The Greatest Living Show Analysis + Breakdown! [Toby Fox | Reaction | Theory | Not Deltarune]
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- Опубликовано: 11 ноя 2024
- My current attempt to analyze The Greatest Living Show.
Animation by Bani-chan; English lyrics by Toby Fox; background music by Survival Spheres.
Title: The Greatest Living Show Analysis + Breakdown! [Toby Fox | Reaction | Theory | Not Deltarune]
Keywords: The Greatest Living Show, Analysis, Theory, Video, Reaction, Deltarune, Bani-chan, Itoki Hana, Toby Fox, Andrew Cunningham, take me out back and shoot me like a lame horse.
Subtitles coming soon.
In this video, I reference another video I made. With that other video, I sort of got Deltarune tunnel vision, and kept comparing The Greatest Living Show to Deltarune. While some of the things I said were technically accurate, I don't think that that video was very purposeful overall. The Greatest Living Show deserves to stand on its own merit, and once you look at how it was actually made... Toby Fox gave Bani-chan free reign over the animation, so it couldn't be connected to Deltarune that closely without risking her implying something that wasn't true. The visual storytelling came mostly from her, and she deserves credit for that. Plus, he even flat out said it wasn't connected to Deltarune, so yeah.
Long story short, this video is what that other video should've been.
I rewatched The Greatest Living Show several times, I analyzed it some more, I went back to the drawing board, and this is what I came up with.
As for that other video itself... I'm not sure what to do. I don't want people to watch it; I'd rather they just watch this one instead, but I also don't want to look like I'm trying to escape accountability. Like, I'm not trying to pretend it doesn't exist or anything. Is deleting your own videos because they're bad a sketchy thing to do? It's a relatively small moral dilemma, but I would appreciate feedback on it nonetheless.
Also, I have just now realized that I am not consistently good at making video essays. Sure, I have a few good ones, I get a flash of insight every now and then, but at this point... I either need to improve, or I need to give up. Oh, and... I’m reworking my channel-and I’m not sure what it’ll look like in the future. I’ll not upload anything else for weeks, maybe months, and when I come back… I can’t say what I’ll do. I can’t see myself transitioning away from Deltarune content anytime soon, so if you’re here for that, you should definitely stick around. But there will only be three more Undertale videos, five more Hollow Knight videos, and four more videos in the Teaching Media Literacy series. At least, for now. But I’m not narrowing my focus to Deltarune and Deltarune only; I’m going to experiment with talking about TV shows, and writing more book reviews. So, we’ll see how that goes.
I think it is fine for you to delete the video and it not like your trying to cover up anything it’s just you making a better version of the video
It's completely fine! You had an idea, and you changed up your mind. I think you shouldn't feel bad. Cuz changing one's mind is a natural and positive thing to do. This was a good analysis btw!
I think that if you don't want to delete your video, you can just private it and link it in the description of this one. That way people can't take that other video to be your current opinion.
@@emilia935 Yeah, after all it's still interesting to see the similar themes it has with deltarune, without thinking about making theories regarding DR
Whether you change to a different content style or not, you should try to enjoy your time producing for this platform and making content you are proud of. Whatever you end up making, just try to enjoy making it, and that way it can be the best content you can make.
I think the two girls went through the same fate as the girl
The reason they break like ceramic and not flesh is because its metaphorical in a way
The girl is seeing actors ripped apart but finds it part of the show and therefore doesnt see any pain in them, shes not witnessing the moment herself she is simply observing it
But when it happens to her, she feels the full gravity of the situation, ripped and harshly torn apart and realizing what a horrible mistake it was
When you see ballet dancers you dont feel the tension they must feel, the painstaking years they went to get to that point, you just see a bunch of beautiful dancers spinning around
However, be one of those dancers and everything changes
This could also apply to how the audience were just shadows when she was seeing the show, but when she herself performs they become masked colored figures laughing and staring at her
Yeah, this interpretation makes sense, at least in spirit. Thank you for thinking about this so much!
this is a great way of seeing it! the way my brain made sense of the difference is that the first puppets we see crumble because they are old and have been patched together over and over, and the main girl 'tears' because shes still fresh, and that the puppeteer is just going to spackle her together again until she's got nothing left.
@@CochetVolaille øøƒ
I’d also like to add that the triangle-faced people are arrogant people as arrogance is usually depicted with long, sharp noses as if your head was held up high
Something I'd like to add to this point that it's likely based on her perspective of what's going on rather than what's truly going on is that the strings from the marionettes sparkle. It's very likely she romanticizes what they have until she finds herself in their situation
My personal interpretation is:
The other girls aren't clay, it's just sugarcoated by her vision of glamour and happiness. She can notice the strings, but she think they're just props, it's amazing to her. Then, when it happens to her, she notices it: he notices the pain, the suffering, and she starts to bleed and get violently ripped apart.
It’s like watching a car wreck, it’s so scary, but I can’t look away.
Yeah, but it's also... worse/better...? People don't choose to get into car accidents, but the girl saw the broken puppets and chose to join the show anyways. And the way she looks back at the puppeteer right before the show is about to begin... horrifying. But I know what you mean, it's very compelling.
I think the girl also looks terrified because she sees all of the other puppets hanging from the wall in 8:14 so it shows how she realizes the cruel truth of the show right when it's too late.
One thing to note is the color and texture of the curtains almost look like flesh. I think the show itself is an entity that lures in humans, enchants them with a show and then devours them. This would put an interesting spin on the title “The Greatest Living Show” - the show itself is alive. The dolls look like some sort of ceramic and I think it would be fitting for them to be bone China, a type of ceramic made out of bones that would have been crafted from the remains of previous victims. One thing I notice is Bani-chan’s art style is strongly reminiscent of Yoshitaka Amano’s with the showman’s outline being similar to D, the half vampire protagonist of the Vampire Hunter D series. This tells me that the showman is almost certainly not human (him briefly turning into a demon at the end helps) and either controls the show or is himself a puppet to lure in victims.
