Yep, Canto 4 is a masterpiece. But also ye, next video I’m going back to the funni, seriousness can yeet itself. Also, imma stream the new mirror dungeon today at 11pm est. I also plan to stream cc 11 when the new contracts come out. Didn’t wanna do a r18 run as that would've been like a 20min stream. So in that one imma go for idk, risk 30? It’s free as hell so I’ll prolly have to.
Something I love about limbus company is despite how crazy the city is, the issues they face are usually rather realistic and common. Many of the problems the sinners face in a psychological sense can be related to in some way.
I love how it's a almost obvious point but through all the muddle of city horrors and personal tragedies it becomes easy to miss. Then it becomes a massive realization that's like "You didn't fail. You're just not there yet."
Adding onto Dongrang: You know what's fucked up about the Farmwatch ego? Farmwatches in Old Korea didn't actually watch over farms, but acted more as a middleman between the landowners and the peasents. They managed the specifics of who farmed what land for how much and for how long. They were basically a form of middle manager. Farmwatches often exploited the peasents below them by threatening to take away the leased farmland, while desperately sticking up to the landowners. Farmwatches posessed nothing of their own, unlike the landowners or even the farmers who at least were good at farming. All they did was piggyback off of the landowner's authority and wealth. As such, they were disposable at best, and had to do their best to desperately suck up to the landowners to not be replaced. Because that's all they were: replacable, with not an ounce of actual value. Dongrang said he was going to fill himself up, which means that he's nothing but a husk. He tried to suck up to Alphonso, but was ultimately seen as disposable. Dongrang Irl was a shill for the Japanese Empire during the colonialism period, and despite betraying and quite literally selling his people over, he was ultimately seen as just a second-class citizen as best. Inferior, and again, disposable. The fact that Farmwatch is Dongrang's Ego means he knows all this, always has, and finally accepted what he is. A husk devoid of actual value, a middle manager seen as disposable at best. A Farmwatch. And he's fully accepted this as who he is. That this is his new path. Pretty fucked up.
I am 11 months late, but I literally wrote this. I wrote two versions and posted it to 4chan and then the comments of a youtube video that seems to have been deleted. I know this one was ripped straight from /lcg becuase this doesn't have the addendum about the cow attached.
I love how Yeonsim being the name of Yi Sang's wife in the book only makes the story better as when married to someone you usually end up seeing them as what you aren't and praising them for that and that most people would confide in their wives to escape from reality whilst their wives both accept and attempt to uplift them when at that point. In other words Sang Yi was the other half of Yi Sang that he admired and adored and yet Yi Sang couldn't realize that the same was happening to him yet vice versa, Sang Yi being/being inside of Yeonsim only makes it better as the one that Yi Sang was using as comfort also used him as comfort somehow. tl;dr: Selfcest makes Yi Sang comfortable
I think you've misunderstood Dongrang's motivations somewhat. At his core, he is a pure utilitarian who wants to maximize outcomes regardless of the cost. Dongrang was caught between two conflicting motivations: The desire to help as many people as possible and his own selfish need to be seen as a good person who helps others. He betrays the group because he ultimately wants to make the most change possible regardless of what price he has to pay in the process (and also partially out of jealousy and wanting to prove himself). He distorts due to his guilt at the price he has paid and his own sense of inadequacy, but his EGO awakening is all about him putting aside his own insecurity to focus 100% on the goals he wants to accomplish, regardless of the cost. This is why it is an EGO awakening and not a distortion, he's overcome his sense of inadequacy and guilt in order to fully embrace that utilitarian mindset.
Mmm. Mostly agree with your analysis, except for a few things in the last paragraph. Dongrang didn't achieve EGO by casting aside his insecurities, but by instead, embracing them and thereby casting off the guilt he feels for his actions. He accepted and made peace with the fact that he absolutely despises being in the League of Nine's Shadow, and then resolved to move past his insecurities by cutting off the last of his ties to the League by killing Yi Sang so he can start with a blank slate again. If he had truly cast aside his feelings of insecurity and inadequacy, he wouldn't have attacked the Sinners. As he says himself, every second he spends trying to kill them is a second spent without the Tearful Thing crying. Essentially, his distortion was Dongrang realizing he was a piece of shit, and his EGO was him embracing the fact that he was a piece of shit. Represented by the fact that the Yellow Calf no longer recognized Dongrang, and his reaction being of shock, showing that despite his words about not wanting a reward or recognition for saving the Calf's life, he had been secretly hoping that he would be all this time. Which then leads to the pile of cow corpses we see in the background of his stage.
@@Birthday888 Yeah I guess it's more accurate to say he decided to being to move past them rather than wallowing in it, he didn't really succeed in the end after all of course. I also think there's some fuckery happening with EGO in this chapter, it's called "Effloreced EGO" for a reason and probably has something to do with the powers of the star (or even the Bough itself), it's not quite the same as what happened with Xiao in Ruina I think.
@@TheAntiCosmic It was most likely an unstable EGO, like Philip's. True EGOs like Xiao's or Kali's render their user's incable of distortion. But as shown by Philip's breakdown, there's a period of time where the EGO is weak or unstable and the user can still distort. I imagine that both Dongbaek and Dongrang's ego's fit in that category.
@@TheAntiCosmicthey are pretty much the same as LoR ego awakening, as in they are fully bloomed ego. effloresced means they are fully matured after all
I still don't like Dongrang, but I respect the absolute fuck out of him for giving Carmen not one, but two middle fingers by not only un-distorting himself, but by doing it in a way that basically spits in the face of the Tree of Light project.
probably the only person so far who undistorted them self, realized their EGO while also being worst as a person in 1 go. Carmen truly cant distort you without your consent.
@@anthonynguyen2661 it’s pretty interesting that dongrang shows that you can awaken your ego and still be a bad person. It’s all about overcoming the deepest levels of despair and pushing forward with newfound purpose, Dongrang is just the first character we’ve seen do that by deciding “you know what no I actually like being an unfeeling asshole and I’m gonna stay that way”
Makes me think that Roland (Lollang) could have gotten an EGO if he realized it. But damn, bro had multiple phases. I do not know what kind of EGO would manifest in the Black Silence.
Lobotomy Corporation did not make me cry. Library of Ruina did not make me cry. Yi Sang did though. So, yeah. Canto IV is one of the highest points of Project Moon's writing.
@@patatayt1919 Roland's and Angela's stories are an entirely different form of tragedy and storytelling. I was too busy beating the sense back into them during their realizations to cry, and during the climactic choices and moments at the end of the story, it felt more hopeful and victorious than emotional, especially after that FINAL GODDAMN KETER FIGHT HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WAS THAT DIFFICULT Anyway, like I was saying, their stories were about forgiveness and focused on wrath, an emotion that usually doesn't get people crying until the characters themselves cry about it, especially since wrath and revenge are pretty uncommon emotions comparatively. Meanwhile, Yi Sang's story invokes feelings of hopelessness and hopefulness, emotions easier to empathize with and easier to cry about.
I think another interesting thing to note is that despite everything, between Dongbaek and Dongrang, Dongbaek is the one who is honored over Dongrang with Yi Sang reminiscing over her flowers in the end and gaining an ID of her EGO. Though Dongbaek wanted revenge and did a lot of awful things in her own right, she also never stopped caring for the League or gave up on wanting a better world even if it became warped and tainted by her own trauma and selfishness. Even Gregor notes that despite stabbing Yi Sang she looked glad to see him unharmed and doesn't treat him with the same resentment she does Dongrang, and how despite everything she says in her death she wanted to "be buried with everyone else". In part, it's because she cared so much that her anger burned so brightly, but once everything is clear and can come to term with everything as well, she is the one who appears to cheer Yi Sang on to find the salvation she couldn't, because despite everything she also represents that innocence and sense of wonder Yi Sang had lost, and even if he has to move on from the past, it doesn't mean there wasn't anything of value and doesn't make those hopeful dreams or happy moments any less real, once the bad parts of the past have been come to terms with can you embrace the good parts. Interestingly enough, Yi Sang aside from being based on the protagonist of The Wings, his name and backstory are also based on the real life author of the book and so are Dongrang and Dongbaek based on real authors from the irl League of Nine, and the author Dongbaek was based on had a suicide pact with real Yi Sang who bonded together because of their shared pain over their chronic illness, but in the end they backed down to end up dying regardless a few days apart from their shared disease, which you could tie about how ultimately their feelings were the most similar in regards to what they wished from the League, their feelings on technology and how potentially her wish to return to nothing could be seen as the logical extreme of Yi Sang's suicidal feelings
I would like to add that Sang-Yi encourages Yi-Sang by saying that Sang-Yi's wings are also Yi-Sang's. And that he never lost them to begin with. It was right behind him the whole time. FURTHERMORE, Sang-Yi also tells him all Yi-Sang from the mirror world has wings but ONLY ONE can truly fly, meaning Yi-Sang. And encourages him to take flight.
