Just a clarification on the lore. Black Mamba's been canonically dead since Girls. There's currently no main antagonist in aespa's "Real MY World" and honestly from the destruction depicted and implied in both this and Supernova, it might be setting up alternate parallel universe versions of the aespa girlies as new potential villains.
the actual lore is that, the girls defeat blackmamba but in kwanya, they lost part of themselves in now, in the "real world" are glitches with kwanya and virtuality, in this video we see how giselle contact with their superbeing and start to collapse with that world, now she is the only 100% fake or 100% controled, is that why we see how the "superbeing aespa" (security camera's, ningning eye, glitchs in the world) try to control them and keep an eye on them, and in the video we can see how the girls are transforming, in this video they try to resist and keep their true self, like allegory to blue and red pill. OOh and the randoms shake movements of camera is to simulate as if they were seeing them through their eyes the "superbeings aespa"
@@aheruuwu7140 Ooh, thanks for a much more thorough breakdown. I kinda simplified it to get the main point across that they're not fighting Black Mamba anymore lol. But yeah, you definitely nailed all the story points presented in the m/v.
I'm here to tell you about the lore. So there are aliens (or whatever) coming to earth to target 4 Aespa members. Yes, those mermaid-shape aliens. Ningning is hiding in the toilet, winter is hiding in a store, Karina is hiding in an empty building, while Giselle is not hiding (she is outside). The 4 members want to trick the aliens using mannequins, AI and doppelgangers (the dancer). That's why there's a detection that says "person 100%". That detection tool is what makes them fail to hide. The alien takes Ningning's eyes, Giselle's face, Karina's head, and Winter's body. That's how she becomes a superbeing. Look at the Aespa members' faces near the end of the video. When there is silver glitter around their faces, it means their body parts have been taken and they become part of the alien.
I was concerned for him when i watched the MV Edit: Wait jorden comment on my comment. So he saw the comment and decided to comment the comment which I comment his video and now I'm commenting on his comment on my comment. Such an honor(2/6)
Videos like these are important because we miss so much of these small details. It is just quick 3 mins video for viewers but there is so many peoples' hours and hours of work behind each frame. It really makes me appreciate the team behind the curtain.
The set at 15:30 is an actual built set! They even built the waterfall features, so crazy bc I also thought it had to be VFX too with how liminal it felt
Armageddon MV is literally phenomenal. their concept never fail. i once doubt about how they would depict KOSMO and those ae things after black mamba's death. it's like a sci-fi movie already...and real complex one tbh🤔
aespa's 'Supernova' (TITLE TRACK) and 'Armageddon' (TITLE TRACK) MVs are phenomenal. The songs are fantastic. Their 1st Album "Armageddon" is really good. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Pretty sure that the part in 21:24 is 3D modeled. The 3D Artist shared all her models of the girls used in the vid. Most the close ups (so the one with NingNing closing into her face with the cristal eye thing, and this one) are all 3D Models of the girls, they are just so good you can barely tell.
19:19 it's her (Ningning) emblem, the butterfly. each members have their own distinct emblem being Karina (heart) Giselle (moon) Winter (star) and Ningning (butterfly).
Additionally, Ningning had a severe illness and got a surgery on her right eye. She said that since then, her right eye is almost blind. So people are thinking that the music video team knew this, and made it meaningful and iconic for her. Hope this helps!
It’s so incredible to see more creative decisions within the k-pop industry lately. I feel like the creative directors truly stepped up their game and most releases this year feel authentic!
11:23 please don't apologize for pausing too much, we love to see the details of the music video! we like hearing you explain the editing process of every scene!
Honestly jordan, thank you for always making a fun review. People need to be reminded just how crazy the work behind kpop is, they probably have a bigger team than a lot of western pop artists. The girls are amazing ofc, but just imagine just how fun kpop if their fans can also appreciate the people behind the scene
Fun fact! Armageddon means "the place where a final battle will be fought between the forces of good and evil" This i why we saw a picture of fights in the clouds in the mv!
Whoever edited that has to be the best edited in the world because I saw things in the music video that I’ve never saw before I even though that some weren’t even possible
Rima Yoon is truly making a name for herself when it comes to her directing and editing, she HAS been on a completely different level but this mv secured her spot as my fave mv director/editor Ever.
