Rondo Across Countless Kalpas + Kyoden: A Cleave Across the Transient World || MUSIC REACTION 

i appreciate your very sweet comments. They fill my heart.

Marco buffering in the beginning and accidentally saying sexual is hilariously accurate.

My favorite thing I've heard said about this cinematic so far is ''This could have been a sex scene and it wouldn't have been this intimate.'' Lovely analysis as always Marco!

Black Swan: "Wait, it's all cosmic horror?" IX, the Nihility: "Always has been."

Killed subconsciously is a big deal when it comes to Black Swan. Because she is entirely a memetic entity. She’s ONLY memory. So when met with Acheron’s self annihilating mind, the nihility that dwells within her, black swan is literally ripped apart as it tries to consume her existence. She could have actually died in that moment.

“I have no idea what’s going on. That’s really cool.” My thoughts exactly.

Within the music of the Rondo, immediately after the transition the strings were something taken right out of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. An instant, beautiful downturn into horror. And within Kyoden, those refrains of Honkai World Diva, Raiden Mei's theme throughout Lament of the Fallen... It's enough to bring a tear to the eye of the veteran Honkai Impact 3rd players...

Acheron is truly terrifying as a character, someone who has part of the power of an aeon and whose massacres are so brutal XI literally makes her repress such memories acting like the memories black hole it is and presenting as almost a double personality to Acheron. It's quite ironic how much she clashes against Black Swan as a memory keeper, because memories being completely erased without a trace is a fate worse than death for memory keepers, and the fact that based on voicelines Acheron wasn't aware of what happened inside her mind and just thought a pretty girl had invited her for a dance not knowing why she was so scared makes it more brutal

Tango, as you said is such a sensual dance. A sensuality accented by the sound designers with these steps and cloths brushing. Like two people undressing each other. I'm no musician or dancer, but as an animator, I was over the moon watching this. Dances are some of the hardest moves to draw right. Pretty sure there was a lot of rotoscopy involved and the result is absolutely breathtaking. Loved the brutal, carnality in the second part too.

as a cellist, i was waiting patiently for your analysis!! the detail i loved the most abut the musical story telling was how the violin represents black swan and the cello represents acheron. since black swan starts leading the dance, the violin sets the mood and the cello responds. as soon as acheron starts "consuming" black swan with her memories and the hunter/hunted motifs, the cello steps up and sets the pace in a very agressive way while the violin just keeps on spyraling. i appreciate a lot what you do, marco!! keep up the great work 🫶🏼🫶🏼

Not the thumbnail making you look like you're a third wheel in this Tango. 💀 But yeah, the Rondo trailer basically takes place before the Penacony story but context wise, you'd know more about it in the later half of the current instalment of the Main Story on the cosmos's greatest resort. :) In regards to the second trailer, it is definitely Honkai Impact music! It's mostly a mix of Honkai World Diva (for the most part), but from what I heard in that trailer, it's also POSSIBLY the first half of Yesterday (albeit slower?) and the first piano notes of Nightfall (when the Edict of Fate is about to switch to the Edict of Flame). So depression all around! Yay... A sweet bonus: The 12 Sentinels + 2 bearers are neat references to the 14 Herrschers from the Honkai Impact universe. The first 12 Sentinels are shown in the same order as the Herrschers did during the Previous Era of the Honkai Impactverse.

Swan: Tries to read mind. Mei: Trauma dump

Yup, you're hearing a small snippet from Honkai World Diva in Kyoden.

the tango is absolutely gorgeous and sensual, and the transition to an absolute terror is so amazing. how they can keep doing this damn

Btw, the Duke being dead was off screened so we didn't actually see it happen ourselves. So don't worry about feeling like it's a big loss finding out this way. It was simply mentioned in early dialogue of the latest patch.

The tango is also a dance of seduction, which here is so fitting. Another small detail that Mihoyo knocked out of the park is that originally the tango was danced between two women. Moreover, Swan starts the dance leading Acheron, but by the end it's Acheron taking the lead. The symbolism in the music, vis dev, editing and animation is just so good. They just went above and beyond in this animated short. And as an illustrator for my day job, the color theory chosen for this tells its own story. Every single detail of this short was purposefully done.

