I Listened to The Circle (Bedman? Theme) from Guilty Gear for the First time....

[@sirzorg5728]

Bedman went from reddit atheist to a genuinely sympathetic man trapped between life and death in a hell of his own choice, chosen so that he can still protect his sister Delilah.

[@TewiInabaChan]

Honestly, remove atheist, Redditor is more than enough to describe it.

[@jay9344]

So, the story you were reading at the end was the story of Bedman in Guilty Gear Xrd, not Bedman? in Guilty Gear Strive. Bedman, as you know, is a boy plagued with a disease that forces him to be asleep permanently lest his mind collapses under the weight of his own thoughts. The same goes for his sister, Delilah, which you can see here. His goal was to create an absolute world where him and his sister could live freely and happily. At the end of Xrd, Bedman died but through a last ditch effort lifted the disease from his sister which allowed her to wake up. Instead of fully passing on however, a part of Bedman's soul ended up in his bedframe, which was his "weapon" in Xrd. A robot killing machine of sorts. This ties into the whole robotic feel of the song. The "copy that" being a reference to programming and (I don't know what you called it?) the same-pitch singing which gives it that monochrome feel. The Circle in this song describes the circle of life and dead and how instead of passing on into heaven (beautiful chants, tender warmth etc), he is now stuck in this rotting decaying bedframe, unable to speak, store memories and feel emotion in general. He is simply motivated by that primal instinct to protect Delilah. ("I'm here", "I'll never make you cry even once") Quite morbid when you think about it. Though I did love your musical analysis quite a bit. Especially the part where the instrumental nearing the end signalled anger in your eyes, which is quite fitting if you ask me. Great video as always! Well done!

[@AHylianWarrior]

Lets not forget in the story mode of Strive, Delilah is desperately trying to stop Bedman? from destroying himself and only stopped fighting when she pleaded him to stop

[@leithaziz2716]

This is a really competent explanation. I now understand some details which went over my head before, thanks! That's rather the duality of this series. Having to explain to someone the lore before we can explain to them why it's so good. Allthough we already do the same here in this channel with Dark Souls so we're used to it.

[@shadow0fx]

I always took Bedman's lines about beautiful chanting, radiant light, and tender warmth to mean Heaven. That Bedman is coming to terms with the fact that there is no Heaven or Hell, simply nothingness. He spirals, falls into a panic attack upon realizing there is Nothing Here (You *can't* see the radiant light) and the solo is him choosing to stay in the bed to protect Delilah (the final "Copy That" sounding human and "I may not be able to make you smile..."). It's really intriguing that you took it in seemingly an opposite direction. I feel that's credit to Daisuke's lyricism

[@StarfieldDisarray]

I think it's intentionally ambiguous whether or not Bedman's soul is actually in the bed or if it's following some final post-mortem orders. Though I am definitely a fan of Bedman being a literal ghost in the machine.

[@exec_rigveda8299]

its also implied that the reason his soul is stuck at the bed is because there is no real heaven or afterlife

[@agnus2087]

IMO, the "circle" refers to the circle of reincarnation from Hinduism, hence the sitar in the song. The song is about how Bedman, who died in in the Xrd story, literally pulled himself out of the cycle of reincarnation by attaching his soul to the broken bed so he could go back to protecting his sister, despite all the suffering it causes him.

[@yolomcswaggins4929]

It's so interesting because in GG there is an equivalent to the Christian concept of God in the backyard, meaning the that the "begging" segment (when the bridge has that bull-horn effect) may very well be his mortal soul trying to parley with his creator. The idea that he chose an existence of being an eternally tortured zombie to protect his little sister is pretty close to peak fiction.

[@thepowerfulwill1572]

Strive does have other elements of reicarnation about it, with Potemkins "Nirvanaaaa" corus is his theme, and the hindu gods on his super. Its not impossible the influence spread to our bed boys theme too.

[@lukelmaooooo]

the way Naoki delivers the last "I'm here, I'm here" always makes me sad. to me it sounds like the final stage of grief, where he knows he'll never get the chance to be with his sister as himself, and accepts his role as a silent protector

[@Doug-Strong]

The first few times I listened to this song I was bawling by the time the song ended. It's so emotionally charged, and even before I understood the lyrics completely I knew there was immense sorrow and regret.

[@SincereSneakyy]

I actually think the last chorus might signify him breaking out - whether it's foreshadowing or just for the song, I unno. Notice he last says "I struggled to go outside the circle" before repeating the chorus, but he doesn't repeat "on the border of the circle" because he already left, making the last "I'm here, I'm here" seem a lot more hopeful

[@tyrantravealpha]

The first couple of times he does it, it's as if he's crying to be heard and acknowledged, and the last time is just him reassuring Delilah. Ugh my heart.

[@MarcoMeatball]

thank you so much for the explanations! I actually HEAR the music differently listening to it a second time now.

[@cycy8699]

GGS songs always hit so much harder when you get the context

[@Lyn-wn9vy]

You’re saying… you DO hear the beautiful chant?

[@krnprsd498]

@@Lyn-wn9vyHe sees the circle

[@MeltedSea]

@@krnprsd498Does he feel a tender warmth?