your reaction was not only fun but was actually helpful and informative with all the details you saw that i couldn't even notice with how blown I was the whole mv. aespa and their creative team is just on top
aespa and their creative team are right now one of the best on kpop, like literally WOW, they are in another level top tier than overall kpop concepts/music/direction/mvs/performances
That's what i like about a lot of aespa mv is that most of the sets are REAL (cf bts videos) that makes it so much tangible and enjoyable to watch also probably a lot "easier" to work on for editors and vfx makers anyway love your expertise on it
1:10 I would like to provide a brief explanation about this. The word you are referring to is 'KWANGYA', which means wilderness in Korean. This is the same wilderness mentioned in the Bible where Jesus was tempted by Satan three times, a desolate land where life struggles to thrive. In the aespa universe, the wilderness refers to the virtual world where the AI members exist. In this KWANGYA (wilderness), the AI aespa and the real-world aespa can sense each other's presence, grow stronger, and connect through a process called sync (synchronization). The antagonist in this wilderness is Black Mamba, which disrupts this sync (as everyone knows the negative connotation of the serpent in the Bible). So far, the aespa universe has focused on defeating Black Mamba and restoring the synchronized state. This essentially depicts the positive interaction between AI and the real world. However, Supernova and Armageddon illustrate a different narrative, as you mentioned: "a battle between the virtual and real worlds," "the grotesque imagery of the virtual and real worlds invading and blending into each other." Some scenes in Supernova resemble distorted and exaggerated photos outputted by AI. The deepfake image with only the lips moving at the end of the music video is a prime example. Do you remember Giselle's broken phone in Supernova? What she was looking at was a reCAPTCHA, a tool to differentiate between robots and humans. Everyone has likely encountered reCAPTCHA, which asks you to select all images with buses or states, "I am not a robot." On Giselle’s phone screen, it said, "Select all images with a AI," with pictures of aespa members. They could distinguish the fake aespa from the real one through this reCAPTCHA. However, Karina breaks Giselle's phone, making it impossible to tell AI from the real thing. Everything gets mixed up, parallel universes collide, and chaos ensues. Thus, this time, they portray AI negatively, unlike in previous albums. This is also related to the real-life situation of the aespa members. The person who initially conceptualized their theme and the producer who directed them have both resigned. The elements that made aespa who they are were at risk of disappearing. Until now, aespa had a very unique concept and identity with their AI universe, so this album can be seen as a representation of their own confused identity. They had to take a different path, and in this situation, they chose to stand directly against the concept and career they had built up so far, adopting an anti-AI stance. This must have been a high-risk gamble for aespa, but they executed it brilliantly. In that sense, this album is truly outstanding. They will be reborn through 'Armageddon', the apocalypse, and the 'Supernova' explosion, which is the death of a star. The end and death, the apocalypse, are always intertwined with new beginnings and rebirth. +) I've added additional interpretations of this music video in the comments below, so if you're interested, please check them. Thanks for the awesome review!
Fun facts: Ningning, a member of aespa, has almost lost vision in her right eye. Keeping this in mind, rewatch the MV. She is depicted with heterochromia (odd eyes) throughout the MV. 0:32 It looks as if light is coming through the slight opening when someone barely opens one's eyes. 1:54 The scenery of Armageddon seen through a cross-shaped gap. 2:14 Haven't you experienced seeing your eyelashes like this when you narrow your eyes? (Right after this scene, there is a shot of Ningning closing her eyes.) 9:59 Ningning's right eye. Her right eye zoomed out to look like a tunnel (like a multidimensional pathway or wormhole!), then the screen returns to her face, and it becomes her pupil again. 10:32 The scenery of Armageddon seen through a circular shape. And from a distance, the circle clearly looks like a pupil. Ningning is the center in this part as well. 15:29 The image of Ningning standing as if she is "standing on the entire world." Right after this, there's a choreography scene. Look closely at the top. It matches the cross at the beginning of the MV. You can tell that some entity was looking down at the members from above. 17:35 Multiple images of Ningning. Doesn't this immediately remind you of Doctor Strange? Think about how he sees through all universes. 19:10 Ningning's right eye changes to a butterfly pattern after confronting a giant entity. Incidentally, the symbol she chose for herself is a butterfly. In various myths (including Eros and Psyche), butterflies symbolize the soul and rebirth. 20:08 Ningning’s right eye sprouts crystal-like jewels, and from there, another member emerges. This continues repeatedly at 20:36, symbolizing infinity or a loop. 20:22 Do you remember the gap that appeared at the very beginning of the MV? That gap was created by Ningning! 21:55 The chair where Ningning was sitting is now empty. This is followed by scenes of the city collapsing. Naturally, when the master of a dream wakes up, the dream world collapses. 22:45 The ending scene. This time, it more clearly resembles a pupil. Looking at it this way, their message becomes clear. Through her blind right eye, Ningning seems to see all the past, present, future, and infinite possibilities of the universes where the aespa members exist. The story of Armageddon or Supernova is merely an event in one universe. They cleverly expand their universe in this way. Now, they can become anything and do anything. In Norse mythology, the chief god Odin also lost one eye and sees the world through the lost eye. They are depicting Ningning as Odin. Isn't it interesting that she sees everything with her blind eye? And the time it takes to do so probably wasn't even long. Perhaps just a blink while sitting in a chair would be enough.
Wow! Thank you! I am new to their lore and I kept thinking there were mythological references here. I guess there are both mythological and biblical references. You should totally make a video on it! I think a lot of us would love to watch it! Thanks for the explanation here though!
I second the other comment’s suggestion to make a video or if you post your analysis on another platform, I’d be super interested in checking it out as well! I’m usually too lazy to get into the lore, but your writing style and commentary was rlly insightful and engaging
I think the one that jordan said the renaissance-like picture and the city are AI bcus there are AI editors that get credit at the credit scenes. But yeah the ones with the members are definitely 3D.
fans been waiting for this reaction and the fact that even the other reactors mentioned how they're also excited for the editors reacting to this mv!! 🤍
I have watched that MV probably 25+ times and he was pointing out things I never noticed. I was already 100% in love with this MV and song but now I'm 150% in love.
holy crap XD there's so many details you picked up on that I completely missed like the ending shot with the them grouped together in a circle and its blending 2 versions of them on top of eachother 😮 makes sense narratively too since the story is that 2 versions of Aespa (multiverse stuff) are meeting for the first time and one set of them is body horror/alien like so that shot makes sense as its the 2 sides merging and accepting eachother. Great analysis as always 😎
I could watch you go through this entire video frame by frame because theres just so much detail packed into every single scene its insane. the things i'd do for an extended reaction to this mv TT
I noticed almost all the times he stopped the video in a crazy transition/effect was Giselle on it lmao my girl got the sickest transitions in this MV, all the members look so beautiful. Thanks Jordan for the video I bet we all were expecting for.
