Thank you all so much for watching, Didn't have a chance to put it in the video but I have to give a huge thank you to my friend Kipo for helping me review and rework Bridgets section of the script.
I'd like to point out the line in Asuka's theme, "Does the sun ever defy fate?", in reference to Sol. It makes sense that he'd question how something that is "his creation" would defy its destiny. Just adds an extra layer to Asuka's mindset.
there's also the possibility that the line "beyond it all, do you recognize me" could be Asuka asking Sol and Aria if they still see their old friend in him, even after all the mistakes he's committed
“The Circle” is the only song that I equally love both interpretations of the lyrics. I love the sad triumph of the mainstream interpretation but the dread of the second is so good.
I feel like it really fits since, y’know, it’s Bedman?, not Bedman. No-one actually knows in universe whether the bed is Bedman or not, so it’s only fitting that we not know either.
My personal interpretation (even before watching this video) of it was somehere in the middle, where bedman was only able to place PART of his soul into the robot, meaning that most of his soul still died, and only a small portion was inserted "through the back of my eye lens" and would functionally not have his personality, but just the fragmented love for Delilah and perhaps some of his power. This would also fit together with how Bedman?'s eye looks corroded and corrupted. Maybe if that is where it was possesed from. Its also where bedman? Gathers power from for one of his supers. I got this thought mainly from the line "through the mold, Where i can find with access to the back of my eye lens"
I think bedman's theme is him, or some version or fragment of him, trapped within the bed, lost and confused after his death, and holding on to the one thing that he knows and has purpose in; protecting delilah.
My take: bedman wanted to go to heaven. The "god" of thier universe, if such a thing exists, denied him due to all the terror he has caused telling him "if you can help someone go do it", implying maybe he can earn his stay in heaven by helping others. Or perhaps his conciousness couldn't accept itself peace, denying himself due to guilt. and he wanted to make amends for his mistakes in the past. He wasn't denied afterlife by god, but rather by himself and his own guilt
I interpret the 'reverse' lyrics of the circle as Bedman talking to Delilah, that he can feel those signs of heaven because he's on the border to the afterlife, but she cannot. And the line "If you can give someone something" refers to both himself and Delilah, that as long as there's something you can do for your love for others, you're not ready to die yet. And that's pretty amazing considering both Bedman is willing to sacrifice the little life he has left for Delilah's sake, AND Delilah was willing to throw away her own life for revenge for the sake of her brother. So the lyrics actually apply to both Bedman AND Delilah
I prefer to believe that it is God responding to bedman and the line "if you can give someone something" applies your interpretation as well as God basically telling Bedman he will be stuck in that hellish limbo as long as he tries to protect Delilah with the machine.
@@juasjuasi4750or it’s god telling him “no you won’t go to heaven you’re a shit” but if you protect someone then maybe. Bedman can find his redemption in protecting his sister.
I like how The Town Inside Me goes from 4/4, the 'normal' time signature, to 9/8 at the very end. It's just guitars, all the other instruments drop out. It feels like a great capstone to the song, where after her revelation she's ready to strike out as her own person. The rush of energy from that revelation winds down, and that arpeggio settles us into her new groove. I really hope they run with this idea and make her next theme at least start in 9/8.
I think the reason the pronouns in Testament’s theme continuously switch is a reference to how they most likely use any pronouns instead of just they/them pronouns. Testament canonically does not give a shit about gender which is why they don’t make a big deal about Nagoriyuki using he/him pronouns for them in their arcade mode. This fact doesn’t have any effect on the meaning of the theme, but it’s nice to have more Agender representation since it’s surprisingly hard to come by.
@@NemSumeragiPeople continue to astound me. A, Kliff is dead, and B, "he did not reject the light herself" doesn't just kill the theory, it atomizes it so no corpse may decompose. Kind of a silly theory, really.
Direct quote from Daisuke, “In fact, they've transcended human existence. Just like me.” I just like to point out this quote because Daisuke basically calls himself a god. Which he is.
I miss growing up as a kid when these false ideologys weren't forced upon people A controlled fire is sometimes needed to allow the ecosystem to thrive
I think I should add: Happy Chaos mentions, entirely casually and offhandedly like it doesn't matter, something along the lines of "Bedman erased his universal ID just before he died and became a multi-dimensional being." It's a single line in his story mode, but it seems important.
Another interpretation that is very popular (or rather is my favorite interpretation): The Circle is referring to Samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth to which all beings are subject to in Buddhism, a major religion in Japan. Bedman is rejecting moving on in order to be there for his sister. That's it. That's the song.
@@phagecg6149 Its more complicated then that. Backyard is a higher dimension then our own. our universe runs off it when one has access to the backyard they have access to the source code of reality and can do as they wish. The "Perfect world" that bedman was trying to make was a means to interface with the backyard. As normal people going into the backyard would be COMPLETELY obliterated by the pure magical information there. Basically they step into the backyard and half their body becomes antimatter due to the magical equivalent of inter overflow and they explode. However in the "perfect world" one can access the backyard via dreams which means bedman was in a very unique situation to basically wish things to happen. Venom and robo kye messed up the ritual which caused the perfect world to colapse and bedman to be exposed to the Backyard without protection. HOWEVER Bedman's Ultimate wish wish did come true and Delilah was cured of the same sleeping affliction they both shared (although her case was more severe and she couldn't even be attached to a bed due to how she could magically overload it) People speculate that Bedman's mind is stuck in the Backyard and he can do little to nothing beyond control his bed in reality
@NameIsDoc doesn't the bed try and kill itself in the arcade story tho I don't think bedman is going to destroy his only link to Delilah if that's the case
I always thought the "something that talks back" to bedman was Bedman telling himself that he can't move on to the afterlife because he can't let himself leave Delilah
I also think that, in The Gravity, "Innocents lied to, just to spare them" may be talking specifically about Frederick and Aria. He promised Frederick he could find a cure to Aria's disease, as long as he could put her in cold sleep to give him time to do the research, and he promised Aria Frederick would be around to see her when she left the cold sleep, which was the one condition she had to be put into cold sleep. What he didn't tell any of them was that he would essentially turn both of them into monsters in an attempt to fulfill those promises
I love how 3 of theme have some sort of physical/mental trauma they are clearly trying to sort out and overcome meanwhile sin is like "dont worry about it dude we ballin!"
I love the idea of Bridget's theme only having the electric guitar playing loudly at the final section, as if the song itself wasn't confident in its own message until the breakthrough. The beginning having an organ is also a very fun detail given her nun design As for Bedman's theme, it might be because I haven't listened to the lyrics close enough but I always saw the "I'm here"s of the song as Bedman reaching out to Delilah through the bed
@@ModernAegis…I don’t think the intention was to have it poorly sung, nor do most people agree with you on it being poorly sung. I, personally, think that AISHA’s vocals are very nice.
@@epicbuttcrack15it's not poorly sung, but it's got a very different style to most of the other character themes, although the contrasting lyrics and upbeat tone give the hint of someone who's trying desperately to be someone they aren't because they think it'll make them happy
Gravity is also rather interesting because the ending plays counter to Smell of the game in small ways. Smell of the Game mentions how gravity is a force that keeps people down and the singer (thought to be sol) calls it bullshit. but for Asuka gravity is the means to which he must ground himself. So even when he is trying to atone he is running counter to the feelings of sol.
If you ask me, the "Pure White, Pitch black, all the same" and "Endless, Finite, Copy that" is the bed robot itself trying to comprehend its same code (pure white meaning a 1, and pitch black meaning a 0 in binary) with the added last wish of Romeo to defend Delilah. It's such a unexplainable command, that with the robots destroyed circuitry it struggles to understand, and yet with its directive given to it as Romeo dies, it gives its answer with one goal: "Copy that."
There's one cool thing in Bridget's theme that wasn't mentioned. Bridget feels guilty for how she's feeling and how she doesn't fit in with the "town" and only watches from afar. Bridget sings, "I'm the one to blame" showing that she thinks she's the problem. Once she accepts herself, only the background chorus sings "I'm the one to blame." Bridget doesn't sing it since she no longer feels guilty for being who she is or blames herself
"I hate the alarm clock I choose" and "Taste like vegetables I don't like" are also really good and subtle implications of gender dysphoria. I don't know for sure as I don't experience it myself but I've read multiple comments of people affirming that, wich adds another layer to her theme. Pretty cool imo Also, Baiken's theme is so fucking amazing. Both because of the song itself but because of the many mirror interpretations Edit: Don't read the responses, it's a circus down there 💀 just read the 3rd one by gwen9939 for more insight and go about your day
There's a lot of small hints at the almost imperceptible dissociation, depersonalization, and apathy that is usually descriptive of repressed gender dysphoria, and those examples are somewhat more euphemistic whereas other lines are more descriptive like: "It wasn't hard, but I didn't hate it"/"I've been patient, but it was bearable"/"It's my stress, that's for sure". When you're lacking the language for a negative, destructive emotion it becomes more like a black hole that sucks meaning into it, so instead of being able to tell what "it" is, you instead try to figure out how to describe it using things you already know. It's such an incredibly common experience for a lot of trans people to just think that what they're feeling is caused by some combination of stress, social anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, residual trauma from some actual event in their life, then also carry the innate wish to be a different gender, and just never connect the plethora of negative things you're feeling with the one positive thing you're drawn to, until one day you do and it's like "...oh". There's also a lesser-known function in coping with trauma, especially with complex trauma which repressed gender dysphoria falls under, and that is "going on with everyday life". Trauma is specifically about lacking a social acknowledgement for psychological pain, so instinctually the brain will go into survival mode and just try to live according to the social expectations set for you without an inner compass to guide you. A lot like how Bridget sets out to resolve her parents' guilt by showing them she can "be a man" so that they wouldn't feel like they're causing her harm by forcing her into a role they believe is wrong for her, but in the process Bridget forgets how she feels about herself and who she wants to be. You feel some kind of pain from not knowing who you are, or knowing who you'd want to be but on a deep, intuitive level know for a fact that you would never be allowed to be that because of the social stigma surrounding expressing any thoughts even remotely close to that, and that robs you of finding joy in basically anything in life. It's a very complex and subjective experience, and I can only speak on my own, but I was quite impressed by how well the lyrics managed to hit some very resonant emotional beats. Honestly, so many things just went right with how Bridget was presented in Strive, especially with how lacking she was in GGXX I almost can't believe it. Everything from the lyrics to her interactions with the other characters, even how Daisuke talked about her in the following interviews was honestly just very moving, and it's really hard to describe just how powerful it is to suddenly have a story about the way you've experienced life that is so hard to communicate to the few others who haven't experienced it themselves, suddenly exist in a game as iconic as Guilty Gear.
how the hell are those lines about gender dysphoria omg the trans bridget thing was just a thing for the west, most of jap still thinks "otokonoko", u really think daisuke is throwing gender dysphoria in that hahaha
@@gwen9939yeah the tramua of being shunned by the town, not the trans stuff. most of jap thinks shes a "otokonoko", u think daisuke made this sing for trans dog whistle? gecko doesnt even think its trans based but i knew headcanon ppl would force it onto the song
Regarding Bridget's theme, I think there's a lot more trans related elements than what you mentioned, like it's so accurate to the trans experience I'm almost suspicious of Daisuke lol. So, the beginning parts she's talking about hearing the town but she's not really there, feeling like an observer from afar, and she has this feeling towards herself too, it doesn't feel like she's her, and this sounds very much like she's dissociating, like she's not herself and all that, which is a common feeling for trans people who aren't out yet, feeling like they're not actually themselves, just playing a role expected of them. And Bridget is feeling this wear her down but not really understanding (or at least accepting) why, there's just that uncomfortable feeling, like vegetables you don't like, or a bad alarm clock, and an overall gray haze over life, but she's blaming herself for this, and is continuing to play the role because that's what she's always done, and change is scary, and where would she even go for help? In the final part though, she finally breaks free from her haze, she accepts herself and her heavy burden disappears, she feels light again, the sky is blue again, and food is good again, she finds where she belongs and she'll no longer pretend to be someone she's not to please the world. Honestly there's just so much trans specific stuff about her in strive, like even her design with a hoodie hiding her shoulder outline, the long neck shirt hiding her throat, both pretty common points of dysphoria for trans people, the snapped handcuff implying she's broken free. Man... I wonder what Daisuke did for research for this.
