Kikuo - Dance of the Frogs (カエルのおどり)

[@lincolny2220]

Fun fact for English speakers: kaeru 蛙 means frog, but it's also pronounced the same as 帰る, meaning to return or go home. In Japanese culture frogs are also seen as a symbol of good fortune, fertility, and the cycle of life.

[@BreadCoiny208]

Não só para os falantes de inglês.

[@GODFRAUDBUDDHA]

Adding on to this! The funky guy with four arms in the MV is a representation of Yama, and when interpreted along with the Bhavacakra (think the lily pad) he symbolizes change.

[@aosugiruringo]

Even more difficult. It's also 【還る】(kaeru)meaning return. This also often represents a return to the roots in a deeper sense. 【土に還る】=To return to the land means to die. Furthermore, 【孵る】(kaeru), meaning "the egg hatches," I'm Japanese, but Japanese is too difficult for me.┓(ﾟ～ﾟ)┏

[@Mojken_yakionigiri]

If you consider pitch-accent, they aren't actually pronounced the same

[@holiveira130]

taking from the wiki just to gain engagement

[@ChotaAKATSUKI]

Hell-o everybody. I made this animation. Thank you for the tremendous music and the outrageously beautiful Subtitles. For all of eternity...

[@Kittenwhiskers_]

Thank you for the movie it looks so cool(๑>◡

[@ennpii8147]

Thank you for your amazing work!!

[@sleepyfish2157]

Beautiful worrkkkk!!❤

[@meowzers.p]

thank you for the beautiful animation ! it is amazing and i love the style so much , you did amazing !

[@albaro.]

you are amazing❤❤

[@ozusenpai204]

It’s crazy how kikuo created frogs millions of years ago for the purpose of this song

[@1van1shed969]

Lmao

[@jeremytitus9519]

Charles Darwin’s unpublished sequel: _On the Origin of the Dance of the Frogs_

[@でででで-c2t]

きくおさんが急に「私が地球を創りました」って言い出しても「あー、やっと話してくれた」くらいのテンションで納得できそう

[@CILOHOLACOV]

好きwwwwwwww

[@でででで-c2t]

@@CILOHOLACOV 嬉しい笑笑笑笑 でも実際きくおさんが創ったと思うんだ、地球

[@suimi_731]

全てを理解してそう

[@でででで-c2t]

@Germany 正しいのは私ではありません、きくおさんです（洗脳済み）

[@みずきとトガ]

事故で地球を作り出して 事故で地球に閉じ込められてそう

[@legendgirl101]

I think what's important to keep in mind is that tadpole mortality rate is INSANELY high. Only 0.008% of tadpoles grow up to become adult frogs. To put this in perspective, that's 1 out of 12,500 tadpoles.

[@giannah1558]

That makes me feel better about all the tadpoles I tried to keep as pets as a kid 😂

[@X_g5_1xi_0art_sk1lls_ig]

WAIT WHAT!?

[@X_g5_1xi_0art_sk1lls_ig]

That's just sad...

[@lapinlunaire9505]

My dumb self taking 30 seconds to count 1 out of N° before reading the whole thing

[@ladnavar]

Kikuo casually went from songs about psychopathic kids in love dying and killing one another to tantric songs about the cycle of reincarnation, and songs about astral projection and stuff... almost feels like a natural evolution and I love it!! keep growing Kikuo, you are my favourite vocaloid producer for like10 years now!!

[@ladnavar]

also one of my favourite musicians ever to be honest...

[@salmonandsoup]

Fun fact: if we take a Buddhist look at this song (taking this info from ijustslamonthekeyboardandm6476), the fact that they continuously keep reincarnating into frogs means they could have been pretty heinous in their human lives. The further away from humanity you are when you reincarnate, the less spiritually "pure" you are and the farther away from nirvana (enlightenment) you are. Might be those same kids if you want to look at it that way!

[@flickerflicker6628]

through all his musical eras i feel kikuo is one of the few musicians i can truly consider "ethereal" like even in his older work that may be considered overly edgy it just has that feel thats incredibly rare

[@marrble4166]

What is that first song called? I’m a new Kikuo fan lol

[@MagusDevon]

@@marrble4166 There are a few early Kikuo songs with the "psychopathic kids in love dying and killing one another" theme. The two that I personally think stand out are "A Peaceful Death" and "And Then You Became The Moon" which are almost two opposite ends of the spectrum but thematically similar. Listening to those two back to back lets you understand the range of Kikuo's talent.

[@maidenrelish5906]

about this voice: Despite what is in the video description, and contrary to what many may think, (Qi Xuan/绮萱) is not a "VOCALOID". She is part of another voice synthesiser, with the same functionality for singing, but which uses a very different technology to synthesise the voice. The Japanese community usually calls any other voice synthesiser by the term "VOCALOID", as they are already familiar with it. Her name in traditional Chinese Qi Xuan/绮萱, a jovial and fresh voice, coming from a new brand vocal synthesizer called, "ACE Studio", the same as surprising as it may seem is native Chinese, but thanks to a technology called "Cross Lingual Synthesis", she is able to sing in Japanese and Chinese, simultaneously, and soon she will be able to sing in English. Right now ACE Studio is at an early stage of development, but they are doing their best to incorporate better parameters and technology, and also they realese they first native english voice for the program, the program have a chinese and english interface. Let's hope to support this startup, Kikuo was so interested in this program from the beginning and he decided to join a discord server for it. And for those Vocal Synths fans, you can try the voice of Qi Xuan, and 18 other ACE Studio voices for free! :DDD BTW, you can also use Luo Tianyi in the software for free. Without further ado, thanks for reading! Thank you god for giving us another one of your songs, praise be to Kikuo. Amen.

