still me."
@@cooperlittlehales6268 happy chaos is the god of magic and like 90% of his moveset is either him just flailing his arms and legs and him using his gun
That one cutscene when Asuka strangled Sol up high then proclaimed: "Yes, Sol. It is I. I'm the Guilty Gear." and then strives to show his guilt all over the place while wearing his new Aria Lesdans sneakers. Truly one of the gears of all time.
But Sol is the Guilty Gear, he literally says so after defeating Justice. Thats why its called Guilty Gear because Sol is the gear who defeated the first gear. In the first guilty gear story its literally the joke because he literally says after beating Justice "I am the Guilty Gear."
I just noticed this but “Gravity holds all the answers” Smell of the game: “Gravity keeps us on the ground” Requiem: “We’re falling down slowly like snow, led by gravity” Just the repetition of Gravity and what it means in Guilty Gear Do with that what you will
While implied to have more meaning than the physical real gravity, I think gravity means something slightly different between songs. Requiem seems to liken gravity to fate, that we are all moving in the same direction, fated to death. The word requiem can mean: "A hymn, composition, or service for the dead". Tying into the song's themes of death and rebirth with a pessimistic view on life - given how I-No doesn't know what her past is. This view of gravity = fate doesn't really line up with the themes of Smell of the Game and "The Gravity". Gravity in these songs might be more like friends, community or connections with other people - reading the lines Cornin33 highlighted: Our connections/friends keep us on the ground, keep us grounded and real, keep us on the right path. Gravity holds the answers, and our connections to other people hold the answers to what life is about or the meaning of life - as "The Gravity" seems to be Asuka's philosophical musings on reality and society ("Does meaning have a meaning", "what truth should we accept?"). Going back to Requiem, gravity's use in this case seems more metaphorical as a whole statement that doesn't hold up to dissection.
@@chester1882 Interesting thought! I'd have to re-examine the story to see how much the theme you mention shows up, but I could absolutely buy that Gravity, Smell of the Game and Requiem all show different opinions and interpretations of gravity-as-mortality/fate: - Asuka, in Gravity, sees mortality as the thing that gives life meaning: the reason we look for the answers is because one day, we won't be able anymore. The meaning of life, therefore, is to look for meaning. What makes this interpretation even stronger for me is how Gravity repeats the line "does meaning have meaning" several times throughout the song, but saves the line "Gravity holds all the answers" for last, which almost makes it sound like an answer to the question: yes, meaning has meaning, and that meaning is "gravity". - Smell of the Game (which is strongly implied to be Sol's perspective) sees mortality as something that humbles us: just like gravity literally keeps grounded, the reminder that we will all die one day figuratively keeps us grounded. It's very "memento mori", in that sense. Where Asuka and I-No failed to defy fate through godlike acts of defiance, Sol is the one who succeeds, just by staying humble and true to himself. - You've already talked about what Requiem (and thus I-No's) view on gravity/fate/mortality is, but I'd like to bring the conclusion of that song into this as well: I-No begins with the viewpoint that life is inherently without meaning because it must one day end ("I can't feel it", "none of this is real"), but by the end of the song, I-No seems to accept her mortality ("if I am to be swallowed by fate, I must have fought well") and finds her own meaning in her ultimately futile struggle to defy fate, or in other words, gravity. The underlying theme in Requiem of flying above the clouds and falling down slowly make the metaphor even clearer.
The theme reminds me of Happy Chaos’s theme in certain respects, but ultimately are different…mostly with their final destination. I mean, the beginning of Drift is talking about how HC desperately searched for these answers, but ultimately forgot when he broke and started his desire to push humanity forward by making their lives as rough as possible. Asuka is at the beginning of Drift, looking for answers (albeit for different questions) but, at the end, he seems to accept that things are, ultimately, as they are. Cause he doesn’t really give an answer to his questions he just says that Gravity holds the answers. Sure, gravity could be something meaningful in some deeper reaches of lore of this series that I don’t know about (I might end up like HC if I tried too hard) but to me, Gravity is simply a force of nature. Along with the fact that Asuka says that all things are as they are leads me to believe that…he doesn’t know everything, and that’s okay. He doesn’t *need* to know like a divine truth-seeker. The words will still know the morning, and love will still embrace the darkness of the night. And that’s the difference, at least I think, between Asuka R. Kreutz and Happy Chaos.
They both reached different conclusions when faced with the same thing. HC's theme says "I don't want any conclusioms" and he tells I-No that "If all we know of the universe is, say, 4% of it, then I'm really not interested in knowing the other 96%" or something like that in Story Mode. So HC saw that existence is much greater than he thought, and decided "Well, everything that exists has a meaning, so I can do whatever I want, and even though humanity is small in the great scheme of things, I can make it thrive in my own way because it won't matter in the end anyway" Meanwhile Asuka's conclusion would be along the lines of "Things are as they are, I shall make sure they continue like that without interfering, so that existence runs it's course naturally", though I don't think he quite reached the same point as HC in his journey.
The line "No, it is not truth that you divine" could quite possibly be directed at both himself and Happy Chaos, admitting to himself near the end of the song that he does not know everything and sometimes feelings must come before facts (pretty prominent part of arcade mode as Asuka). In the case of it being directed to Happy Chaos, it's a total rejection of his worldview, the thing that makes him act as the main antagonist of Strive. Asuka is denying his former teacher, now a broken husk of a person, and his shattered psyche any hold over "all things that stay alive" which could easily mean both humans and gears. Asuka isn't here to finish what he started, he isn't here to ask for mercy, he isn't here to make a final plea to those who he has wronged. He's here to do what he feels needs to be done to atone, what needs to be done to preserve life, and what needs to be done to help all people. This leads him to conflict with Happy Chaos's methods, as he views the best way to get humanity to progress is through terrible strife. In Drift, the lines "When the violent storm is over the blue sky is more beautiful than ever" is a perfect example of this. In summary, Asuka and Chaos both started from the same place, reaching for answers and ways to make the world better and people happy. While Asuka came to the conclusion that this should be done by reducing suffering, Chaos came to the conclusion that such joy could only be brought about through grief, and so both naturally oppose each other philosophically and morally despite their similarities and shared desire. Truly a wonderful dynamic.
