The Real Reasons Behind The Success Of My Hero Academia

While everyone else in the AniTube community is busy bickering and arguing about whether or not My Hero Academia is a great shounen that is either the second coming of Hunter x Hunter or the outright plagiarism of Boruto's Dad, I thought I would approach this series from a lens that is a lot closer to home for me.

While I may have grown up with anime like Pokemon, Dragonball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh and other childhood classics, it was only in my teenage years that I would really get into anime. As such, most of my childhood years until that point were actually made up of collecting superhero comic books and watching their respective animated adaptations which were massive hits in both the 90s and early 2000s. To this very day, I still think I tend know more about how the Western comic book industry works and the lore of the companies respective universes more than I do about anime, gaming, and many other hobbies of mine with music being the only obvious exception.

So, after hours of research and reflecting on my own time as a former comic book fan, I decided to make this short video of my own list of theories as to why My Hero Academia has become one of the most popular shounen to date since the end of the Big Three and other long running shounen franchises.


1. Timing

I'm sure you're all familiar with the old saying that timing is everything right? Well, in the case of My Hero Academia, that saying couldn't be any more true. The manga only started publication in July of 2014 and it's popularity skyrocketed with it's subsequent anime adaptation that began airing in August of 2016. As you can already tell, all of this was already happening well over half a decade into the current superhero boom in the West thanks to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, of course, Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy.

I get the strange feeling that My Hero Academia might not be anywhere near as popular or successful as it is now if it had come out before the age of the MCU or shortly after during it's twilight moments. I say this based on the fact that, even though it is pretty strong as a shounen anime, it still tends to be compared to Naruto a lot and, considering the size and dedication of the Naruto fan base, and, of course, the fact that it has to compete with the likes of the highly regarded Hunter x Hunter, it might have been dismissed as just another battle shounen series trying to imitate what has already come before.

This would be unfortunate if that were the case since it has clearly proven itself in many departments that, despite it's similarities and expected tropes of shounen stories, it is more than worthy and deserving of it's fame and impact not only in anime, but, for the superhero genre as a whole.


2. Release Schedule

Unlike the majority of long running shounens which tend to have sub par animation (with the exception of important episodes), filler episodes, filler arcs, and other tedious things that we have come to expect from these anime adaptations, My Hero Academia, on the other hand, likes to do things a little differently. Firstly, instead of airing episodes continuously once a week which results in filler arcs, Studio Bones decided to air a certain number of of episodes at a time. This serves two purposes.

One reason is that it gives the manga a chance to catch up and provide more material for the animation team to produce in time for the airing of the next season. The second reason is because it allows the team at Studio Bones to produce an adaptation that is of the highest quality in terms of animation and directing.

As much as I hate to say this, one of the main reasons most fans of Western forms of entertainment cannot get into anime is because the art styles of a lot of shows are extremely over simplified in their animated form mainly due to budgeting and the fact that they have to put out an episode before the allocated time slot on local Japanese television. Shows like Naruto in particular are no stranger to this. Sure, there are some exceptions here and there, but, for the most part, this is the kind of thing I tend to hear among my comic book loving friends and it's not hard to understand why they feel this way. I mean, even the worst art in an average comic can often be more detailed than an average anime adaptation of a long running manga (unless it's Jojo's, Dragon Ball, and a handful of others).


3. Continuity Without The Clutter

One of the greatest things about not just My Hero Academia, but, about anime in general is that most shows have only one universe and one continuity (with a few exceptions like the Fate and Gundam franchises). While American superhero comics do share one universe on a technical level, the various timelines tend to become extremely cluttered over time due to several factors. Though the main reason this happens is because American comic books employ many writers each with their own writing styles and interpretations of the characters, lore, and timelines of the various universes created by each company. Even with interlinking events that send ripple effects across said universes, a book written by someone like Jeph Loeb is not the same as a book written by somebody like Ron Marz.

Also, taking the writers out of the equation and solely focusing on the characters, a Batman book is a lot different in tone to say a Superman book or a Green Lantern book. By having too many writers work on one universe, you wind up with many timeline and continuity errors which every so many years needs to be corrected with some kind of apocalyptic event to kill off several characters or worlds like DC's Crisis events or Marvel's Secret Wars events among others.
This often makes it difficult for people to get into comic books considering their decades and history of lore and while the cartoon adaptations I mentioned earlier in the video definitely do a fantastic job at giving newcomers a basic summary of the most important events and characters in said universes, a newcomer will still have to dive through piles of books to get even a basic understanding of the lore of each individual universe and character.
This would require the newcomer to read tens of, or possibly, hundreds of solo books of each hero that makes up a giant super team in order to even relate to the characters on some level at all since most team based books expect you to just know everything from the start (unless it's something like X-Men or Fantastic Four in which case you can just jump in as these books were team based stories from the beginning).

My Hero Academia has all the characters, both established and new, upcoming ones gathered into one book and one show and it doesn't require any kind of research and homework to jump in and enjoy it. Plus the fact that most manga are written and illustrated by the same author during the course of their publication, which means that you will usually have writing that is a lot tighter and more consistent than their Western counterparts. Also, since the art never actually changes, this means that you will never be forced to skip a chapter of the manga unlike comic books where fans can skip a run on a book if they aren't a fan of the artist working on their favourite book/s and then just look up a summary online or read a massive encyclopedia that drops every five years or so.


4. Power Scales

Now, power scaling is nothing new to the world of shounen anime. I mean, it's practically one of the core elements of these stories. However, while power scaling does exist somewhere within the realm of superhero comics, they are pretty much irrelevant at this stage of the game.
This is mostly due to the fact that any character in these universes is subject to either having their powers amped up to ridiculous levels for the sake of the plot or having them dumbed down if they happen to break the suspension of disbelief as time passes and the industry gets older. Another thing that tends to determine this factor is a character's popularity, which is pretty strange when you consider that's not how any kind of literary writing works.
Anyways, it would appear that the more popular a character or set of characters becomes during a particular era of comic book history, the more powerful they become and the less popular they are the more watered down their powers become.

In My Hero Academia, this isn't the case at all. Instead, everybody's quirks are pretty much set and established in terms of power. Though, it's not just raw power that determines a quirk in MHA's universe. You could be born with a pretty much objectively useless quirk, but, it's how one trains and how one makes use of it that can make it a valuable asset in certain situations. Also, unlike it's Western counterparts where there is no set number one strongest hero and number one strongest villain in order to size and scale who would actually win a battle and determine what level of danger they pose to the characters, My Hero Academia actually makes use of a number one strongest hero in the form of All Might just so that you, the viewer, can determine whether a villain is fighting with their quirks or their minds in order to bring All Might, his allies, and his students down.

Let's use a character like Batman for example. In his own books, Batman's ability to win over his enemies usually feels right and makes him look even more badass than what he already is. This is because, even though he does have some variety of superpowered villains, his rogues gallery doesn't really consist of god level powered beings which, realistically speaking, he shouldn't win against no matter how much he plans or what kind of tech he has at his disposal. Instead, the villains from his rogues gallery who do have some kind of genetic or mystical advantage over him, tend to pose about as much of a threat as monster does to a warrior or adventurer in a high fantasy story which makes it plausible, most of the time, as to why a person with no powers like Batman could win in a fight against them. It's also because these kinds of battles fit the overall tone and themes of Batman's books.
However, the 'because I'm Batman' meme tends to take hold whenever he teams up with either individual members or the entire Justice League. In order to not make Batman feel like a third wheel or useless extra baggage that needs constant protection all the time, Batman's ability to fight other DC villains, who technically far outclass him and most of his own rogues gallery in both mental and physical prowess, gets amped up to such ridiculous levels that he is even able to beat characters that give the likes of Superman a run for their money. Not only that, but, this kind of writing often allows for some of the biggest ass pulls I have ever witnessed in the history of fiction. Like the time he killed Darkseid and became a literal fucking deity!  That's like, Kirito levels of bullshittery. Is bullshittery even a word? Who cares? Fuck it.
Basically, the main reason Batman can beat anybody is because of his sheer amount of popularity and reliability as a human character. That's it.

In My Hero Academia, we do not see any such thing. At least, not from what I've seen. All Might may be the most powerful character in the entire story (at least before he lost his powers that is), but, what he had in strength, other heroes and villains had to make up for with brains and ingenuity by finding new ways to use and implement their quirks. Either that or if they have a natural talent for something else that doesn't even require a quirk at all, like being good at strategy, emotional manipulation, having good intuition, being able to naturally predict movements in a fight, or something to that degree, it can all be used to make what could be technically weaker powers more useful and stronger when applied correctly. Sure, All For One might be able to go toe to toe with All Might in a physical fight to a certain point, but, he prefers to break All Might on a psychological and spiritual level more since he knows he can only last so long against him with his own powers if he faces him head on with sheer brute force.
Tactics like this also pretty much apply to just about any character who isn't All Might or somebody who is closer to his level of power and skill.


5. Art

Okay, so, this one I wasn't able to confirm 100%, but, I'm going to do my best to explain why I believe Kohei Horikoshi's art attracts so many comic book fans to the manga and the anime.

Judging from the man's line work, his choice of colour palette and colouring style on the individual manga volumes, and the extremely exaggerated angles and anatomy of his characters, I would say that aside from the artists who created shounen manga he admired growing up, Joe Madureira, one of the West's most renowned and respected comic book artists definitely had an impact on his work.