SM just being the SM that "always" on top, on the lead, trendsetter, it always been. The idols run the Kpop market. By this i mean, to produce this kind of MV they draw and create amazing teams.. that later will set a bar for something else. The whole things is not just about the idol, not only these 4 girls.but everyone involve in the making. They bringing up the Korea Industries. Not just these girls, appear on the front page of a magazine, next month, walk the runway, drag a fancy handbag..no, not just these 4 girls..but let's say even the lighting fx guy, got accepted in a movie, and such 😊
This guy was always on my RUclips's recommendations but I never clicked before, I finally did it some days ago thanks to the aespa's Supernova MV, now I'm subscribed, his videos are really REALLY entertaining omg I watched the Rockstar video too, I liked it
The rapping ✅✅ The vocals ✅✅ The ad-libs ✅✅ The harmonies ✅✅ The musicality ✅✅ The dancing ✅✅ The choreography ✅✅ The acting ✅✅ The facial expressions ✅✅ The styling ✅✅ The fashion ✅✅ The lyrics ✅✅ The make-up ✅✅ The visuals ✅✅ The concept ✅✅ The storyline ✅✅ The cinematography ✅✅ The color correction ✅✅ The color grading ✅✅ The editing ✅✅ The camerawork ✅✅ The video production ✅✅ The instrumental ✅✅ The vocal production ✅✅ The music production ✅✅ The MV ✅✅ The song ✅✅
Big thanks Jordan, Yups that's superbeing (new villain) in ae world. at the first there are many migratory birds which detect a disaster has occurred. All members hid except giselle, some were in glass case, bar and bathroom. They thought they were safe but apparently they weren't coz during the disaster (meteor) they brought an entity that looked like a bird with a strange shape and they were looking for someone who was 100% the real Aespa. At the end, real aespa lose n changed to resemble a kinda siren (the entity) in different parts of her until Winter (the blonde one which has wings) she became like in the most perfect form. AND these kidnapping aim to perfect The entity. SM is freaking crazy broo 🔥
17:38 I love it when Jordan tried not to pause the video but failed right in the next 3 seconds 😂 so funny Anw thank you I really enjoy your reaction!!!
I think I can sort some of Jordan's confusion here. The percentages don't mean the person is actually 92% real, it's supposed to be an AI trying to figure out whether the person is real or not and the percentage is it's confidence level of being correct, so when it says 92% it means the AI is 92% certain that it's a person.
Even the Spicy MV reaction you did last time, I just knew that frame by frame it has details to their lore. I think only SM does mind boggling dope ART music videos.
It's just so fun to watch professionals react to the technicalities of an art form because you know they damn know what they're talking about and you get to see how experienced they are in their field.
I've been waiting for you to drop your reaction because I know you always see so much more than I could. I thoroughly enjoyed the insane visual ride that this MV is - but for the life of me, I cannot grasp all these small details like you did because every cut was so fast! Thank you, Jordan for breaking it down for me technically. I certainly have a deeper appreciation of this MV now.
the first time i saw that tunnel it looked like it was the ear canal cause when we came out of the tunnel it was right by her ear lol. kinda creepy. found aespa through your videos and am now obsessed with their music haha😆
I don't know what is going on but I have a theory. What if Naevis was the real villain and the black mamba was maintaining the balance between the two worlds. But Naevis acted like a good character and made Aespa think the villain was the black mamba. Maybe she couldn't kill the black mamba so she used Aespa to do it. Now the one that maintained the balance is gone, and two worlds are collapsing. The real face of the Naevis might be revealed soon. Maybe not, idk.
That world collapsed because there are changes in SM since Lee Soo Man left. They dropped the tech cyber ae- stuff. Aespa has multiverse concept now. Their previous lore is a virtual world. The current one exist in the physical world, just a parallel one, or multiverses. Not sure, they might’ve dropped the whole Kwangya along with Lee Sooman. I’m not updated to all SM artists so i don’t know what actually happened with the other artists’ MV worldview. But it’s apparent since 2023, that Aespa lore has change. There’s no alter ego anymore, which is probably why we don’t see their ae- selves. There wasn’t a continuation to the short film they used to show the storyline to better understand Aespa’s worldview. That says a lot. They don’t deal with virtual stuff now. SM completely changed their lore to multiverse one with alien stuff. I don’t know what to feel about it. While i might resonate more to their virtual lore which was their original concept, because technology is intergrated so much into our lives now and there’s so much potential about discussing societal issues, and can even integrate aespa members real life experiences in it which makes fan relate to them more, while it’s such a waste to completely drop that idea, I vibe with Armageddon’s visuals more. Like i like the colors and everything. I’m emotionally invested to their original lore with virtual world, but this new one I enjoy it more superficially, it’s a feast to my eyes. So i’ll just enjoy the visuals and won’t bother with the story coz it’s not real lol, there’s no lesson to learn from it. It doesn’t exist in our lives, so I can’t incorporate anything from it, can’t resonate with it. Just enjoy the visuals. It’s creatively stimulating atleast, i like how those creatures looked, the colors and everything i vibe with it. Just sad that Aespa members real life story can’t be integrated to it
@@raiy3na I don't think the entire lore has changed. You can see what looks like a giant ae-tuddae early on in this MV (the partially extraterrestrial AI device); this breach between the universes might've been engineered by ae-tuddae. Also, the theme of aespa accepting/integrating multiple versions of themselves (as opposed to rejecting them and therefore fighting them) is also present in Drama, as well as hinted at in the lyrics of several songs. This might possibly be related to how the real human members were able to bond as a group / as friends around the time of their debut (acceptance of each other's different personalitites to form a strong "whole"). Anyway, the Better Things sitcom, and Who Visits The Villa? too, seem to be pretty important for the lore...which surprised me!