[@TheAnjelHarte]

thank you for posting this! I googled xi quan before looking in the comments because her voice is so interesting, I never wouldve guessed she's from a newer synth, let alone one with a free version. I'll be looking into it!

[@maidenrelish5906]

@@TheAnjelHarte Yep! you can try her voice for free ^^

[@holiveira130]

it has become fashionable now to make beautiful text to gain engagement

[@maidenrelish5906]

@@holiveira130 lol

[@submariNervous]

Yeah, I think the thing with calling the different programs "VOCALOID" are almost like a more modern version of how a lot of folks say the word "Band-aid" to refer to adhesive bandages or "Kleenex" to refer to tissues, even when the bandages/tissues are from an entirely different brand than Band-aid/Kleenex (which notably means newer studios/brands can have a bit of trouble getting traction with the public without lovely folks like you helping to "set the record straight" so to speak, so thank you!)

[@super_nh]

i love how this track starts slow and slowly gets faster and catchier over every segmant, making us wanna dance more and more to it till we get to the main part and its just banging

[@Ali-k8q5j]

IT'S MAGICCC

[@Skepticalraven]

100%! Quick question: Is Hanatan no longer singing Kikuo's new releases? This song was made for her voice.

[@niha4218]

Ikr

[@SoftForecast.]

Just like the live stream!

[@astrum376]

​@@Skepticalraven kikuohana was just a collaborative project from both Hanatan and Kikuo. Aside from their two albums, she doesn't sing Kikuo's music, so no, she's no longer singing his releases. I hope they make more releases tgt in the future!!

[@広河長綺]

前半の「外と自分の境界がなくなる」あたりで、この歌はどこに向かうのだろうと思っていたら、宇宙の外と思ったら卵の外でそこから輪廻が始まるというイメージの鮮烈さに唖然としました。そこから最後まで圧倒されて、一生忘れられない景色を見せられた気分です。最高傑作だと思います。

[@遙遼]

英語（？）のコメントが多い中　 やっと出会った日本語のコメントでした。　 最高傑作だと思う同意です。

[@AkohTech]

I totally agree with you. At first when I saw the name I was in doubt but I remembered how kikuo likes to name weirdly and just listen to the song. It was really deep.

[@nulno]

Beautiful🌈💚❤️💫

[@Zuzu_pox]

OK NO CAN WE TALK ABT HOW REALISTICALLY TUNED THE VOCALS ARE 😭😭

[@lebro4401]

That because it uses ace studio.

[@amethystsubsstuff]

@@lebro4401 yea… i feel like realistic tuning isnt really something so impressive anymore bc for most programs, you don’t even have to put any effort into making it sound realistic (to my knowledge). and idk if thats a good thing or a bad thing tbh

[@doesntexistandneitherdoyou]

@@amethystsubsstuff It mostly depends on what you perfer. If you like more robotic, unrealistic sounds then it could be considered a bad thing. If you like the realism, it’s a good thing because you can get that easily.

[@rubinchavarria7173]

@@amethystsubsstuff that statement is so wrong . Just search vocaloid or synth v / ace . Hit recent videos and you get some pretty bad tuning

[@submariNervous]

Absolutely. NGL I didn't even realize it wasn't an actual human singing for quite a bit there. 🤣

[@Kobone_bone]

「そして また 卵がかえる」という歌詞から始まるの、最初から輪廻のループの中にいるんだなぁ、と分かるような気がして好きです

[@長一穂]

歌が「そして」で始まるの何回も繰り返ししてる感強くて好き

[@GODFRAUDBUDDHA]

This song is obviously about being reborn, but using the Buddhist context, I’m going to give it this analysis: In Buddhism, the farther you are away from human, the less pure you are spiritually and the farther you are away from nirvana, aka enlightenment. Here this pair is constantly being reborn as frogs, meaning they probably did something pretty sucky and they aren’t making attempts to reconcile. Even so, they reach out towards the prospect of nirvana, even though they won’t reach it. In the end, they reconcile with themselves and realize that they’ll probably stay as this lesser state, as frogs, forever. Some more important context: the three eyed thing with four arms who is seen spinning a lily pad is a nod to Yama, the God of Death, who is seen holding the Wheel of Life, Bhavacakra. He doesn’t represent death, though, he represents constant, endless impermanence. In the context of this MV, that’s downright ironic. But it’s not. Frogs constantly change throughout their lives, and in this MV they are seen doing it over, and over, and over again… Only through Nirvana, the snuffing out of all life, of all desire, can death truly come to an end. Though of course our froggy friends have a long way to go before then. 2:52 This face right here are the Eyes of Buddha. What’s under them isn’t a nose, it’s the Tibetan number 1, a symbol of unity. A lotus represents purity, “as a lotus rises from the muddy water unstained” so too has one reached enlightenment from this world full of suffering and sin. Now this is *really* ironic, because these titular frogs have basically resigned themselves to this world. Probably a jab at what could’ve been for them, an if-only.