Almost everything from the way he structures his panels, the flow of them, and his use of very dramatic poses, bold, thick line work and harsh shading all screams Joe Madureira in both style and flair. Each page of the manga is packed with as much energy and adrenaline as it's animated counterpart and draws your eyes in from the very first page.

Of course Madureira isn't the only possible influence as there are many others that can be seen. So far, the only one he has really confirmed as a major influence on his work is the art of Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy and who kids from my generation might recognize for the art style of the Disney film Atlantis.

Then of course, some people theorize John Byrne's art on Superman could be another key influence, especially for the design of All Might albeit mixed with some elements of Goku so naturally Akira Toriyama's work on Dragon Ball would be thrown in with this as well.
There are many possibilities and we can only wait until Horikoshi reveals and confirms more in interviews. However, I'd like to believe that I've read enough comic books to know certain styles and influences when I see them.


6. Writing

The final reason behind My Hero Academia's success is it's writing. Everything from it's characters, themes, world building, and tone brings about all the best elements that we love not only from Western superhero comic books, but, from shounen anime in general. It manages to be lighthearted and serious enough to make it fun. Plus it actually has heroes doing the things superheroes should be doing in the genre.

That is unlike modern day Marvel and DC who have pretty much turned once iconic characters and their books into slice of life 'comedies' that spew forth shitty extremist political propaganda that nobody wants to see or hear about in fiction that is supposed to be teaching us good values that just about every human being on the planet can at least agree with on some level for the past seven or so years. But, there are plenty of YouTube channels who discuss this particular can of worms in more detail for you to check out, so, I'm just gonna leave things at that concerning that issue.

The characters, while still standard shounen tropes on the surface, are taken and often subverted to your expectations to keep the story more or less unpredictable and even if you can somehow predict what is going to happen, it still manages to keep your attention and allow you to experience all the other awesome things that build up to that point.
The characters are mostly all likeable because, despite their extraordinary powers and abilities, they are still human and are very relatable in a variety of ways. Not only that, but, any flaws they may posses are immediately recognizable and they often get a chance of redemption and growth as they develop over the course of the story.

Speaking of development, most battle shounen stories tend to only have the main protagonist experience any kind of growth both in terms of their abilities and personality. However, as the tournament arc of this series showed, Kohei Horikoshi allowed most of the cast a chance to develop further and he continues to do with each subsequent arc that has followed. Each arc is short sweet and to the point, just like it's fight scenes which are very creative and don't last any longer than they need to instead of drawing them out for as long as possible or inserting unnecessary side quests.

As for the actual world, while it a somewhat pseudo realistic interpretation and outlook of what a world where everyone is super would be like, it is still one that feels believable, alive, and unique from both a shounen anime perspective and a superhero comic perspective. The world kind of feels like if you took Naruto and combined it with the gripping and compelling themes, storytelling, and and great character writing of the original 80s and 90s run of the X-Men comic books and the timeless aspects of Spider-Man's story that teach people about the importance of accountability, responsibility, and self-improvement. Which is something that is sorely needed more than ever in today's society.


This, ladies and gentlemen, are my theories as to why My Hero Academia is as successful as it is.

Why Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode Is Awesome

Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode is, without a shred of doubt in my mind, one of the best anime I have ever seen. So much so that it managed to bump Black Lagoon, a show that I love dearly, out of my top 10 anime of all time list.
If you know me personally or have been following my channel since the very beginning, you will know that I've never been a huge fan of anime that have art styles and character designs that lack not only detail, but, actual solid forms.
I guess one could say that the only reason I've been able to watch and even enjoy anime that go for this kind of visual approach would have to be thanks to series like Konosuba or Serial Experiments Lain because of how well these shows capitalize on the advantages of having a style like this from it's directing, animation, atmosphere, and storytelling.

However, it's not just about the visuals. There was something about this show that, after viewing it, left me scratching my head while trying to rattle my brain, doing my best to determine why I enjoyed this series as much as I did and why I want more people to watch it.
I mean, this series, despite having very favourable reviews and ratings on multiple websites from a variety of critics and even having a profound impact on the works of certain Hollywood directors, doesn't seem to be talked about or even discussed much, if even at all anymore.
Once I completed this series, I came to the conclusion, after much thinking and rewatching most scenes, that this series is all about having fun and enjoying yourself through it's, for lack of a better description, cartoonish visuals, while having a strong, gripping story that keeps you hooked on each episode and invested in both the characters and the plot which I shall explain how and why in just a little bit.

What prompted me to watch this amazing series was the original four episode 1996 OVA series which was produced by Studio Madhouse and directed by the legendary Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who is most known for being the creator and director of Ninja Scroll and his directorial work on Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and the short segment, Program, from The Animatrix.
The OVA, while charming, entertaining, and visually spectacular, left much to be desired in terms of plot thanks to only having four episodes and being based on a Masami Yuuki's brief original run of the story which ran during the 1980s. It's limited number of episodes, sadly, also didn't allow a lot of time necessary for world building and character development either.

Decode, on the other hand, is loosely based on Yuuki's 2003 manga reboot titled Tetsuwan Birdy: Evolution which ran for several years before concluding in 2012 and is actually known for being slightly more bloody and violent than either of it's anime adaptations.

Anyways, Decode definitely delivered, in most aspects, on many of the things that weren't present and sorely needed in the original story, however, there were some minor areas where it still felt incomplete which I shall address later on in this video.

So, what was it about Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode exactly that made me come to the conclusion that I have? Why was I having fun while watching it? Why did it seem to keep my attention and encompass not only the things I look for in an anime as a whole, but, within the many genres that make up the show? Why, despite it's simplified visuals, was it able to captivate me and leave me spellbound by what I was witnessing on screen? How did all these things result in a story that was able to visually, aesthetically, and narratively keep a consistent tone throughout it's entire run and keep me genuinely entertained?

This, ladies and gentlemen, is Why Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode Is Awesome (and why you should watch it).


1. Tone & Aesthetic Through Plot

The plot for Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode follows the adventures of the interplanetary Space Federation Police Officer, Birdy Cephon Altera, who has been living undercover on Earth for the past six months as popular model and idol singer, Shion Arita. Her mission is to track, pursue, and capture a pair of criminals who have stolen and made off with a highly dangerous weapon from her home planet of which they intend to use on the unsuspecting population of Earth for their own research and experimentation. She is also tasked with retrieving this weapon and ensuring it is returned safely to her superiors within the Federation before such an event can occur.
During an intense battle with one of the suspects, she accidentally injures a young high school student by the name of Tsutomu Senkawa, who was used as a human shield by the suspect so he could make his escape. Senkawa's injury is, unfortunately, a fatal one and he finds himself on the verge of death. However, Birdy saves him by transferring his consciousness into her own body until such a time that her superiors can have his body healed and restored.
Now Senkawa is forced to balance his school life and both the lives of Birdy and her alter ego while helping her to stop a massive plot that could result in the end of all life on Earth as we know it.

The synopsis alone should give you an idea of the genres of fiction that make up the show's identity. The main genres being sci fi, action, gender bender, and comedy while genres like that of romance and even superheroes play a significant, yet, subtle role within the show's atmospheric framework.
As I mentioned in my introduction, the things that really make this series work from a plot perspective is it's ability to keep a consistent tone throughout all the episodes while providing a fun, lighthearted, and hopeful experience to it.

The plot does this by letting the sci fi and action elements serve as an anchor for the comedy which, as you can tell from the synopsis, is mostly based on the idea that our two main leads, who are both of the opposite gender, have to share a body for a certain period of time.
Most anime that are of the gender bender type, especially those where the characters are of opposite genders, tend to fall into the typical fan service and ecchi type of stories that tend to rely on many cliched jokes and over the top acting.
However, Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode takes a more unique approach in letting the comedy manifest itself in a more organic and natural form through elements of dialogue and very specific plot situations.

In terms of  the dialogue, I am referring mainly to the constant back and forth quips and conversations between Tsutomu and Birdy within their shared consciousness. While there is most certainly a lot of comedy in the more usual dialogues and interactions with the rest of the cast and the chemistry at play between them, these inner conversations are definitely where the spoken comedy really shines. Depending on the situation, you will either see either Tsutomu or Birdy give each other a hard time about their individual bad habits like Tsutomu's constant awkward behaviour or Birdy's insane appetite for food and taking long baths. Other examples include when either of them screw something up in an interaction with another character, or simply the hilarity of Tsutomu's friends thinking that he is now a crazy person for talking to himself in public.

As for the situation comedy elements, I'm afraid I cannot really address them without heading into some spoilers for one of the episodes in the second season. So, either click off the video now and watch the series before watching this video, or, if you're like me and spoilers don't affect your enjoyment of a series, then by all means, continue watching.

The second season is basically one that deals with the aftermath of the events that took place at the end of the first season and shifts the focus more onto Birdy and her past while Tsutomu and his friends take the backseat for most of this story arc.
In the fifth episode of this season, after Birdy is lured into a trap and sustains a life threatening injury, Tsutomu basically wakes up the next day after having a strange dream that appears to be a mix of his and Birdy's memories only to discover that he is now trapped in Birdy's body and is unable to change back into his one.
The worst part is that Birdy doesn't seem to present in their shared mind at all which provokes fears that mind fusion has already begun and that Birdy's personality could be completely overwritten and lost forever.
So, until Birdy's superiors can figure out how to solve the problem, Tsutomu is forced to ditch school and spend the day as Shion Arita handling all of Birdy's modelling gigs and other public appearances.

