"This character is fast" No, she's not fast in the sense of flipping around with fancy acrobatics. She's more fast in the sense that she's just calmly walking and then you blink and she's on the opposite side of the arena. Not fast like water or fast like wind; fast like lightning.
Also first meeting, descending some stairs? While this isn't what plays for the first meeting, the first time you _do_ meet this character... Who needs _stairs‽_ Just walk on _air_ as though it was stairs!
The shogun and signora are related because they show up in the same scene. That is why u can hear signora’s theme transition to the shogun’s theme. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers though
@@NLwino I never said he knows what happens, I just said he has a pretty good idea because (he flagged it as “the execution” -> he knows the name of the ost.) -> he can make a reasonable assumption on the context of the scene based on title and his experience with music alone.
"There's a sense you're facing something more deadly" "The 3D sound makes it feel like you can't predict where the next strike will come from." LMAO. Marco's playing through the whole game through just the soundtrack.
I think there is only one Genshin player on UA-cam that was able to do a no-hit run against the Raiden Shogun? She was insanely fast and moves were hard to time.
The Raiden fight was the first time I felt a genuine shard of fear while playing Genshin. She is just so intimidating in her divinity. She’s just this slip of a woman who doesn’t even raise her voice at you.. but she’s so incomprehensibly scary. Maybe it’s because what just happened with Signora, but when Raiden started taking a step towards me, every instinct yelled to run away even if I know it’s way too late. You feel like an inconsequential insect about to be squashed.
I have a headcanon that The Tsaritsa wants to overthrow the Celestia, and when I remember how hard it is to "win" against Raiden, fricking Archon, it makes me realize that the Tsaritsa's Harbingers have to, like, become REALLY powerful, more powerful than Archons all together. Makes me realize why Childe is right up her alley...
So without major spoilers - this fight takes place immediately after Signora's, so as a player you are still under the emotional impact of that, so making it blend in the next theme is genius. Raiden Shogun's character represents lightning (so we have this quick, broken rhythm with electronic sounds and distortions) and is important to the Japanese inspired region where it takes place (so we have all cool instruments - shamisen, taiko drums, etc.).
The wooden flute plays the Inazuma leitmotif that is heard all over the region of Inazuma, subtlety indicating that Raiden Shogun’s presence can be felt no matter where you are in Inazuma
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere, but the motif is derived from the traditional Japanese folk song Sakura Sakura. I recognized it immediately when entering Inazuma, since I had sung it since I was a kid. Because the Raiden Shogun was resistant to change, the motif stays relatively the same up until the very end. As the motif changes, it is a sign that we, the player, are finally affecting her ideals of constancy and breaking through with the ideas of change.
Spoilers ahead: I think the reason why we hear Inazuma's theme is not because of Raiden Shogun, but because we fight with the ambitions of all Inazumans, who got their Vision taken
"There's a sense you're facing something more deadly" In the previous regions the player is in good terms with that nation's gods. Previously you only fought generals of an army (Signora and Tartalia) and an ancient being (Azhdaha) but this is the first time in the game where the player faces off against a god of a nation.
Likely the last time until the Snezhnaya chapter too, and that god will probably not be trying to kill us but to test us. They haven't exactly been subtle with the fact that the Fatui are antiheroes and that our fate is to join them to oppose the god who abducted our twin, but they're building up the Tsaritsa too much to not have us fight her.
Not just any god too, Raiden in particular is specialized for combat. She might lack Morax' sheer supernatural powers but she's probably more deadly than any other archon.
@@Progeusz I dunno, in one movement she can carve a narrow canyon but with the same effort Morax could _drop_ an entire mountain range. Conversely, of course, Orobashi was a god with whom Morax fought, and he survived his encounter with Morax but was slain decisively by Beelzebul (who was not even an archon at the time). But that's probably not because Beelzebul is stronger, but a combination of the fact that Morax is merciful and feels compassion for his enemies (we see this even with Osial and especially with Havria and Guizhong; you may say Guizhong was not his enemy, but only one of them could ascend to the throne if they were to secure a gnosis and end the turmoil in Liyue, though given he spared the opponents he defeated and Guizhong _died_ he was most likely not the one who defeated her; I feel like if/when we get more detail on that part of history that will be a key theme in the tragedy, that precisely because he cared for her too much to face the issue that they would eventually have to face each other to choose who got Liyue's gnosis, he was not the one to non-lethally defeat her, so he lost her forever instead), plus Orobashi and probably Beelzebul knew that Orobashi was meant to die in that battle, which for the gods was entirely ceremonial, as Orobashi had been sentenced to death by the Heavenly Principles. He was going to face the Electro Archon's army to die in battle and preserve his followers' honour. So to summarise I don't think Beelzebul is stronger than Morax by any metric, but that she simply has fewer qualms about killing. Reflecting the respective mythology of the countries they're based on, Morax and his Adepti focus on the concept of "subjugating" daemons, while Raiden "slays" them. Subjugation, as any martial artist knows, is both nobler and more difficult than slaughtering.
@@vitriolicAmaranth But I mean, Morax being more merciful is a factor in Beelzebul being more deadly. Morax may be capable of harder hits, but he's going to pull his punches more often than not. Whereas Beelzebul can hit pretty damn hard, and is aiming for death blows nearly every time. So, I agree with Progeusz's take. She doesn't match Morax is sheer power, but she is certainly more deadly than him. We'll need to see more of the other archons to judge whether she's the deadliest of the Seven, though.
This fight is with the god of electricity, so that explains the quick and cybernetic parts. Some of her attacks are so fast you don't even see her sword moving
@@mc9474 I mean in Genshin it's called "electro" and in honkai her element is called "lightning" so thunder feels like the after effect of anything left alive when she's done
"God of electricity"? Excuse you, we are talking about Her Excellency, the Almighty Narukami Ogosho, God of Thunder. Sara is onto you now, be careful 😂😂
Raiden’s theme connected to Signora simply signifies how she’s a bigger threat than Signora ever was. They both appeared in a cutscene which, without spoiling anything, basically shows how Signora is a mere speck of dust compared to the Raiden Shogun. And when you said “going down a flight pf stairs”, you hit the mark because that’s exactly what happened in one of the scenes after Signora and Raiden Shogun’s cutscene.
Another thing about Phase 2, the main melody of that is heard your whole journey in that nation. All the days you spent casually walking around had that melody play. So, after all the time you spent there, it all led up to this. The song makes you look back on your journey and reminds you what you are fighting for.
On the contrary, it also serves as a reminder as to how confined and controlled the entirety of Inazuma is under Raiden. Her's and Inazuma's melody is the same, her presence is everywhere across the entire nation.
5:05 "This character is really fast" Bro, she's lightning incarnate, the girl literally shadow steps through the air by vibrating electrons or something. Her very introduction scene she's seen literally walking on tiny discs of concentrated electricity as she descends from a higher platform to stand on the platform you are on during the cutscene.
Raiden is one of my favourite characters in the game. She's a deity, and each deity governs an element and a domain. However up to this point, all deities' elements and domains kind of coincide with each other. Zhongli's element is geo/earth, and his domain is contracts. "Set in stone" comes to mind. Venti's is anemo/wind, and his domain is freedom. As free as a leaf on the wind. Raiden's element is electro, she's super fast and strikes hard, like lightning. At times you don't see her move, and there are moments where she does multiple slashes in a single instant. Raiden's domain is "eternity", completely contradicting her element, which focus on fleeting things. That also plays into her personality and inner conflict, where she struggles to hold an unchanging eternity over her nation of humans, who are always, inevitably changing. Phase 1 is cold, unchanging eternity. Phase 2 is the inevitable change.
If you’re going to talk about the archons or gods to people that hasn’t played Genshin yet, you should use their archon names to avoid spoilers, since the Rex Lapis one is a big big spoiler.
To be fair, Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Only changes forms. The energy that exist since the beginning of the Universe will always exist until the end of the Universe. If it does end. So in a sense, She IS eternal.
