No Wonder they Call it "Depression Impact" || Rubia: Honkai Impact 3rd

[@MarcoMeatball]

I watched the video with CC do not worry. I didn't just cry because it's pretty to look at :D Also apologies for the error with the extremely gifted Zhou Shen

[@mokonaq.4494]

OH THANK GOD! I thought for a moment you didn't watch it with the CC. Love ur reaction videos once again. You're doing amazing.

[@veggiecat6695]

You’re not the only one mistaken him as a girl. This animated short was the one that got me into honkai impact 3.

[@SystemBot]

tbf not expecting you to cry since this is literally spoilers and there's a lot of story you need to know to really understand what's happening and hit you in the feels. Definitely one of my top cinematics of the game because of how beautiful it is ...and it's one of the only few happier ones.

[@seulbilee1025]

The song about a girl who lived for 50,000 years while still fulfilling her mission

[@thanhnguyenduc2867]

It's okay,my man. I been the same like you in my first time listen to it like "dang,what? Really? What a unbelievable talent" and then i search for his name and i talking you,this guy nailed it

[@uzumakirakku]

Little fun fact about the singer: Zhou Shen, also known as Charlie Zhou, is a male singer with a naturally high and ethereal voice who has been gaining a lot of fame in recent years. He has also studied Bel canto singing and is overall a really good singer.

[@MarcoMeatball]

wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@kingjamos2422]

That was a dude? Whoa. My mind officially blown. He did a beautiful job.

[@veggiecat6695]

And the last part of the song where there is a children choir in the background, that was sang bu Zhou Shen himself.

[@linnen_elm]

wait- wha??? this Rubia was sung by a male???

[@spiderdude2099]

@@linnen_elm indeed. You can watch a live version if you don’t believe the OP

[@TheNukedNacho]

“I’ve listened to Rubia hundreds of times. Surely I won’t cry this ti- *LIFE BLOOMS LIKE A FLOWER* ”

[@Talon1124]

And I'm tearing up all over again.

[@hajimeamano7319]

"This song is great, I'm kinda used to it n- WAITING FOR THE ONE TO FIND THEIR WAY BACK HOME"

[@thealandude9146]

"It hasn't even been a month since I heard this for the first time surely I won't g- COULD YOU PLEASE HEAR MY VOICE, THAT HUNGERS FOR A DUOOOO"

[@DagothUrNeravar]

Fu hua is a great character

[@ElatedSphee]

I have a love-hate relationship with this mentality.

[@Anknara]

This is the kind of song that could be played at both a wedding and a funeral.

[@FloeticsPH]

That's so true lmao. 😂

[@ArkaSkyburner]

True

[@decapulet]

agreed

[@kianatunasimp6335]

I would love to hear this for my graduation

[@ZeroTwoJumpForev]

You know what I think I'll play this song when I marry one day

[@pyopyonyo3222]

Don't feel bad, everyone cries on Rubia, this song is just too good. But that's good, it's healthy to cry to a track like this.

[@Cadzillion]

Rubia will be the only song that I will genuinely cry to

[@aeiztaloraezi7687]

Top ten songs that hit you differently emotionally

[@idmss2663]

" Trading sacrifices for so-called victories. It's unacceptable... Give Fu Hua... back to me!! " Kiana can't watch another one of her friends sacrifice themselves while she is helpless to do anything again... Man, this song is so beautiful

[@kinodarkblaze9103]

honkai created such an intricate system of songs and finally wrapped up the ark in moon halo that gives me chills . the moon halo had all the answers for all the previous songs bundled in one song that the songs tell the story. Nightglow : Never let you go Moon Halo : I will never let go Cyber Angel : Through my wings have been bloodstained and could never rid Moon Halo : Unfold this pair of wings for me again​ Starfall : I want no tomorrow or yesterday Moon Halo : Brighter than tomorrow or yesterday Honkai Sekai no Utahime : Crimson moon shines upon a town that is smeared in blood Moon Halo : Turned into a moon that always tells the warmth and brightness of the sun Rubia : Find a way back home Moon Halo : There is a way back home now we just need the moon halo

[@MarcoMeatball]

We ned a few more than moon halo :D

[@cjlauze5977]

subtle way of telling him what to watch and what order to watch them in. i like it!

