Guessing Who ZATO is from the Music Alone... 

"Zato is a complex mixup character" i have no Idea If he's talking about the music or the actual gameplay

The only thing that you missed on lore is that after dying, Zato for some time was just a Husk being controlled by his shadow demon thing Eddie. After he got back to life, he is basically numb to emotions now, he remember his feelings for Millia but can't understand then anymore.

"It's an emotional death" OH YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW RIGHT YOU ARE

Uncanny how the first thing he picks up on is a connection to Millia's theme.

My favourite part about this song is that in a normal match you will never be able to hear that final part, even if you spend all of the time available. You need to give Zato time to process his "feelings"

Zato's backstory was left incomplete. To abbreviate it, Zato ended up getting killed by Millia and his soul was sent to Hell (for a while the demon summoned by Zato's forbidden arts, Eddie, took over his corpse but was eventually also killed and sent back to Hell by Millia). Eventually though, his remains were used in a ressurection experiment by some evil corporation and they successfully brought Zato and Eddie's souls back from Hell and put them back into his body. However, Zato wasn't left unmarked by his Hell experience and has lost his ability to feel emotions. This new state allowed Zato to reflect upon himself and conclude that he had been acting wrong all this time. When he was found by Millia, he was a changed man who forgave her and together they took their assassin guild and made it work with the good guys in order to protect the world from those who would see it destroyed. Speaking of Eddie, the demon, he used to be very dark and sinister and definitely did not like Zato. However, after coming back from Hell with Zato, they get along now. Zato wasn't the only one changed upon returning and Eddie has gone from dark and sinister to goofy and bright. Returned Zato and Eddie seem to be best buddies now.

It's insane how accurate Marco was ngl

remember faust? yeah. ZATO is the one who KILLED the patient faust was trying to cure wich led faust to become a murderish psychopath. and to this day, faust hates zato for basically having ruined his life. this is shown especially in xrd where with fausts announcer pack, he will ask all members of the cast to go to the operation room except with zato to wich he'll say:"zato one, please come to the mourge"

The finale is dedicated to Millia. The TL;DR is that she mercy kills him in XX, and he's brought back to life in Xrd, which renders him unable to feel emotion whatsoever, but he notices he can still feel when he's with her, so he basically dedicates his life to being her protector

I love how much Marco was absolutely dying to sing along even if this was a first time reaction. GGST is just so much fun that it is hard to not get swept by.

You nailed a lot of the thematic elements! However, you didn't get to the part of Zato's plot this theme is actually addressing. It's always tricky to figure out where to start when you're reading these lore articles because you're coming in at the end of the series. Here's the important part: For reasons not important to this discussion, Zato dies. Dead for real. He is sent to the afterlife, here experienced as a giant, whirling mass of all human emotions. Again for reasons not important to this discussion, Zato is later resurrected. However, the constant emotional assault of the afterlife has altered him. This is the "drown in pain/gain" referenced by the song - there is no good or bad because the constant assault absolutely destroys his ability to feel emotion. It is the great loss driving him to "madness" you mentioned - though, in context, his madness is more of an all consuming apathy. His future and his past, bereft of the meanings they should hold, have "vanished into dark". However, one thing is able to pierce through this indifference - Millia. The woman he has loved and hated, so many times, still stirs something within him. This is the closest he can come to returning to the past, where he still lived and felt things as a normal human. So, as her shadow, like the very shadows he controls, he will carve a way for her.

The term "emotional death" is a perfect description. After he got revived, Zato lost his ability to feel emotions. The only thing he feels is something which he still doesn't understand towards Milia. And so because of that he made it his duty to protect Milia hence the title and the last verse. I like to imagine that the duality of the song represents Zato's relationship with Eddie (his shadow demon), the lyrics representing Zato and the instrumental representing Eddie. It mirrors their story well: In the beginning Zato wants to get his revenge on Milia and so he works with Eddie but he still doesn't fully control him, then when we get to the screamy lyrics I view it as the moment Eddie took control of Zato and the ending being their current relationship which is one of friendship. Being dead and only having each other to talk to for a while made them understand each other better, my theory being that Eddie became a vessel for Zato's emotions.