This makes me realize that Ei's character is really complex but the story failed to convey that effectively. All this time I've a feeling that Inazuma archon story feels pretty weird and that's probably why
@@rhittapride2212 homie I think it’s obvious from the get go if people who are going into have even barely heard anything about gensjin, I knew exactly who Zhongli was from extremely small snippets of conversation I heard on discord. Of course it’s never going to be the same for everyone, but for most I think people know generally who Zhongli may or may not be.
The only boss I've ever been scared of in Genshin is the Raiden Shogun, her fight gives you such a sense of urgency. Lag for even one second and almost all of your health is gone.
Here Genshin Impact does the perfect storytelling trick when introducing a powerful and extremely dangerous character. Players understand immediately that they really, really, should try to run and survive after the Signora theme ends. She is a god and breaking her laws invites the Wrath of Heaven. Delivered fast as lightning. I prefer the Phase 1 music because it gives the "You now have her attention. What are your last words?" mood.
Her animations too. The way she circles you like a hunter circling their prey - kind of the way the Wolf circles and prowls around, but unlike the Wolf, the fights with Raiden aren't sparring or training. Her stances, the way she swings her weapons. Even without her electro abilities, her skill as a warrior is crystal clear.
This theme, "Bane of Ambitions" basically shows how we as the player, feel the first time we bear witness to the Raiden Shogun's power - that constant low-frequency pulse accurately emulates the sound of the player's heartbeat as we run for our lives while struggling to survive the Shogun's lightning-fast attacks, all while our attacks are barely even damaging her.
It's called "putting a character over" and it's commonly employed in combat-focused fantasy media as well as in pro wrestling. It's a good trick but it's not particularly clever or original.
The Raiden Shogun really elevated Genshin to the next level for me. In these gacha, “anime” games, female characters often feel like their strength is arbitrary. They are strong because their stats say they are strong. This is absolutely not the case with the Shogun. Her calm, threatening demeanor, her theme music, her past feats in the lore, and the incredible animation of her special effects all come together to give her an amazing presence. The hype in the middle of Inazuma was so great to experience.
Raiden Shogun's theme uses the traditional Japanese song "Sakura Sakura" as its motif This motif appears in all music related to her appearance, everything except the first phase of her theme. Even the small buildup sections such as the execution part you heard in the beginning uses it, why the first phase does not use it while everything else does I'm not sure tbh. Thematically the use of the song makes sense given that the character is in a sense the ruler of the region based on Japan and has story involving Sakura
I wonder if it's better to say Inazuma's theme uses Sakura Sakura as the motif, and the Shogun's theme uses Inazuma's? Because the motif shows up all over the country.
@@effortlessfury It's the Raiden Shogun's theme. Inazuma is the first nation we've seen with a living, active god whose presence is felt everywhere. Even in Liyue, the land that apparently used to have the most active god, we only see a land where the archon has recently stepped down, so what we hear are the echoes of history in its ruins and mountains, not his omnipresence. In Mondstadt the wind is attributed to Barbatos but Barbatos does not actually intervene that directly and his presence is actually barely felt at all. I wouldn't be surprised if we do hear more of the other archons' motifs in their national exploration and story themes since they are all present unlike Barbatos and probably won't have just stepped down like Morax, but apart from the Tsaritsa and Morax, "Baal" seems to have the most direct and widespread control over her land, so I doubt we'll see any woven in as much as her motif is until we get to Snezhnaya.
@@vitriolicAmaranth an analysis is still an argument. It is supported by evidence but it isn't definitive. I would not be surprised if you are correct, I was asking specifically if you had a source though.
The best things in Hoyoverse’s especially in Genshin Impact, you’ll always get amazed by their music, how they compose such a briliant music by mixing it with traditionals and presents music style.
In the first phase the rhythm and pace doesn't really change, which nicely parallels the ideals of the shogun. An unchanging eternity. The melody in the second phase is a variety of the Inazuma main theme, because the shogun is the ruler of Inazuma. And the beginning of the second the sounds perfectly resemble thunder, because she's the electro archon of course.
There’s another interpretation about the second phase Sakura theme, that it represents the subjects in the nation of thunder. And as the second phase arrived with the “will of the people” being brought in the the battle, the battle theme ensues with the Inazuma people at your side combating the ruler.
Some other great Raiden Shogun themes to check out: her teaser trailer and demo OSTs! They are called 'Awaken from a Nightmare' and 'Termination of Desires' I believe
This is the theme of one of the MOST intimidating boss in the game. She's the god of lightning and you really feel it lol Another great reaction Marco! I recommend reacting to Dvalin's Battle Theme. I believe it's called Caelestium Termini- something like that. Other people have commented it, but it's the first genshin song I fell in love with
In a game with giant dragons as bosses, or large monstrous transformations, naturally the most intimidating boss is the one who, without prior knowledge, merely appears as an ordinary if rather formal woman. Because a god's power is so great that it alone is enough to intimidate with no need for a frightful face.
This is the first character in the game that makes you feel vulnerable and she can actually kill you. All the enemies prior while dangerous don't feel scary because you end up with plot armour. But with Raiden you feel truly powerless and that fear comes through with her music.
I didn't think you'd like this theme lol. I think the tensions you mentioned are a very good point. To me, the theme just oozes pure oppression and threat and particularly nothing else. It is very cold and direct. The adversary does not put their personality or feelings into the fight. They just want you gone. Not because of some drama or their personality. You just need to be removed, as if a natural law demands it. No morals, no good or evil are involved. There are no excuses to be made, nothing to make right to change this. No long monologue or story from the adversary, but instant murderous intent. Either you win or die. There is no survival. Japan has a long tradition of simplicity as a social value and I think this theme captured this particular part in a very cool way for a fight. The theme pounds like your heartbeat in distress, and you are surrounded by pressure coming from all sides. The coldness of the theme and the distortion makes it very unnerving.
So as someone else said, without spoilers, that beginning portion borrows from Signora's theme because the Raiden Shogun fight takes place immediately after, and it actually interludes with a small confrontation between Signora and Raiden, which is why that portion flip-flops between Signora's theme cues with the vocalizations and Raiden's theme with Japanese instrumentals, because it actually lines up with their back and forth dialogue in-game. The composer for this game is frighteningly good at conveying three things in their music. The backstory and personality of the present character, the real life cultural inspiration for the region you're in, and the primary element of the region you're in. Mondstadt is the wind element and is based in Germany, so the music is soft, and light and very much the type of thing you'd here in a European tavern or some such. Liyue is the rock element and based on ancient China, so the music is based on traditional Chinese and can be heavy and intense. Inazuma is the electric element and is based on feudal Japan, so the music is traditional Japanese and can easily convey a sense of speed and chaos. All of this, of course, altered to fit whatever you are doing and who you are interacting with. Signora has a tragic backstory, so her music has a sense of being somber. Raiden Shogun has an unchanging ideology and is, in fact, a deity so her music reflects her resolve and lethality. It's kinda nutty how much you accurately pick-up on in these reactions, owing to your musical knowledge, history and talent
2:44 when you said “I imagine them walking down a flight of stairs” I LITERALLY SAID “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” OUT LOUD HAHHA the Raiden Shogun approached the character in this part of the story. After slaying La Signora, the Shogun lets the main character whom you control free as the winner of a duel. The scene leaving the palace is very tense, and the controls on movement are very restricted. You do actually walk down the stairs of the palace, and the sky is dark and foreboding. when you reach the bottom, the Shogun tries to suddenly strike you from behind (the scene takes place on more stairs)
The Raiden Shogun was by far the deadliest threat that the traveler had faced this far. Prior, the MC had always had backup of some kind, where in this instance, she is facing the divine, basically alone.