[@emberthecatgirl8796]

I'd just want to point out again, the translation team for Honkai World Diva actually bothered to make the english translation viable for singing in the same way as the japanese version. Each verse is no more than a syllable off the original.

[@randomuserame]

@@emberthecatgirl8796 The only other company i've seen put that much effort in is Riot Games with KDA

[@kitsune2152]

@@randomuserame bro check out hypergriph

[@horus_p7]

One small thing I love about this short is Kiana's reaction just before the explosion and Fu Hua disappears. After Kiana says there must be some way to deal with the Herrscher other than sacrificing herself, Fu Hua says, "This is my mission," which is exactly what Kiana said to Mei in 'Lament of the Fallen'. Now that she's on the receiving end of those words, Kiana looks like she was slapped in the face, and she realizes how much it must have hurt Mei to hear Kiana essentially say she was sacrificing her life for "The Mission". It was because of that mindset that Mei left in an attempt to save her, and now another of her dearest friends from St. Freya was sacrificing herself with the same mindset. Really powerful stuff. The writers and directors of Honkai Impact 3rd are on another level.

[@hollow8136]

Going to amend something to this. But this isn't quite correct. People latched onto this because of the way the translators worded it, so I can't blame people for having this interpretation. But that line and Kiana's reaction to it is more about a longstanding thing between Kiana and Fu Hua than it is about the Lament of the Fallen bit. Throughout the main game, manga, and other media both Kiana and Fu Hua have this fixation on their "duty." The English subs here translated the Chinese as "Mission" but that isn't quite the right connotation. Because a mission is something someone can just kind of not fulfill, but to Kiana and Fu Hua they had an obligation, or a "fated" duty to fulfill that they had to achieve. They mention this to others and to each other throughout the series. So, Fu Hua mentioning that to Kiana is sort of a call back to the Mei interaction, but more about Kiana and Fu Hua's shared flaw in that sense. Which fits more with the theme of Rubia, and the short in general being about their shared pain.

[@kuroh0241]

@@hollow8136 Yes, they mention it through the game that's why this translation doesn't matter. Everyone understands this as duty.

[@kusanagi-no-tachi5303]

@@hollow8136 So... Tl;dr: "You're right, but you're wrong by one word."

[@mon_moi]

I really like the title for this animated short - 'Shattered Samsara'. Samsara is a Hindu and Buddhist concept referring to the cycle of death and rebirth. A 'shattered' samsara could therefore be a metaphor for the end of a painful cycle

[@gilgagimmickkingofheroes6416]

which describes Fu Hua's story so damn well

[@AlvinaYunoa]

Which is Fu Hua

[@mariapazgonzalezlesme]

*Fun fact:* Fu Hua's CN VA also voices the Herscherr of Sentience (Fu Hua of red eyes and grey hair), Albedo and Fischl. Samsara is the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Fu Hua has been doing this cycle for more than 50,000 years --- protecting mankind, being betrayed, fighting the Honkai, following orders, losing friends and burning her own memories to avoid going insane. But beneath all that, lies a young girl that felt lost almost all her life, and never felt as if she belonged somewhere. This short "Broken Samsara" shows Fu Hua finally choose to live, but this time, she is not longer alone. Because Kiana decided to remind her that she is not longer alone, and can live as herself. Not as a soldier, but as simple Fu Hua.

[@dokidokidango1896]

Damn it...I spent all my money on primogems in Genshin and crystals in Honkai and now I can't afford tissues

[@daysand123]

Herrscher of Sentience. Also known as Better Hua/Bonk Squad/Yatta

[@vanonian197]

@@daysand123 and Herrscher of Scam

[@hirololisuko1486]

@@vanonian197 the only Herrscher I’d let scam me

[@AQ_AD]

@@daysand123 and a support type character who demolished the enemies before your dps enters the field

[@kuvjason7236]

Tetra-Calyx is the the song writer for mihoyo and has done an astonishing job on all her songs she's written. She understands the characters more so than even the players that every song released has been an absolute banger.