Speaking of Yi Sang's wings, take a look at the art for his personal E.G.O. again sometime, and note what's on the ground behind him. How the glass shards aren't spread all over the place, but are in two groups. They really were there the whole time.
Just finished this chapter and I genuinely cried, seeing sang-yi comfort yi-sang by showing him the truth, telling him he always had those wings, telling him how he always was scared of aiming high and seek a purpose to live for, this part made me tear up, but I genuinely broke "fly my wings" lyrics playing in the background "why are these hands reaching dreams out of my reach?", Yi sang wings and purpose of life was not on sight for him, the broken shards taking form into beautiful wings are a perfect way of showing the acceptance of the past, finally facing the present and the future, this is the best chapter I have seen in any game until now, I fucking love project moon.
In LCB we don't have the Yi Sang we deserve, but the one we need the most and it's perfectly ideal. First step is teaching Don how to play chess without making action figures out of the pieces.
When Dongbaek made that last cry of her like damn i got tears running, that shit was heartbreaking. Like it was already depressing but that just broke it man. Project Moon knows how to make you cry. Also i must say the way Hong Lu was also brought up in here so often was very nice like he did and said things that tbh to me were very un Hong Lu like.
Tsunul being serious is like catching a shiny pokemon in the first hour of full moon for five times in the row Joke aside. This is a great video. The message of chapter 4 is beautiful, and it's beautiful to see someone appreciating it and creates a thoughtful conclusion for what we can apply in real life, regardless if we will do it or not. Food for thought, a warm and comfy one. Can't wait for Ishmael chapter where it reveals that she is actually the most insane out of the bunch, and just acting normal for the sake of it lol.
Man after all the desensitization from other games, this canto really hit hard for me for similar reasons, that ending was so great and made me cry, can't wait for more
@@spidey5558 that was a different kind of revenge. Sinclair was him overcoming his fear of Kromer. Ishmael was obsessed with her revenge since before the day she arrived at the city
This is such a stark contrast compared to your usual brand of madness, but this analysis is well thought out and I hope shows how much depth this game in its story.
Amazing video. It's also interesting how Demian after credit monologue goes completely opposite to the entirety of Yi Sang character development. Seing using the true purpose of the window as greed, insisting to not use the window to find your ideal and strife to become one, but to just watch at it as entertaiment.
Honestly I just kept giggling at Demian being a representation of the player’s credit card going “goddamnit why don’t you just enjoy seeing all of the cool character’s realities! Why do you need to have them!”
I am not sure what to make of the Demian scene, but Demian is hard to read in general. The only clear thing is him wanting Sinclair's Egg to crack and maybe sexy times with him. Some have speculated that one of the Figures in the back of the Demian shot of the trailer might be the old leader of the League, who's whereabouts are unknown.
Demian's monologue at the end is interesting but a bit hard to parse for sure, given how much context we're lacking for the overall plot of this game as a whole. Idk if I would say his speech goes against Yi sang's development though. For me, Yi sang's resolution at the end is less about wanting to copy and become/roleplay as Sang Yi (unlike what we're doing with the gacha IDs), but to grow and become the "winged" (unburdened/free/matured) version of himself in his own universe, provided the different experiences/past/mistakes he had carried in his own wings at this time.
it's a bit roundabout, but i believe that Damian's condemnation was within the context of the analogy he was using. he spoke of how 'someone wanted to reach into the bag of chips to have all the flavors'. that then, while the adults doesn't see taking from the Mirror Worlds as stealing according to their laws, it is in fact, 'stealing from *yourself*'. so what he condemns, is our modified Mirror with the ID system - implying that there's something about the consequences of taking those IDs from their worlds we're failing to consider?
@@ennearerier402 There absolutely is every technology in the series has a price and its a big reccuring theme that people use them for convenience without acknowledging that. Dante has begun to realize this asking himself questions like wondering where did the time for him to rewind the sinners come from.
I want to add that Samjo and Shrenne play their own important role in the story. Between the extremes represented by Dongbaek and Dongrang, you have two people who don’t buy their own bullshit. Samjo and Shrenne, in turn are examples of people whose honest beliefs are exploited until they cease to be useful. In many respects, this foreshadows Astolfo turning on Dongrang.
0:16 I'm shaking and crying😭 Edit: I watched the vid and really don't know what to write. I personally was hit by a truck with Yi Sang's backstory because it felt close to me in many ways and seeing Yi Sang choosing to face his mistakes and problems was truly heartwarming. also... I'M SO HYPED UP FOR ISHMAEL CHAPTER. BET IT WILL BE SOME CYCLE OF REVENGE[PM EDITION] STORY.
I think the whole point of her chapter will be that her object of obsession will be killed by someone else and her ire will be redirected to the killer . Basically the 2nd half of the chapter we would try to keep her out of trouble
A well written and emotional story about a man overcoming depression and learning how to fly again? Nah chapter 4 was about yi sang's cake have you SEEN THAT SHIT?!
'They're my wings, and they're yours in the reflection. -The mirror is a reflection of the self. If you saw wings on me, then they were on you as well... Now, kick off the ground and flutter your wings...''
This is why Fly, my wings and yi sangs credits are the way they are. Dongrang is just dongbaek but in a different light. He even has somewhat similar mechanics so it's somewhat of a foregone conclusion that he, like her, will probably go down and not the frenetic heart pounding danger that the kromer fight was, therefore we hear a slow almost melancholic song about yi sangs wings, his struggle to keep going with broken wings, then his sudden realization that no, he is the one that can have those perfect wings, seeing them on himself, those radiant wings, hiding in plain sight. Then the credits. A poem about sitting in an invisible grave of flowers and his singing rising with profound hope and the feeling of reconciliation. Cinema.
Well I also have 3 things that I wanna say. 1st one minus money, because of Mili, you are truly brave. 2nd one great video. 3rd one, did you notice, that Dongrang and Dongbang also can have a second meaning in they're fights, as to back to innocence, true nature, without technology to harm people's or to meaningless, seeking pride beast, that eats everything in a way, then transforming to Scarecrow, searching Wisdom, he stands his own place believing in his life choices to fully reject his meaningless in devouring everything in a way, while while accept who he is, and what are need to do to be truly free and get his profit with his seeds of technology, whom he planted
Effloresced Ego is an ego one brings out from themselves rather than from something such as an abnormality, now Not to do the "I never noticed she was holding a plate of corn" bit but: It took me too long to realize that the reason spicebush yi sang exist as an effloresced ego identity where as a certain canto v boss doesn't have an identity to reflect their ego, is because Yi Sang very much could have ended up the exact same as Dongbaek, however, because he holds absolutely no value in anything and has no goals for himself or desires, him being literally STABBED by the golden bough doesn't alter him or bring out the ego, as it did with Kromer, who was rich with desire. He was so hollow that he wasn't affected by a mysterious, most likely magical object that FORCES your desires to the front for all to see, because he had none to begin with, not until the dungeon when he relived his past and formed bonds with his new companions.
so after the chapter ended i did some digging around to see if i can find some real life context to the story and found some cool stuff. 1- Farmwatchers(the EGO Dongrang turns into) didn't actually watch over farms but acted more as a middleman between the landowners and the peasants. They managed the specifics of who farmed what land for how much pay and for how long. They were basically a middle manager between the farmers and landowners, they often exploited the farmers by threatening to take away the leased farmland, while desperately sucking up to the landowners. in other words, all they really did was piggyback off of the landowner's authority and wealth. they were disposable at best and had to constantly suck up to the landowners to not get replaced. Because that's all they were. a worthless and replaceable suck up. 2- from what i could gather but can't verify due to most the info being in Koren so take the following with a grain of salt: the Irl Dongrang was also a shill for the Japanese Empire during the colonialism period, and despite betraying and quite literally selling off his people, he was ultimately seen as just a second-class citizen by Japan, Inferior and once again disposable in their eyes. much like how Dongrang tried to suck up to Alphonso but was also seen as disposable to her seeing how she couldn't care less about his death at the end of canto 4. so from that we can gather that a Farmwatcher being Dongrang's EGO means he knew all this and has accepted what he is. a husk devoid of actual value, a disposable at best goon. a Farmwatch. but there must have been a part of him that still had hope to manifest the EGO in the first place instead of fully corroding. even if it meant leaving others in the dirt 3-Dongrang was the pen name of Yoo Chijin, a Korean playwright and founding member of The Circle of Nine (no I'm not joking) it was a literary group whom poets Kim Hae-Gyeong(Yi Sang) and Park Taewon(Gubo) would later join. 4-this video is cool as always good job!
iirc, the irl Dongrang's writings were initially critical of the Japanese government, but as the rules became stricter the more shilly they became. I'm not knowledegable enough on the topic to say much else, but it is interesting to consider the parallels to reality here.
