What else should we react to? 🤔 Comment below! Also if you like the song in the intro support the channel directly & download my new album ‘Blacklist’ now 🖤 www.knoxhillmusic.com
If your asking maybe you should react to REFLECT by Garw Gura, she is one of calli work parthners and her voice is too good, put the subtitles in the video, this song also has an amazing meaning
"Wanting, Getting, Wanting" is fine example of Mori genre. For legal reasons (and to avoid getting my soul reaped), I am not saying it's sung by Mori herself as Demondice definitely isn't Mori previous identity as anyone who like their life can confirm.
I think "Live Again" by Mori would be a nice place to go from here. It touches on similar themes as Red, but from a more optimistic perspective and is very different stylistically.
An interesting touch is that in the art, the Tarot cards are replaced with her vtuber group, so the line "I'll bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least " also has the meaning of her leaving her heart to her friends who she trusts more than she trust herself.
She trusts them and has learned from them. I personally think that they were able to teach her things that helped her overcome the problems she had in her first year as Calli. Without their support, I think she would have quit when her contract was up since she wasn't really interested in this type of streaming to begin with. My question is "What did she learn from each"?
The cards have been changed to show the pictures of her gen mates in Hololive Myth: The Fool - Gawr Gura: Innocent, free Spirit and spontaneous The Sun - Takanashi Kiara: Big ball of positivity and warmth, and just a fun loving person Wheel of Fortune - Ninomae Ina'nis: All around positive person and just goes with the flow The Priestess - Amelia Watson: (Believe the girls see her as the "leader" of the 5 of them) Very inventive and always coming up with new ideas For me when shes says about putting her heart in the cards, i think shes just putting all her trust and faith in her friends to keep her on the right path maybe in life, but for sure in hololive, seeing as they all show her gen mates as the designs. Also, i want them cards lol
EXACTLY what i was about to say!! After watching the video and him pausing on the video to try and get a better look at the cards. You notice all four of her friends Ina, Ame, Gura, and Kiara. With another card flipped other, symbolizing that card is most likely her. However, its flipped over and is not being shown.
Watson was also set up by Hololive themselves as the defacto leader of the group but having her be the only human in the group, they did a similar thing with Polka being the Ringmaster of Gen 5 but with Watson she's the Detective learning about her Mythical Genmates and Hololive. Amelia herself as many have noticed doesn't actively take up the role of leader of Myth and that's probably because of the strong willed personalities of Kiara, Gura and Calli and Watson herself not being a very imposing person, that being said Watson is a trendsetter by her own merits and she's the one that consistently works to do group collabs and the one that most of the girls go to with tech problems and she's consistently talked about as a very sweet and dependable person, definitely the closest thing to a leader HoloMyth could have with all those crazy girls together lol.
To give context for why they get mentioned so much, including the, "We are 5 (minutes away from the end)" line: Ame was running tech support for all of Myth at the start, Ina did art for Calli, Kiara was able to physically visit her, and Gura was already an experienced streamer. All of that was very appreciated by Calli, who was working two other jobs at the start and the whole streamer thing was new and stressing her out more. Kiara and Ina also know a lot of other Pros, which is part of Ina's lore as the elder gods that mod her chat. Ina's elder god book is AO-chan and AO is credited in this video. Apparently Ame was working so hard behind the scenes that she doesn't even remember doing her debut.
I've always seen 'I'll turn to stone again' as referring to her character model. When she stops streaming it 'returns to stone', unmoving without her behind it, and will one day return to stone for the last time and stay that way.
I always linked it to "So, come alive now, once again" in that everyone actually turns to stone every so often, needing a helping hand (or a slashing scyte) to reawaken from that slumber, into a world where you have to constantly struggle
The entire album "Your Mori" that Red is from is an introspective look at her struggles and thoughts of being a streamer, and specifically a vtuber. There is some additional imagery she used here that was referencing that side as well, like the 'rose petals falls; guess whose running the show' being a reference to red superchats coming in during stream asking her to do this or that (in addition to being another reference to a withering rose). The 'turning to stone' part is also a reference to her character model becoming still when its "soul" moves on. A lot of her lyrics have these layers, double or triple meanings. She is one of the few artists whose songs I listen to where I have to go sit down and just reflect on them after. Fantastic breakdown again!
Awesome breakdown as always. Regarding the "Heart of Cards" thing, it's a triple on 1.) as you noticed, tarot cards predicting the future in the MV, 2.) "believing in the heart of the cards" which references Yugioh and this sort of unpredictable luck factor of believing in yourself in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds and 3.) the cards being direct stand-ins for her friends, specifically, fellow members of the first Generation of Hololive English vtubers. I interpret it basically as a "I wouldn't be able to stand here if it weren't for the people supporting me" kinda message from that line. With how deep you went into talking about the things that creators and artists go through, I feel like you'd have to listen to "Live Again" by her next. It's also notably one of the songs where she included an unusual amount of Japanese lyrics. On the other hand, for a change of pace and a deeper look into her self-deprecation, "guh" would also be a fun next stop on this journey.
another fun fact about this is that Calli is a fan of the Persona series (specifically Persona 3). The game has Tarot cards in it and its use as a mechanic for strengthening the bonds of the protagonist to whom he/she interacts with.
Also the 13th card in Tarot "The Death" symbolizes a major change and She does trust herself the least because she is the grim reaper and doesn't want to draw herself as a tarot card because she is happy and doesn't want a major change in her life :)
Interesting detail: At 13:02 the lyrics go "we are 5 minutes away from the end that's come". Later, at 15:28, it's gone down to "5 seconds" instead, showing how fast things can be over. Also the use of "we" and the inclusion of the tarot cards of her 4 gen mates makes this another reference to her friend group who struggled to find their place in that genre together: "We are 5"
You note her speed. This lady covered Godzilla perfectly. She's not just legit skilled - she's TOP-TIER skilled. I'm most impressed with her lyrical ability and the content, but you should never forget her technical abilities.
6:49 - "I'll bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least." Source - Calli's Explanations th-cam.com/video/c8q44v9IzGY/w-d-xo.html "Here's the deal, I don't know a lot about Tarot cards... except from Persona." - Calliope Mori Various name meaning sites Various Tarot meaning sites Ina and Ame's are interchangeable to some Ninomae Ina'nis - Ninomae, "the one before two" - One + Ina'nis, inanis, "empty, void, hollow" - The Hollow One The Wheel Of Fortune - Representing a change in fortune, the wheel ever turns. The Hollow One, priestess of the Ancient Ones, represents in the cards a change of pace, a new way of seeing things. Calli's explanation: "Inevitable fate reminds me of the Ancient Ones." "Ina looks so cute on that wheel too." (In the MV her card is inverted, originally a mistake, but it means "bad luck" inverted. Which "works too", because of Ina's gacha addiction!) Amelia Watson - Amelia, from amalia, "work", industriousness + Watson, referencing Dr. Watson, Sherlock's sidekick and straight man The Priestess - Mystery, stillness, passivity. Usually signifying a time to retreat, to consider what lays ahead. She councils caution. Calli's explanation: Intelligence, "Watson is really friggin' smart." "Intelligence was the main." Gawr Gura - Gawr from gar, an ancient fish + Gura from gula, "gluttony" The Fool - New beginnings, innocence, a free spirit. Sometimes a faith in the future that it will all work out. Upright indicates the beginning of a new journey, and the hope for a joyful future mixed with innocence. Calli's explanation - New beginnings, free spirit, innocence. She's "smarter than everyone thinks", and "one of the most free spirits." Takanashi Kiara - Takanashi "small birds play" [I will get corrected] (no hawks) + Kiara "Light, Clear" The Sun - Good fortune, happiness, joy. Calli's explanation: Kiara to her is a sunny bright person, from the first time they met. Even before debut, people would say the two of them look like night (Calli) and day (Kiara) Who is Calli? "I thought I was Death... But what if Death belongs to my Sensei?" Her card has her sitting on a throne... Death: Endings, cycles, *profound change* The Empress: Maternal influence, the beginning of a new family, *the creation of new art, a new business*
6:03 The cards embody the personas of her fellow members from Hololive Myth. And though, it technically has a surface level meaning, (Gura gets the Fool, because her character is not very smart, Kiara gets the Sun because she's a phoenix, Watson gets the High Priestess because she solves mysteries and Ina has the Wheel of Fortune because her character was chosen to be the emissary of the Ancient One) we can speculate this relates to how Calli sees her friends. The Fool is a card that represents a new beginning. To Calli, Gura has opened her up to a new different adventure. The High Priestess symbolizes mystery and wisdom. My speculation is that Watson gets this card because she's the Hololive Myth leader and she inspires her GenMates to try new things Wheel of Fortune is for drastic change, as Ina has been one of Calliope Mori's friends and suplorters, she's notably known to create the art for some of Calli's songs Lastly, the Sun symbolizes joy and happiness. Kiara has been considered by the community as Mori's closest friend in the Myth Generation, so much so that people in the community ship them with each other. If I missed anything or like made a mistake, please let me know.