[@zuikatsu]

She was the VA of many characters in GGZ/Honkai Gakuen so it only makes sense :)

[@ryanmatthew609]

I wouldn't be surprised if she also played the game

[@ArkaSkyburner]

I remember the time when tetracalyx voiced the OG3 on ggz

[@hollow8136]

Also as a fun fact, almost every line in Rubia is a reference to something Kiana and Fu Hua have said to one another at some point of the story. Tetra Calyx really is a master of entwining music and story together.

[@araguardian6954]

I love this song, to me after playing the game it symbolizes accepting that life comes with loss, and that what’s important is to accept to beauty in the present, to move forward and fight for who you believe in, the motto I love from honkai is “Fight For All That is Beautiful in the World”. Btw the final kanji roughly translates to. “Everything changed, here and now”

[@araguardian6954]

I also like that you don’t have the subtitles on, it allows the voice acting and intonation flow through, even though I’ve seen this scene countless times, I’m able to appreciate the intentions behind it more

[@MarcoMeatball]

@@araguardian6954 i watched it with subtitles. :)

[@sleeplessknight173]

​@@MarcoMeatball I think they mean that we didn't have the subs so we could just focus on the voice acting. It very much would not have been cool if you really didn't use an subs

[@MarcoMeatball]

@@sleeplessknight173 oh oh oh

[@nanhty8321]

Btw just a heads up, kanji specifically references the use of traditional Chinese characters in Japanese, the equivalent use in Korean for example is Hanja. In this situation where untranslated, those characters would be hanzi or Chinese characters.

[@VividAmbitions]

I've heard Rubia and watched the animation so many times that it doesn't usually bring me to tears anymore, but hearing your story hit different. Thanks for keeping it in the vid. Always nice seeing your reactions. I'm sure your father beyond proud of where you're at now.

[@MarcoMeatball]

I think so too.

[@aliroonie]

This song as well and Nightglow will always make me cry

[@ying0878]

Zhou Shen, the singer is really cool, has sang pieces like “Time to Say Goodbye” where he sings the female vocal part and was classically trained, it would be cool if you could review some of that.

[@龚炎斌]

the sound of children inrubia is also by zhou shen. His most famous songs are 大鱼 达拉崩吧 find them on KZbin.

[@kingjamos2422]

Not gonna lie, this had quite an emotional impact. Yes yes, I know. Dad jokes, I got them. Seriously though, I teared up quite a bit by just listening to the song and then we watched the video attached to it. Then I got chills and teared up more. My mind was going to similar places that yours did, Marco. In the past five years I had lost so many that I love and the losses continued February when my grandma and cat died the same week. What I would do, what pains I would go through, what I would tear through... just for one more moment with them. Now I'm feeling a little too emotional, so I should head out. Thanks for sharing this video and your own painful story.

[@MarcoMeatball]

thanks as always for sharing, King.

[@Yaori999]

At first he was just sad, even though he didn't know these characters and their stories and struggles, he was touched to the very core. Then, he almost cried, and now we finally got 'im. While the music is considered triumphant by many, a "happy ending" as people call it, as represented by Kiana saving Fu Hua, and the visuals showing Fu Hua's change and willingness to see things through, throughout the countless years she lived on to watch over humanity even after her's was destroyed, despite the sacrifices people made. I, however, always felt it to be more of a melancholic/bittersweet ost. We won this battle, but there is still a long way to go, we haven't won the war. We ceased victory but at what costs, what did we lose, what are we going to lose as the result of our choices? Nothing comes for free, especially in Honkai, for every victory there is always a set back, a price to pay. Not only that, but by bringing Fu Hua back, we had to cast out Sentience, who was the villain of the arc of our own making, in a way. They were but a newborn child, convinced they were someone else (real Fu Hua), while also being manipulated by the Honkai. Sentience had Fu Hua's power, memories and combat prowess as well as Herrscherr-level Honkai energy, making her stronger still. She could've been humanity's strongest warrior if we took her under our wing and accepted her, but we chose the past we knew, over future that might've been, causing her to be our enemy. She wanted acceptance but our heroes chose with emotion, rather than logic. But was it worth it, was it the right choice? Can't wait for more Honkai greatness from you, good sir, keep up the good work!