To add to this, the name "Sol" is Latin for "Sun". And on top of that he asks a lot of questions directed towards to people who would be too specific to fit any sort of general whole. The line "Beyond it all, do you recognize me?" could be him talking to Sol as he never meant to harm Sol at all and simply wanted him to live long enough to where him and Aria (now Jack-O) could live together happily due to her incurable illness. We really see in Xrd and especially Strive that Asuka was only trying to help but got blamed for everything and had to hide as That Man after the Justice incident. However we now know that with the exception of simply creating Justice and the gears he didn't do really anything to warrant such infamy. Not to say he's completely innocent however but still. We also know from his likes page it specifically says "Likes: Sol, Aria" as well as his interactions with Sol and Jack-O showing he greatly still cares for them and also how Sol seems to have forgiven him letting Asuka take the Flame of Corruption seed away from him and in the end of Strive's main story Sol and Jack-O seem to be building a rocket to go and visit Asuka on the moon. Something I feel Gekko has wrong here is Asuka wasn't on the moon until after Strive's story. The Asuka we see throughout the games is actually Asuka and this is backed by dialogue exchanges and the fact he has the power to remove the Flame of Corruption and has the Tome of Origin fused with him and we know only the real one would work since HC needed it specifically as he wrote the thing. It's after Strive's story that he goes to the moon so he can keep the tome safe and make sure it can't be used. You can interpret him saying "Gravity holds all the answers" as his Arcade route where he and his clones are constantly fighting each other to show each other that Asuka no longer needs to be held back by his past and what the public saw him as now and that he can begin forgiving himself, simply looking at the facts. He becomes a literal truth seeker in his arcade route where he states that he had nothing to do with the events that made him That Man, he was just blamed for it and easily so. We can see him asking these questions both as him becoming this arising truth seeker and him struggling to really forgive himself as at the end of the day he did hurt the ones he cared and loved for most even if he never meant it to be that way. This is further backed by him asking "What facts should we accept?" which can be him no longer caring if he is the one to still be blamed as in Strive's story he accepts that the people see him as "The Devil". Asuka is an odd character but really he just wants to try and do the right thing but from a distance, now just trying to nudge people in the right direction then be a real key player in fear he might be a catalyst for something bad. Love Asuka, love me his shoes and eye patch feather thing. Cool dude
I like the idea that Bedmans? theme is actuallly both of your interpreations simultaniosly. It works from both perspectives. The machine finds a way to go on without bedman AND it's also about Bedman's death, and his wish for the machine to go on. The two interpertations aren't mutually exclusive
I think that The Circle is Bedman's final cries to try and reach out to Delilah, before passing onto his next life. There are parts of the song where the singer sounds like he's singing a Hindu prayer, at least from what I know of. The cries of agony as he lets out, trying to account for everything before he's gone. Moments passing like years. He isn't able to upload himself completely into his bed and is cut off before he could finish all his orders. The song always felt like it was cut off preemptively, like there's more he wanted to say/do.
Another tidbit with Bridget is silencing the voices of doubt in her mind. "I'm the one to blame" is, throughout the song, drowned out by the instrumentals as she realizes her true self ❤
Bridget, her story, and The Town Inside Me made me come to terms with being trans myself. Before she came around, I was having a crisis trying to figure out who I was- Then, all of a sudden, this little blonde british girl with a yoyo came spiraling into my life and helped me find the answer~ I played Strive very little at the time, cuz I suck at it, but she has made me want to play more and get better- as well as learning all the Lore cuz... that's my role among my friends.
Very happy for you! Testament came out right after I started identifying as non-binary and helped cement that feeling for me as well. This series has such an empathetic view on people and their differences and I feel like that makes their representation hit so much closer to home for a lot of folks. I'm very glad representation this good exists in a relatively popular franchise so it can better reach the people who need it. Wishing you the best on your journey!
I've been interpreting the line "Do you recognize me?" in The Gravity as Asuka reaching out to Sol and Aria for a while now. As brief as the line is, it's a heartwarming idea for reasons I'm struggling to grasp.
I think the "On its own" in Sin's theme could be referring to him mending his relationship with Ky, and him acknowledging that neither one of them could've fixed it singlehandedly; they *both* had learn and grow.
I think there's validity to this interpretation, in the sense that the marking of time doesn't advance by itself. Time can move forward, but the hourglass doesn't change until someone turns it over. They both needed time to get through things and they _have_ so now they've turned the hourglass over and started moving forward.
one thing i like to think about the hourglass is that the roar of the spark reference in the instrumental break is showing how sin has come to accept and love his father, whereas before he did not like him
The key to unlocking Jack-O’s theme is in Xrd’s story. Raven says she keeps assigning worth to things with “Joy” or “Happiness”. That’s the key. The song is naming lovely things, the wonders of life, things that make her happy, and confirming that “Perfection can’t please me” because perfection doesn’t have joy or happiness, while piping hot pop corn does.
Bridget's theme is not just a banger, but deeply personal to me. It's so nice to see this kinda representation in a game like this. (especially considering who Brdiget used to be.)
While I haven't listened to the hourglass that much, I feel like "The hourglass does not turn upside down on its own" could be more so linked towards not feeling angry or crying without anyone trying to force anything, as a hourglass slowly flows to the lowerhalf, and doesn't move without something externally moving it. Which would link to the part where you were referring to Sol not really fucking with you unless you fuck with him.
I have wanted this video so bad, and I am so happy to finally see it. MORE EXCUSES TO LISTEN TO THE SOUNDTRACK YESSSSS Edit: One thing I'd like to point out something about The Circle that makes me think of the first interpretation more, being that "The circle" means the circle of life. Romeo (Bedman) breaks out of the circle, defying his death, defying the cycle, locking himself out of heaven. The whole, "You can't see..." section being him being told he can't reach heaven, because he can give someone something. He can give Delilah protection. He can give her a little part of him still. Romeo ruins his own circle of life to death, because if anyone is going to tell the afterlife no it's probably him.
20:45 i have a different interpretation on what this last chorus means, it ends with “if you can give someone something”, I believe that whatever is talking back to him is telling Bedman that he can’t ascend to heaven because he needs to be there for Delilah.
Genuinely, it's the most straightforward reasoning- and I kinda dig it. It's sort of the half and half of what GekkoSquirrel suggests. Bedman dies, and he's asking god over and over if those heavenly things are for him. But as long as Delilah needs a protector, if he can keep giving his all despite death, then he can't move on. Whether that's "God" talking back or himself saying he needs to go back for that unfinished business, y'know, songs are funny like that, won't know for sure. But that just seems the strongest interpretation- especially of that line in particular.
@@akomeadyen1294 I think that's fitting. It couldn't be heaven for Bedman if he can't give Delilah something, all the other things simply wouldn't matter to him in the face of that.
Another thing to note about Like a Weed: The line 'There's no exception, it's just less/I guess you can't trust a gentle tiger' is Testament acknowledging that they've made some pretty big mistakes in their life- the kind that you can't take back (mainly the things they did while having Justice and the Conclave in their head) but resolving throughout the rest of the song that they can't change the past but can aspire to be a better person in the here and now. Also, am I the only one who's always thought Mirror of the World is referring to both Anji *and* Delilah?
The repeating life 4 times may be a nod to how, in some asian cultures, the number 4 is considered unlucky because the character for it sounds like "death".
I have to interpret Bedmans theme as his will beyond the afterlife. Like in the line "Pitch Black, Pure White, all the same. Endless. Finite" I think is a comparison of how similar his life and afterlife is. When he was alive he was always sleeping, never able to interact with the world beyond his bed. And that still hasn't changed. Even though his life was finite, the way he pursued his goals will be never ending.
When listening to "The Circle", I always heard that verse as "you can't feel a tender warmth if you CAN'T give someone something," which I think changes the meaning entirely. Bedman is denied this eternal rest and release until he can atone for his wrongs in some way or another. He can right his wrongs if he gives one last thing to his sister: a memento of him. He can use this machine once used for evil to now do some good.
I think “no you can’t see the radiant light” and “if you can give someone something” is Bedman telling himself that he can’t go to heaven if he can still give Delilah something so he needs to keep his spirit inside the bed to protect her
The chorus of Sin's theme not only speaks to how Sol's outlook has shaped him but also shows that he's learned that he has more control over than his life than he thinks. Specifically, the hourglass can't turn upside down on it's own (as someone must choose to do so) and its his choice if he wants to restart his relationship with his family.
I always thought that the "God" segment of the Circle was the singer giving a condemnation of God. Hes asking if God can see the Light, hear the Chant, Feel the Warmth. If God can see the love that humanity has for each other. And then grows angry when he realizes God Doesnt feel it. That God is so separate from Humanity, because God is the circle and Bedman is trying to escape the Circle to protect Delilah.
There's potentially a third meaning of the Circle, since Happy Chaos brings up that Romeo removed his "ID" from the world that would make him mortal. He's apparently in some higher consciousness now, so I'm of the mind that his getting out of the circle is him getting to that higher plane.
I want to point out how good The Town Inside Me is at not only being about Bridget, but about being transgender in general. I could do a line-by-line analysis of almost every line in that song about how it so beautifully describes what it all feels like.
To be fair, Brisket's theme encapsulates the gender dysphoria sensations pretty well: the all-encompassing, unending blur, gloom and spleen of unfeasible ethiology. Like something is very wrong with some of the basic, seemingly indisputable parts of what you consider yourself to actually be.
I feel like something to keep in mind for Bedman's theme, is that during the arcade he's basically trying to off himself in a fight, and it isn't till Delilah shows she's crying he stops. With that being said I think that Romeo is possessing the bed, and feels like a monster in his current body after the story, so trying to go to Heaven only getting denied after everything he's done, and because he internally isn't ready to go yet
I've always interpreted the part in the circle where "Bedman" is given a response as god directly telling him he can't access heaven before telling him "If you can give someone something", implying that he isn't able to see the light, hear the chants or feel the warmth because he's still holding on to his desire to protect Delilah. After this (and a couple other lyrics) "Bedman" says that he "struggled to go outside the circle" which tells me that he did manage to escape the afterlife in some way, presumably in the form of the bed to protect Delilah. How he managed this and what part of him is the bed or whether he is even in the bed at all is up for debate. Either way I didn't expect the song where a sleepy redditor sings about a circle for 5 mins to be one of my favourite tracks out of all of them.
I like both interpretations of bed man’s theme but I personally see it as bedman saying to himself that he cannot leave just yet and that he needs to protect Delilah and as he tries to understand what he can do and asking him self if he can see paradise with the somber tone being interrupted by a struggling tone in his voice as he rejects paradise to protect Delilah with the final “I am here “ he has finally made his mind and rejected Paradise to help Delilah until he can be reunited with her (edit: I just had a thought about the line "copy that " when the last copy that is herd the machine cannot be herd starting up this can be that he has taken full control permanent or something close to that )
20:45 it's cool you mention something yalking back, cause the way i viewed it, it was Bedman answering his own question. Up to that point he had asked the question 3 times like he wants there to be something, and on the 3rd, it seems that he answered his own question. Because he himself is on the border of the circle, he has looked past and seen there's nothing there. No light, no chant, no warmth, no afterlife.
I feel like you missed on "The Gravity" In the story, Asuka decides to leave earth and start a radio broadcast so he can relay information to people on earth. He does this because of how, when he's taken the knowledge he has and tried to come up with a solution on his own, it ended poorly every time; as a result of this, he instead decides it's best to simply relay information to the people on earth, so they can make their own decisions on how to best proceed with this knowledge, rather than acting on his own and making more misguided attempts at saving people. The theme itself, we can see some repetition and divine some meaning "As if a divine truth seeker" is Asuka realizing that he's been playing this role, when he now knows he's not, which is why he's saying "As if," showing that he's regretful for acting in such a way, detached from everyone, instead of talking to them to understand the problems and what should be done to solve them, instead of acting all on his own in an attempt to help the people he's not even talking to, that he doesn't understand emotionally. The whole Chorus, with "As the universe turns black, Did the sun ever defy fate, Beyond it all, do you recognize me, does meaning have a meaning" I think is talking about his relationship with Sol; talking about how after Asuka left to work on whatever he thought was right at the time, Sol was moving on and growing as a person, as well as defying the odds, and denying Asuka's help, leaving Asuka to wonder if Sol even sees him as the same friend he once had anymore, and questioning why he's doing what he's doing. Another part of the song that's repeated, and holds something of significance, "Arises, Find it, find it, Something unseen, Play back the history, answers within" I feel has to do specifically with him reflecting on his previous attempts to make things right, and trying to find the flaw in his logic where the mistake was made, which caused people to dislike his actions. He's very bright but emotionally detached, so this would show up in him making Jack-O a living, thinking being with emotions, just to be a vessel for Aria, and not seeing how this was wrong, just as an example. Furthermore, "Words know the morning light, No, it is not truth that you divine, And love embraces the darkness of the night, All things as they are" comes near the end of the song, showing the conclusion that Asuka has come to; that he shouldn't be the sole arbiter of knowledge and decision making for all of humanity; that people living without knowledge of everything is something precious, and that it isn't right to intervene with peoples' lives when they don't even know what is happening. And finally, "Gravity holds all the answers," I think is Asuka relinquishing his role as a pretend "Divine truth seeker," giving it up to instead let humanity decide their own fate. There is more that I didn't cover, obviously, but I feel like this hits all the big notes and covers most of what's being conveyed with this song.