I don't know if anyone already caught it, but just in case: The weird sound at the beginning you mentioned is very likely a laugh track used in things like oldschool sitcoms and such. Two things - first, I think the laugh tracks symbolizes some kind of nostalgia for a better time long gone; the song is all about Calli's career being some day over and gone. So all of us, Calli herself and the fans, will have left will be the good memories. Second, I don't know if this is intedend - most laugh tracks were created in the 1950s. Most people you hear on these tracks are long dead, so including them on a song about the passage of time and that all things will end someday is very fitting. (even if it wasn't intended)
A cool detail of the cards shown at 6:00 is that those cards have images of her friends/genmates. They're the others from the 1st generation of Hololive English (aka Holomyth). So I take it also as in she puts her trust and leaves her heart in the hands of her friends, and she trusts them more so than herself.
If you like calliope songs you will love DemonDice's music. I recommend some of her songs from her newest ep. Actually all demon dices songs are amazing so u can go ahead and react to anything and I’d watch
Your comment on identity battles brought a passage from a Patrick Rothfus novel to mind: "You see, there's a fundamental connection between seeming and being. Every Fae child knows this, but you mortals never seem to see. We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be." Chronicler relaxed a bit, sensing familiar ground. "That's basic psychology. You dress a beggar in fine clothes, people treat him like a noble, and he lives up to their expectations." "That's only the smallest piece of it," Bast said. "The truth is deeper than that. It's..." Bast floundered for a moment. "It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story." I think this is a point that actors, vtubers and media personalities need to be more conscious of. You may think you're acting the part but in truth your mind is bending itself to become the part, do it for to long it will consume you.
The pictures on the cards show her genmates in Hololive. So you could interpret that line as her putting her trust in them. Which would make sense since the people in a generation are usually very close and help each other out when someone is struggling in some way or another.
I believe that the line about cards is talking about putting your trust in your friends. As shown by the cards on screen, that are the other vtubers in the same generation as Cali. Her friends.
My interpretation of the "I bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least" line is that, on one end, believing in the "heart of the cards" is a term in card games when you trust in your the deck to give you luck, so she's hoping that her luck qill carry her forward, because she doesn't trust herself to continue this success by herself. But you can also take it more literally, that she's literally betting her own heart away because she just doesn't trust it to carry herself anymore.
In the MV, those are also other VTubers that she debuted with depicted on the cards. So those "cards" could be the new friends she's made to trust keep her on the right path.
The imagery of her fellow HoloMyth compatriots on the tarot cards in this MV adds another layer to this line I think. Not only is she betting on luck, she's also learning to have a shared faith with four other people; I think the prospect of a found family is somewhat new to Calli, as she's spoken a little previously about Hololive shifting her views on the value and permanency of friendship. So by "betting her heart on the cards", she's trusting the other girls where she can't place trust in herself. It's a very nice lyric.
Really enjoyed this look into the song. You caught a lot of things I missed and I definitely have a better appreciation for this song. I also find it hilarious and incredible rhyming of "ouroboros".
I am so happy that you decided to react/breakdown RED. Every song in her "Your Mori" EP is awesome. About the cards, many people already commented on it. But is really interesting because in her lyric breakdown she took her time to explain why each card is named like that and what the girls mean to her. They have an amazing dynamic as a group and they are very supportive of each other. 😄
Imo, Calli's best track. There is definitely arguments to be made from many of her other tracks, but to me this applies the best range of her talents, from lyrics, to delivery, to vocal range, to message, to even art style. An anthem to this entire concept of content creation, and a very brave take on it.
like other said the song also included her struggle with her streaming role. So her “turning to stone” is her model being inactive when she is not streaming. Also the person behind Mori can’t claim anything she done as Mori, when she moves on. The Tarot card are her gen mates who started in Hololive at the same time as her.
Interesting detail about the tarot cards shown in the MV: Calliope is part of the 1st generation of HololiveEN, or HoloMyth, along with 4 other VTubers. When Calliope says "I'll bet my heart on the cards, because I trust me the least", there are 4 cards shown, and the art on the cards are replaced with their models. The Fool (Gawr Gura), The Sun (Takanashi Kiara), Wheel of Fortune (Ninomae Ina'nis), and The Priestess (Amelia Watson), and then the back of a fifth card, presumably representing Calliope. The cards that shes placing her trust in represent her friends in HoloMyth, and her card isn't showing because she "trusts herself the least."
My interpretation of “I put my heart on the cards” is a reference to Yugioh and how the character puts their trust in not only in their cards but also their friends, so Mori is essentially saying she puts her trust in her friends and colleagues, more so than herself
And like any new job, you don't just get to choose your co-workers, they're the cards she was dealt in a more literal sense as well. No such thing as reading too deeply into Calli's lyrics, it seems.
@@crowe6961 true, but at the same time the relationship the hololive girls have is deeper than that of work, like they are all just extraordinarily great friends
This song is very beautiful. Honestly, the entire EP is beautiful and amazing. She very aptly named the whole project, this song included "Your Mori". This album in a sense...is Calli. The influences, the mental states, the back and forth in the different songs and herself. I so very want to see your reaction to "Bully". Great as always Knox
Yes! My absolute favorite Mori song, I'm always so excited to see other people's takes on it. Her lyric break down was so insightful. I already loved loved LOVED the line "And when this Red runs black I'll ask you "Was I everything you imagined?" " but that breakdown killed me utterly. This girl has all ny respect for ever
oh, just for your information, there are other rappers that hide behind vtuber avatars, so, that is a whole 'thing' itself. not just Mori. Also operatically or classically trained singers too. I'd recommend seeing a video analysis of 'king' where some person goes through all the vtuber covers of the song 'king', which was originally a production made using vocaloid software for the singing. Each of the different talents add their own spin to it and make it their own.
The tarot cards represent her friends from Hololive, I love this song because you can see how close they are to one another, they were the first ones from Hololive EN, so they've gone through all this learning together "We are 5..." Man... I'm gonna cry
You could write a book interpreting almost any of Calliope's (btw that's pronounced Kah-lie-Oh-pee like the instrument) music and still not reach the full depth of their multiple meanings and inferences. She truly has the heart of a poet. One particular interpretation is of the "distorted story" verse. Each of the Hololive members are real people role playing a character for the masses, and the masses have added their own lore on top of the original creation. Those combine to form the audience's view, "another distorted story", but its still a fiction that rarely considers the past of the real person behind it. It "ignores the deceased"; the years of talent and growth and struggle they went through to get where they are. This seems to be a fairly common theme to Calli's lyrics. Add that to having to "live inside of the castle" that is Hololive with all of that attention and pressure when she would prefer a more low-key, laid back setting "kick(ing) it the dungeon". That's a lot for her to adjust to in a short amount of time. Especially if the attention is negative like the grief that IRyS got for her debut sub-count and Gura got for her rapid success. I think, in part, "Red" was one of Calliope's attempts to both express all of this as well as adapt to the changes it caused in her life. I find it interesting that, for a Shinigami, she seems much more focused on life.
