Single Keyakizaka46 8th [Kuroi Hitsuji] (2019/02/27)

I try to not overread Keyaki singles, but at the same time so much is happening, it's like an invitation for fans to speculate hidden messages. Keyakizaka strength always has been singles that talk to japanese youth.

What's easy to figure out : we want to portray banes of japanese society, specifically japanese youth. Bullying (ijime), loneliness, overwork, grief, anxiety (unemployment), depression (adults scolding you)...

I don't think we should dissociate characters and techi. All those feelings are happening inside her, and she's struggling to sort them out. She tries to embrace those feelings (hugs), but sometime fails to do so (being pushed back). Why do i think it's impersonal? Because Techi never look at characters. She always has her head down. Her body is shivering. Struggling with herself what to do. The focus is on techi so formation does not matter.

First, she's holding tight to her flower bouquet. The first part is a mix of hugs and push back. As the sequence goes on, you notice she lost bits of the flower bouquet. At the end she lost it.
In the second sequence, the pace is stronger, harder, messier. She doesn't have bouquet anymore and only get pushed back relentlessly. There's no mercy, it's like she's sunken deep in those incontrollable feelings. It really hurts.

She then find her former self (a part of her where there was still happiness with her family), giving her the bouquet again, like telling her to keep hope. Still dizzy, but holding tight to it. You notice that in opposition to the dark hallway pictured in sequence one and two, kid techi is standing in a beacon of light, with candles and a stairway. Coincindentally, there's angelic voice mumbling.

Third sequence, rooftop. She shouts "it's okay if it's only me". Is it acceptance of her distress? I would say no. She goes back to the hug and push back, but the choregraphy is still fierce. But not messier. She has the bouquet, she fight back. This time hugs are happening. Whole heartedly. Once she lose the bouquet in one swing, telling the fierceness of the choregraphy, but someone hugs and give it back.

We focus solely on techi, expressing the turmoil that is inside her. She's not a victim because she fights back. It's hard but you have to hold back. It's hard because you fight back with love (hug) and not violence. Risk in being victim of violence, you become violent yourself to protect yourself. Like a disease. You notice that Techi is pushed around, but never push back. She always try to hug.

And one thing, it was done in one shot. So everything needed to be perfect. Otherwise you have to restart back to sequence 1.
Storytelling is on point. Despite picturing a super dark MV, when you look behind the lines the message is positive : keep holding tight.

I was concerned that Keyaki is affected negatively of the triple graduation. But kuroi sheep is the best answer : they still have a lot to convey, and keep their identity on point.
Looking forward the live performance.

edit: during neru's part, props to the guy who put all his strength to fall down the stairs. I laughed at that part. Majime to create the perfect roll

 

God Techi is such a star

 

There's this part after koike's in the bathtub wher Habu and a bunch of people wlak by. Is the person next to Habu Zummin?

 

No, I'm not sure if it is a member. You can see her dancing at 4:00 minutes on the right side when Techi and Yui hug each other and at 4:43 behind Yui. I didn't see her before.
Btw that part when she hug Nijika, then she is pushed and hug Koike in the bathtub, its the saddest part for me, so emotionnal.

@gocchisama
Great analysis, I can't imagine how much times they did have to restart filming everything.

I wonder if at 2:29, those are members pictures ?

 

Auntie in the roof had more screen time than some Keyakizaka46 members lol


https://twitter.com/toomuchidea/status/1091244253571801088?s=19


Sent from my Redmi Note 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

I heard Japanese fans speculated because it has suicide theme in it.

 

This PV is so emotional and outstanding T^T, I want to share my POV about the PV, sorry for my poor English.

About the red flower, it has a lot of meaning like ukifune mention above but mostly it related to the death. In Buddhism, 彼岸花 "far-shore flower" will carry the memory and guide the dead people to hell, it also refer to the dead whisper. As we seen in the beginning of the PV, there is someone who just have committed suicide with a ring of these red flower around and then Techi appeared with a bouquet of the red flower; so I think Techi was dead at the beginning and we see the flashback of her memory for the rest of the PV.

Through the flashback, it depicts perfectly the problems in the Japanese society in a straight way, not just some hidden message.
- First of all, the scene of a brown dresser, Ozeki, is facing the pressure of learning from her parents, wanting to give up -> throwing books and flipping the table.
- The scene of Shiichan when she was arrested by the police, next to a kombini employee - a convenience store, with two woman chatting behind, Shiichan wearing Yankee clothes, could be accused as a thief for her looks. You also can see 2 men behind throwing money, could be Yakuza.
- After that is Monta scene, she is a hikikomori who withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement.
- The scene of Akane, only her and a man seem very violent so it can be about the problem in relationship between wife and husband or couple
- Yuipon scene, easily to recognize it is about the bullying in school, Yuipon is the victim.
- After that is Nijika, her colleagues yelling at her - working pressure, overwork...
- The scene of Koike, she smirk when reading on her mobile and then she try to suicide by cutting her wrist -> may be about cyber bullying.
- Risa scene, she has been sexual harassment by two men.
- The scene with a lot of member go together with Habu and Ozeki in front, I have a feeling it's about LGBT. You can see Habu hug Ozeki in front, the same with 2 guys on the back.
- Neru scene, she seem to be a graduate student and has just false a job interview. Long lines on the left are those who are still struggling to get a job. In this section there is a scene of someone who fall down the stairs, an employee who are just been fired.
- Monta and Naako scene, they are standing without soul on the stair with baby dolls around, there is also someone holding a baby in the back -> Abandoned Children.