The audience being shadows at the beginning could be an expression of the fact that the girl’s attention is in the stage or it could be that the show is concealing its true nature until the victim is snared. Certainly the point when we see the shadows baring razor sharp teeth with an expression of hungry anticipation is when the girl is on stage waiting for the curtain to rise. When the curtain rises we see them for what they are, clowns, something that was likely part of the show from the beginning.
I don't think this is an invalid interpretation, but I prefer to think of the puppeteer and the other performers as individuals with agency, rather than as part of an eldritch horror. It makes the tragedy of what happens to the girl more relatable on a human level. And maybe this is just my monitor, but I also don't see the curtains as being fleshlike.
As for the shadowy figures with razor-sharp teeth... I think that only a few of them actually have razor-sharp teeth. And there's something predatory about even the base/literal interpretation, where the girl is torn apart for the audience's entertainment, so it still works.
Thank you for thinking about this so much, though, and I hope people read your comment!
I think the song could be an allegory for things like human trafficking or abusive/false romantic relationships showcasing the horrors and dangers that come with it.
All of his victims were never meant to live to tell the tale, the girl's romantic relationship with the Ringmaster isn't genuine since it exists through seduction and deception by making her feel beautiful and loved while tricking her into becoming part of his show.
Her fate is brutal as the puppeteer literally destroys and strips her of agency and femininity as he dances with her beheaded body with his happily ever after being the death and desecration of others like many before her to sustain his living show.
As someone who has been in abusive romantic relationships before, I definitely agree since its the reason this song and music video first hit me so hard. Those people lure you in with a false sense of security and amazement, you might even see the mistreatment of their past victims and never even realize it. It isn't until you're in too deep that you realize their true colors and the world around you is none the wiser. You are pushed to every limit for them, a fatal show for entertainment with no care for you as once you are gone they will only move on to the next.
Pay sure it’s just a romanticized fantasy tragedy with no correlation to real life. Like the old grim tales.
3:45 Maybe the puppets are portrayed as less than human because the girl wasn’t able to fully empathize with them until she was in their position. Like how it’s easy to see an actor as a character instead of a person. Maybe she was so enchanted by the show that she overlooked the harm being done to the participants, or didn’t fully realize until it was too late for her and she had fallen in the same trap.
Edit: just realized that other commenters basically said the same thing more articulately than I did lol
I think you've pinpointed the right analogy with the contract. The puppeteer is depicted as a demon at the end and how he puts her arm in a bed of roses, cutting her in the process, alludes to a pact with the devil.
Thanks! But I forgot to mention a few things. We see the puppeteer's demon form, and then we see him without his hat as he closes the book at the end. I think that the audience knew about the puppeteer's demon form all along, but that the girl either didn't know, or willfully ignored it. Also, it's possible that his demon form might be his true form, but I'm not sure.
I mean, it can also be devilish just in nature. He's someone that uses these women, consumes them body and soul in a way.
Also notice the blue roses losing their petals while she dances with the puppeteer. Roses losing their petals are often used as an analogy for r*pe or loss of innocence in general. So it might be a hint that the puppeteer could have also sexually abused her.
@@Ixia_Reignitedwell than he turned demon he kiss the girl rip her head off soul collector the other doll girls were once like her blindly in love with him so he has a collection of girls he included her his brides i guess he charled her after all she should have used the exit the other man who visit watchung her be ripped apart didnt looked human either the puppet girls were ike her her body will porcelan to rebuild with magic
@@aldranzam3456more like collect on the walls were girls on string all girls fallen in love with him that girl here too
9:12 When her eyes widen with fear, I love the detail how her eyes, including the whites are darker, duller, seemingly dead. The magic we saw earlier is now gone.
i watched it without the english lyrics accompanying it first, i took her willingness to stay behind despite seeing how the other puppets fall apart as being a bit like the puppet master luring her in with romance and promises that she is special and different. This is probably because i have dealt with abusive relationships in the past that sort of convinced me in a similar way. I saw all the evidence that they were bad people, but they convinced me that itd be different because *i* am different. all this to say, i think its such a neat combination of music and animation, that even without the words, you can pull a story from it, metaphorically or literally.
Absolutely! A lot of it is she's drawn to the ringmaster himself!
@@NiennaFan1the Animation looks like last unicorn ,angels egg and medicine seller mononoke
@@NiennaFan1you here in the song destroy and love
If you told me Yoshitaka Amano animated this I would believe you. This art is absolutely stunning!
Yeah, Bani-chan is super talented!
I think one interesting extra layer to this, is that Toby Fox himself self publishes his games.
And I also have to say, if I was Itoki Hana or Bani-chan, going from a fan of Toby to working with him and then getting this script would have messed with my head :D.
I agree with the general gist of your observations, but I think it's important to note that the video footage isn't based directly on the lyrics Toby wrote. He stated himself that it's mostly based on the Japanese lyrics. And those aren't always a direct translation. Itoki Hana took various creative liberties with them, presumably to ensure they still match the music. This is why there are a few parts of the video that don't quite seem to match the English lyrics. I've seen a translation of those lyrics back to English on a site called Genius. (I'd post the link, but then RUclips would delete my comment.)
One of the biggest differences is when they describe the girl's decision to join the show. They make her come off as somewhat of a naïve romantic, with her wanting everyone to see her dance with the puppeteer because it would make for a beautiful ending to the story. This is reflected in the video as well, with it placing a strong emphasis on the girl fantasizing about gently dancing with the puppeteer, whereas the English lyrics focus much more on her wanting to personally be admired as a dancer.
It's because of these dissonances that I'd advise for caution when analyzing this song, since the video deviates somewhat from Toby's original vision.