That first one was directly after Signoras Fight, in a very epic short cutscene with her and Signora(and us player ofc) - that is why they mixeng themes. And deadly is likely the perfect word for it. And yes that char is very fast and yes there was a lot of tension because she was stronger than us . She is actually a god - the Electro Archon
Out of all the incredible music in Genshin Impact, Raiden Shogun's boss theme is one that's stuck with me the most. It's such a perfect match to the emotional arc of that particular encounter. You've fought her before and she destroyed you. You're coming directly out of witnessing an incredible display of her power. She is the tyrant god of Inazuma, and she has the powers to match. She's so oppressive that one of the things she can do is *turn off your abilities*. It's not some special seal or anything. She just says "Nope. No more magic for you." I was biting my nails through the whole first phase. The music didn't even really register. Then the second phase hits. The reversal. You've turned the tables on her enough that you might have some small chance of winning. You stand as the avatar of all the people of Inazuma against their tyrant god. Then they mix in the Inazuma leitmotif. Hearing that theme, the one I'd heard a hundred times while exploring the region, shocked me right into paying attention to the music. And it *fucks*. Something about the shamisen in particular just gets me going so hard. It really is an incredible score.
I appreciate the way you mention that it "feels more deadly than the previous two boss themes" because narratively that's exactly what this scene does, it cements how powerful an archon is and the fact that death is something hoyo is willing to do in this story (Spoiler warning) Throughout the game, you get a vague sense of the power of the gods because you see the landscape and hear lore associated with it. For example, there's this set of tall, jagged islands that come out of the sea floor in liyue and you hear that those were originally stone spears cast down by the geo archon morax. That sounds impressive and looks impressive, but up until now, none of the archons we've met have ever intended to harm us or use that power on mortals. That first track is the sound track of an execution, one where it could have just as easily been the player character being killed instead.
It genuinely cannot be overstated that when it comes to musical compositions that always fit the mood / context they are attached to; Hoyoverse is top of their class within their genre/market of video games . Be it in honkai impact or genshin impact they just always manage to always capture the story/character they are trying to portray in their music to an absolute T and it's always amazing. The fact that Yu-Peng Chen (Genshin composer) has composed for movies really shines through with his work in genshin. I would absolutely put him up there with the likes of Yoko Shimomura (kingdom hearts) and Okabe (NieR) . He's just THAT good.
I had goosebumps throughout this entire battle in the story, when the 2nd phase kicked in with the usual theme I could not contain my excitement, as always great thoughts. It's always cool to see how much you can actually gather about the context from the music! Also Day six of recommending Stay Gold from the Arknights OST
(Huge spoilers for the Inazuma main story) At some point in the story, we fight Signora and we win. It was said that the loser would be killed by the Shogun. So Shogun killed Signora, that's why you can hear Signora's theme in the beginning and as you said it feels "deadly".
UA-cam recommended your channel to me yesterday and I'm in awe. I've been playing this game since launch, one of the main reasons being the music. I can't get over how well it is written. I listen to it throughout the day and always feel happy. Seeing a professional react to it, understand it and appreciate it makes my heart so happy!
I come here just to see how much Marco gets right and he is always mostly right! The moment when he mentioned Raiden being dangerous compared to others I was like yesss exactly because when I was done battling La Signora and then Raiden happens and I am like no no no no NOT KNOW I AM NOT READY FOR YOU! Because everything in the story has lead us to believe that Raiden Shogun is different from the other gods. I am glad you loved the theme !! I always love when traditional sounds and modern ones meet, when well done they create such a cool mix! Great video as always !!
3:20 though out the whole song you can hear a heartbeat like rythm representing the fear in travelers heart thinking he may not be able to fight her and win
The fact that you're able to understand exactly what's going on without ever playing the game. As someone who plays this game but also plays an instrument and loves music analysis, it's extremely interesting to here your take on everything
I love how you interpret the music! Also I recommend listening to 'A Storm, A Spire, and A Sanctum (Dvalin's Nest)' from Genshin Impact. It is soooo emotional you will definitely like it! You can really feel the pain!
I like how Yu-Peng Chen use EDM for Raiden theme, consider she's an electric archon, perfect fit! Also, there isn't much I can explain about what's going on in the theme without spoiling the plot, you gotta play the game man
This is probably the fight where the conditions for the traveler are the most dire, especially during the first phase and i love that the music also reflects that
All of your videos that I've watched so far have been so welcoming, like I'm listening to the music with a friend who is very passionate about it. I love your reaction to the fun musical moments; it's a way of reliving the joy of hearing those notes for the first time.
As others have said, there is "technically" a phase 3 part to this to this song called 'The Almighty Violet Thunder'. The difference between Raiden and the other boss themes from Genshin you've reacted to (Signora, Azhdaha, Tartaglia) is that their boss fights are part of the main story quest line but then afterwards can be fought on a weekly basis to receive unique rewards. They're essentially the same fight using the same music but with the difficulty raised a tiny bit. The Raiden theme that you listened to here is also a part of the main story quest line as well but is not a repeatable fight. Once it's done you can never go back to it. But we did get another weekly boss involving her through a side story a few months back. And that battle uses 'The Almighty Violet Thunder' as a theme. As I said, more or less a Phase 3 part of the fight. It's a very similar in style to these ones just with a bit more "epicness" I'd say. Lol On a side note, I'd recommend listening to the other two main story quest boss fights turned weekly bosses; Dvalin and Andrius. They were the first two weekly bosses in the game, so their themes may not be as "flashy" as the others but they're still pretty damn good tunes imo.
I like how wild your imagination can be just from hearing the OSTs. It's often accurate to what really happened in that cutscene that the OST is in it. I appreciate it!!!😉
When he says imagining a character walking down a set of stairs and they feel more deadly like they are more capable of destroying us he pretty much hit the nail on the head. it's amazing you can get all that from music. 😆
The phase 2 you listened to is called "Thundering of the merciless", But there's a second version of it called "The Almighty Violet Thunder" which is more rock oriented. You should give a listen to it.
I love how you said that something about this song feels more dangerous, because you're right haha. Yu-Peng Chen did a great job then in portraying Raiden Shogun's power and majesty through music. She's one of the gods after all
Phase 2 sounds so epic. Traveler is dueling with Raiden Ei using only a Dull Blade, while the latter is using a sword that can split an island and dispatch gods.
Some of the things you said described actual events from the game... it's so cool seeing how you might envision the scenes the game music is attached to; or specific words that hold a lot of meaning... It's also a bit scary when you manage to hit the nail on the head without even realizing haha
I had the same reaction as you when I first stumbled upon Genshin Impact, I wrote it off because it was an anime gacha. But i was lucky enough to play the beta and the Music kept me playing. It's crazy how different the music is from each region going from Monstadt to Liyue to Inazuma to Enkanomiya and then now to the Chasm. The OST is absolutely phenomenal, and i love your reaction as well! Your thoughts are always so very spot on and yes, lots of tension in this track. Can't wait for the next video.
It's really fascinating for me how accurate you are with your guesses on those characters. Like how they present themselves, which scenery you see them in-game, and so on. I'm at a loss for words. So damn accurate, it's insane. Take my sub. I want to hear more. :D
HUGE SPOILER WARNING!! This theme is much more profound if you understand what's going on. Stop reading if you don't want spoilers. This is Signora's last living moments, when she is confronted by the Raiden Shogun. Signora is basically pleading for her life, so her theme is mixed together with Raiden's while at the same time growing increasingly chaotic (note the syncopated accenting as she grows more panicky). Then the big tension, amd finally the bell toll as Raiden slashes Signora to ashes. There isn't even any resistance by Signora since she's weak after her fight with us. Then Raiden fights us; hence the "electrifying" techno-style music (electro Shamisen). The final part I honestly didn't like as much, but in a way it represents Raiden's depressive veil being lifted thanks to her people rising up against her (she's both an antagonist and victim of her "inner demons").
I LOVE this theme and everything it represents, to give more context this fight happens inside the mind of the shogun and both phases represent her state of "mood". how phase 1 has a beating heart throughout the song representing how dangerous and deadly she is, following that all Inazuma songs have a leitmotif being this one of the exceptions, the reason is found when following the main story, but it is It could be summed up that she doesn't want to hear it, she doesn't want to hear Inazuma's voice. But it is in phase 2 that she really brings out the ability of yu peng chen, she is still dangerous, but she is no longer deadly. the song is epic and even in a sense, friendly. phase 2 is a discussion, a battle between the great goddess narukami who until now had heard nothing but her own voice to be forced to hear the voice of Inazuma, the voice of her people making her demonstrate through the leitmotif that they will not surrender in being listened to by her, in letting her know of the desires and ambitions they have. the music responds with force and volume forcing her to shut up (beginning of the phase) and then start arguing with her (Her theme clashes with Inazuma's) this fight continues throughout the song, there are moments where the shogun's theme silences Inazuma's only for the song to gain strength again, but, despite being a discussion at no time, the songs are out of tune, showing that both want coexistence. Simply wonderful!
im impressed despite not knowing anything on the game i can pinpoint the general themes of what's happing surprisingly accurately just shows how well well writing music can show the emotions with out words.