[@mistah3687]

Yeah, Bedman?’s story is heartbreaking

[@Erigon247]

The lore of bedman is genuinely incredible

[@Erigon247]

he's also not in an alternate reality, he's in the afterlife. he dies at the end of XrD, he describes his afterlife and how he will still help his sister from beyond the grave

[@maxmanchik]

​@@Erigon247 He isn't actually in the afterlife. Afterlife is heaven and Bedman (Romeo) sacrificed his way to heaven by locking himself in Nirvana (which is basically purgatory). He doesn't feel anything in there except connection to Delilah (which is consistent to all characters who died but returned from the dead)

[@Sassaparilla]

@@Erigon247 Yes, he dies at the end of Xrd. However, the lyrics do not imply Romeo (Bedman's actual name) ever reached the afterlife. It is implied that Romeo is actually in a state of limbo, having forgone his chance at an afterlife and trapping himself in the Backyard. Notably, the Backyard is an endless white abyss filled with all of the information of reality. A mistake in the transcribing of The Circle's lyrics is that the line is "Consuming ten billion years in an instant". The only place that could be done is in the Backyard. Furthermore, the "Chant" segment hints towards this whole concept. He can't see, or hear, or feel anymore. He is without a God to give him relief, stuck in a purgatory state. All at the cost of keeping his sister safe and giving her the room to grow.

[@bluegrassdude7532]

Man become bed 😮

[@Erigon247]

Its not THE afterlife, but he is dead, this purgatory is HIS afterlife

[@Boygamer0312]

The words that come to mind for this song are "i must scream but i have no mouth and no words"

[@morronnazi7425]

"hate. let me tell you how much i've c-"

[@abrarnoorani8385]

So, in this case, Guilty Gear has a theme of all characters that are revived being reduced to their basest desires. In Bedman's case, he died at the end of the previous game and shoved some of his will into the bed before he passed on with the sole goal of protecting his sister (the girl you see on the bed). The faith and the references to nothingness then refer to how he has forsaken the perfect world (the afterlife) which he had strived to create on Earth all his life to be with his sister (thus the final chorus) which goes to retroactively reveal just how much of a driving force Delilah was to him.

[@stuckincollege1778]

Small correction(or just some context): It's never stated if bedman is in the bed, became the bed, put his will into it, if the bed is following his order or if the bed just knew to protect Delilah

[@YouCanCallMeIz]

@@stuckincollege1778 Well, it's kept ambiguous, but it's pretty obvious what's implied in both the story mode and most of the extra content and arcade mode. Bedman is inside the bed.

[@chrisbaldwin8570]

@@stuckincollege1778 I mean, it's pretty well spelled out in the song "Welcome to the infinite world. What's my end game? There came a "0". Sent here, there is a silence everywhere... No peace either. " From the lyrics you can infer that there at least two things communicating with each other. One speaking in binary, the other conscious enough of it's situation to recognize the what sort of world it was in, that it couldn't be at peace, and to think about it's goals. 0 in binary is to represent false or untrue statements or states, and it could be read "Whats my end game? There came a "negative". This could be used to mean many things at once, from Bedman himself being a fake copy to no longer being capable of an end state, since he is beyond life and death in the data. If this isn't Bedman or a construct made by Bedman and the bed itself, who do you think it is?

[@daniilikyay4949]

@@chrisbaldwin8570 Also, the very last lyrics are "I'm here, I'm here", which to me clearly says that he is in the bed, but not in which way.

[@Гангстер-с6ф]

But did Bedman forsake the afterlife? I thought that song's lyrics literally say: "I died and there is nothing beyond life because God cannot feel all those things people feel. Things like the brightness of light, the beauty of sounds and the tenderness of warmth, so I'll do anything I can in this state to protect my sister".

[@decafleon]

"i cant believe the guilty gear has a story like this" is exactly why i love it so much

[@spencer9305]

PLEASE do Bedman’s previous theme called: “Does the Sheep Count The Sheep?”. An instrumental piece that holds SO much emotion.

[@ihk_dirbyh4420]

This song's lyrics are very lore dependent, so here's the very rough TL;DR Bedman was this powerful guy stuck in a coma, so he used that robot bed to fight while he slept in it. In the last game, he was manipulated by the villain, then at the very end when he was able to wake up, he realized villain was evil and she immediately killed him. As he lay dying, he used his powers to lock himself out of an afterlife to "atone". Later in GG Strive, his younger sister Delilah learns about his death and goes on a revenge mission. Being just a kid with unstable powers, it goes awry, so Bedman's spirit shows up possessing the bed like a husk, vowing to fight in her stead. SOooo the lyrics are about him saying he's stuck in purgatory (the "circle" of death and rebirth). He lived a life of wrongs and at this point, all he wants to do is protect his Delilah from beyond the grave.

[@Sassaparilla]

She didn't kill him. He died from burnout, almost killing her in his final moments, but turning to stone before succeeding in erasing her from existence.

[@benjaminrosiek5007]

Bedman knew all along she was evil. and was willing to be accomplice on the basis that he could undo everything once he had achieved ultimate power through her. this was a lie, she had no intention of letting him do that. In retaliation he struck out at her with all his might, which posed a serious threat to her; but he was too slow to bring his might to bear, and died from his illness once he'd let all the limiters off of himself.