My interpretation of The Circle is something of a combination of the two ideas presented here. To me, the line "You can't see the radiant light... if you can give someone something" implies that Bedman can't move on to the afterlife after his death, because there's someone he cares about too much to leave. It's the "unfinished business" trope, a la Guilty Gear. I think this interpretation fits the song's conflicting moods, which flip back and forth between optimism and darkness, quite well. The idea that Bedman couldn't find peace because of his desire to protect is sister is haunting, but it's also moving. Anyway, I only just learned about this guy's lore yesterday, and I think he may be one of my favorite characters in fiction. This song is masterful.
I always interpreted the circle as a mix of both the grim and hopeful ones The majority of the song is his mind trying to comprehend death in its last moments, But the voice that talks to bedman is not God, it’s bedman himself. after finally getting to a perfect world like the one he wanted to create he rejects it, he can’t experience heaven, nor the bliss as he can still “give someone something” he chooses to posses his failing machine, his mind being suppressed by the programming of the bed but still being lead by his objective to protect his sister he’s here for Delilah to make sure she gets a safe life (this also connects to my interpretation of why The bed seeks to destroy itself in the arcade mode, in his mind he has completed what he sought to)
Ive almost gone the complete middle when it comes to bedman?s theme i think bedmans life is quite litterally a shrödingers cat in that he is dead but he is alive at the same time. clinging to this void hes found himself in for all eternity just so that he can attempt to help delilah. he tries billions of times to reach to delilah in any way he can but he has no way of confirming if its working or not, and then one day he stops. eventually bedmans very being cant bear the void of nothingness and everything anymore and he finally stops existing not accepting death but doing everything in his power to delay it.
It should be important to know that Jack'O's song can also be interpreted by her split personality, as she tends to act like an excited child or a mature woman.
Gecko squirrel really took 5 minutes to talk about the town inside me when all that really has to be said is "gender dysphoria has hands." Jokes aside, great video, great analysis.
Okay, so a bit about a single line from The Circle. "Pitch black! Pure white! All the same!" Is not Bedman describing his location. It's him saying that he doesn't know what the afterlife may hold, but he doesn't care because he'd rather spend his time after death protecting Delilah.
16:32 i more read the line of "The hourglass doesnt turn upside down on its own" more as "time doesnt go backwards, but we can look backwards and forgive" with regard to sins relationship with ky. hes saying "cant change how you made me feel, but i can change how i think of you from now on" 20:47 this refrain says to me that bedman did in fact see the afterlife, but refused it out of obligation for delilah! you cant see the radiant light etc. if you can give someone something - if you still have a duty in this world, you have to deny death and do what you can for them
For ‘The Circle’ I think it’s more of a mix of both, to me it’s like his soul lingers in the bed. Bedman/Romeo had always wanted to make the world his own heaven for Delilah, he always wanted the radiant light, the beautiful chant and to feel the tender warmth, and when he died, he was stripped of everything he hoped for stuck in a purgatory inside his own bed. That’s why for verses 1 and 2 he gets more desperate in his speech trying to cope with the fact he can’t pass on, and it all accumulates until he breaks, which is why the voice sounds so broken the second time he asks “god?” He’s desperate he wants to feel it. But it was at his most desperate he realised. No he can’t find heaven. Not while he can do something for Delilah. He stops thinking about his situation with “pitch black pure white” each time ending with “copy that” since all his soul can do is give orders to his machine. But once he’s accepted that he won’t be going to heaven until he’s helped Delilah we get what should be a darker part of the song “No hope, No rest, No home, Copy that” with this “copy that” seeming more determined then robotic, and the line “I may not be able to make you smile but I’ll never make you cry even once never” shows how before he thought his death would be what ruined Delilah and it made him give up. But now he’s come to terms with his purgatory and he’s going to help Delilah as much as he can. The “border of the circle” is him about to pass on trying his absolute best to reach heaven. And the reason he doesn’t mention it at the end is because he’s stopped trying to pass on returning to Delilah’s side inside the circle. TLDR: The Circle is about Bedman accepting his purgatory trapped inside the bed trying his best to comprehend it until he realises that he still has a mission to protect Delilah and then he can think about passing on.
So, note to interpretation of Bedman lyrics: It could be something in between as well. He isn't allowed to enter heaven, hear the chant, because he has to in a way attone for all his acts that he did in good faith, but contributing to evil. He can give someone something, which is protecting Delilah. His soul cannot pass on from limbo as his own personal hell while he protects her, restrained to a body of a robot with much limited expression. Regarding Sin, I think you didn't use the opportunity to tell about the fact how his theme subverts a very pesimistic statement "The hourglass does not turn upside down" by adding "on its own", giving it a mark it a sense that his optimism is a very active one - things won't reolve themselves, action is required to change for the better. Like how Ky genuinely had to make effort to fix his relationship with Sin in Overture by fighting alongside him and bringing a literal freaking army with him. It really is a blend of both free and hope in there which i appreciate.
One last thing about Mirror of the World I found interesting while listening to the cutscenes from the Ex Story was a possible callback to the line "If I had a comrade, I wonder what I would tell them Yes, yes I knew the answer." Right before setting off on her mission, when Anji asks Baiken one last time if she really plans on going to America, she replies "You're the only one who could talk me out of my revenge, but this time *You know my answer* " which I like to interpret as Baiken having answered her question from her original lyrics, and is currently in the process of trying to adjust herself to her new way of life with her newly admitted comrade. It's very cute, and quite nice to see.
I believe that in addition to the fact that the testament is non-binary, changing pronouns in music can be a form of acceptance of the Old testament and New Testament Your past does not define your future but the current you is a result of the things you learned and experienced in the past. he and she are a chain because they are both the same being and there is nothing sacred or evil about it, it is just life. as testament finally managed to deal with his own demons he can allow himself to live and meet new people and places instead of being reclusive in the forest.🌱
22:39 So I think both Bedman? themes you mentioned are happening at the same time during the song. One difference however is that I believe is the "happy" theme you mention is actually another depressing one. I believe The Circle is referring to the fact that the bedman machine is done. It has finished defending Delilah and has NOTHING to do in "The Circle" which means, its meaning of life (telos) is done, leaving it confused until it realises what it must do... die. (the voice seperate voice tells the machine, its time to KeepYourselfSafe) HEY 6:37 I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW WE CAN READ VERY WELL!
I've also heard interpretations that the aforementioned "gravity" in Asuka'a theme could refer to Sol and Aria, his two closest friends, that they are his answer for living. Edit: Also nothing to do with lyrics but one of my favorite bits of The Hourglass is the brief leitmotifs of "Holy Orders" and "Awe of She" overlayed on top of each other. Sin's theme has bits of both his parents' themes and I think that's cute.
i think with baiken's theme, both interpretations are true. because that's the nature of mirrors. not only is the reflection all about perspective, but a reflection is also different to how things actually are. left and right are swapped in a reflection.
Honestly, that interpretation of Bridget's song brought me to tears I'm a non-binary/agender person but it means so much to me to see such a huge representation like Bridget, and to see how well she was written She was a whole journey through more then a decade, and I couldn't be more grateful to see how her turn out Specially with this BANGER of a song damn it get me so hyped everytime fr
Bedman is the character that got me into Guilty Gear, I think his story is one of, if not the best in all of fiction, the way he's written is impeccable and insanely funny, and I want to take a stab at analyzing my favourite song in this game. I see it as a mix between the two analyses you brought up, but I lean closer to the second reading. I think The Circle is Bedmans dying thoughts, but not as he's actually dying if that makes sense. Y'know how people say their lives flash before their eyes when they go through a near death experience? There's a theory that that's a defense mechanism, like your brain is searching through everything you know, believe, and have experienced to look for a way out, and if it can't find anything it spits back a white void. The "light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak. Put a pin in that, I'll come back later. There's another phenomenon I want to bring up. I can't remember what it's called, so feel free to tell me if you know. When someone with dementia is about to die, they go back to normal. It's like a last hurrah before they finally die. Their memories come back to them, their personality goes back to what it used to be, it's like nothing's wrong. Family of the patient often think it's cured if they don't know it means they're on the verge of death. Their brain returns to the state it used to be in, then their body crumbles. They die very shortly after. Put another pin here. One last thing to mention. A belief some people have that somewhat mixes these two ideas together. There's a slight spike in brain activity immediately before people die. There's a belief that this is the brain is experiencing the eternal nature of the afterlife in that small spike. Like time slowing to a crawl when you get a hit of adrenaline, or when your brain is searching for a way out using everything you know, or as if it's giving the final performance it'll ever give. The Circle is Romeo experiencing all of this at once, in his own Bedman way. His brain is going through all of the information he knows, or he thought he knew, in a vain attempt to find something of worth that could help him. But since he's zoomer insomniac redditor child Bedman, his brain as a shit ton to file through. This, combined with that last millisecond of eternity people experience, leads to Bedman's consciousness being pushed to the brink of what's comprehensible. During the song, he's thinking his final thoughts after the death of his body. His brain is giving out but his consciousness still keeps going, still searching for an answer. At first he's just trying to understand where he is, but as he learns more, his desperation grows. The cocky monologues he's known for give way and he's left scared and alone. The voice he hears answering his questions isn't god, it's himself. His own voice is his denial and the response is his acceptance. Basically everyone in Guilty Gear is religious. Asuka is dressed as a priest, Bridget has a nun motif, hell, the bitch Bedman teams up with is pretty much the pope. It's not a stretch to believe Bedman would probably also be christian. Those expectations of what the afterlife is is the "radiant light, beautiful chant, and tender warmth", but there's an important detail in his story I'm kinda disappointed you didn't bring up. Bedman's intentions. Romeo wanted to save everyone. He memorized the names of every single person he killed in his entire life with the intention of bringing them back when he succeeded. But he didn't. He died before he could do that. The last thoughts Romeo has is that if he can use the life he wasted to save his sister, if he can give someone something instead of taking with the flimsy intent of repayment, he will be able to enter heaven. But that's not what happens. His efforts push him back from the brink of death, forcing his soul into the bed he lived in, with only one command. "Give someone something". But the bed was made for combat, and that "someone" is obviously Delilah. So what does it do? Go berserk and protect Delilah from everything that could be considered a threat. Romeo is dead, but Bedman isn't. The question mark in his name in Strive isn't because it's just his bed. The real Bedman is still in the roster. The difference now is that Bedman isn't human anymore. Romeo passed through The Circle, but Bedman was still there. He's here to protect Delilah in an effort to alleviate Romeo's sins and let him enter heaven. TL;DR Bedman is going through his reddit post history thinking of a way to get out of his permaban from r/heaven. He then takes the bedless bedman and puts the man into bedman's bed so bedman can protect bedwoman. This means bedman is still in bedman's despite bedman not being in bedman's bed, because bedman's bed is now bedman.
I think one thing of note is themes of Goldlewis and Gio are supposed to sound chill and calm, but if you examine them more closely its clear they are hiding something. Which is fit for goverment agents...
FYI the guitar that first kicks in on Bridget's theme is actually the intro from Simple Life. Notably it's the first time you hear electric guitar on the song at all, so that's pretty cool.
i always felt like perfection cant please me was an argument between jack o and arya about one of them stressing over stuff and the other talking about enjoying individual things, and they eventually reach a consensus.