_"There's a sense you're facing something more deadly"_ _"The 3D sound makes it feel like you can't predict where the next strike will come from."_ --- I don't know how you pin pointed that out with just by hearing this EPIC Raiden Shogun's track BUT it's actually the real deal if you decide to play the game. Amazing! No shot you nailed it!👏👏
Your initial impression of this being an infintely more deadly enemy is pretty spot on considering shes the first actual god we fight, and they do portray her as pretty insurmountable even for the protagonist
@@Ginto_O You're probably joking but it's more likely than you think. We never see her Vision (and she's "Crimson Witch of Embers" instead of "Crimson Witch of Flame") so chances are the version we meet is a clone or fragment or something.
I hear this and still shudder when I remember the line "Instabilities shall be removed" because I fought her alone with Lumine and no other units, and Lumine with only a sword is a ROUGH way to fight her 😂
Loving your analyses so far, was especially impressed by how accurate your Tartaglia impressions were. As other have pointed out, I definitely recommend checking out the 2.5 Raiden Shogun Battle theme, it just elevates the last part of this one to a whole new level
Have you observed how the first part is a battle of sounds? You can easily identify the fighters (Signiora and The Shogun) and the winner after that build up, tun-tun-TUNTUN-TUTUTUN.... I love it.
This is definitely the sounds for the Electro archon. Raiden Shogun, the Electro Archon, God of Eternity, Shadow of Thunder and Lightning... Ei. A great deep Genshin character.
I take whatever I thought moments ago back. I think you not knowing the visuals is actually pretty cool it's very interesting to see you just getting most stuff correctly just from the music. also I just think you might want to check out the enkanomiya battle themes and just more background music from regions cause some of them just hit so different
Man another pretty much spot on interpretation. Gotta say I am most looking forward to when you start getting to the Tsurumi Island Tracks as well as Enkanomiya and the CHASM
Even though it's not typical for your content on this channel, as a Genshin Impact player myself I'd love to see you playing this wonderful and free game ❤️
I think my favorite theme involving Raiden Shogun is the one from her character demo trailer. it doesn't appear in game I believe but it's so well done. I know (I think) you stopped talking requests from youtube comments but I still think it's worth listening to own your own.
"We never know where the hits will come from": She can literally move at the speed of light, effectivly teleporting. She loves to do the, suddenly I am behind you thing.
I want to note in her second phase you hear a leitmotif of many different bgms playing in the open world of her nation, making you feel very familiar with the theme when you get to the point of the fight
The depth and accuracy in which you describe the character's personality as well as the player's deadly encounter with the Almighty Shogun God of Thunder, and all gleaned from the music alone, it's nothing short of incredible. Happy to have been recommended this channel. Keep up the great work, Marco! If you'd like to listen to more beautiful Genshin music, I do highly recommend Liyue's Lantern Rite Theme. :3
Ending of this theme reminded me pony island with Belzeebub (same demon name as Raiden), where OST for them ended up in same distortion. Like flies/bugs buzzing, but PC version. It fits "Raiden" a little.
One of the Genshin osts I really want you to listen to and analyze is Albedo’s trailer theme, Contemplation in Snow. I really want to hear your thoughts on it and see if you can match it to the character himself because I just cannot understand how it relates to him.
I never have analized or even listen fully the battle themes, but with this one, I was super frustrated and scared for the first time. I thought I was going to get stuck at this battle. But throughout the entire battle a feeling of uneasy and fear always keep building. Now I know why, it was the music. It inmerse you and build up the tension so you can concentrate, you can really focus on how to fight.
"This character is fast"
No, she's not fast in the sense of flipping around with fancy acrobatics. She's more fast in the sense that she's just calmly walking and then you blink and she's on the opposite side of the arena. Not fast like water or fast like wind; fast like lightning.
Also first meeting, descending some stairs? While this isn't what plays for the first meeting, the first time you _do_ meet this character... Who needs _stairs‽_ Just walk on _air_ as though it was stairs!
He doesn't know how Raiden Shogun fights so his description is still 100% correct.
Also, "fast like lightning" = "this character is fast".
@@jessicaevergarden5581 I mean... Raiden Shogun is EXACTLY like that, too dam fast for polizia unless you use Yoimia
But that's her "clone"
i'm glad we don't get to fight dark soul boss level in this game
@@FRFFW
What are you talking about?
Shougun is not a clone.
She's more like a self-aware robot.
The shogun and signora are related because they show up in the same scene. That is why u can hear signora’s theme transition to the shogun’s theme. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers though
Also note the key change when this happens as well
I mean, he did flag that part as “the execution“, so he might have a pretty good idea on what’s happening.
you can really hear at what point the shogun takes over the song
@@deadlineuniverse3189 That OST is called "the execution". It's not flagged like that because he knows what happens. It's just the name of the song.
@@NLwino I never said he knows what happens, I just said he has a pretty good idea because (he flagged it as “the execution” -> he knows the name of the ost.) -> he can make a reasonable assumption on the context of the scene based on title and his experience with music alone.
"There's a sense you're facing something more deadly"
"The 3D sound makes it feel like you can't predict where the next strike will come from."
LMAO. Marco's playing through the whole game through just the soundtrack.
he is even right about the stairs...XD
Yu Peng is a storyteller with just his music, which is really incredible.
I think there is only one Genshin player on UA-cam that was able to do a no-hit run against the Raiden Shogun? She was insanely fast and moves were hard to time.
Good to know Genshin goes for max accessibility!
"You can't predict where the next strike will come from"
Yeah and you can't see anywhere either
The Raiden fight was the first time I felt a genuine shard of fear while playing Genshin. She is just so intimidating in her divinity. She’s just this slip of a woman who doesn’t even raise her voice at you.. but she’s so incomprehensibly scary. Maybe it’s because what just happened with Signora, but when Raiden started taking a step towards me, every instinct yelled to run away even if I know it’s way too late. You feel like an inconsequential insect about to be squashed.
reading that first sntence literally gave me chills cause.. yes. raiden shogun is terrifying
I have a headcanon that The Tsaritsa wants to overthrow the Celestia, and when I remember how hard it is to "win" against Raiden, fricking Archon, it makes me realize that the Tsaritsa's Harbingers have to, like, become REALLY powerful, more powerful than Archons all together. Makes me realize why Childe is right up her alley...
This is so true for me. I'm literally still avoiding fighting with her. I logged off immediately
consindering that her acatck pattern and animations are completely broken, she unfortunately becomes more annoying than terrifying xP
so true that fear took over wayy too much to the point i just left thoma kneeling there for months XD
So without major spoilers - this fight takes place immediately after Signora's, so as a player you are still under the emotional impact of that, so making it blend in the next theme is genius. Raiden Shogun's character represents lightning (so we have this quick, broken rhythm with electronic sounds and distortions) and is important to the Japanese inspired region where it takes place (so we have all cool instruments - shamisen, taiko drums, etc.).
Did you mean blend?
@@handtomouth4690 yeah, thanks
DONT worry like 100 other people spoiled it 🤣
without giving players enough time to heal lol i remember fighthing these biatches lol and i always die. lol
@@MarcoMeatball Why are people like this
The wooden flute plays the Inazuma leitmotif that is heard all over the region of Inazuma, subtlety indicating that Raiden Shogun’s presence can be felt no matter where you are in Inazuma
The most obvious track is “Separated Dream”
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere, but the motif is derived from the traditional Japanese folk song Sakura Sakura. I recognized it immediately when entering Inazuma, since I had sung it since I was a kid. Because the Raiden Shogun was resistant to change, the motif stays relatively the same up until the very end. As the motif changes, it is a sign that we, the player, are finally affecting her ideals of constancy and breaking through with the ideas of change.