[@LeFisheboi]

Worth noting Ariels/Universal Will would have 100% died to Romeo, but having Happy Chaos rattling around in her was enough to save her skin

[@jacobkilby3533]

the circle in the song could be the "Samsara" the infinite cycle of death and rebirth, given that its possible the original bedman's mind may reside within the machine latching onto the emotion of protecting his sister to recall any piece left of his consciousness from the infinite void he finds himself in.

[@Sparking_Ram]

I have a little sister who I would actually die for and that's not exaggerating. So when this song came out we listened to it on repeat for like 2 hours and I almost cried. It resonates with us so much that if we're ever feeling down we listen to it and almost instantly feel better because it reinspires us to be strong for each other. It also completely turned my opinion of Bedman around and he's probably my second favorite character now behind Ky.

[@unnamedx2]

Basically he's died and he's trying to find a way out through his intelligence, the song seems to be a stream of consciousness of this process, as his minds fades, as he desperately tries to cling to life

[@KazeMemaryu]

The Circle can be interpreted in two ways - at least, from my view. The main idea that most people agree on is that this is the farewell message of the "original" Bedman, a boy named Romeo (I'm not kidding), who wanted to create a world in which both he and his sister, Delilah, can live freely. They both suffer from incredibly powerful psychic abilities that would fry their brains from the flood of information if they remain conscious for too long, so they're both kept in a coma. When Romeo died, he used his powers one waking moment to seal away those of his sister, which resulted in her finally waking up. Under those circumstances, The Circle is basically the afterlife as Bedman leaves. He sent a part of himself into the bedframe to watch over his sister, which fulfills that task with zero emotion attached to it. This phenomenon has also been observed by the first man brought back from the dead, Zato, who was revived without his soul, but all his memories, and continues to pursue the goals of his former self, but without the emotional obsession that ultimately twisted him and got him killed in the past. Personally, I see a bit more behind the lyrics. Bedman went into The Circle after his death, and begins processing the information around him rapidly ("Consuming ten million years in an instant"). And instead of surrendering himself to the cycle of death and rebirth, he resists. He mocks "god's creation" as something detached and unfeeling, something devoid of humanity. And so, he slowly breaks through to send commands to his bedframe and control it from afar (hence the monotonous "Copy That"), making sure Delilah won't be in danger. Soon, he realizes that while he is happy for his sister, he wants to be with her as well, and attempts to speak to her, but because her psychic abilities were sealed away by him, she cannot hear him. But he refuses to give up, resulting in the more emotional refusal of his situation ("No home, no Peace, no Hope"), with the resulting "Copy That" affirming that he managed to return ("I struggled to move outside The Circle"). This is then reaffirmed by him no longer referring to himself as being "on the border of The Circle", but rather being HERE, right by Delilah's side. That strongly implies to me that he fully transferred himself into the bedframe and is trying to speak with her.

[@sebbo._.]

I actually really love this take.

[@asolomoth1066]

One thing that I noticed no one pointed out - After the first two times Naoki sings "Copy that," you hear two mechanical whirs (one in each ear if you have headphones), and, to me, it reinforces the idea of Bedman's soul reaching the bedframe and getting it to power up to protect Delilah

[@RasenCore]

Ok a bit of backstory since you basically read only Xrd's bit: the original Bedman dies during Xrd's story but achieves his goal of saving his sister Delilah. The bed-robot is now tasked to protect her in his stead but it seems to be somewhat erratic and acting out it's programming. The common theory is that Romeo (we find out that it was Bedman's real name during Bedman?'s arcade mode in Strive) is stuck in Samsara (hence the Sitar you hear in the song), unwilling to go through with the cycle of rebirth while controlling the bedframe from the afterlife, he literally can't go outside "the circle" that is limbo. Also during arcade mode and the secondary story mode the bed is seemingly trying to fight strong opponents, searching for someone to take it's place in protecting Delilah and/or destroying it in the process, so that Romeo can finally be free.

[@joekewl7539]

That slow breakdown is so POWERFUL. Mournfully asking God piercing questions, only to become resolute and spiteful. There is so much power and emotion put into that "NO." So much anger put into each "you can't" Knowing Bedman's Lore and how he essentially turned against the capital G God of the series universe and cheated the very rules of death just to protect his sister. Bedman is one of the best written cases of a Revenant (character given undeath to fulfill a specific purpose) EVER. This track is the best one since Mirror of the World.

[@TheNeoVid]

Arc System Works' founder is also the studio's original composer. The music is never a secondary concern in their game or character designs, and it's awesome.

[@SynonyrnCroastTunch]

I love how raw Naoki's vocals are with this

[@dizzykay9904]

fun fact about "the tender warmth": he says his sister, delilah, never got to feel the tender warmth of her mother implying she died at childbirth. delilah is his only family and likely the only person hes felt that kind of warmth from

[@sodathejunker]

The song screams of anxiety, uncertainty, insecurity, and a lack of identity… but there is that singular voice in the back trying to stabilize it all. “I’m here, I’m here.” “Copy that” with servos and rev ups and robotic tones… To me it really feels like the remnants of Bedman(within the bed) simple and singularly focused on protecting, all the while his sister Delilah dealing with and contemplating everything happening around her in equal amounts gratitude and fear. “Distressing” is a great word.