Loving the breakdowns man! Calli really does have a knack for a more experimental style with her songs. Red is a good example, a full on banger done in such a way that I don't think I've heard anything quite like it ever before (or since). I personally love the way she's able to so seemingly effortlessly tie these reflective questions and themes like being a prisoner to one's ambition or success being something short lived and valuable, and yet very exhaustiing and stressful into her music. The metaphors are crazy and the way she's able to write multiple layers into her lyrics in a way where you'll really miss it unless you're paying attention is impressive! Would also love to see a reaction/breakdown on "guh" (a song more so addressing her haters), "Cursed Night" (kind of similar slower, reflective feel like in "end of a life"), or "いじめっ子Bully" (more of a self-deprecating song, but a banger nonetheless - looking up a lyric video would probably be a good idea given that there's a fair bit of Japanese and some of the lyrics get a bit buried under the instrumental).
The part of "I'll bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least" is a reference to her other friends, the other four VTbers of her generation, each one of the cards represents them. I think what she's trying to portrait is that even if she doesn't trust herself, she's willing to believe and trust her friends (the cards) more than anything else and that's how important they are to her. You can also tell how low she may think of herself while she can see so much good and put so much faith in the people she cares about.
A little while ago Mori took a little break, apparently she was overworking herself as well as got thrown into some crappy Twitter drama (cesspool that it has become) - she seems to be a bit of a workaholic. I think that part of the song reflects that in that she is musing about what comes after this. Go back to IRL streaming on Twitch, go on tour so forth and so on.
I love that Calli blends the synth sounds combined with real drums and base. It gives the music a more real feeling. A more unique sound. Love you Calli. Keep pushing forward and never lose yourself.
Great analysis. I'm always amazed at how much you catch on the first pass, even without all of the context. If you are continuing this Calliope Mori journey I suggest Cursed Night. It's on the "End of a Life" side of her work.
Regarding the "I'll turn to stone" line, I think it means something along the lines of, after her career is over the image of her past will become immortal (as stone) but unchanging
2:28 that sounds like a rainstick rather than water, it's a hollow tube with like pins through it and beads, when the stick is tipped the beads hit the pins and sounds kind of like rain
Another great breakdown Knox.. to actually get what the song was about from the start is crazy... the next one you should do is "Cursed Night" very metaphor heavy and it really fleshes out her character alot
So it turns out you have great timing on your deep dive into Calliope Mori! She just announced the release of her first full album Un/Alive and it's coming out on the 21st! I know you still have a ton of her stuff that you haven't listened to, but a full album reaction video or stream of this would be super cool to see! I'm not sure if you'd want to wait just a bit out of respect or what the etiquette around that kind of thing is, but I figured it would be a cool way to get more into her music and react to some of her stuff for the first time at the same time as everyone else more or less. If you'd rather just do individual videos the way you have been of course that works too. ;)
Seeing you react to the intro with the keys starting and stopping made me remember how crazy cool it was to hear for the first time. Not that it isn't still cool, but once you hear the song enough times and really know it's coming, it has a different feel for sure. Just watched through all your videos on Calli's songs, and it's cool to see everything you bring up for her songs.
The 'turn to stone' part, i interpret it as when she retired, she will be immortalized by the people and carve her into stone like those ancient heroes/kings when they did something great. Well she successfully did something great and now i will carve her name in my heart
She did a lyric explanation shortly after this EP released-- you're pretty much dead-on, it was in reference to her "body" (the digital puppet) no longer moving after her retirement.
Man, you keep amazing me with your insights into Calli's lyrics. It's like you're on the same wavelength as her! You really get her and her art without even watching her streams and other content to help with context, which is damn impressive. Most reactors who are not Hololive fans don't really see past the surface lyrics and don't see the metaphors or the depth of Calli's poetry. Just a quick note regarding the cards, if you're listening to just the song, it doesn't really say tarot cards, so I think it's less about fate or destiny and more about chance/luck. Same sentiment as "rolling the dice", because it's easier to let chance guide her than trust her own instincts (which I totally get). But if you watch the video, the cards are actually Tarot cards, but not normal Tarot as they each have one of her HoloMyth gen-mates on them (Gawr Gura, Takanashi Kiara, Ninomae Ina'nis and Amelia Watson). So the video kind of transforms that line from trusting in luck/chance to putting her trust in her friends. It's a really beautiful sentiment, IMO.
FYI, "believing in the heart of the card" is actually a meme that starts from Yu-Gi-Oh anime. Basically a kid version of "I believe in my luck, my next card will be good" kinda gamble. I used to play Yu-Gi-Oh myself and always use this quote as a joke when I'm cornered. But in this case, because the cards represent her gen mates in Hololive then it probably means she pun her trust in her friends. Yeah, like everyone in the comment section has been saying...
Another way to interpret the bloodlust line at the end (and all of the red/blood mentions throughout the song) is the urge to push herself to work even harder (i.e. the blood in blood, sweat, and tears). Hard work is a very common topic throughout her songs and she portrays in a bunch of different ways. In this song, if you consider every reference to Red or Blood to be about that, it's like she's saying she can't stop herself from pouring that work into everything, even when it's consuming her in the process. It's also the only lens she knows how to view her own achievements through, hence everything around her, even the sources of light themselves, being red. The only other color that exists in the song is black, pretty openly representing what will happen to all the blood (hard work) when it all comes to an end, but the wording (RUNS black) implies that she'll be putting in the work all the way up until the last moment - you'll still see the blood flowing as it changes color. She finally concludes that it's a form of bloodlust, an uncontrollable desire to see blood (in this case her own) that doesn't care if it hurts herself or others in the process. She WANTS to work that hard, and the more she accomplishes the more she needs the hard work to color her story and explain why she has those accomplishments, and she'll willingly put in the work even when she knows it's past the point of being healthy (there have been numerous streams where she's admitted to barely or even not sleeping in order to squeeze in her work) While it's not explicitly red/blood related, I think the final line "I'd rather just fade away" is continuing this theme somewhat. If you see it as an alternative to "I'll turn to stone again" she's basically saying she wants to keep pushing on until there's nothing physically left of her, rather than hitting her limit and going inactive/stagnant but still being around to remind us of her own existence. Only the blood (the hard work and fruits of her labor) that she already poured out will be there to tell us who she was and what she did at that point.
As a tarot reader myself, I totally agree with your interpretation of the cards shown in the video! It’s as though she’s saying that even though she doesn’t have much faith in herself, she does have faith that the messages and warnings that she receives through tarot are there to guide her. That she doesn’t fully trust herself to have all the answers, but she does put faith in Source, or the universe, for guidance. Those messages are for her highest good only and that becomes an outline to follow. Totally resonated with me. As always, great catch on that line Knox!
I just noticed something, the line "when this red runs black was I everything you imagined" could actually be referring to "being in the red" and losing money to make her music and "being in the black" and actually managing to make a profit off of her music... Making that line another call-out asking if she can still be considered the same artist after "selling out" and joining Hololive. Also, I would love if you reacted to "guh" next.