What makes the comedy in this episode great is seeing how Tsutomu's more awkward personality conflicts with the more confident public image of Shion Arita and how his lack of experience with girls causes him to not have the faintest clue or idea on how to act, behave, or dress like a girl without lapsing into his typical male characteristics by accident thus causing Birdy's alter ego to potentially lose her job or have Birdy's true identity revealed by journalists like Keisuke Muroto.

It is this episode specifically that reflects what I was talking about when it comes to Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode's ability to keep a consistent tone. While the first portion of the episode, especially the fight between Birdy and the villains, is rather serious, the second portion of the episode still manages to carry that same sense of urgency and danger into the predicament that Tsutomu finds himself in. With the comedy now feeling like a natural reaction to what is currently happening at this point in time with the story, it gives the viewer time to breathe and let the laughter reassure you that things will turn out alright in the end regardless of what happens in between now and the end of the episode. It also helps to prepare the viewer for what is a nail biting, adrenaline fueled, and emotional two part follow up before things get better. It is this writing formula that allows Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode to tell a serious story, but, one that is hopeful as opposed to being dark and brooding.

However, it's not just the plot that creates this kind of atmosphere throughout the story which leads me to talk about the characters of Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode.


2. Tone & Aesthetic Through Characters

The cast of Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode are some of the most fun, lovable, and memorable ones that I have experienced in a while. Admittedly, there are some characters, especially on the villains side, who could have used a bit more screen time in order to flesh out their personalities and motivations more, but, for the most part, the series does a decent job at making you invested in their relationships and the general chemistry between them.
The characters who really make the series shine is, of course, you guessed it, our two main protagonists, Tstutomu and Birdy.

Tsutomu and Birdy are almost the complete opposite of one another not only in the physical sense of them both being of the opposite gender, but, mostly in terms of their personalities and how they tackle and approach the situations they find themselves in.

Tsutomu is just an ordinary high school kid with a small group of trusted friends and the same worries and troubles as any kid his age. He prefers his own company most of the time and is very shy and awkward most of the time.  However, he isn't a total pushover and he will act should the situation call for it though, unlike Birdy, he tends to handle things in a more calm and rational manner than on impulse. He does have his sometimes temporary lapses to react on impulse, but, that sort of thing usually only happens in really desperate and dangerous circumstances.
Tsutomu is also shown to initially be more concerned with just living a normal high school life instead of pursuing romantic relationships with the girls around him until he develops feelings and a romantic chemistry with one of his classmates.

Birdy, on the other hand, is a confident, outgoing, playful, and upbeat individual who mainly uses this side of her persona to mask the fact that she is damaged in may ways emotionally due the horrible things she experienced as a young child. These things namely being in the middle of a terrorist attack that resulted in her almost dying and also being discriminated against by other alien races because she is an Altan, a human-like species of alien.
This often causes her to act on a strong emotional instinct and  this can sometimes prevent her from viewing the consequences of her actions within the context of the bigger picture.
However, at the same time, Birdy is also shown to have a lot of empathy and sympathy for others and she always does her best to be kind and care for those who she meets and helps out.
This really adds a lot of interesting layers and a depth to Birdy's character that you just don't find within series of this kind and it really keeps you emotionally invested in her and what she does.
That being said, what I love about the series handling of Tsutomu and Birdy's relationship is how they have it evolve and mature over the course of both seasons.

The first season begins with the two of them having to simply tolerate each other for the time being, to the two of them eventually becoming the best of friends by the end of the season. The first season does this by making Birdy experience daily human life on a more ordinary level in contrast to her life as a supermodel and combat officer by having her experience everything Tsutomu experiences with his friends, classmates, and even his blossoming relationship with Nakasugi. This allows Birdy to learn more about Tsutomu and understand who he is as a person.
Then, about just over halfway into the series, when it is revealed who is the host of the Ryunka is and Tsutomu discovers the identity of the host, it's up to Birdy to take initiative and try to prevent him from doing something brash that could potentially put all life on the entire planet at risk.

What makes this moment of conflict between the two friends so interesting and emotional is the fact that, despite what they say to one another, they both know in their hearts that the other really does understand what they are going through completely since they have been bonded together for so long in both a physical and spiritual sense.

We then come to the second season which basically deals with the aftermath of the events that took place at the end of the first season and deals with Birdy having to hunt down and arrest wanted fugitives from the Federation who broke out of custody and our now living as refugees on Earth. However, someone is killing the suspects one by one and it turns out that the killer might have something to do with Birdy's childhood. When both Birdy and Tsutomu eventually deduce who the killer is, Birdy enters an emotional state where she simply cannot bring herself to arrest her dearest friend and, just like with the first season where Birdy had to persuade Tsutomu to do the right thing, Tsutomu does the exact same thing for his partner that she did for him.
This is an extremely touching moment and the fact that we've seen this same kind of situation play out before, albeit from a somewhat altered perspective, makes you realize just how much Tsutomu has grown as a character and signifies the shift in their relationship from being one of friendship to being one almost akin to that of family.

By having Birdy and Tsutomu deal with someone they love dearly from either their present lives or from their past and experience almost similar situations makes for great character development and really adds a lot of depth and dimension to not only to the characters themselves, but, to the overall narrative of the plot. This allows for plenty of interesting plot twists and moments where we learn how almost every event that has happened in the past is somehow linked to what is happening in the present time in which the story takes place.

We now move on to the next aspect of Decode which is the art and animation.


3. Art, Animation, & Camerawork

Like I mentioned earlier in the video, Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode is a show that takes a very minimalist approach with it's visuals. Especially when it comes to the character designs. As I have also previously stated, I am not normally a fan of these kinds of visuals as I prefer the art of any anime that I watch to at least have a certain level of detail and form whether we are talking about backgrounds, character models, vehicles, etc.

However, the way in which the team behind Decode decided to handle this series and make it one hell of a viewing experience is nothing short of incredible.
Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode was directed by Kazuki Akane who is most known for his work as the director of The Vision Of Escaflowne and Noein. For those of you who are familiar with Akane's work, you will know that he is a man who puts a lot of thought and effort into each of his projects regardless of the kind of successes or failures they endure.

Let's first talk about Akane's directing skills. Akane is known for depicting scenes that are able to convey very specific moods to them. His greatest strength, however, is his ability to create a sense of epicness and raw emotion in his action scenes that flow naturally and are easy to follow. The action scenes for Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode are no different. Each of these scenes are extremely kinetic and fluid in their motion and this is where Akane and his team of storyboard artists ranging from legendary names like Shinichiro Watanabe to the late Umanousuke Iida, it is no wonder that the series turned out to be the smash hit that it was and still is. This series had such an impact, that the final battle between Birdy and Nataru in the last episode of the second season, actually inspired the fight choreography and camerawork used by Zack Snyder for the battle between Superman and Zodd in Man Of Steel.
There is also the scene where Birdy rescues two kids from a group of thugs that looks as though it inspired the way Jay Oliva, director of the animated adaptation of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, chose to depict the iconic scene of Batman rescuing a baby and it's mother from members of The Mutants gang. Also, there is the matter of how Joss Wheadon's The Avengers seems to have used the news and commentary scenes after the events of the Ryunka's destruction almost shot for shot, but, that's at least from what we can assume anyways.

However, it's not just the action scenes. Even the seemingly more mundane scenes are handled with care and succeed in creating specific atmospheres within the context of a situation. Akane likes to use a lot of close up shots wherever it is appropriate so that the viewer can see the expressions on the character's faces whether they are reacting to dialogue, surroundings, etc.

This is where having minimalist character designs works best. Akane takes advantage of the flexibility these designs provide by using many elements of twisting, distortion, elongation, and more rag doll like movements to rev up the emotional weight of each scene while creating interesting and visually engaging battle scenes, hilarious comedic reactions, and moments of heartfelt drama.
While personally I do wish they had used more detailed designs like the original OVA had, for this kind of adaptation and the fact that it's an A-1 Pictures production, it just suits this style more.
Another thing I would like to briefly talk about is the colour palette. The colour palette for Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode is one that, while typical for an A-1 Pictures production, actually helps to create that fun and light hearted tone and aesthetic that I was talking about earlier in the video.
There is mostly a strong emphasis on using various shades and hues related to the colours that make up Birdy's look which is mostly white, blue, pink, and orange. However, the show does allow for other colours to have a place in it although it is mostly used to reflect the mood of a scene or a particular setting or location within the story.

The series will usually keep the palette bright and vibrant throughout most of the story to reflect the fun and hopeful tone of the story, however, it does make use of more strict and even more dull and muted colours in more serious scenes in order create a feeling of danger and tension which gives the viewer an idea of what is at stake. This happens particularly at the endings of both seasons.
At the end of the first season, as Birdy and Tsutomu try to stop the rampage and destruction being caused by the Ryunka, the episode uses darker shades of blue and cold lighting which gives the viewer the sense that if Birdy fails in her mission, this day will be the twilight moments for the Earth as it all comes to an end.
Then, at the end of the second season, when Birdy battles her childhood friend, Nataru, the colour palette goes dull, grey, and muted giving a cold atmosphere that reflects Birdy's sadness in having to battle the person she cares for the most and loves more than anything.

