As I was editing the video I have to say that I noticed more and more oxymorons and symbolism in this track's lyrics!. If you find yourself being drawn to this track a lot I'm sure it must be because of that too, it's like a book where you discover more details the more times you read it! Didn't notice that on first listen because I always focus on instruments and the music itself first (and I consider voice as just another instrument). Usually my brain will notice lyrics after a bunch of listens, and focus firsthand on how everything sounds, the "acting" of the vocalists as they sing etcetera. Also one other thing I've noticed! The very high "may all" at 08:36 is a melodic call-back to the violin doing the same thing at the start of the track at 01:30. Not sure if that means anything but I thought that was cool!
Its also FULL off references to their older songs, since its kind of a final to a saga. You could find a lot of them if one whiffs through the comments of the video
The songs (that have vocals) in this game range from bittersweet at best to tragic at worst. The game’s tone is optimistic yet bleak, usually the latter and less of the former, so the OSTs aren’t very loud and bombastic (except for Befall), so they’re mostly subdued in nature.
btw the reason this is different than most that you listened to it's because it's not composed by Yu Peng-Chen. Yu Peng-Chen only composes Genshin tracks. But for Honkai, It's just Hoyo-MiX.
you should review all honkai impact 3rd song and music their really good all genshin impact existence came from honkai investment profits etc should check out cyber angel from hanser 1 of best songs from honkai
I think this song works a lot better "in context", because there are a lot of callbacks and references to older songs and the story in general both in the lyrics and the instruments, especially to songs like Nightglow, Starfall, and Rubia..
Yeah I had the feeling this was the case! However I think the same can be said about the Endwalker Footfalls theme from FFXIV, which references almost 10 years of games, but I think that one has a lot more going on in terms of composition for example. Lots of instrument changes, mood shifts, new chord progressions being added very often etc. If you played FFXIV you're gonna enjoy it a lot more, but even if you just hear it without knowing much of the game, I think the composition will still say so much. Moon Halo felt more uni-directional in that sense in terms of composition, focusing most of its story-telling on the lyrics only. I wonder if maybe that's why they kept the composition so simple: that way the lyrics would retain most of the attention. But then again the lyrics are very meaningful and powerful in Endwalker as well, despite it being a bit of a more complex piece of music 🤔
@@AlexMoukalaMusic Yeah I definitely agree that it's not really a complex song. That's exaclty what I meant when I said that "it works better in context". By itself it honestly doesn"t feel that special, but when you play the game, when you've gone through this journey with all the characters (especially Kiana, the main character), and reach the finale of her second arc, and this song plays during the amazing cinematic after you've been through an emotional rollercoaster of a chapter, I think the song hits a lot harder, calling back to so many moments of the journey, and the rawness of it in my opinion really adds to it. I personally feel like in context it works better as this rsther simple, but raw song, because you're already feeling so many different emotions in that moment, and it would only confuse your emotions if it was too complex. It doesn't need to say much as a song by itself, because it works really well together with the characters and the story as a whole. Really love your in-depth analysis and breakdown of it.
@@AlexMoukalaMusic yeah since i dunno if u would play the game and you would listen to honkai music again i recommend listening to their trailer osts instead
For that reason I hope he does some of the other big honkai songs cause they're all so good both as songs but also as a story that progresses through it's music too.
This song represents the culmination of several character arcs coming to a head. The themes of this 'final' arc are acceptance, grief, moving on from self-blame, accepting responsibility and never giving up on the beauty in the world no matter how bleak things may look at times. It is about good people passing on their kindness, the everlasting flame of humanity and fighting for everything beautiful in the world (a motto the characters in the game do their best to follow). In terms of how it is not very musically complex, my interpretation is that this is very much intentional. the story is very emotional, I dont think its possible to play those chapters of the story and not cry. By the time players reach this point of the story, everyone has been emotionally rocked in several ways. The track is simple and pure, acknowledging the sadness in life but maintaining that the world is beautiful. This is a song about collectively moving on from grief, relating to one another and exploring sad but beautiful emotions. It doesn't need extra clutter or post-processing because it needs to remain pure and simple, from the heart to the heart.
An absolutely perfect comment. The song is representative of so many of these key factors that it practically needs to stay somewhat simple to maintain the mood of the story. Anything else would completely ruin the mood and in turn ruin the piece of music for a lack of better words. TLDR; Honkai needs context more than anything I've ever seen to be fully and truly understood
Yeah, the perfect comment. I hope he checks out more Honkai songs, maybe chronologically with the Cinematics as a lot of them reference or build on prior songs.
@@alsparkproductions7849 well its not an ecchi game, but quite a few characters are pretty obviously gay and in a relationship. its more evident in the supplementary mangas which sometimes include stuff like a kiss. but yeah, most of the cast is yuri, in fact its an ongoing community meme that straight couples are doomed to tragedy. still holding true to this day with at least 4 concrete examples. if you're thinking of playing it, theres certainly many waifus and amazing designs but its certainly the type of game where you come for the waifus and stay for the story and character development. you will either cry or get very emotional multiple times, from both sad and happy things. its a very emotionally charged game, though it starts out more light hearted
There are three singers, each representing the main characters of the game: - Chalili: singer of Reburn (same name of the first Honkai teaser trailer), representing Kiana. - Tetracalyx: CN VA of GGZ/Honkai Gakuen Raiden Mei, lyricist of Regression (highly recommended listen), representing Mei. - Hanser: Vtuber (VirtualRealStar), CN VA of Bronya, singer of Cyberangel (the only upbeat song in the entire game), representing Bronya. The song is supposed to symbolize Kiana's journey from her lowest point to her highest point, which is why there are so many callbacks to the previous songs (Nightglow, Cyberangel, Starfall, and Rubia) in the lyrics, most notably the chorus. This song is also the point where she finally accepted her mentor's sacrifice, since that was her struggle way back: the fact that people sacrificed themselves to win. The trailer OSTs are just as good. Fantasy Note (from the Fallen Rosemary trailer) is an example of how a violin gives people a pseudo-orgasm. The main character is less innocent and more...optimistic, so to speak. The optimism comes from the support from her friends and mental fortitude after countless amounts of suffering, guilt, and despair.
@@slipkid85 official channels stated that Tetracalyx is there to represent Mei as they were the OG trio (and since in the chapter she's supporting from off screen) even though Fu Hua is the one physically present in that scene.
There are actually three singers, not two. This song is the, Main Character, Kiana's theme which is song by the VA's of her three closest friends. This song is basically about Kiana finally getting over many of her past demon both from before and during the game's story. It's a song about accepting that the world is tough and tragic but still being hopeful for the future and appreciating the beautiful things in the world. Thanks for the great video and may all the beauty be blessed. Edit: I put this as a reply to my comment, but maybe it should be part of his comment instead. Btw, there's a small yet incredibly powerful section in the song at 6:50 (of this video) that makes me cry everytime i hear it. After the course the singers quietly say the lines, "I will never go, there's a way back home, brighter than tomorrow and yesterday". These lines hit so hard cause they are the inverse of important lines from songs of previous cutscenes about Kiana throughout her journey. In Nightglow from Final lesson Kiana's mentor tells Kiana "Never let you go". So "I will never go" is kind of a response to that, that she has found her conviction and will no longer run away from her issues. In Rubia from Shattered samsara Fuhua, one of Kiana's friends and one of the singers of Moon Halo, says "to find a way back home". That song was about her struggles to find a proper identity and have a proper home, so Kiana responding with "there is a way back home" is like her saying that she now has a place to belong. And lastly, in Starfall from Meteoric salvation Kiana herself has a small triumphant moment but is still overall hurt and fearful of the future as she says the line "I want no tomorrow or yesterday". To her the past was too painful but the future too uncertain, so she didn't want that moment she was in to end. But in Moon Halo Kiana responds to her to line, to her past self, saying that the present is "Brighter than tomorrow and yesterday", saying that she no longer has anything to fear. God, I'm about to cry just from writing this out. Such a great song and story.