I always watch the MV living for the song then as soon as I watch Jordon break everything down I trip out at all the good editing that’s been done to these mvs
and you know what, many KPop groups use concepts like this, chaos, mixing a bunch of things, adding a lot things or details, combining music styles but it's ended up overwhelming like trying to covering each other. and there is aespa the one that make all other work became like half of what their done. They like become a standard to make this kinda concept
bro i didn’t even notice most of the stuff he pointed out like the little monsters in the corners and the rifts between worlds and all that bro😭 eyes opened
There were miniature models created for the girls with all their outfits in this mv. I think that's what they used in the part where there are people standing on the girls face
probably my favorite channel where i always get back to watch the reaction because it is such an insightful and different version to see the storytelling and the editing,
Jordan meets qualified mv which matches his level. Right after Armageddon came out, ive been waiting for your reaction. The flow of defining and analyzing of yours is so satisfied.
When I watched the mv for the first time I was like "oh no Jordan will say alot abt this mv"😂
And still he missed some theoritical details, probably he lost, bcs me too 😂
@@silvywahyuhasanah he said his brain hurt😂 bcs he needs to talk alot but he couldnt catch up lol so cute
Me too. I know his brain will blown away😂😂
From now on, when we watch a good mv its always endup with "jordan being crazy when he see this" lol
REALLL LMAO
And they won MV of the year. PERIOD.
Yesssssss
Black mamba mv won??? What award?
@@jcj_grade12Amargeddon wins Best Music Video Award from 2024 K-World Dream Awards
Just a clarification on the lore. Black Mamba's been canonically dead since Girls. There's currently no main antagonist in aespa's "Real MY World" and honestly from the destruction depicted and implied in both this and Supernova, it might be setting up alternate parallel universe versions of the aespa girlies as new potential villains.
thank you so much. this makes a lot of sense!
the actual lore is that, the girls defeat blackmamba but in kwanya, they lost part of themselves in now, in the "real world" are glitches with kwanya and virtuality, in this video we see how giselle contact with their superbeing and start to collapse with that world, now she is the only 100% fake or 100% controled, is that why we see how the "superbeing aespa" (security camera's, ningning eye, glitchs in the world) try to control them and keep an eye on them, and in the video we can see how the girls are transforming, in this video they try to resist and keep their true self, like allegory to blue and red pill.
OOh and the randoms shake movements of camera is to simulate as if they were seeing them through their eyes the "superbeings aespa"
@@aheruuwu7140 Ooh, thanks for a much more thorough breakdown. I kinda simplified it to get the main point across that they're not fighting Black Mamba anymore lol. But yeah, you definitely nailed all the story points presented in the m/v.
@@aheruuwu7140 you're insane !!!!
@@aheruuwu7140 i thought the whole kwangya was cancelled due to yoo youngjin's departure from sm???
I'm here to tell you about the lore. So there are aliens (or whatever) coming to earth to target 4 Aespa members. Yes, those mermaid-shape aliens. Ningning is hiding in the toilet, winter is hiding in a store, Karina is hiding in an empty building, while Giselle is not hiding (she is outside). The 4 members want to trick the aliens using mannequins, AI and doppelgangers (the dancer). That's why there's a detection that says "person 100%". That detection tool is what makes them fail to hide. The alien takes Ningning's eyes, Giselle's face, Karina's head, and Winter's body. That's how she becomes a superbeing. Look at the Aespa members' faces near the end of the video. When there is silver glitter around their faces, it means their body parts have been taken and they become part of the alien.
Wow that's a great explanation
Ooo now it makes sense! Thank you for this explanation. I was just as confused as Jordan 😂
Your amazing thank you 🖤🖤
So their kwangya concept died or something
@@erostika4uit didn’t die, this is the new chapter.
As a 3D designer, I feel the pain in my back every single time watching this MV 🥲 I feel it in my deepest soul
.. me podrías enseñar??
This MV really look like a LOT of Work🥲my back hurts even if I am not an
The editor of this MV cooked, baked, fried, sizzled, ate and DELIVERED this MV❤
Real
I was concerned for him when i watched the MV
Edit: Wait jorden comment on my comment. So he saw the comment and decided to comment the comment which I comment his video and now I'm commenting on his comment on my comment. Such an honor(2/6)
same as soon as I finished watching the MV, I had to think of Jordan 😅
Same
samee here
Same here
same
Videos like these are important because we miss so much of these small details. It is just quick 3 mins video for viewers but there is so many peoples' hours and hours of work behind each frame. It really makes me appreciate the team behind the curtain.