Now, as great as visuals are at telling stories, anime is, at the end of the day, an audiovisual medium of entertainment and what would this video be if I didn't mention the music of this amazing series.


4. Music & Sound

The score for Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode was composed by Yugo Kanno, who is best known for his work for his work on the current anime adaptation of legendary manga series, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, the recent Batman: Ninja movie, Aijin, Blame, and Psycho Pass.
Kanno's music is mostly known for being able to paint an epic orchestral soundscape while incorporating a lot of electronic elements into his work, and, the music for Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode is no different. However, unlike most of his other works which tend to keep a sombre vibe to them, his work on Decode is almost the same as his work on JoJo's, where the instruments and the way in which he chooses to compose and arrange the music is meant to add an element of cool, but, fun aesthetic to it.
One just has to listen to the main theme for Birdy to get an idea of what I mean. That's not to say that there aren't any sombre tracks on the soundtrack. In fact Kanno utilizes his music to great effect by using it in a similar way to how DC used score in their renowned animated universe with shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Superman: The Animated Series.
In the shows I just mentioned, DC would usually have little to no music play during dialogue scenes. When it came to action scenes, they would use the hero's triumphant theme whenever they arrived on the scene to save the day and more serious sounding music if the adversary the hero was facing was not your average street thug.

With Decode, during scenes of dialogue, we tend to hear music that is upbeat, catchy, and carries the vibe of the modern hustle and bustle of city and suburban life. Then, during scenes of action in which Birdy is more powerful than the enemy or enemies she is up against, we hear her theme song play which is triumphant in nature and gives the viewer the sense that the hero always wins in the end. Finally, in action scenes where the stakes are higher and Birdy's foe is as powerful if not more powerful than she is, the music becomes darker and more sombre in tone which makes the viewer feel concerned and worried about what the final result of the battle will be.
This mixed with all the superhero genre plot and trope elements of Tetsuwan Birdy's story give it that comic book vibe and actually help to sell the show to newcomers of anime looking to explore the medium more while remaining in familiar territory.
Yugo Kanno was definitely the man for the job and those of you who are familiar with his work can agree with me that the man certainly knows how to make every show he has worked on feel grand and cinematic scale with a touch of coolness and style to them.

Before I conclude this video, I think it's only fair to bring up some of the minor gripes that I have with the show. The first thing is the villains. Sure, while they are cool, interesting and pose a threat to our lead characters, some of them just feel flat.
This is most likely due to the fact that they don't get a lot of screen time in order for us to learn about them and their motives. Especially the supposed big villain of the story, Christina Revi. The series unfortunately, like with the OVA, completely under utilizes her as a character and she ends up not feeling like a genuine threat at all. Shyamalan didn't really have much personality or motivation other than he had an extreme case of an insane god complex, but, he was an okay villain albeit a bit generic.
The villains from the second season, on the other hand, feel a lot more fleshed out and certainly have a lot more depth and personality to them. Also the fact that they are all linked to events that happened in Birdy's past in some way only makes out for better plot twists and more reason to invest yourself in them as characters.

There is also the matter of Nakasugi's relationship with Tsutomu in the first season. They never really explain what their relationship was like prior to her accident and her sudden attraction to Tsutomu. Where they childhood friends? Was she just a classmate who Tsutomu had a crush on and was lucky enough to find out that she had feelings for him too? Did she only have feelings for him as a result of the Ryunka's effects on her body while she was it's host? We'll never actually know. It's probably explained in the manga somewhere, but, at the time of this recording, I'm only ten chapters in and most of the manga hasn't been translated into English yet, so, yeah. There's that.
Also, while I'm okay with the minimalist character designs since they were used to great effect, I do feel that the show could have gone with more detailed models like the OVA had. I plan on making a video sometime in the future covering the OVA more in depth, but, what I can say for now is that the OVA was certainly impressive and had a lot of the same heart and spirit behind it as this adaptation did and it had it was able to deliver on impressive and well animated action scenes and character expressions.

Other than those few gripes, I believe it's safe to say that A-1 Pictures did an incredible job in handling this series and it's definitely become an instant favourite of mine and I would definitely rewatch it as many times as I possibly can.

In the end, Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode is, simply put, a show that has all the fun storytelling elements from the glory days of comic book superheroes (before they went all went to hell as of five to six years ago) while combining it with all the best anime has to offer from it's brilliant visuals, memorable characters, intriguing plot, and hilarious comedy. It is able to be mature and lighthearted at the same time thanks to it's brilliant writing and visual ability to create such a well balanced atmosphere that not many shows can get right. This is a show that I would highly recommend to newcomers of anime, especially if they are fans of superheroes, sci fi, and action.
Accompanied by an amazing score and a team of the most talented individuals that the industry has to offer, it's no wonder that it is one of the most revered and respected works to have come out of anime. That and  it's ability to blend so many genres together while creating it's own unique identity is something to truly be admired.

That ladies and gentlemen, is why Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode Is Awesome and why you should watch it.

Septicflesh - The Masters Of Extreme Symphonic Music

During August of 2017, after exploring the music of symphonic black metal band, Carach Angren, and symphonic death metal band, Fleshgod Apocalypse, I kept seeing a band by the name of Septicflesh being constantly recommended to me on my YouTube account as a similar artist. The same thing would happen on Last.FM, The Metal Archives, and many other places online where I happened to look up music either for listening purposes or for gathering information on my favourite artists.

The first song I checked out from this band was the track Prometheus from their 2014 album, Titan, and at first I wasn't very impressed by the music of this band. Although they carried the title of being a symphonic death metal band, I was initially disappointed to hear that they weren't as fast and technical as Fleshgod Apocalypse and there was something about the mixing or tempo of the song that simply did not resonate with me upon my first hearing. So, I initially dismissed the band and continued on listening to the other bands that I had recently discovered. However, towards the end of August, I saw that the band had released a new music video for their new single, Portrait Of A Headless Man, from their then upcoming album, Codex Omega, and the video had garnered a lot of attention on the various metal Facebook groups and magazine websites that I follow. Then, after much hesitation, I eventually caved in and decided to give the band another chance and now I can happily say that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I immediately fell in love with not only the extremeness and heaviness of the song, but, the video looked as though it came straight from a dystopian cyberpunk movie or tv show like Ghost In The Shell, The Matrix, or Texhnolyze. I was then immediately sold on getting my hands on this record the moment it dropped.

Though, upon my first listening, I initially found their music to be far too extreme for my tastes. The opening track, Dante's Inferno, certainly gave me bad memories of the original old black and white film Li'Inferno and many others just left me feeling unsettled and for a short while, I actually couldn't listen to the album all that often without getting chills down my spine and flashes of horrific imagery going through my mind. However, as the months went by, I eventually began to fall in love with the rest of the album and even checked out a lot of their older stuff too. Now, I've become one of their biggest fans and after experiencing all they have had to offer, no other extreme metal band seems to give me the same feeling that these guys are able to and that's saying something coming from someone who is usually irked by most kinds of dark music.

Septicflesh, for those of you who aren't aware, are a symphonic death metal band hailing from Athens in Greece and they have been around since the early 1990s. During their career, they have released a total of 10 studio albums and ever since they first broke into the metal scene, they have really set themselves apart from most other bands in the death metal genre. Not only in terms of songwriting, composition, production, and sound, but, particularly in their lyrical style. The band started off their career by playing a style of death metal that contained a lot of atmospheric and doom elements which eventually evolved over time to the more orchestral and symphonic based style that we have now come to know them for since the release of 2008's Communion. Despite their evolution in sound, their lyricism has always remained consistent and different from most death metal bands to this very day. Unlike a lot of death metal bands, especially in the early days of the genre, the band chose to base their lyrics on themes such as occultism, fantasy, mythology, and the works of horror author, H.P. Lovecraft as opposed to the usual blood, guts, and gore themed lyrics that are a standard of the genre.

Also, even though they have constantly evolved their sound, they have always managed to maintain a level of excellence and consistency with each and every single album they put out which are generally met with both critical and commercial acclaim.
Now, you might be asking yourself, what is it about this band that just seems to captivate music lovers and what is it that makes them so great and successful with what they do? How can a band that produces such dark and sinister music be one of the most prolific and recognized names in the metal and orchestral music scenes?

There are several reasons, I believe, to be behind their success and I thought it would be a great and fun topic of interest to cover in a video. So, sit back, pull out your music sheets, and dust off those ancient scrolls and tomes as we dive into Why Septicflesh Are The Masters Of Extreme Symphonic Music.

1. Songwriting, Composition, & Arrangement

Septicflesh have always been masters of their craft. Even before they found their current sound. They have always, without fail, been able to write dark, mystical, otherworldly, and haunting melodies that add a feeling of dread, horror, and unease to their music that keeps the listener engrossed and immersed with each story or concept they are attempting to tell.