Spoilers ahead:
I think the reason why we hear Inazuma's theme is not because of Raiden Shogun, but because we fight with the ambitions of all Inazumans, who got their Vision taken
"There's a sense you're facing something more deadly"
In the previous regions the player is in good terms with that nation's gods. Previously you only fought generals of an army (Signora and Tartalia) and an ancient being (Azhdaha) but this is the first time in the game where the player faces off against a god of a nation.
Likely the last time until the Snezhnaya chapter too, and that god will probably not be trying to kill us but to test us. They haven't exactly been subtle with the fact that the Fatui are antiheroes and that our fate is to join them to oppose the god who abducted our twin, but they're building up the Tsaritsa too much to not have us fight her.
Not just any god too, Raiden in particular is specialized for combat. She might lack Morax' sheer supernatural powers but she's probably more deadly than any other archon.
@@Progeusz I dunno, in one movement she can carve a narrow canyon but with the same effort Morax could _drop_ an entire mountain range.
Conversely, of course, Orobashi was a god with whom Morax fought, and he survived his encounter with Morax but was slain decisively by Beelzebul (who was not even an archon at the time). But that's probably not because Beelzebul is stronger, but a combination of the fact that Morax is merciful and feels compassion for his enemies (we see this even with Osial and especially with Havria and Guizhong; you may say Guizhong was not his enemy, but only one of them could ascend to the throne if they were to secure a gnosis and end the turmoil in Liyue, though given he spared the opponents he defeated and Guizhong _died_ he was most likely not the one who defeated her; I feel like if/when we get more detail on that part of history that will be a key theme in the tragedy, that precisely because he cared for her too much to face the issue that they would eventually have to face each other to choose who got Liyue's gnosis, he was not the one to non-lethally defeat her, so he lost her forever instead), plus Orobashi and probably Beelzebul knew that Orobashi was meant to die in that battle, which for the gods was entirely ceremonial, as Orobashi had been sentenced to death by the Heavenly Principles. He was going to face the Electro Archon's army to die in battle and preserve his followers' honour.
So to summarise I don't think Beelzebul is stronger than Morax by any metric, but that she simply has fewer qualms about killing. Reflecting the respective mythology of the countries they're based on, Morax and his Adepti focus on the concept of "subjugating" daemons, while Raiden "slays" them. Subjugation, as any martial artist knows, is both nobler and more difficult than slaughtering.
@@vitriolicAmaranth But I mean, Morax being more merciful is a factor in Beelzebul being more deadly. Morax may be capable of harder hits, but he's going to pull his punches more often than not. Whereas Beelzebul can hit pretty damn hard, and is aiming for death blows nearly every time. So, I agree with Progeusz's take. She doesn't match Morax is sheer power, but she is certainly more deadly than him.
We'll need to see more of the other archons to judge whether she's the deadliest of the Seven, though.
I think Murata might be willing to challenge the Traveler, but more as a friendly spar than a battle to the death like with Raiden or the Tsaritsa.
1st ost
La Signora: Why do I hear boss music ?
2nd ost
Main character: Why do I hear boss music ?
3rd ost
Raiden Shogun: Why do I hear boss music ?
Spoiler xd
If there was a 4that ost it would be
Yae: Why do I hear boss music after telling the traveler I gave the gnosis?
"this character is super fast"
dude really gets everything from the music
This fight is with the god of electricity, so that explains the quick and cybernetic parts. Some of her attacks are so fast you don't even see her sword moving
God of Thunder. I know they are related but God of Electricity makes it sound like she powers houses lol
@@mc9474 the god that will reduce your bill
@@mc9474 I mean in Genshin it's called "electro" and in honkai her element is called "lightning" so thunder feels like the after effect of anything left alive when she's done
lightning is closer but yes
"God of electricity"? Excuse you, we are talking about Her Excellency, the Almighty Narukami Ogosho, God of Thunder. Sara is onto you now, be careful 😂😂
The weekly boss version of Raidens theme hit different, you should try listening to it as well if you liked this one
Supporting!
yeah what he said
Yeah, what he said!
Yes and no, it is cool don't get me wrong, but it's mostly just changing some of the instruments to electric guitars
Actually it's already in this video,but when Raiden becoming her phase 2nd，the BGM progresses，added some very sick electric guitar part though.
5:10 you’re really close. This character is the God of Lightning, and, well, we get smoked in basically one hit the first time we fight her.
Excuse me. But it's Her Excellency, the Almighty Narukami Ogosho, God of Thunder.
... I will see myself out.
@@lixiaochen6 I'm dying over here, 😂
@@lixiaochen6 r/foundthekujousara
@@lixiaochen6 you had me burst laugh LOL
@@lixiaochen6 Sips tea in Kazuha's style.
Raiden’s theme connected to Signora simply signifies how she’s a bigger threat than Signora ever was. They both appeared in a cutscene which, without spoiling anything, basically shows how Signora is a mere speck of dust compared to the Raiden Shogun.
And when you said “going down a flight pf stairs”, you hit the mark because that’s exactly what happened in one of the scenes after Signora and Raiden Shogun’s cutscene.
Another thing about Phase 2, the main melody of that is heard your whole journey in that nation. All the days you spent casually walking around had that melody play. So, after all the time you spent there, it all led up to this. The song makes you look back on your journey and reminds you what you are fighting for.
On the contrary, it also serves as a reminder as to how confined and controlled the entirety of Inazuma is under Raiden. Her's and Inazuma's melody is the same, her presence is everywhere across the entire nation.
@@BigShrimpin_ yeah, but also think about what's going on in the second phase of that fight... you know, the extra help?
5:05 "This character is really fast"
Bro, she's lightning incarnate, the girl literally shadow steps through the air by vibrating electrons or something.
Her very introduction scene she's seen literally walking on tiny discs of concentrated electricity as she descends from a higher platform to stand on the platform you are on during the cutscene.
Raiden is one of my favourite characters in the game. She's a deity, and each deity governs an element and a domain. However up to this point, all deities' elements and domains kind of coincide with each other. Zhongli's element is geo/earth, and his domain is contracts. "Set in stone" comes to mind. Venti's is anemo/wind, and his domain is freedom. As free as a leaf on the wind.
Raiden's element is electro, she's super fast and strikes hard, like lightning. At times you don't see her move, and there are moments where she does multiple slashes in a single instant. Raiden's domain is "eternity", completely contradicting her element, which focus on fleeting things. That also plays into her personality and inner conflict, where she struggles to hold an unchanging eternity over her nation of humans, who are always, inevitably changing.
Phase 1 is cold, unchanging eternity. Phase 2 is the inevitable change.
I also really liked this duality, and with the conclusion, we know why the theme of Eternity fits Inazuma.
If you’re going to talk about the archons or gods to people that hasn’t played Genshin yet, you should use their archon names to avoid spoilers, since the Rex Lapis one is a big big spoiler.
To be fair, Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Only changes forms.
The energy that exist since the beginning of the Universe will always exist until the end of the Universe. If it does end.
So in a sense, She IS eternal.
This makes me realize that Ei's character is really complex but the story failed to convey that effectively. All this time I've a feeling that Inazuma archon story feels pretty weird and that's probably why
@@rhittapride2212 homie I think it’s obvious from the get go if people who are going into have even barely heard anything about gensjin, I knew exactly who Zhongli was from extremely small snippets of conversation I heard on discord. Of course it’s never going to be the same for everyone, but for most I think people know generally who Zhongli may or may not be.
The only boss I've ever been scared of in Genshin is the Raiden Shogun, her fight gives you such a sense of urgency. Lag for even one second and almost all of your health is gone.
Here Genshin Impact does the perfect storytelling trick when introducing a powerful and extremely dangerous character. Players understand immediately that they really, really, should try to run and survive after the Signora theme ends. She is a god and breaking her laws invites the Wrath of Heaven. Delivered fast as lightning.
I prefer the Phase 1 music because it gives the "You now have her attention. What are your last words?" mood.
