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I can't say I was particularly familiar with The Promised Neverland when I started learning about this piece and the anime as a whole. Needless to say...I was like "excuse this show is about WHAT?" 😂
Yep, interesting premise with tragic character figures . The music is just part of all the atmosphere. Easily will be adapted as a western live action TV series in the future. Hope you put out a detailed video about the music and mystery of Made in Abyss.
Indeed! It was the second anime I ever watched, and boy, I was not prepared for it. If I can make a recommendation, if you want to finish the whole story, watch season 1, then read the rest in Manga form. They really messed up the second season and squeezed what should’ve been 3-4 seasons’ worth of the story into just one.
I know you're a music guy, but if you do watch season 1 I highly recommend reading the manga for the rest of the series. It's an amazingly clever and philosophical story.
@@richardzhuang5958I feel like even if they had, while it would have been WAY better, many people would have still been disappointed because of how the ABSOLUTELY PERFECT vibe of the first season/arc changes into something different entirely.
Isabellas lullaby is peak music haunting and relaxing like herself. a mother who can warm your soul to sleep, but has mysteries of her own lurking deep within
never seen series this but it seems that using the mixolydian b6 can evoke a very mysterious and confusing feeling, because of its major third implying a major feel, but a flat sixth implying a minory feel
Would you be interested in the music for "Made in Abyss"? It is one of my personal favorite soundtracks, and I completely understand if you have other requests to catch up on 😅😅
Well said. It perfectly encompasses Isabella. You go from liking her, to curious, to terrified, to curious again, to sadness. Adding layers upon layers on her character. I honestly forgot how good this was. Thanks for bringing it to mind once again. It's gonna haunt me.
If you like "Isabella's Lullaby" for how it creates this contrast between darkly mournful and yet hopefully beautiful, then you would love "Hanezeve Caradhina," from the anime, Made in Abyss. It makes use of background vocals too in order to create this haunting feel that carries with it similar hopeful yet mournful notes.
I hope Takahiro Obata and the industry sees how popular his pieces continue to be. I and many more want to hear his music in more popular series. He mostly writes music for kids anime now, maybe he makes more doing that because they have more episodes than a single cour.
This is an excellent breakdown of the *harmony* but what has always been standing out to me even more is actually the *melody* . Charles commented on its beauty a couple times but, for me, it's the star of the show. It doesn't hide behind any fancy decorations, making it so lean, naked, vulnerable, and intimate. At the same time, it spans a wide vocal range with such tasteful and dramatic leaps, giving it an incredibly poetic suspense curve. I'm usually more a harmony kind of guy so this melody just transcends me. Absolute masterclass in melodic writing that many people can learn a lot from.
Hearing this particular theme for the first time watching the show, my immediate sense listening to it was that it was kind of like a darker version of "Leaving Hogwarts," from the Harry Potter films. Isabella's Lullaby has quite a bit of whimsy and fantasy to it but it is all tinged in darkness and melancholy. "Leaving Hogwarts," is all about bittersweet nostalgia while this theme sounds more like mourning over what could have been while still trying to be comforting in the moment.
You should check out the Tsubasa Chronicles anime/soundtrack. It was composed by famous Japanese composer Yuki Kajiura. The music goes so well with the show. One (of many) song to check out would be I Talk To The Rain. The show is kind of like Kingdom Hearts but with CLAMP characters. So the two main characters are alternate reality versions of Sakura and Syaoran from Cardcaptors.
This song always makes me harken back to Full Metal Alchemist's OST, mainly Trish's Lullaby which you already covered but also Bratja which I don't think you have? Worth revisiting in the future perhaps and comparing the best melancholy Anime themes and how they compare. Also Frieren's OST!!!
I discovered the beautiful Bratja via The Consouls cover - one of my favourite tunes. And I think you are right that Charles did not cover it - it would be great if he did!
If you watch Promised Neverland just watch the first season believe me. I would love to see a video about Made in Abyss great music and one of my favorite anime.