Man, that part where Yi Sang does his finishing move and both wings appear, his wing being perfectly put together while Dongrang's wing is still broken... such a fine detail that was
It's also interesting that, like the other sinners before him, he hasn't reached the true fulfillment of his goal yet. After all, only one of his wings was restored, the yellow one, which could be representative of his sepia toned past. The blue one, on the other hand, is still broken. It makes me think that we might get two chapters per character, before this story is over, maybe looking at Gubo and Young-Ji's relationship with Yi Sang for the next one
*reads title* "this was posted last year, wasn't it?" *checks time posted* "knew it lol" genuinely though, even with lobotomy corp being a bit of a bumpy start as far as general game polish goes for a debut game, the folks at Project Moon have not stopped one upping themselves with every release (side media like Leviathan and Wonderlab included). It's a genuine treat to be their fan.
A beautiful video essay on an beautiful Chapter 4 by Project Moon. I love how Mili's song ties all of Chapter 4 together for an amazing finale. Honestly this is something everyone needs to hear, no matter what point in life they are at. I truly can't wait for all the stories Project Moon has in store for us.
3:10 Around the time Chapter 4 came out I was doing alot of diving into psychology for personal issues, and one of the things I was looking at was ASPD. from what I understand, ASPD is officially 1 disorder, but unofficially covers 2 completely different problems within it: Sociopathy, what I was actively looking up, and Psychopathy, something I learned about along the way. One of the things I realized was that Dongrang displayed alot of behaviors typical of a psychopath. He does things primarily for the sake of his pride, and anything he tacks on, like "helping others", is merely an excuse he uses to protect himself. Dongrang repeatedly shows a lack of empathy for those around him, he prioritizes his own safety over everyone else and doesnt even bat an eye when Samjo jumps into the Tears. It makes sense that his E.G.O. has nothing to do with him regretting his actions, as he genuinely does not care about the people around him any more than he does the ampules he uses. Im not a physiatrist, nor do I have actual schooling in psychology, so I cant say that Im 100% accurate on anything I understand. What I can say is that with what knowledge I have I believe that Dongrang, at the very least, has psychopathic tendencies. I feel as though this would be a better description of his issues, as from what I know psychopathy is a primarily genetic problem, and as said in this video Dongrang grew into having this issue. Please, if there are any actual physiatrist or phycology majors who would know better, add on to or correct what Im saying, I actually want to know how accurate what Im saying is.
I will be cheesy now - last weeks were very wild. I spent life in a stagnancy, occasionally colouring it with simple pleasures, passive and sheltered, but also leashed on others controlling my life. At Age long due independence, ive endured abuse as a puppet to please others unfulfilled wishes and loneliness in toxicity engulfing my 'self'. I have been choosing to stay passive and tucked in soft darkness while hating myself for it. Less than week ago i walked out of the white square. I broke out, muting the influence and with nothing to myself than handful of things and countless possibilities. Ahead of me is road far less comfortable. I will now need and want, and lack, and the size world suddenly grew to is pretty terrifying - but my life i have in my hands now. I have been calling for help all this time, and i realized there are people who hear it. I do genuinely believe i would not be able to do it without this chapter inspiring me. I cried, and i sung, and i walked. Even now, I waver but i feel ever so faintly: even if these feathers wont ever lift me up, the fact i can grow them is beautiful.
Started loving Yi-Sang even more after this chapter. It is kinda funny how this character is good when you of all people had him grow on you, and I remember how much you roasted his butt in sinner video. I appreciate the time you put into this review and thank you for a lovely video. Hope Chapter 5 comes soon!
Extreme analysis of this Canto, it's seen that you put your entire soul into analyzing it, you are a very underrated creator and I'm glad I found this hidden gem
This canto hit so hard, because when I was a kid I felt like I used to have imaginary wings, but when certain things in my life happened those wings shattered and i did not feel them anymore and to this day im waiting to get them back ones more
I also love the contrast between Dongrang and Yi Sang Dongrang devolved into Earthly Desires like money and praise and it is reflected in his Ego being a farmer Meanwhile Yi Sang is about spreading wings and reach to to the stars Dongrangs Wings are shattered because of his past and him unwilling to let it go until he destroys it unable to take off Yi Sangs Wings start off shattered but are restored as he finds a new home in Limbus Company and new friends in the sinners as we see in the mirror shards. As he finds the strenght to stand in Dongrangs way himself we ultimately wins because he found hope in his current present. It's also very touching when Sang Yi told Yi Sang that he is just a reflection of him. So if he sees Wings, he has them already and doesn't need to wish for them.
For someone who kinda struggled a bit to understand the story, this video was very enlightening and entertaining. I like how you can be serious and funny at the same time so the video doesn’t get boring. Great video my guy
I'll be honest, I did not expect that this vid's tone would be like this. I really love when you jokes around and pokes every characters some fun, some more than the others (except Faust, which is understandable.) That makes it hits even harder when you make an actual serious and calm analysis for them. I wonder how hard would it hit when Don's chapter eventually rolls out. Anyway, my second favourite sinner is about to get her own chapter, I'm thrilled to see what PM did to Queequeg.
Chapter 4 was beautiful, the most impactful work of art Project Moon has produced, although not the best, but a contender. Mili, as usual, makes everything in project moon 100% better with their music. Dongbaek and Dongrang are compelling characters, despite the fact that I was ecstatic to pinwheel Dongrang in the face. I'm ripping off your video title. I love chapter 4, but... Limbis Company.
Holy shit I’ve recently been down in the slums regretting a recent decision and damn you just enlightened me, this was not just a summary of the deeper message of chapter 4 this is straight up therapeutic
Ough. I just wanna say that you are a very good writer, i kept feeling like i wasnt understanding what this chapter was saying but this video explained it very well
Thank you for articulating so well the feelstrip that Canto 4 has been. I truly cannot listen to Mili's "Fly, My Wings" without shedding tears because of how overwhelmingly emotial Yi Sang's climax battle scene is. I wish for Project Moon to keep outdoing themselves. This game has become my favourite by a mile not only because it's a really freaking good one but for the community of cultured degenerates such a you and many others that has gathered around it to create fine content and memes . Keep it up man!
Sometimes I wonder what the hell PM writers are huffing or snorting behind the scene when they wrote Ruina and then Limbus. Part of me believe that they have Persona as one of their inspirations
Thanks for Vid! I really enjoyed your playing Dongrang is a really interesting character to interpret. Its so interesting about so many varied interpretations. What's clear is that Dongrang "betrays the League of Nine" to go work for K Corp and he seeks validation from Yi-Sang when they encounter the sinners at K Corp. This is likely driven by his desire to prove that he made the right choice by betraying the agency and that he's doing well for himself now. You all were wrong and I was right blabla kind of thing. This is why Dongrang spends so much time in the game introducing K Corp to everyone. I think Dongrang's distortion at the end comes from realizing that despite selling out colleagues, friends, and his own pride, and even stealing technology from Youngji, he hasn't really gained anything. The EGO he gained from all of this is Farmwatch. In Korean literary works, Farmwatch is typically a person who carries a landlord on their back and makes life difficult for tenant farmers. Based on Dongrang's actions in the story, this description seems to fit him quite well. The character that Dongrang was based on actually selled out the country, lived a comfortable life until his downfall. In the story, he was crushed by K corp. Personally, I found the ending quite satisfying.
I just finally finished chapter 4, and yeah, it is beautiful. Idc about the recent controversies or if the game/gameplay itself is bad. This is amazing story writing, and I love it. I love project moon.
I have a small theory that, because everyone have different realizations, there might be a possibility that people can have more than one realizations.