[@coconutbun37]

The song is likely about Bedman being dead But from the dead in some way either by his creations still working without him (his bed) or him possessing it as a ghost, his will to make a better world for his sister still lives on "I may not be able to make you smile, But I’ll never make you cry even once"

[@shadow0fx]

This is something I don't think anyone's pointed out but a lot of people feel so I'm gonna try to describe it: I love the way the line "I'm here, I'm here" changes throughout the song. The first two times are a call, a cry out of existence, "I'm here on the border of the circle" (the border of life and death). However, after Bedman resolves to protect Delilah, the tone and context of the line changes. It turns from a call for help into words of reassurance, the way a parent would comfort a child or in this case, an older brother would comfort a younger sister. "It's okay. I'm here, I'm here." Absolutely genius

[@sarevokbg5062]

This is my favorite song so far! This song is deeply rooted in Buddhism and the “Circle” refers to the cycle of life and death that we all endure. That’s why that sitar that you caught make sense to me as it’s the instrument of Indo-China associated with the religion. I see this song as a Bedman who gave up his life to save his sister’s but he realizes that he can’t protect her if he’s reborn again. He gives up his religion and his chance at reincarnation to become the bed with no mind, just a desire to protect his sister. He has put himself in limbo with no light, pitch black, all for the sake of his sister. As someone with siblings this song legitimately made me cry because I know I would do the same and “come to them without a second thought.” There is a lot to this song to break down especially through the lens of Buddhism. One that I would love to do but not through a KZbin comment lol. Keep up the amazing content!

[@MizukiStone44]

You know a thing, I noticed re-watching this is just how savagely Bedman fights in the clips. Like there is a level of desperation, aggression, and 'outrage' you just don't see from most of the other fighters, and I think that's because unlike them, he's got someone, someone he loves _desperately_, that he's dedicated his life to protecting, right there on the battlefield, in danger once again. With that in mind, I can't help but wonder if any of that same desperation, outrage, and urge to protect is represented in the song. I mean the 'I'm here' part yeah, but even the comments on the things he endured can be viewed as a sort of vibe of 'You think you can get through me? I've endured all this shit! You're nothing to me!'

[@AnneAleph]

The reprise of the "Do you see the radiant light" part is so good because it feels like the realization "Whatever higher powers exist, they will not lead me to what I love... so I'll just have to do it myself", followed by a successful attempt at reaching past "the circle", of reaching the person they wanted to protect

[@KingOfFools784]

Little note, the lyrics written for this video are misheard and are instead “consuming ten billion years in an instant”

[@vernaltear]

Source?

[@jackjohnson6368]

​@@vernaltear "my source is that I made it the fuck up" In all seriousness though, these lyric videos are always riddled with errors until the official lyrics come out years later so he's probably right that it's wrong, maybe just not right with the replacement

[@Roy-zi5vt]

Supposedly it's "countered into a billion and that means that" acccording to Spotify that just doesn't sound right

[@The_Blazelighter]

Not the only lyric I disagee with here. "Where I'm left and can't reach. White black, through the mold" Sounds much better to me as "World I left and can't reach. White black, through the walls."

[@Noebody6970]

​@VernalTear Spotify has the correct lyrics i think

[@dabiga2315]

CloudDrop noted recently that Naoki confirmed that the lyric is "Consuming ten billion years", not "Comes to me ten billion years"

[@EekoBZP]

It's crazy, I project so hard into these lyrics that I can't listen to this song without crying. To me it's the ultimate anthem of standing against your own despair, and finding a reason to exist through that. Bedman is stuck in essentially hell, completely isolated from anyone else, but still finds meaning in protecting his sister. It also serves as a metaphor for depression for me. Finding a reason to live on because of the bonds you share with other people.

[@AegisKHAOS]

Everyone else already commented on the lore of Bedman and Delilah, so all I will say is I am happy to see you listen to another GG track, and hope to see more fighting game music in the near future.

[@oktodragon2743]

8:46 “Oh lord this lore’s got hands” - Someone who did a breakdown of a small portion of guilty gear lore

[@thunderultra]

Ow sheesh man, coming right up with a banger theme! I love Circle, not only for how it sounds, but also the lore behind it. This one i literally the best one in that department. There is actually a short story of bedman written somhere, I'll edit it into that comment once I find it. Ok, there it is: The original Bedman was an extremely powerful psychic that had to be kept in a coma, or else he would be overwhelmed by the power and die. Despite this, he acted as an assassin by being strapped into a robotic bedframe that he could control and use his powers through even when asleep. He acted as an assassin to find a way to cure his sister who suffered from the same condition of power overload killing her if she ever woke up. He thought he had found a way, but his client betrayed him and he was forced to wake up to defend himself in battle. Awake and able to use his full power but actively dying, he was able to in his last moments limit his sisters powers so that she could wake up safely. This sister, Delilah, is who we have here, along with the battered but still functional bedframe. But this isn't the end. Bedman, being as powerful as he is, was able to escape the circle of rebirth and trap himself in limbo. He did this so that he would be able to keep protecting his sister even after death, by giving commands to the bedframe he is still connected to. The song is about this, how he has abandoned the possibility of a warm afterlife or a gentle rebirth in favour of a continued existence in endless nothingness, just to keep protecting his sister.