On a side note, I find it somewhat curious that Itoki Hana's translation of the lyrics for her first collaboration with Toby, 74, also added a motive about a story that didn't exist in the English lyrics (with the princess not wanting to be rescued because her story would be lost). Perhaps she just has a thing for characters obsessed with storytelling.
Thanks for the constructive criticism. I'll go look at the translated lyrics later. I hope everyone who watches my video reads your comment!
This type of animation reminds me of old anime back in the 80's and 90's.
I guess it does, but there's a personal touch to it. It might've been inspired by that, but Bani-chan clearly has her own style. And it's so fluid and expressive...
definitely that's her reference for the aesthetic! Reminds me of angel's egg and The last unicorn!
@@aldranzam3456 I really liked Angel's Egg. Glad other people have seen it!
@@aldranzam3456 It reminds me of a mixture between Vampire Hunter D and Angel's egg.
@@aldranzam3456not only that also medicine seller mononoke anime
As a current animation student, this is inspiring!
Yeah! I don't know if Bani-chan went to school, or if she taught herself, but either way...
I know it's probably stupid, but what if the ceramic puppet ladies who look uncannily human are actually human, but the girl is so dazzled by the show that her mind doesn't even process that these puppets are actual women being torn apart. And she doesn't realize what is actually happening until it starts to happen to her. Again, a stupid idea, but I think it makes more sense, because since she's so dazzled by the show, she doesn't even notice.
I was thinking that since the puppet master is secretly a demon it makes her feel drawn to him, she feels secure and happy when he takes her hand, like he's making her feel special, telling her not only she could be the next star of the show, but that he's romantically interested in her. The scene of them dancing is the passing of time between them it feels like a dream and she's enamored with him, unknowingly falling into his control. When I saw him push her into the white flowers I was thinking he was "deflowering" her and taking away her autonomy, because as a demon, this could be his way of consummating their contract and binding her to him. The figures with the weird faces, I took it as they were wearing masks, sort of like aristocrats hiding their identity when attending an underground show, their evil grins showing their intentions of wanting to see a human getting torn apart. I was thinking the first show that the girl saw was just a front to lure people with desire, and then turn them into flesh puppets for the amusement of other demons or aristocracy
This is like something out of those old fairy tales that are always darker then you thought they were
Gives me such Yoshitaka Amano vibes. It's gorgeous and as usual from Toby Fox a gorgeous sound
I’m finding a lot of parallels to human trafficking here.
O H S N A P
I feel like you could be right. The puppeteer's actions are similar to how traffickers often lure their victims, rather than straight-up kidnapping them. However, I prefer my The Entertainment Industry Is Problematic interpretation, because of the role that the audience plays. The puppeteer isn't just using the girl for himself; she is torn apart in front of everyone. And there's also the whole situation where the audience's true faces are revealed at the last second when she is onstage...
I'm not sure. Someone tell me if I missed something that would make your interpretation more accurate than mine.
I think your perspective on the song is very interesting! But I believe that interpreting the song as a fairy tale-like retelling of abusive relationships that women sadly fall into (men do fall into them too, it is just as tragic and can almost be applied to the story in the same exact way, but since the protagonist in the song is a woman I'll be only talking about them).
tl;dr: the puppeteer equates to abusers, the puppets equate to vulnerable victims, the audience equates to complicit witnesses and the show itself equates to the cycle of abuse.
Almost everyone can remember from the top of their head about an abusive relationship, it could be a friend, a family member, or even a famous person, but the sad thing is that in most cases the victims will never speak up about it, or no longer be alive because of the abuse they recieved and I think this is where the parallels between the story the song is trying to convey and these horrible real life tragedies start appearing, after all, the song is called "The greatest living show never been told" and my interpretation of this is that it is directly referencing how in all these stories of abuse there are always witnesses, who either just look and don't do anything or directly encourage the abuse to go on, and so the stories of these victims is never known.
This song is to me telling the story of an abuse victim, whose desire to feel special and wanted and her not so good mental health made her fall deeply in love with a monster that took pleasure in ruinning the lives of vulnerable women like her. It can be agreed that for most of the song what we see and what is described is through the girls eyes and one of the first things that is seen is the outside world, which seems cold and unwelcoming, which I believe represents the victims feeling of not being appreciated, but then she stumbles upon the place where the show is held and quickly becoming fascinated by the girls dancing in the stage, who recieve so much attention and praise from the public and quickly starts having fantasies about being the one on stage recieving all the attention and love, ignoring all blantant red flags and even witnessing the girls' destruction without a blink of an eye, all to chase after the attention and love she desired from a man she just met.
The protagonist of the story knows very well what the man did to those girls and she was as much of a member of the audience as the other people watching the show were, maybe she thinks she will have a different ending because she is naive, or maybe she lacks the empathy necessary to put herself in those poor girls' shoes, but she is a victim, a victim of her own weaknesses, a bad situation she sadly stumbled herself into and the victim of a man that nobody seems to want to stop, nobody deserves to be abused. However, as the title of the song suggests, she just becomes another victim and the cycle continues as the audience watches her rip apart in this neverending show that will never will be told, because how could it go on if word spreads around? And so she just fades into nothingness, the outside world not noticing what happened to her, maybe never finding out about it.
And the audience? What about the audience? It can be inferred that the protagonist and likely the other victims are vulnerable people likely sought after by the abuser, who will ignore other people's pain and red flags to get the attention and comfort they desperately seek, so blaming them for the abuse is silly at best, but the people in the audience are not those vulnerable people that the abuser seeks, so why are they letting this go on? Well, the answer is very simple: real life abusers have friends, family, colleagues or even casual acquaintances who will defend them and protect them to the very end, how many times has someone been exposed in your local area for things like these and you hear people comment things like "But [NAME HERE] was so sweet/kind/whatever other positive generic trait!! They couldn't have done that!!", how many times has abuse been witnessed but no-one spoke up?