Not quite accurate, since TetraCalyx actually used to voice Bronya (TetraCalyx passed on the role to Hanser once she went full-time on the writing of the music for Honkai 3rd). Some people seem to think she voiced Mei, but that is incorrect. So lyrics wise it is actually a trio of Kiana, Bronya, and Fu Hua thematically. At least going by the references to Rubia, Cyberangel, and Starfall.
Btw, there's a small yet incredibly powerful section in the song at 6:50 (of this video) that makes me cry everytime i hear it. After the course the singers quietly say the lines, "I will never go, there's a way back home, brighter than tomorrow and yesterday". These lines hit so hard cause they are the inverse of important lines from songs of previous cutscenes about Kiana throughout her journey. In Nightglow from Final lesson Kiana's mentor tells Kiana "Never let you go". So "I will never go" is kind of a response to that, that she has found her conviction and will no longer run away from her issues. In Rubia from Shattered samsara Fuhua, one of Kiana's friends and one of the singers of Moon Halo, says "to find a way back home". That song was about her struggles to find a proper identity and have a proper home, so Kiana responding with "there is a way back home" is like her saying that she now has a place to belong. And lastly, in Starfall from Meteoric salvation Kiana herself has a small triumphant moment but is still overall hurt and fearful of the future as she says the line "I want no tomorrow or yesterday". To her the past was too painful but the future too uncertain, so she didn't want that moment she was in to end. But in Moon Halo Kiana responds to her to line, to her past self, saying that the present is "Brighter than tomorrow and yesterday", saying that she no longer has anything to fear. God, I'm about to cry just from writing this out. Such a great song and story.
@@hollow8136 I feel like a subtle fourth vocal could've been added at the buildup for the big final drop of the song that would've represented Mei appearing behind Kiana with the rest of her friends despite joining World Serpent. But this song already has enough emotional damage so it's fine.
jack (comment from moon halo official video) Nightglow: "Never let you go" Moon halo: "I will never go" Rubia: "Find a way back home" Moon halo: "There is a way back home" Starfall: "I want no tomorrow or yesterday" Moon halo: "Brighter than tomorrow or yesterday" CyberAngel: "Through my wings've been bloodstained and could never" Moon halo: "Unfold this pair of wings for me again" Honkai world diva: "Crimson moon shines upon a town that is smeared in blood Moon halo: "Turned into a moon that always tells warmth" Moon Halo actually the song which represent whole honkai story and the main character.
Moon Halo almost "requires" that you know the previous songs first to fully get it since it's essentially a culmination of everything that came before that point of the story
Dude your Ear Drums are NEXT LEVEL! I am amazed by how you are able to pin point the plot the themes of the story that the song tries to convey so accurately, by just the musical instruments them selfs. The lyrics are just the confirmation for you not the hints. I've been watching your other videos aswell outside of just the Mihoyo stuff. It's scary how accurate you are everytime you analyze the song about what the songs tries to convey about the story. It's an amazing talent my man! 10 out of 10 would come to here any of you musics analysis videos again!😎
It's also a testament to Mihoyo where they're not just making songs that just sound good and throwing them in, and instead they craft the music to perfectly represent what's happening and who it's about.
HI3 cinematic songs have been telling a story for a while and have been kind of a crazy progression for hoyomix as you can watch how they progressively get better over the past 4 years. Moon Halo is my favorite, but I don't think it hits as hard if you haven't listened to "Befall", "Nightglow", "Cyberangel", "Starfall", then, "Moon Halo".
And it doesn't hit as hard if you haven't seen the animations in order while playing it. Raiden Mei lending her strength along with Fu Hua, Bronya and Theresa in that part of the short despite being absent AND even after becoming a Herrscher and joining World Serpent speaks volumes about how much Mei still cares about Kiana. So when the part of the song that lines up with that shot plays, it gets a 100% emotional damage buff against my heart.
If you want more Honkai Impact, I really suggest the recently released Regression and Nightglow (although it is a bit spoiler heavy on the story and is much more understood from a story perspective honestly). These two songs, along with Moon Halo are the real tear jerkers but still unironically a bop and worth a listen. Edit: Damn, he actually managed to mostly hit the nail on the head about the story just using the melody. It made me realize that I focused more on the lyrics more than anything. This man is insane.
@@user-qx1id1dt8x Actually yeah but personally it hasn't elicited the same reaction I had for Regression, Moon Halo and Nightglow. It's still a great song and would've been the 3rd recommendation I would give, but I didn't want to bombard the man with too much songs to recommend because all of them are amazing.
(sees Honkai Impact in title) (immediately clicks on video) as someone who plays Honkai Impact 3rd, yes there's quite a lot of story to the moment this happens (25 chapters into the story, which was after about 5 years of story development in the game).
Hi Alex, first of all thank you again for making such a great music appreciation video. I am one of your Chinese fans, currently studying in the United States. At the same time, I am also a player who has been playing this game for almost 2000 days. After I watched the last part of the video and your pinned comment, I really want to share a lot with you about the emotion and story contained in this song. I won't give any spoilers, but I would like to tell you that MiHoYo took 5 years to shape this story in this game, and this song is born at the "end" of the story, like I enclosed the "end" with quotes, because it also marks that the story will continue with brand new plot, and the characters will keep going ahead after going through this. This song contains all the experiences and emotions of the characters in the game in the past 5 years, of course, including the emotions of all players too. So much so that a veteran player like me don't even know what mood I could use to listen to this song. Anyway, as you guessed, I cried a lot. I'm not a professional musician, but in my opinion, the reason why HoYoMix didn't use chord progression in this song is that they wanted to show us the most beautiful, gentle, and vulnerable part in her heart after the character releasing all her feelings, like the calm and rainbow after a storm. Like you said in the top comment, this song symbolizes so much emotion and meaning that I can't even organize my words better to express my inner feelings and thoughts to you, because it's so complicated. I knew you've already felt a lot of things in this song. You can't describe them in detail because you've not played this game, for us players, it is like a bomb dropped in our hearts (and eyes). If you listen this song after played this game, or know the plot of this story, I believe you will feel more and your heart will be deeply touched too, just like us. Thanks again, well done Alex.
Since you got to the music from Honkai, I can recommend the music from the PV, in which the guys from hoyo-mix do something incredible My top-5: Armband Fantasy Note Silver Wings Inherit DOMINEER Also noteworthy is the OST from the collab with genshin, which is literally called "HONKAI GENSHIN" lmao And maybe my favorite character theme - "Kevin"
this song became by favourite after i listened to it surpassing will of the herrscher and last lesson's songs. the song for the recent honkai video thus spoke apocalypse was also great.
Personally, Regression beats out everything else for me simply because how well it portrayed Otto and his story Still hate the dude for what he did, but mad respect for him
You are truly have a great sense of music You were able to get so much info correct just from listening to the song!!!(reminds of your genshin videos) I hope you play Honkai too someday
I'm crying like a b*tch everytime I hear this song. Even though I'm not playing Honkai Impact, I have a basic gist of the story. I can relate to the story because they have the same relationship of Naruto and Jiraiya. A teacher sacrificing himself/herself to his/her students always hit me. :(
The ending of the song definitely fits that "hopeful yet sad" vibe the moment has imo. Just like the lyrics, it hits deeper with context. Regardless I'm always amazed by how much you nail about the source material by music alone, this was pretty much on point.