20:42 idk why everyone sides with someone else talking there but the most obvious idea behind this is that it's the same bedman speaking, just denying everything he said right now with somewhat of a newfound confidence. God, can you, can you? NO, you can't, you can't (If dying and going to heaven is losing all of this then i'd better keep living, living is better than god's heaven), something like that. Daisuke has this way of seperating voices of characters despite a singular singer, just like how Goldlewis has a dialogue with someone, jack-o has internal dialogue (jack-o is a "copy" of aria so makes sense they're not that diffirent), and in reverse, just like how testament theme is always one person talking, and here - there's no diffirence in voice either, it's also bedman speaking.
Bedman not being inside that bed kind of falls apart because of his design (why would a robo-bed suddenly have fleshy red eyes and (as seen in faust's overdrive) teeth?) and mention at the end (i'm here, i'm here - here beside Delilah, not dead after all) as well as breaking the circle (circle of life, starting at birth and ending in death, he broke out of it and kept on living in bed trough some magical bullshit) make this theory kind of baseless, ignoring the facts before us. And to not make even more comments i'll just edit this one "As if a divine truth seeker arises" is the full sentence, not just "As if a divine truth seeker", adds some context to the line, not just "*Something* as a divine truth seeker" but "*Something* as if divine seeker arises". So it's not comparing something to a divine truth seeker, but to his arising.
Okay, the darker interpretation of The Circle literally makes zero sense to me. Three lines completely break the whole purpose of it for me. "And I'll come to you without a second thought" - Except he won't. But they keep the line in the final chorus anyway, which must mean he still will. Someone as smart as Bedman couldn't possibly misjudge something so simple. "If you can give someone something" - IF. You can't see the radiant light IF you can give something. Bedman has a duty to give Delilah a happy life. He can't pass on yet. God said so. "No home, no rest, no hope, copy that" - Why would he tell the bed this? I doubt he designed the bed to comprehend human suffering, or even to comprehend at all. No matter how I splice it, I cannot in good conscience find a way to view The Circle as Bedman's dying thoughts. Especially because before "you can't see the radiant light", I don't hear "no", I hear "go". Like God is sending Bedman off, beckoning him to act. It's not only infinitely more meaningful, but just the more logical outcome as well, both narratively and in-universe.
The dandy sLayer is almost here. Yay. I can't wait for your next theme meanings video. Also. I wholeheartedly agree with your feelings about Ragna. But i also think the passes should be solely guilty gear. While Ragna could be a stand alone dlc. But i doubt they would want to do anything like that. Oh well.
22:39 My theory about 'The Circle' is actually a mix of both ideas: 'The Circle' could be Bedman and Delilah themselves. They're tied to The Backyard, and they can't exist at the same time. For one to live, the other has to die! The only time one gets to live is when the other sleeps, so they 'circle' back and forth. That's why Bedman is trying to 'step outside The Circle'; if he ever fully wakes up, Delilah dies. I think that the thing that answers him at 20:46 is actually giving him a condition/ultimatum: 'No, you can't [UNLESS/BUT IF] you can give someone something'. The interlude after is Bedman figuring things out. He wanted to make it so they both could live, but he could still give. Bedman assigns him Bedframe to Delilah and dies. He 'gave someone something' in dying: Delilah gets a full life now, with his Frame to protect her, and Bedman finally broke 'The Circle'. 'The Circle' could also be the cycle of reincarnation. Bedman and Delilah are tied to The Backyard, which is a different plane of reality so 'Heaven or Hell' may not apply to them. So, 'a new Pendulum' may mean he feels himself about to reincarnate. TL;DR Bedman/Romeo and Delilah could be 'The Circle' who have to 'circle' back and forth through The Backyard to live. Bedman gives his Frame and dies to give Delilah a full life, so he 'gave someone something' and broke 'The Circle'...
I personally interpret The Circle to be referring to the seemingly cyclic process the bed goes through, looping between furious rampages and the calm moments where Bedman breaks through with Delilah’s help so he can interact with her through the frame. I also think the God he’s talking to is Ariels, and the “No, you can’t see the radiant light” section in the bridge is her response to him trying to make the Absolute World with her help: it represents her betrayal to him, her denying his Absolute World and its radiant light. With Ariel’s backstabbing and his death, Bedman is left with almost nothing. The one thing he has left is Delilah, his magical hyper-intelligence only affording him the briefest moments of connection with her. It’s no longer about his grand plans and making a perfect world for the two of them, it’s just about his basest, most instinctual, most human desire to simply be there for his sister. I interpret him being on the border of the circle as him being on the border between life and death - it’s those brief moments where he can interact with her through the bed - but I interpret the ending to be his more emotional insistence that he’ll keep fighting for these brief moments. It’s dark because the bed is deteriorating, he is getting less moments to interact with Delilah while she is getting more of the bedframe’s rampages, but the instruments go on in spite of the absence of his voice saying that he’s at the border of the circle almost as if Bedman is refusing to let the song end. I love how this song depicts this aloof, intellectual character being deconstructed, having his facade of being above simpler human emotions stripped away and revealing this side of him that isn’t in control, that has to scramble and claw for what he wants instead of chuckling as his mastermind plots unfold exactly to his design. My interpretation lies somewhere in between the hope and the despair: to me, The Circle is at its most meaningful representing Bedman’s pure, unadulterated desperation, and that in the wake of how disastrous things have turned out for him and how precarious his current situation is, that he’ll still work as hard as he can to reassure Delilah that he is still here, he is still fighting
I have been listening to the Circle for almost 1000 times like a madman. A couple of things I just realized The song is a mix of Bedman and His Bed's conversation and a message he left for Delilah. You can notice that there are different voices/style of dialogue "God(The Bed referring to Bedman since he is it's creator), Do you hear the beautiful chant, can you feel the tender warmth"? : Is the Bed asking Bedman the feeling of death "Nothing here (T'is the start of Bedman's reply to the question), Pitch Black/Pure White/All the Same" :Bedman describing Death "Endless Finite, Copy that" :The Bed translating the description All Choruses are Bedman's Message/Orders to the Bed The last part of the Song before the Final Chorus "God, Do you see the radiant light / Do you hear the beautiful chants/ Do you feel the Tender Warmth" The last question sounds like the Bed losing hope alongside Bedman, the tone of the voice sounds like they are both saddened that they can't do anything until they heard a reply from ACTUAL GOD "NO! YOU CAN'T SEE THE RADIANT LIGHT/YOU CAN'T HEAR THE BEAUTIFUL CHANT/YOU CAN'T HEAR THE TENDER WARMTH," Since you hear something similar to an Orchestra, This means this is supposed to be said by something grand. Explaining their current predicament "UNLESS YOU CAN GIVE SOMEONE SOMETHING" Telling them what they can do for Bedman to be out of Limbo. This is not literal since Bedman is already doing everything before to save his sister. The something means Everything he has and can do. His will/want for the safety of Delilah. So he trust his Bed and giving it his last command and his last full message is the Final Chorus There are a lot of holes on this theory I am convinced I'm getting somwhere
I lean more towards to positive side of bedman's theme for 2 facts: during the last pre-chorus, his final "copy that" sounds human rather than machine, and during the final chorus he says "I struggled to go outside the circle" which explains why in the last verse he ends with the "I am here, I am here". This implies that it's finally him that is in control of the bed, and not that he is about to die (It wouldn´t make sense that way, why would he say that he struggled to get out the circle if the circle is him before dying). Now Asuka, he has been observing the events of the crusades and the games either on the backyard or somewhere on earth, he only went to the moon to do his spotify podcast after Strive´s ending. I want to point out that his song is also about him seeking redemption for his actions that led to the crusades (even if some of those actions were the Universal Wil and also later Happy Chaos and people simply blamed asuka) and for what he did to his two friends. He has done enough damage and decides to remove himself alognside the tome of origin so that he can no longer screw things up for humanity and his friends, which is why the song sounds more emotional than final boss during the last chorus. In the line "Beyond hope, do you recognize me?" it´s like he is asking both Sol and Aria ,very emotionally I might add, that despite all the tragedy and conflict that surrounded them all, can they still recognize the good but awkward friend that is Asuka instead of That Man.
I frickin LOVE Bedman? 's theme since the first time I heard it, and this video gives it even more deep than I thought, but personally I always interpreted the theme as Bedman, the original, talking to himself in the afterlife, seeing this contradictory plane black and white, endless infinity, and the chorus more like voices in his head, his conscious, with the omnious voices asking if this is how he imagine the Heaven or a perfect world, and on the opposite side Bedman in denial, angry, seeing this like a circle, an infinite loop without escape. In the "if you cant give someone something" part, I interpreted It like the voices and bedman reaching to a conclusion, that he can't "give Up". He searched for a perfect world for her sister, but now he's dead, and Delilah is alone (or he thinks that), understanding that Delilah needed more Bedman than a perfect world, and now Bedman tries to break the circle, tries to come to live, now for stay with his sister and protect her, even if is in the form of a machine, so the final "I'm here" is Bedman telling Delilah, well, that he still with her, even if he can't talk to her. Anyways, that's my interpretation, i also likes yours, and the other themes, and I will listen this absolute banger with a tear in the eye. Nice video, i have waited TOO MUCH since the first one only for the analisis of The Circle, but It was worth. Hope to see you again when season 3 drops XD
For Bedman?'s theme my interpretation is the "copy that" lyric is the bed acknowledging the orders bedman is giving it. The rest of my interpretation is mostly the same as the second interpretation you provided. I feel that Bedman is in a purgatory or that purgatory is all the the afterlife is
Thank you all so much for watching, Didn't have a chance to put it in the video but I have to give a huge thank you to my friend Kipo for helping me review and rework Bridgets section of the script.
bucket :3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
I'VE BEEN WAITNGGGGG SO FOR 6 MONTHS
I'm honestly surprised you mentioned Bridget's theme. You kind of did a video almost solely about the song....
Magnificent
You should do this but with the other strive themes and those from revelatory and xrd
I love how simplistic The Hourglass is just because that’s just how Sin is. A simple hungry boy
Every where i go i see his face
Jimothy the eternal
You’ll never escape me
A simple dumb hungry boy
No thoughts, head empty,
heart full.
@@FluuuffInari His stomach's empty too
I'd like to point out the line in Asuka's theme, "Does the sun ever defy fate?", in reference to Sol. It makes sense that he'd question how something that is "his creation" would defy its destiny. Just adds an extra layer to Asuka's mindset.
Helps that "sun" in Spanish is "Sol".
there's also the possibility that the line "beyond it all, do you recognize me" could be Asuka asking Sol and Aria if they still see their old friend in him, even after all the mistakes he's committed
I don’t think it’s just about Sol. I think it’s genuinely just questioning whether the sun can defy the heat death of the universe
@@Goodheartlessit can be both
@@petrarcheleven8816 and in portuguese
“The Circle” is the only song that I equally love both interpretations of the lyrics. I love the sad triumph of the mainstream interpretation but the dread of the second is so good.
I feel like it really fits since, y’know, it’s Bedman?, not Bedman. No-one actually knows in universe whether the bed is Bedman or not, so it’s only fitting that we not know either.
My personal interpretation (even before watching this video) of it was somehere in the middle, where bedman was only able to place PART of his soul into the robot, meaning that most of his soul still died, and only a small portion was inserted "through the back of my eye lens" and would functionally not have his personality, but just the fragmented love for Delilah and perhaps some of his power.
This would also fit together with how Bedman?'s eye looks corroded and corrupted. Maybe if that is where it was possesed from. Its also where bedman? Gathers power from for one of his supers. I got this thought mainly from the line "through the mold, Where i can find with access to the back of my eye lens"
@@BeanMannHoly shit, it may be just that: through a moldy eye lens!
I think bedman's theme is him, or some version or fragment of him, trapped within the bed, lost and confused after his death, and holding on to the one thing that he knows and has purpose in; protecting delilah.
“The fuck happen ??”
-Bedman post Xrd, probably
*Isekai safe throw failed.*
*You are bed now.*
Bedman: ...Fuck!
is it the fact that he turned into something uncomfortable to sleep on?