12:06 yes it is, there are lots of HI3rd references. that 12 sentinels is actually 12 previous era herrschers in order + current era origin and end (finality)

Realising the violin and cello being voicing as the two characters within the instrumentation makes the ending climax and the build up to it my favourite part of the track. The cello reaches same pitch as the violin to show Acheron has caught up to Black Swan in that wild sequence while the violin is stuck in crotchet staccatos, moving up in pitch once in 2 bars, like trying to run in a dream she just can't seem to make headway. (This was the analogy that worked best in my head and Penacony being mostly in a Dreamscape is a complete coincidence-) The change from the cello's steady ascension to the frantic movement almost feels like you get caught in a roaming monster's field of vision and they start charging at you at top speed, real spooky stuff. Real excited for this upcoming banner, hope everyone in the comments' pulls goes well.

I like how Marco just get straight to trailer breakdown without any intro this time

Marco in the thumbnail looking like he wet the bed, and thinking how to tell his parents.

Pretty much I've seen lots of people describe this dance as Black Swan looking onto the Abyss, the Abyss looked back.

So TL;DR She's an Emanator of Nihility with a lot of paralells to HI3 Raiden Mei, but her story seems to be "what if she never had a Kiana in her life?" Izumo's lore reads a *lot* like HI3 Earth's situation, and Acheron is believed to have been the "Sovereign of Thunder" (literal english translation of the German word Herrscher funnily enough) as well as the "Sovereign of Origin." Which, again, are the two Herrscher authorities Raiden Mei wound up with in HI3. In HI3 she winds up using her powers together with Kiana to *save* the world, but we can see her at the end of the trailer doing something that looks a lot like she destroyed Izumo with her power. In one of hoyo's lore dumps they revealed that being an Emanator of Nihility means that you lose something important to gain acess to IX's power; one of your senses, an organ, or, in Acheron's case, your memories. Something about what Acheron did at the end of the trailer fulfilled the condition for earning IX's gaze, likely to do with the nature of her homeworld being doomed to destroy itself from the beginning.

5:42 I just noticed that just after the camera zoom's into Acheron's eye, it then zoom's into Swan's eye, shortly before memory-Acheron attacks. Don't worry about the "spoiled" Duke Inferno twist, it's basically a footnote at the end of 2.0's story.

Marco Meatball music analysis was something I awaited since the short's launch! Now, all we need is Philip Hartshorn's analysis of the visuals and we're set. This cinematic is peak in every aspect and deserves all the attention.

5:34 He was killed off-screen, all the knowledge about it is in these videos. But if you rewatch the video where they show him and the rest of the Anhilation Gang, you will hear him say this when asked by one of his "daughters" for a backup plan if they lose: "To cling to life is to delay in cowardice." Since the beginning they were just deathflags with legs. Still, it is worthy of respect how good their lore is constructed: as a -heliobi- the only way Ifrit would have died, is against IX the Nihility/Naught. Edit: As playeronegamervloger9762 pointed out, he wasn't a heliobi, he was born from a Phase Flame. But that conclusion still works because he wouldn't have died any other way regardless.

6:30 this is the only time in the entire video they play the same melody at the same time. Black Swan by now has fully submitted and that is SO COOL

1:28 bit of a freudian slip there. made me giggle thx for that

Marco, thanks for being like the really cool nerdy music teacher I never had

I've literally checked every single day since the video came out waiting for Marco's piece. Love it, 10/10 thanks big guy.