Canto 4 was probably Limbus Company's most ambitious chapter yet, and I'm really looking forward to what's next! I will say, however, that as amazing as Canto 4 was overall, it was also frustrating since, to me, it was just one stroke short of a masterpiece. Canto 4 showed depression at its rawest with nine wide-eyed idealists ground down by the reality of the world they lived in. So many times, I could see my own past struggles with depression mirrored in Yi Sang. Feeling powerless. Feeling like nothing I do matters. Feeling like it would just be easier to give up than struggle to fly and live. I was completely on board, but then, when the triumphant finale hit, I couldn't cheer Yi Sang on like everyone else. His change felt too abrupt... too convenient. Anyone who struggles with depression knows: getting better is not about a single moment of clarity. Getting better is very much like a climb up a gruelling mountain. It's hard. It takes time. Even flapping your wings is hard after years of convincing yourself that you can't fly. The message was 11/10, the attention to detail and references to the original League of Nine was 10/10, the way the world building and themes worked together to reinforce each other was 10/10, but the buildup to the climactic moment fell short. It's a personal preference thing but it really felt like it fell a single stroke short of something absolutely lifechanging. ...That being said, Canto 4 is still my favourite Limbus Company chapter to date, and whenever I'm in a rut, I've been playing Mili's Fly, My Wings for that extra bit of motivation :)
That's a pretty interesting view, but I presume it's partly because of how lengthy this chapter already got, the shortcoming climax might have been a mistake PM could hardly avoid. Then again, in my defense, I'd say after experiencing his past all over again, to see what is real and what he must overcome, Yi Sang's ending is still very much possible since we all take different steps in overcoming our own depression so that might be how he chooses to deal with it. Yi Sang picking up the broken shards to form his wing and let it soar is his first step of overcoming his problems, then his expression with us manager at the end shows that he is trying, and he will try to completely get over his depression (also probably that's more because he feels guilty for ignoring Dante before so he wants to say that at least). And there's still a gradual built-up to the end from what I see even though it's not clearly shown since he's a backline MC in this chapter. Dongrang's final fight is where the idea starts manifesting before us through those vibe checks where he won't dare facing his old friend all the way until the final clash. I won't deny there are very little hints to Yi Sang's train of thoughts in this chapter since he's not as expressive like the last 3 sinners from chapter 1 to 3, but the dungeon works wonder to clear up the the foggy details I experienced during the first 53 nodes. My only grain of salt during this chapter must be the story of the Tearful Thing, that kinda came out of nowhere. It's not bad, but like it undermines the main point of this chapter a little and makes the entire chapter unnecessarily longer. I hope they will use these details later down the line or something since Dante is immune to the memory wipe.
Dongbaek’s story to me was “I can’t really empathize, but I do somewhat understand and thus feel pity for you”. Lots of parts of Dongrang’s and Yi Sang’s stories (and the lyrics of “Fly Broken Wings” WHICH I GOT ON REPEAT SINCE THEY OFFICIALLY UPLOADED) hit me so fuckin hard. Very long and kinda personal story below; skip to the TL;DR if you don’t wanna read it. I scored extremely high in K-12 academics despite having severe (and second generation) inattentive-type ADHD. I received a lot of praise from educators and school administration for scoring high. Yet I got bullied by my peers for being praised. I got placed in advanced english courses, and the important “this is how you write an essay/paper” got skipped over because instead of condensing and accelerating the curriculum that I was supposed to be taught at the age, it was completely discarded and I was instead taught the curriculum for the next year. I still can’t wrap my head around how you’re supposed to write an essay. It seems to be a shared traumatic experience for people in my generational age group with ADHD. I pulled up tens of online guides on how to structure and write one, yet I couldn’t understand them. So I just tried my fuckin hardest, like I did with everything in K-12, and all of a sudden… my grades for english courses started flagging behind. I was told to “try harder” by my english educators. I never received any advice nor direct feedback. I suddenly wasn’t “a gifted student” anymore. My ADHD became more and more severe as I got older. K-12 mentally burned me out and left me with an inferiority complex towards education and grades as a whole. I can’t voluntarily recall anything from the ages of 9 to 16. I only know that I was being bullied by other students for my grades, and that this was the period when I was in advanced english. I got pulled out of it through the combined efforts of my parents and my doctors; school administration wanted me to stay in the program. They got more funding dependent on the number of enrolled students in advanced (and then in high school called advanced placement) courses. The valedictorian of my class of 2018 almost got kicked out of the ceremony (and was escorted from the podium in the middle of her address) for going off-script entirely. She was a very nice and friendly girl, and she openly revealed that she had attempted OD’ing a few years ago due to academic pressures from educators and administrators, was recently diagnosed with PTSD, and that she refused all college offers to be recruited into a Las Vegas dance troupe. She encouraged that all of us that had been in any advanced or advanced placement courses seek psychiatric help… which a lot of us were doing. A lot of academic honors students (meaning: kids that graduated with a 4.0 gpa) from my graduating class have attempted ending their own lives, and two have gotten formally expelled from Harvard and Yale. One for cheating, and the other who was the prodigy child of the region (graduated at 15 or something and had a nonfunctioning left leg, so he was lauded as the next Hawkins by administration) is in a legal battle right now (his family is rich af) because he may have been using online paid writing services for his papers for his entire life! So… yeah. Dongrang’s and Yi Sang’s stories hit me very hard in multiple ways. TL;DR Project Moon rolled up to my house with chapter 4 and personally beat the shit outta me with a metal pipe.
I also loved what they did with dongrang in library of ruina we always associate getting an EGO with character development but with dongrang we get negative character development he became a worse person. PM is saying that just because you are able to face your own flaws doesn't mean you'll always grow into a better person sometimes it's the opposite
This story was so beautiful I nearly cried, its tragedy was wild and hit really hard close to home. truly it deserves the title of peak. Along with canto 5 And 6 And… well you’ve seen the fucking trailers we are eating fucking CAKE in a little more than a day
I just realized how he chapters are in the order the sinners introduced themselves in, Gregor introduced himself first so his chapter was first, Rodin second, then Sinclair, then yi sang. So if that's true we can expect fishmaels chapter next yippee also we Are in k corp which is bordering a district next to the sea which makes it even more plausible
I am quite happy to see this video after thinking on chapter 4. While I am blown away by a lot of the other layers of what this chapter did in praising and giving tribute to Yi Sang's work (using Poem 15 from Crow's Eye View for Sang Yi had me fucked up more than I can explain lol) and KR history I am most of all glad that the emotional impact and meaning does transcend knowledge of KR and language barriers. Since I think in the end, that's the most important piece-- connecting hearts if you will. ( As cheesy as it is.) So thanks for a kickass summary video I can now chuck at friends to explain some thoughts on chpt 4. To add a touch: I did get a slightly different take on Yi Sang's stuff if only because a lot of it reminded me of things they were trying to convey in LoR that even if the future looks incredibly bleak, it is important to keep on going and living and not get shackled by past definitions of yourself that you or others have branded you with. And in some ways this is like a more refined variant of that message.
Yep, Canto 4 is a masterpiece. But also ye, next video I’m going back to the funni, seriousness can yeet itself. Also, imma stream the new mirror dungeon today at 11pm est. I also plan to stream cc 11 when the new contracts come out. Didn’t wanna do a r18 run as that would've been like a 20min stream. So in that one imma go for idk, risk 30? It’s free as hell so I’ll prolly have to.
Good shit
Sinclair>Yi Sang time bois
Something I love about limbus company is despite how crazy the city is, the issues they face are usually rather realistic and common. Many of the problems the sinners face in a psychological sense can be related to in some way.
Will wait, I didn't even check out spoilers, only from your eyes
Congratulations you made me cry. Thank you for explaining the deeper meanings and themes behind Canto 4. I whole heartedly agree with you in this man.
Yi Sang's development was fulfilled when he realized the mirror was not a peephole, but indeed a mirror.
the part that hit me the hardest was when sang ti said "mirrors are reflection of the self after all"
yah it's a mirror not a window
I love how it's a almost obvious point but through all the muddle of city horrors and personal tragedies it becomes easy to miss. Then it becomes a massive realization that's like "You didn't fail. You're just not there yet."
@@stormlordeternal7663 fr fr
@@stormlordeternal7663 SO REAL
Adding onto Dongrang:
You know what's fucked up about the Farmwatch ego?
Farmwatches in Old Korea didn't actually watch over farms, but acted more as a middleman between the landowners and the peasents. They managed the specifics of who farmed what land for how much and for how long. They were basically a form of middle manager.
Farmwatches often exploited the peasents below them by threatening to take away the leased farmland, while desperately sticking up to the landowners. Farmwatches posessed nothing of their own, unlike the landowners or even the farmers who at least were good at farming. All they did was piggyback off of the landowner's authority and wealth.
As such, they were disposable at best, and had to do their best to desperately suck up to the landowners to not be replaced. Because that's all they were: replacable, with not an ounce of actual value.
Dongrang said he was going to fill himself up, which means that he's nothing but a husk.
He tried to suck up to Alphonso, but was ultimately seen as disposable.
Dongrang Irl was a shill for the Japanese Empire during the colonialism period, and despite betraying and quite literally selling his people over, he was ultimately seen as just a second-class citizen as best. Inferior, and again, disposable.
The fact that Farmwatch is Dongrang's Ego means he knows all this, always has, and finally accepted what he is.
A husk devoid of actual value, a middle manager seen as disposable at best. A Farmwatch.
And he's fully accepted this as who he is. That this is his new path.
Pretty fucked up.
Ma
@@temperanceshrive8936Ma
You know your historical facts well. Props to you
damm PM surely knows how to surprise me everygoddamm time
I am 11 months late, but I literally wrote this. I wrote two versions and posted it to 4chan and then the comments of a youtube video that seems to have been deleted. I know this one was ripped straight from /lcg becuase this doesn't have the addendum about the cow attached.