My take: bedman wanted to go to heaven. The "god" of thier universe, if such a thing exists, denied him due to all the terror he has caused telling him "if you can help someone go do it", implying maybe he can earn his stay in heaven by helping others. Or perhaps his conciousness couldn't accept itself peace, denying himself due to guilt. and he wanted to make amends for his mistakes in the past. He wasn't denied afterlife by god, but rather by himself and his own guilt
I interpret the 'reverse' lyrics of the circle as Bedman talking to Delilah, that he can feel those signs of heaven because he's on the border to the afterlife, but she cannot. And the line "If you can give someone something" refers to both himself and Delilah, that as long as there's something you can do for your love for others, you're not ready to die yet. And that's pretty amazing considering both Bedman is willing to sacrifice the little life he has left for Delilah's sake, AND Delilah was willing to throw away her own life for revenge for the sake of her brother. So the lyrics actually apply to both Bedman AND Delilah
I prefer to believe that it is God responding to bedman and the line "if you can give someone something" applies your interpretation as well as God basically telling Bedman he will be stuck in that hellish limbo as long as he tries to protect Delilah with the machine.
@@juasjuasi4750or it’s god telling him “no you won’t go to heaven you’re a shit” but if you protect someone then maybe. Bedman can find his redemption in protecting his sister.
4:41 "OH SHE FLIES" as Testament quite literally goes FLYING after that wall break was so disrespectful LMFAO
I like how The Town Inside Me goes from 4/4, the 'normal' time signature, to 9/8 at the very end. It's just guitars, all the other instruments drop out. It feels like a great capstone to the song, where after her revelation she's ready to strike out as her own person. The rush of energy from that revelation winds down, and that arpeggio settles us into her new groove. I really hope they run with this idea and make her next theme at least start in 9/8.
wait a minute that's cool!
thats cool as hell
Bad taste
@@buttmuncher-cm5tl L take
No matter what changes, nothing will change me
I think the reason the pronouns in Testament’s theme continuously switch is a reference to how they most likely use any pronouns instead of just they/them pronouns. Testament canonically does not give a shit about gender which is why they don’t make a big deal about Nagoriyuki using he/him pronouns for them in their arcade mode.
This fact doesn’t have any effect on the meaning of the theme, but it’s nice to have more Agender representation since it’s surprisingly hard to come by.
Yeah some nonbinary people used he/she/they together.
I've heard some people theorize the he and she could be referring to Kliff and Dizzy speaking
@@NemSumeragiPeople continue to astound me. A, Kliff is dead, and B, "he did not reject the light herself" doesn't just kill the theory, it atomizes it so no corpse may decompose. Kind of a silly theory, really.
Direct quote from Daisuke, “In fact, they've transcended human existence. Just like me.”
I just like to point out this quote because Daisuke basically calls himself a god. Which he is.
I miss growing up as a kid when these false ideologys weren't forced upon people
A controlled fire is sometimes needed to allow the ecosystem to thrive
I think I should add: Happy Chaos mentions, entirely casually and offhandedly like it doesn't matter, something along the lines of "Bedman erased his universal ID just before he died and became a multi-dimensional being." It's a single line in his story mode, but it seems important.
Which kind of makes sense as to how he came back and avoided the afterlife. Cause you can’t really contain a soul that technically doesn’t exist.
Another interpretation that is very popular (or rather is my favorite interpretation):
The Circle is referring to Samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth to which all beings are subject to in Buddhism, a major religion in Japan.
Bedman is rejecting moving on in order to be there for his sister. That's it. That's the song.
Nah his ass is in the Backyard 😂😂
@@thepotatotaxi2430 the backyard isnt the afterlife, it's the code of the universe
@@phagecg6149 so his ass IS in the Backyard
@@phagecg6149 Its more complicated then that.
Backyard is a higher dimension then our own. our universe runs off it when one has access to the backyard they have access to the source code of reality and can do as they wish.
The "Perfect world" that bedman was trying to make was a means to interface with the backyard. As normal people going into the backyard would be COMPLETELY obliterated by the pure magical information there.
Basically they step into the backyard and half their body becomes antimatter due to the magical equivalent of inter overflow and they explode.
However in the "perfect world" one can access the backyard via dreams which means bedman was in a very unique situation to basically wish things to happen. Venom and robo kye messed up the ritual which caused the perfect world to colapse and bedman to be exposed to the Backyard without protection.
HOWEVER Bedman's Ultimate wish wish did come true and Delilah was cured of the same sleeping affliction they both shared (although her case was more severe and she couldn't even be attached to a bed due to how she could magically overload it)
People speculate that Bedman's mind is stuck in the Backyard and he can do little to nothing beyond control his bed in reality
@NameIsDoc doesn't the bed try and kill itself in the arcade story tho I don't think bedman is going to destroy his only link to Delilah if that's the case
I always thought the "something that talks back" to bedman was Bedman telling himself that he can't move on to the afterlife because he can't let himself leave Delilah
I've also thought of that idea, it's yet another interpretation that totally works for the theme
I also think that, in The Gravity, "Innocents lied to, just to spare them" may be talking specifically about Frederick and Aria. He promised Frederick he could find a cure to Aria's disease, as long as he could put her in cold sleep to give him time to do the research, and he promised Aria Frederick would be around to see her when she left the cold sleep, which was the one condition she had to be put into cold sleep.
What he didn't tell any of them was that he would essentially turn both of them into monsters in an attempt to fulfill those promises
I love how 3 of theme have some sort of physical/mental trauma they are clearly trying to sort out and overcome meanwhile sin is like "dont worry about it dude we ballin!"
Well he's had the time and events to work through it (in a super obscure game's plot, but eh.) so he's in a pretty good place right now in his life.
"Bedman yells about his favorite shape."
-Gekkosquirrel 2023
I love the idea of Bridget's theme only having the electric guitar playing loudly at the final section, as if the song itself wasn't confident in its own message until the breakthrough. The beginning having an organ is also a very fun detail given her nun design
As for Bedman's theme, it might be because I haven't listened to the lyrics close enough but I always saw the "I'm here"s of the song as Bedman reaching out to Delilah through the bed
Bedman's "I'm here" can also be interpreted as a guardian singing a lullaby to a child. "I'm here, I'm here", so the child feels safe and warm.
Interesting take about Bridget's theme being unconfident in itself. Is that why it's so poorly sung?
@@ModernAegis…I don’t think the intention was to have it poorly sung, nor do most people agree with you on it being poorly sung. I, personally, think that AISHA’s vocals are very nice.
@@epicbuttcrack15it's not poorly sung, but it's got a very different style to most of the other character themes, although the contrasting lyrics and upbeat tone give the hint of someone who's trying desperately to be someone they aren't because they think it'll make them happy
Not only that, but the guitar melody in question is the intro from her old X2 theme.
Gravity is also rather interesting because the ending plays counter to Smell of the game in small ways. Smell of the Game mentions how gravity is a force that keeps people down and the singer (thought to be sol) calls it bullshit. but for Asuka gravity is the means to which he must ground himself. So even when he is trying to atone he is running counter to the feelings of sol.
If you ask me, the "Pure White, Pitch black, all the same" and "Endless, Finite, Copy that" is the bed robot itself trying to comprehend its same code (pure white meaning a 1, and pitch black meaning a 0 in binary) with the added last wish of Romeo to defend Delilah. It's such a unexplainable command, that with the robots destroyed circuitry it struggles to understand, and yet with its directive given to it as Romeo dies, it gives its answer with one goal: "Copy that."
There's one cool thing in Bridget's theme that wasn't mentioned. Bridget feels guilty for how she's feeling and how she doesn't fit in with the "town" and only watches from afar. Bridget sings, "I'm the one to blame" showing that she thinks she's the problem. Once she accepts herself, only the background chorus sings "I'm the one to blame." Bridget doesn't sing it since she no longer feels guilty for being who she is or blames herself
"I hate the alarm clock I choose" and "Taste like vegetables I don't like" are also really good and subtle implications of gender dysphoria. I don't know for sure as I don't experience it myself but I've read multiple comments of people affirming that, wich adds another layer to her theme. Pretty cool imo
Also, Baiken's theme is so fucking amazing. Both because of the song itself but because of the many mirror interpretations
Edit: Don't read the responses, it's a circus down there 💀 just read the 3rd one by gwen9939 for more insight and go about your day
@@terreausore2435 My brother in Christ do u understand what gender dysphoria means? Or what my comment actually implies? 💀
There's a lot of small hints at the almost imperceptible dissociation, depersonalization, and apathy that is usually descriptive of repressed gender dysphoria, and those examples are somewhat more euphemistic whereas other lines are more descriptive like: "It wasn't hard, but I didn't hate it"/"I've been patient, but it was bearable"/"It's my stress, that's for sure".
When you're lacking the language for a negative, destructive emotion it becomes more like a black hole that sucks meaning into it, so instead of being able to tell what "it" is, you instead try to figure out how to describe it using things you already know. It's such an incredibly common experience for a lot of trans people to just think that what they're feeling is caused by some combination of stress, social anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, residual trauma from some actual event in their life, then also carry the innate wish to be a different gender, and just never connect the plethora of negative things you're feeling with the one positive thing you're drawn to, until one day you do and it's like "...oh".
There's also a lesser-known function in coping with trauma, especially with complex trauma which repressed gender dysphoria falls under, and that is "going on with everyday life". Trauma is specifically about lacking a social acknowledgement for psychological pain, so instinctually the brain will go into survival mode and just try to live according to the social expectations set for you without an inner compass to guide you. A lot like how Bridget sets out to resolve her parents' guilt by showing them she can "be a man" so that they wouldn't feel like they're causing her harm by forcing her into a role they believe is wrong for her, but in the process Bridget forgets how she feels about herself and who she wants to be.
You feel some kind of pain from not knowing who you are, or knowing who you'd want to be but on a deep, intuitive level know for a fact that you would never be allowed to be that because of the social stigma surrounding expressing any thoughts even remotely close to that, and that robs you of finding joy in basically anything in life.
It's a very complex and subjective experience, and I can only speak on my own, but I was quite impressed by how well the lyrics managed to hit some very resonant emotional beats.
Honestly, so many things just went right with how Bridget was presented in Strive, especially with how lacking she was in GGXX I almost can't believe it. Everything from the lyrics to her interactions with the other characters, even how Daisuke talked about her in the following interviews was honestly just very moving, and it's really hard to describe just how powerful it is to suddenly have a story about the way you've experienced life that is so hard to communicate to the few others who haven't experienced it themselves, suddenly exist in a game as iconic as Guilty Gear.
how the hell are those lines about gender dysphoria omg the trans bridget thing was just a thing for the west, most of jap still thinks "otokonoko", u really think daisuke is throwing gender dysphoria in that hahaha
@@gwen9939yeah the tramua of being shunned by the town, not the trans stuff. most of jap thinks shes a "otokonoko", u think daisuke made this sing for trans dog whistle? gecko doesnt even think its trans based but i knew headcanon ppl would force it onto the song
@@terreausore2435 youre correct if you arent trans you should prbably stop breathing its really very rude
every GGST song makes me cry. they just synthesize a character's identity so well
Same
*STRIKE BACK!*
Seeing the ammount of love and passion that daisuke puts into every character is enough to get anyone emotional :')
@@blaziard683GO EXCITED
@@ShotzInTheLight GET DEM OUT OF YOUR WAY
Regarding Bridget's theme, I think there's a lot more trans related elements than what you mentioned, like it's so accurate to the trans experience I'm almost suspicious of Daisuke lol.
So, the beginning parts she's talking about hearing the town but she's not really there, feeling like an observer from afar, and she has this feeling towards herself too, it doesn't feel like she's her, and this sounds very much like she's dissociating, like she's not herself and all that, which is a common feeling for trans people who aren't out yet, feeling like they're not actually themselves, just playing a role expected of them.
And Bridget is feeling this wear her down but not really understanding (or at least accepting) why, there's just that uncomfortable feeling, like vegetables you don't like, or a bad alarm clock, and an overall gray haze over life, but she's blaming herself for this, and is continuing to play the role because that's what she's always done, and change is scary, and where would she even go for help?
In the final part though, she finally breaks free from her haze, she accepts herself and her heavy burden disappears, she feels light again, the sky is blue again, and food is good again, she finds where she belongs and she'll no longer pretend to be someone she's not to please the world.
Honestly there's just so much trans specific stuff about her in strive, like even her design with a hoodie hiding her shoulder outline, the long neck shirt hiding her throat, both pretty common points of dysphoria for trans people, the snapped handcuff implying she's broken free.
Man... I wonder what Daisuke did for research for this.