The set at 15:30 is an actual built set! They even built the waterfall features, so crazy bc I also thought it had to be VFX too with how liminal it felt
you’re kidding me. that’s crazy
yess!!! the waterfall is real
music video director - rimayoon (윤승림)
Work :
XG - TGIF MV
aespa - Armageddon MV
IVE - HEYA MV
Hoping for more aespa mv directed by rimayoon❤
no wonder! tgif by xg was insane so no wonder Armageddon is also insane
No wonder Heya and Armageddon are battling for MV of the Year😂
they used a lot of 3D scanning for this MV and animated it on 3D!! Love your video editing insights as always!!!
FIRE
@@JordanOrme🔥
Armageddon MV is literally phenomenal. their concept never fail. i once doubt about how they would depict KOSMO and those ae things after black mamba's death. it's like a sci-fi movie already...and real complex one tbh🤔
aespa's 'Supernova' (TITLE TRACK) and 'Armageddon' (TITLE TRACK) MVs are phenomenal. The songs are fantastic. Their 1st Album "Armageddon" is really good. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Supernova is pre- release single not title track
@@TerryGonn18 its title track. They said it themself that this album has 2 title tracks
Many good B sides also. Live my life is doing really well. Great album.
@@TerryGonn18supervova is also title. double titles😊
@@TerryGonn18it's a double title track
Pretty sure that the part in 21:24 is 3D modeled. The 3D Artist shared all her models of the girls used in the vid. Most the close ups (so the one with NingNing closing into her face with the cristal eye thing, and this one) are all 3D Models of the girls, they are just so good you can barely tell.
Who is the 3D artist??
19:19 it's her (Ningning) emblem, the butterfly. each members have their own distinct emblem being Karina (heart) Giselle (moon) Winter (star) and Ningning (butterfly).
Giselle emblem is crescent moon 💜
Additionally, Ningning had a severe illness and got a surgery on her right eye. She said that since then, her right eye is almost blind. So people are thinking that the music video team knew this, and made it meaningful and iconic for her. Hope this helps!
It’s so incredible to see more creative decisions within the k-pop industry lately. I feel like the creative directors truly stepped up their game and most releases this year feel authentic!
11:23 please don't apologize for pausing too much, we love to see the details of the music video! we like hearing you explain the editing process of every scene!
tbh that's the only way i actually get the plot of the videos lmaooo
Real, i didnt even notice winter's kinda cracking when she gets slammed on the table
i dont even mind if its an hour
I like that too , he's the only one I like when he pauses , I get to understand weird stuff I usually don't understand thanks to him 🤣🤣
@@nehakiran525 YESSS SAME
armageddon deserved to be the best kpop mv so far in 2024
Honestly jordan, thank you for always making a fun review. People need to be reminded just how crazy the work behind kpop is, they probably have a bigger team than a lot of western pop artists. The girls are amazing ofc, but just imagine just how fun kpop if their fans can also appreciate the people behind the scene
aww thanks :)
Same here! Every time I watch Jordan’s reaction video, it made me appreciate how much work was made behind the scenes to make it majestic!
Fun fact!
Armageddon means "the place where a final battle will be fought between the forces of good and evil"
This i why we saw a picture of fights in the clouds in the mv!
the waterfall set was a real man-made set. this whole mv is just so good man
Whoever edited that has to be the best edited in the world because I saw things in the music video that I’ve never saw before I even though that some weren’t even possible
Rima Yoon is truly making a name for herself when it comes to her directing and editing, she HAS been on a completely different level but this mv secured her spot as my fave mv director/editor Ever.
Increíble como lo sabes
your reaction was not only fun but was actually helpful and informative with all the details you saw that i couldn't even notice with how blown I was the whole mv. aespa and their creative team is just on top
aespa and their creative team are right now one of the best on kpop, like literally WOW, they are in another level top tier than overall kpop concepts/music/direction/mvs/performances
That's what i like about a lot of aespa mv is that most of the sets are REAL (cf bts videos) that makes it so much tangible and enjoyable to watch also probably a lot "easier" to work on for editors and vfx makers anyway love your expertise on it
1:10
I would like to provide a brief explanation about this. The word you are referring to is 'KWANGYA', which means wilderness in Korean. This is the same wilderness mentioned in the Bible where Jesus was tempted by Satan three times, a desolate land where life struggles to thrive.
In the aespa universe, the wilderness refers to the virtual world where the AI members exist. In this KWANGYA (wilderness), the AI aespa and the real-world aespa can sense each other's presence, grow stronger, and connect through a process called sync (synchronization). The antagonist in this wilderness is Black Mamba, which disrupts this sync (as everyone knows the negative connotation of the serpent in the Bible). So far, the aespa universe has focused on defeating Black Mamba and restoring the synchronized state. This essentially depicts the positive interaction between AI and the real world.
However, Supernova and Armageddon illustrate a different narrative, as you mentioned: "a battle between the virtual and real worlds," "the grotesque imagery of the virtual and real worlds invading and blending into each other." Some scenes in Supernova resemble distorted and exaggerated photos outputted by AI. The deepfake image with only the lips moving at the end of the music video is a prime example.
Do you remember Giselle's broken phone in Supernova? What she was looking at was a reCAPTCHA, a tool to differentiate between robots and humans. Everyone has likely encountered reCAPTCHA, which asks you to select all images with buses or states, "I am not a robot."
On Giselle’s phone screen, it said, "Select all images with a AI," with pictures of aespa members. They could distinguish the fake aespa from the real one through this reCAPTCHA. However, Karina breaks Giselle's phone, making it impossible to tell AI from the real thing. Everything gets mixed up, parallel universes collide, and chaos ensues.