I love how Yeonsim being the name of Yi Sang's wife in the book only makes the story better as when married to someone you usually end up seeing them as what you aren't and praising them for that and that most people would confide in their wives to escape from reality whilst their wives both accept and attempt to uplift them when at that point.
In other words Sang Yi was the other half of Yi Sang that he admired and adored and yet Yi Sang couldn't realize that the same was happening to him yet vice versa, Sang Yi being/being inside of Yeonsim only makes it better as the one that Yi Sang was using as comfort also used him as comfort somehow.
tl;dr: Selfcest makes Yi Sang comfortable
Never thought I would see an amazing analysis of canto 4 from the guy who lost at Library of Ruina's tutorial
I think you've misunderstood Dongrang's motivations somewhat. At his core, he is a pure utilitarian who wants to maximize outcomes regardless of the cost.
Dongrang was caught between two conflicting motivations: The desire to help as many people as possible and his own selfish need to be seen as a good person who helps others. He betrays the group because he ultimately wants to make the most change possible regardless of what price he has to pay in the process (and also partially out of jealousy and wanting to prove himself).
He distorts due to his guilt at the price he has paid and his own sense of inadequacy, but his EGO awakening is all about him putting aside his own insecurity to focus 100% on the goals he wants to accomplish, regardless of the cost. This is why it is an EGO awakening and not a distortion, he's overcome his sense of inadequacy and guilt in order to fully embrace that utilitarian mindset.
Mmm. Mostly agree with your analysis, except for a few things in the last paragraph.
Dongrang didn't achieve EGO by casting aside his insecurities, but by instead, embracing them and thereby casting off the guilt he feels for his actions. He accepted and made peace with the fact that he absolutely despises being in the League of Nine's Shadow, and then resolved to move past his insecurities by cutting off the last of his ties to the League by killing Yi Sang so he can start with a blank slate again.
If he had truly cast aside his feelings of insecurity and inadequacy, he wouldn't have attacked the Sinners. As he says himself, every second he spends trying to kill them is a second spent without the Tearful Thing crying.
Essentially, his distortion was Dongrang realizing he was a piece of shit, and his EGO was him embracing the fact that he was a piece of shit. Represented by the fact that the Yellow Calf no longer recognized Dongrang, and his reaction being of shock, showing that despite his words about not wanting a reward or recognition for saving the Calf's life, he had been secretly hoping that he would be all this time. Which then leads to the pile of cow corpses we see in the background of his stage.
@@Birthday888 Yeah I guess it's more accurate to say he decided to being to move past them rather than wallowing in it, he didn't really succeed in the end after all of course.
I also think there's some fuckery happening with EGO in this chapter, it's called "Effloreced EGO" for a reason and probably has something to do with the powers of the star (or even the Bough itself), it's not quite the same as what happened with Xiao in Ruina I think.
@@TheAntiCosmic It was most likely an unstable EGO, like Philip's. True EGOs like Xiao's or Kali's render their user's incable of distortion. But as shown by Philip's breakdown, there's a period of time where the EGO is weak or unstable and the user can still distort. I imagine that both Dongbaek and Dongrang's ego's fit in that category.
@@TheAntiCosmicthey are pretty much the same as LoR ego awakening, as in they are fully bloomed ego. effloresced means they are fully matured after all
@kaidouseishin4614 it's possible but Alphonso's last line at the end of the chapter seems pretty significant. We will see I guess, it's just a theory
I still don't like Dongrang, but I respect the absolute fuck out of him for giving Carmen not one, but two middle fingers by not only un-distorting himself, but by doing it in a way that basically spits in the face of the Tree of Light project.
probably the only person so far who undistorted them self, realized their EGO while also being worst as a person in 1 go. Carmen truly cant distort you without your consent.
He litteraly went through a Realization. Minus the obnormalities but still.
@@memes_the_dna_of_the_soul5487yep, he accepted who he is. this is the goal of the seed of light. its up to the people to grow their own seeds
@@anthonynguyen2661 it’s pretty interesting that dongrang shows that you can awaken your ego and still be a bad person. It’s all about overcoming the deepest levels of despair and pushing forward with newfound purpose, Dongrang is just the first character we’ve seen do that by deciding “you know what no I actually like being an unfeeling asshole and I’m gonna stay that way”
Makes me think that Roland (Lollang) could have gotten an EGO if he realized it. But damn, bro had multiple phases. I do not know what kind of EGO would manifest in the Black Silence.
Lobotomy Corporation did not make me cry. Library of Ruina did not make me cry.
Yi Sang did though.
So, yeah. Canto IV is one of the highest points of Project Moon's writing.
lobotomy corp did make me cry, but like in a smashing my desk and keyboard kind of way
@@candicejoesugoma8410 Manager moment
How can't you cry with Roland's story?
@@patatayt1919its possible they got spoilered with memes and jokes considering how often it happens
@@patatayt1919 Roland's and Angela's stories are an entirely different form of tragedy and storytelling. I was too busy beating the sense back into them during their realizations to cry, and during the climactic choices and moments at the end of the story, it felt more hopeful and victorious than emotional, especially after that FINAL GODDAMN KETER FIGHT HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WAS THAT DIFFICULT
Anyway, like I was saying, their stories were about forgiveness and focused on wrath, an emotion that usually doesn't get people crying until the characters themselves cry about it, especially since wrath and revenge are pretty uncommon emotions comparatively. Meanwhile, Yi Sang's story invokes feelings of hopelessness and hopefulness, emotions easier to empathize with and easier to cry about.
I think another interesting thing to note is that despite everything, between Dongbaek and Dongrang, Dongbaek is the one who is honored over Dongrang with Yi Sang reminiscing over her flowers in the end and gaining an ID of her EGO. Though Dongbaek wanted revenge and did a lot of awful things in her own right, she also never stopped caring for the League or gave up on wanting a better world even if it became warped and tainted by her own trauma and selfishness. Even Gregor notes that despite stabbing Yi Sang she looked glad to see him unharmed and doesn't treat him with the same resentment she does Dongrang, and how despite everything she says in her death she wanted to "be buried with everyone else". In part, it's because she cared so much that her anger burned so brightly, but once everything is clear and can come to term with everything as well, she is the one who appears to cheer Yi Sang on to find the salvation she couldn't, because despite everything she also represents that innocence and sense of wonder Yi Sang had lost, and even if he has to move on from the past, it doesn't mean there wasn't anything of value and doesn't make those hopeful dreams or happy moments any less real, once the bad parts of the past have been come to terms with can you embrace the good parts.
Interestingly enough, Yi Sang aside from being based on the protagonist of The Wings, his name and backstory are also based on the real life author of the book and so are Dongrang and Dongbaek based on real authors from the irl League of Nine, and the author Dongbaek was based on had a suicide pact with real Yi Sang who bonded together because of their shared pain over their chronic illness, but in the end they backed down to end up dying regardless a few days apart from their shared disease, which you could tie about how ultimately their feelings were the most similar in regards to what they wished from the League, their feelings on technology and how potentially her wish to return to nothing could be seen as the logical extreme of Yi Sang's suicidal feelings
I would like to add that Sang-Yi encourages Yi-Sang by saying that Sang-Yi's wings are also Yi-Sang's. And that he never lost them to begin with. It was right behind him the whole time. FURTHERMORE, Sang-Yi also tells him all Yi-Sang from the mirror world has wings but ONLY ONE can truly fly, meaning Yi-Sang. And encourages him to take flight.
Speaking of Yi Sang's wings, take a look at the art for his personal E.G.O. again sometime, and note what's on the ground behind him. How the glass shards aren't spread all over the place, but are in two groups.
They really were there the whole time.
@@danewardlocke9014 Exactly!
Just finished this chapter and I genuinely cried, seeing sang-yi comfort yi-sang by showing him the truth, telling him he always had those wings, telling him how he always was scared of aiming high and seek a purpose to live for, this part made me tear up, but I genuinely broke "fly my wings" lyrics playing in the background "why are these hands reaching dreams out of my reach?", Yi sang wings and purpose of life was not on sight for him, the broken shards taking form into beautiful wings are a perfect way of showing the acceptance of the past, finally facing the present and the future, this is the best chapter I have seen in any game until now, I fucking love project moon.
I knew your april fools don praising video felt a little too real...
Dongbaek's scream for betrayal still makes me cry. That scream is so real and visceral
VA really put her soul.into it
“I never thought I’d feel that way towards Yi-Sang.”
Is a sentence I never thought I’d resonate so much with.
In LCB we don't have the Yi Sang we deserve, but the one we need the most and it's perfectly ideal.
First step is teaching Don how to play chess without making action figures out of the pieces.
When Dongbaek made that last cry of her like damn i got tears running, that shit was heartbreaking. Like it was already depressing but that just broke it man. Project Moon knows how to make you cry.