Her animations too. The way she circles you like a hunter circling their prey - kind of the way the Wolf circles and prowls around, but unlike the Wolf, the fights with Raiden aren't sparring or training. Her stances, the way she swings her weapons. Even without her electro abilities, her skill as a warrior is crystal clear.
This theme, "Bane of Ambitions" basically shows how we as the player, feel the first time we bear witness to the Raiden Shogun's power - that constant low-frequency pulse accurately emulates the sound of the player's heartbeat as we run for our lives while struggling to survive the Shogun's lightning-fast attacks, all while our attacks are barely even damaging her.
Yesss I really, really love Bane of Ambitions. The second phase is so amazing too, but I find myself listening to the first phase more.
It's called "putting a character over" and it's commonly employed in combat-focused fantasy media as well as in pro wrestling. It's a good trick but it's not particularly clever or original.
@@vitriolicAmaranth Skies of Arcadia has such boss.
We thought we would fight the guy in charge but we actually fought his backstabbing subordinate.
The Raiden Shogun really elevated Genshin to the next level for me. In these gacha, “anime” games, female characters often feel like their strength is arbitrary. They are strong because their stats say they are strong. This is absolutely not the case with the Shogun. Her calm, threatening demeanor, her theme music, her past feats in the lore, and the incredible animation of her special effects all come together to give her an amazing presence. The hype in the middle of Inazuma was so great to experience.
she outdid everyone fr!!!
Raiden Shogun's theme uses the traditional Japanese song "Sakura Sakura" as its motif
This motif appears in all music related to her appearance, everything except the first phase of her theme. Even the small buildup sections such as the execution part you heard in the beginning uses it, why the first phase does not use it while everything else does I'm not sure tbh. Thematically the use of the song makes sense given that the character is in a sense the ruler of the region based on Japan and has story involving Sakura
I wonder if it's better to say Inazuma's theme uses Sakura Sakura as the motif, and the Shogun's theme uses Inazuma's? Because the motif shows up all over the country.
@@effortlessfury It's the Raiden Shogun's theme. Inazuma is the first nation we've seen with a living, active god whose presence is felt everywhere. Even in Liyue, the land that apparently used to have the most active god, we only see a land where the archon has recently stepped down, so what we hear are the echoes of history in its ruins and mountains, not his omnipresence. In Mondstadt the wind is attributed to Barbatos but Barbatos does not actually intervene that directly and his presence is actually barely felt at all.
I wouldn't be surprised if we do hear more of the other archons' motifs in their national exploration and story themes since they are all present unlike Barbatos and probably won't have just stepped down like Morax, but apart from the Tsaritsa and Morax, "Baal" seems to have the most direct and widespread control over her land, so I doubt we'll see any woven in as much as her motif is until we get to Snezhnaya.
@@vitriolicAmaranth decent argument, but is there a source or is this just your belief?
@@effortlessfury It's neither. It's an analysis backed by the game's lore.
@@vitriolicAmaranth an analysis is still an argument. It is supported by evidence but it isn't definitive. I would not be surprised if you are correct, I was asking specifically if you had a source though.
The best things in Hoyoverse’s especially in Genshin Impact, you’ll always get amazed by their music, how they compose such a briliant music by mixing it with traditionals and presents music style.
In the first phase the rhythm and pace doesn't really change, which nicely parallels the ideals of the shogun. An unchanging eternity.
The melody in the second phase is a variety of the Inazuma main theme, because the shogun is the ruler of Inazuma.
And the beginning of the second the sounds perfectly resemble thunder, because she's the electro archon of course.
There’s another interpretation about the second phase Sakura theme, that it represents the subjects in the nation of thunder.
And as the second phase arrived with the “will of the people” being brought in the the battle, the battle theme ensues with the Inazuma people at your side combating the ruler.
Some other great Raiden Shogun themes to check out: her teaser trailer and demo OSTs! They are called 'Awaken from a Nightmare' and 'Termination of Desires' I believe
i agreeeee
musicians always just basically read the story while just listening to the soundtrack. it never ceases to amaze me.
This is the theme of one of the MOST intimidating boss in the game. She's the god of lightning and you really feel it lol
Another great reaction Marco! I recommend reacting to Dvalin's Battle Theme. I believe it's called Caelestium Termini- something like that. Other people have commented it, but it's the first genshin song I fell in love with
In a game with giant dragons as bosses, or large monstrous transformations, naturally the most intimidating boss is the one who, without prior knowledge, merely appears as an ordinary if rather formal woman.
Because a god's power is so great that it alone is enough to intimidate with no need for a frightful face.
This is the first character in the game that makes you feel vulnerable and she can actually kill you. All the enemies prior while dangerous don't feel scary because you end up with plot armour. But with Raiden you feel truly powerless and that fear comes through with her music.
Even in one of the fights where you cant use your skills... It really makes you feel helpless
The way the song loops and repeats itself as if it wants to go on for an..... eternity
This is what ei listens to in her fights with raiden shogun that lasts 500 years
I didn't think you'd like this theme lol. I think the tensions you mentioned are a very good point. To me, the theme just oozes pure oppression and threat and particularly nothing else. It is very cold and direct. The adversary does not put their personality or feelings into the fight. They just want you gone. Not because of some drama or their personality. You just need to be removed, as if a natural law demands it. No morals, no good or evil are involved. There are no excuses to be made, nothing to make right to change this. No long monologue or story from the adversary, but instant murderous intent. Either you win or die. There is no survival.
Japan has a long tradition of simplicity as a social value and I think this theme captured this particular part in a very cool way for a fight. The theme pounds like your heartbeat in distress, and you are surrounded by pressure coming from all sides. The coldness of the theme and the distortion makes it very unnerving.
So as someone else said, without spoilers, that beginning portion borrows from Signora's theme because the Raiden Shogun fight takes place immediately after, and it actually interludes with a small confrontation between Signora and Raiden, which is why that portion flip-flops between Signora's theme cues with the vocalizations and Raiden's theme with Japanese instrumentals, because it actually lines up with their back and forth dialogue in-game.
The composer for this game is frighteningly good at conveying three things in their music. The backstory and personality of the present character, the real life cultural inspiration for the region you're in, and the primary element of the region you're in. Mondstadt is the wind element and is based in Germany, so the music is soft, and light and very much the type of thing you'd here in a European tavern or some such. Liyue is the rock element and based on ancient China, so the music is based on traditional Chinese and can be heavy and intense. Inazuma is the electric element and is based on feudal Japan, so the music is traditional Japanese and can easily convey a sense of speed and chaos. All of this, of course, altered to fit whatever you are doing and who you are interacting with.
Signora has a tragic backstory, so her music has a sense of being somber. Raiden Shogun has an unchanging ideology and is, in fact, a deity so her music reflects her resolve and lethality.
It's kinda nutty how much you accurately pick-up on in these reactions, owing to your musical knowledge, history and talent
2:44 when you said “I imagine them walking down a flight of stairs” I LITERALLY SAID “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” OUT LOUD HAHHA the Raiden Shogun approached the character in this part of the story. After slaying La Signora, the Shogun lets the main character whom you control free as the winner of a duel. The scene leaving the palace is very tense, and the controls on movement are very restricted. You do actually walk down the stairs of the palace, and the sky is dark and foreboding. when you reach the bottom, the Shogun tries to suddenly strike you from behind (the scene takes place on more stairs)
The Raiden Shogun was by far the deadliest threat that the traveler had faced this far. Prior, the MC had always had backup of some kind, where in this instance, she is facing the divine, basically alone.
well, not until the 3rd phase
That first one was directly after Signoras Fight, in a very epic short cutscene with her and Signora(and us player ofc) - that is why they mixeng themes. And deadly is likely the perfect word for it. And yes that char is very fast and yes there was a lot of tension because she was stronger than us . She is actually a god - the Electro Archon
Out of all the incredible music in Genshin Impact, Raiden Shogun's boss theme is one that's stuck with me the most.
It's such a perfect match to the emotional arc of that particular encounter. You've fought her before and she destroyed you. You're coming directly out of witnessing an incredible display of her power. She is the tyrant god of Inazuma, and she has the powers to match.