[@bongus840]

Such a beautiful comment explaining the story and a key of Buddhism!

[@winterpup22]

thank you so much for this explanation! this is so interesting!

[@kaneko89]

I learned a lot… If I learned this much, I really haven’t been paying attention to my religion. I’m going to go reflect, but thank you!

[@soup_serum5990]

as well as during the very end, it looks like they're falling, but you could also interpret it as them going up and a face appears, then twists into a sort of laughing shape and they fall back down!

[@valens.glassgrave]

​@@soup_serum5990 i think that means they've been rejected from nirvana and brought into life again? (im not buddhist so correct me if im wrong :^ )

[@ryuthedokkebi]

0:03 Intro (Andante). Percussion break leads into a gentle melody on the Bonang (Indonesian Instrument), 0:14 Verse 1A. Qi Xuan is introduced with clappers, followed by addition of other instruments that comprise an Indonesian Gamelan. 0:36 Verse 1B (Moderato). Music suddenly stops, before Qi Xuan continues singing, additional instruments are introduced. Tempo increase is minimal, but definitely reinforced in perception through a more lively instrumentation. 0:51 Verse 1C (Allegretto). Percussion break repeated, before Qi Xuan and the Gamelan are re-introduced, even more livelier than 1B. 1:11 Verse 1D (Allegro). Like after 1A into 1B, a pause before the ensemble resume, now lively to the point of chaos. 1:28 Pre-Chrous 1. A new melody is introduced, with instrumentation not quite as chaotic any more. A few beats are deleted to create irregular time signature, creating a slightly rushed feeling. 1:45 Verse 2A (Vivace). The Verse melody returns, faster than ever. 1:59 Verse 2B. Unlike last few times, this transition is mostly continuous and almost unperceptable, but this is when electronic elements finally enter the ensemble, first synths but also synth percs. Things are slowly spiraling out of control. 2:14 Verse 2C: The ensemble builds up, and the suddenly fades away to boil down to Verse 1B levels of instrumentation, Qi Xuan singing uninterrupted. However, the other instruments return soon after, creating an ominous tone. 2:27 Verse 2D (Accelerando): Full stop, continuation marked by synth drums, and things get faster and faster and... 2:52 Break 1. Vocals stop, Gamelan flourish, with bells and drums going back and forth, with more and more complex rhythms being punctuated by silence. 3:06 Chorus (Vivace): Qi Xuan makes a shout to mark the beginning of the chorus. The chorus is a driving melody, now fully backed by electronic percussions along with the gamelan ringing tirelessly. Ladies and gentlemen, you may now dance, dance as the music slowly builds up to a drop for the next break. 4:00 Break 2A: Qi Xuan stops singing, and now it is another Gamelan break. However, this time, the gamelan simply play a full solo, repetitive as is the nature of the circle of life and death. 4:12 Break 2B: Qi Xuan returns to sing without lyric, as the Gamelan break continue. 4:25 Break 2C (Accelerando): Another buildup, another drop. This time, it is simply without the bells but retained underlying ensemble. It is speeding up faster and faster now, the Gamelan almost inducing a catatonic state, increasing in pitch as well. It devolves into a simple roll by 4:50, and it all crashes at 4:53 with a deeper gong. 4:55 Ending (Andante). Everything has returned to the start. Qi Xuan sings the last few lines, before the Percussion break ends the song. This song is truly emblematic of the cyclic nature of life and death.

[@alannasarafat9938]

i love when they using gamelan in music. gamelan sound represent mystical ecsotic sound. in the begining of the music they using javanese gamelan style but toward the end they incoperate balinese playful style gamelan.

[@Mewy101]

@@alannasarafat9938 my thoughts exactly! the melody reminds me of Lir Ilir :) Kikuo's gamelan inspired songs so far have mostly been inspired by Balinese gamelan so it's neat that he tried incorporating the slower style of Javanese gamelan

[@RaineLikesTheSillyDinosaur]

I really love comments like this!Going into detail on what's going on with the music,I also can't express my words throughout the music because some I can't even explain it by words!