This really was a Guilty Gear Strive.😢
My guilty gears are striving
mfw
she guilty on my gear till i strive
“EXTREMELY LOUD INCORECT BUZZER”
To add to this, the name "Sol" is Latin for "Sun". And on top of that he asks a lot of questions directed towards to people who would be too specific to fit any sort of general whole. The line "Beyond it all, do you recognize me?" could be him talking to Sol as he never meant to harm Sol at all and simply wanted him to live long enough to where him and Aria (now Jack-O) could live together happily due to her incurable illness. We really see in Xrd and especially Strive that Asuka was only trying to help but got blamed for everything and had to hide as That Man after the Justice incident. However we now know that with the exception of simply creating Justice and the gears he didn't do really anything to warrant such infamy. Not to say he's completely innocent however but still. We also know from his likes page it specifically says "Likes: Sol, Aria" as well as his interactions with Sol and Jack-O showing he greatly still cares for them and also how Sol seems to have forgiven him letting Asuka take the Flame of Corruption seed away from him and in the end of Strive's main story Sol and Jack-O seem to be building a rocket to go and visit Asuka on the moon. Something I feel Gekko has wrong here is Asuka wasn't on the moon until after Strive's story. The Asuka we see throughout the games is actually Asuka and this is backed by dialogue exchanges and the fact he has the power to remove the Flame of Corruption and has the Tome of Origin fused with him and we know only the real one would work since HC needed it specifically as he wrote the thing. It's after Strive's story that he goes to the moon so he can keep the tome safe and make sure it can't be used. You can interpret him saying "Gravity holds all the answers" as his Arcade route where he and his clones are constantly fighting each other to show each other that Asuka no longer needs to be held back by his past and what the public saw him as now and that he can begin forgiving himself, simply looking at the facts. He becomes a literal truth seeker in his arcade route where he states that he had nothing to do with the events that made him That Man, he was just blamed for it and easily so. We can see him asking these questions both as him becoming this arising truth seeker and him struggling to really forgive himself as at the end of the day he did hurt the ones he cared and loved for most even if he never meant it to be that way. This is further backed by him asking "What facts should we accept?" which can be him no longer caring if he is the one to still be blamed as in Strive's story he accepts that the people see him as "The Devil". Asuka is an odd character but really he just wants to try and do the right thing but from a distance, now just trying to nudge people in the right direction then be a real key player in fear he might be a catalyst for something bad.
Love Asuka, love me his shoes and eye patch feather thing. Cool dude
I forgot to mention the first part was in reference to "Did the Sun ever defy fate" I have failed as a gamer (Le sad)
I like the idea that Bedmans? theme is actuallly both of your interpreations simultaniosly. It works from both perspectives. The machine finds a way to go on without bedman AND it's also about Bedman's death, and his wish for the machine to go on. The two interpertations aren't mutually exclusive
I think that The Circle is Bedman's final cries to try and reach out to Delilah, before passing onto his next life. There are parts of the song where the singer sounds like he's singing a Hindu prayer, at least from what I know of. The cries of agony as he lets out, trying to account for everything before he's gone. Moments passing like years. He isn't able to upload himself completely into his bed and is cut off before he could finish all his orders. The song always felt like it was cut off preemptively, like there's more he wanted to say/do.
Another tidbit with Bridget is silencing the voices of doubt in her mind. "I'm the one to blame" is, throughout the song, drowned out by the instrumentals as she realizes her true self ❤
Bridget, her story, and The Town Inside Me made me come to terms with being trans myself. Before she came around, I was having a crisis trying to figure out who I was- Then, all of a sudden, this little blonde british girl with a yoyo came spiraling into my life and helped me find the answer~ I played Strive very little at the time, cuz I suck at it, but she has made me want to play more and get better- as well as learning all the Lore cuz... that's my role among my friends.
Very happy for you! Testament came out right after I started identifying as non-binary and helped cement that feeling for me as well. This series has such an empathetic view on people and their differences and I feel like that makes their representation hit so much closer to home for a lot of folks. I'm very glad representation this good exists in a relatively popular franchise so it can better reach the people who need it. Wishing you the best on your journey!
Happy for both of you
“You have the reading comprehension of a chainsaw man” I have never been so offended by something I 100% agree with
I didn't get it
@@airplanes_aren.t_real Chainsaw man fans are known more completing miss interpreting and understanding there own story.
@@alandtic4616 do you have any examples? I'm asking this as a chainsaw man fan so I'd like to know if I have any blindspots when it comes to the story
I've been interpreting the line "Do you recognize me?" in The Gravity as Asuka reaching out to Sol and Aria for a while now. As brief as the line is, it's a heartwarming idea for reasons I'm struggling to grasp.
I think the "On its own" in Sin's theme could be referring to him mending his relationship with Ky, and him acknowledging that neither one of them could've fixed it singlehandedly; they *both* had learn and grow.
I think there's validity to this interpretation, in the sense that the marking of time doesn't advance by itself. Time can move forward, but the hourglass doesn't change until someone turns it over. They both needed time to get through things and they _have_ so now they've turned the hourglass over and started moving forward.
one thing i like to think about the hourglass is that the roar of the spark reference in the instrumental break is showing how sin has come to accept and love his father, whereas before he did not like him
bridget's true theme is how she ate a town and how delicious it was
The key to unlocking Jack-O’s theme is in Xrd’s story. Raven says she keeps assigning worth to things with “Joy” or “Happiness”. That’s the key. The song is naming lovely things, the wonders of life, things that make her happy, and confirming that “Perfection can’t please me” because perfection doesn’t have joy or happiness, while piping hot pop corn does.
Bridget's theme is not just a banger, but deeply personal to me. It's so nice to see this kinda representation in a game like this. (especially considering who Brdiget used to be.)
Good for you, my friend! :D
Cause you're going to 41% yourself?
@@thewallsspeaktome3507 transphobe detected. opinion invalid. go cry some more in your moms basement.
@@thewallsspeaktome3507seek therapy
@@thewallsspeaktome3507I bet you are very popular with your friends
Thank you for redoing Jack-O’s theme. That was beautiful
Jacko split theme could also be in reference to her half baked personality from being created prematurely.
While I haven't listened to the hourglass that much, I feel like "The hourglass does not turn upside down on its own" could be more so linked towards not feeling angry or crying without anyone trying to force anything, as a hourglass slowly flows to the lowerhalf, and doesn't move without something externally moving it.
Which would link to the part where you were referring to Sol not really fucking with you unless you fuck with him.
I have wanted this video so bad, and I am so happy to finally see it. MORE EXCUSES TO LISTEN TO THE SOUNDTRACK YESSSSS
Edit: One thing I'd like to point out something about The Circle that makes me think of the first interpretation more, being that "The circle" means the circle of life. Romeo (Bedman) breaks out of the circle, defying his death, defying the cycle, locking himself out of heaven. The whole, "You can't see..." section being him being told he can't reach heaven, because he can give someone something. He can give Delilah protection. He can give her a little part of him still. Romeo ruins his own circle of life to death, because if anyone is going to tell the afterlife no it's probably him.
20:45 i have a different interpretation on what this last chorus means, it ends with “if you can give someone something”, I believe that whatever is talking back to him is telling Bedman that he can’t ascend to heaven because he needs to be there for Delilah.
Genuinely, it's the most straightforward reasoning- and I kinda dig it. It's sort of the half and half of what GekkoSquirrel suggests. Bedman dies, and he's asking god over and over if those heavenly things are for him. But as long as Delilah needs a protector, if he can keep giving his all despite death, then he can't move on. Whether that's "God" talking back or himself saying he needs to go back for that unfinished business, y'know, songs are funny like that, won't know for sure. But that just seems the strongest interpretation- especially of that line in particular.
@@akomeadyen1294 I think that's fitting. It couldn't be heaven for Bedman if he can't give Delilah something, all the other things simply wouldn't matter to him in the face of that.
I like to think that both bedman theme interpretations are correct.
just like the pitch black and pure white in the song, both are happening.
On one hand, I’m bummed you didn’t do a redo of Happy Chaos’ theme, on another the previous interpretation is probably just as accurate
he forget in 2 seconds
He forgor’ed in 2-
@@youreverydaynergigante1001 he forgor'
@@malevolenc_yhe
@@patrickkirchner2254 h
Another thing to note about Like a Weed:
The line 'There's no exception, it's just less/I guess you can't trust a gentle tiger' is Testament acknowledging that they've made some pretty big mistakes in their life- the kind that you can't take back (mainly the things they did while having Justice and the Conclave in their head) but resolving throughout the rest of the song that they can't change the past but can aspire to be a better person in the here and now.
Also, am I the only one who's always thought Mirror of the World is referring to both Anji *and* Delilah?
The repeating life 4 times may be a nod to how, in some asian cultures, the number 4 is considered unlucky because the character for it sounds like "death".
I have to interpret Bedmans theme as his will beyond the afterlife. Like in the line "Pitch Black, Pure White, all the same. Endless. Finite" I think is a comparison of how similar his life and afterlife is. When he was alive he was always sleeping, never able to interact with the world beyond his bed. And that still hasn't changed. Even though his life was finite, the way he pursued his goals will be never ending.
When listening to "The Circle", I always heard that verse as "you can't feel a tender warmth if you CAN'T give someone something," which I think changes the meaning entirely. Bedman is denied this eternal rest and release until he can atone for his wrongs in some way or another. He can right his wrongs if he gives one last thing to his sister: a memento of him. He can use this machine once used for evil to now do some good.
I think “no you can’t see the radiant light” and “if you can give someone something” is Bedman telling himself that he can’t go to heaven if he can still give Delilah something so he needs to keep his spirit inside the bed to protect her
The chorus of Sin's theme not only speaks to how Sol's outlook has shaped him but also shows that he's learned that he has more control over than his life than he thinks. Specifically, the hourglass can't turn upside down on it's own (as someone must choose to do so) and its his choice if he wants to restart his relationship with his family.
I always thought that the "God" segment of the Circle was the singer giving a condemnation of God.
Hes asking if God can see the Light, hear the Chant, Feel the Warmth. If God can see the love that humanity has for each other.
And then grows angry when he realizes God Doesnt feel it. That God is so separate from Humanity, because God is the circle and Bedman is trying to escape the Circle to protect Delilah.
There's potentially a third meaning of the Circle, since Happy Chaos brings up that Romeo removed his "ID" from the world that would make him mortal. He's apparently in some higher consciousness now, so I'm of the mind that his getting out of the circle is him getting to that higher plane.
Why is the background gameplay always the characters getting the shit beat out of them by Baiken?
Single Father going on a rampage
I want to point out how good The Town Inside Me is at not only being about Bridget, but about being transgender in general. I could do a line-by-line analysis of almost every line in that song about how it so beautifully describes what it all feels like.
To be fair, Brisket's theme encapsulates the gender dysphoria sensations pretty well: the all-encompassing, unending blur, gloom and spleen of unfeasible ethiology. Like something is very wrong with some of the basic, seemingly indisputable parts of what you consider yourself to actually be.
I feel like something to keep in mind for Bedman's theme, is that during the arcade he's basically trying to off himself in a fight, and it isn't till Delilah shows she's crying he stops. With that being said I think that Romeo is possessing the bed, and feels like a monster in his current body after the story, so trying to go to Heaven only getting denied after everything he's done, and because he internally isn't ready to go yet
I've always interpreted the part in the circle where "Bedman" is given a response as god directly telling him he can't access heaven before telling him "If you can give someone something", implying that he isn't able to see the light, hear the chants or feel the warmth because he's still holding on to his desire to protect Delilah. After this (and a couple other lyrics) "Bedman" says that he "struggled to go outside the circle" which tells me that he did manage to escape the afterlife in some way, presumably in the form of the bed to protect Delilah. How he managed this and what part of him is the bed or whether he is even in the bed at all is up for debate. Either way I didn't expect the song where a sleepy redditor sings about a circle for 5 mins to be one of my favourite tracks out of all of them.
bisket 😎👍🏳⚧
Basket 🥰🏳⚧
Sometimes I wonder if gekko has even watched the Xrd story.
What I wonder is if you even watched the video. He talks about the xrd story during Sin’s theme.
I like both interpretations of bed man’s theme but I personally see it as bedman saying to himself that he cannot leave just yet and that he needs to protect Delilah and as he tries to understand what he can do and asking him self if he can see paradise with the somber tone being interrupted by a struggling tone in his voice as he rejects paradise to protect Delilah with the final “I am here “ he has finally made his mind and rejected Paradise to help Delilah until he can be reunited with her (edit: I just had a thought about the line "copy that " when the last copy that is herd the machine cannot be herd starting up this can be that he has taken full control permanent or something close to that )
20:45 it's cool you mention something yalking back, cause the way i viewed it, it was Bedman answering his own question. Up to that point he had asked the question 3 times like he wants there to be something, and on the 3rd, it seems that he answered his own question. Because he himself is on the border of the circle, he has looked past and seen there's nothing there. No light, no chant, no warmth, no afterlife.