She's so oppressive that one of the things she can do is *turn off your abilities*. It's not some special seal or anything. She just says "Nope. No more magic for you."
I was biting my nails through the whole first phase. The music didn't even really register. Then the second phase hits. The reversal. You've turned the tables on her enough that you might have some small chance of winning. You stand as the avatar of all the people of Inazuma against their tyrant god. Then they mix in the Inazuma leitmotif.
Hearing that theme, the one I'd heard a hundred times while exploring the region, shocked me right into paying attention to the music. And it *fucks*. Something about the shamisen in particular just gets me going so hard.
It really is an incredible score.
I appreciate the way you mention that it "feels more deadly than the previous two boss themes" because narratively that's exactly what this scene does, it cements how powerful an archon is and the fact that death is something hoyo is willing to do in this story
(Spoiler warning) Throughout the game, you get a vague sense of the power of the gods because you see the landscape and hear lore associated with it. For example, there's this set of tall, jagged islands that come out of the sea floor in liyue and you hear that those were originally stone spears cast down by the geo archon morax. That sounds impressive and looks impressive, but up until now, none of the archons we've met have ever intended to harm us or use that power on mortals.
That first track is the sound track of an execution, one where it could have just as easily been the player character being killed instead.
Your review is very spot on! I do recommend you to react the Enkanomiya battle theme and chasm's dynamic battle theme too
I was about to comment this :D
That would be nice. The Chasm theme intrigues me, I thought at first that I hear irish bagpipes despite it being from Liyue.
@@hijodelsoldeoriente I feel its more kinda like french as chasm is close to fontaine
You really need to hear the raiden shogun character demo version, it's the best version in my opinion!
Maybe you’ll be happy soon then
@@MarcoMeatball Also try watch it with the character trailer pv 😉
@@MarcoMeatball LETSSS GOOOO
@@MarcoMeatball maybe try react to all genshin characters demo !
Yes
All I'm gonna say is that the first part plays directly after la Signoras theme.
It genuinely cannot be overstated that when it comes to musical compositions that always fit the mood / context they are attached to; Hoyoverse is top of their class within their genre/market of video games . Be it in honkai impact or genshin impact they just always manage to always capture the story/character they are trying to portray in their music to an absolute T and it's always amazing. The fact that Yu-Peng Chen (Genshin composer) has composed for movies really shines through with his work in genshin. I would absolutely put him up there with the likes of Yoko Shimomura (kingdom hearts) and Okabe (NieR) . He's just THAT good.
There is technically a phase 3 theme by the way,you may want to check it out
yeah the weekly boss remix of the phase 2 theme is nuts
I had goosebumps throughout this entire battle in the story, when the 2nd phase kicked in with the usual theme I could not contain my excitement, as always great thoughts. It's always cool to see how much you can actually gather about the context from the music!
Also
Day six of recommending Stay Gold from the Arknights OST
Putting distortion on a shamisen has got to be one of the coolest things Genshin Impact has ever done
(Huge spoilers for the Inazuma main story)
At some point in the story, we fight Signora and we win.
It was said that the loser would be killed by the Shogun.
So Shogun killed Signora, that's why you can hear Signora's theme in the beginning and as you said it feels "deadly".
UA-cam recommended your channel to me yesterday and I'm in awe. I've been playing this game since launch, one of the main reasons being the music. I can't get over how well it is written. I listen to it throughout the day and always feel happy. Seeing a professional react to it, understand it and appreciate it makes my heart so happy!
❤️❤️❤️🙏 thank you
I come here just to see how much Marco gets right and he is always mostly right! The moment when he mentioned Raiden being dangerous compared to others I was like yesss exactly because when I was done battling La Signora and then Raiden happens and I am like no no no no NOT KNOW I AM NOT READY FOR YOU! Because everything in the story has lead us to believe that Raiden Shogun is different from the other gods. I am glad you loved the theme !! I always love when traditional sounds and modern ones meet, when well done they create such a cool mix! Great video as always !!
2:38 "are we seeing the character coming down a flight of stairs?"
*Flashbacks to saving Thoma and seeing Raiden Shogun for the first time*
I was literally asking myself today if you were ever going to react to shogun's ost. Im soooo happy with what im seeing
3:20 though out the whole song you can hear a heartbeat like rythm representing the fear in travelers heart thinking he may not be able to fight her and win
The fact that you're able to understand exactly what's going on without ever playing the game. As someone who plays this game but also plays an instrument and loves music analysis, it's extremely interesting to here your take on everything
❤️ glad you approve
I love how you interpret the music!
Also I recommend listening to 'A Storm, A Spire, and A Sanctum (Dvalin's Nest)' from Genshin Impact. It is soooo emotional you will definitely like it! You can really feel the pain!
You know what I like about this track the heart beat sounds
I'm so amazed by how you managed to describe Raiden's personality correctly by her OST alone. If music is a language, you're a native speaker.
I love how he basically just says a bunch of facts about the character just from hearing the music.
To avoid spoilers, I'll just say what this character has quoted that really left me in a "shocking" experience:
"Lightning always strikes twice."
I like how Yu-Peng Chen use EDM for Raiden theme, consider she's an electric archon, perfect fit!
Also, there isn't much I can explain about what's going on in the theme without spoiling the plot, you gotta play the game man
7:40 - Yea.. I knew you'd like that one. Raiden Shogun is going all out. Everything you learned so far will come down to this fight.
This is probably the fight where the conditions for the traveler are the most dire, especially during the first phase and i love that the music also reflects that
"I Imagine the character walking towards us, or walking down a flight of stairs" Jaw. dropped. Bro guessed one of her abilities with music.
All of your videos that I've watched so far have been so welcoming, like I'm listening to the music with a friend who is very passionate about it. I love your reaction to the fun musical moments; it's a way of reliving the joy of hearing those notes for the first time.
Thanks Leah. That was the intended goal. Some education. Some fun. Mostly appreciation.
As others have said, there is "technically" a phase 3 part to this to this song called 'The Almighty Violet Thunder'. The difference between Raiden and the other boss themes from Genshin you've reacted to (Signora, Azhdaha, Tartaglia) is that their boss fights are part of the main story quest line but then afterwards can be fought on a weekly basis to receive unique rewards. They're essentially the same fight using the same music but with the difficulty raised a tiny bit.
The Raiden theme that you listened to here is also a part of the main story quest line as well but is not a repeatable fight. Once it's done you can never go back to it. But we did get another weekly boss involving her through a side story a few months back. And that battle uses 'The Almighty Violet Thunder' as a theme. As I said, more or less a Phase 3 part of the fight. It's a very similar in style to these ones just with a bit more "epicness" I'd say. Lol
On a side note, I'd recommend listening to the other two main story quest boss fights turned weekly bosses; Dvalin and Andrius. They were the first two weekly bosses in the game, so their themes may not be as "flashy" as the others but they're still pretty damn good tunes imo.
All I will say is a rough quote of a comment I saw in another video.
Signora: "I have diplomatic immunity"
Raiden: "I am a god"
I like how wild your imagination can be just from hearing the OSTs. It's often accurate to what really happened in that cutscene that the OST is in it. I appreciate it!!!😉
😂❤️
Man, I'd love to see you play the game so you can see all the connections you've made through music in the game.
When he says imagining a character walking down a set of stairs and they feel more deadly like they are more capable of destroying us he pretty much hit the nail on the head. it's amazing you can get all that from music. 😆
The phase 2 you listened to is called "Thundering of the merciless", But there's a second version of it called "The Almighty Violet Thunder" which is more rock oriented. You should give a listen to it.
I love how you said that something about this song feels more dangerous, because you're right haha. Yu-Peng Chen did a great job then in portraying Raiden Shogun's power and majesty through music. She's one of the gods after all
Phase 2 sounds so epic. Traveler is dueling with Raiden Ei using only a Dull Blade, while the latter is using a sword that can split an island and dispatch gods.