Hey Charles i've been listening to movie soundtracks alot and i got addicted to Ryuchi Sakamoto, specially one of his songs named “Merry Christmas Mr Lawarence” titled as the movie’s name itself i would love if you could make a video analysing this piece in the future, ty for all the effort and passion you put into all these videos to integrate us all in the inside world of Music.
to anyone who has been inspired to watch the show after seeing this video, and to those who have only ever seen the anime: i implore you to read the manga. season one of the promised neverland is a fantastic and quite accurate representation of the manga story; however, season two is a complete injustice. i would strongly suggest watching season one and then reading the manga, completely ignoring season two. the soundtrack is absolutely stunning so watching the first season is worth it. also, i absolutely loved this video's exploration of why this hauntingly beautiful song is so effective. i couldn't quite articulate to myself why i loved this piece so much, but this video does an amazing job of it.
This piece right here - because of pieces like this I started composing. What a magnificent melody that accompanies beautiful chords. The intro, the way it builds up to the main melody and resolves back to the intro at the end...you described it way better than I could. I would totally love to see how you analyze the music of NieR:Automata, one of the finest musical compositions I have ever heard in any media! Thank you for videos like this!
Such a beautiful composition and performance by the musicians in the original recording. Thank you so much for introducing many of us to this lesser-known work and as always, your in depth analysis is on point and incredibly accessible to those of us non-music majors. Keep up the great work and thank you so much for helping make music easier for others to understand!
“What’ll I Do?” by Irving Berlin uses similar chords and chord progression. Done well, it’s haunting, heartbreaking, and painfully beautiful. Rarely done well (many make it too contemporary jazz), but when kept simple and pure, matches this tune you’ve analyzed. It’s my favorite of all time.
I immediately recognised Sarah Álainn in the video but had no idea she worked on the show until now. Thanks for enlightening me on even more of her work
After watching you break it down it’s a very “Radiohead” chord progression and melody. I could totally see Thom Yorke doing his own spin of it and having it feel right at home. Radiohead loves the minor IV and the second half of the phrase reminds me of “Pyramid Song.”
hey charles! my girlfriend, who knows nothing about jazz, randomly pointed out to me how good the bear and the big blue house theme is. i highly recommend it, it’s some incredible stuff!
Yeessss!! You did the Promised Neverland!! The next best recommendation I can give you since you liked this one is the Made In Abyss soundtracks. There are three in total: 2 seasons and one for the movie. And they’re practically all balls to the wall amazing honestly. It’s been on repeat for me for years now and I can’t seem to put any of them down. It’s another dark twist fantasy anime involving kids against impossible odds and a cruel world..a bit like The Promised Neverland, so just a fair warning if you look into it lol.
Such an amazingly beautiful piece, and a perfect analysis. That G Natural (Natural 6th) really is the big star in this piece, giving us curveballs in both the ascending and descending phase. That moment in particular 15:46 is such a great technique of subverting our expectations. Can’t remember off the top of my head but there must be a few other pieces (probably Japanese) that uses this exact same progression of moving down to the Natural 6th like this. Anyway, great job as always Charles. Always a joy to listen to your analysis
You shall make a video on the Castlevania Symphony of the night Soundtrack. Specifically tracks Dracula's Castle, Marble Gallery, and the Crystal Teardrop.
The four chord has such power in a progression. Whether it's a major four chord in a minor key or a minor four chord in a major key, they change the whole dynamic.
omg this is one of my top anime. the manga is even better right up to the end of the story. it's right up there on my list and one of the reason is because of the ost. i'm soooo glad you covered this. Thank you :"""")))
Thank you so much for this video Charles! I love the music of the promised neverland so much. It would be awesome if you could check out some other songs from the show, like the main theme, Norman’s theme or Ray’s theme!
I would absolutely LOVE to hear your thoughts on the Neon Genesis Evangelion ost. There's a lot of very fun and interesting music that's written for the first half of the series, and it gets more experimental as the show progresses (just as the style and tone of the show does). I think you'd have a good time with it!