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thank you! :)

[@tenshi7123]

When Kiana said "I've had enough of sacrifices", we captains really felt that... I don't know about others, but at this point in the story I'd gotten quite used to the concept that a cinematic equals we're losing someone in one sense or another, and we had already had multiple moments with Fu Hua where the wording in the story leant itself to us never seeing her again - fakeout deaths being something that (according to my memory) has only ever been afforded to this character, and with less and less of her returning each time. From what I've seen, a lot of captains go into this cinematic expecting it to be a final goodbye. This chapter was an emotional relief as we realized that not everything has to end with a goodbye, that if we hold on tightly enough to someone they don't have to disappear. It also mirrored a previous situation with flipped roles (Kiana being the one to perform self sacrifice declaring it her mission on that occasion) that didn't go as well and had already had one other reprise that also ended poorly, so this third episode of the same things happening over again (in a samsara, if you will) but the pattern of things not ending the best getting 'shattered' was a massive relief. I wanted to talk about this because hearing your personal experience with your dad, but not having a similar experience of my own, I wondered how I had a similar emotional reaction. I realized that the game set it up so that it gave you that personal experience of losing things and not being able to break through the barrier to rectify things and get a conclusion through its own story before letting Kiana, the main character, often the point of view that the player follows and thus relates to the most, manage to break this cycle if just this once. Because Honkai so rarely gives this style of an ending where everything ended well, it hit hard for everyone that this time, we were allowed to keep someone with us. - I nerd out about this story a lot. Honkai is such a great game.

[@MarcoMeatball]

❤️

[@FlutterSwag]

We lost senti for a bit, but now shes back and has found her place 2

[@Nexsus2164]

As Genshin rose from the fruits of its predecessor’s labors, Honkai does more than enough with its story over the span of its tenure as a game to really feel like an ongoing saga for its characters. The songs come in with these climactic and cinematic animations that push the limits of those who make them with each sequential entry, so following the epochal journey with Kiana and everyone else around her feels both intimate and grand. At the start of its game cycle, Honkai’s vision was still in the process of being solved. Characters were being established here and there while they were adapting parts of their previous works while game systems and user interfaces were slowly finding a style. And then came along the arc in Chapters 5 to 9. Pieces laid during the start come into play, aspects of the manga Second Eruption show their faces, and it continues building and building until the first Honkai cinematic and song is presented: Befall. From here on, Honkai becomes more crystal clear in how it portrays its themes. The main story pushes forward, and this pioneering arc culminated into what many consider the first emotional masterpiece of the cinematics: Final Lesson. I could go on about what Honkai as a game- a free to experience mobile (though still gacha) game, mind you- offers when you dive into it, but you can tell that its developer team absolutely adores their inspirations and the craft of making stories across a wide span of themes and genres. Genshin and its team may be miHoYo / Hoyoverse’s breakthrough into the mainstream, but Honkai for me was what solidified me into following what the company does. Through all of what Honkai has accomplished, it’s the game that I think proves that they really are the “Tech Otakus Saving the World”, and it’s by far my favorite media franchise for how much it has given to me and so many other people who love it, too.

[@smartinro.]

Splendid! Couldn't say it better. My same thoughts.

[@mikerelf]

In my friends group we have a running joke that Genshin is just a way for Hoyoverse to make money whichi would be spent on Honkai cinematics. Can't wait to see the newest one with Elysia and Flame Chasers (it's technically out, but I want to see it in the context of the chapter/story first).

[@mikerelf]

@@st0281zr Honkai quite literally introduced us to 13 completely new characters with Elysian Realm, and built them up into each having amazing story and personality. Genshin released almost 2 full years ago, and if it's still in measily introduction = boy are there ever more interesting games to experience. Doesn't help that most of the charater introduction/lore in Genshin is pure FOMO - if you ever miss it, tough luck - you ain't replaying when YOU want or have time for it.