The idea is that as a follower of Nihility Acheron mindscape is actively deadly to Black Swan because she erased her own memories and Swan is made of memories

i adored this animated short so much especially for its impeccable music, and your analysis is really making me appreciate it WAY more than i already have. when mesmerized by watching something it's inevitable to miss a lot of details haha but you really help me revisit those details, and let us know what the music specifically represents in a scene + the emotions it contains that really contributes to the atmosphere and storytelling. and it blows my mind that i keep learning new things to appreciate!! it really is endless when it comes to art. thank you so much for always sharing your thoughts and knowledge marco, i really appreciate your presence in this community 😭❤️🙏

3:45 I love how this part flows and the fact it's clearly based off one of the most (if not THE most) famous tangos, La Cumparsita by Gerardo Matos Rodriguez. I also feel some Astor Piazzola in this piece, and the "horror" part generates such a feeling of discomfort SO FITTING for this cinematic. Actual majestic work from Hoyoverse This cinematic, especially its music, brings me such a sense of familiarity as someone who grew up listening to this kind of music because of older relatives and the areas I'd visit as a child

These two pieces are honestly incredibly profound and beautiful. From the dynamics and power of Rondo Across Countless Kalpas to the intensity, drama and storytelling proficiency of A Cleave Across The Transient World, the music plays an incredible role in unfolding the narrative here. Love the Carmen comparison also! That's something I also picked up on myself

It's so funny seeing you go back and forth between analyzing the music and going "wait a second is that-" in the second video lmao love your analysis as always

I love how the music and the animations complement each other so well. The violins in the Rondo Across Countless Kalpas, with the "Predators catching their prey" violin going higher and higher every time it switches to the next, even as the last ones become more fundamental with a bacteria being consumed, culminating in a black hole that absorbs all as the true apex predator of the universe. In A Cleave Across the Transient World, it's often suddenly quiet, with only a mournful piano remaining. I think this represents Acheron herself: "nothing" is left. Her homeworld was erased from existence, but she still roams the universe. Her sword is called "Naught", to represent the nothing-ness that remains of her homeplanet. And yet we hear that sorrowful piano.

12:49, that's cause thats exactly whats going, utter loss, emptiness until even she has lost herself and blade became "naught"

Yessss i've been waiting for a breakdown... It was really cool the first time I saw it. The imagery and the music that complimented it sent chills... Always a good time having you interpret the piece .

I was waiting for this video to come out. It's such a good trailer, no way Marco would miss out on this one.

really love how they added "world diva" into the motif of acheron really puts into perspective of much it is inspired by honkai impact

The swords in Star Rail are listed in the same order as the Herrschers appear in Honkai. They have different names, Mist instead of Wind, but they're clearly the same concepts. Very interesting and direct parallel between the settings.

After seeing these i was genuinely waiting for your ost analysis over this Marco (the sync, synthesizing, the tension, the rhythm and not to mention the choreography of both the animation and the music) Tbh these were one of the best trailers ever made by hoyoverse

I knew there was a reason i loved the tango so much, music is such a universal language that it gave me emotions i don't know how to define but certainly felt it!

These reactions and analysis are always a pleasure. Keep em up

3:08; I really appreciate what your doing in your channel.. there are things that I find so amazing but can't put it into words (since I don't know the idea or concept behind) or things I missed but you always surprise me when you point it out.

at 10:21 11:12 and 12:00 you can hear "Honkai World Diva" from Honkai Impact 3rd "Lament of Fallen" symbolizing the Raiden Mei.

I was waiting for it! Thank you!

This whole cinematic was craaaazyyy dude. Musically, how they invert and everything

I could not stop laughing when I saw your eyes flashing at 6:27 omg

FINALLY

Yea I was waiting for this too!Such a good video!

i think you are the first person that actually says this is a tango, me being argentinian i got so surprised they actually selected some of my culture´s music

I freaking love these videos.

12:06 Honkai World Diva, iirc you've reacted to it before so I'm glad you've caught on to it! 😁

Kyoden's music is actually pretty neat because it contains a number of leitmotifs from HoYo's other Honkai games. For example, the music uses Raiden Mei's leitmotif (most prevalent in Honkai World Diva) throughout the whole video. When the video transitions between the swords "Fate" and "Flare", you can hear 2 piano notes repeating for a short while. This is seemingly another reference, specifically one made towards Nightglow. Nightglow is the music played during Himeko's very famous cutscene in Hi3rd. If you listen to Nightglow, the first 2 notes are the same one as the ones played in Kyoden. (SPOILER) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HIMEKO from the Previous Era was the 7th Herrscher, and her Herrscher core was made into a Divine Key. Kyoden's "swords" are all direct references to these Herrschers and Divine Keys. This is likely why you hear Nightglow's piano notes.