This because the band's lead guitarist and main songwriter, Christos Antoniou, is a classically trained musician who obtained his Masters Degree in concert music from the London College Of Music and was taught by legendary teachers and composers such as Martin Ellerby, one of Britain's most celebrated composers who headed the course, and Adam Gorb, who is the head of composition at The Royal Northern College Of Music and another celebrated and respected British composer.
The skills that Chrisos has equipped himself with, shine through with each and every song that he has composed and even more so since 2008's Communion. This is because with every album from then 'til present day, the band have always worked with the renowned Prague Philharmonic Orchestra as the unseen, unspoken, yet, important and vital fifth member of the band.

With every song that Christos writes and composes, he is always careful to make certain that both the orchestral parts and the metal parts balance each other out and both get an equal chance to shine without either one completely dominating or stealing the spotlight from the other. He is also careful to take the lyrics into account when writing the music as well as each melody and every instrument has to not only match what is going on in the story, but, has to create a certain mood and atmosphere to immerse the listener into the world which the lyrics are describing.

Another thing that is important to note about Christos songwriting is that, unlike a lot of other symphonic extreme metal bands who tend to go overboard with the orchestra and choirs and use them as a crutch to support their sound, he will often write parts of the music to use absolutely no orchestral or choral elements at all and will instead let the instruments that the band themselves play dominate the main idea behind the music which is the brutality, extremeness, and darkness of the sound. Christos also has the uncanny ability to write elements of black metal, gothic metal, and industrial metal into the songs while still allowing the band's overall sound to still retain the brutality and heaviness of death metal.

Christos, however, is not the only important member of the band nor is he the sole and only reason behind the band's success. Each member of the band, although different, specialize in something that is unique only to them as individuals and it is these elements that are vital to the band's ability to work as a group.

2. Lyrics

As I mentioned before, what has not only separated Septicflesh from their peers within the death metal genre, but, has remained consistent without any sort of alteration during the course of their 28 year long career is the kind of lyrics, themes, and subject matter that they choose to focus on.
The band have always focused on tales drawn from real world mythology, fantasy epics, occult knowledge, and literature from the most renowned and acclaimed of authors, poets, and other literary contributors. However, the band don't simply cut and paste these stories and add a musical element to them which is often done in most cases. The band's clean vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Sotiris Vayenas, is the band's main lyricist and he has a unique talent in taking these subjects and either putting unique spins on the stories or make them draw parallels to current events. He can even make seemingly everyday phenomena, like black holes in space or the light of the moon, have a feeling of supernatural horror and dread behind them and how they occur. In doing this, Sotiris is able to provoke the listener's thoughts and let them experience the fear and the horror that could potentially be happening around us as we continue on with our daily lives, completely ignorant to the possible realities of our universe. To illustrate my point, I shall use the lyrics to the first track off of Communion titled Lovecraft's Death.

Lovecraft's Death is a song dedicated as a tribute to acclaimed horror author and godfather of the cosmic horror genre, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, and his renowned Cthulhu Mythos. The lyrics are as follows:

The cold comes,
The rats in the walls break the deadly sound of silence,
As time decays,
You try to name the unnameable, a whisperer in darkness

Our hound smells you,
The haunter of the dark will take you to our realm,
Your life, your books,
March in front your closing eyes, beyond the walls of sleep

Lovecraft in the realm of the dead,
Lovecraft in the realm of the dead

Obsessed with Necronomicon,
The Arab's wicked dream,
You found the path to Azathoth and walked in Dagon's realm,

Your friends were haunted too,
Do you remember Charles?
Or haven't you heard the music of Eric Zann?

The call of Cthulhu we disguised with notes and raving rhythms,
To spread the seed of lurking fear into the heart of man

Lovecraft in the realm of the dead
Lovecraft in the realm of the dead

Your time is out, you saw too much, you used the silver key
You know too well that minds like yours can never rest in peace
You stared at the abyss

You'll never rest in peace
You'll never rest in peace

The reason why the lyrics for this song are genius is because of the fact that Sotiris uses them in a way that implies that perhaps Lovecraft's stories were more than just fictitious tales meant to entertain, but, actual events that Lovecraft either experienced himself or uncovered while researching sources to fuel his creative endeavors.

Sotiris uses a mixture of the titles and characters of Lovecraft's most popular stories including the ever popular Call Of Cthulhu, Dagon, The Rats In The Walls, The Music Of Eric Zann, The Hound, Beyond The Walls Of Sleep, The Curious Case Of Charles Dexter Ward, among several others. If you would like me to make another video in the future analyzing the lyrics of this song in depth for those of you who are maybe unfamiliar with the works of Lovecraft then be sure to let me know in the comments below. Anyways. the way the lyrics are written makes it sound as though Lovecraft, as he lies on his deathbed and as his life is starting to fade, his soul begins to enter the realm of The Elder Gods and The Great Old Ones. While this is happening, he is reminded of the signs he experienced before coming to the maddening realization that he was right all along before he is hit with the revelation that he will not be able to rest in peace. Then, as the final line of the song is repeated for the last time, Spiros, the lead vocalist, let out a scream paints a ghastly scene of Lovecraft witnessing the unnameable, indescribable horror of the creatures and abominations that inhabit the realm of The Elder Gods and screaming with dread as he goes completely and utterly insane as his life abruptly ends. We then hear the sounds of church bells ringing in the distance which not only signify that Lovecraft has passed on from this world, but, creates a contrast between the paradise that our earthly religions promise us after death and the possibility that people like Lovecraft with high levels of intellect have discovered this to not be the case.

It is with this kind of ending that Sotiris manages to provoke the listener into confronting their deepest and inner most fears of mortality, death, and the fact that none us actually know what or if something awaits us beyond this life regardless of our personal or religious beliefs.
Sotiris lyrical writing style is one that truly enhances the feel, the tone, and the atmosphere of the music and without them, the music would lack that extra level of creep factor that makes the music of Septicflesh extreme and dark.

There are plenty of other great examples that I could use such as The Vampire Of Nazareth, Portrait Of A Headless Man, Pyramid God, Science, Persepolis, War In Heaven, Dante's Inferno, and The Order Of Dracul. However, if I went through all of them, this video would probably be well over twelve hours long and I would have surpassed Digibro's records when it comes to 'who can make the longest analysis video of all time on the internet along with shit tons of other content for a billion side channels.'

Jokes aside, my point is that if one wishes to truly appreciate the music of this band in full, one would have to be somewhat familiar with at least the basic stories, history, and names of the figures or locations being referred to in each song. It is not very often that I would stress the importance of lyrics. My usual view on lyrics has always been that as long as they aren't stupid, unintelligent, annoying in repetition, or the only selling point of the song to mask the overall poor sound and songwriting, then I don't usually care what they are about. However, bands like Septicflesh are one of those exceptional cases where the lyrics are just as important as the music itself. This leads me to the final reason as to why I believe this band have been able to garner as much success and recognition as they have despite the Greek metal scene not being one of the biggest or most well known in the world.

3. Visual Aesthetic
Septicflesh have, without a doubt, one of if not the best imagery and visual aesthetics in the entire metal scene if you had to ask me personally. While most bands and movements in metal tend to imitate, draw inspiration from, or copy one another, Septicflesh drew the inspiration more from comic books and movies than from other bands or movements known for their makeup and costumes. In a recent interview with Banger TV, Christos stated that instead of looking to figures like King Diamond, black metal bands, or shock rockers like Manson and Cooper, they instead got the idea for their costumes from movies and comic book characters like Batman, Hellraiser, and various others.
All the member's costumes all look as though they were made by a professional studio in Hollywood and the very polished, high quality look of the materials used in these outfits immediately give the impression that these guys mean business and aren't here to fool around. You can immediately sense that these people are driven by their passion and are determined to make it to the top despite having the odds stacked against them when it comes to their local scene and the competition in surrounding countries or abroad. Although they only began to use the costumes since their reunion, it has become extremely difficult to imagine or even remember the band in their early days when they wore nothing but your typical metal band fashion wear like band t-shirts, sunglasses, leather jackets, etc.

It is here that I am reminded of an interview with Venezuelan born bass metal DJ, Zardonic, who once said in an interview that image is important for your marketing and this couldn't be any more true considering how many metal musicians and their fan base tend to think and believe that image is not important and is used more as a gimmick to cover up bad music. For example, most death metal bands tend to go with the usual oversized band or street wear shirts and baggy jeans look, but, Septicflesh not only want their music to stand out, but, they also want to their image to give the listener an idea as to what their music is all about. There are far too many bands who, while being great musicians, don't care much for having an image outside the album art. While I understand that not every band makes or has the money to afford certain resources, there are still plenty of cheaper and cost effective ways to create a more simple yet elegant 'gimmick' so to speak. On the other side of the spectrum, there are also far too many bands who lean way too much on their look to hide the quality of their music, but, Septicflesh are one of those few bands who are able to balance out the visuals with the music.

The band's image, however, is much more than just the costumes. Spiros 'Seth' Antoniou, the bassist, harsh vocalist, and elder brother of Christos, is the band's main artist and has always done the album art and booklet art for the band. Not only that, but, he has done art for many other big names in the metal scene such as Decapitated, Kamelot, Paradise Lost, Ex Deo, Moonspell, and Soilwork to name a few.
Spiros work, according to him, and I quote:

“I consider my art, a dark portal to things forbidden, freed from the safeguarding valve of Reason. My works are distorting dream mirrors of the body and soul. When I am painting, I am trying to emulate the conscious state of lucid dreaming. Besides, a dream is actually a canvas filled with images (and much more) from the subconscious, with responsible artist the Hyper Ego.”
This statement perfectly reflects the entity that is Septicflesh and all of Spiros work that he has done for the band and always reflects the concept of each album they release along with the overall dark and extreme atmosphere of their music. The best and greatest example that I can use for this is the album art he did for their 2011 album, The Great Mass. The concept of The Great Mass basically boils down to the idea that the word 'mass' has many connotations and different meanings depending on the context it is used in. The word mass has four different meanings.