A cool complement to this that I have been thinking about, is the fact that their movesets/fighting style are fundamentally the same. Shoot, recharge "ammo", recharge "mana". It's really cool to see the mirrors bewteen them, being student and master and both being that man and all.
I like how the only way to tell if you're talking to Asuka or one of his clones is just whether his eye is red. For some reason, That Man decided to make his replicas have slightly different appearances than himself. Is there a lore reason? Maybe. But I like to believe he did it "Because why not"
I like to think that it's to avoid a situation like Twice's from MHA Basically a way to "mark" his clones as, well, clones, and not have a possible psychological breakdown in the future, just in case. It's probably more for the playerbase to distinguish between them in game tho.
@Absolutely Not Griffith a good idea but he has stated that it doesn't matter to him which one was real in the first place as they all share and accumulated knowledge they are all equally him to him
I think it's less of an intentional thing and more a product of the magical process, kind of like how the more copies you make of a paper the more washed out the color on the copies will be.
i dont kow why but 0:31-0:48 made this song one of my favorite ones in the whole franchise "All Things As They Are" and the music playing. its just so badass it gives the feeling that Asuka is super powerful and he exactly knows what he is doing
@@erfaniom9576 I LOVE The Circle but this has such a final boss/world ending feel to it which I'm a sucker for. Doesn't help that Asuka's design is the coolest thing I've ever seen and the song, design and character fit together in one villain-seeking-redemption package so well.
@@erfaniom9576I am a Bedman fanatic and even I have to admit Asuka's theme is better than Bedman?'s. I still adore the circle but if I had to pick which song would go it'd sadly be the circle.
And what’s funny is that at 2:53 a faster version of The Circle’s beginning riff that transitions into a less acoustic version, so it sorta reprises Bedman?’s theme.
The editing on this one is especially top tier. The really fast cuts, the splicing of gameplay, intro and story mode. It makes Asuka feel that bit more important. Bravo, CloudDrop.
wait, you mean to tell me that this guy, probably one of the most final boss-looking characters in the series, is actually the anti-villain and the real antagonist is some blue twink that knows everything and is limiting himself with a gun?
in a sense yeah till we got the full picture from asukas side of thing that made him not be the big bad but his teacher filling in the role of it just to lead humanity into the correct path
Love how experimental Daisuke is getting with his music nowadays lol. His classics are godly of course but not many rock artists make songs as unique as these.
This is a little silly but hearing this song probably changed my outlook on life, I felt teary-eyed when I realized what “gravity” meant, with that I wanted to stop doubling down when it comes to defending clearly awful partners. So I left my psycho gf and reconnected with all my friends, happy ending :]
That which is unseen, that which can only be felt as an all encompassing force holds the answers that you seek in ones own penance. One may not be able to measure feelings but they are still real and do exist. Feelings that others have as well as the feelings withen ones self hold the answers that you seek.
So basically this song is about him accepting that instead if forcing improvement on humanity (and his friends), he needs to trust people to improve their own fate. Which is why he took a step back and started to a podcast on the moon
and to accept himself with how depressive he got in just wanting his clone to end him till it saw that its stupid to want to die for stupid mistakes you can just accept and move on
The song fits well with Asuka current situation who now make broadcast radio to the world about current problem in the world and make everyone thinking about potential solution Playing around with strongest book in universe and creating his own clone to be proxy of him taking care surface problem especially pre-war weapon even P.W.A.B not know Do some self reflection on himself with the help of his clone to fix fault within himself and be a better person And finally have new hobby by do some experiment, for one do some Battle Method Turing Test try to find efficient way to beat up enemy rather than destroy them
First, it's not a flower, those are wings, it's a biblically accurate angel-shaped eyepatch. And second, it happens with all characters who are not perfectly summetrical. This is because there is a single model for the characters, and it's mirrored whenever they are on the right side of the arena, to ensure the model is equally readable independently of the fighter's position relative to each other, but it does cause some weird effecys when you pay attention to it, most notably with Baiken's missing arm.
@@totallynotavoyeur6977 Oh actually? I’m slightly new to the series so I never noticed the switch with other characters but that makes a lot of sense. Also the fact that the eyepatch is a representation of Angel wings is so sick, that fits his character so well I feel, thanks for letting me know 👍
@@totallynotavoyeur6977one correction. Not every character is designed to be left side and mirrored on the right. Maybe in some games/some companies but Aksys has been pretty consistent in their other series. They tend to alternate.
CloudDrop the sheer amount of effort you put into these videos is noticed and appreciated; it really feels like you went all out on this one. Thank you for providing what is for many the definitive way to experience the Strive OST.
5:19 Listened to an unofficial lyrics video that phrased this line as "Noise nurtures then divides" and honestly, little bum'd that line isn't the one used as that just hits hard man.
I fear whichever character told Asuka he has no drip, because this mf universal willed in the HARDEST drip known to existence. I genuinely don't know if we'll ever see it get outdone from anybody else in the course of history. You can't beat J's and literally wearing the entire cosmos as a robe.
@@AllisterAkaikiP4Au Naoto is simultaneously one of my favorite and least favorite characters in a fighting game lmao. The absolute shenanigans you can get up to when playing as/against her can be hilarious or ruin friendships depending on the situation.
Summing up with Asuka's theme, motivation and look he giving me strong vibes of Odin from norse mythology (Although Asuka is not that of an asshole) And the theme is just amazing Thank you for your hard work 💜
A theme befitting of the man that once was only known as That Man that set the entire story into motion. A truly majestic theme with nice callbacks to The Man (GG2) the previous theme of Asuka.