I discovered this song on a whim one day going through music on YT and I was moved to tears from the piece. I didn't know the association with the anime or the rest of it. Regardless, it's a beautiful piece. If my hands weren't as picky with when they want be cooperative, I'd try to learn it on guitar.
The opening theme for the anime Break Blade (or Broken Blade) is also quite beautiful. It is called Fate by Kokia. It starts out kind of soft and just builds and grows. The anime never got completed, unfortunately. I would still suggest giving it a listen, even if you don't do a video on it because it is beautiful in its own right.
I have been dealing with a lot of grief in the past years... Watching Vinland Saga, I felt like the music of the show (the piano pieces mostly) encapsulates the experience of grief and the sort of melancholic peace that comes with it in such a fantastic way. Perhaps it is just because the show itself revolves around grief and how to carry it with you. But regardless it would be great if you want to cover it :)
I’m 1:15 in, and it finally connected how to start Tifa’s Theme from FF7. Of course, I’m an absolute musical layman, who relies pretty much solely on my ear, but as soon as I heard the chord transition, I stopped doing the dishes and ran to the piano
Why is some of the most beautiful music written for video games and Japanese TV shows? With video game music in particular, I think of Austin Wintory and Gareth Coker in particular. And while I don't know who wrote the OSTs for most anime that I've watched, I love that music as well. It's truly a shame that this music isn't more widely known. Instead, WAP and its ilk are trending at the top, or at least close to it. More people need to listen to music as covereed in this video.
Around 8:00 minutes you sorta describe Japanese basic story telling (when you expressed "that's weird". Storytelling described in 4 phases : beginning - something happens - a twist - resolution (起承転結). By something happens it can mean to spread or deepen the setting, something wrong is introduced. There's an article on Wikipedia.
I recommend the soundtrack from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky. Popular among fans: Dialga's Fight to the Finish, I Don't Want to Say Goodbye, Memories Returned. Interesting tonal/modal shifts: Dusk Forest, Sealed Ruin Pit. Other personal favorites: In the Morning Sun, Hidden Land.
Here’s a few recommendations (not sure if you’ve already made a video on some): “Let us drink milk” from the Speed Racer live action movie. The Mandalorian theme song. “Luffy help me” from the new One piece live action series. And another Genshin Impact video😄
Still watching the video- was getting ready to skip the ad section when you zoomed in on accidentally hitting the piano.😂 Dang it! Guess I gotta pay attention from now on!
The equivalent of the first season in the manga has been created in about 6 years if I’m not wrong, the whole second part of the story has been rushed much more and the anime just made it worse. But the first season is👌👌👌 Probably one of the best things I’ve ever seen, if you really want i suggest you to watch the first season and then if you want to know how the story finishes just read the manga from that point on.
I love this channel I haven’t played the piano in years this channel makes me want to take lessons again could you do a video on the music from the anime Inuyasha the themes Dearest and Inuyasha and Kagome are it’s two best well known themes both played beautifully dearest on violin and inuyasha and kagome on piano definitely worth a video
Mr. Cornell, I love, love, love your work! I have been following your journey since the cardi b days. I have been so unexplainably excited about your recent anime inspired videos. Could you PLEASE do a Frieren: Beyond Journeys End? Pretty please 🥺 👉👈 Sincerely, Big big fan
Hi there! I'm absolutely fascinated by your channel and your ability to identify and articulate the emotions embedded within music. It's something that everyone can feel, but you have a unique talent for translating the entire concept behind a piece of music and the emotions it evokes. Thank you so much for sharing your gift with the world. I would be thrilled if you could analyze some of the soundtracks from the Castlevania video game series. There are some truly remarkable compositions in this franchise that deserve your insightful commentary. See ya.
I love your videos and I'm a pianist (amateur😅) myself and I learn something new every time. Could you please do a song from Kingdom hearts (best game soundtrack in my opinion) or for the anime theme, Inuyasha?