Thus, this time, they portray AI negatively, unlike in previous albums. This is also related to the real-life situation of the aespa members. The person who initially conceptualized their theme and the producer who directed them have both resigned. The elements that made aespa who they are were at risk of disappearing.
Until now, aespa had a very unique concept and identity with their AI universe, so this album can be seen as a representation of their own confused identity. They had to take a different path, and in this situation, they chose to stand directly against the concept and career they had built up so far, adopting an anti-AI stance. This must have been a high-risk gamble for aespa, but they executed it brilliantly. In that sense, this album is truly outstanding.
They will be reborn through 'Armageddon', the apocalypse, and the 'Supernova' explosion, which is the death of a star. The end and death, the apocalypse, are always intertwined with new beginnings and rebirth.
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I've added additional interpretations of this music video in the comments below, so if you're interested, please check them.
Thanks for the awesome review!
Fun facts: Ningning, a member of aespa, has almost lost vision in her right eye. Keeping this in mind, rewatch the MV. She is depicted with heterochromia (odd eyes) throughout the MV.
0:32 It looks as if light is coming through the slight opening when someone barely opens one's eyes.
1:54 The scenery of Armageddon seen through a cross-shaped gap.
2:14 Haven't you experienced seeing your eyelashes like this when you narrow your eyes? (Right after this scene, there is a shot of Ningning closing her eyes.)
9:59 Ningning's right eye. Her right eye zoomed out to look like a tunnel (like a multidimensional pathway or wormhole!), then the screen returns to her face, and it becomes her pupil again.
10:32 The scenery of Armageddon seen through a circular shape. And from a distance, the circle clearly looks like a pupil. Ningning is the center in this part as well.
15:29 The image of Ningning standing as if she is "standing on the entire world."
Right after this, there's a choreography scene. Look closely at the top. It matches the cross at the beginning of the MV. You can tell that some entity was looking down at the members from above.
17:35 Multiple images of Ningning. Doesn't this immediately remind you of Doctor Strange? Think about how he sees through all universes.
19:10 Ningning's right eye changes to a butterfly pattern after confronting a giant entity. Incidentally, the symbol she chose for herself is a butterfly. In various myths (including Eros and Psyche), butterflies symbolize the soul and rebirth.
20:08 Ningning’s right eye sprouts crystal-like jewels, and from there, another member emerges. This continues repeatedly at 20:36, symbolizing infinity or a loop.
20:22 Do you remember the gap that appeared at the very beginning of the MV? That gap was created by Ningning!
21:55 The chair where Ningning was sitting is now empty. This is followed by scenes of the city collapsing. Naturally, when the master of a dream wakes up, the dream world collapses.
22:45 The ending scene. This time, it more clearly resembles a pupil.
Looking at it this way, their message becomes clear. Through her blind right eye, Ningning seems to see all the past, present, future, and infinite possibilities of the universes where the aespa members exist. The story of Armageddon or Supernova is merely an event in one universe. They cleverly expand their universe in this way. Now, they can become anything and do anything.
In Norse mythology, the chief god Odin also lost one eye and sees the world through the lost eye. They are depicting Ningning as Odin. Isn't it interesting that she sees everything with her blind eye?
And the time it takes to do so probably wasn't even long. Perhaps just a blink while sitting in a chair would be enough.
Wow! Thank you! I am new to their lore and I kept thinking there were mythological references here. I guess there are both mythological and biblical references. You should totally make a video on it! I think a lot of us would love to watch it! Thanks for the explanation here though!
reading this was so fun thank you! its craazy how i watch videos with my head empty and so much lore is going on around me lol
I second the other comment’s suggestion to make a video or if you post your analysis on another platform, I’d be super interested in checking it out as well! I’m usually too lazy to get into the lore, but your writing style and commentary was rlly insightful and engaging
This analysis just blew up my mind as much as the MV 🤯
I just know the editors, producers, directors, creators, etc in the project have panda eyes and back pain before this mv released
I was DYING to see Jordan's reaction.
When I watched the mv, I was like, " JORDAN ORME " needs to be summoned.
same
He wasn't even shocked by the dance break lol respect 😅
I think some scenes in this MV is AI until the editors and 3D Maker model uploaded the behind the scenes. Sure, goosebumps🔥
I think the one that jordan said the renaissance-like picture and the city are AI bcus there are AI editors that get credit at the credit scenes. But yeah the ones with the members are definitely 3D.
@@ryuustoriesyes! fortunately there is less ai scenes that people are expecting it to have, and the majority is 3d effects!!
Can you share the link?
@@fefefefefer Girl gang have more than expected
where is this?! i wanna see more bts of this mv😭
when Armageddon came out i could hear him standing up in shock from miles 😂
The sets are real! They actually built a freaking waterfall for this MV
You made me notice a lot of small and beautiful details im really thankful ♡
i was hoping you would react to armageddon this whole mv already looked crazy to me it must have looked absolutely insane from an editor's pov haha
OKAY NOW THAT YOUVE POINTED OUT THOSE LITTLE DETAILS, THIS IS OFFICIALLY MY FAVOURITE KPOP MV
I've watched Armageddon for more times than I can count, and you still explained all the details that we probably missed. Thank you for this reaction!