5:30 Naoki started putting his whole Soul into the last bit of this absolute banger of a song. Fucking love strive OST so damn much. I have the first soundtrack, waiting on a second. I hate YT ripping the rest of the songs as they drop .
I miss the Day 1 interpretation me and my friends had where the opening chant was "O-PEN THE PAAGEEEES". We'd chant alongside it every time, not knowing how hilariously off we were.
I find it interesting how theres a line in this song that says "The beginning and the end, all the same." while the song ends the same way it starts, with that same divine sounding part.
I love how the first couple seconds and the speaking at around 0:37 sound very enlightened and divine, like a god-like being coming down on a ray of light, and you expect them to be benevolent and merciful. but the guitar kicking in almost immediately makes it feel like this being isn't as divine or merciful as you thought, like after it comes down and greets you, it casts spells and destroys everything in sight. and that motif at about 0:13 really gives the feeling of a powerful, tyrannical, evil fantasy villain, like ganondorf, sephiroth, sauron, etc. a complete reversal of the beginning.
The fact that he says “the beginning and the end all the same” at the EXACT halfway point, while the beginning and the end of the song are literally identical.
![Extras [With Lyrics] (Elphelt Theme) - Guilty Gear Strive OST](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rhlZY4D8jlQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Extras [With Lyrics] (Elphelt Theme) - Guilty Gear Strive OST](/img/tr.png)
![Radiant Dawn [With Lyrics] (Queen Dizzy Theme) - Guilty Gear Strive OST](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MrrvV0nQWkQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![COLORS FLYING HIGH [Guilty Gear Strive Johnny, Asuka, Dizzy, Slayer montage]](/img/1.gif)
"Does meaning have meaning" and other deep thoughts with Asuka R. Kreutz
"A person who thinks all the time, has nothing to think about except thoughts" That Man probably
His podcast must be trippy
@@longbeing Thought the starting lines from his trailer are supposed to be from his podcast?
Child slavery is one hell of a start, I tell you that
Meaning have a meaning because daisuke write tracks on japanese and translate them to English by worst version of Google Translate
As a philoaophy teacher in the making, i see what he is trying to say.
"Does meaning have meaning" in this contest probably mean "is there even a point into looking for a meaning in the first place"? I am not an expert of GG lore, but Asuka sound very tired of all that shit that happened, so i can see why he goes from questioning if there a meaning to it, to ask himself if it's even worth to keep asking themselve those questions.
I love how his theme song sounds like absolute *boss music.* Considering how this character is basically responsible for this *ENTIRE* series existence, and is rocking the Utsuho Reiuji Galaxy Cape, yeah this fits That Man to a *T.*
"The Utsuho Reiuji Galaxy Cape"
God forbid Asuka whips out the control rod arm and fires suns at the enemy
@@junkoxeno_7734 random shit sign “test case 3”
The cape went to Asuka's head and he decided to make everyone else play hisoutensoku
Touhou reference !
Love it !
Lets be grateful Asuka doesn't have any of the spell cards Utsuho have
One of the most powerful characters in all of Guilty Gear and he walks in wearing sneakers while wearing the cosmos as his robe. We reaching never before seen levels of drip.
His sneakers are what absolutely sold me on the character ngl
His cape containing the universe is probably another nod to the album cover of Helloween, the Keeper of the Seven Keys. THAT MAN always resembled him in a way or another.
He got the GOT DAM KICKS YO
@@emryscaster7332 he and faust probably have entire collections of them and fight for the best ones
"We have Drip the likes of which God has not seen."
Asuka is such a unique character. Ever had a villain which you knew in the franchise for 20+ years, that you've only ever learned their name and face a few years back, has only been recently playable, and has actualy been an anti-villain the whole time? Absolutely insane.
He like Van Hohenheim for real
The whole "there are actually 2 That Man" can feel a bit cheap though.
I don't know how much Chaos was teased in games previous to Strive, maybe he was always there.
@@AofCastle Happy Choas has been teased since Xrd
@@AofCastle Happy Chaos was fine. Happy Chaos actually being the one who committed the crimes blamed on Asuka was not
@@gontagokuhara5262 The Happy Chaos in Xrd is not the same one in Strive, actually.
I absolutely ADORE the line "As the Universe turned black, did the Sun ever defy fate?" Outside of the obvious lore implications, standing on its own the line is such an elegant and powerful way to ask if someone could best impossible odds. Honestly one of Daisuke's best from Strive so far in my opinion!
Oh, definitely. This is, in my opinion, the Bohemian Rhapsody of Guilty Gear.
also, sun in spanish is sol so I really like that line cuz its like "did Sol Badguy ever defy fate?" then right after the line "beyond it all, do you recognize me?" which is Asuka asking sol if he still recognizes him after everything that's happened. peak storytelling in music
@@ninBENdotaking it a step further, one of the laws of gravity states that particles are always attracting each other, so when he says “Beyond it all, do you recognize me? The gravity holds all the answers” he is essentially saying that Sol must recognize him because they’re always coming back to each other.
@@ninBENdo maybe its on purpose, with "sun" referring to sol
Asuka is basically the best wingman ever, completely manipulated fate and causality to make sure his two best friends could hook up. Chad as hell, man.
@@TyrannicalUser bit a banter between mates innit
@@palkia001right on
@@TyrannicalUserwe do a little trolling
weren't they, like married already?
@@DissedRedEngie yes
I’m going to analyze the lyrics as if they are Asuka is asking them to himself.
“Did the Sun ever defy fate?”
Sol means sun. This is asking if Sol was able to defy fate. One point where he did was literally not dying when Ino made him fight his young self. Another time could be when Axel stops time to allow Sol to charge up Junkyard Dog MK II, and fuse Jack-O with Justice’s body.