There's this guy where I live that talks like he came straight out of those outlandish reddit incel stories, talking about women like they're walking, thoughtless fl3shlights, but he isn't the greasy basement-dwelling neckbeard that these fake karma-seeking stories love to star as the villain, he's a tall, sporty guy well-liked by his peers who has a girlfriend (of which he talks about in such vomit inducing way that I can only pray for her and whichever girl is unlucky enough to cross paths with him). This guy used to upload himself making out with girls in his house to instagram stories (which I doubt was with the girls' consent), so why do people not call him out? Why do people seem to be blind to the many red flags around him? It's because they see nothing wrong with what he does, and so do the audience of the show the puppeteer runs in the story of this song, in fact, they enjoy seeing him destroy women and come every time to see the show.
Whew this was such a long rant :'/
I've been thinking about this comment for a while. It's possible that The Greatest Living Show could be interpreted as "a fairy tale-like retelling of abusive relationships" but the kind of abusive relationships you're referencing, the kind that you're familiar with... is just one model of what they can look like. And I don't even think that it's the most common one. Many people are born to abusive parents, and for us, there was no "before", or any choice to enter into a relationship at all. And most of the time, abuse isn't a spectacle like the girl's show, or done in obvious ways like the ones you've listed; it's often much more subtle, a hidden-in-plain-sight, banality-of-evil sort of situation enabled to certain attitudes and systems of oppression in our society (ableism, homophobia, harmful ideas about morality rooted in certain sects of Christianity, etc.), rather than something people are actively gathering to watch. I'm not going to say that you and those who agree with you are flat-out 100% wrong, but what I will say is that... your interpretation feels reductive to me, that doesn't resonate with my experiences as a child abuse victim, or with my experiences with the music video. I don't know.
The part where you say it looks like she's getting freaked out because of the strings on her arms; they don't actually appear until the curtains open on the stage,
that is actually her weird see-through Shaul; and her being pulled in by the ringleader; it's actually him pushing her onto a bed of roses if you look at where his thumb is,
and her face contorts from shock to Bliss so I believe this is a s3xual thing.
Not her realizing what's going to happen.
You described so well how things can look very different depending on where you're viewing them from.
Whether through the magic of the circus or just the girl's perception of it, her view is altered between watching the show and becoming a part of it. At first, the circus performers stand out brightly and the girl watches them entranced. The puppet dancers look colourful and fluid but also detached, not really alive. Despite their similarity to humans they break like ceramic dolls. Rather than putting the girl off the show, it draws her in: she contemplates what it would be like to have their talent and fame, and doesn't think she will be disposable as the puppets don't seem like her. By contrast the other audience members are just shadowy, vague figures- they aren't the focus, they're spectators. However, when the girl is forced to dance she sees them in detail, including their expressions. They don't seem to notice or care about the horror of the girl's new reality, how she is dancing against her will, her body tearing and bleeding. They enjoy the show as she did before, happily watching the ringleader puppeteer a beautiful dancer. Maybe, to them, she looks not human, but like the puppets before her, just pretty dolls that eventually break. Who knows?
I know, I'm typing this late, but the puppeteer looks like a Sailor Moon villain, or a villain from any Magical Girl show/anime
Interesting observation! I'm sure there's something to be said about The Greatest Living Show and the magical girl genre, but I'm not entirely sure what that would be...
If you hadn't said that she was leaving the hall,
I would never have understood this.
It is drawn strangely, at first it looks like a spiral staircase in a circle, and then a staircase upwards.
I think that after the performance she went up to his stage and went to the second floor somewhere...
I find it interesting as to me, this video represents a hopeful soul being shattered by a devil. The reason why I think this is the girls body is a wispy white representing her soul while the puppeteer has wings and horns when they're dancing at 13:16. Overall to me the show has a lot of spiritual depth to it which is fascinating.
thanks for the subtitles! As a non english speaker it really helps
~🎶what can i say except you're welcome🎶~
Nice analysis! I didn't even think to consider how the entire perspective changes before and after the girl joins the show.
Something about the video also gives me an uncanny "Alice in wonderland" or fae in the forest vibes.
The one thing Im failing to understand is the ending when the puppet master closes that book..
So, with the puppeteer closing the book, for the most part I think it's just a visual finishing touch added to the end of the video. But if you wanted to draw meaning from it... the girl may have had her flaws, may have had some hand in her own downfall, but it was ultimately the puppeteer who decided how her story was going to end. Also, the puppeteer lives on. The show goes on. The girl... doesn't. And so, he closes the book on her, right in the middle. (Not even the end, just the end of a particular chapter in his life)...
noooo, I just remembered about this channel, and now half of my favorite videos are gone😭
There are as many interpretations as people I guess.
Here mine: A pure young innocent humble girl represented with showy white skin finds a theatre. She is excited and finds the most extravagant marquee "Bring the stage alight" and enters. The people inside are represented by shadows. It is worth to mention that in the minute 0:48 one could see a "monster" shadow transforming into a human. From her perspective, she finds an opulent, and classy event. The ladies with pointy noses are snobs, showing of their fortune and wealth. On the stage, there is an elegant and well-presented ¿gentlemen? From now on puppet master.
He seduces the audience, the music becomes intense and enveloping thrilling the audience and so, our girl. There is a price to pay the destruction of his puppets on each event. (Here, I do believe there are just puppets or if they where humans, they were not as pure or innocent as this girl is. )
The girl is about to leave when everyone left, but is mesmerised by the members of the stuff and could not resist to visit the puppet master.
-Can I be part of your show? she may ask.
-You can be the main attraction, THE STAR!! He could answer.
