Sakayume (逆夢) - Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie ED / King Gnu [Piano]

With my first video in 2 months, I present to you my iteration of Sakayume from Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie. Which consists of my own, ‪@Animenzzz‬ and ‪@HalcyonMusic‬ 's versions.
About the arrangement: (Arranging: 1 Day, Practice: 1 Day)
I first approached the song when I first heard Animenz’s arrangement. His ballad style approach hit me. “It was such an elegant song!” I thought, until I watched the actual Jujutsu Kaisen movie in the cinemas, the song gave me a whole new meaning. Not sure about the actual English translation, but if I had to translate the Japanese of “Sakayume”, it’ll be “reverse dream”. Non-spoilers but the movie in my opinion beautifully reflects the song’s lyrics. While Animenz’s ballad approach to such a sentimental and meaningful song is an interesting take, I still prefer the original song under it’s key which is in Gb major, in which Animenz played the song in G major instead (First two choruses). That’s when I thought of mixing Animenz’s arrangement with Halcyon’s one, plus a bit of spark of my own personal arranging techniques.
The jump at the start at 0:22 is actually harder than you think. It’s a small chord progression + double voicing which jumps from an Fmaj chord to 2nd voicing - DB + C# A chord and jumping back to an octave above to hit the ABG chord. Tbh I got lucky hitting the jump lol. At 0:29 I decided to go with something close to the original which has a prolonged melody of an A minor run. I ended the run by lifting the pedal to suit it close with the original song with the subtle stoppage of melody to introduce the later part, which transitions to the Fmaj key.
I highly praise Animenz for using 10ths in the later bit (Where the singing bit starts). It brings out the harmonic feel to the song and suits the violin melody in the background in the original.
The original song implements key changes like no other. For example in 1:03, the key changes from F major to Gb major with the original vocals of King Gnu screaming into the key change transition. This was splendid to hear because
The scream adds emphasis to how emotional the song is.
The key change indicates a shift in the song melody and atmosphere.
1:16 afterwards for a bit is a part where I have to apologize - I used the semitone function to play the song in Gmaj key, but transposed it to Gb. The reason is being that I had originally already practiced Animenz’s version a bit, and learning the same melody and fingerings in a different key was a bit hard to maneuver around, plus I have other piano projects in the works with other artists as well, hence with the time constraints, I had no other choice but to upload a small section which was transposed. I hope you will all understand :(
1:51 is one of my favorite parts from Animenz’s version. For those who have only listened to the his version but haven’t played it before, you may think that it is simply doing a beat-dropping octave, but it is actually quite a challenging 3-hand technique. The jumpy LH has to incorporate beautifully and precisely with your LH thumb to bring out the main melody. The jumps in 1:58 are also quite difficult to master, they are pretty wide and getting the rhythm and dynamics down to emphasize the chorus bit is quite challenging lol, I had to loop the jumps a few times before I could get it down.
2:22 runs is a bit where I stuck with Animenz’s version and didn’t choose to stick with the original song. The runs serve a great purpose in my opinion on how to depict a “reverse dream” and just flows beautifully with the melody that comes shortly after. 2:34 is an interesting pre-chorus bit. Animenz’s version is a soft iteration of the song which does not link up with the original melody in the song. Hence, the lyrics here were a bit difficult to insert as it doesn’t match entirely with the original song.
3:19 onwards with the 3-hand technique was the most challenging part of the song in my opinion. Firstly, is to master the beat on the LH. Getting the intimate-drum-beat down is quite annoying, but once you master it, it is extremely satisfying. 3:51 with Halcyon’s RH runs is extremely beautiful - It serves as an extremely good introduction for the RH semi-jumps that come shortly after.
4:53 onwards for the last chorus bit is an improvisation of Halcyon’s version with my signature LH runs, and that basically concludes the song. :)
Embers color selection:
Blue - Gojo's eyes
Orange - Amber feeling towards the song
Pinkish Red - Color of Okkotsu's sword after he's imbued the curse
I apologize for the hiatus I took, since I had to focus on my finals :( But with my semester coming to an end, I'm preparing to upload more and often :D
Next few videos/projects are in the works so stay tuned for that!
Links: linktr.ee/kits...
#sakayume #jujutsukaisen #kinggnu

[@syuenemail]

Another great performance!

[@jisellebo]

Stunning

[@quang.5613]

So cool man, lov ur videos

[@TemplePiano]

Great, I really appreciate that we also have a version that is a more direct transcription of the original song, even though I prefer Animenz's version. You did an amazing job!

[@FlavyCover]

Your performance is so clean, nice gojo kun🔥

[@KitsuneMelodies]

Thank you!

[@rayanmerrouche5805]

you made me discover the lyrics, they're really touching accompanied by your awesome piano; you gave it the cover that it deserves. This is a bravoo

[@KitsuneMelodies]

Thank you so much! Glad to hear that someone looks at the lyrics as well :)

[@PianoVI]

The only explanation for how you played so well is .. Domain Expansion

[@KitsuneMelodies]

If I had 1% of Gojo's charisma, I'd be overjoyed lmao

[@bhaxter515]

3:41

[@Bruh-ty8cl]

How come your pedalling is so clean !?!?

[@KitsuneMelodies]

Hmm, the I didn't really dive in to the pedaling of the song, simply went with the flow lol. But I guess the staccato bits in the pre-chorus requires more technical pedaling than other parts haha

[@fungsir8292]

So similar with Animenz’s version🤔

[@dalemyst7090]

LITERALLY WHICH VST IS THAT !

[@KitsuneMelodies]

VSL steinway for this vid :)

[@dalemyst7090]

@@KitsuneMelodies Dude thank you so much

[@manu1w311]

Primer comentario! 😁

[@pianovideosfoundhere9948]

what piano are you playing on?

[@KitsuneMelodies]

For all my gear and equipment that I use, please head to the "about" section on my channel!