[@juasjuasi4750]

Marco for more context, you need to know that Bedman is dead by the time Strive came out. And the bed machine is without a master, with the programing task to protect the little girl you see in the video, Delilah. However we see in the story that the machine is not acting totally like a machine. I hope with this bit of context you can understand better the lyrics

[@robdotgif]

Ok so radiant light, beautiful chant, tender warmth, all of these sound like to classic description of heaven BUT you CANT see the radiant light you CANT hear the beautiful chant you CANT feel the tender warmth My interpretation is that this is bedman's final remnant of consciousness at the moment of his death beign sad, angry, dissapointed, betrayed after at the lack of an afterlife. "there came a zero" "theres silence everywhere" "no peace either" "no beginign and no end" "nothing here pitch black pure white all the same" He feels the numbness of passing into non-existence with no radiant light, no beautiful chant, no tender warmth. The border of the circle itself representing the threshold between life and death

[@yubul]

Always love some Guilty Gear! Hoping we'll see a "Necessary Discrepancy" or "Mirror of the World" reaction sometime.

[@TRDEWH]

On paper Bedman is a character I shouldn't have ever cared about, and even when playing Xrd in its first couple years as a fighting game I thought he was so boring and weird. But after watching the story his motives and actions genuinely moved me to tears. It really reminded me to listen to what an artist wants to say with something instead of judging it by my own preconceived notions of what a story or character should be or is. He was such an interesting antagonist and counterpart to Ramlethal. I was honestly completely unsure how they would handle his theme when the announced Bedman? as a character but it's honestly perfect.

[@tenshi6160]

please you need to hear let me carve your way you're gonna love it

[@Craft2299]

From the lyrics I feel, and knowing a little bit about Bedmans story, and the new name of the new character being "Bedman?". I think the music embodies what Bedman IS. Bedman is in Limbo, between life and death (Edge of the circle). The circle is god. He questions feeling heaven, but no he really does not. Bedmans Bed, in this case, "Bedman?" is in a self-destructive mode. Going out to be destroyed, but also fighting back at the same time. While being protective of his sister, and the sister trying to stop Bedman"?" from going completely out.

[@Sentay0]

I feel like the circle could refer to the absolute world he wanted or expectations placed on him he was a villain but he was motivated by love and the desire to help his sister (pitch black, pure white) when he says that he struggled to go outside the circle I hear it less as I struggled to leave heaven, hell, or limbo but more he struggled to be real to himself and his sister because his drive to achieve this thing were so potent. Classic character is really smart but can't admit / acknowledge something core about themselves.

[@the-true-nopeman7789]

I find guilty gear strive to have godly themes when it comes to lore. If ya want a few suggestions. I'd recommend Hellfire (Leo Whitefangs theme) and Alone Infection (Fausts theme). They are real good.

[@nevrikx]

Two very different depressing themes too

[@the-true-nopeman7789]

Yeah. Ones a rambling of thoughts and doubts and the other is a chaotic mess of multiple different minds

[@Soulxstar]

6:17 this portion of the song to me is Romeo (bedman) being both mad and disappointed at the afterlife for not having what he truly desire, he's not gonna pass away yet because whatever they have to offer it's not what he want that's why the tone goes from dissatisfaction to new purpose, he reject afterlife and make his duty to protect his sister

[@Darklord359]

I love the Strive OST cause is such a fresh take on rock/metal. Would love to hear your thoughts on Zato 1 and Happy Chaos' themes cause those are my favorites

[@LtSprinkulz]

"I'm here." Just repeating at the end like a plea RUINS me. This soundtrack is full of songs that make me cry like a bitch.

[@Walt_Chocolate]

This song is like a sloppy joe of music genres. It's practically all over the place but it's cohesive enough to understand how to consume it. After awhile you just go with it and enjoy it for what it is and worry about the heartburn later.

[@Shaymin0]

This might be one of the most emotional guilty gear strive songs. Bedmans soul is in an internal tourment of being stuck on the material plain but also since he is dead he isnt entierly here either. He is stuck inbetwen life and death for the soul purpose of protecting his sisted deliah who he loves. The song feels lost in this limbo until he talks about deliah then it starts to feel like there is a more direct goal and purpose for bedman. Nothing else matters besides keeping her safe. I love guilty gears lore so much hopefully whatever the next guilty gear game is deliah's character is explored more cause she was also really sweet.

[@idaniilkolomietsi7660]

Yeah! You just made my evening! That is one of my the most favorite themes from GGS and I was waiting for your reaction since I heard it first time! Thank you!

[@undertonetm7692]

Wooo!!!! Nice!! More Guilty Gear!!!! We want MOAR!!! Can't wait for the "Like A Weed, Naturally, As A Matter Of Course" reaction. That's Testament's theme.

[@ssstar527]

this one has 2 interpretations to the lyrics so in the end of the last gulty gear game, bedman died and now his robo-bed is protecting his sister at all costs the first interpretation is that bedman died but before going to either hell or the void or wathever he programed his bed to protect his sister the second interpretatio(that i consider the better one) is that he died but refused to go to heaven or hell and now he is inside the robo-bed in some way

[@SLUDGEHELL]

YES YES YOU CAUGHT THE SITAR LOVELY was looking forward to this, great stuff as always! As many comments points out the story here is very much the part of bedman was left that valiantly defending his sister post mortem and questioning the afterlife itself.