How could not such innocent little girl be hypnotized after the waltz and dancing with him? The time passed (flourishing and perishing of the flowers) even she may have lost her virginity in an abusive way (3:15) red roses while she is lying. Her face changes. She looks no more at peace, but bewildered.
The next show's day came and she is dressed up with the most fine and elegant fabrics, equal to whom from now is his master. At the new show the shadows/audience, (3:36), show their teeth, a sardonic smile. She is frightened and search for light, there his master comes towards the stage and starts the show. (This time the show is different, the audience is aware of the girls being a real human, the show more than ever will be the greatest "living" show and that's why they smile)
In a second, the girl sees clearly the obnoxious place where she is at, not able to scape. The atrocious and cruel show is paid off with the life of the girl. This time blood scatters and the flesh is torn away, even the puppet master continues dancing with a body no more has her head.
Such tragic story, and truly vivid of how people in power have disgraced pure souls. A story so real, and at the same time beautifully represented.
Thanks very much for it
Por fin encuentro un vídeo que analice esta hermosa animación 🥺✨🤍
~🎶what can i say except you're welcome🎶~
I enjoyed the whole video, the personal opinion... but everything from the part "If you want a essay video..." right to the end... just killed me.
That's a quote that deserves a t-shirt.
Thank you! But seriously, go watch Andrew Cunningham's video essays. They're amazing.
Well, it was a good run. Had fun in our convos. Best wishes on whatever you do next. Till next time!
"Don't be sad that it ended, be happy that it happened." -Dr. Seuss
I believe this video is about exploitation of any Enterprise industry
I really liked your video, don't be so hard on yourself! You see, I love toby's work and love to see analysis on them, since they always explore things on really interesting ways, but I thought there wouldn't be any of this work of art since is a music video, but I'm glad you made it!
Your interpretation is really cool, I agree with it honestly. I think there's one more layer to it, since the protagonist was not just focused on the show, but also on the puppeteer himself. He charmed her in a way, maybe seduced somewhat? Not necessarily romantically, but I believe it could be a metaphor to how sometimes people look up to others famous people, seeing them as "could do no wrong" and sometimes putting them in a too high of a pedestal. Then, when they finally meet, they discover some hidden truth that was right in from of them the whole time. The protagonist knew about the puppets breaking, but she was so endeared by him and his show that she couldn't recognize it. Like, let's say, when it is discovered that a internet person or famous artist have done and are still doing horrible things, when they were considered "perfect" before, and their fans need to face reality. People go check the before, and their content has ALWAYS given red flags, and the audience just CHOOSE to ignore it. I'm serious, this is so common of an occurrence. For me the girl was blinded by her admiration, so she dismissed the clear signs... like "the greatest living show, never been told".
Well, that's it! Really great video again :))
Thanks! And yes, your idea of how we think of famous people... does add an extra layer to my interpretation of the puppeteer's character.
@@Ixia_Reignited Yeah, and I thank you :)
This is such a good analysis! I love how much you got out of such a short music video.
I feel like you may have focused too much on how it shows the dark side of the corporate entertainment industry, and overlooked the overarching themes of how easily human judgment can be clouded by imagination and desires, and the degradation of one’s humanity caused by falling victim to those desires.
I feel like that especially ties into the themes of the genocide run- but that’s how I see it at least.
Anyways great video!
I know the metaphor of the world of entertainment seems the most plausible.
But I see it mostly as a pure depiction of the tragedy of life aha... the contract could well be with the devil, or God, in fact I'd find it even more tragic to imagine a half god-demon creature.I feel like I'm seeing the spectacle of existence, where we believe that by giving our all, we'll extricate ourselves from the strands of our destiny, that for ourselves, it will be different, yes.
We would be alternately spectators and performers of the show, of the fulfilment of our being, of our dreams, disillusions, desires. Many people live semi-sleepy, letting things happen, and one day you can have the idea in your mind to give it your all, and feel that an invisible eye is watching you, but it can end as badly as it did for this protagonist.While being a spectator of the others' show, you can laugh yourself, be amazed, and then it's your turn, or you can hesitate between dancing and fighting with the strings of fate, which seems to take pleasure in ripping you apart.
Of course in this case it would not have any particular message and would be very verrrrrry dark.
I also think the two girls went through the same fate as the girl.Its difference of point of view maybe.
I'm curious to know how Toby Fox described to Bani Chan what he wanted the animation to look like.
I don't think that your interpretation is wrong, per se, but I definitely disagree with it. Saying "the tragedy of life" is far too general for me, and it obscures how different people's lives truly are (both by choice and by exclusion), as well as some of the reasons that life is so unfair in the first place. Like, some of us are ambitious, some of us aren't. Some of us really do manage to escape the destinies that others try to force on us, some of us don't. Things do not have to be the way they are now, and there are certain systems of oppression actively keeping them that way.
(Also, Toby Fox gave Bani-chan free reign over the animation after hiring her, so it's probably just her interpretation of the lyrics).
@@Ixia_Reignited I was wondering if they communicated more and how about it .(it might be in the artbook)
What he visualized before, what bani-chan interpreted.the gap between.etc
Yes, I know it's too general.(but not in my head aehm)
I find the end of the animation extremely cruel, that's what inspires me that, something out of proportion .I think there are multiple intentional layers of interpretation.
I don't believe in destiny, I mean, we make destiny.
But it's like I'm imagining a backstage show.
If I see it as a game of indistinguishable gods and demons.It's probably because this year I've had the example of the "fatality" (there are words more accurate but they are not safe for work or any place or mind x) )case in front of me, where there was no logic or control to it.
I sometimes wonder if human struggles and hopes can be nourishment for someone, somewhere.