“And love embraces the darkness of the night”
This part also is referring to the lines about the universe going black, or Asuka’s creations, Gears, attacking humanity, and how it caused his two friends (Fredrick/Sol & Aria/Justice) to be fated to fight each other.
Love embracing darkness could represent a few things. The first thing that comes to mind is Dizzy. When Asuka learns of her, he says that she is another reason for Sol to beat the shit out of him. This is because Dizzy is Justice’s daughter, and Asuka knows that Justice is Aria. Therefore, Dizzy is the Daughter of Fredrick, aka Sol. Dizzy is able to find acceptance in a world that hates gears, and is able to find love also. This could also again represent Fredrick and Aria.
One thing is turning back time. I think in this context is Asuka wanting to right the wrongs he made, but also sees the indirect affects he has made.
TLDR: Asuka reflects that he made a huge oopsy, though is happy that people were able to grow, though still wants to fix his mistakes and atone for his sins.
This is all my opinion, and my take on what the lyrics could mean. I might be reading to much into it. I will say that again, Daisuke’s music slaps hard.
Edit: Fixed a spelling mistake I made that I only noticed after sleeping. Doh.
I guess you can also see Daisuke's vision. Dope.
Can't believe I didn't think of "Did the Sun ever defy fate" being about Sol. Thanks for the interpretation
"Beyond it all, do you recognize me" that's probably him asking Sol and Aria if they still see him as a friend, even after all his mistakes
the song's definitely about repentance
@@tsugu9146 I think it's about gravity.
Repentance and redemption being major themes also synergizes with his priest-like outfit very well.
I can't imagine these lyrics were fun to decipher, but god bless
Thats so cool ! 😄
my guy there are pages online where people post the lyrics to these songs, or the parts they decipher beforehand, and that's probably what this other dude uses
God*
@@melian2593 you Know the comment is going to be contrived and annoying as fuck when it starts with “my guy”
@@ChillestForm do you like know what franchise the video you’re commenting on is or
WE ARE GETTING OUT OF THE BACKYARD WITH THIS ONE 🔥 🔥 🔥
WE ARE CASTING SPELLS WITH THIS ONE 🔥 🔥 🔥
WE ARE GOING TO KILL CHAOS WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥
@@lovultdeus4316 WE OPENING THE TOME OF ORIGINS WITH THIS ONE🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
JAPAN WON'T SURVIVE WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥
SHADOW👤WIZARD🧙🏽MONEY💸GANG💯
WE LOVE CASTING SPELLS🪄
Starting at 2:10 you can hear the ticking of a clock in the background. It is especially noticeable because it follows a different rhythm than the rest of the song. When measuring the BPM of the ticking, you are not left with 60, like you would expect for a clock, but 42: "the meaning of life, the Universe, and everything"
i thought it was knocking, which gave me the feeling of paranoia or someone tapping on the world from outside it
Jack-O: this clock is running a bit fast...
Asuka: it's... Just decorative.
Sol: then why is it running? [It hits 12 o'clock] I have heard that tune before --
Asuka: ANYWAY!
XD
That’s ridiculous level of detail lol
I was about to say you must be trippin but then I finally found where it is, the ticking is in the center of all the other sounds and very faintly but it does follow a rhythm with the bassline (until the baseline changes)
It took me forever to hear it, but eventually I did. For those also struggling, it's specifically the sound an analogue clock makes when its hands move
LEARNING THE GUILTY GEAR STRIVE LORE WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥
We also bout to wreck Japan 🔥🔥🔥
he literally has a book
This man delivers *The Cubes.* Compared to him? We're nothing.
That man, not this man.
"Be sure to avoid them..."
"...Feel the steps."
@@EripmavsDYraid Yeah I'll take the L on this one
everybody gangsta still Asuka casts Obama Prism Metron
The cosmic cube can do anything
As a big Dream Theater fan, it makes me really happy that Daisuke once again took heavy inspiration from it when composing this song, just like with Necessary Discrepancy!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that noticed it. When I heard this theme I immediately thought of Dream Theater😅
@@Keima_Katsuragi. it’s more on a composition level with the time signature changes and riff structure than on a sonic level
@@drainer983 Ok, I understand. Thanks
Definitely sounds like DT, amazing. This track has some vibes from Octavarium record !
"beyond it all do you recognize me" sends chills down my spine
Always their friend, in spite of it all. A normal man, facing impossible, inconceivable realities. Who always meant for all the suffering and horror to *mean* something.
"Frederick? Aria? Despite it all, it's still me.
It's still me."
@@Pyre *Asuka looks into the mirror*
*despite everything you've been through*
*it's still you*
"Did the sun ever defy fate"
"Sol" is spanish for Sun, I like to think this line is refering to him
I feel like it's quite likely
And Latin as well
XD
of course he did he killed himself and continued living because he wanted to say fuck you to some hoe
@@Ramsey276one and portuguese
@@格好つける thanks!
We making it outta floor 10 with this one
Out of 10, all the way to 7
outa floor 10. back to floor 5
back down to 5, yeah
If we can even make it online 😭
The Backyard ain't got shit on GRAVITY!
We waited 25 years for the least buff character in the series that has a book that shoots cubes.
I love Guilty Gear.
It is canon like Happy Chaos nerf with a gun, Asuka nerf himself with limited usage of spell in his disposal
@@lavenkaser we have no idea. HC nerfing himself by just using guns isn't even confirmed, it's just speculation from the players.