Classic Marco proving the power of music immediately, noticing that connection between Zato’s theme and Millia’s theme . It’s so subtle, yet when you sit and really pay attention to the tones and feelings conveyed by the two in rhythm and structure, it’s almost obvious.

Another guilty gear song I would recommend is drift as it gets pretty whimsical in a part of it

immediately connecting it to love the subhuman self was insane ngl

Been waiting for this one for so long

Damn you're good. Picking up Zato's attachment to Millia just from the intro. Love to see it.

It’s like watching a sommelier figuring out what year and brand a wine is.

i cant describe how much the last minute of zatos theme has genuinely not only impacted but also described parts of my life shit makes me cry often it is indescribably amazing imo also i really love the research you do afterwards it adds alot to the reaction and makes it feel like you actually care, good job lol

I fucking love the old timey radio of the singing i love how its off sync AAAHH

Zato=1's name is taken from a popular fictional character named Zatoichi ("one" is "ichi" in japanese). This character is blind from a young age and has a rather turbulent upbringing, sharpening various skills, but leading him down a bad path. He eventually reflects upon his life and then chooses to do good wherever he may roam in an attempt to atone for his past actions. And also, while I can't find anything definitive, I'd be willing to bet that Zato's shadow friend Eddie is named after Iron Maiden's mascot, considering that Daisuke seems to be a big fan of rock and metal in general.

4:35 That was pretty close, it's an ACTUAL death

probably one of the best songs in guilty gear even the parts before the "best" part

Yup, proof EVERYBODY has to scream the ending lyrics. Like how you have to scream the opening of Ride The Fire (which you should totally do at some point)

Seriously hope he covers Kiss of Death from Strive someday as well. It's definitely simpler concept-wise, but still my favorite theme from my favorite character.

...I once had some...

Someone has probably already mentioned this but as an additional tidbit: In fighting games a 'Mix Up' is an opportunity where the offensive player has multiple options to attack so that the defending player can't block with certainty. So, the line "It all mixes up" has a double meaning in that it not only refers to the character themselves, but one of their strengths in the game. Similarly the line "I swept you off your feet" from Love the Subhuman Self also hits on one of Millia's strengths in game.

Later in the lore zato dies because of his shadow but by some fuckery is brought back to life effectively a husk. He regains a some sense of self but during the period in between he reflects on his life and realizes that he still cares for Millia and now his main goal going forward is to make sure Millia is happy, whether its with or without him Its kinda why the song ends with that really gentle piano section, hes gone through the hatred and confusion and come out with clarity and a purpose

The moment he said "emotinal death". Bull's-eye.

Zato-1 is also a play on words. 1 is "ichi" in japanese, and Zatoichi is a famous fictional blind samurai. It could also be interpreted as a play on Zato+1, which would mean Zato and Eddie, because a "+1" is someone you bring with you.

The best part is if you let the whole song play out in a match, it ends almost exactly at the climax.

Marco connected so hard with this song Zato will be his new personality, wouldnt be surprised if he is all dressed in black and with a blindfold on the next video

I've been waiting for you to do this song since I found this channel through your Love the Subhuman Self video and seeing your response when the old-timey radio piano came back at the end was gold

bro istg he cant be this lore accurate by just the music man!! nice analysis doe

AHHHH i’ve been waiting for this!!!

Finally. I was waiting for this for a long time :D

2:17 Not only they are out of sync rhythmically, but they are out of sync tonally. Compositional masterpiece 😗👌

i get so excited for new gg music reactions

I was expecting this banger, finally

The negative space between him and eddie makes it look like zato is holding a sandwich

It’s about time you listen to this masterpiece!!