Just found you through these Calli song reacts! You go really deep and thoughtfully into these, it's a treat to watch! Hope you keep doing them, you're nailing things that only Calli herself has really spoken about before. If you're looking for more Mori, I'd recommend "guh", it's a great song responding to all the haters. DEAD BEATS is a classic Mori song that's got more of that craziness that she showed in her first song. And like many others here, if you're looking for other things in this Mori "genre", I can recommend DEMONDICE's latest album: "shut up and get happy".
I took the red turning to black is blood to ink. The pain and thorns inside being put down on paper into her music and people seeing a different side of her through her music. "when this red runs black I'll ask you was I everything you imagined." Love the content
Great time listening to your takes on the song. Comments is already filled with others telling you about the tarot cards so, I'll mention that you calling it the "Mori Genre" is something a lot of her fans feel. Calli has gotten a lot of people in her streams that say "I don't like rap music but I love your stuff." She really does have a very unique style.
Out of everyone i watched react to her art you sir are way ahead,very good and deep breakdown of the song...it tells a lot about your charakter and im REALLY impressed. I would absolutely LOVE to see you react to all her songs. I think you would find interesting to listen ,,Reaper Rapper,, not my favourite but definetly most ,,unice,, of her songs in my opinion. Cant wait for more.
I like this Mori react series, lol I love her music but my little knowledge of music and rap can't tell me a deeper meaning and techinical term of it, so watching your interpretation of it just fun My next recommendation probably Cursed Night.. . . . Also, if you feel enough with Mori, why don't you try to check Demondice ;)
mmm always so good to see more of Dads music you really nail the breakdown of these its fascinating to see how people see these I wont bother regurgitating the background on some the meanings of lines but on a more interesting note in my opinion one of the reasons all her music is so unique and out there is because shes taken the opportunity that Hololive has given her and used their reach and connections to work with different producers who shes admired to shine some light on the people that inspired her and under normal circumstances probably never would have gotten the chance to work with
You should react to a Halloween song she made with her gen mates called "Myth or Treat". She wrote the lyrics but it shows all of her genmates as well in a small vr version
Heart of the cards is a Yu-Gi-Oh reference I believe, that was supposed to to relay that she was gonna trust chance more than her own decision making(kind of like saying you know what card you have in your deck and should just trust that your preparation was enough)
5:38 I don't know if someone else mentioned it but, on the tarot cards we can see the other Hololive Myth VTubers, so it's a reference to her friends too
I'm so glad I turned in to this video.. because it really is not that easy for others to understand or decipher what the song really comes to... thanks for this!
Seeing the tarot cards and here at 12:57 with the strings coming in... That a Shin Megami Tensei Persona reference? And following that it shows a scene with a rose, and the cocking of a gun, that a nod to Guns & Roses? Though I don't see any apparent similarities between these two musicians.
Another meaning I took from the "red turns black" line meaning when she pours her blood (her life) into her music and her words (Ink on a page) is she what we really think she is? Calli gets super deep in her lyrics, and while they always have multiple meanings there's always some really deep part of her soul in there I think, and she's asking if her fans are really okay with the 'monster in the dungeon' so to speak. Or so I think, I don't know her lyrics are always such poetry it's impossible to say what they really mean most of the time!
So for the tarot cards its kinda a reference to yugioh how its kinda just random luck and also the meaning believing in the heart of cards which is when you trust your deck in your cards aka her colleagues and ill bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least has the meaning she is putting her trust in her vtubers friends and kinda relaying on them because she doesnt really trust herself also if you love Calli your gonna love demondice which happens to be Callis "other" "personality" aka her old channel and I recommend Alkatraz and Sick outta fashion they are probably the best ones with meanings and fun stuff.
She let slip on stream recently that she's planning to release a full album at some point (official announcment is I think the 18th) would be interesting to get your take on the songs if that is the case
Her songs are super interesting, you really see how she grows and what is happening in her life. This year she started to branch outside of her Mori Calliope persona finally. She is finally pushing her real selfs networth further instead of being restricted behind an avatar.
Knox is Deadbeat confirmed. Next up: - Deadbeats - Reaper Ka Rapper - End of a Life Also hey for no particular reason on a completely unrelated note you should check out this artist named Demondice.
Taro cards its not more like human destiny but more like human being. It's like a road what you need to end and every taro card is like point when you need to stop and think then go
To me, the wildest thing in Red by Mori is the change of beat. Right of the gate the beat already sounds off, the rhythm is unusual, but as the passage goes and we slowly able to grasp the beat, it changed again on a whim. I have never heard anything like that before and I like it.
so something i just noticed reading the lyrics, the part where she says "So come alive now, Once again so i can chase you down. We're 5 minutes away from, the end has come." the second time instead of minutes she says "5 seconds", but everything is still the same. i didn't notice it, any of the times i listened to the song, was too busy enjoying the song to notice it.
As a grim reaper she will live eternally as an immortal but as an idol and entertainer she rather just fade away like a flower despite people would love to have her last longer but there is beauty in things that wilt away and are not immortal.
More than just being about her career, I'm picking up on kind of another meaning of her giving her all for a goal which she has lost sight of. Her lines have a big theme of contentment (or lack thereof) and being stuck in constantly rushing forward, never sure if she'll be happy by the end. Maybe I'm just projecting, but this interpretation seems deliberate and powerful
What else should we react to? 🤔 Comment below! Also if you like the song in the intro support the channel directly & download my new album ‘Blacklist’ now 🖤 www.knoxhillmusic.com
wait, are we starting Mori Monday? Now we got Mori Monday and Mathersday. 2 down, 5 to go
since you are reacting to calli why not try another member of holomyth i recomendt reflect by gawr gura
If your asking maybe you should react to REFLECT by Garw Gura, she is one of calli work parthners and her voice is too good, put the subtitles in the video, this song also has an amazing meaning
"Wanting, Getting, Wanting" is fine example of Mori genre. For legal reasons (and to avoid getting my soul reaped), I am not saying it's sung by Mori herself as Demondice definitely isn't Mori previous identity as anyone who like their life can confirm.
I think "Live Again" by Mori would be a nice place to go from here. It touches on similar themes as Red, but from a more optimistic perspective and is very different stylistically.
An interesting touch is that in the art, the Tarot cards are replaced with her vtuber group, so the line "I'll bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least " also has the meaning of her leaving her heart to her friends who she trusts more than she trust herself.
I totally agree with this interpretation. She really does trust her other Hololive Friends.
She trusts them and has learned from them. I personally think that they were able to teach her things that helped her overcome the problems she had in her first year as Calli. Without their support, I think she would have quit when her contract was up since she wasn't really interested in this type of streaming to begin with.
My question is "What did she learn from each"?
Also, note that her friends' tarot cards are face up, while the fifth card, likely her own, is face down.
Haha [REDACTED]
@@juststanding8228 you have seen nothing. Go away.......
The cards have been changed to show the pictures of her gen mates in Hololive Myth:
The Fool - Gawr Gura: Innocent, free Spirit and spontaneous
The Sun - Takanashi Kiara: Big ball of positivity and warmth, and just a fun loving person
Wheel of Fortune - Ninomae Ina'nis: All around positive person and just goes with the flow
The Priestess - Amelia Watson: (Believe the girls see her as the "leader" of the 5 of them) Very inventive and always coming up with new ideas
For me when shes says about putting her heart in the cards, i think shes just putting all her trust and faith in her friends to keep her on the right path maybe in life, but for sure in hololive, seeing as they all show her gen mates as the designs.
Also, i want them cards lol
EXACTLY what i was about to say!! After watching the video and him pausing on the video to try and get a better look at the cards. You notice all four of her friends Ina, Ame, Gura, and Kiara. With another card flipped other, symbolizing that card is most likely her. However, its flipped over and is not being shown.
we have the technology
Watson was also set up by Hololive themselves as the defacto leader of the group but having her be the only human in the group, they did a similar thing with Polka being the Ringmaster of Gen 5 but with Watson she's the Detective learning about her Mythical Genmates and Hololive.