Honkai's music definitely isn't something you would put on repeat if you didn't go through it story yourself. For me, every time I listen to one the songs on Honkai, I can leave me in tears no matter how many times I've listened to it. Surprisingly even more than Endwalker did, though that might just be me. If anyone reading this is interested in the story, please try this game, it's absolutely beautiful
I think a bit of the problem with the Honkai vocal tracks is that they all heavily connect with both the animated CG they go with and usually require the context of the situation to really understand and feel for the lyrics if not the music in whole (for example at the end you felt modulation was needed, but the scene for that was kind of a...send off if you would, so your guess as to why they did it aside from keeping the original vocal was probably right). While that's not to say the analysis wasn't compelling from a purely musical side, I'm not sure if this quite...fits for the messages the songs put out. Now if you want to try listening to some songs that would go great for pure musical analysis, I recommend the version PV tracks, specifically...4.2 and 4.4 if we're starting out and you dont care about the light spoilers in the video. You'll have a LOT to disect there.
Yep, Honkai's main music are made for the animation instead of for a boss fight (like Signora's), I'd say they aren't really comparable and his "complaints" were about things that were clearly made for the animation as well, like the pause into repeat and the ending. Moon Halo in specific is also a call back to everything before it, so going into it blind for an analysis sounds kinda weird lol it's as if he tried to review Endgame without ever watching a marvel movie.
agree the the song and the animation are insparable, the song feel like a meh it has no feeling when you listen it while you know nothing , but when you know.... the song hit diffrent it feels like it has become another song. the lyric who i though had no meaning... feels so diffrent..you can feels the emotion in the lyric because you understand what it mean, and compared to a boss theme that sound so epic when you first time hearing it but it just that it, and will forget after that, but i dont know i always remember every honkai song, it always in my mind for so long, and become something that memorable.
As a Honkai veteran, you will definitely enjoy analysing these Honkai songs, especially the latest one "Regression" or "Rubia". even songs from Punishing Gray Raven! they're all absolute bangers! P.S: You are correct about this song being sad infact this game storyline death scenes are just pure depressing yet its soo good!
It's really interesting to see Moon Halo broken down from your perspective, someone who understand music very well but has never played honkai. You are absolutey right at the end: There is a reason why they don't modulate and instead maintain the minor chords. There is a LOT going on in this scene in the game, and this is also the climax of a very emotional and heartbreaking chapter. The focus is a lot more on the vocals because the voices of the characters are very important to this scene.
I see you mention you want the modulation at the end, I just want to explain that, this song is not just for performance purpose. It exist for a CG cut scene, the song, the whole purpose of the songs, the lyrics and the harmony is to serve the cg and the story telling, it must support the tune and the scene of the CG, it can't stand too out.
They made it difficult for you, every phrase in that song is a reference to previous ones. so it's a more emotional song for captains who understand the references. the instrumentation is perfect, it is not battle music but more inspirational.
oh shit, Honkai OST. I would love to see more of their songs covered for sure. Honkai songs have so many top tier songs, basically all the cinematic songs but Befall, Nightglow, Cyberangel, and Starfall, Honkai World Diva are all so memorable.
It's nice to hear your thought about this song with zero context. You're right when you said this song is just giving more sad vibe but actually it's about hope and keep moving on.
I knew beforehand that Honkai music is absolutely emotional but prob not fit for BLIND reactions. That said, Alex managed to say a whole lot, kinda cool. But yes, its first and foremost a song FOR the cinematic
Nice breakdown, Alex. But what makes me always came back to watch this video is I want to listen to your singing bit in the video, your voice is unique
I'm honestly a big fan of your content, and I enjoy a lot of your reaction videos due to your explanatory on what a great variety of people have composed, along with when you break it down and sometimes flex your skills. Musically, I can see that you have amazing passion for this field, and it is truly a fortune to find an admirable content creator like you.
Really awesome to see you doing a reaction for Honkai Impact 3rd! I agree with a lot of the points you made and your criticisms are on point as always. You hit the nail on the head about the track being designed for the scene, the majority of Honkai tracks seem to be composed this way, so it is incredibly difficult to feel their weight without having the context from the very tragic story that is meant to accompany it. Keep up the awesome work, Alex! 😊 👍 May all the beauty be blessed!
when i tell you i screamed seeing this on my recommended- i love your music analyses to bits and honkai is so special to me, especially this song in particular.
Since this is your first time listening to Honkai Impact music, maybe you could listen to a bit of their animation music and game PV. The music they got in Honkai, most of them are made by Hoyomix itself, also all of Honkai vocal OST reflect the progression of character development.
When I watch your video, I always appreciate how you deeply disassemble the notes and tones to explain the music. The last part when you pointed out about how this song "stays"... it stunned me. I think you actually got the point of whole part this track took in the game, just by listening to it. Im not gonna write down what happend in the game line by line here, but I really felt it. For stubborn guy like me, its kinda surprise that whole storyline actually was gathered in the track, or that just little nuance in the melody, and well talented and skilled person like you, can actually reverce-engineer it from these notes. bravo to your video! bravo! I just gonna go back and watch the cutscene again! thank you!
Going to echo a lot of the commentators here and say the song functions more as a narrative than anything else. If you ever get a chance to check out the songs which led up to this, it'll add a lot more context because of the significant amount of callbacks (although watching the animations they're from will probably add the most possible context without playing the game; about an hour of animations vs YES time playing the game). Edit: I should probably mention, while I have the most emotional investment in this song for story reasons, it's not the best song from Honkai Impact.
You know, what's really interesting is that when I heard your modulated versions--and this is probably because I have listened to this song so many times that I'm used to how it goes--the key changes somehow feel off. Yet everything you mentioned is something that's so common in epic orchestral pieces, and I know exactly the effect you mean. I think I don't feel that it fits here because the moment itself isn't really about a grand heroic victory. It's more about finally being willing to ask for help, accepting yourself as you are, and finally letting go of guilt and grief. It's the moment when Meteion clings to your hands and cries for Hermes, when an addict admits that they have a problem. The victory is intimate and close, but there is still a long road ahead. It's a moment of respite but not the end.
Out of context, it is indeed quite the emotional piece With context, this is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, and one of the few things in media that have actually had me starting to tear up. It is absolutely major spoilers, but if you don't really care for that, try watching the Everlasting Flames animated short. Having that story bit, along with the song, is what hits so hard.
There's already a lot of comments with good points and summary/explenation of the context (thank you ppl). Just wanted to say, I just can't wait to see other analysis/reaction to HI3 songs (even if, like many says, there're more emotional to hear in context) Anyway, really great video and analysis, you have god ears :)
What i like about this song is like when you write a light novel. When you reach the end of the writing and looking back at the journey of your mc from the first time you write down the intro of him, the struggle, and now write the ending... It such a bittersweet thing. In the end this song always keep my head up even in the hard situation. May the fires of hope will always guide us all...
try "Starfall" (also a Honkai OST)! it's one of my favourite songs from the game, but ngl, every song from the game makes me get the urge to cry cause they're so emotional
Yup, Moon Halo is definetly a song for the Honkai Impact, not just the game but to the comunity as well. This song is so beloved in Honkai community is because it showing all what happen and the progression of the game, story and community after 4 years of running. Like how the game keep improving and advancing for the better, how the story grew with so many stuff and emotion happening, how the character grew into an adult/better version of themself after long of struggle in life, and how the HI community follow it all and grow up with the game and most of all is the sacrifice of a beloved mentor by the characters and by the comunity that must be accepted after 2 years of waiting for confirmation while hoping for she still alive somehow. And when that confirmation is come, those 2 years of waiting with hope fall to community, making us sad to cry and forcing us to accept it and move one like the character in the story while honoring her sacrifice. It is maybe a bit simple for a song but it is the most impactful song for HI3rd story and community.