- The most important scene is Techi scene, start with happy family then she grew up, received a lot of criticism, and finally couldn't stand. Techi, rushed into the dark society and accepted to mix with those "white sheep", "the black sheep" was still rejected by everyone. When people go to the light Techi is the one left behind. While suffering from chasing the other people, Techi saw herself again, and received back the red flowers. The flower means her true self, her soul; taking it back means taking her soul back. And it's more than that if you looking back. Techi try to reach them, try to make them accept her in other way she try to make them accept their own true self, their soul and speak out their own voices.

- There are people who initially accepted Techi (Nijika, Shiichan ...) but pushed her out: they fought with themselves, wanted to show off but ended up doing nothing.
- There are people who face violence, but cannot speak like Risa (this reflects through her passive movements between 2 men)
- Yuipon was ostracized by giving conflicting opinions (black sheep word on the wardrobe), though she once wanted to protest but ended up giving up that thought => Yuipon protested his ego quite fiercely, and also the most confused person (push Techi at first then accept her). => the extremely painful current school violence in Japan, it can change a person's future, can also kill them, but Japanese students refuse to oppose it. Instead, they let themselves become one of the bully.
- There are people who got prolem in psychological, family and social problems (Neru, Monta, Akane, ...) but do not want to protest.
- There are people who follow their own will but ended up harmful to their families and relatives. They blame and torment themself for it (Yuuka strongly rejects Techi)
- Those who are forced to do what they do not want, pressure comes from many sides (Ozeki, Oda, Nijika ...)
- People who want to commit suicide instead of strongly opposing their criticism on social networks (Miichan ...)

====> They are all people who need to stand up to speak out for themselves, to change what happens, but they reject it.

The final scene, Techi (The black sheep) brought his ego to face all the people (the white sheep) at the end. Techi may have said "I am alone", meaning that I will always be a black sheep, I am no one else. Then run to face each person, those people can understand Techi but because this society is not for different people, adults don't like rebellious children. This dance, you can see two people as parent characters in the happy birthday scene earlier, the father grabbed Techi force her to give up the bouquet of red flower, not letting the child live his own way, then throwing her away to the mother, the mother put the bouquet back into the hands of her child, meaning "to live my life". At that time, Techi thought everyone would support her, because everyone hugged her, put that bouquet into Techi's hands, but in return techi was the one who ran the opposite site.

====> People embrace the black sheep like embracing their most true ego for the last time and letting it go, letting it die.

In summary, there are 2 meanings of the PV I think

1. Techi symbolizes "black sheeps" in this society, wanting to help people but no one followed her.
2. Techi is a true ego of a human being, wants to be different, want to say what they thinks, wants to do what they wants, but is obscured by "white sheeps" in the society.

Thanks for reading

 

@Blackcat911 amazing analysis! So that's why other black sheeps ended up in the different side from Techi. They decided to be white sheeps. Personally I interpreted the PV similar to the one in sakamichidaily (she died instead of other people who wanted to die). But I think your analysis is more spot on

Also, about the problem of overworking, I now remember why Nijika's scene hurts me more than others. There were times when I was so tired working in a project. Nobody helped. My superior gave me more and more pressure. I didn't want to bother others, so I never told anyone. When I was so tired, I read an article about a Japanese woman who committed suicide because the pressure of overwork. She told her mother before she decided to end her life, "Why does life have to be so hard?" I guess Nijika's scene reminds me of my memory, the case of death from overworking, and her words. I cried because even though I have passed through that phase, there are still so many people who are crushed by the pressure of work.

Say what you want about Keyakizaka46. But their dark and edgy songs actually convey the feeling of many people out there. It's not as simple as "I'm different" or "adults are my enemy".

 

I didn't notice Yuuka and Akanen, where are they in this MV?

 

Nen at 00:46 and 01:46
Sugai at 01:05

 

u guys are really good in finding the members on this MV, also can come with a good explanation in each of the choreo movement i'm still struggling to find them all on the MV

 

Just to give my compliments to @Blackcat911 for that amazing interpretation of the MV.
I don't even wanna know how many time you watched it but I surely will look at it with new eyes now. Good job.

 

I watched the mv, the song is so good and I really I adore Techi, specially how she express the lyrics, she is wonderful .