Amelia herself as many have noticed doesn't actively take up the role of leader of Myth and that's probably because of the strong willed personalities of Kiara, Gura and Calli and Watson herself not being a very imposing person, that being said Watson is a trendsetter by her own merits and she's the one that consistently works to do group collabs and the one that most of the girls go to with tech problems and she's consistently talked about as a very sweet and dependable person, definitely the closest thing to a leader HoloMyth could have with all those crazy girls together lol.
To give context for why they get mentioned so much, including the, "We are 5 (minutes away from the end)" line: Ame was running tech support for all of Myth at the start, Ina did art for Calli, Kiara was able to physically visit her, and Gura was already an experienced streamer. All of that was very appreciated by Calli, who was working two other jobs at the start and the whole streamer thing was new and stressing her out more. Kiara and Ina also know a lot of other Pros, which is part of Ina's lore as the elder gods that mod her chat. Ina's elder god book is AO-chan and AO is credited in this video. Apparently Ame was working so hard behind the scenes that she doesn't even remember doing her debut.
@@edenromanov ;-;
I will forever remember Mori as the rapper who rhymed "all of us" with "ouroboros."
Wait i dont remember this what song was it
@@gerardalvarado4432 this exact song's bridge
@@yagoosidol6338 well now i have a good excuse to listen to this song again cause i completely missed this
And also continued with near-rhymes "all because" and "all there was"
Still closer than rhyming "mansion" and "wisconsin"
I've always seen 'I'll turn to stone again' as referring to her character model. When she stops streaming it 'returns to stone', unmoving without her behind it, and will one day return to stone for the last time and stay that way.
I always linked it to "So, come alive now, once again" in that everyone actually turns to stone every so often, needing a helping hand (or a slashing scyte) to reawaken from that slumber, into a world where you have to constantly struggle
The entire album "Your Mori" that Red is from is an introspective look at her struggles and thoughts of being a streamer, and specifically a vtuber. There is some additional imagery she used here that was referencing that side as well, like the 'rose petals falls; guess whose running the show' being a reference to red superchats coming in during stream asking her to do this or that (in addition to being another reference to a withering rose). The 'turning to stone' part is also a reference to her character model becoming still when its "soul" moves on.
A lot of her lyrics have these layers, double or triple meanings. She is one of the few artists whose songs I listen to where I have to go sit down and just reflect on them after.
Fantastic breakdown again!
Oh, I had not thought about the red superchats.
Awesome breakdown as always. Regarding the "Heart of Cards" thing, it's a triple on 1.) as you noticed, tarot cards predicting the future in the MV, 2.) "believing in the heart of the cards" which references Yugioh and this sort of unpredictable luck factor of believing in yourself in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds and 3.) the cards being direct stand-ins for her friends, specifically, fellow members of the first Generation of Hololive English vtubers. I interpret it basically as a "I wouldn't be able to stand here if it weren't for the people supporting me" kinda message from that line.
With how deep you went into talking about the things that creators and artists go through, I feel like you'd have to listen to "Live Again" by her next. It's also notably one of the songs where she included an unusual amount of Japanese lyrics. On the other hand, for a change of pace and a deeper look into her self-deprecation, "guh" would also be a fun next stop on this journey.
another fun fact about this is that Calli is a fan of the Persona series (specifically Persona 3). The game has Tarot cards in it and its use as a mechanic for strengthening the bonds of the protagonist to whom he/she interacts with.
@@JunonRizen13 Good catch, yeah. It'd be interesting to look back through her old lyric dive for the Your Mori EP now and compare thoughts.
Also "Heart" is a suit in playing cards, and "bet" is a gambling term, so there's the traditional gambling/playing card angle as well.
Atlus, please let Calli streams Persona series
Also the 13th card in Tarot "The Death" symbolizes a major change and She does trust herself the least because she is the grim reaper and doesn't want to draw herself as a tarot card because she is happy and doesn't want a major change in her life :)
Interesting detail: At 13:02 the lyrics go "we are 5 minutes away from the end that's come". Later, at 15:28, it's gone down to "5 seconds" instead, showing how fast things can be over.
Also the use of "we" and the inclusion of the tarot cards of her 4 gen mates makes this another reference to her friend group who struggled to find their place in that genre together: "We are 5"
Omgg I never noticed that, I really appreciate you pointing it out
You note her speed. This lady covered Godzilla perfectly. She's not just legit skilled - she's TOP-TIER skilled. I'm most impressed with her lyrical ability and the content, but you should never forget her technical abilities.
6:49 - "I'll bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least."
Source -
Calli's Explanations
th-cam.com/video/c8q44v9IzGY/w-d-xo.html
"Here's the deal, I don't know a lot about Tarot cards... except from Persona." - Calliope Mori
Various name meaning sites
Various Tarot meaning sites
Ina and Ame's are interchangeable to some
Ninomae Ina'nis - Ninomae, "the one before two" - One + Ina'nis, inanis, "empty, void, hollow" - The Hollow One
The Wheel Of Fortune - Representing a change in fortune, the wheel ever turns. The Hollow One, priestess of the Ancient Ones, represents in the cards a change of pace, a new way of seeing things.
Calli's explanation: "Inevitable fate reminds me of the Ancient Ones." "Ina looks so cute on that wheel too."
(In the MV her card is inverted, originally a mistake, but it means "bad luck" inverted. Which "works too", because of Ina's gacha addiction!)
Amelia Watson - Amelia, from amalia, "work", industriousness + Watson, referencing Dr. Watson, Sherlock's sidekick and straight man
The Priestess - Mystery, stillness, passivity. Usually signifying a time to retreat, to consider what lays ahead. She councils caution.
Calli's explanation: Intelligence, "Watson is really friggin' smart." "Intelligence was the main."
Gawr Gura - Gawr from gar, an ancient fish + Gura from gula, "gluttony"
The Fool - New beginnings, innocence, a free spirit. Sometimes a faith in the future that it will all work out. Upright indicates the beginning of a new journey, and the hope for a joyful future mixed with innocence.
Calli's explanation - New beginnings, free spirit, innocence. She's "smarter than everyone thinks", and "one of the most free spirits."
Takanashi Kiara - Takanashi "small birds play" [I will get corrected] (no hawks) + Kiara "Light, Clear"
The Sun - Good fortune, happiness, joy.
Calli's explanation: Kiara to her is a sunny bright person, from the first time they met. Even before debut, people would say the two of them look like night (Calli) and day (Kiara)
Who is Calli?
"I thought I was Death... But what if Death belongs to my Sensei?"
Her card has her sitting on a throne...
Death: Endings, cycles, *profound change*
The Empress: Maternal influence, the beginning of a new family, *the creation of new art, a new business*
6:03 The cards embody the personas of her fellow members from Hololive Myth. And though, it technically has a surface level meaning, (Gura gets the Fool, because her character is not very smart, Kiara gets the Sun because she's a phoenix, Watson gets the High Priestess because she solves mysteries and Ina has the Wheel of Fortune because her character was chosen to be the emissary of the Ancient One) we can speculate this relates to how Calli sees her friends.
The Fool is a card that represents a new beginning. To Calli, Gura has opened her up to a new different adventure.
The High Priestess symbolizes mystery and wisdom. My speculation is that Watson gets this card because she's the Hololive Myth leader and she inspires her GenMates to try new things
Wheel of Fortune is for drastic change, as Ina has been one of Calliope Mori's friends and suplorters, she's notably known to create the art for some of Calli's songs
Lastly, the Sun symbolizes joy and happiness.
Kiara has been considered by the community as Mori's closest friend in the Myth Generation, so much so that people in the community ship them with each other.