[@alannasarafat9938]

@@Mewy101 agree, because unlike playful style of balinese gamelan or more coquettish sundanese gamelan, it's hard to incorporate the solemn style of Javanese gamelan into modern music. But this song have a great job to do that

[@e-sa-n]

すごい！！

[@jmpamjda]

最後、輪廻を繰り返して、天に昇って行くような演出の先で出会った御仏の笑みが、どことなく厭らしく感じた。 「お前たちは、永遠に池と卵の繰り返しの中からでることはない」って嘲笑うかのような……。 直後スローテンポに戻るので、冒頭に戻るといい感じの輪廻転生が出来て最高です。

[@遙遼]

だから、牢篭牢屋屋嫌嫌なのか……

[@ぜんきまき]

解脱できない輪廻転生の描写がものすごく強烈なんだけど、個人的に「ほとんどの生き物のほとんどの赤ん坊とおんなじように」という箇所にもはっとさせられた 普段運良く生き延びた生き物たちの物語ばかり見ていたから大抵は生き物ってそういうものだよねと改めて認識したし、そんなごく普通の2つの魂が理由もなく延々と苦しい転生を繰り返してるのが本当に残酷というか無情というか 毎回とんでもない職人技をありがとうございます

[@Kobone_bone]

「牢篭 牢 牢屋 屋 嫌嫌」のところ、淡々と歌っているから分からなかったけど、もしかして二人にとってこのループは苦しいものなのでは…？とも想像できてゾッとしますね 好きです…

[@遙遼]

そう考えると、何か隔離されているのかもしれないと、個人的には思いました。

[@tanulachann]

畜生道に墜ちて解脱できないみたいな世界観。閉じ込められているけど、生と愛を謳歌している、のだろうか。

[@妖-e1d]

アルバムで聴いて、めっちゃMV待ってました😊

[@lilyy_2028]

同意します

[@Hina_Satou001]

かな〜り同意します

[@ShiraCheshire]

The story of this video is so unique. It starts out like a love that transcends time type story, but the longer the song goes the more it becomes obvious that eternity is not a joyous thing. The frogs are reborn again and again, always the same, the same pond. Whether they die as babies or make it to adults makes no difference. Their souls swell to fill the universe, but the boundaries of it feel limiting. They strain against it and start to crack the universe itself. We see in the video they reach for the face of Buddha, symbolizing escape from the cycle of reincarnation, only to be laughed at and sent back again. Forever. What would normally be a beautiful story becomes something mocking, something maddening. An inescapable curse, forever and ever, forever and ever, forever and ever. There is no end. The dance of the frogs.

[@emilystrange_irl]

holy shit ive never thought about it that way thats so interesting

[@CấuVô-c7f]

Hoặc đây là cảnh giới thiền vô sắc thấy được báo thân là vô sở hữu xứ và thấy được Pháp thân thường trụ của Như Lai là phi tưởng phi phi tưởng xứ cũng chỉ là cảnh giới tạm do tư tưởng đo lường phân biệt ( mà còn cái nữa là độc ảnh cảnh)

[@IsmayaMelasrana]

I already know that kikuo used a lot of gamelan, but this one is very focused. Kinda sad that oversea people can moderenize this traditional instrument better than a musician from my own country. Thank you for reviving this genre and the instrument, as it brings my chilhood memories when performing gamelan back in the day. Absolutely gorgeous creation 😍

[@apple71]

Oh! I didn't notice they used gamelan for it :0

[@teacupthetea]

Yes! The gamelan used in this song is very much visible! At 0.35 you can even see some Megamendung patterns in the background! Very proud to be an Indonesian!

[@iyoyoyoyoyoyoyo]

Yeah I found this by looking up vocaloid gamelan lol

[@SangDutaCHChorusCharter]

lol

[@koke780]

最後のカエルさん2人が目を開けた時に、目の中が∞(無限)になってるの好き

[@rosen_venus]

It's telling that Kikuo often akins "Heaven" to unification, and in the sequence around 3:05 we see the two frogs/spirits reaching out to each other only to barely miss touching and then be pulled away again. Even though on its surface the idea of two souls being forever bound in this cycle of reincarnation *seems* like it should be romantic, what it really means is they are trapped in a cycle of separation - they can never "become one" and even when they do meet and mate with each other it's followed only by death and rebirth, all the while they are trapped in the "egg" without truly breaking free of their forms and melding together.

[@woohoooUWU]

人が死んで火葬炉の中で燃やされてる時に感じている何かを映像と曲として再現してる感じ… 死人に口なしだけど、死人の意識を描き出してるみたいな？表現難しい… 自分が燃やされてる時はソワカの声とこの曲みたいなものを見るのかなって思った きくおさんは本当に世界観が不思議ですごい…好きだなぁ…

[@woohoooUWU]

最近葬式に参列したからだろうけど、死生観？とかについてよく考えてしまう ほぼ全ての人が最期には必ずあの無機質なエレベーターみたいな扉に入って、ゴウゴウ燃やされて骨も崩れて、綺麗に整えてもらった装束も副葬品も棺も燃えて、冷たいトレイの上に残るのは脆く崩れかけた骨 末期の水をとって、死化粧もエンバーミングもしてもらって、防腐剤が流し込まれて、冷えた冷蔵庫で最期の夜を明かして… この曲を聞くと延々考えてしまう 死んで四十九日を迎えて判決が下って、とか仏教に則して考えると色々あるけど、死んだらこの曲みたいにただ宇宙と同化して、でもその宇宙は卵の中で…また生まれてってなるのかもしれないし。 死後の世界を追体験している気分になれる曲なんてそうそう作れないよ…スゴすぎる でもよく考えたら人は骨壷に収められて半永久的に保存されるのか…そこに自分がいたという過去の証が残っている限り次の自分にはなれなかったらどうしよう…地獄って本当は骨が朽ち果てるまでの期間だったりして。

[@からかさ-q15-そわそわ]

@@woohoooUWUやめて.....やめて...