1. A large body of matter with no definitive shape.
2. A large number of people or objects crowded together.
3. Involving or affecting large numbers of people or things.
4. Assemble or cause to assemble into a single body or mass.

Each individual track, though they may appear to be separate, actually represent each meaning of the word 'mass' in some way, shape, or form. This is further reflected in Spiros album art titled 'The God That Wants To Kill Himself' which basically asks the age old question of 'is man a god and if so is man a suicidal god?'

The art piece basically depicts the horrific and shocking image of a god practically cannibalizing himself with all the various depictions of himself falling out of his now mutilated body.
The album explores this concept by telling it's tales through the lens of 'the pursuit of knowledge', so to speak, and how that pursuit can often result in dire consequences that almost make it feel as though we, the human race, are forever being punished for simply searching for the truth and whether we will ever be ready to face or understand it when and if confronted by it.
The fact as well that Spiros art is done in a way that tries to emulate the conscious state of lucid dreaming which, funnily enough, ties in to the fact that our quest for knowledge or success always starts with a dream, and, it's often that those dreams will drive a person to reach that goal no matter the cost, only for them to awaken from the dream and realize that what they had been striving for all their life until that moment was not all it was made out to be.
Out of all the death metal bands I have listened to over the years, I have never encountered a band that actually plans it's work out in full and in such meticulous detail like this all the while utilizing the strengths, skills, and talent of each individual member to create a working unit that is able to produce such masterful work.

If there is anything at all that new and upcoming bands should do to ensure a long and successful career, it's to take a page from bands like Septicflesh as this method of teamwork has always proven to yield results and bear fruit while keeping your music and your brand interesting and relative no matter the trends in art or in music.
It is safe to say that the theatrical elements of Septicflesh's visual aesthetic has definitely succeeded in selling the idea on that their music is most certainly dark, heavy, but most of all, extreme.

In conclusion, Septicflesh are definitely the masters of extreme symphonic music because extreme music relies on dark themes, motifs, subject matter, and sound in order to create it's idea and purpose of being able to create something beautiful out of darkness and tragedy. Septicflesh tick all the boxes and meet all the requirements when it comes to such things in their sound, lyricism, and image. Now, Septicflesh are most certainly not the first band in the world to cover such subjects or have a visual gimmick to market themselves, however, they are most certainly one of, if not the best modern examples of how to do it right.

Septicflesh are able to show they mean business and that, if you are someone who isn't used to hearing heavy music that covers dark subject matter and has extreme imagery, then you had either get yourself mentally prepared or go home.
This band have clearly shown that if you want people to take the ideas and extremeness of your music seriously, you have to give people the theatricality that they want and are looking for and you should be able to do this with both your image and your music.

The band's music is not only extreme, but, is also innovative and is able to convey it's themes clearly and precisely while allowing the listener some room to add their own interpretations to the lyrics and the stories being told. Their ability to blend the brutality of death metal, the cold soundscape of black metal, the eeriness of gothic metal, the polish of industrial metal, and the haunting atmosphere of dark orchestral music with exquisite and high quality visual elements is something that really adds a lot of depth to their work and should be applauded. There are very few extreme metal artists who are able to blend various elements from other genres as well as this and there are even fewer who manage to balance them perfectly. This, my friends, is why Septicflesh are the masters of extreme symphonic music.

Carach Angren - Horror Through Music

Growing up, and even now as an adult, I cannot say I'm a huge fan of horror whether we are talking in the form of literature, movies, video games, or even music. Sure, I can enjoy certain kinds of horror stories, mostly those where the horror is not the main focus but is used more as a visual aesthetic than anything else. Examples of this would have to include anything from the Underworld movies, Berserk, Vampire Hunter D, Alien, Predator, and dare I even say most stories by H.P. Lovecraft.
However, when it comes to actual horror, stuff that's meant to make feel uncomfortable and fill your head with a sense of paranoia for days, weeks, months, or at worst, the rest of your lifetime is something I've never been a fan of and as a child, for any of us, these experiences are completely unavoidable since our minds are very impressionable at that age.

I can still remember being creeped out not just by your typical dark moments in animated kids films, but, from books that were available in my school library, clips from documentaries, and the hyper realistic paintings of hell or the apocalypse dating from the Renaissance onwards.
Things like depictions of the various demons and monsters from hell mentioned in the Bible  old black and white movie clips, the sketchy, yet, detailed illustrations contained in the particular publication of Bram Stocker's Dracula that I read as a kid, the disturbing features of witches in the illustrations contained in fairy tale books, and pretty much any screen shot or clip from exorcism flims.

Though, more often than not, it is creepy music that forces these kinds of images to resurface in my mind and leave me with the feeling of paranoia that the fears that have been engrained into my brain based on my childhood experiences are either watching me from the darkness of my bedroom at night or creeping up behind me when I'm listening to the music in question.
Carach Angren are a horror themed symphonic black metal band based in the Netherlands and most of their albums are concept albums that either tell the stories of real life ghost legends or original concepts based on things like fairy tales, war, or superstitious objects such as the ouija board.
The band has three consistent members, who for the sake of easier pronunciation in this video I shall refer to their stage names, Seregor on vocals, Ardek on keyboards, and Namtar on drums and they normally have guest and session members to fill in for the parts that they are unable to perform themselves. So far they have released two EPs and five full-length albums all of which have tell a particular story.

So, what is it that makes Carach Angren's music that causes me to come face to face with a lot of my own fears and superstitions which normally I would avoid, but, somehow strangely enjoy at the same time? Well, in order to find this answer, I'll be breaking down the various elements of their music, including some elements of their visual aesthetic, to show you just what makes this band, in my experience, the masters of horror music:

1. Lyrics

Carach Angren's lyrics, unlike most metal bands, are very straightforward. There is no heavy reliance on similes, metaphors, and poetry in the way that your typical metal band writes their lyrics. While this can put the average band in danger of being labelled as either 'cheesy' or 'talentless', Carach Angren are one of those few bands whose lyrical style actually suits the ebb and flow of their compositions and overall sound.
Seregor, who is not only the vocalist, but, the brains behind the lyrics and each story that the band tells, has an uncanny ability to not only ensure that the lyrics convey a particular aesthetic, but, is able to make folklore or topics that the skeptical side of your brain would normally shrug off stay in your mind and make you question whether or not there is a reason we are a superstitious race of beings and whether these legends and tales are true or not.

Seregor's lyrics flow naturally between the first and third person and read like that of dark and twisted children's book filled with dreaded tales of a macabre nature. The way the scenes are described and construction of the dialogue reminds me of the days when my kindergarten teachers would read to us during story time and how they would often use props or music to set the mood or add emphasis during certain scenes and how it would often terrify some of us and have us on the edge of our seats and sending chills down our spines. Especially when they would turn the book in our direction and there would be a terrifying illustration of the villain or creature of the story. The way each scene and setting is written gives enough detail to paint a picture of what is going on so that the listener can follow, but, also doesn't go too in depth so that it allows the music and Seregor's vocals to let you imagine and project your own fears into how you would visualize the story from the characters to the environment. Not to mention that the dialogue is used in such a way that it only makes the unsettling descriptions of the settings even worse by actually adding to the mental state of the protagonist as they experience the events in their respective tales.

The real genius behind Seregor's lyrics however, lies in the fact that he puts all of his time and effort into researching the history behind these legends and tales and even when the band decide to tell a more original story, they always find a way to include real life superstitions that some people still believe in to this very day and weave them into the narrative. These thing generally include things from ghosts of suicide victims haunting the spots where they died or people meeting their doom after encountering a strange phenomena.

This means that something that is already tragic like troops wanting to end their lives during times of conflict is made only more terrifying not only in the way the song in question ends, but, how it ties in to the overarching story of the album thus making the twist at the end leave a truly haunting and lasting impression on the mind which is only enhanced by Seregor's vocal delivery which leads me to second aspect that makes this band great in telling horror stories through music:

2. Vocals

Seregor's vocals are perfect for these kind of lyrics because instead of using his vocals as another instrument to create a harmonizing melody with the other instruments (which is traditionally done in most styles of music), he instead uses them as though he is narrating the story to an audience. Kind of like an audio book only with a lot more flair to it.
For the most part, the songs have your standard black metal styled vocals, but, in order to add to the drama unfolding in these dark and insidious tales, Seregor will add in odd and exaggerated techniques as though he were acting the roles of the characters himself.
This includes moaning like a corpse that has risen from it's coffin, cackling like an otherworldly specter tormenting it's victim into madness, or using heavy and raspy breathing that quickens in pace like an unknown entity chasing it's prey through the darkest of forests on the blackest of nights.
Whenever these elements are used in his technique, not only do they enhance the instrumental side of the music, but, the fact that it's done so suddenly, unexpectedly, and in the most disturbing of ways it often makes me jump, even when I'm busy doing something else while listening to their albums and I will usually find myself glancing at every dark corner of the living room expecting to see something or someone standing there watching me.