Can we talk about how this song is probably one of the only songs that uses the company's iconic quote in their song? "May all the beauty be blessed" is implying their quote "Fight for all that's beautiful in the world" and honestly it's the most beautiful things I've heard cuz it shows how much passion they gave their first 3d mobile game.
I will love him to react to Befall, World Diva or Fallen Rosemary theme, there are so good. Also to Yunjing cutscene and the concerts from Genshin. Is lovely to learn about music this way, with a professional that enjoy it so much. I'm so happy to see new videos on your channel, thanks for the nice content
Finally... He had done it... He had done it guys... thank you... Thank you for covering Honkai🙏 it's... It so gratifying to listen such analysis of this song🙏
It's nice to see Honkai getting noticed too 😁 One of my favourite songs from Honkai is Oaths from A Post-Honkai Odyssey and Cyberangel. It would be interesting to see your take on it 😳😳 with that aside this video was amazing and i hope to see more of this 😍
i do agree that the song itself felt stable and missing some cool stuff, but i think the song was supposed to play along with the animation. there were a specific moments that makes the song and the dialogue felt so good and emotional. i think they made the song this way because they didn't want to make the song overpowers the dialogue or moments in the animation.
i like how despite you not knowing anything about the context of the song you were still able to have a rough idea of the story and what its trying to say, which honestly makes me appreciate this song and channel even more. keep up the good work!
I've watched you since your analysis on Raiden's theme and now, finally a Honkai Impact 3rd soundtrack analzye ... Thank you Alex.. I expect more on Honkai OSTs.. be blessed..
I am really happy you listened to this song. This song references past songs and the painful journey so far with the lyrics and the beautiful three vocals. Amazing video as always.
I love your analysis, I start to admire game music because of you. I love it even more when you give suggestion like this. I'm sure it'll be very useful to them.
After playing the game go back to this track and you'll see just how emotional this song is and just shows even when the main characters are in struggle they still manage to fight on. All for the beautiful in this world.
moon halo !! i agree with some people in the comments when they say that this song is better with context or if you have heard the earlier songs (nightglow, starfall, and rubia preferably) and also, would like to see you react to the trailers (Phantom of the Theaters is one of my favs) as theyre such a banger
Things are resolved, thankfully, for the protag in this scene. But the battle isn't over yet and imo the sad tone represent the protag's growth over everyhtingnshe has experienced. They have becomed more mellow in their nature and this really represents it.
This song is like a culmination of several other songs prior to this, all starting from Nightglow then Cyberangel, Starfall, Honkai World Diva, and Rubia
this song answers questions that were asked throughout songs in previous cinematics I think that's what impressed me the most about it the songs are very good but, the main point to make you like them is the emotional connection that you have in each cinematic of each song, it is to remember the tragic moments of the cinematics and cry even more basically they are fanservice songs for honkai lore fans, if you don't know the lore I don't think du u find it very different
It’s beautiful how you somehow understood the story from listening the song.Really goes to show that music is the language of the heart Good job man also love your reaction to the JENOVA theme on ff7 remake
You hit the nail on the themes and the story beats !!! I’m very happy to see my comfort game get recognized like this, I hope you review other Honkai Scenes and maybe try out the honkai story itself :)
I started following you because of your Nier and Genshin OST reactions, but after watching your reaction to this song from Honkai, I've become a bit curious about what your reaction would be to a song from an indie game series called Umineko... Namely its last ending theme, "Cocoon of White Dreams" by singer-songwriter Shikata Akiko (who does a lot of ethnic-inspired music and is known for using very complex vocals, making herself sound like a full choir instead of just one singer). Shikata Akiko is most well-known for her Ar Tonelico music (another game OST I would love to see you review!), but my favourite song from her is still Umineko's "Cocoon of White Dreams", simply because of how melancholic and beautiful it is.
Bro for real! First time hearing this song on it's release I thought they would modulate to set a climax in to the song but with context I think it does the job and catches the feelings of the captains playing it. Nice vid brother! Learned so many stuffs! Would be nice if you listen and analyze their new song Regression.
As I was editing the video I have to say that I noticed more and more oxymorons and symbolism in this track's lyrics!.
If you find yourself being drawn to this track a lot I'm sure it must be because of that too, it's like a book where you discover more details the more times you read it!
Didn't notice that on first listen because I always focus on instruments and the music itself first (and I consider voice as just another instrument).
Usually my brain will notice lyrics after a bunch of listens, and focus firsthand on how everything sounds, the "acting" of the vocalists as they sing etcetera.
Also one other thing I've noticed!
The very high "may all" at 08:36 is a melodic call-back to the violin doing the same thing at the start of the track at 01:30.
Not sure if that means anything but I thought that was cool!
Its also FULL off references to their older songs, since its kind of a final to a saga. You could find a lot of them if one whiffs through the comments of the video
This hits incredibly harder after playing the story
The songs (that have vocals) in this game range from bittersweet at best to tragic at worst.
The game’s tone is optimistic yet bleak, usually the latter and less of the former, so the OSTs aren’t very loud and bombastic (except for Befall), so they’re mostly subdued in nature.
btw the reason this is different than most that you listened to it's because it's not composed by Yu Peng-Chen. Yu Peng-Chen only composes Genshin tracks. But for Honkai, It's just Hoyo-MiX.
you should review all honkai impact 3rd song and music their really good all genshin impact existence came from honkai investment profits etc should check out cyber angel from hanser 1 of best songs from honkai
Non-honkai players: *Sounds beautiful*
Honkai Impact players: _intense crying_ It’s been a long journey everyone.
Relatable TT
Hoorah Captains WE MUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
Our Neko chan is now matured... Such pain she through... She went through a lot of pain...
Playing Honkai for 26 Days and this song feels so Nostagic for me
i start playing yesterday (my friends spoiler me a lot of things before i start playing) but holy jesus... i cried only watching Everlasting Flames
I think this song works a lot better "in context", because there are a lot of callbacks and references to older songs and the story in general both in the lyrics and the instruments, especially to songs like Nightglow, Starfall, and Rubia..
Yea exactly
Yeah I had the feeling this was the case!
However I think the same can be said about the Endwalker Footfalls theme from FFXIV, which references almost 10 years of games, but I think that one has a lot more going on in terms of composition for example.
Lots of instrument changes, mood shifts, new chord progressions being added very often etc.
If you played FFXIV you're gonna enjoy it a lot more, but even if you just hear it without knowing much of the game, I think the composition will still say so much.
Moon Halo felt more uni-directional in that sense in terms of composition, focusing most of its story-telling on the lyrics only.
I wonder if maybe that's why they kept the composition so simple: that way the lyrics would retain most of the attention.
But then again the lyrics are very meaningful and powerful in Endwalker as well, despite it being a bit of a more complex piece of music 🤔
@@AlexMoukalaMusic Yeah I definitely agree that it's not really a complex song. That's exaclty what I meant when I said that "it works better in context". By itself it honestly doesn"t feel that special, but when you play the game, when you've gone through this journey with all the characters (especially Kiana, the main character), and reach the finale of her second arc, and this song plays during the amazing cinematic after you've been through an emotional rollercoaster of a chapter, I think the song hits a lot harder, calling back to so many moments of the journey, and the rawness of it in my opinion really adds to it. I personally feel like in context it works better as this rsther simple, but raw song, because you're already feeling so many different emotions in that moment, and it would only confuse your emotions if it was too complex. It doesn't need to say much as a song by itself, because it works really well together with the characters and the story as a whole. Really love your in-depth analysis and breakdown of it.