@@cooperlittlehales6268 happy chaos is the god of magic and like 90% of his moveset is either him just flailing his arms and legs and him using his gun
He's also a bad shot according to himself that's why he has all these specials to help him shoot
@@cooperlittlehales6268 my man he snapped his fingers and evaporated a building,think a bunch of pew-pews are a downscale
WE STARTING OUR PODCAST WITH THIS ONE
ON THE MOON
Mooncast Kitty
XD
I'm going to the one place that isn't corrupted by Capitalism:
S P A C E
@@EripmavsDYraid Ok Tim Curry
That one cutscene when Asuka strangled Sol up high then proclaimed:
"Yes, Sol. It is I. I'm the Guilty Gear."
and then strives to show his guilt all over the place while wearing his new Aria Lesdans sneakers. Truly one of the gears of all time.
he has to make sure his sneakers don't get creased
But Sol is the Guilty Gear, he literally says so after defeating Justice. Thats why its called Guilty Gear because Sol is the gear who defeated the first gear.
In the first guilty gear story its literally the joke because he literally says after beating Justice "I am the Guilty Gear."
amazing
the sol proceeds to strive all over asuka's back
@@mr.minnesota2560 He probably got excited too 😩
WERE BREAKING A PERFECTLY FINE RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I spit my cereal out of my mouth when I read this, thanks a lot💀
Fucking character assassinations up in here... 😂 🔥
Hey hey hey he was trying to save aria
WE'RE FINDING THE MEANING OF MEANING WITH THIS ONE🔥 🔥 🔥
The meaning of meaning is meaning itself
mean·ing
/ˈmēniNG/
noun
what is meant by a word, text, concept, or action.
@@badinga508I can't believe you found the meaning of meaning so quickly
@@badinga508does meant have a meaning
That lyric hit hard
Daisuke took away the cat ears to save the internet. So what did we do? We got them back!
Wait, how did we get them back?
@@silkghost93 sheer willpower... and mods
Mods I'm assuming
The strive community knew that they couldn’t change the designs. So instead of reflecting on themselves, they blamed Daisuke
Cat ears or hell
@@colboy123 Round 1. LET'S ROCK!
Asuka knew that he couldn't change society, so instead of reflecting to himself he DECIDED TO DO SOME WAR CRIMES WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Asuka didn't know he could change society so instead of saving his friend's lover, he committed warcrimes
It's so easy to get goosebumps in the last two minutes and honestly I love it
I got goosebumps only a couple seconds in lol
Hi jimothy
U everywhere
I just noticed this but “Gravity holds all the answers”
Smell of the game: “Gravity keeps us on the ground”
Requiem: “We’re falling down slowly like snow, led by gravity”
Just the repetition of Gravity and what it means in Guilty Gear
Do with that what you will
Same for the moon
They both have deep meaning in GG world
Jojo brainrots preventing me from reading into this
While implied to have more meaning than the physical real gravity, I think gravity means something slightly different between songs.
Requiem seems to liken gravity to fate, that we are all moving in the same direction, fated to death. The word requiem can mean: "A hymn, composition, or service for the dead". Tying into the song's themes of death and rebirth with a pessimistic view on life - given how I-No doesn't know what her past is.
This view of gravity = fate doesn't really line up with the themes of Smell of the Game and "The Gravity". Gravity in these songs might be more like friends, community or connections with other people - reading the lines Cornin33 highlighted: Our connections/friends keep us on the ground, keep us grounded and real, keep us on the right path. Gravity holds the answers, and our connections to other people hold the answers to what life is about or the meaning of life - as "The Gravity" seems to be Asuka's philosophical musings on reality and society ("Does meaning have a meaning", "what truth should we accept?").
Going back to Requiem, gravity's use in this case seems more metaphorical as a whole statement that doesn't hold up to dissection.
@@chester1882 Interesting thought! I'd have to re-examine the story to see how much the theme you mention shows up, but I could absolutely buy that Gravity, Smell of the Game and Requiem all show different opinions and interpretations of gravity-as-mortality/fate:
- Asuka, in Gravity, sees mortality as the thing that gives life meaning: the reason we look for the answers is because one day, we won't be able anymore. The meaning of life, therefore, is to look for meaning. What makes this interpretation even stronger for me is how Gravity repeats the line "does meaning have meaning" several times throughout the song, but saves the line "Gravity holds all the answers" for last, which almost makes it sound like an answer to the question: yes, meaning has meaning, and that meaning is "gravity".
- Smell of the Game (which is strongly implied to be Sol's perspective) sees mortality as something that humbles us: just like gravity literally keeps grounded, the reminder that we will all die one day figuratively keeps us grounded. It's very "memento mori", in that sense. Where Asuka and I-No failed to defy fate through godlike acts of defiance, Sol is the one who succeeds, just by staying humble and true to himself.
- You've already talked about what Requiem (and thus I-No's) view on gravity/fate/mortality is, but I'd like to bring the conclusion of that song into this as well: I-No begins with the viewpoint that life is inherently without meaning because it must one day end ("I can't feel it", "none of this is real"), but by the end of the song, I-No seems to accept her mortality ("if I am to be swallowed by fate, I must have fought well") and finds her own meaning in her ultimately futile struggle to defy fate, or in other words, gravity. The underlying theme in Requiem of flying above the clouds and falling down slowly make the metaphor even clearer.
@@FanFavoriteToasted Tell me... Do you believe in gravity?
WE ARE GETTING OUT OF THE SPELLS BLENDER WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥
We are putting others into the spell blender with this one
HAHAHAHAHAHA no we're not 💀
🔥🔥🔥We really ain't
No you aren't. Now block this overhead.
@@EripmavsDYraidno **uses dp**
The theme reminds me of Happy Chaos’s theme in certain respects, but ultimately are different…mostly with their final destination.
I mean, the beginning of Drift is talking about how HC desperately searched for these answers, but ultimately forgot when he broke and started his desire to push humanity forward by making their lives as rough as possible.
Asuka is at the beginning of Drift, looking for answers (albeit for different questions) but, at the end, he seems to accept that things are, ultimately, as they are. Cause he doesn’t really give an answer to his questions he just says that Gravity holds the answers.