Also i must say the way Hong Lu was also brought up in here so often was very nice like he did and said things that tbh to me were very un Hong Lu like.
The VA's delivery was top-notch too
Tsunul being serious is like catching a shiny pokemon in the first hour of full moon for five times in the row
Joke aside. This is a great video. The message of chapter 4 is beautiful, and it's beautiful to see someone appreciating it and creates a thoughtful conclusion for what we can apply in real life, regardless if we will do it or not. Food for thought, a warm and comfy one.
Can't wait for Ishmael chapter where it reveals that she is actually the most insane out of the bunch, and just acting normal for the sake of it lol.
Just seeing some of the cutscenes, yeah, Ishmael has a very specific response to whales.
Man after all the desensitization from other games, this canto really hit hard for me for similar reasons, that ending was so great and made me cry, can't wait for more
I have zero clue how they’re going to top this in Chapter 5, I really hope they don’t do Fishmael dirty
I bet it will be her becoming a madwoman that’s hellbent on revenge.
@@Latency345We already kind of had that with Sinclair
@@spidey5558 that was a different kind of revenge. Sinclair was him overcoming his fear of Kromer. Ishmael was obsessed with her revenge since before the day she arrived at the city
@@Latency345 I see. I am now interested
They somehow made Canto 5 even better imo! Glory to Project Moon!!!!
Canto IV really hammering the point home that "life is allowing yourself to step on fire"
This is such a stark contrast compared to your usual brand of madness, but this analysis is well thought out and I hope shows how much depth this game in its story.
Never thought I would see an amazing analysis of canto 4 from the guy with a max level Blue Archive account
same
that one offhand comment hit me like a goddamn truck
Amazing video.
It's also interesting how Demian after credit monologue goes completely opposite to the entirety of Yi Sang character development. Seing using the true purpose of the window as greed, insisting to not use the window to find your ideal and strife to become one, but to just watch at it as entertaiment.
Honestly I just kept giggling at Demian being a representation of the player’s credit card going “goddamnit why don’t you just enjoy seeing all of the cool character’s realities! Why do you need to have them!”
I am not sure what to make of the Demian scene, but Demian is hard to read in general. The only clear thing is him wanting Sinclair's Egg to crack and maybe sexy times with him. Some have speculated that one of the Figures in the back of the Demian shot of the trailer might be the old leader of the League, who's whereabouts are unknown.
Demian's monologue at the end is interesting but a bit hard to parse for sure, given how much context we're lacking for the overall plot of this game as a whole. Idk if I would say his speech goes against Yi sang's development though. For me, Yi sang's resolution at the end is less about wanting to copy and become/roleplay as Sang Yi (unlike what we're doing with the gacha IDs), but to grow and become the "winged" (unburdened/free/matured) version of himself in his own universe, provided the different experiences/past/mistakes he had carried in his own wings at this time.
it's a bit roundabout, but i believe that Damian's condemnation was within the context of the analogy he was using. he spoke of how 'someone wanted to reach into the bag of chips to have all the flavors'. that then, while the adults doesn't see taking from the Mirror Worlds as stealing according to their laws, it is in fact, 'stealing from *yourself*'.
so what he condemns, is our modified Mirror with the ID system - implying that there's something about the consequences of taking those IDs from their worlds we're failing to consider?
@@ennearerier402 There absolutely is every technology in the series has a price and its a big reccuring theme that people use them for convenience without acknowledging that.
Dante has begun to realize this asking himself questions like wondering where did the time for him to rewind the sinners come from.
I want to add that Samjo and Shrenne play their own important role in the story. Between the extremes represented by Dongbaek and Dongrang, you have two people who don’t buy their own bullshit. Samjo and Shrenne, in turn are examples of people whose honest beliefs are exploited until they cease to be useful.
In many respects, this foreshadows Astolfo turning on Dongrang.
0:16 I'm shaking and crying😭
Edit: I watched the vid and really don't know what to write. I personally was hit by a truck with Yi Sang's backstory because it felt close to me in many ways and seeing Yi Sang choosing to face his mistakes and problems was truly heartwarming.
also... I'M SO HYPED UP FOR ISHMAEL CHAPTER. BET IT WILL BE SOME CYCLE OF REVENGE[PM EDITION] STORY.
We have Cycle of Revenge [PM Edition] at home though
roland 2.0 but instead of angela, it's a white whale
I feel like its Heath who will be revenge. Ishmael feels like its more about obsession that cost more than it was worth.
I think the whole point of her chapter will be that her object of obsession will be killed by someone else and her ire will be redirected to the killer . Basically the 2nd half of the chapter we would try to keep her out of trouble
You could say, he obtained The Hope To Be a Better Person
Would've never believed I'd be taught a valuable lesson and given hope by the dystopian world of Project Moon. But here we are! What madness is this?
We have been doing this since Lob corp and Library
@@mangocookie4790 Delved deeper into the lore since then. Yeah, I've been quite ignorant. It's been there all along :p
Me before chapter 4: That smile scares me
Me after chapter 4: Go ahead and smile, my dude.
A well written and emotional story about a man overcoming depression and learning how to fly again? Nah chapter 4 was about yi sang's cake have you SEEN THAT SHIT?!
the fact that limbus company has so far been able to consistently top itself in terms of story with each new canto is actually incredible
'They're my wings, and they're yours in the reflection. -The mirror is a reflection of the self. If you saw wings on me, then they were on you as well...
Now, kick off the ground and flutter your wings...''
This is why Fly, my wings and yi sangs credits are the way they are.
Dongrang is just dongbaek but in a different light. He even has somewhat similar mechanics so it's somewhat of a foregone conclusion that he, like her, will probably go down and not the frenetic heart pounding danger that the kromer fight was, therefore we hear a slow almost melancholic song about yi sangs wings, his struggle to keep going with broken wings, then his sudden realization that no, he is the one that can have those perfect wings, seeing them on himself, those radiant wings, hiding in plain sight.
Then the credits. A poem about sitting in an invisible grave of flowers and his singing rising with profound hope and the feeling of reconciliation.
Cinema.
"but it's really about life beating people down...
...and them gaining the hope to overcome it."
that went so hard ngl
Damn you
I already cried enough this chapter
Well I also have 3 things that I wanna say.
1st one minus money, because of Mili, you are truly brave.
2nd one great video.
3rd one, did you notice, that Dongrang and Dongbang also can have a second meaning in they're fights, as to back to innocence, true nature, without technology to harm people's or to meaningless, seeking pride beast, that eats everything in a way, then transforming to Scarecrow, searching Wisdom, he stands his own place believing in his life choices to fully reject his meaningless in devouring everything in a way, while while accept who he is, and what are need to do to be truly free and get his profit with his seeds of technology, whom he planted
Effloresced Ego is an ego one brings out from themselves rather than from something such as an abnormality, now Not to do the "I never noticed she was holding a plate of corn" bit but: It took me too long to realize that the reason spicebush yi sang exist as an effloresced ego identity where as a certain canto v boss doesn't have an identity to reflect their ego, is because Yi Sang very much could have ended up the exact same as Dongbaek, however, because he holds absolutely no value in anything and has no goals for himself or desires, him being literally STABBED by the golden bough doesn't alter him or bring out the ego, as it did with Kromer, who was rich with desire. He was so hollow that he wasn't affected by a mysterious, most likely magical object that FORCES your desires to the front for all to see, because he had none to begin with, not until the dungeon when he relived his past and formed bonds with his new companions.
I believe the theme of surpassing depression and how it was handled is what it made this chapter so especial
so after the chapter ended i did some digging around to see if i can find some real life context to the story and found some cool stuff.
1- Farmwatchers(the EGO Dongrang turns into) didn't actually watch over farms but acted more as a middleman between the landowners and the peasants. They managed the specifics of who farmed what land for how much pay and for how long. They were basically a middle manager between the farmers and landowners,
they often exploited the farmers by threatening to take away the leased farmland, while desperately sucking up to the landowners. in other words, all they really did was piggyback off of the landowner's authority and wealth.
they were disposable at best and had to constantly suck up to the landowners to not get replaced. Because that's all they were. a worthless and replaceable suck up.
2- from what i could gather but can't verify due to most the info being in Koren so take the following with a grain of salt: the Irl Dongrang was also a shill for the Japanese Empire during the colonialism period, and despite betraying and quite literally selling off his people, he was ultimately seen as just a second-class citizen by Japan, Inferior and once again disposable in their eyes. much like how Dongrang tried to suck up to Alphonso but was also seen as disposable to her seeing how she couldn't care less about his death at the end of canto 4.
so from that we can gather that a Farmwatcher being Dongrang's EGO means he knew all this and has accepted what he is. a husk devoid of actual value, a disposable at best goon. a Farmwatch. but there must have been a part of him that still had hope to manifest the EGO in the first place instead of fully corroding. even if it meant leaving others in the dirt
3-Dongrang was the pen name of Yoo Chijin, a Korean playwright and founding member of The Circle of Nine (no I'm not joking) it was a literary group whom poets Kim Hae-Gyeong(Yi Sang) and Park Taewon(Gubo) would later join.