OMG that was Mei's theme in the background on the second video! So much more aggressive than normal, maybe showing this version of Mei was lacking that gentle nature we know. SO cool and interesting

it's still amazing just how accurately you're able to understand the story by listening to the music

ive been waiting for this reaction since Day 1 !!!

The detail on the violins was aweome!

Ay yo I was waiting for this video from this great guy :D

Man, the best part of all this Acheron & Black Swan tango scene is at 3:42. Black Swan: _"That is why I took action"_ 🦢 This scene is so peak, the way the cello syncs and that assertive, smug stance, the way she raises her head high by showing how proud and dominant she is, is amazing! I find it so artistic and sensual. As well, a _certain something will happen soon._ That was beautiful! One of the most memorable parts out of all. 🙏💃

Finally a music reaction from you and an initial analysis. Hopefulyl an in-depth one of the Kyoden trailer. You might catch something ;)

I only watched this animation earlier today and my heart actually started beating faster at the thought of watching it again in this video.

Lol the moment i saw this trailer i immediately thought of this channel, great reaction!

I have been waiting for this!

"There's bit of a clash (👉👌) there"

Oh i've been waiting for your reaction!

I was looking forward to your reaction the most to this trailer cuz I really wanted to know your opinion on it and I'm happy you did🤩

Taken a back a moment by the lack of an intro, but loved analysis! The tension through the Rondo was intense. (I heard the tango in this is Argentine Tango, but I could be wrong)

I absolutely love you doing these analysis and giving me an inside into the underlying musical themes. As an information what we think happens is that whenever Acheron fights she gets into the "Red Oni" form and afterwards she forgets. After annihilating the Annihilation gang (lol) she forgot what she even did

There’s a leitmotif from Nightglow before the Flame blade as well

I wonder did you expect the tango element to turn into Psycho? Its such an amazing shift. Hoyo are trust artists at their craft.

oh i didn’t expect you to break down both of these vids! being a HI3rd captain made all the hints/references surrounding Acheron all the more better… im not sure if you’ve gotten to Penacony yet but i hope in the future you’ll cover some of the great tracks the planet of festivities has given us 🙏💖

Extremely high quality commentary. 12:45 That's nihility, pretty on point. You were on point the whole video 😂😂

I've been waiting for this reaction

For the dance between the two of them this is mentioned briefly in the 2.0 main story about already having a dance partner. What happened is black swan wanted to find out about duke inferno death so looking into her memory and just before the switch you can see her take him out but we also see that she has taken many more lives and it almost sucks her in as we see the aeon of nihility. The many lives are also well illustrated near the end of that part where you see them all falling down from above

I would like to add that not only there’s a Honkai World Diva snippet in the Kyoden trailer but also the melody you recognized towards the end is the song Journey! Really good catch 😊

this is what i've been waiting for!!

i love how you analyse things

One thing I know another person caught with this was that when Acheron took over and began her violent dance, the strings that played secondary took over and made the main violin take the step back from the spotlight, so each set of strings were Black Swan and Acheron and where they stood in their dance/mental battle