Sure, gravity could be something meaningful in some deeper reaches of lore of this series that I don’t know about (I might end up like HC if I tried too hard) but to me, Gravity is simply a force of nature. Along with the fact that Asuka says that all things are as they are leads me to believe that…he doesn’t know everything, and that’s okay. He doesn’t *need* to know like a divine truth-seeker. The words will still know the morning, and love will still embrace the darkness of the night. And that’s the difference, at least I think, between Asuka R. Kreutz and Happy Chaos.
I love this interpretation
They both reached different conclusions when faced with the same thing. HC's theme says "I don't want any conclusioms" and he tells I-No that "If all we know of the universe is, say, 4% of it, then I'm really not interested in knowing the other 96%" or something like that in Story Mode.
So HC saw that existence is much greater than he thought, and decided "Well, everything that exists has a meaning, so I can do whatever I want, and even though humanity is small in the great scheme of things, I can make it thrive in my own way because it won't matter in the end anyway"
Meanwhile Asuka's conclusion would be along the lines of "Things are as they are, I shall make sure they continue like that without interfering, so that existence runs it's course naturally", though I don't think he quite reached the same point as HC in his journey.
Fuck it we ball vs It is what it is
The line "No, it is not truth that you divine" could quite possibly be directed at both himself and Happy Chaos, admitting to himself near the end of the song that he does not know everything and sometimes feelings must come before facts (pretty prominent part of arcade mode as Asuka). In the case of it being directed to Happy Chaos, it's a total rejection of his worldview, the thing that makes him act as the main antagonist of Strive. Asuka is denying his former teacher, now a broken husk of a person, and his shattered psyche any hold over "all things that stay alive" which could easily mean both humans and gears. Asuka isn't here to finish what he started, he isn't here to ask for mercy, he isn't here to make a final plea to those who he has wronged. He's here to do what he feels needs to be done to atone, what needs to be done to preserve life, and what needs to be done to help all people. This leads him to conflict with Happy Chaos's methods, as he views the best way to get humanity to progress is through terrible strife. In Drift, the lines "When the violent storm is over the blue sky is more beautiful than ever" is a perfect example of this. In summary, Asuka and Chaos both started from the same place, reaching for answers and ways to make the world better and people happy. While Asuka came to the conclusion that this should be done by reducing suffering, Chaos came to the conclusion that such joy could only be brought about through grief, and so both naturally oppose each other philosophically and morally despite their similarities and shared desire. Truly a wonderful dynamic.
A cool complement to this that I have been thinking about, is the fact that their movesets/fighting style are fundamentally the same. Shoot, recharge "ammo", recharge "mana". It's really cool to see the mirrors bewteen them, being student and master and both being that man and all.
Can't wait for Asuka to summon Exodia
The heart of the cards summon him already
Ah! Impossible!
That's the insta kill (if they ever add them)
@@MeatOfJustice I think they might add them once every character is added.
@@thevoiceinyourhead7215 Im able to hear his voice just by reading these words!!!
I like how the only way to tell if you're talking to Asuka or one of his clones is just whether his eye is red. For some reason, That Man decided to make his replicas have slightly different appearances than himself. Is there a lore reason? Maybe. But I like to believe he did it "Because why not"
I like to think that it's to avoid a situation like Twice's from MHA
Basically a way to "mark" his clones as, well, clones, and not have a possible psychological breakdown in the future, just in case.
It's probably more for the playerbase to distinguish between them in game tho.
@Absolutely Not Griffith a good idea but he has stated that it doesn't matter to him which one was real in the first place as they all share and accumulated knowledge they are all equally him to him
Think he just likes blue and pink better.
I think it's less of an intentional thing and more a product of the magical process, kind of like how the more copies you make of a paper the more washed out the color on the copies will be.
@@neverseemstoAsh And how they seem to develop new personalities (See his Arcade Mode)
The theme has really grown on me.
That last "Do you recognize me?" hits hard
U good?
"It sounds like an existential crisis, *and your winning"*
That's the best one from the "it sounds like a X and you're Y" series of memes
i dont kow why but 0:31-0:48 made this song one of my favorite ones in the whole franchise
"All Things As They Are" and the music playing. its just so badass
it gives the feeling that Asuka is super powerful and he exactly knows what he is doing
3 seconds longer, and this would've overtaken Mirror of the World as the longest song in Strive.
I think having it at this length was intentional. The entire song is 6.66 minutes long
Fitting for the guy people called the devil
@@ezrel6477 Didn't catch that. That's actually pretty cool.
This song has such a finality to it, I don't know how they can add anymore characters honestly
Yeah, I get that too. It's going to feel weird not having this as the final song in the playlist.
@dapugloaf5999 tbh I kinda think the best song to end a gg strive Playlist is smell of the game
Don't worry. Daisuke will never stop cooking
Someone asked Asuka if he understood the gravity of the situation and he said, “Alright, bet.”
"Asuka do you understand *the gravity* of the situation?!"
'DO YOU KNOW, DO YOU RECOGNISE ME'
The Circle JUST overthrew Roar of the Spark as my favorite song and now THIS overthrew The Circle, I can't catch a break with these bangers man
really? you think this is better than circle?
@@erfaniom9576 I LOVE The Circle but this has such a final boss/world ending feel to it which I'm a sucker for. Doesn't help that Asuka's design is the coolest thing I've ever seen and the song, design and character fit together in one villain-seeking-redemption package so well.
@@erfaniom9576I am a Bedman fanatic and even I have to admit Asuka's theme is better than Bedman?'s. I still adore the circle but if I had to pick which song would go it'd sadly be the circle.
And what’s funny is that at 2:53 a faster version of The Circle’s beginning riff that transitions into a less acoustic version, so it sorta reprises Bedman?’s theme.