I feel like you missed on "The Gravity"
In the story, Asuka decides to leave earth and start a radio broadcast so he can relay information to people on earth. He does this because of how, when he's taken the knowledge he has and tried to come up with a solution on his own, it ended poorly every time; as a result of this, he instead decides it's best to simply relay information to the people on earth, so they can make their own decisions on how to best proceed with this knowledge, rather than acting on his own and making more misguided attempts at saving people.
The theme itself, we can see some repetition and divine some meaning
"As if a divine truth seeker" is Asuka realizing that he's been playing this role, when he now knows he's not, which is why he's saying "As if," showing that he's regretful for acting in such a way, detached from everyone, instead of talking to them to understand the problems and what should be done to solve them, instead of acting all on his own in an attempt to help the people he's not even talking to, that he doesn't understand emotionally.
The whole Chorus, with "As the universe turns black, Did the sun ever defy fate, Beyond it all, do you recognize me, does meaning have a meaning" I think is talking about his relationship with Sol; talking about how after Asuka left to work on whatever he thought was right at the time, Sol was moving on and growing as a person, as well as defying the odds, and denying Asuka's help, leaving Asuka to wonder if Sol even sees him as the same friend he once had anymore, and questioning why he's doing what he's doing.
Another part of the song that's repeated, and holds something of significance, "Arises, Find it, find it, Something unseen, Play back the history, answers within" I feel has to do specifically with him reflecting on his previous attempts to make things right, and trying to find the flaw in his logic where the mistake was made, which caused people to dislike his actions. He's very bright but emotionally detached, so this would show up in him making Jack-O a living, thinking being with emotions, just to be a vessel for Aria, and not seeing how this was wrong, just as an example.
Furthermore, "Words know the morning light, No, it is not truth that you divine, And love embraces the darkness of the night, All things as they are" comes near the end of the song, showing the conclusion that Asuka has come to; that he shouldn't be the sole arbiter of knowledge and decision making for all of humanity; that people living without knowledge of everything is something precious, and that it isn't right to intervene with peoples' lives when they don't even know what is happening.
And finally, "Gravity holds all the answers," I think is Asuka relinquishing his role as a pretend "Divine truth seeker," giving it up to instead let humanity decide their own fate.
There is more that I didn't cover, obviously, but I feel like this hits all the big notes and covers most of what's being conveyed with this song.
I pray to god the lead singer of these tracks never learns english
My interpretation of The Circle is something of a combination of the two ideas presented here. To me, the line "You can't see the radiant light... if you can give someone something" implies that Bedman can't move on to the afterlife after his death, because there's someone he cares about too much to leave. It's the "unfinished business" trope, a la Guilty Gear. I think this interpretation fits the song's conflicting moods, which flip back and forth between optimism and darkness, quite well. The idea that Bedman couldn't find peace because of his desire to protect is sister is haunting, but it's also moving.
Anyway, I only just learned about this guy's lore yesterday, and I think he may be one of my favorite characters in fiction. This song is masterful.
I always interpreted the circle as a mix of both the grim and hopeful ones
The majority of the song is his mind trying to comprehend death in its last moments, But the voice that talks to bedman is not God, it’s bedman himself. after finally getting to a perfect world like the one he wanted to create he rejects it, he can’t experience heaven, nor the bliss as he can still “give someone something” he chooses to posses his failing machine, his mind being suppressed by the programming of the bed but still being lead by his objective to protect his sister he’s here for Delilah to make sure she gets a safe life (this also connects to my interpretation of why The bed seeks to destroy itself in the arcade mode, in his mind he has completed what he sought to)
Ive almost gone the complete middle when it comes to bedman?s theme i think bedmans life is quite litterally a shrödingers cat in that he is dead but he is alive at the same time. clinging to this void hes found himself in for all eternity just so that he can attempt to help delilah. he tries billions of times to reach to delilah in any way he can but he has no way of confirming if its working or not, and then one day he stops. eventually bedmans very being cant bear the void of nothingness and everything anymore and he finally stops existing not accepting death but doing everything in his power to delay it.
I am SO GLAD that you gave bridget's theme the proper thought and didn't give any attention to idiots bitching about "femboy erasure"
It should be important to know that Jack'O's song can also be interpreted by her split personality, as she tends to act like an excited child or a mature woman.
Honestly can't wait for season 3 to finish so I can hear more theme meaning
Wait, bridget? The bridget that looks so bubbly and excited like she never saw a drop of struggle. She killed people for money?
Bounty Hunters don't typically kill. They have to be brought in alive
Gecko squirrel really took 5 minutes to talk about the town inside me when all that really has to be said is "gender dysphoria has hands."
Jokes aside, great video, great analysis.
FR!!! Its got crazy hands TwT
Okay, so a bit about a single line from The Circle.
"Pitch black!
Pure white!
All the same!"
Is not Bedman describing his location. It's him saying that he doesn't know what the afterlife may hold, but he doesn't care because he'd rather spend his time after death protecting Delilah.
16:32 i more read the line of "The hourglass doesnt turn upside down on its own" more as "time doesnt go backwards, but we can look backwards and forgive" with regard to sins relationship with ky. hes saying "cant change how you made me feel, but i can change how i think of you from now on"
20:47 this refrain says to me that bedman did in fact see the afterlife, but refused it out of obligation for delilah! you cant see the radiant light etc. if you can give someone something - if you still have a duty in this world, you have to deny death and do what you can for them
-0/10 You didn't explain how Basket can fit an entire town inside her-
For ‘The Circle’ I think it’s more of a mix of both, to me it’s like his soul lingers in the bed. Bedman/Romeo had always wanted to make the world his own heaven for Delilah, he always wanted the radiant light, the beautiful chant and to feel the tender warmth, and when he died, he was stripped of everything he hoped for stuck in a purgatory inside his own bed. That’s why for verses 1 and 2 he gets more desperate in his speech trying to cope with the fact he can’t pass on, and it all accumulates until he breaks, which is why the voice sounds so broken the second time he asks “god?” He’s desperate he wants to feel it. But it was at his most desperate he realised. No he can’t find heaven. Not while he can do something for Delilah. He stops thinking about his situation with “pitch black pure white” each time ending with “copy that” since all his soul can do is give orders to his machine. But once he’s accepted that he won’t be going to heaven until he’s helped Delilah we get what should be a darker part of the song “No hope, No rest, No home, Copy that” with this “copy that” seeming more determined then robotic, and the line “I may not be able to make you smile but I’ll never make you cry even once never” shows how before he thought his death would be what ruined Delilah and it made him give up. But now he’s come to terms with his purgatory and he’s going to help Delilah as much as he can. The “border of the circle” is him about to pass on trying his absolute best to reach heaven. And the reason he doesn’t mention it at the end is because he’s stopped trying to pass on returning to Delilah’s side inside the circle.
TLDR: The Circle is about Bedman accepting his purgatory trapped inside the bed trying his best to comprehend it until he realises that he still has a mission to protect Delilah and then he can think about passing on.
So, note to interpretation of Bedman lyrics: It could be something in between as well. He isn't allowed to enter heaven, hear the chant, because he has to in a way attone for all his acts that he did in good faith, but contributing to evil. He can give someone something, which is protecting Delilah. His soul cannot pass on from limbo as his own personal hell while he protects her, restrained to a body of a robot with much limited expression.
Regarding Sin, I think you didn't use the opportunity to tell about the fact how his theme subverts a very pesimistic statement "The hourglass does not turn upside down" by adding "on its own", giving it a mark it a sense that his optimism is a very active one - things won't reolve themselves, action is required to change for the better. Like how Ky genuinely had to make effort to fix his relationship with Sin in Overture by fighting alongside him and bringing a literal freaking army with him. It really is a blend of both free and hope in there which i appreciate.
One last thing about Mirror of the World I found interesting while listening to the cutscenes from the Ex Story was a possible callback to the line "If I had a comrade, I wonder what I would tell them Yes, yes I knew the answer." Right before setting off on her mission, when Anji asks Baiken one last time if she really plans on going to America, she replies "You're the only one who could talk me out of my revenge, but this time *You know my answer* " which I like to interpret as Baiken having answered her question from her original lyrics, and is currently in the process of trying to adjust herself to her new way of life with her newly admitted comrade. It's very cute, and quite nice to see.
I believe that in addition to the fact that the testament is non-binary, changing pronouns in music can be a form of acceptance of the Old testament and New Testament
Your past does not define your future but the current you is a result of the things you learned and experienced in the past.
he and she are a chain because they are both the same being and there is nothing sacred or evil about it, it is just life.
as testament finally managed to deal with his own demons he can allow himself to live and meet new people and places instead of being reclusive in the forest.🌱
22:39 So I think both Bedman? themes you mentioned are happening at the same time during the song. One difference however is that I believe is the "happy" theme you mention is actually another depressing one. I believe The Circle is referring to the fact that the bedman machine is done. It has finished defending Delilah and has NOTHING to do in "The Circle" which means, its meaning of life (telos) is done, leaving it confused until it realises what it must do... die. (the voice seperate voice tells the machine, its time to KeepYourselfSafe)
HEY 6:37 I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW WE CAN READ VERY WELL!
I've also heard interpretations that the aforementioned "gravity" in Asuka'a theme could refer to Sol and Aria, his two closest friends, that they are his answer for living.
Edit: Also nothing to do with lyrics but one of my favorite bits of The Hourglass is the brief leitmotifs of "Holy Orders" and "Awe of She" overlayed on top of each other. Sin's theme has bits of both his parents' themes and I think that's cute.
i think with baiken's theme, both interpretations are true. because that's the nature of mirrors. not only is the reflection all about perspective, but a reflection is also different to how things actually are. left and right are swapped in a reflection.
Honestly, that interpretation of Bridget's song brought me to tears
I'm a non-binary/agender person but it means so much to me to see such a huge representation like Bridget, and to see how well she was written
She was a whole journey through more then a decade, and I couldn't be more grateful to see how her turn out
Specially with this BANGER of a song damn it get me so hyped everytime fr
*He.
Cope.
@@yeahnonahshut up edgelord
Bedman is the character that got me into Guilty Gear, I think his story is one of, if not the best in all of fiction, the way he's written is impeccable and insanely funny, and I want to take a stab at analyzing my favourite song in this game.
I see it as a mix between the two analyses you brought up, but I lean closer to the second reading. I think The Circle is Bedmans dying thoughts, but not as he's actually dying if that makes sense.
Y'know how people say their lives flash before their eyes when they go through a near death experience? There's a theory that that's a defense mechanism, like your brain is searching through everything you know, believe, and have experienced to look for a way out, and if it can't find anything it spits back a white void. The "light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak. Put a pin in that, I'll come back later.
There's another phenomenon I want to bring up. I can't remember what it's called, so feel free to tell me if you know. When someone with dementia is about to die, they go back to normal. It's like a last hurrah before they finally die. Their memories come back to them, their personality goes back to what it used to be, it's like nothing's wrong. Family of the patient often think it's cured if they don't know it means they're on the verge of death. Their brain returns to the state it used to be in, then their body crumbles. They die very shortly after. Put another pin here.
One last thing to mention. A belief some people have that somewhat mixes these two ideas together. There's a slight spike in brain activity immediately before people die. There's a belief that this is the brain is experiencing the eternal nature of the afterlife in that small spike. Like time slowing to a crawl when you get a hit of adrenaline, or when your brain is searching for a way out using everything you know, or as if it's giving the final performance it'll ever give.
The Circle is Romeo experiencing all of this at once, in his own Bedman way. His brain is going through all of the information he knows, or he thought he knew, in a vain attempt to find something of worth that could help him. But since he's zoomer insomniac redditor child Bedman, his brain as a shit ton to file through. This, combined with that last millisecond of eternity people experience, leads to Bedman's consciousness being pushed to the brink of what's comprehensible. During the song, he's thinking his final thoughts after the death of his body. His brain is giving out but his consciousness still keeps going, still searching for an answer. At first he's just trying to understand where he is, but as he learns more, his desperation grows. The cocky monologues he's known for give way and he's left scared and alone. The voice he hears answering his questions isn't god, it's himself. His own voice is his denial and the response is his acceptance.