If I missed anything or like made a mistake, please let me know.
The only thing is that Ina's card is flipped so the meaning changes, otherwise thank you!
I don't know if anyone already caught it, but just in case:
The weird sound at the beginning you mentioned is very likely a laugh track used in things like oldschool sitcoms and such. Two things - first, I think the laugh tracks symbolizes some kind of nostalgia for a better time long gone; the song is all about Calli's career being some day over and gone. So all of us, Calli herself and the fans, will have left will be the good memories.
Second, I don't know if this is intedend - most laugh tracks were created in the 1950s. Most people you hear on these tracks are long dead, so including them on a song about the passage of time and that all things will end someday is very fitting. (even if it wasn't intended)
A cool detail of the cards shown at 6:00 is that those cards have images of her friends/genmates. They're the others from the 1st generation of Hololive English (aka Holomyth). So I take it also as in she puts her trust and leaves her heart in the hands of her friends, and she trusts them more so than herself.
If you like calliope songs you will love DemonDice's music. I recommend some of her songs from her newest ep. Actually all demon dices songs are amazing so u can go ahead and react to anything and I’d watch
100%
Literally the entire EP
All of her music tbh
Listen to Take the Bait, Fake ass gold and Hazy Skyscraper if you go into Demondice's discography.
Yo that would be awesome
Your comment on identity battles brought a passage from a Patrick Rothfus novel to mind:
"You see, there's a fundamental connection between seeming and being. Every Fae child knows this, but you mortals never seem to see. We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be."
Chronicler relaxed a bit, sensing familiar ground. "That's basic psychology. You dress a beggar in fine clothes, people treat him like a noble, and he lives up to their expectations."
"That's only the smallest piece of it," Bast said. "The truth is deeper than that. It's..." Bast floundered for a moment. "It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story."
I think this is a point that actors, vtubers and media personalities need to be more conscious of. You may think you're acting the part but in truth your mind is bending itself to become the part, do it for to long it will consume you.
The pictures on the cards show her genmates in Hololive. So you could interpret that line as her putting her trust in them. Which would make sense since the people in a generation are usually very close and help each other out when someone is struggling in some way or another.
Calli is the number 2 V-Tuber and the number 1 music V-Tuber in the world. So she's clearly doing things right despite her lack of confidence.
I also recommend you to check out "CROWN" and "The Grim Reaper is a Live-Streamer" < some of my favorites of hers
"Graveyard shift" is my favorite and "Guh" is pretty nice. "Dead beats" is also a fun one.
I believe that the line about cards is talking about putting your trust in your friends. As shown by the cards on screen, that are the other vtubers in the same generation as Cali. Her friends.
My interpretation of the "I bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least" line is that, on one end, believing in the "heart of the cards" is a term in card games when you trust in your the deck to give you luck, so she's hoping that her luck qill carry her forward, because she doesn't trust herself to continue this success by herself. But you can also take it more literally, that she's literally betting her own heart away because she just doesn't trust it to carry herself anymore.
The cards are also based on her genmates so one interpretation could be that she trusts her friends more that she does herself
@@Waeloh Oh, I completely missed that. Good catch.
In the MV, those are also other VTubers that she debuted with depicted on the cards. So those "cards" could be the new friends she's made to trust keep her on the right path.
The imagery of her fellow HoloMyth compatriots on the tarot cards in this MV adds another layer to this line I think. Not only is she betting on luck, she's also learning to have a shared faith with four other people; I think the prospect of a found family is somewhat new to Calli, as she's spoken a little previously about Hololive shifting her views on the value and permanency of friendship. So by "betting her heart on the cards", she's trusting the other girls where she can't place trust in herself. It's a very nice lyric.
Loving the Calliope train! Let’s go 🔥 BTS still coming this week too?? Thanks man.
The "cards" are depicting her Generation mates, the group she debuted with (Holomyth, their group name in Hololive), to replace the tarot card art.
Really enjoyed this look into the song. You caught a lot of things I missed and I definitely have a better appreciation for this song. I also find it hilarious and incredible rhyming of "ouroboros".
I am so happy that you decided to react/breakdown RED. Every song in her "Your Mori" EP is awesome.
About the cards, many people already commented on it. But is really interesting because in her lyric breakdown she took her time to explain why each card is named like that and what the girls mean to her. They have an amazing dynamic as a group and they are very supportive of each other. 😄
Imo, Calli's best track. There is definitely arguments to be made from many of her other tracks, but to me this applies the best range of her talents, from lyrics, to delivery, to vocal range, to message, to even art style. An anthem to this entire concept of content creation, and a very brave take on it.
like other said the song also included her struggle with her streaming role. So her “turning to stone” is her model being inactive when she is not streaming. Also the person behind Mori can’t claim anything she done as Mori, when she moves on.
The Tarot card are her gen mates who started in Hololive at the same time as her.
Interesting detail about the tarot cards shown in the MV: Calliope is part of the 1st generation of HololiveEN, or HoloMyth, along with 4 other VTubers. When Calliope says "I'll bet my heart on the cards, because I trust me the least", there are 4 cards shown, and the art on the cards are replaced with their models. The Fool (Gawr Gura), The Sun (Takanashi Kiara), Wheel of Fortune (Ninomae Ina'nis), and The Priestess (Amelia Watson), and then the back of a fifth card, presumably representing Calliope.
The cards that shes placing her trust in represent her friends in HoloMyth, and her card isn't showing because she "trusts herself the least."
My interpretation of “I put my heart on the cards” is a reference to Yugioh and how the character puts their trust in not only in their cards but also their friends, so Mori is essentially saying she puts her trust in her friends and colleagues, more so than herself
And like any new job, you don't just get to choose your co-workers, they're the cards she was dealt in a more literal sense as well. No such thing as reading too deeply into Calli's lyrics, it seems.
@@crowe6961 true, but at the same time the relationship the hololive girls have is deeper than that of work, like they are all just extraordinarily great friends
This song is very beautiful. Honestly, the entire EP is beautiful and amazing. She very aptly named the whole project, this song included "Your Mori". This album in a sense...is Calli. The influences, the mental states, the back and forth in the different songs and herself.
I so very want to see your reaction to "Bully".
Great as always Knox
If you want to experience more of Calliope Mori fast rap, check out いじめっ子Bully.
Yea, tho it has a lot of japanese parts
@@power3297 True true, the particularly fast rap parts if i recall correctly are purely in English though which is good
Yes! My absolute favorite Mori song, I'm always so excited to see other people's takes on it.
Her lyric break down was so insightful. I already loved loved LOVED the line "And when this Red runs black I'll ask you "Was I everything you imagined?" " but that breakdown killed me utterly. This girl has all ny respect for ever
oh, just for your information, there are other rappers that hide behind vtuber avatars, so, that is a whole 'thing' itself. not just Mori. Also operatically or classically trained singers too. I'd recommend seeing a video analysis of 'king' where some person goes through all the vtuber covers of the song 'king', which was originally a production made using vocaloid software for the singing. Each of the different talents add their own spin to it and make it their own.
5:49 the people on the cards are the other members of hololive EN
The tarot cards represent her friends from Hololive, I love this song because you can see how close they are to one another, they were the first ones from Hololive EN, so they've gone through all this learning together
"We are 5..."
Man... I'm gonna cry
You could write a book interpreting almost any of Calliope's (btw that's pronounced Kah-lie-Oh-pee like the instrument) music and still not reach the full depth of their multiple meanings and inferences. She truly has the heart of a poet.