People actually like the circle? I don't find it very interesting at all.
The editing on this one is especially top tier. The really fast cuts, the splicing of gameplay, intro and story mode. It makes Asuka feel that bit more important. Bravo, CloudDrop.
When designing Asuka's model Daisuke clearly had a brainstorm on where he could put way too many belt buckles
He loves his belt buckles
this applies to like all of the characters tbh
wait, you mean to tell me that this guy, probably one of the most final boss-looking characters in the series, is actually the anti-villain and the real antagonist is some blue twink that knows everything and is limiting himself with a gun?
Chaos is not the hero or the villain. He simply exists. He is whatever you want him to be. As for Asuka, I'd say he is an Ex-Antagonist.
asuka was the villain until he wasn't
in a sense yeah till we got the full picture from asukas side of thing that made him not be the big bad but his teacher filling in the role of it just to lead humanity into the correct path
@@VaresSparda he does some verry evil shit and gets a ton of inocent people killed he is definetly a villain
Love how experimental Daisuke is getting with his music nowadays lol. His classics are godly of course but not many rock artists make songs as unique as these.
And they all sound great
@@Davoxyxtestament Bridget and bedmans kinda suck ngl, Sin's is mid but the rest for strive is good aside from may
@@justagamethrower ain't no way you said testament theme sucks bro- 💀
@@justagamethrowerbedmans????
Bedmans theme is in the top 5 for me
Jacko sin bridget and may themes are in the bottom 5
6:40 = 6x4 = 24 in reverse = 42 = meaning of life
This is a little silly but hearing this song probably changed my outlook on life, I felt teary-eyed when I realized what “gravity” meant, with that I wanted to stop doubling down when it comes to defending clearly awful partners. So I left my psycho gf and reconnected with all my friends, happy ending :]
After almost 25 years that was finally made playable and damn this theme does it justice
JUSTICE GUILTY GEAR??????
WE MAKING IT OUT OF THE CHILD LABOR STATISTICS WITH THIS ONE💯💯
We making it outta tir na nog crossing Mexico’s border with this one
That arpeggio + slap bass at 2:48 is totally insane
The line "Does meaning have a meaning?" goes so dang hard holy crap
5:29 I don’t know why I just felt there, but I felt it DEEP within my soul
ALL THINGS AS THEY ARE !!!!
AS THE UNIVERSE TURNED BLACK
DID THE SUN EVER DEFY FATE?
BEYOND IT ALL, *DO YOU RECOGNIZE ME?!?!*
That last stretch got me teary eyed yall gotta be honest
felt like I ascended ngl
WE ARE FINDING THE GOODWILL WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥
i love this one lol
this will make me do crazy shit!
Bro beats people’s asses with geometry
And touhou fighting game mechanics
*C U B E*
That which is unseen, that which can only be felt as an all encompassing force holds the answers that you seek in ones own penance.
One may not be able to measure feelings but they are still real and do exist. Feelings that others have as well as the feelings withen ones self hold the answers that you seek.
This shit is tied with the circle for my fav strive theme, absolutely majestic!
Love circle but this one's a bit weird imo. Nice to see Daisukes more experimental music getting positive reception though!
so real. the circle is too close to my heart to be surpassed by this personally but it’s necessary discrepancy levels of good 👍
解釈しがいのある歌詞が、この曲の良さを更に引き立てている。
すでに多くの人々が指摘しているが、
“the sun”=“sol”
で、ソルのことを指しているという解釈がしっくりくる。
全曲の中でこの曲が一番好き。
So basically this song is about him accepting that instead if forcing improvement on humanity (and his friends), he needs to trust people to improve their own fate. Which is why he took a step back and started to a podcast on the moon
and to accept himself with how depressive he got in just wanting his clone to end him till it saw that its stupid to want to die for stupid mistakes you can just accept and move on
I love that I can’t tell if that last parts real or not; it is 100% possible in GG.
that slap solo at 2:50 is the highlight of the song... Surprised no one is talking about it
THIS IS A CERTIFIED BACKYARD CLASSIC
The song fits well with Asuka current situation who now make broadcast radio to the world about current problem in the world and make everyone thinking about potential solution
Playing around with strongest book in universe and creating his own clone to be proxy of him taking care surface problem especially pre-war weapon even P.W.A.B not know
Do some self reflection on himself with the help of his clone to fix fault within himself and be a better person
And finally have new hobby by do some experiment, for one do some Battle Method Turing Test try to find efficient way to beat up enemy rather than destroy them
In my heart, I will always hear Arises as “I write this”. It just sounds better to me. As if he is a divine truth seeker, he’s writing this.
It's kinda jank, yeah.
I hear it as:
Innocents lied to, just to spare them? As if!
A divine truth seeker arises
The finale sounds like all the world falling down around you.
And long-lost, long-sought, finally-found joy.
The riff at 3:31 hits SO DAMN HARD
You know what else-
i can do that with my pinky finger
@@ilovebugs1027 cool
WE BLOWIN UP JAPAN WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Yknow I just realized that flower thing on his eye switches sides depending on which direction he’s facing, even in certain cutscenes as well
First, it's not a flower, those are wings, it's a biblically accurate angel-shaped eyepatch. And second, it happens with all characters who are not perfectly summetrical. This is because there is a single model for the characters, and it's mirrored whenever they are on the right side of the arena, to ensure the model is equally readable independently of the fighter's position relative to each other, but it does cause some weird effecys when you pay attention to it, most notably with Baiken's missing arm.
@@totallynotavoyeur6977 Oh actually? I’m slightly new to the series so I never noticed the switch with other characters but that makes a lot of sense. Also the fact that the eyepatch is a representation of Angel wings is so sick, that fits his character so well I feel, thanks for letting me know 👍
@@totallynotavoyeur6977It IS designed to look like a rose though. He's not called Asuka Rosen Kreutz for nothing.