[@elainasynranelt]

@@st0281zr There is no one “masterpiece they always wanted to create”. Every single one of their games is equally loved. Whether it is Flyme2themoon, GGZ, Honkai, or Genshin, they love all their games equally and are equally passionate about them. You’d know that if you actually watched the dev interviews they’ve done. Every single piece of their games are carefully crafted with equal passion for the stories they’re telling and the worlds they’re making. They made a multiverse simply because they “couldn’t bear to part with the characters they’ve created”

[@yan131]

@@st0281zr Woah there, what you're saying is facts but other's just an opinion? For example the first two years story wise, i'm assuming you have not play the game yet , so where did you heard that the first two years story was mediocre? Isn't that your opinion? Yes, the story started slow cuz most of it focus on introducing main characters, Herrschers and organizations. But Genshin outperform it, isn't that also just your opinion because I don't think so. And Honkai doesn't need Yun Jin, right now culture doesn't provide help with the Honkai situations. What if I say that you're biased toward Genshin is a fact not an opinion, so is that a fact or an opinion? Hmmm no hate tho.

[@yukirinbushida605]

What hits harder is that the irony of Fu Hua doing what Kiana's been doing to Mei and the others. She'll dive in without a second thought without any regard for her safety. She's ready to sacrifice herself but can't see that there'll be those who'll be left behind. This is mostly the turning point where Kiana finally realises that trading sacrifices for victories is not the way to go.

[@caibra88]

The power of this piece really shines through in the Shattered Samsara battle. Kiana deciding not to lose anymore people she loves. It was a very powerful moment in the story. There's that one part of dialogue I will never forget and it's when HoS says she will not lose to Kiana, then Kiana comes back with "Fu Hua was never a loser" which was just one incredibly epic line. She's defending her friend, even as her friend is fighting her. This was all around powerful. We see thousands of years of pain, and betrayal manifest in the Herrscher of Sentience. Like you can't even be mad at her because she's been through so much horrible shit and she just couldn't keep that core of pain tempered. Leave it to Tuna and Phoenix to come together to tame the beautiful beast that is the Herrcher of Sentience. Ahhhh Mihoyo/Hoyoverse are truly artists. I think most of us cry through their damn videos because between the story, music, animation , and voice cast, they come pretty damn close to perfect. I always need tissues with these shorts.

[@gamerkingdom1442]

As a man who will always love animation till the end of my time, THAT WAS FREAKING BEAUTIFUL. And the song is just the icing on the cake. It’s stuff like this that makes me love GAMING, storytelling that intertwines with ya. And bro, thank you for sharing about your father. I bet he would be proud of ya. Also! Saw your post of playing UNDERTALE!! Hope ya enjoy your playthrough!! That game is “Built Different.”

[@MarcoMeatball]

thanks!!!! :)

[@rillzy9637]

Doesn’t matter how many time I listen to this song and watch the animation, I always cry my eyes out. The focal character in this scene is questioning her worth, if she was worth the effort of others, if she was worthy to have friends and loved ones. In essence, she was asking, her friend Kiana (the female lead) in this context if she was worth going to hell and back for. I feel we ask ourselves the same question and tell ourselves lies about our worth. We all need a friend who values us like Kiana values Fu Hua (focal character in the animation)

[@radiotaku0539]

Just FYI, the singer is actually a boy, I was so shocked yet so amazed when I learned about it.

[@AGuy-vq9qp]

I mean it's been processed quite heavily

[@radiotaku0539]

@@AGuy-vq9qp I actually listened the live version, it’s really close the the processed one.

[@AGuy-vq9qp]

​@@radiotaku0539 now I'm curious, got a link?

[@jojomicheldu59]

wait what

[@nocturvance4962]

The singer: ZhouShen is male and 29 years old now. His feature is incurable high pitch, higher than normal female tone.