Aespa defo has top tier concept, idk man i got overwhelmed everytime they drop a new comeback, this is beyond epic!
fans been waiting for this reaction and the fact that even the other reactors mentioned how they're also excited for the editors reacting to this mv!! 🤍
I have watched that MV probably 25+ times and he was pointing out things I never noticed. I was already 100% in love with this MV and song but now I'm 150% in love.
holy crap XD there's so many details you picked up on that I completely missed like the ending shot with the them grouped together in a circle and its blending 2 versions of them on top of eachother 😮 makes sense narratively too since the story is that 2 versions of Aespa (multiverse stuff) are meeting for the first time and one set of them is body horror/alien like so that shot makes sense as its the 2 sides merging and accepting eachother. Great analysis as always 😎
I could watch you go through this entire video frame by frame because theres just so much detail packed into every single scene its insane. the things i'd do for an extended reaction to this mv TT
I noticed almost all the times he stopped the video in a crazy transition/effect was Giselle on it lmao my girl got the sickest transitions in this MV, all the members look so beautiful. Thanks Jordan for the video I bet we all were expecting for.
SM just being the SM that "always" on top, on the lead, trendsetter, it always been. The idols run the Kpop market. By this i mean, to produce this kind of MV they draw and create amazing teams.. that later will set a bar for something else. The whole things is not just about the idol, not only these 4 girls.but everyone involve in the making. They bringing up the Korea Industries.
Not just these girls, appear on the front page of a magazine, next month, walk the runway, drag a fancy handbag..no, not just these 4 girls..but let's say even the lighting fx guy, got accepted in a movie, and such 😊
Like Disney they draw first each scenes before making the movie
You just made me realized creepy things happening in the music video (I just normaly distracted by the song and aespa's faces hahaha).
This guy was always on my RUclips's recommendations but I never clicked before, I finally did it some days ago thanks to the aespa's Supernova MV, now I'm subscribed, his videos are really REALLY entertaining omg
I watched the Rockstar video too, I liked it
Yeeey I knew you would get crazy by seeing this mv
thank you for the pausing made me realize I missed tons of things from the MV. The hard work behind the MV is really wow..🔥🔥
The rapping ✅✅
The vocals ✅✅
The ad-libs ✅✅
The harmonies ✅✅
The musicality ✅✅
The dancing ✅✅
The choreography ✅✅
The acting ✅✅
The facial expressions ✅✅
The styling ✅✅
The fashion ✅✅
The lyrics ✅✅
The make-up ✅✅
The visuals ✅✅
The concept ✅✅
The storyline ✅✅
The cinematography ✅✅
The color correction ✅✅
The color grading ✅✅
The editing ✅✅
The camerawork ✅✅
The video production ✅✅
The instrumental ✅✅
The vocal production ✅✅
The music production ✅✅
The MV ✅✅
The song ✅✅
U rlly just said everything
Fakta
arghhh❤
Why the comments are so many names like wth haha what ever this M/V is so amazing deserve WIN Music Video of The Year
Big thanks Jordan, Yups that's superbeing (new villain) in ae world.
at the first there are many migratory birds which detect a disaster has occurred. All members hid except giselle, some were in glass case, bar and bathroom. They thought they were safe but apparently they weren't coz during the disaster (meteor) they brought an entity that looked like a bird with a strange shape and they were looking for someone who was 100% the real Aespa. At the end, real aespa lose n changed to resemble a kinda siren (the entity) in different parts of her until Winter (the blonde one which has wings) she became like in the most perfect form. AND these kidnapping aim to perfect The entity. SM is freaking crazy broo 🔥
how did u find out abt this
loonaverse walked so ae lore could run (💀)
Woww
@@shravberri Reaaal
@@shravberriwe dont talk bout nugu here
Im enjoying your reaction and literally knowing how this videos is very detail consep and anything in this MV is well prepared
When ever aespa's any mv come i am wating when jordan will react to it😂 edit! Mom iam famous😮
If this is not the MV of the year then its rigged lol
17:38 I love it when Jordan tried not to pause the video but failed right in the next 3 seconds 😂 so funny
Anw thank you I really enjoy your reaction!!!
I think I can sort some of Jordan's confusion here. The percentages don't mean the person is actually 92% real, it's supposed to be an AI trying to figure out whether the person is real or not and the percentage is it's confidence level of being correct, so when it says 92% it means the AI is 92% certain that it's a person.
You know… everytime aespa drops their MV, this reaction is what I’m waiting for… his reaction video now getting longer and longer than previous mv 😂
Even the Spicy MV reaction you did last time, I just knew that frame by frame it has details to their lore. I think only SM does mind boggling dope ART music videos.
YAAIIII FINALLY OMG I WAITED FOR THIS REACTION SINCE THE RELEASE!!
I knew he would go crazy because this mv is just another level!
FINALLY!! I've been waiting for your reaction 💯
i've been waiting this for days after the mv release
It's just so fun to watch professionals react to the technicalities of an art form because you know they damn know what they're talking about and you get to see how experienced they are in their field.
I've been waiting for you to drop your reaction because I know you always see so much more than I could. I thoroughly enjoyed the insane visual ride that this MV is - but for the life of me, I cannot grasp all these small details like you did because every cut was so fast! Thank you, Jordan for breaking it down for me technically. I certainly have a deeper appreciation of this MV now.
the first time i saw that tunnel it looked like it was the ear canal cause when we came out of the tunnel it was right by her ear lol. kinda creepy. found aespa through your videos and am now obsessed with their music haha😆
AESPA REALLY TOPPING THEIR PREVIOUS WORKS TIME AND TIME AGAIN
22:42 even the credits were creative
I don't know what is going on but I have a theory. What if Naevis was the real villain and the black mamba was maintaining the balance between the two worlds. But Naevis acted like a good character and made Aespa think the villain was the black mamba. Maybe she couldn't kill the black mamba so she used Aespa to do it. Now the one that maintained the balance is gone, and two worlds are collapsing. The real face of the Naevis might be revealed soon. Maybe not, idk.