Some of the things you said described actual events from the game... it's so cool seeing how you might envision the scenes the game music is attached to; or specific words that hold a lot of meaning... It's also a bit scary when you manage to hit the nail on the head without even realizing haha
I had the same reaction as you when I first stumbled upon Genshin Impact, I wrote it off because it was an anime gacha. But i was lucky enough to play the beta and the Music kept me playing.
It's crazy how different the music is from each region going from Monstadt to Liyue to Inazuma to Enkanomiya and then now to the Chasm. The OST is absolutely phenomenal, and i love your reaction as well! Your thoughts are always so very spot on and yes, lots of tension in this track. Can't wait for the next video.
I'm so in awe with the way you're always spot on with predicting the storyline! And I love the analysis too, really appreciate it❤️
It's really fascinating for me how accurate you are with your guesses on those characters. Like how they present themselves, which scenery you see them in-game, and so on. I'm at a loss for words. So damn accurate, it's insane. Take my sub. I want to hear more. :D
Genshin's OST never fails to disappoint me.
i always listen to Liyue's ost whenever i working
HUGE SPOILER WARNING!!
This theme is much more profound if you understand what's going on. Stop reading if you don't want spoilers.
This is Signora's last living moments, when she is confronted by the Raiden Shogun. Signora is basically pleading for her life, so her theme is mixed together with Raiden's while at the same time growing increasingly chaotic (note the syncopated accenting as she grows more panicky). Then the big tension, amd finally the bell toll as Raiden slashes Signora to ashes. There isn't even any resistance by Signora since she's weak after her fight with us.
Then Raiden fights us; hence the "electrifying" techno-style music (electro Shamisen).
The final part I honestly didn't like as much, but in a way it represents Raiden's depressive veil being lifted thanks to her people rising up against her (she's both an antagonist and victim of her "inner demons").
DONT worry a lot the comments ruined it 🤣
I LOVE this theme and everything it represents, to give more context this fight happens inside the mind of the shogun and both phases represent her state of "mood".
how phase 1 has a beating heart throughout the song representing how dangerous and deadly she is, following that all Inazuma songs have a leitmotif being this one of the exceptions, the reason is found when following the main story, but it is It could be summed up that she doesn't want to hear it, she doesn't want to hear Inazuma's voice.
But it is in phase 2 that she really brings out the ability of yu peng chen, she is still dangerous, but she is no longer deadly. the song is epic and even in a sense, friendly.
phase 2 is a discussion, a battle between the great goddess narukami who until now had heard nothing but her own voice to be forced to hear the voice of Inazuma, the voice of her people making her demonstrate through the leitmotif that they will not surrender in being listened to by her, in letting her know of the desires and ambitions they have.
the music responds with force and volume forcing her to shut up (beginning of the phase) and then start arguing with her (Her theme clashes with Inazuma's) this fight continues throughout the song, there are moments where the shogun's theme silences Inazuma's only for the song to gain strength again, but, despite being a discussion at no time, the songs are out of tune, showing that both want coexistence.
Simply wonderful!
im impressed despite not knowing anything on the game i can pinpoint the general themes of what's happing surprisingly accurately just shows how well well writing music can show the emotions with out words.
_"There's a sense you're facing something more deadly"_
_"The 3D sound makes it feel like you can't predict where the next strike will come from."_
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I don't know how you pin pointed that out with just by hearing this EPIC Raiden Shogun's track BUT it's actually the real deal if you decide to play the game. Amazing! No shot you nailed it!👏👏
Your initial impression of this being an infintely more deadly enemy is pretty spot on considering shes the first actual god we fight, and they do portray her as pretty insurmountable even for the protagonist
(Spoiler warning!)
"Whats this La signora theme doing here, are they connected?" If you liked La Signora, you wish they weren't 😭
Cmon man try to not spoil too much. At least put a spoiler warning
@@drpaimon2369 sorry, I thought I made it vague enough not to need one
@@nadejjj2583no need to apologize, I see you've already put a spoiler warning so all's fine 👍
La Signora a playable character when?
@@Ginto_O You're probably joking but it's more likely than you think. We never see her Vision (and she's "Crimson Witch of Embers" instead of "Crimson Witch of Flame") so chances are the version we meet is a clone or fragment or something.
Since you leaked that you have recorded Raiden Shogun in one of the comments, I've been waiting for this!
I hear this and still shudder when I remember the line "Instabilities shall be removed" because I fought her alone with Lumine and no other units, and Lumine with only a sword is a ROUGH way to fight her 😂
Loving your analyses so far, was especially impressed by how accurate your Tartaglia impressions were. As other have pointed out, I definitely recommend checking out the 2.5 Raiden Shogun Battle theme, it just elevates the last part of this one to a whole new level
Lowkey waiting for him to review Symphony of Boreal Wind from the Andrius boss fight. My favorite song from Genshin hands down.
Him?! I’m right here 😭
@@MarcoMeatball oh shoot
Spot on, its like you can see the battle just by listening to the music
Finished The Inazuma quest myself, turns out Raiden's Sword and Signora's whole body were related to each other
Huh? Whole body was related?
Have you observed how the first part is a battle of sounds? You can easily identify the fighters (Signiora and The Shogun) and the winner after that build up, tun-tun-TUNTUN-TUTUTUN.... I love it.
This is definitely the sounds for the Electro archon. Raiden Shogun, the Electro Archon, God of Eternity, Shadow of Thunder and Lightning... Ei.
A great deep Genshin character.
I take whatever I thought moments ago back. I think you not knowing the visuals is actually pretty cool it's very interesting to see you just getting most stuff correctly just from the music.
also I just think you might want to check out the enkanomiya battle themes and just more background music from regions cause some of them just hit so different
There is much beauty and discovery in music for the sake of itself. :)
Man another pretty much spot on interpretation. Gotta say I am most looking forward to when you start getting to the Tsurumi Island Tracks as well as Enkanomiya and the CHASM
Even though it's not typical for your content on this channel, as a Genshin Impact player myself I'd love to see you playing this wonderful and free game ❤️
Well you’re in luck
@@MarcoMeatball are you playing it? if so, will you upload it to UA-cam? I'd love to see it. Greetings from Germany 🖖
I think my favorite theme involving Raiden Shogun is the one from her character demo trailer. it doesn't appear in game I believe but it's so well done. I know (I think) you stopped talking requests from youtube comments but I still think it's worth listening to own your own.
I mean, she did slice through a whole island easily so I can't say she wouldn't do the same to you
1:30 yeah I’d have to say Raiden had a BIG impact on La Signora’s life. Her story couldn’t be told without Raiden that’s for sure
"We never know where the hits will come from": She can literally move at the speed of light, effectivly teleporting. She loves to do the, suddenly I am behind you thing.
I want to note in her second phase you hear a leitmotif of many different bgms playing in the open world of her nation, making you feel very familiar with the theme when you get to the point of the fight
Would love to see you react to her trailer theme as well!
The depth and accuracy in which you describe the character's personality as well as the player's deadly encounter with the Almighty Shogun God of Thunder, and all gleaned from the music alone, it's nothing short of incredible.
Happy to have been recommended this channel. Keep up the great work, Marco!
If you'd like to listen to more beautiful Genshin music, I do highly recommend Liyue's Lantern Rite Theme. :3
Marco: what is Signora doing here?
also Marco: ((names the part, execution))
a fatally funny coincidence
Ending of this theme reminded me pony island with Belzeebub (same demon name as Raiden), where OST for them ended up in same distortion. Like flies/bugs buzzing, but PC version. It fits "Raiden" a little.
One of the Genshin osts I really want you to listen to and analyze is Albedo’s trailer theme, Contemplation in Snow. I really want to hear your thoughts on it and see if you can match it to the character himself because I just cannot understand how it relates to him.
I WAS BOUT TO COMMENT ON THE SIGNORA ONE THAT THIS PART WAS MISSING TY :DD
0:25 I like how he was like "wait a minute, I heard this tone before."
I never have analized or even listen fully the battle themes, but with this one, I was super frustrated and scared for the first time. I thought I was going to get stuck at this battle. But throughout the entire battle a feeling of uneasy and fear always keep building. Now I know why, it was the music. It inmerse you and build up the tension so you can concentrate, you can really focus on how to fight.