[@maymainssharedonebraincell6022]

0:52 the moment he realize he's in for some wild shit

[@nuke_me_9945]

GG series music always slap your ear with surprising beats

[@saintdarpa9818]

Crawling out through the fallout once again to recommend some video gam musik. Hunt: ShowDown- Light the shadow Or Death is a Bird Flying. Hero loop - Cosmic Temperance, this song encapsulates that feeling of being nervous and cautious in a video game for the first time, the sudden realization that you might be in danger and the boss fight is looking absolutely daunting. You hurry your way past all the horrors of a world falling away to grasp at a single strand of fate.

[@MrTerry1298]

I was left so confused by this song after I listened it for the first time. It's strange as if clumsy, but also shining. So I wanted to listen this song again. And again till I can understand it and enjoy. And ohh boi how much I love this song now. Thank you for reviewing!

[@kingcookie9777]

The shprechining or whatever he said it was called is how og bedman talks o.o

[@MarcoMeatball]

Sprechstimme

[@kingcookie9777]

​@@MarcoMeatball lemme guess it's German or something XD

[@MarcoMeatball]

@@kingcookie9777 yes lmao

[@kayronfaithbringer1613]

Marco is going to have a Huge ride when listening to Baiken's "Mirror of the World" or Happy Chaos' "Drift" I have a good feeling in this "series" of GG music, since he already listened some gg music before

[@20SAMYS]

Whoever has played guilty gear xrd rev 2 will know what happened to bedman, the bed is the same one that the boy who was tied to it used, only it was damaged after bedman faces venom and robo-ky, after the latter self-destruct (this can be seen in story mode ), From what I read on the wiki fandom website , after Bedman's death, his soul remained in his bed, the mysterious girl who appears before bedman's remains is called delilah who turns out to be bedman's younger sister.

[@valentinepops]

AAH YAY new guilty gear video! been excited for this video >:) i hope you’ll be able to find some more clarity of the lore through some of the other comments here, the lyrics in this song are one of my favs in the guilty gear ost with context of the backstory. gg lore is definitely pretty wild to make sense of on ur own LMAO to put it vaguely the themes of this song r bedman being in a sort of limbo but still carrying on his will to protect his sister thru the bed, very sweet n its one of my fav tracks despite how bittersweet the meaning is c,:

[@princeapoopoo5787]

even when i don't like a song in this game, i love how the music is reflective of the character it belongs to.

[@OvenLord21]

I humbly request Let Me Carve Your Way

[@АрсенийСпиридонов-ц3д]

This alternate reality is his possession of the bed. He is not dead and not a human anymore. The only thing Romeo wants is to protect his little sister Delilah and destroy the Bed releasing his soul. Actually where he is looks like a vast grey nothing with a stone statue of himself in a single ray of the sun.

[@Triforce_of_Doom]

just binged some of your Strive reactions & had to comment here as The Circle just might be my favorite song in the ENTIRE FRANCHISE! Now as I'm sure some comments have already explained, this song is basically Bedman's state of mind during Strive specifically. That synopsis you read was his story in the previous game but what you missed that would have made a lot of the lyrics make sense is what happens AFTER that part. First some quick backstory, him & his sister Delilah were both sick & the only way to prevent death was for both to be asleep. Romeo (Bedman's real name) was able to give himself a bedframe he could manipulate while asleep so he could still walk around with him main motive being to want to cure his & his sister. At the end of Xrd's story, Bedman gets killed by one of the other villains in a "you've outlived your usefulness" fashion hence why there's no sleeping guy on the bed in Strive. No the reason he's still around in Strive is because his consciousness effectively got programmed into the bed post-death as a side effect. The ? in his name in Strive is due to the fun question of "is it really him or just like a backup remnant of him". Delilah at this point is awake so Bedman?'s main goal at this point is to protect her hence the girl who's running around the battlefield during the fights. The Circle's lyrics basically are a summary of some of his journey (the titular circle being the circle of life & death so "I see the circle" or "I stand outside the circle" basically are saying "yeah I've effectively escaped death") with the main crux of the chorus being "no matter where she is, I won't let ANYONE hurt my sister anymore" hence the lyrics "Consuming ten million years in an instant & I'll come to you without a second thought" or ESPECIALLY the lyrics in the final chorus of "I may not be able to make you smile long, but I'll never make you cry even once - never!". this then brings me to WHY this is basically my favorite song in the series. This man said "fuck dying, my sister still needs me" & this song just has both Daisuke's instrumentals & Naoki's vocals screaming out every ounce of emotion that would bring & as someone with 2 younger siblings, that shit just HITS.

[@Vinoto_Lgdc]

I was waiting so much for this video

[@dreioo8759]

I have to declare that Daisuke has an ingenious way of using music to communicate emotion. He's not afraid to build it brick by brick, seemingly disjointed, fragmented. It begs for repeated hearings, discovering details and connections. I think this peace is on the complicated side but it still slaps. Thanks for continuing twith the Guilty Gear series inspite of the confusion!