@@AlexMoukalaMusic yeah since i dunno if u would play the game and you would listen to honkai music again i recommend listening to their trailer osts instead
For that reason I hope he does some of the other big honkai songs cause they're all so good both as songs but also as a story that progresses through it's music too.
Honkai music=Emotional
Honkai music+animation=Emotional Damage
honkai music+animation+understandable story telling = critical emotional damage
honkai music + animation + understandable storytelling + Himeko = Depression
@@bravo9960 Why Did You Say It?
@@l_Amigo_I cuz its the undeniable truth
This song represents the culmination of several character arcs coming to a head. The themes of this 'final' arc are acceptance, grief, moving on from self-blame, accepting responsibility and never giving up on the beauty in the world no matter how bleak things may look at times. It is about good people passing on their kindness, the everlasting flame of humanity and fighting for everything beautiful in the world (a motto the characters in the game do their best to follow). In terms of how it is not very musically complex, my interpretation is that this is very much intentional.
the story is very emotional, I dont think its possible to play those chapters of the story and not cry. By the time players reach this point of the story, everyone has been emotionally rocked in several ways. The track is simple and pure, acknowledging the sadness in life but maintaining that the world is beautiful. This is a song about collectively moving on from grief, relating to one another and exploring sad but beautiful emotions. It doesn't need extra clutter or post-processing because it needs to remain pure and simple, from the heart to the heart.
An absolutely perfect comment. The song is representative of so many of these key factors that it practically needs to stay somewhat simple to maintain the mood of the story. Anything else would completely ruin the mood and in turn ruin the piece of music for a lack of better words.
TLDR; Honkai needs context more than anything I've ever seen to be fully and truly understood
Yeah, the perfect comment. I hope he checks out more Honkai songs, maybe chronologically with the Cinematics as a lot of them reference or build on prior songs.
"live kiana..... that's my final lesson for you" - murata himeko
*nightglow start playing*
bro i can't hold it anymore 😭😭😭😭😭
I heard honkai got some Yuri but I never played? Is that true
@@alsparkproductions7849 well its not an ecchi game, but quite a few characters are pretty obviously gay and in a relationship. its more evident in the supplementary mangas which sometimes include stuff like a kiss. but yeah, most of the cast is yuri, in fact its an ongoing community meme that straight couples are doomed to tragedy. still holding true to this day with at least 4 concrete examples.
if you're thinking of playing it, theres certainly many waifus and amazing designs but its certainly the type of game where you come for the waifus and stay for the story and character development. you will either cry or get very emotional multiple times, from both sad and happy things. its a very emotionally charged game, though it starts out more light hearted
There are three singers, each representing the main characters of the game:
- Chalili: singer of Reburn (same name of the first Honkai teaser trailer), representing Kiana.
- Tetracalyx: CN VA of GGZ/Honkai Gakuen Raiden Mei, lyricist of Regression (highly recommended listen), representing Mei.
- Hanser: Vtuber (VirtualRealStar), CN VA of Bronya, singer of Cyberangel (the only upbeat song in the entire game), representing Bronya.
The song is supposed to symbolize Kiana's journey from her lowest point to her highest point, which is why there are so many callbacks to the previous songs (Nightglow, Cyberangel, Starfall, and Rubia) in the lyrics, most notably the chorus. This song is also the point where she finally accepted her mentor's sacrifice, since that was her struggle way back: the fact that people sacrificed themselves to win.
The trailer OSTs are just as good. Fantasy Note (from the Fallen Rosemary trailer) is an example of how a violin gives people a pseudo-orgasm.
The main character is less innocent and more...optimistic, so to speak. The optimism comes from the support from her friends and mental fortitude after countless amounts of suffering, guilt, and despair.
actually i think its supposed to be representing kiana, bronya and fu hua not mei
@@slipkid85 official channels stated that Tetracalyx is there to represent Mei as they were the OG trio (and since in the chapter she's supporting from off screen) even though Fu Hua is the one physically present in that scene.
Tetracalyx is also the compositor most of the lyrics
There are actually three singers, not two. This song is the, Main Character, Kiana's theme which is song by the VA's of her three closest friends. This song is basically about Kiana finally getting over many of her past demon both from before and during the game's story. It's a song about accepting that the world is tough and tragic but still being hopeful for the future and appreciating the beautiful things in the world. Thanks for the great video and may all the beauty be blessed.
Edit: I put this as a reply to my comment, but maybe it should be part of his comment instead.
Btw, there's a small yet incredibly powerful section in the song at 6:50 (of this video) that makes me cry everytime i hear it.
After the course the singers quietly say the lines, "I will never go, there's a way back home, brighter than tomorrow and yesterday".
These lines hit so hard cause they are the inverse of important lines from songs of previous cutscenes about Kiana throughout her journey.
In Nightglow from Final lesson Kiana's mentor tells Kiana "Never let you go". So "I will never go" is kind of a response to that, that she has found her conviction and will no longer run away from her issues.
In Rubia from Shattered samsara Fuhua, one of Kiana's friends and one of the singers of Moon Halo, says "to find a way back home". That song was about her struggles to find a proper identity and have a proper home, so Kiana responding with "there is a way back home" is like her saying that she now has a place to belong.
And lastly, in Starfall from Meteoric salvation Kiana herself has a small triumphant moment but is still overall hurt and fearful of the future as she says the line "I want no tomorrow or yesterday". To her the past was too painful but the future too uncertain, so she didn't want that moment she was in to end. But in Moon Halo Kiana responds to her to line, to her past self, saying that the present is "Brighter than tomorrow and yesterday", saying that she no longer has anything to fear.
God, I'm about to cry just from writing this out. Such a great song and story.
Not quite accurate, since TetraCalyx actually used to voice Bronya (TetraCalyx passed on the role to Hanser once she went full-time on the writing of the music for Honkai 3rd). Some people seem to think she voiced Mei, but that is incorrect. So lyrics wise it is actually a trio of Kiana, Bronya, and Fu Hua thematically. At least going by the references to Rubia, Cyberangel, and Starfall.
@@hollow8136 Oh, but that's still powerful
Btw, there's a small yet incredibly powerful section in the song at 6:50 (of this video) that makes me cry everytime i hear it.
After the course the singers quietly say the lines, "I will never go, there's a way back home, brighter than tomorrow and yesterday".
These lines hit so hard cause they are the inverse of important lines from songs of previous cutscenes about Kiana throughout her journey.
In Nightglow from Final lesson Kiana's mentor tells Kiana "Never let you go". So "I will never go" is kind of a response to that, that she has found her conviction and will no longer run away from her issues.
In Rubia from Shattered samsara Fuhua, one of Kiana's friends and one of the singers of Moon Halo, says "to find a way back home". That song was about her struggles to find a proper identity and have a proper home, so Kiana responding with "there is a way back home" is like her saying that she now has a place to belong.
And lastly, in Starfall from Meteoric salvation Kiana herself has a small triumphant moment but is still overall hurt and fearful of the future as she says the line "I want no tomorrow or yesterday". To her the past was too painful but the future too uncertain, so she didn't want that moment she was in to end. But in Moon Halo Kiana responds to her to line, to her past self, saying that the present is "Brighter than tomorrow and yesterday", saying that she no longer has anything to fear.
God, I'm about to cry just from writing this out. Such a great song and story.