My favorite thing about this whole song is the duality in the beginning. The two parts of the song overlapping is genius. Reminds me of Slipknot's "The Nameless", which has two very different parts (Verse and Chorus) combining in the end to create a whole new chorus.

Please listen to Ramlethal's song, one of those who talks the most about the character's history so this type of analysis you do would fit perfectly with the song! Very good video!

I wrote a comment a few months ago wanting you to react to this. You never disappoint

Hey Marco! May I suggest "guessing who Roland is based off the song Gone Angels?" I think it'd be an amazing analysis given the sort of thematic elements that the song has and the meaning it holds to Library of Ruina, especially with how complex he and his song is.

this is a very unique and interesting concept for not just gg character themes but for other vgs as well, please make this a series !!

Definitely need to hear Necessary Discrepancy, Ramlethal's theme. it's such a good listen and i wonder if you can deconstruct it well like you done with the others

i was waiting for this video to come out, after seeing you start reacting to some of these guilty gear strive songs I was really really hoping you would listen to zato's theme. I play zato in ggst and after hearing his theme for the first time I knew you would love this song. Thx for listening and love your videos!!!

This is a really good interpretation without reading the lore. I really appreciate you

Excited to see what youd be able to interpret from Happy Chaos's theme

Marco you're on a roll with these reactions to the song and their lore! I hope you will do some more Guilty Gear stuff - especially Leo and Ramlethal themes (Hellfire and Necessary Discrepancy) Personal opinion: together with Love the Subhuman Self, those are the créme-de-la-créme of STRIVE's album!

It’s always so cool how accurate you are in these. You should really check out happy chaos’ theme. I would love to se what you think about him

finally you got around to this masterpiece

This is my FAVORITE Strive track. NAOKI and co. do a fantastic job bringing these characters to life with the lyrics, the rhythms, the melodies. So cool to see people who can appreciate all the effort and thought that goes into every one of these themes!

It's not even fully unrequited, it's unremembered but still felt love

Since some of the GG Charakters have been in the game for quite a few games, they have a few fifferent themes. I think for a future Video of this kind it could maybe be fun to Listen to All the themes of a character in order and trying to Figure out their Story arc

i am on my hands and knees BEGGING you to give happy chaos's theme a listen

the final part of let me carve your way hits like a damn will wood song

you should listen to drift next! a theme of whats probably one of the most interesting characters in the series, and the lyrics definitely describe them perfectly!

i wouldn't say mental instabality on my part but more so mental anguish because of being betrayed and as they said in his lore : his affection turned to hate . but that's just me

Yesssss! Please do more Guilty Gear vids. I love your reactions to these!

i would absolutely love to see how this guy guesses Potemkin's character with his theme, "Armor Clad Faith"

I would love to see my man listen to Drift, and enjoy the "chaosness" of the song

Hey man, great job on this reaction! You were honestly pretty much spot on when it came to your analysis. If you take requests, I would love to see your analysis on "Who Will Know" from Shin Godzilla. I think it'd be up your alley!

GG Videos are always cool

These videos are always so impressive, and they're always such a joy to watch Another (simpler) song from Guilty Gear that you would probably enjoy is Mirror of The World, Baiken's theme. I think in this one it's a lot easier to guess the character's story, but it's still a really good story and the song is fantastic

I actually like the theme of Zato, but i would like to request Leo`s` theme. It`s a beautiful way of telling a story of survivors guilt.

Also the one that Zato refers as Sweethearth is another character in the game called Millia rage

If you haven't already I would recommend "mirror of the world." I would be super interested to see your reactions.

Damn, i told myself i wasnt gonna tear up this time. This some man.