@@totallynotavoyeur6977one correction. Not every character is designed to be left side and mirrored on the right. Maybe in some games/some companies but Aksys has been pretty consistent in their other series. They tend to alternate.
Is it just me or does that section with Asuka floating on his back look like that one meme of the guy flying away in the same position? (0:29)
Nah, I'd commit war crimes
Asuka mains having to play 5D chess with their character while every other character is playing checkers
WE RUNNING OUT OF MANA WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
WE DYING FASTER THAN CHIP WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
shadow wizard money gang
we love casting spells
This song is sponsored by
The shadow government
Legalize nuclear bombs
Bees make honey
Swag messiah
Asuka players scare me man. They’re out here playing Magic The Gathering while playing a fighting game
ok so first I cast Sol Metron and tap for two colorless to play Arcane Signet-
@@Brass319 I play ulamog the ceaseless hunger and mill for 20 on you
WE PRAYING FOR THE ACCUMULATION OF GOODWILL WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥
Always excited to see the cloud drop lyric vids. Mostly for the great music sync edits and such.
Certainly not for the accuracy of the lyrics 😂
@@cooperlittlehales6268 the lyrics are accurate though.
I absolutely LOVE how some parts of the song are similar to Happy Chaos' theme
CloudDrop the sheer amount of effort you put into these videos is noticed and appreciated; it really feels like you went all out on this one.
Thank you for providing what is for many the definitive way to experience the Strive OST.
Ayyee, real ones know him as clouddrop
NOW it came out
this song feels hopeful more than else
5:19 Listened to an unofficial lyrics video that phrased this line as "Noise nurtures then divides" and honestly, little bum'd that line isn't the one used as that just hits hard man.
I fear whichever character told Asuka he has no drip, because this mf universal willed in the HARDEST drip known to existence. I genuinely don't know if we'll ever see it get outdone from anybody else in the course of history. You can't beat J's and literally wearing the entire cosmos as a robe.
Asuka: "I substituted my right eye for godly powers, a grimoire and a flower for an eye..."
That's kinda funny😂
walking around in jordans, robes, and having a galaxy in your cloak is unprecedented levels of drip
"Praying for the accumulation of goodwill"
Atonement of the gear maker
Asuka R. Kruetz
I feel like with the bass, and the amazing lyrics, that this is like a SMT final boss or something.
God, I love the Guilty Gear OST.
Don't introduce him to (de)buffs and INSTAKILLS, please...
XD
@@Ramsey276oneHe probably already has them, considering he's JUST BARELY below his teacher ins magic prowess.
@@Ramsey276onehama/mudo in fighting games is a bad idea, we know this from P4A naoto
@@AllisterAkaikiP4Au Naoto is simultaneously one of my favorite and least favorite characters in a fighting game lmao. The absolute shenanigans you can get up to when playing as/against her can be hilarious or ruin friendships depending on the situation.
I thought it sounded more like a modern version of Golden Sun music boss themes
When you accidentaly came up with a wacky philosophical question and finally get a cool-looking answer
Summing up with Asuka's theme, motivation and look he giving me strong vibes of Odin from norse mythology
(Although Asuka is not that of an asshole)
And the theme is just amazing
Thank you for your hard work 💜
"Asuka Is not that of an asshole". My brother in Christ he destroyed the entirety of Japan
@@enricodesantis1236 your Honor, my client would like to plead “Oopsie Daisy” to the charge of making Japan past tense
A theme befitting of the man that once was only known as That Man that set the entire story into motion. A truly majestic theme with nice callbacks to The Man (GG2) the previous theme of Asuka.
That last "beyond it all" and all that part always bring me to tears.
as someone who has loved learning new things about the universe all my life, asuka’s a big inspiration ^^
5:30 Naoki started putting his whole Soul into the last bit of this absolute banger of a song.
Fucking love strive OST so damn much. I have the first soundtrack, waiting on a second. I hate YT ripping the rest of the songs as they drop .
I miss the Day 1 interpretation me and my friends had where the opening chant was "O-PEN THE PAAGEEEES". We'd chant alongside it every time, not knowing how hilariously off we were.
2:52 slapping that bass like it owed them money
Preaching and philosophy about reality and truth to the masses.
WE'RE MASS PRODUCING THE GEARS WITH THIS ONE!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥⚙⚙⚙⚙
There's no better feeling than one of these coming out after waiting so long for it
You are THE MAN when it comes to GG music videos, and it’s because you make them so high quality, good job!
That man if you will
This got release when I started to get obsessed with it, Perfect.
I find it interesting how theres a line in this song that says "The beginning and the end, all the same." while the song ends the same way it starts, with that same divine sounding part.
I actually almost cried towards the end, this song's lyrics are so powerful.
One of the coolest videogame characters right there.
Yes, I’m biased, but I mean, LOOK AT HIS JORDANS FOR F*** SAKE
I love how the first couple seconds and the speaking at around 0:37 sound very enlightened and divine, like a god-like being coming down on a ray of light, and you expect them to be benevolent and merciful.
but the guitar kicking in almost immediately makes it feel like this being isn't as divine or merciful as you thought, like after it comes down and greets you, it casts spells and destroys everything in sight.
and that motif at about 0:13 really gives the feeling of a powerful, tyrannical, evil fantasy villain, like ganondorf, sephiroth, sauron, etc. a complete reversal of the beginning.
that slap bass solo goes so fucking CRAZY
The fact that he says “the beginning and the end all the same” at the EXACT halfway point, while the beginning and the end of the song are literally identical.
"The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order." - Asuka R. Kreutz, colourized (Citra 2074-2180)
2:30 “does meaning have a meaning”
meaning
noun
what is meant by a word, text, concept, or action.
Oh yay! All my existential crisis have been solved!
5:47 when all the voices come together and say do you recognize me? I literally ascended