[@VaidaNator]

At first I was thrown off by Kikuo's new vocal tuning, but this song definitely caught my attention. The tribal beats compliment the new vocals so well on this track, this us one of those songs that make me feel like I'm entering another realm. Kikuo is so talented!!

[@alannasarafat9938]

the instrumen they using is gamelan, a traditional javanese-balinese-sundanese percussion ensamble. the style they using in this music is javanese and balinese

[@gvl4g]

​@@alannasarafat9938HE DID?

[@alannasarafat9938]

@@gvl4g did what ?

[@hetohitoia560]

@@gvl4g yes

[@iversiafanatic]

It’s actually not Miku at all but an entirely new vocaloid (I forgot the name it’s in the description) but the vocal synth can sing simultaneously in Chinese and Japanese and soon English, apparently.

[@nyan9370]

うわぁ格好良い、、始まりは神々しいのに輪廻に囚われていくにつれどんどん加速していって不気味さも増して、最終的に人間の想像を超越したなんか凄くいけないものを見てしまったような気分になる（語彙力）

[@nekoprankster2184]

I don't know why or how, but Qi Xuan's voice here sounds more realistic than the previous two songs using her. Like, it sounds like a real human child (with slight machinic crisp on the voice) is singing.

[@NameName-oc4cl]

Her program (ACE studio) is an AI-aided voice synthesizer so that might explain it.

[@kelseykagamine04]

I didn't even realize it was a program, I thought it was a guest singer like hana or something. Dang I haven't kept up with new vocaloid type programs, that's incredible!

[@karayura10]

@@kelseykagamine04 AI supported tuning is quite old by this point (2020ish, started by NEUTRINO, then to SynthV AI, CeVIO AI, V6, etc)

[@おととい3]

私達が再生し続けることで二人は永遠に解脱することはできないだろう...

[@natsuKi_72]

「カラカラ」とか「まわる渦のなかで」みたいに過去曲につながるワードが出てくるの好き

[@natsuKi_72]

1:06も「そして君は月になった」ぽさがあるし最後の方は万華鏡のような映像も出てくるからやっぱりそうなのかな…

[@flower_petal09]

Kikuo has been releasing a lot of MVs and I'm loving it

[@rkkk1830]

最初と最後の音繰り返してるの輪廻や繰り返しをイメージしてるのかな 全体が心地よい音楽とサイケなのにどこか優しいアニメーションで、何度も繰り返し見続けちゃう

[@kuzmasimon170]

日本の文化の事実: カエル 蛙はカエルを意味しますが、帰るまたは家に帰ることを意味する「帰る」と同じ発音でもあります. 日本文化では、カエルは幸運、豊穣、生命の循環の象徴とも見なされています。

[@れんこん-q5s]

だんだんテンポが早くなって時間もどんどん変わらず進んでいくみたいで好き。 人間も年取ると時間の流れが早く感じるし。それの究極みたい() 絶望と安心感が混ざってる。。。語彙力ーーー 『井の中の蛙』ーーーーーーー！！！！これが言いたかったんだ！

[@toast_cooked_bread]

So glad this is getting an MV. As soon as I heard it on the album I knew it would become one of my all time favorite kikuo songs.❤

[@burnt196]

I loved old Kikuo songs as a kid and now as an adult I LOVE recent Kikuo songs. It’s so unique and chaotic in such an addicting way that i just can’t get enough of. I will now proceed to listen to this on repeat for a whole week.

[@浅葱-v1o]

最後 5:08 ゾッとする感じたまらん… さらに好きになっちゃった…

[@aosugiruringo]

詩とか音楽とかそういうジャンルをはるかに超えて、輪廻転生を魂に訴えかけてくる作品

[@遙遼]

分かります。

[@corona-tesutcenter5795]

やっと日本語のコメ見つけた。 わかる。

[@spiritwarhol707]

I'm glad Kikuo is using Qi Xuan again. Her voice is so good! Kikuo's songs have such a way of talking about death that it's weirdly comforting, haha.

[@sayangels]

Having just lost my mother, i can't thank kikuo enough.

[@nokia-vv3ob]

I hope your ok..

[@pikapukatoodlioo]

As a sad little english speaker who has to wait for a translation: sure was NOT the lyrics I was trying to imagine. It was like I chowed down on shrooms and sat in a temple watching the life cycle of frogs in the pond outside. Reincarnation and all it's concepts are dope. What a bop

[@pikapukatoodlioo]

And also this song made me go "What in the world do frogs have to do with reincarnation and other Buddhist teachings????" A lot, apparently! Love the new song AND the new knowledge! What a two-fer!

[@kasagure.]

the lyrics are there already!

[@Pikayumyums]

Pretty accurate. The song very much gives off the universal feel of becoming one with the universe and its cycles at the peak of a heavy psychedelic experience.