4-this video is cool as always good job!
iirc, the irl Dongrang's writings were initially critical of the Japanese government, but as the rules became stricter the more shilly they became.
I'm not knowledegable enough on the topic to say much else, but it is interesting to consider the parallels to reality here.
Excellent analysis and message, can't wait for chapter 5!
Man, that part where Yi Sang does his finishing move and both wings appear, his wing being perfectly put together while Dongrang's wing is still broken... such a fine detail that was
Good analysis bestie. Honestly hits hard.
It's also interesting that, like the other sinners before him, he hasn't reached the true fulfillment of his goal yet. After all, only one of his wings was restored, the yellow one, which could be representative of his sepia toned past. The blue one, on the other hand, is still broken. It makes me think that we might get two chapters per character, before this story is over, maybe looking at Gubo and Young-Ji's relationship with Yi Sang for the next one
*reads title*
"this was posted last year, wasn't it?"
*checks time posted*
"knew it lol"
genuinely though, even with lobotomy corp being a bit of a bumpy start as far as general game polish goes for a debut game, the folks at Project Moon have not stopped one upping themselves with every release (side media like Leviathan and Wonderlab included). It's a genuine treat to be their fan.
A beautiful video essay on an beautiful Chapter 4 by Project Moon. I love how Mili's song ties all of Chapter 4 together for an amazing finale. Honestly this is something everyone needs to hear, no matter what point in life they are at. I truly can't wait for all the stories Project Moon has in store for us.
And good luck with Exams if you haven't already taken them!
3:10 Around the time Chapter 4 came out I was doing alot of diving into psychology for personal issues, and one of the things I was looking at was ASPD. from what I understand, ASPD is officially 1 disorder, but unofficially covers 2 completely different problems within it: Sociopathy, what I was actively looking up, and Psychopathy, something I learned about along the way. One of the things I realized was that Dongrang displayed alot of behaviors typical of a psychopath. He does things primarily for the sake of his pride, and anything he tacks on, like "helping others", is merely an excuse he uses to protect himself. Dongrang repeatedly shows a lack of empathy for those around him, he prioritizes his own safety over everyone else and doesnt even bat an eye when Samjo jumps into the Tears. It makes sense that his E.G.O. has nothing to do with him regretting his actions, as he genuinely does not care about the people around him any more than he does the ampules he uses.
Im not a physiatrist, nor do I have actual schooling in psychology, so I cant say that Im 100% accurate on anything I understand. What I can say is that with what knowledge I have I believe that Dongrang, at the very least, has psychopathic tendencies. I feel as though this would be a better description of his issues, as from what I know psychopathy is a primarily genetic problem, and as said in this video Dongrang grew into having this issue.
Please, if there are any actual physiatrist or phycology majors who would know better, add on to or correct what Im saying, I actually want to know how accurate what Im saying is.
This Canto was truly peak Kino. Excited for Fishmael's Canto
I will be cheesy now - last weeks were very wild. I spent life in a stagnancy, occasionally colouring it with simple pleasures, passive and sheltered, but also leashed on others controlling my life. At Age long due independence, ive endured abuse as a puppet to please others unfulfilled wishes and loneliness in toxicity engulfing my 'self'. I have been choosing to stay passive and tucked in soft darkness while hating myself for it.
Less than week ago i walked out of the white square. I broke out, muting the influence and with nothing to myself than handful of things and countless possibilities. Ahead of me is road far less comfortable. I will now need and want, and lack, and the size world suddenly grew to is pretty terrifying - but my life i have in my hands now.
I have been calling for help all this time, and i realized there are people who hear it.
I do genuinely believe i would not be able to do it without this chapter inspiring me. I cried, and i sung, and i walked. Even now, I waver but i feel ever so faintly: even if these feathers wont ever lift me up, the fact i can grow them is beautiful.
Started loving Yi-Sang even more after this chapter.
It is kinda funny how this character is good when you of all people had him grow on you, and I remember how much you roasted his butt in sinner video.
I appreciate the time you put into this review and thank you for a lovely video. Hope Chapter 5 comes soon!
Extreme analysis of this Canto, it's seen that you put your entire soul into analyzing it, you are a very underrated creator and I'm glad I found this hidden gem
you warming up to yi sang made me way happier than I'm comfortable admitting
Cant wait for my wife to get her chapter next its gonna be so based
Also mili sea shanty is gonna be so fucking good.
This canto hit so hard, because when I was a kid I felt like I used to have imaginary wings, but when certain things in my life happened those wings shattered and i did not feel them anymore and to this day im waiting to get them back ones more
I also love the contrast between Dongrang and Yi Sang
Dongrang devolved into Earthly Desires like money and praise and it is reflected in his Ego being a farmer
Meanwhile Yi Sang is about spreading wings and reach to to the stars
Dongrangs Wings are shattered because of his past and him unwilling to let it go until he destroys it unable to take off
Yi Sangs Wings start off shattered but are restored as he finds a new home in Limbus Company and new friends in the sinners as we see in the mirror shards. As he finds the strenght to stand in Dongrangs way himself we ultimately wins because he found hope in his current present.
It's also very touching when Sang Yi told Yi Sang that he is just a reflection of him. So if he sees Wings, he has them already and doesn't need to wish for them.
Pm Writing + Mili. Truly a perfect combination.
The cycle of my feelings for dongrang is like otto apocalypse
For someone who kinda struggled a bit to understand the story, this video was very enlightening and entertaining. I like how you can be serious and funny at the same time so the video doesn’t get boring. Great video my guy
it only gets better from here.
Canto 4's story is something that is very close to my heart.
I'll be honest, I did not expect that this vid's tone would be like this.
I really love when you jokes around and pokes every characters some fun, some more than the others (except Faust, which is understandable.)
That makes it hits even harder when you make an actual serious and calm analysis for them. I wonder how hard would it hit when Don's chapter eventually rolls out.
Anyway, my second favourite sinner is about to get her own chapter, I'm thrilled to see what PM did to Queequeg.
Chapter 4 was beautiful, the most impactful work of art Project Moon has produced, although not the best, but a contender. Mili, as usual, makes everything in project moon 100% better with their music. Dongbaek and Dongrang are compelling characters, despite the fact that I was ecstatic to pinwheel Dongrang in the face.
I'm ripping off your video title.
I love chapter 4, but...
Limbis Company.
this is the most ideal summary of chapter 4 i ever seen
Holy shit I’ve recently been down in the slums regretting a recent decision and damn you just enlightened me, this was not just a summary of the deeper message of chapter 4 this is straight up therapeutic
First time I ever cried over a game, like genuinely cry over a game, was chapter 4
Ough.
I just wanna say that you are a very good writer, i kept feeling like i wasnt understanding what this chapter was saying but this video explained it very well
This is good essay for chapter 4
This was lovely, i wish i was good at limbus company
I love how E.G.O and Distortions are like Personas and Shadows but like 10x more fucked up
This was a really good video. Loved the in depth analysis you did for it. Hoping the other sinners get the same treatment in the future.
Thank you for articulating so well the feelstrip that Canto 4 has been. I truly cannot listen to Mili's "Fly, My Wings" without shedding tears because of how overwhelmingly emotial Yi Sang's climax battle scene is. I wish for Project Moon to keep outdoing themselves. This game has become my favourite by a mile not only because it's a really freaking good one but for the community of cultured degenerates such a you and many others that has gathered around it to create fine content and memes . Keep it up man!
that was beautiful man. canto 4 really made me want to live again. i'm no longer mentally ill
chapter 4 or "hes litterally me" the chapter
Sometimes I wonder what the hell PM writers are huffing or snorting behind the scene when they wrote Ruina and then Limbus. Part of me believe that they have Persona as one of their inspirations
the city really change people
What the hell? This isn't the degeneracy I subscribed for. I expect better from you in the future! (Jokes aside though, that was a great review.)
PM changing your brain chemestry once again
each chapter keeps getting better and better. as amazing as canto IV was im sure canto V will be great as well (if not better)
Thanks for Vid! I really enjoyed your playing
Dongrang is a really interesting character to interpret. Its so interesting about so many varied interpretations. What's clear is that Dongrang "betrays the League of Nine" to go work for K Corp and he seeks validation from Yi-Sang when they encounter the sinners at K Corp. This is likely driven by his desire to prove that he made the right choice by betraying the agency and that he's doing well for himself now. You all were wrong and I was right blabla kind of thing. This is why Dongrang spends so much time in the game introducing K Corp to everyone.