 

Twitter:
@maris_senpai46: "Can we have a live performance of this song where is just Techi hugging all the Keyaki members for 5 minutes. That's all I want. Thanks."
-- Sounds good to me. Those hugs were so whole-hearted (and desperate). Maybe she learned from Memi constantly hugging her, lol.

Still not up on YouTube. Loses a lot of clicks, and therefore potential sales, as well as ranking. Maybe it really is the potential references to suicide, although one comment said there are other songs that refer to it. I even wonder (wildly) if they are setting up a controversy on purpose, for publicity. In any case, I hope they get it on YouTube soon. Like Saturday noon (24hrs after the release onto the official site).

YouTube Help doesn't seem to ban videos concerning suicide, just wants to get help to people who seem to be considering it. Here's what it says (English and Japanese appear to be the same):

Spoiler: YouTube help re suicide and self-injury

Sometimes people may upload videos or post comments in which they express thoughts about suicide, self-injury, or depression. If you're having these types of feelings, or know someone else who may need help, please take a look at the resources, tips, and tools below.

Tips and advice
If you come across content in which someone is suicidal or engaging in self harm, please contact local authorities and flag the video to bring it to our immediate attention. We reach out to these individuals with resources and work with suicide prevention agencies to provide assistance when possible.

If you or someone else is being harassed, please report the abusive content using our reporting tool and seek guidance from a trusted adult, friend or relevant organisation.

Comments on the song from members:

Koike Minami: "It's a song that gives you a tight feeling in the chest. A song that gave me a lot of support.

Watanabe Risa
"Its the song so far that gives the biggest push in the back. It changes your feelings and your way of thinking."
(Hannya Kaneda asked if it was the song members praised most: "Yes, it is."

Sugai Yuuka:
"When I first heard the song, somehow such tears sprang to my eyes."
"Everyone said: 'I want this to be a song that will help people who are suffering.'"

Saitou Fuyuka:
"No matter how many times I listen to it, I end up crying."
"I pray that this one Keyakizaka46 song will save the hearts of many people."

Moriya Akane:
"Whenever I listen to this song, I get goosebumps."
"It's a blessing to have been given such a fantastic song to sing."
"The more I read the lyrics of this song, the more I admire the black sheep."

Kobayashi Yui:
"I cried when we were shooting this. Everyone cried. It was an MV shot through our tears."

Oda Nana:
"[The Black Sheep MV] is really...emotional...and not just emotional in places."
"I've watched this so many times. The song is good, too."

Ishimori Nijika:
"I want to help many people with this song."

Satou Shiori:
It's really a good song. Above all, I want to convey the meaning of this song. I want to convey it to everyone: young and old, male and female."

Uemura Rina:
"Watching the MV, all the members cried. As I watched Techi in the MV, tears burst from my eyes. I cried so much my head hurt (laughs)"

Nagasawa Nanako:
"The 8th is a moving song. Lots of members say it's their favorite so far."
"Watanabe Rika says 'this song is so good' every time. I really, really love it, too."

Ozeki Rika:
"It's a song that speaks the heart. And it's a song that makes me love music more and more. Even more, it's a song where we come to love each other more and more."

EDIT:
Habu Mizuho
"On the singing side, even I felt tears coming. An amazing number of members wept."
"When we were singing, all the members did the feelings of a black sheep in their different ways."

Suzumoto Miyu
"This song changed me. I want it to become a song people love."
"Because we cherish the world-view of this song so much, at live performances I personally would like people to hold back on the calls, etc."

 

i can't believe i cried watching the mv

 

The director, Shinguu Ryouhei 新宮良平, has a trademark of putting a seagull in his MVs somewhere (at least his Keyaki MVs). In this case, it is briefly on a TV screen in the background at about 02:45.

 

Everything about the MV is too emotional ;_;
Techi must be exhausted being pushed around like that lol. Everyone's acting was amazing, I was impressed. The front row members stood out especially. The suicide theme was pretty explicit in the MV, like with Koike in the bathtub. Personally speaking, I'm not very good at handling dark topics, so I kind of wish the ending showed a more explicit sign of hope.
I'm kind of worried about the whole Techi and dying thing. At the end of the Kaze ni Fukaretemo MV, Techi ascends into the sky and this was supposed to symbolize a funeral but... why a funeral? What does a funeral have to do with the rest of that MV? And now we have some suggestions that Techi was the one who died at the crime scene in the beginning of Kuroi Hitsuji. Why does Techi always have to die.

 

This is definitely one of the best MVs I have ever seen.

I think there are many layers to its meaning. It can be interpreted from many standpoints.

I think the most important one is about the sacrifices Techi has to make because of her added responsibilities in the group. In a sense, she grieves herself, because she has never been able to live for herself.

Miichan's character is particularly touching and her acting extremely convincing. She has seemed depressed lately. In a way the whole group has but her in particular I feel.

 

It will be interesting to see this performance on music show.

 

childish gambino-ish mv

i usually skip long reviews but this is very nice read +1