[@razorswisher]

I loved reading all the comments here explaining their takes on the meaning of The Circle. My turn to share with the class: For me, (back when I only knew most of Bedman from Xrd from reading up on it), I took a more 'standard' or 'outside' view to it as a *very* inexperienced GG follower, and simply interpreted The Circle as, plain and simple, Hell. It carried to me the idea that Bedman's willpower and drive, plus his cockiness and willingness to do bad things towards his end goals, only to be betrayed and *realize* he was in the wrong, but be unable to 'atone' before dying, condemned him to Hell, and I saw The Circle as representing his experience and existence. (Mishearing some really awesome lyrics as even more awesome lyrics before looking 'em up doesn't hurt, lol. I heard the line "But I can't find you without access to the back of my eyelids" as "But I can't find you with the axes to the back of my eyelids", which I stand by sounds way cooler, especially because it fits with my 'first impression' of the song, as a fantastical and gross conception of 'hellish torture'- to imagine miniature axes swinging back and forth inside his skull to strike his eyes like pendulums- and the whole song being a beautiful and tragic look into the idea of hell, especially hell as punishment for someone you feel doesn't deserve it, because you know they can change and improve.) Because of lines explicitly showing he couldn't *escape* the circle. For all his power and knowledge, the best he could do was reach the border- to go further than most any normal person, but still ultimately be confined there. To plead to God, to ask if God can see the radiant light, hear the beautiful chant, and feel the gentle warmth, *to ask if HE could TOO*, to join him, and be told "No. You can't." And for Bedman(?) to ultimately submit and devote himself back to his strongest and truest goal / desire: to protect and watch over his sister Delilah, even if it's from the afterlife, even from Hades below, to use all the power he has at his disposal towards that end, rather than looking to improve his own situation- And I liked to think that that's ultimately what embodies his redemption- that tireless taking care of her at cost to himself *would* redeem him so he can be welcomed into that light, that chant, and that warmth. Or be rewarded with resurrection in some form, to actually spend time with her again rather than suffering. Pick you happy ending poison, thats what I'd hoped his future developments would be

[@Dalinzir]

I've been looking forward to this moment

[@RoyaltyFruadulent]

I may not be able to make you smile but I’ll never make you cry

[@BlobFishSucksAtThings]

NEVER

[@nkirmath8621]

Allow me to explain my perspective of bedman?'s story (yes actually) so thing is you looked at bedman and didn't read all the way through so allow me to share what you missed *ahem* (To minimize spoilers I will be skipping to the end of xrd's story) Bedman got betrayed by an evil underground organization when he realized what he was doing didn't come close to matching his vision. To elaborate on what the bed is, it's meant to be charged by one kind of battery, wasn't built or programmed to charge (see true ending of bedman?'s story mode for reference), so that means that somehow the bed was somehow charged by bedman (his name is Romeo lol) himself. Considering how souls work, one character who is omniscient notes how he was able to delete his "R code" from existence (see happy chaos' arcade dialogue with I-No on the pure extreme route) My theory is that his soul is kinda just an eternal battery for the bed until it gets destroyed then he fully dies (fighting heedless of its own destruction) thus the question of whether or not his soul is there or if it was erased and left a bug in the bed (hence the modern part of thr mystery, his song helps) To conclude, if you read this far, thank you fellow comment reader, I hope you have an excellent day/night.

[@luckyday5721]

Bedman is dead and I'm pretty sure is possessing the bed to protect his sister or his last Command to the bed is to protect her. Asking God do you see, hear, or feel what I can only describe as a heaven and being told no then saying copy that next plan is very bedman.

[@Xmusicana]

Les goo bed man one of my mains

[@whycantijusthaveausernameo3993]

Bedman is dead. This song is his will and testament, his memento. It's not another world, it's the afterlife. The circle he's talking about is most likely him witnessing the circle reincarnation. He was hoping for proper sense of escape and peace and found a void. Also not the sudden sharp tone shift when he says "Copy That." That's the "Bed' of Bedman taking note of what he said, his last will to take care of Delilah. I will be there in an instant, he's talking about how his bed will be there to protect her. He realizes how removed he is from her, hence why he mentions "I may not be able to make you smile, but I won't make you cry." Even in death he will care for his sister.

[@jyaafi8158]

Just gonna say, Thank You for the Insights

[@icepl831]

song that basically conveys death, but rejecting afterlife to hold onto the one you care about with all of ones strength, as long as you can. so you can help them for just this little longer.

[@JordanSmith-yi3ji]

An important detail about the song, Bedman is dead and he is probably possessing his bed.

[@coffeeluci]

broseph, you gotta listen to Necessary Discrepancy, Hellfire, Drift, and the rest of the ost, though those three are my personal picks for some of the best character pieces that's not to say any of them are bad, though, they all have phenomenal lyrics to express each character and their story, and that's why I love this game

[@TH3L3M0N]

I have never clicked a video faster Looking forward to more Guilty Gear stuff

[@superanonymous9541]

I don’t blame you for not being able to figure this one out without context - it’s probably the only song in the game that doesn’t work without it.

[@FlutterSwag]

what perfect timing because ASUKA TRAILER TOMORROW!

[@soulstarved4116]

I think you missed the part where he died. I'm pretty sure the song is about his conscious being stuck in his robotic bed, unable to pass on and feel that heavenly embrace. But as his robotic bed he has committed himself to protect his sister from the people that stabbed him in the back and possibly for some revenge. Song sounds like he's stuck in limbo, probably due to his dreamworld shenanigans.

[@Trim_0030]

CIRCLE!!!

[@mrturtle8579]

He didn't even get to the point where bedman is dead, for literally the entirety of strive (the game of that song)

[@areszeudion5153]

I don't play Guilty Gear, but this music feel so chaotically good!!