@@hollow8136 I feel like a subtle fourth vocal could've been added at the buildup for the big final drop of the song that would've represented Mei appearing behind Kiana with the rest of her friends despite joining World Serpent. But this song already has enough emotional damage so it's fine.
I’m just gonna say how beautiful you said about the song and the Kiana and Fu hua backstory
Reminding me of those animations makes me cry again😭
jack (comment from moon halo official video)
Nightglow: "Never let you go"
Moon halo: "I will never go"
Rubia: "Find a way back home"
Moon halo: "There is a way back home"
Starfall: "I want no tomorrow or yesterday"
Moon halo: "Brighter than tomorrow or yesterday"
CyberAngel: "Through my wings've been bloodstained and could never"
Moon halo: "Unfold this pair of wings for me again"
Honkai world diva: "Crimson moon shines upon a town that is smeared in blood
Moon halo: "Turned into a moon that always tells warmth"
Moon Halo actually the song which represent whole honkai story and the main character.
You've introduced me so so many good video game soundtracks, all I can say is I'm grateful for them
HEY LEZZGO IT'S JUST SOME GUY!
Bro what is happening to youtube
Letsgooo
Just some guy depression arc lets gooooo
Impossible, you are here. Let's go, experience a roller coaster ride in this suffocating emotions
Moon Halo almost "requires" that you know the previous songs first to fully get it since it's essentially a culmination of everything that came before that point of the story
YOU MADE MY YEAR THANK YOU SO MUCH DOING THIS AHHHHHHHHHHH
It is amazing how few people caught this comment.
Oh shit UD!?
Hey！UD！
LETSGOOOO
I knew you'd be here, UD! Lmao
Dude your Ear Drums are NEXT LEVEL!
I am amazed by how you are able to pin point the plot the themes of the story that the song tries to convey so accurately, by just the musical instruments them selfs. The lyrics are just the confirmation for you not the hints. I've been watching your other videos aswell outside of just the Mihoyo stuff. It's scary how accurate you are everytime you analyze the song about what the songs tries to convey about the story. It's an amazing talent my man!
10 out of 10 would come to here any of you musics analysis videos again!😎
It's also a testament to Mihoyo where they're not just making songs that just sound good and throwing them in, and instead they craft the music to perfectly represent what's happening and who it's about.
HI3 cinematic songs have been telling a story for a while and have been kind of a crazy progression for hoyomix as you can watch how they progressively get better over the past 4 years. Moon Halo is my favorite, but I don't think it hits as hard if you haven't listened to "Befall", "Nightglow", "Cyberangel", "Starfall", then, "Moon Halo".
And it doesn't hit as hard if you haven't seen the animations in order while playing it. Raiden Mei lending her strength along with Fu Hua, Bronya and Theresa in that part of the short despite being absent AND even after becoming a Herrscher and joining World Serpent speaks volumes about how much Mei still cares about Kiana. So when the part of the song that lines up with that shot plays, it gets a 100% emotional damage buff against my heart.
This right here^
POGCRAZY
You forgot to put rubia in there mate
If you want more Honkai Impact, I really suggest the recently released Regression and Nightglow (although it is a bit spoiler heavy on the story and is much more understood from a story perspective honestly). These two songs, along with Moon Halo are the real tear jerkers but still unironically a bop and worth a listen.
Edit: Damn, he actually managed to mostly hit the nail on the head about the story just using the melody. It made me realize that I focused more on the lyrics more than anything. This man is insane.
Rubia too
@@user-qx1id1dt8x Actually yeah but personally it hasn't elicited the same reaction I had for Regression, Moon Halo and Nightglow. It's still a great song and would've been the 3rd recommendation I would give, but I didn't want to bombard the man with too much songs to recommend because all of them are amazing.
Regression is a masterpiece
"You're just sad" is honestly a very apt description of how the game's story makes people feel sometimes
I love how much more in depth this analysis is compared to your past ones, this is definitely a step above.
Perhaps because this time he wasn't so shocked out of mind.
@@giyutomioka2768 Yeah, the fact that it isn't a combat song helped.
(sees Honkai Impact in title)
(immediately clicks on video)
as someone who plays Honkai Impact 3rd, yes there's quite a lot of story to the moment this happens (25 chapters into the story, which was after about 5 years of story development in the game).
Hi Alex, first of all thank you again for making such a great music appreciation video. I am one of your Chinese fans, currently studying in the United States. At the same time, I am also a player who has been playing this game for almost 2000 days. After I watched the last part of the video and your pinned comment, I really want to share a lot with you about the emotion and story contained in this song. I won't give any spoilers, but I would like to tell you that MiHoYo took 5 years to shape this story in this game, and this song is born at the "end" of the story, like I enclosed the "end" with quotes, because it also marks that the story will continue with brand new plot, and the characters will keep going ahead after going through this. This song contains all the experiences and emotions of the characters in the game in the past 5 years, of course, including the emotions of all players too. So much so that a veteran player like me don't even know what mood I could use to listen to this song. Anyway, as you guessed, I cried a lot. I'm not a professional musician, but in my opinion, the reason why HoYoMix didn't use chord progression in this song is that they wanted to show us the most beautiful, gentle, and vulnerable part in her heart after the character releasing all her feelings, like the calm and rainbow after a storm. Like you said in the top comment, this song symbolizes so much emotion and meaning that I can't even organize my words better to express my inner feelings and thoughts to you, because it's so complicated. I knew you've already felt a lot of things in this song. You can't describe them in detail because you've not played this game, for us players, it is like a bomb dropped in our hearts (and eyes). If you listen this song after played this game, or know the plot of this story, I believe you will feel more and your heart will be deeply touched too, just like us. Thanks again, well done Alex.
Since you got to the music from Honkai, I can recommend the music from the PV, in which the guys from hoyo-mix do something incredible
My top-5:
Armband
Fantasy Note
Silver Wings
Inherit
DOMINEER
Also noteworthy is the OST from the collab with genshin, which is literally called "HONKAI GENSHIN" lmao
And maybe my favorite character theme - "Kevin"
Ke[B]in
Also Phantom, sweet trap, infinite
When you are so powerful you get your own ost with YOUR OWN NAME lmao
this song became by favourite after i listened to it surpassing will of the herrscher and last lesson's songs. the song for the recent honkai video thus spoke apocalypse was also great.
still personally think Rubia tops everything hoyo-mix has produced for Honkai.
@@lknisha yeah i agree, idk why but Rubia still the best for me
Personally, Regression beats out everything else for me simply because how well it portrayed Otto and his story
Still hate the dude for what he did, but mad respect for him
That's cool. It also became my favorite as well. For like a month, till I find another one as always. Lmao
Honkai World Diva is what I feel is the track that tops the rest. Even without context, it's really good to listen to!
Oh dear, Bury The Light viking needs to be released as a full version; the sound was fantastic.
Great analysis, always very informative!
God of war: special edition
You are truly have a great sense of music
You were able to get so much info correct just from listening to the song!!!(reminds of your genshin videos)
I hope you play Honkai too someday
great video! seriously, your content is really high quality, I love how you analyse things!
I'm crying like a b*tch everytime I hear this song.
Even though I'm not playing Honkai Impact, I have a basic gist of the story. I can relate to the story because they have the same relationship of Naruto and Jiraiya.
A teacher sacrificing himself/herself to his/her students always hit me. :(
The ending of the song definitely fits that "hopeful yet sad" vibe the moment has imo. Just like the lyrics, it hits deeper with context.
Regardless I'm always amazed by how much you nail about the source material by music alone, this was pretty much on point.
Honkai's music definitely isn't something you would put on repeat if you didn't go through it story yourself.