This style of narration often reminds me of narration that would take place in old black and white horror films, tv series, or horror radio dramas where in order to give the listener  a truly memorable scare, the reader would allow the tension to gradually build up before using elements like dramatic pauses or suddenly raising their voices before letting a sound effect or background music suddenly jump to add emphasis to the moment and make it seem as though it jumped out of nowhere. Not to mention the fact that the static and the way that old microphones would compress a person's voice would only make the recording sound even more ominous and terrifying.
This leads me to the following point which is the orchestration.

3. Orchestration And Instrumentals

Ardek, the keyboardist, orchestrator, and lead songwriter behind the band's music is not a man who likes to limit himself in any way, shape, or form whether it comes to sound or actual song structures in his music. One just needs to look at not only his work in Carach Angren, but, his solo work, his film scores, and his collaborations with bands such and Pain and Ex Deo to see just how flexible he is when it comes to his style and influences.
This is quite evident when it comes to the way he writes and structures the bands songs and even their overall sound. While he understands the rules of traditional horror music and what makes it unsettling, he also understands that he often has to break and bend those rules so that their albums don't lose their impact and fall into the trap of becoming boring and to being expected of them thus losing the creep factor.

In several interviews, especially in those proceeding the release of 2017's Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten, Ardek explains that whenever he writes a piece of music, he is always looking to challenge himself in new ways and add new elements to the tone and sound of the orchestration. This can clearly be heard in the more Danny Elfman inspired melodies on the new album, such as the track Charles Francis Coghlan, mixed with a few subtle industrial moments here and there.
Though the question still remains, what is it about Ardek's orchestrations that make it possible for the band to deliver on the scares contained within their music and stories?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, he does use some of the more traditional elements of horror music, such as placing high pitched string instruments in the foreground as opposed to being in the  background like in most normal styles of music, the use of haunting choral elements, or adding creepy sound effects like the sounds of creaking doors and howling winds, but, I find that the element that truly makes the band's songwriting send chills up your spine is Ardek's use of deception.
Chances are that those of you who are horror buffs watching this video have listened to horror music or horror themed music long enough to the point where nothing is surprising anymore. However, Ardek is somehow able to take every cliched element in horror music history and turn them on their heads.

There will be plenty of moments throughout Carach Angren's songs where a particular moment will sound like it's building up to, for lack of a better description, a jump scare only for the revelation to be that slow way in which the song fades out before transitioning to the next one leaves the idea that the character didn't exactly meet his/her demise or doom in the way that you were expecting (which more often than not in horror is death). A perfect example of this sort of technique would have to be the final track of their third album, Where The Corpses Sink Forever, simply titled These Fields Are Lurking. I won't spoil what the actual story of the song is about, but, what I can say is that it's a genius track that builds upon the premise of the opening track all while connecting what seems like several unrelated stories into one and in one hell of a fantastic payoff.
Each note and every melody just seems to match and flow with the events taking place in the story contained within each song and compliments every aspect of Seregor's vocals in a way that is only unique to this band.

Which leads me to the final aspect of what makes Carach Angren's music haunting:

4. Visual Aesthetic

Believe it or not, visuals actually play a key part in letting our imagination asscociate certain imagery with certain styles of music despite what metal elitists will say about masks, makeup, costumes, and other visual elements being used as gimmicks or distractions from the music.
Carach Angren are one of those bands who aren't only gifted in the music and storytelling department, but, they are also extremely talented in the visual arts department as well. Seregor is heavily inspired by horror movies and literature and thus is the one in charge of the band's makeup, masks, illustrations, photography, and marketing.
For the sake of brevity, I will be addressing the two biggest aspects of their visual aesthetic which are the makeup and the marketing.
The band's makeup has remained pretty consistent with only minor changes here and there during the course of their career. While it's not uncommon for black metal bands to use corpse paint as the main element to their look with many, including Carach Angren's, bearing a similar design to their peers or predecessors. However, the symmetrical patterns and classic skull inspired shape of the corpsepaint that the band members don during their concerts, music videos, and photo shoots help to exaggerate certain facial features and and even make facial expressions that would normally look comedic, appear terrifying and unnatural. Granted, this is nothing new since it's the basic function of stage makeup, however, all three members, especially Seregor, are excellent actors and really enhance the experience of the music whenever you see  them perform live on stage or in a music video.
Just look at the footage from videos like When Crows Tick On Windows or Charles Francis Coghlan to see just how the members are dedicated to making not only their performance, but, the music itself feel as immersive as possible.

The second aspect I would like to touch upon is the marketing and I shall be using their 2017 album, Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten as an example since I personally believe that it is one of their smartest and creative ways to sell their music. This is because when they released the album, if you bought either the Digipak or the physical copy of the album, you would be given a black box to open in order to listen to the album. You may be wondering how such a simple thing is clever marketing, but, I'll explain why this simple yet elegant idea adds to the immersion of the album's concept.
So, the concept for their recent album is essentially about a girl who opens a black box before she and her friends decide to mess around with an Ouija board. They summon a demonic entity known only as Charlie, and in the process she becomes haunted and possessed by the various entities that inhabited the box that she opened. The final line on the last track ends with Seregor asking the listener did they listen to the songs before opening the box which, if you felt creeped out while following the lyrics as you listened to the album, then the breaking of that fourth wall between the listener and Seregor's character as the narrator of this tale gives the listener a feeling of uneasiness which is far worse than any momentary and cheap jumpscare in a video game.
The amount of time, thought, effort, and dedication this band put into not only their music, but, their overall image is something that really is to be commended and applauded and there really aren't many horror themed bands who are as dedicated as these guys if you had to ask me personally.

What Separates Carnifex From Other Deathcore Bands

Deathcore is a sub-genre of metal that, despite it's popularity among the majority of young metalheads like myself these days, is still met with a lot of hostility and harsh criticism, especially from veteran metalheads. This is totally understandable because, although nu metal pretty much propelled the heavy metal genre into a somewhat more mainstream form of popularity and, admittedly, even though I still enjoy a lot of bands and music from that era, I can agree with the argument that the effects of it's songwriting seems to have created a somewhat standard and formulaic approach to songwriting within most, but not all, modern heavy metal genres. Especially among the more popular and trending styles.

Now obviously this video is not aimed at bashing nu metal or trying to discredit other deathcore bands that are doing some impressive and unique stuff with the sub-genre like Thy Art Is Murder, Infant Annihilator, Slaughter To Prevail, and The Faceless, but, the point of this video is to focus on the band Carnifex specifically and what makes their music appeal to fans of not only deathcore, but, some death metal and black metal fans as well.

I think, in order to understand what makes Carnifex such a unique case when it comes to this sub-genre, is to look at the list of what their musical influences are.
Now while a lot of deathcore bands may draw influence from more or less the same names from older and more established genres and sub-genres, there are usually a few names in their list of influences that stand out more and serve as a general indicator as to what bands or styles heavily influence a band's sound, songwriting, and lyricism and that pretty much all the band members enjoy and agree upon when it comes to looking for inspiration for new material.
Let's take the most popular deathcore band, Suicide Silence. While both Suicide Silence and Carnifex share Cannibal Corpse as one of their major influences to their sound and songwriting, the rest of their respective lists are vastly different and it's plain to see which names become a common thread with other deathcore bands and their influences that somehow lead to the majority of the sub-genre gaining it's tropes that are frequently and harshly criticized.

Another thing that I noticed when reading the list of Carnifex' influences is that they all seem to stick mainly to death metal (or a sub-genre of death metal) which includes names such as In Flames, Carcass, and Dying Fetus along with black metal names such as Mayhem, Burzum, and Cradle Of Filth which indicates that the band has a very much focused approach and know precisely the kind of music they want to produce. Bands such as Suicide Silence and Whitechapel have bands from a variety of styles that influence their music such as nu metal bands like Korn and Deftones, thrash metal bands like Slayer, death metal bands like Nile and Suffocation, and even djent bands like Meshuggah. This, from my viewpoint, seems to lead to a lot of confusion and results in the songwriting by these bands to fall into the trap of using a repetitive formula to write their songs with an overuse of elements such as breakdowns and similar drumming patterns which creates somewhat general lack in melodic elements since a good portion of deathcore bands feel the need to cram in as many riffs as they can that showcase all their influences. Again, keep in mind that I'm not bashing the other bands since I enjoy a lot of their music myself and I'm pretty sure that even though Carnifex have a more direct and consistent list of influences when it comes to their music, they most likely listen to artists and genres outside of their quoted inspirations and incorporate it into their songwriting as any good musician should.

Upon reading and watching many reviews of the band's albums, one thing I noticed that is a very common praise critics have about this band is the fact that they only use breakdowns when it is necessary for a song or a part of a song to have one instead of implementing one in every single song like most deathcore bands do. Scott's vocals also garner a lot of praise as well since he can easily transition between black metal styled shrieks, death metal growls, and guttural deathcore growls. His pronunciation is also something to be taken into account as well as, unlike with most extreme metal vocalists, most people cannot hear the lyrics of the songs while Scott is able to convey the lyrics perfectly for the most part with his style and technique. The band's guitar work is also nothing to scoff at either! They are able to blend a wide variety of riff styles into each song without making each song sound the same. If one were to actually listen closely to a lot of the different riffs in each song one would be able to pick up little hints of In Flames, Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Behemoth, and many others. Plus the fact that Carnifex actually make good use of guitar solos is another plus for them since most deathcore bands never actually use guitar solos and instead rely solely on the breakdown which becomes very old and sometimes annoying quite fast and can even put most people off the genre entirely. Also their excellent use of faint keyboard synths and odd piano melodies really adds to the atmospheric and haunting element of their music.

