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| Left to Right: HIDE-ZOU (Gu.), Tsunehito (Ba.), ASAGI (Vo.), Ruiza (Gu.), Hiroki (Dr.) |
D is the well loved band that is still, some how, considered underground. Having released Huang Di ~ Yami ni Umareta Mukui~ (Yellow Emperor ~The Retribution Born in Darkness~) as a mini-album with 10 tracks, let’s see how this PV goes about…
The warning in the beginning is very relevant to the video itself--it's important that you follow these instructions so you don't hurt your eyes nor receive a headache. They ask you have all the lights on because the scenes flash from light to dark and light again. Every time there is sunlight, Asagi, Ruiza, Hide-Zou, Tsunehito and Hiroki are found wearing attire similar to what they usually would--though Asagi is probably the only one dressed as an emperor. The beat is heavy and fast passed. Takes some getting used to in the first few seconds, but that’s usual for every other new song you hear. Tsunehito does well playing his solo on the bass (as usual) and Hiroki is so obviously focused as Asagi uses gestures with the fan.
During darker scenes, the group is found wearing more casual clothing. Black blazers, slacks and dress shirts. Sometimes a hat. The two scenes don’t exactly fit together for the general idea, though, as the sunlit one is at a shrine by a lake or river and the darker one seems almost as if they are gambling when they sit at the table. When they’re in a limo, that’s when I get really confused. I understand that the darker scenes are like ‘their night in the town’ and such, but what exactly does it have to do with the shrine? The only thing that connects the two scenes is the dragon figurine shown at the beginning and, sometimes, the goldfish in the tank. Other than that, the scenes do fit together pretty nicely as you notice they are inside the said shrine. I don’t really have anything against this video, only some confusion.
Here's some other shots:
The song itself is great! The translations help you better understand the dragon’s figure and the darker scenes, but there’s still no explanation for the limo ride. They’re very emotional and poetic--as you would expect from D. If you listen closely enough, you hear that Asagi didn’t only use Japanese lyrics--he added some Chinese in there as well. If you Google Huang Di alone, you get results of “The Yellow Emperor” of China, Qui Shih Huang (aka Shi Huang Di.) He was a legendary figure to China‘s history for being the “Originator of the Chinese Culture” and the first emperor. Knowing this shows an obvious importance to the song.
The visuals were edited well to go with the tempo of each song. General color schemes fit with some of the concepts of the entire PV. The album artwork features the figurine displayed repeatedly through out the PV.
One of my favorite scenes are at 3:12 when the camera is under water and you see the figurine slowly come up--rotating as it fades away and the camera breaks the surface to reveal them performing on the edge of the waters. (That’s during the line, “Like a rising dragon, I face the skies.” ) That part is so well sequenced. The others I love along with this help to prove they worked hard on the music video. The still images of each member adds to some emotion of the song, but I can’t quite put my finger on it… With Asagi sitting in the chair, at 2:04 and 3:32, he looks like a king of the place (but that may just be in my opinion.)
All of the members appear to be enjoying themselves as you watch and the camera has those sudden close ups of them. You can almost see Hiroki smile!
Overall, for this music video, they’ve done a wonderful job. You just need to remember to blink (even though it is fast paced.) I do recommend you buy it along with the single, but be sure to follow the warning in the beginning. (Otherwise, you can do some serious damage to both your eyes and head.)
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