For me, every time I listen to one the songs on Honkai, I can leave me in tears no matter how many times I've listened to it. Surprisingly even more than Endwalker did, though that might just be me.
If anyone reading this is interested in the story, please try this game, it's absolutely beautiful
this, but regression which i already listening for 1 month
Gacha will put alot people out of it
Honetly I feel the same about Endwalker vs Honkai songs. I definitely feel the feels much more when I replay honkai songs over and over HAHAHA
You should react to "regression" or "befall" from honkai impact too!!
I think a bit of the problem with the Honkai vocal tracks is that they all heavily connect with both the animated CG they go with and usually require the context of the situation to really understand and feel for the lyrics if not the music in whole (for example at the end you felt modulation was needed, but the scene for that was kind of a...send off if you would, so your guess as to why they did it aside from keeping the original vocal was probably right). While that's not to say the analysis wasn't compelling from a purely musical side, I'm not sure if this quite...fits for the messages the songs put out. Now if you want to try listening to some songs that would go great for pure musical analysis, I recommend the version PV tracks, specifically...4.2 and 4.4 if we're starting out and you dont care about the light spoilers in the video. You'll have a LOT to disect there.
Yep, Honkai's main music are made for the animation instead of for a boss fight (like Signora's), I'd say they aren't really comparable and his "complaints" were about things that were clearly made for the animation as well, like the pause into repeat and the ending. Moon Halo in specific is also a call back to everything before it, so going into it blind for an analysis sounds kinda weird lol it's as if he tried to review Endgame without ever watching a marvel movie.
agree the the song and the animation are insparable, the song feel like a meh it has no feeling when you listen it while you know nothing , but when you know.... the song hit diffrent it feels like it has become another song. the lyric who i though had no meaning... feels so diffrent..you can feels the emotion in the lyric because you understand what it mean, and compared to a boss theme that sound so epic when you first time hearing it but it just that it, and will forget after that, but i dont know i always remember every honkai song, it always in my mind for so long, and become something that memorable.
That's just how it is for most video game music. Context is important to them. Also hello random fate weeb
As a Honkai veteran, you will definitely enjoy analysing these Honkai songs, especially the latest one "Regression" or "Rubia". even songs from Punishing Gray Raven! they're all absolute bangers!
P.S: You are correct about this song being sad infact this game storyline death scenes are just pure depressing yet its soo good!
ssshhh it's a happy game with sugar and rainbows *wink wink
@@Calvin704704 yeah this is happy game.....*twink*
Seconding Punishing Gray Raven. Great psytrance (mainly) tracks. My favourites are: Hikari, Lamia, Structures, Dust
Oracle too!
Don't forget about oracle!
It's really interesting to see Moon Halo broken down from your perspective, someone who understand music very well but has never played honkai. You are absolutey right at the end: There is a reason why they don't modulate and instead maintain the minor chords. There is a LOT going on in this scene in the game, and this is also the climax of a very emotional and heartbreaking chapter. The focus is a lot more on the vocals because the voices of the characters are very important to this scene.
I see you mention you want the modulation at the end, I just want to explain that, this song is not just for performance purpose. It exist for a CG cut scene, the song, the whole purpose of the songs, the lyrics and the harmony is to serve the cg and the story telling, it must support the tune and the scene of the CG, it can't stand too out.
They made it difficult for you, every phrase in that song is a reference to previous ones. so it's a more emotional song for captains who understand the references.
the instrumentation is perfect, it is not battle music but more inspirational.
Beautiful break down. As a Honkai and Genshin player, you are dead on the background of how the music represents the story. Much love.
oh shit, Honkai OST. I would love to see more of their songs covered for sure.
Honkai songs have so many top tier songs, basically all the cinematic songs but Befall, Nightglow, Cyberangel, and Starfall, Honkai World Diva are all so memorable.
It's nice to hear your thought about this song with zero context. You're right when you said this song is just giving more sad vibe but actually it's about hope and keep moving on.
I feel like this song becomes far better with context since there's a lot of call backs to previous songs as well.
Thank you for reaching the beautiful song so far in honkai impact.
May all be beauty be blessed
I knew beforehand that Honkai music is absolutely emotional but prob not fit for BLIND reactions. That said, Alex managed to say a whole lot, kinda cool.
But yes, its first and foremost a song FOR the cinematic
Nice breakdown, Alex. But what makes me always came back to watch this video is I want to listen to your singing bit in the video, your voice is unique
I’m a fan of the game and absolutely love their music and your insightful analysis are always so enlightening to listen to, thanks for this video man
I'm honestly a big fan of your content, and I enjoy a lot of your reaction videos due to your explanatory on what a great variety of people have composed, along with when you break it down and sometimes flex your skills.
Musically, I can see that you have amazing passion for this field, and it is truly a fortune to find an admirable content creator like you.
BBBRRROOO, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO REACT THIS FOREVER!!!
I love this song but now I love it more thanks to how you interpreted it in such a very meaningful and profound way 😭
This song meant hope and closure at least for me
Also uplifting isn't something they do in this game
Really awesome to see you doing a reaction for Honkai Impact 3rd! I agree with a lot of the points you made and your criticisms are on point as always.
You hit the nail on the head about the track being designed for the scene, the majority of Honkai tracks seem to be composed this way, so it is incredibly difficult to feel their weight without having the context from the very tragic story that is meant to accompany it.
Keep up the awesome work, Alex! 😊 👍 May all the beauty be blessed!
when i tell you i screamed seeing this on my recommended- i love your music analyses to bits and honkai is so special to me, especially this song in particular.
Since this is your first time listening to Honkai Impact music, maybe you could listen to a bit of their animation music and game PV. The music they got in Honkai, most of them are made by Hoyomix itself, also all of Honkai vocal OST reflect the progression of character development.
I have been waiting for this banger!!
When I watch your video, I always appreciate how you deeply disassemble the notes and tones to explain the music.
The last part when you pointed out about how this song "stays"... it stunned me. I think you actually got the point of whole part this track took in the game, just by listening to it. Im not gonna write down what happend in the game line by line here, but I really felt it.
For stubborn guy like me, its kinda surprise that whole storyline actually was gathered in the track, or that just little nuance in the melody, and well talented and skilled person like you, can actually reverce-engineer it from these notes.
bravo to your video! bravo!
I just gonna go back and watch the cutscene again! thank you!
Going to echo a lot of the commentators here and say the song functions more as a narrative than anything else.
If you ever get a chance to check out the songs which led up to this, it'll add a lot more context because of the significant amount of callbacks (although watching the animations they're from will probably add the most possible context without playing the game; about an hour of animations vs YES time playing the game).
Edit: I should probably mention, while I have the most emotional investment in this song for story reasons, it's not the best song from Honkai Impact.
You know, what's really interesting is that when I heard your modulated versions--and this is probably because I have listened to this song so many times that I'm used to how it goes--the key changes somehow feel off. Yet everything you mentioned is something that's so common in epic orchestral pieces, and I know exactly the effect you mean. I think I don't feel that it fits here because the moment itself isn't really about a grand heroic victory. It's more about finally being willing to ask for help, accepting yourself as you are, and finally letting go of guilt and grief. It's the moment when Meteion clings to your hands and cries for Hermes, when an addict admits that they have a problem. The victory is intimate and close, but there is still a long road ahead. It's a moment of respite but not the end.
Always good to see a new video from you and to be introduced to some new music. I'd love to see a turtorial for how you process your vocals!
you gotta listen to some more honkai stuff, not even a reaction just on your own time, shit’s incredible
Out of context, it is indeed quite the emotional piece
With context, this is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, and one of the few things in media that have actually had me starting to tear up.