One particular interpretation is of the "distorted story" verse. Each of the Hololive members are real people role playing a character for the masses, and the masses have added their own lore on top of the original creation. Those combine to form the audience's view, "another distorted story", but its still a fiction that rarely considers the past of the real person behind it. It "ignores the deceased"; the years of talent and growth and struggle they went through to get where they are. This seems to be a fairly common theme to Calli's lyrics. Add that to having to "live inside of the castle" that is Hololive with all of that attention and pressure when she would prefer a more low-key, laid back setting "kick(ing) it the dungeon".
That's a lot for her to adjust to in a short amount of time. Especially if the attention is negative like the grief that IRyS got for her debut sub-count and Gura got for her rapid success. I think, in part, "Red" was one of Calliope's attempts to both express all of this as well as adapt to the changes it caused in her life.
I find it interesting that, for a Shinigami, she seems much more focused on life.
Loving the breakdowns man! Calli really does have a knack for a more experimental style with her songs. Red is a good example, a full on banger done in such a way that I don't think I've heard anything quite like it ever before (or since). I personally love the way she's able to so seemingly effortlessly tie these reflective questions and themes like being a prisoner to one's ambition or success being something short lived and valuable, and yet very exhaustiing and stressful into her music. The metaphors are crazy and the way she's able to write multiple layers into her lyrics in a way where you'll really miss it unless you're paying attention is impressive!
Would also love to see a reaction/breakdown on "guh" (a song more so addressing her haters), "Cursed Night" (kind of similar slower, reflective feel like in "end of a life"), or "いじめっ子Bully" (more of a self-deprecating song, but a banger nonetheless - looking up a lyric video would probably be a good idea given that there's a fair bit of Japanese and some of the lyrics get a bit buried under the instrumental).
The part of "I'll bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least" is a reference to her other friends, the other four VTbers of her generation, each one of the cards represents them. I think what she's trying to portrait is that even if she doesn't trust herself, she's willing to believe and trust her friends (the cards) more than anything else and that's how important they are to her. You can also tell how low she may think of herself while she can see so much good and put so much faith in the people she cares about.
A little while ago Mori took a little break, apparently she was overworking herself as well as got thrown into some crappy Twitter drama (cesspool that it has become) - she seems to be a bit of a workaholic. I think that part of the song reflects that in that she is musing about what comes after this. Go back to IRL streaming on Twitch, go on tour so forth and so on.
I love that Calli blends the synth sounds combined with real drums and base. It gives the music a more real feeling. A more unique sound.
Love you Calli. Keep pushing forward and never lose yourself.
Great analysis. I'm always amazed at how much you catch on the first pass, even without all of the context.
If you are continuing this Calliope Mori journey I suggest Cursed Night. It's on the "End of a Life" side of her work.
Regarding the "I'll turn to stone" line, I think it means something along the lines of, after her career is over the image of her past will become immortal (as stone) but unchanging
2:28 that sounds like a rainstick rather than water, it's a hollow tube with like pins through it and beads, when the stick is tipped the beads hit the pins and sounds kind of like rain
You should definitely listen to “The Grim Reaper is a Live Streamer”. Probably my favorite song of hers and the music video is SO GOOD
The characters depected in the cards that show up during the "i'll bet my heart in the cards" bit are the people of her generation in hololive.
Another great breakdown Knox.. to actually get what the song was about from the start is crazy... the next one you should do is "Cursed Night" very metaphor heavy and it really fleshes out her character alot
So it turns out you have great timing on your deep dive into Calliope Mori! She just announced the release of her first full album Un/Alive and it's coming out on the 21st! I know you still have a ton of her stuff that you haven't listened to, but a full album reaction video or stream of this would be super cool to see! I'm not sure if you'd want to wait just a bit out of respect or what the etiquette around that kind of thing is, but I figured it would be a cool way to get more into her music and react to some of her stuff for the first time at the same time as everyone else more or less. If you'd rather just do individual videos the way you have been of course that works too. ;)
Seeing you react to the intro with the keys starting and stopping made me remember how crazy cool it was to hear for the first time. Not that it isn't still cool, but once you hear the song enough times and really know it's coming, it has a different feel for sure.
Just watched through all your videos on Calli's songs, and it's cool to see everything you bring up for her songs.
The 'turn to stone' part, i interpret it as when she retired, she will be immortalized by the people and carve her into stone like those ancient heroes/kings when they did something great.
Well she successfully did something great and now i will carve her name in my heart
She did a lyric explanation shortly after this EP released-- you're pretty much dead-on, it was in reference to her "body" (the digital puppet) no longer moving after her retirement.
Man, you keep amazing me with your insights into Calli's lyrics. It's like you're on the same wavelength as her! You really get her and her art without even watching her streams and other content to help with context, which is damn impressive. Most reactors who are not Hololive fans don't really see past the surface lyrics and don't see the metaphors or the depth of Calli's poetry.
Just a quick note regarding the cards, if you're listening to just the song, it doesn't really say tarot cards, so I think it's less about fate or destiny and more about chance/luck. Same sentiment as "rolling the dice", because it's easier to let chance guide her than trust her own instincts (which I totally get). But if you watch the video, the cards are actually Tarot cards, but not normal Tarot as they each have one of her HoloMyth gen-mates on them (Gawr Gura, Takanashi Kiara, Ninomae Ina'nis and Amelia Watson). So the video kind of transforms that line from trusting in luck/chance to putting her trust in her friends. It's a really beautiful sentiment, IMO.
FYI, "believing in the heart of the card" is actually a meme that starts from Yu-Gi-Oh anime. Basically a kid version of "I believe in my luck, my next card will be good" kinda gamble. I used to play Yu-Gi-Oh myself and always use this quote as a joke when I'm cornered.
But in this case, because the cards represent her gen mates in Hololive then it probably means she pun her trust in her friends.
Yeah, like everyone in the comment section has been saying...
Another way to interpret the bloodlust line at the end (and all of the red/blood mentions throughout the song) is the urge to push herself to work even harder (i.e. the blood in blood, sweat, and tears). Hard work is a very common topic throughout her songs and she portrays in a bunch of different ways. In this song, if you consider every reference to Red or Blood to be about that, it's like she's saying she can't stop herself from pouring that work into everything, even when it's consuming her in the process. It's also the only lens she knows how to view her own achievements through, hence everything around her, even the sources of light themselves, being red. The only other color that exists in the song is black, pretty openly representing what will happen to all the blood (hard work) when it all comes to an end, but the wording (RUNS black) implies that she'll be putting in the work all the way up until the last moment - you'll still see the blood flowing as it changes color. She finally concludes that it's a form of bloodlust, an uncontrollable desire to see blood (in this case her own) that doesn't care if it hurts herself or others in the process. She WANTS to work that hard, and the more she accomplishes the more she needs the hard work to color her story and explain why she has those accomplishments, and she'll willingly put in the work even when she knows it's past the point of being healthy (there have been numerous streams where she's admitted to barely or even not sleeping in order to squeeze in her work)
While it's not explicitly red/blood related, I think the final line "I'd rather just fade away" is continuing this theme somewhat. If you see it as an alternative to "I'll turn to stone again" she's basically saying she wants to keep pushing on until there's nothing physically left of her, rather than hitting her limit and going inactive/stagnant but still being around to remind us of her own existence. Only the blood (the hard work and fruits of her labor) that she already poured out will be there to tell us who she was and what she did at that point.
As a tarot reader myself, I totally agree with your interpretation of the cards shown in the video! It’s as though she’s saying that even though she doesn’t have much faith in herself, she does have faith that the messages and warnings that she receives through tarot are there to guide her. That she doesn’t fully trust herself to have all the answers, but she does put faith in Source, or the universe, for guidance. Those messages are for her highest good only and that becomes an outline to follow. Totally resonated with me. As always, great catch on that line Knox!