I think Dongrang's distortion at the end comes from realizing that despite selling out colleagues, friends, and his own pride, and even stealing technology from Youngji, he hasn't really gained anything.
The EGO he gained from all of this is Farmwatch. In Korean literary works, Farmwatch is typically a person who carries a landlord on their back and makes life difficult for tenant farmers. Based on Dongrang's actions in the story, this description seems to fit him quite well.
The character that Dongrang was based on actually selled out the country, lived a comfortable life until his downfall. In the story, he was crushed by K corp. Personally, I found the ending quite satisfying.
I just finally finished chapter 4, and yeah, it is beautiful. Idc about the recent controversies or if the game/gameplay itself is bad. This is amazing story writing, and I love it. I love project moon.
Didn't expect Final Fantasy XIV music in this video xD
Especially Shadowbringers one. Nice!
Damn, what a good video you made! Was really nice to see your point of view for this, thank you!
Wonder what other chapters will be about...
You know shit's good when this meme lord had to take time to analyze the chapter.
Thank you for this delicious food, Project Moon.
I have a small theory that, because everyone have different realizations, there might be a possibility that people can have more than one realizations.
Canto 4 was probably Limbus Company's most ambitious chapter yet, and I'm really looking forward to what's next!
I will say, however, that as amazing as Canto 4 was overall, it was also frustrating since, to me, it was just one stroke short of a masterpiece.
Canto 4 showed depression at its rawest with nine wide-eyed idealists ground down by the reality of the world they lived in. So many times, I could see my own past struggles with depression mirrored in Yi Sang. Feeling powerless. Feeling like nothing I do matters. Feeling like it would just be easier to give up than struggle to fly and live.
I was completely on board, but then, when the triumphant finale hit, I couldn't cheer Yi Sang on like everyone else. His change felt too abrupt... too convenient.
Anyone who struggles with depression knows: getting better is not about a single moment of clarity. Getting better is very much like a climb up a gruelling mountain. It's hard. It takes time. Even flapping your wings is hard after years of convincing yourself that you can't fly.
The message was 11/10, the attention to detail and references to the original League of Nine was 10/10, the way the world building and themes worked together to reinforce each other was 10/10, but the buildup to the climactic moment fell short. It's a personal preference thing but it really felt like it fell a single stroke short of something absolutely lifechanging.
...That being said, Canto 4 is still my favourite Limbus Company chapter to date, and whenever I'm in a rut, I've been playing Mili's Fly, My Wings for that extra bit of motivation :)
That's a pretty interesting view, but I presume it's partly because of how lengthy this chapter already got, the shortcoming climax might have been a mistake PM could hardly avoid. Then again, in my defense, I'd say after experiencing his past all over again, to see what is real and what he must overcome, Yi Sang's ending is still very much possible since we all take different steps in overcoming our own depression so that might be how he chooses to deal with it. Yi Sang picking up the broken shards to form his wing and let it soar is his first step of overcoming his problems, then his expression with us manager at the end shows that he is trying, and he will try to completely get over his depression (also probably that's more because he feels guilty for ignoring Dante before so he wants to say that at least).
And there's still a gradual built-up to the end from what I see even though it's not clearly shown since he's a backline MC in this chapter. Dongrang's final fight is where the idea starts manifesting before us through those vibe checks where he won't dare facing his old friend all the way until the final clash. I won't deny there are very little hints to Yi Sang's train of thoughts in this chapter since he's not as expressive like the last 3 sinners from chapter 1 to 3, but the dungeon works wonder to clear up the the foggy details I experienced during the first 53 nodes.
My only grain of salt during this chapter must be the story of the Tearful Thing, that kinda came out of nowhere. It's not bad, but like it undermines the main point of this chapter a little and makes the entire chapter unnecessarily longer. I hope they will use these details later down the line or something since Dante is immune to the memory wipe.
The fault lies wkth you Dongbaek...
need yi sang in m
I come back to this video too much
I am now a Yi Sang fan after Canto 4. As for me, I’ll go ahead to cry at my corner.
Yes.
Such a great video.
Dongbaek’s story to me was “I can’t really empathize, but I do somewhat understand and thus feel pity for you”.
Lots of parts of Dongrang’s and Yi Sang’s stories (and the lyrics of “Fly Broken Wings” WHICH I GOT ON REPEAT SINCE THEY OFFICIALLY UPLOADED) hit me so fuckin hard. Very long and kinda personal story below; skip to the TL;DR if you don’t wanna read it.
I scored extremely high in K-12 academics despite having severe (and second generation) inattentive-type ADHD. I received a lot of praise from educators and school administration for scoring high. Yet I got bullied by my peers for being praised. I got placed in advanced english courses, and the important “this is how you write an essay/paper” got skipped over because instead of condensing and accelerating the curriculum that I was supposed to be taught at the age, it was completely discarded and I was instead taught the curriculum for the next year.
I still can’t wrap my head around how you’re supposed to write an essay. It seems to be a shared traumatic experience for people in my generational age group with ADHD. I pulled up tens of online guides on how to structure and write one, yet I couldn’t understand them. So I just tried my fuckin hardest, like I did with everything in K-12, and all of a sudden… my grades for english courses started flagging behind. I was told to “try harder” by my english educators. I never received any advice nor direct feedback. I suddenly wasn’t “a gifted student” anymore. My ADHD became more and more severe as I got older. K-12 mentally burned me out and left me with an inferiority complex towards education and grades as a whole. I can’t voluntarily recall anything from the ages of 9 to 16. I only know that I was being bullied by other students for my grades, and that this was the period when I was in advanced english. I got pulled out of it through the combined efforts of my parents and my doctors; school administration wanted me to stay in the program. They got more funding dependent on the number of enrolled students in advanced (and then in high school called advanced placement) courses.
The valedictorian of my class of 2018 almost got kicked out of the ceremony (and was escorted from the podium in the middle of her address) for going off-script entirely. She was a very nice and friendly girl, and she openly revealed that she had attempted OD’ing a few years ago due to academic pressures from educators and administrators, was recently diagnosed with PTSD, and that she refused all college offers to be recruited into a Las Vegas dance troupe. She encouraged that all of us that had been in any advanced or advanced placement courses seek psychiatric help… which a lot of us were doing.
A lot of academic honors students (meaning: kids that graduated with a 4.0 gpa) from my graduating class have attempted ending their own lives, and two have gotten formally expelled from Harvard and Yale. One for cheating, and the other who was the prodigy child of the region (graduated at 15 or something and had a nonfunctioning left leg, so he was lauded as the next Hawkins by administration) is in a legal battle right now (his family is rich af) because he may have been using online paid writing services for his papers for his entire life!
So… yeah. Dongrang’s and Yi Sang’s stories hit me very hard in multiple ways.
TL;DR Project Moon rolled up to my house with chapter 4 and personally beat the shit outta me with a metal pipe.
I also loved what they did with dongrang in library of ruina we always associate getting an EGO with character development but with dongrang we get negative character development he became a worse person.
PM is saying that just because you are able to face your own flaws doesn't mean you'll always grow into a better person sometimes it's the opposite
This story was so beautiful I nearly cried, its tragedy was wild and hit really hard close to home. truly it deserves the title of peak.
Along with canto 5
And 6
And… well you’ve seen the fucking trailers we are eating fucking CAKE in a little more than a day
Canto VII: We are bout' to go above and beyond.
Using Mad Gentleman when talking about Dongrang was genius.
I just realized how he chapters are in the order the sinners introduced themselves in, Gregor introduced himself first so his chapter was first, Rodin second, then Sinclair, then yi sang. So if that's true we can expect fishmaels chapter next yippee also we Are in k corp which is bordering a district next to the sea which makes it even more plausible
I am quite happy to see this video after thinking on chapter 4. While I am blown away by a lot of the other layers of what this chapter did in praising and giving tribute to Yi Sang's work (using Poem 15 from Crow's Eye View for Sang Yi had me fucked up more than I can explain lol) and KR history I am most of all glad that the emotional impact and meaning does transcend knowledge of KR and language barriers.
Since I think in the end, that's the most important piece-- connecting hearts if you will. ( As cheesy as it is.) So thanks for a kickass summary video I can now chuck at friends to explain some thoughts on chpt 4.
To add a touch: I did get a slightly different take on Yi Sang's stuff if only because a lot of it reminded me of things they were trying to convey in LoR that even if the future looks incredibly bleak, it is important to keep on going and living and not get shackled by past definitions of yourself that you or others have branded you with. And in some ways this is like a more refined variant of that message.
Still the only canto to make me cry
the idealussy got me quacking
YI SANG JUST LIKE ME
HE JUST LIKE ME FR
ah so it was Yeonism
Yeo to grind or study nism to seek
truly peak ideal of all time