Song: "Le Bien Qui Fait Mal" by Mozart L'Opera Rock
Lyrics: lyrictranslate
Theme: Characters and their struggles; mainly Mytho and Kraehe/Rue
Spoilers: Yes
Review: First off, amazing song choice. This is a captivating, no, gripping song that takes you by the hand and twirls you headfirst into the introduction. The video plays very well with this, the slightly vague yet consistently in motion references to how everything started keeping pace with the song. There's 'The Prince & The Raven,' Drosselmeyer, and Princess Tutu from the opening sequence. Very aptly used, and the sequences themselves flow beautifully! Then throw in Kraehe and Fakir, and as you see Drosselmeyer grinning, you know everything is in place for his main production.
Looking at the lyrics (in translation, or just feeling the inherent off-kilter energy), you know first off that this has incredible connections with Mytho, especially as the series progresses. "Now where does this strange feeling/ come from/ that fascinates me/ just as much as it disturbs me?" And then some close ups of Mytho as he's getting more mixed up with the Raven's blood: "And I feel joy in the pain/ I intoxicate myself with this poison/ until it makes me lose my mind." The last bit as we see Rue confront a full Raven!Mytho. Wow.
And the chorus repeat is a great theme: "It's the good that causes the pain..." This can be applied to so many characters: Mytho notably, with regaining his heart shards/emotions but also increasing with the Raven's blood's influence; Rue in wanting so desperately to keep Mytho for love but her efforts are only making matters worse; Fakir trying to protect Mytho but finding his efforts thwarted at every turn; Duck just trying to help... I admit I'm happy the focus was more on Mytho and Rue/Kraehe, as they fit this song so barking perfectly, but the fact that the others were also involved but only minimally, Duck hardly at all, made me a bit disappointed. I feel like it would have been nice to see some references to Duck's problems. We only see very brief glimpses of Fakir's. If the focus had only been on Mytho and Rue, then I wouldn't feel like I missed out on some possible awesomeness. While a general video about them all is nice, I don't feel like the clips were distributed evenly enough to give them all justice. But that said, what was done was done really quite epically.
I will say at 1:16-19, the clip with Fakir and Duck as Tutu, is pretty, but... a bit out of place. While watching it the first few times, I was too awed to really notice, because the flow is still beautiful. But analyzing more, this clip just seems put in there as cool-looking filler. Which it succeeds at. But it's still filler.
And then we get to Kraehe's solo. Gah. I love this. The voice really fits her quite well, and the clips used are great. Then the words... "I can feel/ a violent urge/ ...I adore/ having it under my skin."
Unfortunately, I'm running short on time, so I shall have to summarize some of the rest. I love the bit near the end, starting at 2:29. There's intermittent clips of Rue in the Depths of Despair and Fakir's tragic past. Gah. I just... *hand motions* And then it goes into the craziness of the Finale... Aaaggghhh. 'Love' does not express my feelings enough! <3
(and of course, Drosselmeyer at the end being him... all "Yeeesss the good does come from the bad, and where would you be without the bad? Aren't you glad I gave you all I did?" *glare*)
On to the video in general, this is fantastically created. The tune of the song gives the impression of a manic obsession that isn't the healthiest to be pursuing, and that image is conveyed through the video usage very well. The pieces of the show used get across the whole 'this is supposed to be good for me' or 'I want and need this' while still conveying this may not be the best idea. Mytho, Rue/Kraehe, Fakir... I would have liked to see a bit more usage of the idea with Duck, like when she sees Mytho after he regains Fear, but it's a minor quibble. The quality of the video is wonderful as well, as all pieces are timed perfectly. The inherent movement of the series, the dance everywhere, goes beautifully with the ever-shifting beat of the song, as it's a song that demands movement at all times. When calmer scenes are used, then the video editing/transitions make up the difference.
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