I just noticed something, the line "when this red runs black was I everything you imagined" could actually be referring to "being in the red" and losing money to make her music and "being in the black" and actually managing to make a profit off of her music... Making that line another call-out asking if she can still be considered the same artist after "selling out" and joining Hololive.
Also, I would love if you reacted to "guh" next.
The line about identity battles is also about her other song writing under a different name
Thank you. Please continue with the BU too💜
Just found you through these Calli song reacts! You go really deep and thoughtfully into these, it's a treat to watch! Hope you keep doing them, you're nailing things that only Calli herself has really spoken about before. If you're looking for more Mori, I'd recommend "guh", it's a great song responding to all the haters. DEAD BEATS is a classic Mori song that's got more of that craziness that she showed in her first song. And like many others here, if you're looking for other things in this Mori "genre", I can recommend DEMONDICE's latest album: "shut up and get happy".
I took the red turning to black is blood to ink. The pain and thorns inside being put down on paper into her music and people seeing a different side of her through her music. "when this red runs black I'll ask you was I everything you imagined."
Love the content
I like how he appreciates the depth of meanings in her lyrics, but wish he also commented on the beautiful visual art in the MV
Great time listening to your takes on the song. Comments is already filled with others telling you about the tarot cards so, I'll mention that you calling it the "Mori Genre" is something a lot of her fans feel. Calli has gotten a lot of people in her streams that say "I don't like rap music but I love your stuff." She really does have a very unique style.
Calli really came at us with such poetry, thanks for the breakdown!
Cursed night is a really good one from mori, It's one of my favorites but that its a very dark one and deeper tones.
Out of everyone i watched react to her art you sir are way ahead,very good and deep breakdown of the song...it tells a lot about your charakter and im REALLY impressed. I would absolutely LOVE to see you react to all her songs. I think you would find interesting to listen ,,Reaper Rapper,, not my favourite but definetly most ,,unice,, of her songs in my opinion. Cant wait for more.
Organized chaos is the best way to describe both her music and her personification, because in my opinion death is best described as organized chaos
Love this reaction! Please react to cali's song "bully" because I would love to see your interpretation of that
Omg yes I love that song by her too it would be so cool to see Knox react to it and break it down as well!
Fun Fact if you look at the terra cards it's actually her other gen mates lol.
This is my favorite sing from her and imo it's her best.
She also chose to perform this at hololive 3rd fest in her first ever live 3D performance.
I love these calliope reaction breakdowns. Always listened to her music pretty mindlessly and loved it, but falling in love with them all again!
I like this Mori react series, lol
I love her music but my little knowledge of music and rap can't tell me a deeper meaning and techinical term of it, so watching your interpretation of it just fun
My next recommendation probably Cursed Night..
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Also, if you feel enough with Mori, why don't you try to check Demondice ;)
mmm always so good to see more of Dads music you really nail the breakdown of these its fascinating to see how people see these I wont bother regurgitating the background on some the meanings of lines but on a more interesting note in my opinion one of the reasons all her music is so unique and out there is because shes taken the opportunity that Hololive has given her and used their reach and connections to work with different producers who shes admired to shine some light on the people that inspired her and under normal circumstances probably never would have gotten the chance to work with
The Tarot cards were a reference to her gen mates and friends with each having a card depicting their personality
End of A Life: "running roadless" changes to "driving roadless"
Red: "we are five minutes away" changes to "we are five seconds away"
in terms of how she works the lyrics in her raps this is probably my favourite song
hey im really glad you keep reacting to mori they are my favorite videos of yours
Dead Beats is on of my favorite Calli songs, but I also really like Live Again
God your calli reactions are so good cuz you actually seem to care about what you’re listening to, keep it up please!
You should react to a Halloween song she made with her gen mates called "Myth or Treat". She wrote the lyrics but it shows all of her genmates as well in a small vr version
Yea but i think for this you need to know the lore of there 1 year hololive cause there so much reference.
Heart of the cards is a Yu-Gi-Oh reference I believe, that was supposed to to relay that she was gonna trust chance more than her own decision making(kind of like saying you know what card you have in your deck and should just trust that your preparation was enough)
5:38 I don't know if someone else mentioned it but, on the tarot cards we can see the other Hololive Myth VTubers, so it's a reference to her friends too
Yessssss, I was waiting for this
I'm so glad I turned in to this video.. because it really is not that easy for others to understand or decipher what the song really comes to... thanks for this!
Been waiting for this! Thanks again!
This was an amazing breakdown. I wouldn’t have caught half of those bars.
Seeing the tarot cards and here at 12:57 with the strings coming in... That a Shin Megami Tensei Persona reference?
And following that it shows a scene with a rose, and the cocking of a gun, that a nod to Guns & Roses? Though I don't see any apparent similarities between these two musicians.
I swear Knox has the best breakdowns for Calli, he understands this battle she faces. I really want more! Wish he'd just do all of her music lol.
Really loving these Mori reactions, man
Another meaning I took from the "red turns black" line meaning when she pours her blood (her life) into her music and her words (Ink on a page) is she what we really think she is? Calli gets super deep in her lyrics, and while they always have multiple meanings there's always some really deep part of her soul in there I think, and she's asking if her fans are really okay with the 'monster in the dungeon' so to speak. Or so I think, I don't know her lyrics are always such poetry it's impossible to say what they really mean most of the time!
Been waiting for calli ! Thanks for the video
So for the tarot cards its kinda a reference to yugioh how its kinda just random luck and also the meaning believing in the heart of cards which is when you trust your deck in your cards aka her colleagues and ill bet my heart on the cards because I trust me the least has the meaning she is putting her trust in her vtubers friends and kinda relaying on them because she doesnt really trust herself also if you love Calli your gonna love demondice which happens to be Callis "other" "personality" aka her old channel and I recommend Alkatraz and Sick outta fashion they are probably the best ones with meanings and fun stuff.
Been waiting for another Calliope Mori reaction. Red is my personal favorite.
1 mori song a week for the past 4 weeks thats nuts!
She let slip on stream recently that she's planning to release a full album at some point (official announcment is I think the 18th) would be interesting to get your take on the songs if that is the case
Her songs are super interesting, you really see how she grows and what is happening in her life.
This year she started to branch outside of her Mori Calliope persona finally. She is finally pushing her real selfs networth further instead of being restricted behind an avatar.
Knox is Deadbeat confirmed.
Next up:
- Deadbeats
- Reaper Ka Rapper
- End of a Life
Also hey for no particular reason on a completely unrelated note you should check out this artist named Demondice.
Taro cards its not more like human destiny but more like human being. It's like a road what you need to end and every taro card is like point when you need to stop and think then go
To me, the wildest thing in Red by Mori is the change of beat. Right of the gate the beat already sounds off, the rhythm is unusual, but as the passage goes and we slowly able to grasp the beat, it changed again on a whim. I have never heard anything like that before and I like it.
I can't wait till you get to End Of A Life or Crown with her friends, both songs are my favorite by her
Actually he already reacted to End Of A Life a couple of days ago.
@@BLumiha37B yeah I barely saw that, didn't come back to edit the comment
so something i just noticed reading the lyrics, the part where she says "So come alive now, Once again so i can chase you down. We're 5 minutes away from, the end has come." the second time instead of minutes she says "5 seconds", but everything is still the same. i didn't notice it, any of the times i listened to the song, was too busy enjoying the song to notice it.
As a grim reaper she will live eternally as an immortal but as an idol and entertainer she rather just fade away like a flower despite people would love to have her last longer but there is beauty in things that wilt away and are not immortal.
More than just being about her career, I'm picking up on kind of another meaning of her giving her all for a goal which she has lost sight of. Her lines have a big theme of contentment (or lack thereof) and being stuck in constantly rushing forward, never sure if she'll be happy by the end.
Maybe I'm just projecting, but this interpretation seems deliberate and powerful