These two shorts hit two different vibes for me as a writer., For Rondo it's purely in the transition between when Swan is in the lead and Acheron is in the lead. Swan's lead is sensual, intimate, a mood meant to bring ease as she peers into Acheron's memories to learn about her. Yet the SECOND Acheron takes the lead, when what's deeper in comes out, ALL of that intimacy flies RIGHT out the window as Swan (a memetic being of living memory mind one) is violently assaulted by the true depths of whatever the hell is lurking deep in Acheron's mind. She went into that tango expecting to learn something about this beautiful Ranger and came out of it five different kinds of traumatized by the truth she got a glimpse of. Kyoden is ALL me as a long-term Honkai fan going absolutely nuts with the parralels to HI3rd's story, ESPECIALLY the Previous Era. The entire story hinted in Kyoden rings of a version of the Previous Era gone EVEN WORSE, from the "Shiraga Oni" sharing Kevin's VA in the JP version (Satoshi Hino) to the 12 Sentinels being dead parallels to the 12 Herrschers. There is so many parallels to read into, so many interesting ideas about who and what Acheron actually IS as a person. Acheron isn't simply a counterpart to Mei within HSR's side universe like Bronya Rand and Silver Wolf are to Bronya Zaychik, she IS Mei. A Mei from a world far worse, far more torn apart that even HI3rd's Earth ever was.

Great commentory as always.

The animation is incredible, the animators did a phenomenal job! The music really tied it together. The choreography was also mesmerizing! 6:05 had to be my favorite part! I loved the animation and the intense violin music. Also, if you look at the background, you can see a swan and a snake!

btw, the music in the second animation is a variant of "honkai world diva" the song of Herrscher of Thunder (also used in GGZ) the song has a lot of variations now

Tango can be actively combative. That's where you get the passing of lead and follow back and forth.

In 6:08 to 6:09 there's a quack? I don't know what word is used to describe the cry of a geese/swan somce I'm at least 80% sure that they used a geese and not a swan, for dramatic purposes I believe. Also in the part we're they talk about the second sword I Heard the leitmotiv of himeko/an instrumental version of night glow from HI3

What’s also cool is in the beginning of the dance it is clear that black swan is leading she is mostly in “control” but in the end Acheron is clearly the one in control indicating the story happening

Rondo Kalpas' second part reminds me a bit of Shostakovich's String Quartet no9 in the tension of the strings

imagine your subconscious suffering...could be us lol the flow of the music ofc always adds to the tension. it's so good

There's a bit of Honkai World Diva in Acherons Kyoden trailer very neat

I really enjoy seeing your take on video game music and how passionate you are about it. I would love to see your take on the main theme of Digimon Survive. Particularly the instrumental version.

I watched this video! And.....in this video for the whole time, I don't even seem to be breathing! It was so beautiful and incredible! I just experienced the whole range of emotions. At the same time, all these emotions, even negative ones, were pleasant to me. That's for sure the Animators tried their best. By the way, the moment when the screen changes to black and red. I had a feeling that there was a second personality living inside Acheron. Some kind of monster that destroys everyone who tries to look at it. Because I had a strong feeling that the Swan was on the verge of death. Well, it's not for nothing that we were shown a lot of miniatures in the background where a predator runs after prey. And as we know Hoyo. They don't just show anything in their videos. And the annihilation team. They were so weak for Acheron that she didn't even remember them. It's incredibly creepy! It still gives me the creeps.

6:05 I love this part it reminds me of Fantasia. The animation and art is so beautiful ♡.

Lmao the pause at the beginning correcting sexual was perfect 😆

YAY THANK YOU SO MUCH

don't worry too much about the Duke haha, it's disappointing to find out before getting to penacony but this information isn't revealed in the story at all, you have to watch the animation to find out anyway 😅 also! great catch on the honkai impact 3rd references! there's a lot in that trailer but the way they used the melody from Honkai World Diva seems special to me - makes you wonder if HI3 Mei could've met the same fate as Acheron or maybe if Acheron and Izumo could've been saved if it weren't for IX. it's possible that the monster's who destroyed her planet came to be because of a stellaron or in other words... honkai? i'll definitely have to come back to Lament of the Fallen and compare the two for more clues, the music reference was 100% intentional!

Don't worry! This was the first mention of Duke Inferno being dead for everyone xD

My favorite tango used to be the True Lies one but I think that’s only second best now after this one.

The swords represents the herrschers from honkai its a big node to them

This trailer was phenomenal!

I didn't notice the Honkai Impact music in the Celestia trailer, nice catch.