It is absolutely major spoilers, but if you don't really care for that, try watching the Everlasting Flames animated short. Having that story bit, along with the song, is what hits so hard.
There's already a lot of comments with good points and summary/explenation of the context (thank you ppl).
Just wanted to say, I just can't wait to see other analysis/reaction to HI3 songs (even if, like many says, there're more emotional to hear in context)
Anyway, really great video and analysis, you have god ears :)
What i like about this song is like when you write a light novel. When you reach the end of the writing and looking back at the journey of your mc from the first time you write down the intro of him, the struggle, and now write the ending... It such a bittersweet thing. In the end this song always keep my head up even in the hard situation.
May the fires of hope will always guide us all...
try "Starfall" (also a Honkai OST)! it's one of my favourite songs from the game, but ngl, every song from the game makes me get the urge to cry cause they're so emotional
I’m always amazed by how accurately you depict everything going on with sound alone, great work once again!!
Honkai music is on a whole other LEVEL. SO glad to see you react to it 🙌
Yup, Moon Halo is definetly a song for the Honkai Impact, not just the game but to the comunity as well.
This song is so beloved in Honkai community is because it showing all what happen and the progression of the game, story and community after 4 years of running.
Like how the game keep improving and advancing for the better, how the story grew with so many stuff and emotion happening, how the character grew into an adult/better version of themself after long of struggle in life, and how the HI community follow it all and grow up with the game and most of all is the sacrifice of a beloved mentor by the characters and by the comunity that must be accepted after 2 years of waiting for confirmation while hoping for she still alive somehow.
And when that confirmation is come, those 2 years of waiting with hope fall to community, making us sad to cry and forcing us to accept it and move one like the character in the story while honoring her sacrifice.
It is maybe a bit simple for a song but it is the most impactful song for HI3rd story and community.
Thank you so much for reviewing Moon Halo! Love you✨
Can we talk about how this song is probably one of the only songs that uses the company's iconic quote in their song? "May all the beauty be blessed" is implying their quote "Fight for all that's beautiful in the world" and honestly it's the most beautiful things I've heard cuz it shows how much passion they gave their first 3d mobile game.
The fact that you mentioned Neo The World Ends With You while I was playing the game surprised me. Great analysis as always! Thanks for them!
I will love him to react to Befall, World Diva or Fallen Rosemary theme, there are so good. Also to Yunjing cutscene and the concerts from Genshin. Is lovely to learn about music this way, with a professional that enjoy it so much. I'm so happy to see new videos on your channel, thanks for the nice content
Finally... He had done it... He had done it guys... thank you... Thank you for covering Honkai🙏 it's... It so gratifying to listen such analysis of this song🙏
I just came from "regression" from honkai impact 3. I am crying again. My heart still hurts from that. You should check it out! It is beautiful!!
It's nice to see Honkai getting noticed too 😁 One of my favourite songs from Honkai is Oaths from A Post-Honkai Odyssey and Cyberangel. It would be interesting to see your take on it 😳😳 with that aside this video was amazing and i hope to see more of this 😍
i do agree that the song itself felt stable and missing some cool stuff, but i think the song was supposed to play along with the animation. there were a specific moments that makes the song and the dialogue felt so good and emotional. i think they made the song this way because they didn't want to make the song overpowers the dialogue or moments in the animation.
Just one thing we all Captains always scream :
"MAY ALL THE BEAUTY BE BLESSED"
i like how despite you not knowing anything about the context of the song you were still able to have a rough idea of the story and what its trying to say, which honestly makes me appreciate this song and channel even more. keep up the good work!
8:47 Okay, you can't just NOT make a full cover of this now. IT'S SO GOOD
I've watched you since your analysis on Raiden's theme and now, finally a Honkai Impact 3rd soundtrack analzye ... Thank you Alex.. I expect more on Honkai OSTs.. be blessed..
Awesome analysis!
I'm thrown aback each time about how much detail Hoyomix put into their tracks
Hey! One of their very bestest tracks or Oracle for the second chapter of A Post Honkai Odyssey. That song will have your eyes rolling it’s so good
I am really happy you listened to this song. This song references past songs and the painful journey so far with the lyrics and the beautiful three vocals. Amazing video as always.
great video as always, Alex! As someone who spend 4 years playing this game, thank you for breaking it down!
moon halo made me cry. i always cry whenever i re watch the video. love honkai
I love your analysis, I start to admire game music because of you. I love it even more when you give suggestion like this. I'm sure it'll be very useful to them.
LETS GOOOOOOOOOO ive been waiting for this moment
After playing the game go back to this track and you'll see just how emotional this song is and just shows even when the main characters are in struggle they still manage to fight on. All for the beautiful in this world.
moon halo !!
i agree with some people in the comments when they say that this song is better with context or if you have heard the earlier songs (nightglow, starfall, and rubia preferably)
and also, would like to see you react to the trailers (Phantom of the Theaters is one of my favs) as theyre such a banger
thank you so much for doing honkai music :D we hope you enjoyed doing this and would do more in the future!!
I really hope you check out even more songs from this game cause holy crap
Things are resolved, thankfully, for the protag in this scene. But the battle isn't over yet and imo the sad tone represent the protag's growth over everyhtingnshe has experienced. They have becomed more mellow in their nature and this really represents it.
Your video was amazing, even giving examples for the part of the song that really helpfull
This song is like a culmination of several other songs prior to this, all starting from Nightglow then Cyberangel, Starfall, Honkai World Diva, and Rubia
this song answers questions that were asked throughout songs in previous cinematics I think that's what impressed me the most about it
the songs are very good but, the main point to make you like them is the emotional connection that you have in each cinematic of each song, it is to remember the tragic moments of the cinematics and cry even more basically
they are fanservice songs for honkai lore fans, if you don't know the lore I don't think du u find it very different
Thank you UA-cam for recommending this cuz I totally missed out this video and only recently playing to this part of the game
When he modulated that repeating part it really hit 100 harder!! I really wish they did that in the original song I could cry😭😭
I grabbed my headphones so fast you wouldnt beleive.
It’s beautiful how you somehow understood the story from listening the song.Really goes to show that music is the language of the heart
Good job man also love your reaction to the JENOVA theme on ff7 remake
oh you should check their latest, Regression. Mihoyo keeps hitting me with feels in their songs
Thanks you for the great vid and info!
What a pleasant suprise!!
your guess on what the song try to describe is spot on. i would really recommend regression from honkai too
You hit the nail on the themes and the story beats !!! I’m very happy to see my comfort game get recognized like this, I hope you review other Honkai Scenes and maybe try out the honkai story itself :)
I did not expect you to cover Honk but wow 🥺
I started following you because of your Nier and Genshin OST reactions, but after watching your reaction to this song from Honkai, I've become a bit curious about what your reaction would be to a song from an indie game series called Umineko... Namely its last ending theme, "Cocoon of White Dreams" by singer-songwriter Shikata Akiko (who does a lot of ethnic-inspired music and is known for using very complex vocals, making herself sound like a full choir instead of just one singer). Shikata Akiko is most well-known for her Ar Tonelico music (another game OST I would love to see you review!), but my favourite song from her is still Umineko's "Cocoon of White Dreams", simply because of how melancholic and beautiful it is.
Bro for real! First time hearing this song on it's release I thought they would modulate to set a climax in to the song but with context I think it does the job and catches the feelings of the captains playing it. Nice vid brother! Learned so many stuffs! Would be nice if you listen and analyze their new song Regression.
In signora topic you really describe her story just because of her boss music. Love it. Gonna watch the signora music reaction of yours next.