The kind of derealisation/thoughts you have from a distance before you start dancing again without believing too much, believing anyway. ( I think that the metaphor of the show/entertainment world doesn't speak to me too much, because I find the metaphor of the spectacle of everyday life stronger, but to be less general, it would have to be embodied in a particular life) ( for the systems of oppression I agree, but I can't situate what inspires me in art in political or to explicit or concrete fields, if you tell me that my favorite song is about the exploitation of Amazon workers, even if it can concern me, I won't be able to like it if it is too concrete/explicit ) sorry im not fluent in english , i think i cant express totally my idea.Its not an idea " everything is predetermined"..its more the balance between that, our choice, struggle and consequences, and more" fc*k we all lost member and pieces of ourself "in that "game"
Honestly, I think you did a great job on this video. I just wish I'd found it sooner.
the thing with her warping her reality thanks to her desperate wants maybe can be seen exactly in the same scene where she dance with the puppeteer and almsot like big drops of rain going up, instead of down, almost like she completely twisted all she sawn so it suits her world, which makes sense considering how manny people can be delusional about a lot of things, and despite literally seeing it happen (in this case where she literally saw pupets to get broken) she still do the same mistake living in her own delusion. then there is scene right after where they dance in almost like fairy tale style and we can see blooming roses that imidiatly start dying, this can show how yes she will have that moment of glory and beauty, she will be admired and seen as the greatest show, but just for a moment before all her hopes fade away jsut liek the roses die, it also in my opinion represent the ,,Greatest living show,, itself in a way, growin flower that bloom and then die is logicaly how all life work, its a cycle of life, but after those dead flowers die new one grow again and again as they dance, almost making me think that it implies that the beautifull dolls are the bloomed flowers that show beauty of the life and then they break as they dance and get less and less beautifull. Its this dance of life, that is so beautifull, dolls breaking always at the end are flowers that are dying, no greatest thing about this is that its same as a real life and real world, one can see death of those dolls as sad thing yet we as humans live this short life just to shine in this greatest show called life, no matter how painfull (at the end i think we can see what the pain actually feels like in contrast of what we saw that those dolls just simply break, meanwhile they are torn apart by life which is the dance, their life is this beautifull dance that is coordinated by the puppeteer who is shown to be devil, now, why devil? or more importantly why does he look like human? i think its because he in fact is human, he is the one that show us how beautifull such a life is, then we as the girl go achieve it, and suffer as much as all of previous girls did, we can argue that thats part of the greatest show, expectations, lies, dream, believes, determination to achieve something because we saw others achieve it, ego and telling ourselves we will be different yet we are all the same, we are either those pupets or we turn in to monsters like the puppeteer, but both of those are humans, puppeteer just play his role embracing beauty of life even tho one might look on his action as devilish, and another one is poor victim that is needed for show to even exist), the reason why this is greatest living show is because the show itself is alive, and organism, a construct of this fairy tale sociaty everyone perceive so casually, pupets dance till they break and die to create a great show, audience is there to lure others so you yourself want to be there in front of that audience they are there so you think that this is all just beautifull dance ( ¨we can maybe even say that the audience is the the system of that sociaty where you are something just if you dance in front of them, just like in real life you are something if you are seen by manny and you are standing in glory of life, audience are all those people seeing the show as beautifull and they feed in to it and they all watch it, thats the reason why some girls from the audience, and we can see that the girl is part of the audience at the start, go and want to be on the spotlight so audience can watch them). Its greatest living show ever made, a construct showing beauty of life and its pain and burden of having the life, life is this beautifull dance we all see as beautifull but despite that its painful and hard, no matter what we cant stop, the acts in the music video might be perceieved as ,,bad,, but despite all that we praise it and feed it because even us viewers we are just part of the audience, at this point i can go far deeper then it is maybe, but all of that seems to represent it so acuratly, which maybe can also be the point, i now twist my own reality to see it in a beautifull way, i maybe glorify it too much then it is and that can be harmful but also beatifull, and thats how i feed it as an audience member, we all do. puppeteer is depicted as a beatifull man and a devil at one point, showing us that in all this pain, devilish act is beauty to be seen, and the devilish act in the end is jsut life itself, maybe thats why its perfect tragedy, since you were born a tragedy happened, your life is perfect tragedy that already goes with you and we humans all know it will be beautifull dance ending tragically, despite that we cling to life jsut like the girl still want to dance, there is something we see as devil and bad but there is nothing like that, its life, tragedy of life, its this beautifull never ending dance of us humans that will always continue despite who tragic and devilish we say it is, and there is no actuall demon, but a man and woman, they are both caught in this tragic but greatest show ever called life. (also thats maybehy there are roses, because roses are beautifull yet they have torns, same as life is beautifull but is tragic). Anyways that just little bit of what i got after watching it once so i can be completely off, maybe i am not, but this little piece of thinking was fun, i am sorry for my bad english to anyone who read this, if there even will be anyone hahaha.
edit, I repeated some of the same things as others and op, but there is a unique depiction in the 2nd paragraph
While there is no wrong interpretation of art there is an intended one by the artist, and I feel like this analysis is not looking at it through the intended lense, but comes to the same conclusion but some things I wanted to add. I don't think that any of it is truly fictional, simply represented through an artistic lense. similarly to how Vincent Van Gogh's Stary Night is not really fictional, it's not capturing what it really looked like, its capturing how it felt. I think the intended interpretation is as follows. It's the story of how people, in this case a woman, gets taken advantage of, and how they get lured in (which we agree on) however I don't think that any of the "dolls" were dolls. I think that they were real people who had come before and broken down, and while we all have heard stories about celebrities and entertainers having brake downs, and even dying, we still think "but that's on them, they just weren't careful" or we just brush it off, hence whey she can see them break but not the blood, she does not yet see them as human.
then there is another scene you didn't really talk about. the scene where she is being taken under the ring masters wing, she is shown wearing jewelery and a fancy dress, she is made to feel special, before being put on the stage like the rest. Now she can see the audience they are all different than what she expected, and they laugh and cheer as she gets flung around the stage. as she gets flung around the stage, she is in pain, she bleeds, and the dress, something that symbolizes her dignity, and pride, comes off. then her head comes off, and even tho she is dead, the puppet master keeps going, dancing with her dead body despite clearly being dead, and the puppeteer even takes advantage of this holding her arm out further than what normally would be possible. not only was her death not seen as a problem, there's even an implication that it was counted on. I don't want to make a video on this myself because I am still learning editing, and also the video makes me feel kinda sick. I still respect the art and its message but I don't want to dwell on it
I can feel myself deteriorating.