Now, this isn't to say that the band haven't had any problems getting to where they are today or don't have any stigmas that they are still trying to throw off. When the band released their debut album, Dead In My Arms, back in 2007, they were often accused of being Suicide Silence rip offs as Suicide Silence had already released their debut EP two years before in 2005. Also, despite the fact that Carnifex debut album released a few months before Suicide Silence's first full length album, The Cleansing, Carnifex seemed to gain this stigma due to the fact that Suicide Silence were already signed to one metal music's biggest record labels, Century Media Records, and their album sales being one of the label's best selling debut albums certainly added to this since Carnifex were, at the time, signed to an underground indie label. And, I can honestly say that I can understand why many people thought this way since their debut release pretty much has a similar production and songwriting style to The Cleansing. Another thing that they were criticized for at the time of the album's release was that the lyrics were very 'emo and immature' and that the songwriting was just basically glorifying and fanboying over Job For A Cowboy's early deathcore music before they started doing death metal music. So, even though their debut album sold pretty well under an underground record label and gained attention from the deathcore community, it ultimately meant the band began their career on a very rocky start. Also, the band still seem to struggle with attracting new fans from the death metal and black metal camps because of their lyrics with many complaints ranging from they all deal with the same topics to they make absolutely no sense and aren't as 'poetic' as their veteran counterparts. But, in the end, these are all minor problems that the band faces considering how far they have come since those early days and the success they have enjoyed since then.

I highly recommend that newcomers to the deathcore genre check out Carnifex first before delving into what the rest of the genre has to offer. Their first two albums will definitely give newcomers a feel as to what deathcore's roots are and will provide the listener with a general idea of some of the tropes that are common in the genre. Their third album, Hell Chose Me, following on to 2016's Slow Death is where the real magic happens and will definitely give newcomers an idea of what deathcore is truly capable of if handled correctly which is something Carnifex have had no trouble doing since then. It also allows the newcomer to dip their toes into the genre without putting them off the genre completely and if they want to remain in familiar territory when it comes to songwriting, sound, and personal preference.

It is this combination of all these elements that truly sets Carnifex apart from many of their peers and the next generation of deathcore bands that they have left an impact on. Again, I would like to point out that I am not discrediting or ignoring the works of other deathcore bands that are taking the genre to new heights and proving the naysayers wrong, but, in the past three years of me listening to a lot of deathcore music, I can honestly say that, in my opinion, I have never come across a band in the deathcore sub-genre that is quite able to cater to all the different tastes I have in metal in one complete and compact package.

The Excellent Use Of Score In Berserk (1997)

The use of sound in anime is something that is not often touched upon in many anime reviews or analysis videos. Whether we are talking about the foley used to make the world sound believable, certain noise elements that are often used as cues to indicate that something important has happened in the context of the story or the character's development, or the music that helps set the tone and aesthetic of a show all these elements are extremely important in bringing what would otherwise be just plain moving pictures to life.

The most neglected aspect of sound in anime is often the use of audio cues. While your typical audio cues generally revolve around the use of sounds like the hand of a clock ticking, a sudden static distortion in a character's voice when they speak, or the sound of crickets in the fields at night, there are often times where the score serves as an audio cue as well, though it's rarely done throughout the entirety of a series or even something with a shorter run time like a movie.

And a prime example of a series that uses this kind of sound cue to it's full advantage and potential is none other than the 1997 anime adaptation of Kentaro Miura's dark fantasy manga, Berserk.
The score for Berserk was written and composed by experimental/new age/psychedelic musician, Susumu Hirasawa, who is also known for his work on the movies Paprika, Millennium Actress, and tv series Paranoia Agent which were all directed by the late Satoshi Kon. If you've seen any of Satoshi Kon's projects, heard the soundtracks, and have never seen the 1997 Berserk adaptation, you might be thinking that Hirasawa's music sounds like a rather odd choice for a dark fantasy series, but, this is why it works.
Hirasawa's style is something that can easily be associated with artists such as Vangelis or Enya, who both use a lot of electronic elements to their music which retains a traditional or classical feel in it's songwriting while still sounding modern and contemporary. So, while his work in Kon's projects might be a lot closer to his usual music, it is when he is composes music for the Berserk franchise that the man really flexes his darker and more atmospheric side.
This side of his music works extremely well in Berserk since, despite it's very limited animation, the visuals already provide an extremely strong archaic aesthetic. This can be clearly seen in the beautiful background art that is worthy of Tolkien's approval and the very pulpy Conan The Barbarian styled colour palette. And Hirasawa's music really adds a very surreal element to this world, especially when it occurs as a sound cue in the series most important and beautifully shot moments.

Let's start off with the most well known and popular track from the score which is Gatts Theme. Most of the time, this track is used to indicate important developments in Gatts' personality or his overall journey. There are two great scenes in this show that really showcase this. The first scene is when Gatts challenges Griffith to a duel when they first meet and the time Griffith challenges Gatts to the same duel again when Gatts decides to leave the Band Of The Hawk.

Before his encounter with Griffith and the Band Of The Hawk, Gatts lived an extremely harsh life. After being born from his mother's corpse, Gatts was raised by a band of mercenaries led by a man named Gambino. Gatts was treated rather harshly and was even abused. After an incident which left Gambino crippled and unable to fight, Gambino tried to murder Gatts and blamed him for the death of his lover who adopted Gatts as her son. Gatts accidentally kills Gambino in self-defense and is forced to flee. After several years of fighting for himself and drifting between mercenary groups, Gatts finally encounters Griffith and his band of mercenaries. Now, it is important to keep Gatts past in your mind as this scene plays out. For I'm sure you can figure out by now that for basically his entire life up until this very moment, Gatts has never really felt as though he has belonged anywhere and that nobody but himself cared about his existence. However, it is the moment that Griffith utters these words, that Hirasawa's score perfectly conveys Gatts feelings.

As you can see, Gatts clearly feels something akin to happiness and possibly even a sense of worthiness, but, it is also followed with conflicting emotions as a result of the trauma he experienced as a child and his distrust of people in general. The music not only adds to the serene beauty of the scenery, but, it gives the moment an emotional weight that subconsciously not only indicates a development in Gatts' character, but, allows you to put yourself in Gatts' shoes and experience everything he is feeling in that moment as the two men get ready to cross swords in a duel that will decide their fates.
And, as we follow all the ups and downs of Gatts' time with the Band Of The Hawk, the bonds that he manages to form, and how he has managed to open up a lot more to those he cares about, we eventually get to the scene that triggers the events that lead to the much darker portion of the story, and that is when Gatts decides to leave Griffith and the Hawks to find his own path. Gatts need to take this journey is indicated several episodes earlier when Gatts returns from assassinating one of Griffith's political enemies and when he goes to report that the deed is done, he overhears Griffith's conversation with Princess Charlotte where Griffith tells Charlotte what he needs to see in a man that will truly make him his friend and his equal.

The scene where the two men commence the duel begins with a silent and tense build up with nothing but dialogue and foley being used to convey the atmosphere and the current relationship between the two men. We have many beautiful shots that symbolize the beginning of Gatts new journey ahead of him and the beginning of a new arc for the Hawks albeit a dark one. Then after the duel is finished, the song plays again.

As you can see, the scene carries an even bigger emotional weight now. Gatts Theme is already a very beautiful yet melancholic song that is meant to evoke a variety of conflicting emotions such as sadness and joy, calm and chaos all into one haunting melody. And, as Gatts walks away without so much as saying good bye, without even looking back when Casca cries out after him, we can feel the sadness, confusion, and pain from Casca, the shock and disbelief from the other members of the Hawks and the disbelief and defeat from Griffith. At the same time, while we are sad that Gatts has left, subconsciously, we feel kind of glad for him that he wants to take this new journey to find out why he continues to fight and what his own goals and ambitions are in life so that when he returns, he can hopefully be on equal footing with Griffith and proven himself worthy to be called his friend even though we the audience know this doesn't happen.
There are plenty of other great examples as well like the use of the tracks Earth which is generally used when it involves the overall progression of the Hawks or Behilit which is often used during scenes that contain more intense dialogue or build tension before or during important action scenes. But, if I went into every single one of these, then, knowing the limited attention span of the internet, nobody would watch my videos.

In the end, Berserk is one of those series that is often looked to by many directors who are known for using music as a sound cue to indicate important elements in the story whether it's in terms of the plot or the characters themselves. Also, the music serves as an example to any new and upcoming composers just how important a piece of music is when conveying the emotion and atmosphere in a scene and in helping to leave a long lasting impression on everyone who sees it. And while not every single show uses music in this way and not every single genre of show needs to, it is definitely something that needs to be payed closer attention. Because, regardless of whether an anime is an adaptation of existing source material or is an entirely original project, it is, at the end of the day, an audiovisual medium of art which requires every element to work together to bring about the best experience for us viewers.