Basically everyone in Guilty Gear is religious. Asuka is dressed as a priest, Bridget has a nun motif, hell, the bitch Bedman teams up with is pretty much the pope. It's not a stretch to believe Bedman would probably also be christian. Those expectations of what the afterlife is is the "radiant light, beautiful chant, and tender warmth", but there's an important detail in his story I'm kinda disappointed you didn't bring up. Bedman's intentions. Romeo wanted to save everyone. He memorized the names of every single person he killed in his entire life with the intention of bringing them back when he succeeded. But he didn't. He died before he could do that.
The last thoughts Romeo has is that if he can use the life he wasted to save his sister, if he can give someone something instead of taking with the flimsy intent of repayment, he will be able to enter heaven.
But that's not what happens. His efforts push him back from the brink of death, forcing his soul into the bed he lived in, with only one command. "Give someone something". But the bed was made for combat, and that "someone" is obviously Delilah. So what does it do? Go berserk and protect Delilah from everything that could be considered a threat. Romeo is dead, but Bedman isn't. The question mark in his name in Strive isn't because it's just his bed. The real Bedman is still in the roster. The difference now is that Bedman isn't human anymore. Romeo passed through The Circle, but Bedman was still there. He's here to protect Delilah in an effort to alleviate Romeo's sins and let him enter heaven.
TL;DR Bedman is going through his reddit post history thinking of a way to get out of his permaban from r/heaven. He then takes the bedless bedman and puts the man into bedman's bed so bedman can protect bedwoman. This means bedman is still in bedman's despite bedman not being in bedman's bed, because bedman's bed is now bedman.
I think the other voice for bedman can havw a positive meaning, saying no you cant go to heaven while you still have something to do on earth.
I think one thing of note is themes of Goldlewis and Gio are supposed to sound chill and calm, but if you examine them more closely its clear they are hiding something. Which is fit for goverment agents...
FYI the guitar that first kicks in on Bridget's theme is actually the intro from Simple Life. Notably it's the first time you hear electric guitar on the song at all, so that's pretty cool.
Now do a video describing the meanings of each song, but in a single sentence using barfight analogies.
every character has a unique voice until they sing, whereupon they will transform into either Naoki or Aisha
i always felt like perfection cant please me was an argument between jack o and arya about one of them stressing over stuff and the other talking about enjoying individual things, and they eventually reach a consensus.
20:42 idk why everyone sides with someone else talking there but the most obvious idea behind this is that it's the same bedman speaking, just denying everything he said right now with somewhat of a newfound confidence. God, can you, can you? NO, you can't, you can't (If dying and going to heaven is losing all of this then i'd better keep living, living is better than god's heaven), something like that. Daisuke has this way of seperating voices of characters despite a singular singer, just like how Goldlewis has a dialogue with someone, jack-o has internal dialogue (jack-o is a "copy" of aria so makes sense they're not that diffirent), and in reverse, just like how testament theme is always one person talking, and here - there's no diffirence in voice either, it's also bedman speaking.
Fitting for him to diss a god after trying to become one the whole Xrd.
Bedman not being inside that bed kind of falls apart because of his design (why would a robo-bed suddenly have fleshy red eyes and (as seen in faust's overdrive) teeth?) and mention at the end (i'm here, i'm here - here beside Delilah, not dead after all) as well as breaking the circle (circle of life, starting at birth and ending in death, he broke out of it and kept on living in bed trough some magical bullshit) make this theory kind of baseless, ignoring the facts before us.
And to not make even more comments i'll just edit this one
"As if a divine truth seeker arises" is the full sentence, not just "As if a divine truth seeker", adds some context to the line, not just "*Something* as a divine truth seeker" but "*Something* as if divine seeker arises". So it's not comparing something to a divine truth seeker, but to his arising.
Okay, the darker interpretation of The Circle literally makes zero sense to me. Three lines completely break the whole purpose of it for me.
"And I'll come to you without a second thought" - Except he won't. But they keep the line in the final chorus anyway, which must mean he still will. Someone as smart as Bedman couldn't possibly misjudge something so simple.
"If you can give someone something" - IF. You can't see the radiant light IF you can give something. Bedman has a duty to give Delilah a happy life. He can't pass on yet. God said so.
"No home, no rest, no hope, copy that" - Why would he tell the bed this? I doubt he designed the bed to comprehend human suffering, or even to comprehend at all.
No matter how I splice it, I cannot in good conscience find a way to view The Circle as Bedman's dying thoughts. Especially because before "you can't see the radiant light", I don't hear "no", I hear "go". Like God is sending Bedman off, beckoning him to act. It's not only infinitely more meaningful, but just the more logical outcome as well, both narratively and in-universe.
The dandy sLayer is almost here. Yay. I can't wait for your next theme meanings video. Also. I wholeheartedly agree with your feelings about Ragna. But i also think the passes should be solely guilty gear. While Ragna could be a stand alone dlc. But i doubt they would want to do anything like that. Oh well.
22:39
My theory about 'The Circle' is actually a mix of both ideas: 'The Circle' could be Bedman and Delilah themselves. They're tied to The Backyard, and they can't exist at the same time. For one to live, the other has to die! The only time one gets to live is when the other sleeps, so they 'circle' back and forth. That's why Bedman is trying to 'step outside The Circle'; if he ever fully wakes up, Delilah dies.
I think that the thing that answers him at 20:46 is actually giving him a condition/ultimatum: 'No, you can't [UNLESS/BUT IF] you can give someone something'. The interlude after is Bedman figuring things out. He wanted to make it so they both could live, but he could still give. Bedman assigns him Bedframe to Delilah and dies. He 'gave someone something' in dying: Delilah gets a full life now, with his Frame to protect her, and Bedman finally broke 'The Circle'.
'The Circle' could also be the cycle of reincarnation. Bedman and Delilah are tied to The Backyard, which is a different plane of reality so 'Heaven or Hell' may not apply to them. So, 'a new Pendulum' may mean he feels himself about to reincarnate.
TL;DR Bedman/Romeo and Delilah could be 'The Circle' who have to 'circle' back and forth through The Backyard to live. Bedman gives his Frame and dies to give Delilah a full life, so he 'gave someone something' and broke 'The Circle'...
I personally interpret The Circle to be referring to the seemingly cyclic process the bed goes through, looping between furious rampages and the calm moments where Bedman breaks through with Delilah’s help so he can interact with her through the frame.
I also think the God he’s talking to is Ariels, and the “No, you can’t see the radiant light” section in the bridge is her response to him trying to make the Absolute World with her help: it represents her betrayal to him, her denying his Absolute World and its radiant light.
With Ariel’s backstabbing and his death, Bedman is left with almost nothing. The one thing he has left is Delilah, his magical hyper-intelligence only affording him the briefest moments of connection with her. It’s no longer about his grand plans and making a perfect world for the two of them, it’s just about his basest, most instinctual, most human desire to simply be there for his sister.
I interpret him being on the border of the circle as him being on the border between life and death - it’s those brief moments where he can interact with her through the bed - but I interpret the ending to be his more emotional insistence that he’ll keep fighting for these brief moments. It’s dark because the bed is deteriorating, he is getting less moments to interact with Delilah while she is getting more of the bedframe’s rampages, but the instruments go on in spite of the absence of his voice saying that he’s at the border of the circle almost as if Bedman is refusing to let the song end.
I love how this song depicts this aloof, intellectual character being deconstructed, having his facade of being above simpler human emotions stripped away and revealing this side of him that isn’t in control, that has to scramble and claw for what he wants instead of chuckling as his mastermind plots unfold exactly to his design. My interpretation lies somewhere in between the hope and the despair: to me, The Circle is at its most meaningful representing Bedman’s pure, unadulterated desperation, and that in the wake of how disastrous things have turned out for him and how precarious his current situation is, that he’ll still work as hard as he can to reassure Delilah that he is still here, he is still fighting
10:38
We all stand for the Estrogen Anthem
Damn no faust redo😢
I have been listening to the Circle for almost 1000 times like a madman. A couple of things I just realized
The song is a mix of Bedman and His Bed's conversation and a message he left for Delilah.
You can notice that there are different voices/style of dialogue
"God(The Bed referring to Bedman since he is it's creator), Do you hear the beautiful chant, can you feel the tender warmth"?
: Is the Bed asking Bedman the feeling of death
"Nothing here (T'is the start of Bedman's reply to the question), Pitch Black/Pure White/All the Same"
:Bedman describing Death
"Endless Finite, Copy that"
:The Bed translating the description
All Choruses are Bedman's Message/Orders to the Bed
The last part of the Song before the Final Chorus
"God, Do you see the radiant light / Do you hear the beautiful chants/ Do you feel the Tender Warmth"
The last question sounds like the Bed losing hope alongside Bedman, the tone of the voice sounds like they are both saddened that they can't do anything until they heard a reply from ACTUAL GOD
"NO! YOU CAN'T SEE THE RADIANT LIGHT/YOU CAN'T HEAR THE BEAUTIFUL CHANT/YOU CAN'T HEAR THE TENDER WARMTH,"
Since you hear something similar to an Orchestra, This means this is supposed to be said by something grand. Explaining their current predicament
"UNLESS YOU CAN GIVE SOMEONE SOMETHING"
Telling them what they can do for Bedman to be out of Limbo.
This is not literal since Bedman is already doing everything before to save his sister.
The something means Everything he has and can do. His will/want for the safety of Delilah.
So he trust his Bed and giving it his last command and his last full message is the Final Chorus
There are a lot of holes on this theory I am convinced I'm getting somwhere
I lean more towards to positive side of bedman's theme for 2 facts: during the last pre-chorus, his final "copy that" sounds human rather than machine, and during the final chorus he says "I struggled to go outside the circle" which explains why in the last verse he ends with the "I am here, I am here". This implies that it's finally him that is in control of the bed, and not that he is about to die (It wouldn´t make sense that way, why would he say that he struggled to get out the circle if the circle is him before dying).
Now Asuka, he has been observing the events of the crusades and the games either on the backyard or somewhere on earth, he only went to the moon to do his spotify podcast after Strive´s ending.
I want to point out that his song is also about him seeking redemption for his actions that led to the crusades (even if some of those actions were the Universal Wil and also later Happy Chaos and people simply blamed asuka) and for what he did to his two friends. He has done enough damage and decides to remove himself alognside the tome of origin so that he can no longer screw things up for humanity and his friends, which is why the song sounds more emotional than final boss during the last chorus. In the line "Beyond hope, do you recognize me?" it´s like he is asking both Sol and Aria ,very emotionally I might add, that despite all the tragedy and conflict that surrounded them all, can they still recognize the good but awkward friend that is Asuka instead of That Man.
Asuka's theme: "Gravity holds all the answers"
Meanwhile;
Smell of the Game: "Gravity keeps us on the ground... THAT IS BULLSHIT BLAZING!"
I frickin LOVE Bedman? 's theme since the first time I heard it, and this video gives it even more deep than I thought, but personally I always interpreted the theme as Bedman, the original, talking to himself in the afterlife, seeing this contradictory plane black and white, endless infinity, and the chorus more like voices in his head, his conscious, with the omnious voices asking if this is how he imagine the Heaven or a perfect world, and on the opposite side Bedman in denial, angry, seeing this like a circle, an infinite loop without escape. In the "if you cant give someone something" part, I interpreted It like the voices and bedman reaching to a conclusion, that he can't "give Up". He searched for a perfect world for her sister, but now he's dead, and Delilah is alone (or he thinks that), understanding that Delilah needed more Bedman than a perfect world, and now Bedman tries to break the circle, tries to come to live, now for stay with his sister and protect her, even if is in the form of a machine, so the final "I'm here" is Bedman telling Delilah, well, that he still with her, even if he can't talk to her.
Anyways, that's my interpretation, i also likes yours, and the other themes, and I will listen this absolute banger with a tear in the eye. Nice video, i have waited TOO MUCH since the first one only for the analisis of The Circle, but It was worth. Hope to see you again when season 3 drops XD
Can't wait for season 3 when he Analyzes robo ky car
For Bedman?'s theme my interpretation is the "copy that" lyric is the bed acknowledging the orders bedman is giving it. The rest of my interpretation is mostly the same as the second interpretation you provided. I feel that Bedman is in a purgatory or that purgatory is all the the afterlife is