[@ふかづめ-x4p]

In Japanese, "frog"and "return "the same pronunciation. both「かえる（Kaeru）」

[@ふかづめ-x4p]

In Japan there is a proverb like this「A frog in a well does not know the ocean」（井の中の蛙　いのなかのかわず　Ino naka no kawazu）（kawazu＝kaeru） It seems that this is also a lyric that compares？

[@Anaea]

im not really a religious person but this song having elements from Buddhism is really fucking cool

[@elliot_rat]

a lot of kikuo's songs have buddhist concepts, i think it's the charm of putting a new spin on old things

[@kouhi146]

溜めて溜めてからフィーバーさせる構成がすごいです。裏・よいこのうたみたいな映像もめっちゃええ…

[@user-zx4nx8kt6k]

2:51 ここからの音が気持ちよすぎる

[@noname-zn1ks]

5分でわかる！解脱を求める心！みたいな最高の曲

[@ちゆ-n5q]

きくおさんの作る曲は毎回音の使い方がすばらしすぎて、脳みそが気持ちいい

[@joejealous]

I love Kikuo's gamelan-style songs like Chiri Chiri Juso, Festival of the Dark, Voices of Svaahaa, they're kind of hypnotizing in a way... (Don't know if that's what this sound is actually called, correct me if I'm wrong)

[@alannasarafat9938]

Yup gamelan is not one type of instrument but ensemble of many percussion instrument. The main style of ensemble is Javanese style, sundanese style and balinese style.

[@Mioumi]

Commenting in this thread so I can also know more about this genre 👀

[@salemmarz3809]

those are my favorite kikuo songs, huh.. you just made me realize what they had in common 😭

[@salemmarz3809]

@@Mioumi me too i guess 🤷🏽

[@vevan99]

There's also the use of the Bonang instrument here, the one that has a kind of gong(?) sound

[@Darake-h5g]

だんだん速くなる危うさもありながら、暖かい声が心地良い

[@countsnarky1701]

I don't know who went so hard with the English subtitles, but thank you. The fact that they track and vibrate with the OG words is fantastic.

[@ol7597]

ワンマンのとき、きくおさんが優しい声で「新曲だよ〜」といいながら流されてた曲たち… たのしみです

[@sankyumiku]

Oh my god Kikuo keeps releasing new stuff just right after the concert this is great

[@Attacknun]

The denial of nirvana and the life of being a tadpole forever while a demon watches over you and laughs is a certain kind of hell.

[@mitara9439]

ライブで聴いた時からあっ、これ好きだ〜と印象に残ってた1曲 CDで聴きまくって音と世界観の広がりやキケンちゃんの凛としていて淡々としながらもあたたかさを感じる声が凄いなと思ってたのがMVつくとまた生命力を感じて、いや本当に凄いな

[@RodrigoGomezV]

This song was in some way special and different from the rest of the album. Glad to see it will have its own video.

[@いと9]

お祭りの儀式が行列で歩いてくるような曲で不気味なのに残響が耳に残る。

[@あんまし使ってないです]

日本語字幕が凝っていて、この曲の世界観に違和感なく溶け込んでいるの良すぎる

[@arigatiturai]

これ作れるの、普通に天才だと思う…

[@ドバーランド]

新曲が出る度にガムラン色が強くなってて良い

[@marian0914]

朝方のみんなのうたで流れて欲しい、寝起きでふと見て脳に刻まれたい、そんな曲

[@音楽大好きな人]

まじで宇宙人が作った曲じゃないかって思うくらいなんか意味わかんないくらい意味わかんないんだけど語彙力とか知識とか飛び越えての感覚で来る感じがゾワゾワってするし、テレパシー使ってるんじゃないかってくらいの感覚で聞こえてくる感覚が不気味笑

[@necr0poltergeist]

glad this is getting turned into an MV. one of my favorite songs in the album.

[@みかん-h8t4w]

このガムラン風の音が神秘的かつ不思議な雰囲気を醸し出してて最高

[@justgonnacomment]

0:55 SO GOOD

[@TarouYamada158]

ラストで「ヒッ」て声出ちゃった…延々聴いてたいけど聴いてたらなんかが壊れそう。すごい…

[@sweetpotato9809]

damn it's honestly crazy this song was made a year ago now, it still feels a month old lmao

[@TlbHibiki]

I'll always be amazed on how Kikuo can make me dance to something that's basically a buddhist chant time and time again

[@lazyurchin]

I used to use Swamps as a way to visualize the Mind, back when my therapist had me write to myself about my day. Sadness like mud, swirling up from the bottom to cloud the waters, positive thoughts like little frogs swimming across the surface, and a nice canopy of stars above to represent the future and its uncertainty. This song, the video and all of this as a whole, really just brings that back. Love this piece!

[@はってる]

少しずつ少しずつテンポが速くなっていって、最後また1番最初のテンポに戻ってるのに気づいて、「永遠に永遠に」という言葉の意味を感じた

[@s1lly_m0th]

3:04 Is probably my favorite part of this song. Just the break then quickly turning into up-beat fast music is amazing and I love it.