That world collapsed because there are changes in SM since Lee Soo Man left.
They dropped the tech cyber ae- stuff. Aespa has multiverse concept now. Their previous lore is a virtual world. The current one exist in the physical world, just a parallel one, or multiverses.
Not sure, they might’ve dropped the whole Kwangya along with Lee Sooman. I’m not updated to all SM artists so i don’t know what actually happened with the other artists’ MV worldview.
But it’s apparent since 2023, that Aespa lore has change. There’s no alter ego anymore, which is probably why we don’t see their ae- selves. There wasn’t a continuation to the short film they used to show the storyline to better understand Aespa’s worldview. That says a lot.
They don’t deal with virtual stuff now. SM completely changed their lore to multiverse one with alien stuff.
I don’t know what to feel about it. While i might resonate more to their virtual lore which was their original concept, because technology is intergrated so much into our lives now and there’s so much potential about discussing societal issues, and can even integrate aespa members real life experiences in it which makes fan relate to them more, while it’s such a waste to completely drop that idea, I vibe with Armageddon’s visuals more. Like i like the colors and everything. I’m emotionally invested to their original lore with virtual world, but this new one I enjoy it more superficially, it’s a feast to my eyes. So i’ll just enjoy the visuals and won’t bother with the story coz it’s not real lol, there’s no lesson to learn from it. It doesn’t exist in our lives, so I can’t incorporate anything from it, can’t resonate with it. Just enjoy the visuals. It’s creatively stimulating atleast, i like how those creatures looked, the colors and everything i vibe with it. Just sad that Aespa members real life story can’t be integrated to it
@@raiy3na I don't think the entire lore has changed. You can see what looks like a giant ae-tuddae early on in this MV (the partially extraterrestrial AI device); this breach between the universes might've been engineered by ae-tuddae. Also, the theme of aespa accepting/integrating multiple versions of themselves (as opposed to rejecting them and therefore fighting them) is also present in Drama, as well as hinted at in the lyrics of several songs. This might possibly be related to how the real human members were able to bond as a group / as friends around the time of their debut (acceptance of each other's different personalitites to form a strong "whole"). Anyway, the Better Things sitcom, and Who Visits The Villa? too, seem to be pretty important for the lore...which surprised me!
I didn’t realize the overlap were all of their alter ego and mystical forms, wow.
the first time I saw this MV, I thought you would definitely go crazy when reacting to the MV hahaha
I've been waiting for your Reaction, thank you!! Jordan
Yes🎉! I was waiting for this one lol
SAMEE
I was literally waiting for your reaction, the mv is SICK
Bro that's crazy you reacted to Armageddon in 23 minutes 😂😂😂😂😂
This is probably the coolest MV I've watched 😩🔥🔥🔥
It's part of me watching a music video and thinking "omg look at these transitions, Jordan is going to love this"
I always watch the MV living for the song then as soon as I watch Jordon break everything down I trip out at all the good editing that’s been done to these mvs
This mv is pure perfection
0:01 finally that day came 😭😭😭
They just went all out with this one 🤤 it's super satisfying and the vibes are insaaaane I can't stop watching it!!
and you know what, many KPop groups use concepts like this, chaos, mixing a bunch of things, adding a lot things or details, combining music styles but it's ended up overwhelming like trying to covering each other. and there is aespa the one that make all other work became like half of what their done. They like become a standard to make this kinda concept
bro i didn’t even notice most of the stuff he pointed out like the little monsters in the corners and the rifts between worlds and all that bro😭 eyes opened
Everytime Aespa comes up with new mv i know it'll be a ride, Armageddon is by far the craziest. I know they'll won't stop here
WE HAPPY U FINALLY HEEERE OMG AESPA THE GOATS WITH THIS ALBUM❤❤❤🎉
Aespa's mv editing are just so smart. Literally expect the unexpected.
Im really excited for your vid when this mv dropped!
Probably best editing in KPop this year
There were miniature models created for the girls with all their outfits in this mv. I think that's what they used in the part where there are people standing on the girls face
MV from SM entertainment always insane
Okay I'm here, I'm ready. Been waiting for thissss🎉
probably my favorite channel where i always get back to watch the reaction because it is such an insightful and different version to see the storytelling and the editing,
my fave place to come to actually understand aespas MVs 🙏🙏
thank you for reacting this bcs I wouldn't know that Ningning eyes says "æ" in a form of butterfly like they did on black mamba era 19:17
I WAS WAITING FOR THIS!!!!
Jordan meets qualified mv which matches his level. Right after Armageddon came out, ive been waiting for your reaction.
The flow of defining and analyzing of yours is so satisfied.
If SM made an entire movie with these stories, I'm sure that it will be a great movie.
DETAILS ARE INSANEEEEEE
Wishing you nothing but the best
This is the reaction video I've been waiting since argemageddon video come out
I’ve been waiting for this reaction video!!!
I WASSSS WAITINNGGGG FOR YOUUUR REACTION😭❤️