10:01 the audience was more frightening before, depicted as towering shadows
As I don't speak the language I didn't have the context of the lyrics to help me decide what I thought of this, but I felt like you took the story (at least as *shown*) in a very literal sense. I saw this video as a sort of allegory, a story meant to send a message through metaphor, where settings and actions show one thing but represent something greater. You did touch on that somewhere around 13:30, but by then I felt bogged down by the explicit explanations and interpretations for story events and interactions that make up the essay. Things like the focus on realistic puppetry, how people cannot in fact fly, and the specific types of people attending, felt like when a movie critic tries to explain open endings.
So while the most simplified concept is a cautionary tale of exploitation and naivety, that lacks the... essence? of the piece, and the intention of how it is presented. The feeling I got throughout this was of an old fairytale, a story using fantastical imagery and boogeymen to caution people.
And for my own personal take, what stuck with me the most was that I actually thought the master of the circus was a woman. The strings are seen attached to the girl in a scene where she is sinking into a flower in what I can pretty confidently say is an allusion to a physical relationship between the two characters. The queer undertone and assotiating the villains with women (the entire cast of the circus is femenine) was a convincing emulation of a cuationary tale with vaguely religious stereotypes telling listeners to not fall to temptation or depravity linked to the devil, traveling circuses/people, etc. The whole video really just oozes the idea of a pure village girl "falling" for the devil disguised as vice and degeneracy. There really is so, so much to take from this story.
Don't be so hard on yourself. This video is actually really good as far as analysis videos go.
Thank you!!!
I've seen the pointed nose beauties as the temptresses if you will, if you survive the trial. Eh, I dunno,
I like your analysis!
something id like to mention is that the forest she was in at the beginning is drawn all dark and gloomy, that and with the way she describes it makes me think she was in a bad situation before and the puppeteer took advantage of that by luring her in with false delights. that would explain why she made such a rational decision to join the show, bc when you're in a bad situation you'd do anything to get out of it even if it's against your better judgement. and that might also be why she decided to ignore the puppets she saw, she wanted to believe that this show really is magical and that she could become a well loved dancer
This reminds of the masters and slaves in Slaver's Bay in Game of Thrones, ,the puppeteer is the Slavemaster and the puppets being treated as their slaves and victims, Two marionettes were once two real girls being tricked by the Mysterious puppeteer and turn them into puppets and treat them like his playthings.
I think the puppeteer is a woman
not to mention some things in this are similar to deltarune chapter 1/2 for example , the dancers. Who look like the swatchlings in chapter 2. What if an inspiration of this can be in a later chapter? Who knows
Good video, I enjoyed
I think it wants to show you how celebrities are seen as objects of entertainment rather than humans; kind of like if they were toys. It’s pretty dark.
lorsque j'ai vu le clip de Bani-chan pour la première fois, tout comme d'autres dans les commentaires, j'ai d'abord pensé aux relations abusives avec un amant trompeur qui a l'air de mettre en valeur la fille pour mieux la détruire ensuite. Mais votre interprétation sur l'envers du décors du show business me semble pertinente aussi.
En fait, ce qui m'a fait penser aux relations abusives entre un homme abusif et une femme victime, se sont les rapides références sensuelles et sexuelles, par exemple avec le regard charmeur de l'homme et la référence au fait qu'elle perde sa virginité avec lui (lorsque l'homme lui attrape le poignet et l'enfonce dans une sorte de fleur, ce qui fait qu'elle saigne un peu) à 7:46 sur votre vidéo.
Quand au fait que ce soit un spectacle, j'imagine que cela représente l'amante du mec abusif qui la fait se sentir spéciale, admirée de tous, alors qu'en réalité elle souffre...
Enfin les 2 interprétations se valent et je ne saurais pas dire laquelle était voulue par l'auteur.
"There but the grace of God, go I."
I know I literally just commented on this but I noticed that during the puppet masters first performance, we kinda see this green and red wavy pattern in the foreground of the video as he controls the two doll looking creatures, but then when the girl is being controlled, that green and red wavy pattern disappears. In both performances however, there is this weird bubbly effect that happens in the foreground as well. I don't know, just some little detail I noticed but it might be connected to something. Idk.
I just recently saw this music video, which I know is a crime in and of itself, but every subsequent time I've watched, I can't help but feel dread. I love the art and the music, but it's almost gruesome in a way, if that makes sense.
5:47 as the lyrics explain she is seduced/infatuated with the showman. She clearly wants too catch his eyes
Godkitten - angeloid, me singing about the circus and how my eyes are dying and that so is my body. They made art of my song for me. I sang about the devil and he is the internet and the music.
Finished. Welp, well made.
But I know it's not related to Deltarune, but the pose of Puppeteer reminds of RK ... Hope it's nothing to worry about.
Btw, I'm the person who likes being in shadow, is it so bad ?
Huh. I don't think RK ever makes that pose, but okay.
And no, it's not bad to hide in the shadows, not at all! In fact, it's probably better than trying to walk in the light, since you're in less danger of people manipulating you with promises of fame and greatness.
@@Ixia_Reignited in general his sprite is always like that. I bet he's actually strong because it's hard to keep arms in such position all the time XD
@@Ixia_Reignited I can't say so. I just don't like very bright things, especially Sun
@@denofcuriousmeltherat8378 Oh! That's what you meant. Well, yeah, that's okay, too!