[@あちゃあちゃちゃ-y3j]

１回聞いてからこの異質さに影響されすぎて勝手に頭に流れてくるから困ってる(困ってない)毎日ここに聞きに来ちゃう

[@スパゲッティ伊藤]

脳みそ気持ちよすぎる。溶けちゃう。

[@sukizofurenia]

KIKUO IS LITERALLY PUSHING THESE OUT SO FREQUENTLY. I REMEMBER GOING ON KZbin AND SEEING NEW ANIMATIONS/SONGS LIKE LAST YEAR (ex: my time, welcome to the star inn, good child and fox spirit, yoru no uta, i'll forgive you even if you die) now we have this !! they are just animations for the most part other than the good child & fox spirit, but they're really really good. sankyuu kikuo !!!! you have a really good new animator on your side

[@iversiafanatic]

This is a guest animator, but there’s a new album out on Spotify, thus the increase in releases. I don’t think his output speed has changed

[@NNN-q6d]

绮萱ちゃんだ！！2:37からの歌わせ方がすきだ… 日本昔ばなし× 民族音楽風で最高だ

[@神紅-o5x]

字幕凄すぎじゃないですか…？！ カラオケみたいなの凄い

[@_Abnormality_bugs_]

Let's go a new kikuo song it's going to be a banger

[@sam_chans]

Very true lol.

[@HomelessBear-Cyn]

Wonder what the hidden message in this one will be about

[@miadaorerk1681]

​@@HomelessBear-Cyn i'm pretty sure it's about reincarnation and not being able to break out of the cycle to reach nirvana

[@Nicohakuu1]

This creature that gets introduced at 0:50 reminds me of an ancient Buddhist painting that depicts an ominous creature holding "a wheel" the eternal life and death cycle, the cycle of samsara. Where our emotional state of suffering and bondage to the material world forces us being born into this planet over and over again instead of reaching the state of eternal life without suffering aka "Nirvana" state. In this MV we see this creature turning around a leaf in a shape of a wheel I think the last part where we see the Pink frog rising towards the yellow clouds reaching out for the face that reminds me of some kind of boddhisatva or other enlightened deity/person, is kind of sad. I think this shows she is trying so hard to reach nirvana reality, the mind state of a boddhisatva/buddha. She gets so close escaping out of the soul's suffering state samsara of being forced to be incarnated again but then she finds herself again in the pond like before. This song and MV are a genious depiction/metaphor for the state of humanity especially if you believe in reincarnation.

[@高橋千紗-u7h]

みんな！日本語字幕にしてみて！めちゃくちゃ凝ってるぞ！

[@anapaulamendozadiaz8890]

¡Gracias! :3

[@fruitiecutiee]

kikuo が彼のビデオにどれだけの努力を注いでいるかが大好きです。このような曲をもっと作ってくれたらいいのにと思います。

[@haezer7171]

The first time I hear this I was like "Huh, Indonesian sinden?" Lol. Not to mention that distinct gamelan sound. Now the interesting part is, I wonder if there'll be someone that will try to do the traditional dance with this song. Might be difficult since it's kinda fast paced but I think it's still doable (esp knowing how those kind of dancers work)

[@HokiRamen]

If it helps anybody I'd just like to say just coming from a Buddhist point of view that the song is talking about simsara which is being Reborn and you're trying to break Through it to reach Nirvana This is like one of my most favorite Song that they have done yet !

[@MagusDevon]

Absolutely love the cyclical representation of the frog living its entire life, then upon death expanding out until it breaks through the shell of the an egg (the entire universe, from his perspective) to reveal a pond where he lives out his next life. And the part at 4:52 when he's rushing through all the life cycles, and as he's about to reach the end gets greeted by a smiling buddha before being sent back through his loops as if being told "you are not yet ready." It's very profound, and honestly touches on my exact philosophy of what I feel "existence" really is. Masterful storytelling. Shoutout to the animator for understanding Kikuo's song so perfectly and representing it in the best possible way.

[@camillecutler6868]

Just a little detail I noticed: At 0:05, the frog skeleton is as anatomically accurate as you can really expect with this art style. It is lacking ribs and it has long feet alongside a tibiofibula and radioulna instead of having a tibia and fibula on the legs and a radius and ulna on the arms, just like a real frog. However, if we look at the next clearly visible skeletons at 2:54, they have ribcages , short pelvises, and shorter feet, and while they don't have a seperate radius and ulna/tibia and fibula, their bone structure matches more closely to a human than to a frog and from the point, and I think that the singular forearm bone and such are a time saving decision more than anything else because there is the clapping scene at 4:02 they finally have a seperate radius and ulna, but then it goes right back to being combined when a full body is drawn. Also, the entire time, the green and pink 'frogs' skeletal structure matches that of a human, and not a frog at all.