What I love most about this song is that final emotional release after all that rage and tension. As the song wraps up Zato finally addresses the source of his rage and despair that ruled the rest of the song and was first established at the start: That he once had sweet memories, but those emotions and that time in his life have all mixed up and vanished into darkness. He begs one final time to return to those happier times, but concludes that if it is not possible, he has one last person he can plead to. He pleads to Millia, the last person in the world who can make him feel any emotion whatsoever, to let him carve her way. And he assures that he will be the shadow to her light, and always remain by her side. It's almost heartbreaking.

love these! any chance youll do one of these for baiken? her theme in strive is amazing and shes one of my favourite characters (though fair warning some of the lyrics for her song on youtube are actually wrong lol)

Nice!

Id love to hear you do "haven't you got eyes in your head" or "jack a dandy". They're slayers themes from the older games and he's my favorite!

A great little detail at the very end of the song, you can hear a female voice enter for the last few seconds, which I feel is implied to be Millia with how connected their stories are.

This was a awesome video, watching this whole series when they appear in my Recommended. Can someone with more music theory knowledge than I explain the similarities between Subhuman Self and this song?

MORE GUILTY GEAR!!! PLS KEEP DOING MORE

Spot on understanding of the theme. Especially considering how the complexity of the theme falls in line with the lore of Zato-1. Having gone through actual death being killed by the one he loved, his revival has left him in an emotional void. But said void to Zato is a hellish torture, akin to having no mouth and a need to scream. It’s only through his thoughts and memories of Milia he has retained some semblance of his former humanity ergo the transition from rage and distortion to somber harmony and feeling.

5:24 you could say that losing your life might change your world view a little

It's worth learning what's happened to Zato since then as well.

hope Ramlethal's theme "Necessary Discrepancy" gets done at some point. I didn't like it at first but it really grew on me

Interested to see if you'll check out Johnny's theme once he gets released. Johnny may not look it but he's a pretty deep and nice guy so I'm excited to see what the lyrics of his theme will contain

the end of this song always brings me to tears

For the next guilty gear character, I'd love to hear your take on Baiken's theme, Mirror of the World. At first I wasn't a fan of it, but it slowly grew on me. Another one I'd love to hear is Happy Chaos' because of how big of a part he plays in the lore of the game.

The little shadow guy that Zato has is called Eddie. He used to be much more draconic back in the day and there was even a period of time when Zato was dead and his corpse was being moved around by Eddie who was desperately looking for a new host because he couldn't survive in Zato's corpse for too long.

Damn you put the connection to Millia's Love Thy Sub Human Self so quickly lol.

my fav track

FINALLLLYYYYYYYYY

essentially zato being numb holds back eddie knowing eddie is vulnerable if he dies to his corpse state their is no anger or even sadness left after his sudden death and resurrection leaving him numb and blank emotionally

Can't wait for Baiken/Anji themes

I do not know if You have listened to Their Theme yet but "Like a Weed, Naturally, as a Matter of Course" (Testaments Theme) is one that I think You may enjoy!! Also something something lore is in it too

It's hard to believe just how accurate Marco has been about Zato just based on the theme

Engagement for Algorithm

5:24 Yes, he died, Eddie killed him, like an asshole, then when they were both brought back to life, after Millia managed to kill Eddie while he was puppetting Zato's corpse (Again, asshole), Zato lost all of his emotions and he reconciled with Eddie, but the only thing he could remember was the feelings he had for Millia, which were very real and pure, despite the fact that Zato was tyrannical and evil.

You should listen to Drift or Hellfire next

oh boy, let's fkin go!

When a SONG is able to describe a character and let a completely blind outsider know what the character's deal is, that's some good writing

If you are planning on going into more Guilty Gear Strive character themes then I really recommend Happy Chaos just because of the sheer insanity that is his theme. It's simultaneously all over the place but also very grounded to his character in a weird way

It’s always great to hear how accurate people are on figuring out characters from their songs except for when the song are more literal than anyone can guess

I cant wait to see his reaction when he hears sonic music, just to name some of my favorite trakcs: His world Solaris phase 2 Rooftop run act 2