@@Ixia_Reignited yap. Also. Check any video, slowed down, where he turns into stone: for the unknown reason on his belt appears a triangle and reversed upside down triangle... It happens very quickly, so it's hard to spot on the normal speed. I still don't know why it was added
So it is completely impossible to view your past videos? I've recently started re-watching my favorite underrated channels particularly cause Deltarune chapters 3 & 4 are complete and I've been refreshing my memory on it. I found your videos really insightful and particularly the non-deltarune videos were also very enjoyable... and cozy :)
I'm just looking for closure by asking if there is someway I could still view your past essays as video or script. Either way I hope you had as much fun making videos as I did in watching them. Whatever you are working on now I hope It is going well for you! :>
This video's scary 😬
I wonder why the puppets have those pointy faces sometimes, and sometimes not?
It's also interesting to know that Toby said the music video was mostly based off the lyrics he wrote. So bani-chan made the video and the story's lore with the lyrics. They probably made it together though!
@@Nuva_ So, here's the thing: the opal-beaked dancers (the ones with the pointy faces) aren't actually puppets. They don't have strings, and they don't break apart. They're just regular performers.
And yes, The Greatest Living Show was group effort.
@@Ixia_Reignited So they're not puppet, but they don't seem human either?
@@Nuva_ Yes, that's correct.
15:24 Ah, you want someone _competent_ to make *The Best* version of this video, y'say? Well, perhaps, _I_ could be of some assistance, as, y'see, I happen to be this video's *Number 1 Fan,* so to speak, and may or may not have made such a video. Perhaps it is I who you were hoping for, y'know?
Vou aprender ingles e depois eu volto aqui pra ver o vídeo
To be honest I would never do that because A I just wouldn't want to because I'd watch so be amazed by it but I would not want to be in it because well it sounds annoying to me and also who would B my passion is art C I would kind of be creeped out Ethan what I was younger I would have still thought it was creepy because you have puppets made of ceramic and they randomly just start breaking for no reason that would creep me out
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0:54 lmao are you kidding me? He’s obviously a demon. He has horns wings and a tail
While I do largely agree with other takes that this short is a metaphor for red flags in a potential relationship/human trafficking/abuse and predation, not going to lie, the theory you had about this being a more brutal and literal representation of trying to put yourself out there as a creative hit so hard and so close to home. While I also have a dream regarding getting my work publicized once it's finally good enough, I've seen so many production history videos of various movies and shows that go into detail on how much you have to compromise, and in the worst case scenario, the producers take your work and make it utterly unrecognizable to the point putting your name on it is both shameful and, in a way, dishonest. The metaphor can feel all too apparent through the whole short, the girl seeing the show and loving it, but what we see are marionettes falling to pieces. It's not unlike how we can see a movie and love it, even get inspired to start a career in a specific medium because of it, but we have no idea at the moment that it's ultimately a creative vision that's been torn to shreds for the sake of "marketability". With how close a creator can be to their work, it really can feel like being torn limb from limb on an emotional level. It's not until she gets in the business and has her own "show" go the way it does that she realizes what things are like behind the scenes. The glamor wears off fast when all you are is a puppet on strings making dough for the studios jerking you around. One of my biggest fears is to present my work with my blood, sweat, and tears poured into it only to have it meticulously dissected and remodeled to fit a more corporate image, no longer anywhere close to resembling its original self, so yeah, this take is all too raw.
I have my own personal theory that is about emotional abuse but I don't know cuz my turned on the captions they were in Japanese or whatever the heck language the singer is singing in so I did not know what the lyrics were
انيميشن واغنية ابداع
Ótima teoria
1:18 I know I may just be a bit dumb, but can someone explain this to me? I find the wording a bit hard to understand :,D
Visual also has the inspiration: the "Angel's egg", Yoshitaka Amano's works and Kanashimi no Beradonna. The answer is "Arthouse". Just look at the symbolismo: wicked woman sexuality blabla, girls should'nt make wishes blabla, all feminists are witches blabla.... boring and unnatural irl. But... 2024 this narrative is still working: "If you choose strange gay and dance with him, he should be the devil". Ugh!
There was a moment at "Eastwick witches". Girls were played with a devil to. And when they realized, they striked back. And then they were close to fall, they laughed. This is the recipy.
Really! How strange... Your lyrics are different. We don't have such words.
It's funny, the song is the same, but the translations are different.
We even have a song in our language, you can find and watch that translation, it’s called
“【RUS COVER】The Greatest Living Show / Toby Fox & Itoki Hana【Lyret】”,
Turn on the subtitles and compare.😊😊😊
Why the greatest living show it like 289m views
For some reason this gives me Belladonna of sadness vibes...this art is amazing! feel bad for the girl but she shouldn't have made any deal with that guy... all in all well done video.
Just curious but from what you said about the company and stuff, would the other puppets possibly be someone who knows what they are getting into and doesnt mind being controled or exploited which is why they where not bleeding?
As I understood, she didn’t want fame, but to be close to him. She fell in love with him and was ready to do anything to please him, even die.
But if you look at her sluggish eyes when she is next to him. It looks like he was bewitching her with something. And so she doesn't really understand what she's doing.
Our translation says that she is blinded by his beauty and soars in her love, but the veil from her eyes will disappear later, when it is too late, but now it doesn’t matter to her.
She is so much in love with him that she wants to dance a waltz with him so that everyone will only look at the two of them and be delighted with such an ending.
As they say, “see and die.”
And what does a girl do alone in the forest at night?
It seems to me that she died and ended up in the lower world with demons, and this is her torture.
5:47 as the lyrics explain she is seduced/infatuated with the showman. She clearly wants too catch his eyes