[@Komami-tt6we]

だめだ何度も聴いてしまう。中毒性すごい。輪廻転生壮大ですね。

[@SanC224]

We born, we reproduce, we die. The ones left behind follows the same and so the cycle of life goes on and on. It tends to get overwhelming the more we try to dig deep into the philosophy however by the end, nothing changes and the legacy carries on. Edit: I watched video again, and I began to realise that maybe the concept of "mukti" has been used in the video. It's basically escaping from this cycle of reincarnation. (4:44) we can see the hands yearning to reach lord Buddha in heaven with the sacrifices he made earlier, however it fails to achieve enlightenment and falls back to the cycle with that infinity symbol in their eyes

[@user-id7zc6wn8f]

サイケで最高 ほんと多彩だなきくおさんは

[@メリーさんの黒い羊]

まぁ、愛する人と永遠にいっしょって考えればこれもまたハッピーエンド…

[@キノルーム]

きくおさん風味のかえるのうたって感じだと思ったけど、 そうだとしてもアダムとイブみたいになる発想はどこから出てくるんだ…

[@アンリ-x5i]

海外の方が聞いてもとても素敵だと思うんだけど赤ん坊って言い方とかおんなじとかぱんぱんとか日本語でしか伝わらないなんか雰囲気とかが分かるのが日本人に生まれてよかったなって感じがするわはぴねす❤

[@justajevil]

4:25 I don't know what kind of dark magic was used to make that part actually hypnotic, but it worked-

[@VeryEpicStrawberryNani]

Idk-

[@YurikoKayla]

love the essence of Bali in this song omg 😭😭

[@allesarfint]

2:58 OH MY F***ING GOD!!

[@Viv1ann0]

Bamboozled

[@chocozelnut]

At this point kikuo just flexing about how he could play the whole karawitan session (instruments) by himself. Good job kikuo, love your works as always 🥰🥰🥰

[@user-高橋彩]

見れば見るほど理解しようとすればするほど頭がおかしくなりそうだけど妙に中毒性がある。 最初ら辺はそこまで病んでないな〜（当社比）って思ったらいつの間にか狂気に突っ込まれてるし。だけど妙に惹き込まれる絵で特にごうごうと燃え盛る炎の中に阿修羅様っぽいのが光る所が異様な光景なのに目が離せなかった 後嫌嫌って言ってた所は目がグルグルでラストの開眼した目は∞だったけどコレってループしているうちにそうなっていったのかな？最初は普通だけど段々と狂気に染まっていく感じで

[@LeandroPalilingan]

From beginning until end, I love listening the Gamelan music and also the "Sinden", because this is my favorite song in the history of my Life. And also as an Indonesian, I feel comfortable when I listen this song for the first time, like today. That's all that I can say, correct me if I'm wrong. P.S Yang orang Indonesia, komen dong.

[@CatchUpMORIN]

Yes!! Sinden and the melody patern sounds like "Macapat" too then it shift to kinda Baliness Gamelan especially the part when lots of hand clap just like Kecak

[@LeandroPalilingan]

@@CatchUpMORIN Ok, thanks for the info 🙏🏻

[@LeandroBrony]

Keren sekali, sangat menarik.

[@S-D-A99]

indonesian speaker here!,as a person myself been living in java this is pretty much accurate keep it a good work kikuo!😍

[@_opechan_]

oh my god this is true. I feel absolutely comfortable and familiar with this song. Of course its sinden and the gamelan. This is modern Ja(p)vanese. Also in the break when they "praise the God", I thought it kinda looks like a Kecak form.

[@Souppycat]

I like to think that one day kikuo just woke up and thought to himself "I'm gonna make a complete banger song about frogs, reincarnation and Buddhism" so specifically and out of the blue.

[@yeetman4953]

frogs are kinda related to reincarnation tho in japanese folklore.

[@MrEpiclost]

i love this so much. the invcorporation of southeast asian music with modern music is amazinggg i cant get enough! visuals n story-telling is incredible too as usuall

[@hs_doubbing]

Even though I could tell this song wasn't exactly happy and uplifting, I couldn't help but smile when I heard it the first time, because it's so beautifully composed. An absolute masterpiece.

[@megansolanomontesino1566]

Apenas el año pasado me enteré de las canciones de Kikuo y de verdad no me arrepiento, es la primera vez que escucho esta y me parece igual de hermosa que el resto, es genial que estas canciones también se suban aquí así no perderé de ninguna ¡¡TE ADORO KIKUO!!

[@julianmarukaaa8602]

amo

[@laconejitadelcorazoncristiano]

X3

[@tammymisu3370]

llevo años escuchando a Kikuo y nunca deja de sorprendernos! es realmente maravilloso conocer a un artista de esta calidad, es totalmente un orgullo seguirlo y ser fan ♥

[@Adam-is4pl]

🙂👍

[@chisathot750]

yo usualmente me aburro de sus canciones muy rápido pero luego escucho otro album suyo y me vuelvo a enamorar jajaj

[@somethingbehindyou]

ive noticed a something lol dance of the corpse is about suicide dance of the frogs though, is about living maybe kikuo did this WITH intention, seeing as dotc is made in 2013 and dotf was made in 2023.

[@tonkinthehanoian1843]

and dying, in the loop

[@Whisspence]

the way it changed so drastically halfway through blew me away, holy wow

[@pentadunk]

i love this song, it has such a danceable beat! also love the MV and how much it leans into the buddhist themes

[@目薬中毒]

アカツキチョータさんのMVできくお曲の みんなのうた(ダークver.)感が更に濃くなってて好き 輪廻に飲まれる2匹のカエルに思いを馳せてたらなんか涙出てきた、すばらしや〜