[@Xeroxthebeautiful]

The song is basically Bedman leaving the cycle of reincarnation by sheer willpower so that he can protect his sister after he died at the end of the previous game.

[@chinatown2424]

tldr the soul of a big brother who refused to pass onto the afterlife just so that he could stay and protect his little sister thats what the song is about no he "can't see the radiant light" because he can "still give someone something" "10 billion years" could come but he would still "come to [her] in an instant" its beautiful honestly

[@dj_koen1265]

i think the reason the lyrics are so weird is because daisuki doesnt really have a good feel for how to write good english lyrics since he is japanese and not a native speaker, all of his lyrics are constantly really odd and sometimes it works in favor of the song and sometimes it doesnt

[@thatguykekai2601]

Man this is probably one of the themes that takes the most context lol

[@darkdustfortress]

Short version of it- Powerful psychic villain dies trying to create a better world for his sister, and the residual effects of his abilities and AI in his equipment carry on his will of protecting her whether she likes it or not. (This theme is actually kind of sad with full context)

[@SquabsMcGee]

Bedman's story is hard to grasp really just cold turkey. But The circle is a song about someone who gave his entire life to struggle against the circumstances that kept him from enjoying life along with his sister. All he EVER wanted was to set her free from an infinite sleep. However he DIED before that dream ever came to fruition, and now in death his will and love still persists but has nowhere to go. Its lamenting that he could not experience life with his sister like he wanted, but at the same time he will ALWAYS *always* be there to protect her. It is easy to get lost within the infinite circle of anger, and grief, and depression, but for Bedman, Delilah [ the girl you see in the cinematic] was the one person who could pull him out of it, so that he could at least stand on the edge and know where he is.

[@WillGlacier]

God knowing strive's bedman? lore and actually reading the lyrics is so morbid. He is literally screaming out to god because of the fact that he can't "reach heaven" since he gave up his chance to to go to the afterlife to help his sister wake up from her coma. With only one thought in his head that keeps him going. That being keeping his little sister safe. It's hard not to love this guy (but at the same time not hard to dislike him either considering he killed A LOT of people)

[@greggersonny]

i personally hear “comes to me ten billion years in an instant” as “consuming ten billion years in an instant” like time for the singer is hardly a concept and days feel like seconds to them

[@kescaremon2531]

Hi, Marco! Just a quick note on the lore behind the song and the character, since you didn't seem to get to it, at least in the video (also spoilers obvious): Bedman dies at the end of Xrd, but his sister miraculously wakes up. This is the girl you can see in the gameplay bits. As for Bedman himself, while he died, his mechanical bed reactivated and started moving on its own, doing everything it can to protect Delilah. It's left very open to interpretation whether the Bed was simply programmed this way or became possessed by the spirit of Bedman. Most fans think its a mix of both. Hence why the characters is actually called "Badman?" in the game. So with the idea that Bedman possesses, or even better say, haunts the mechanical bed, the song makes much more sense. It's basically about Bedman being stuck in Limbo, endless finite, not alive, nor fully dead either. Even after his death, he didn't see the radiant light, no beautiful chants, no tender warmth - no heaven, no afterlife. Black and white - all the same. Stuck in the middle of the circle. "Welcome to the infinite world What's my endgame, there came a zero? Sent here there's silence everywhere No peace either Where there is no beginning and no end" The song also seemingly directly references him crawling back to the world of the living through his bedframe "Where I’m left and can’t reach White black Through the mold Where I can find with access To the back of my eye lens" And the last part of the song pretty much talks about how, while he isn't fully alive to make Delilah smile, his will to protect her perceveres: "I may not be able to make you smile (But) But I’ll never make you cry even once Never" I also adore how the song actually doesn't finish itself, we don't get the final "on the border of the circle" at the end, it just leaves us hanging, giving it this haunting quality of "unfinished business. This ended up being far longer than I planned, hahah 😅

[@danthespaceman9747]

WOOOOOOOOO!!! I've Been Waiting for another one of Your Guilty Gear Reactions, and wouldn't you know, You Choose My favorite! This song is of the more... esoteric Variety when it comes to Daisuke's Music. I won't Give a long-winded Explanation (However fitting it would be to the character) as Other people will do it far more comprehensibly. Unfortunately, everything you read on the Wiki is Irrelevant to this Song since it takes place after his _spoilers_ Death.😅 The song is Basically his View of the afterlife, or lack-thereof existing in a state of limbo Between life and Eternity.

[@АрсенийСпиридонов-ц3д]

Oh yeah, I waited for this

[@JordanJostar]

I'm now realizing the sections of asking God questions could be the frame asking Romeo, it's God/creator of he feels where he is.

[@xiaremorris6303]

Guilty gear strive has some of the best video game OSTs out. It's amazing.

[@alaksion]

Ah yes my favorite music youtuber reacting to my favorite fighting game, thx for the good content

[@skyc-1375]

I'm just looking through these, waiting for him to finally react to happy chaos's theme

[@TheLoneAlpaca]

will always come back for guilty gear

[@noentertainment1169]

Yooooo lets go always happy to see more guilty gear. Would love to see you listen to Let Me Carve Your Way and Alone Infection.

[@wavewingman5993]

There comes a point where you have to stop trying to understand The Circle and just start vibing.