[@unlucky58]

where men cried so hard they felt the sympathy of every character's origin. Hua being this character that goes through a lot of pain finally broken the cycle really hits you in the feels.

[@icewindsuite]

zhou shen is an amazing singer ! he did a cover of a vocaloid song “da la beng ba” and it shows off his range incredibly! he’s also sang a bit of opera in french before!!!

[@Gaphid]

Honkai songs are just, so powerful i swear ive never cried as much playing a video game as honkai, also please tell me you watched the video with subtitles to have a little of context over what was happening, i didn't see them but im not sure if you were seeing them or not.

[@MarcoMeatball]

I did watch it with the subtitles!

[@Gaphid]

@@MarcoMeatball Good to know, the music already says a lot, but having the context helps.

[@Mennion3]

It's funny how I was introduced to Honkai music from Marcos reaction to regression and then I binged Honkai Music and fell in love with this song. I thought Marco had already reacted to it but he didn't so easy like when this popped up in my feed. Zhou Shen is such an amazing singer!

[@samuel30853s]

fuhua was a wanderer who walk in this earth for 50 thousand years without something that she can call a home, and now she finally found that home after a long painful journey, she finally can rest after those 50 thousand years of wandering fu hua character is truly deep and realistic, kudos to mihoyo not to make those stereotype immortal character who's edgy and cartoonish and only want revenge, she really break those stereotype

[@nailwind]

Thanks for sharing something so personal and heartfelt with us -- for a brief moment there I got to completely feel you despite being complete strangers. That's the power of art right there. Really got to me too

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thanks for being open to it :)

[@GracefulMage3089]

Rubia is about eons past, and finding hope in a world that's forgotten about all you've known. A light to shine through, in a time where you don't belong.

[@TheEswarnotwehr]

i just caught up to the story when this animation came out and cried buckets on my first watch. Thx for covering this masterpiece.

[@Weltte]

Zhou Shen's voice and emotion expression is goals- 🤧 Love your insights, sir Marco! 😊

[@DanielGold123]

Another amazing video man. That interpretation was pretty spot on, it makes so much sense with context, and fyi, please put the English captions so you don't miss out on information. Thank you man.

[@MarcoMeatball]

I watched it with the captions. They don't come on when I upload the video which is why I cried.

[@seulbilee1025]

The song is really suitable for Hua An ordinary girl, witnessed the destruction of her world, forced to become a soldier,survived many battles Now she lived for 50,000 years still fulfilling her mission

[@KianaMeiElysia]

absolutely love your reaction videos, you go into so much detail interpreting the music. I also like how you listen to the music first before watching the animation, i dont know why but it just feels better that way. Hope to see more of your reactions in the future.

[@MarcoMeatball]

yup this is the best way for most videos!

[@Cadzillion]

The song, the buildup into the chorus, the way he sings the song, the memories of the chapters, everything, it reminds me and gives me goosebumps. It's making me cry

[@gregorymanucharyan6283]

0:19 Just with the first seconds of listening, that reaction was like: “Not again Mihoyo, don’t make me cry again”. It’s amazing how some people don’t take videogame music seriously when there are so many outstanding works out there. Loved the video.

[@InquisitorAstelon]

Thanks for sharing about your dad. This song always brings the tears for me even after all this time and watching the cinematic so many times. From the perspective of someone who played the game since it launched, it's the culmination of years of story for an immortal character that's done nothing but sacrifice for the sake of the world for thousands of years (Fu Hua). She was once told by a now long dead friend "Someday, you'll find someone who cares more about you than about the world" and she finally has.

[@hxenjwel]

Omg i love this music. it is so sad. specially if you match this with Fu Hua's story. Zhou Shen did a great job here. I can't believe his voice is so soothing and so feminine.

[@midoi8161]

Do note that there is CC's on these videos, you may be doing it without them in fear of spoiling yourself and thats understandable, but on the slim chance you didn't know, all the animations should be fully translated and captioned on the videos. though you're doing a very amazing job at pulling the meaning from the songs alone.

[@MarcoMeatball]

I watched it with captions!

[@capullete1]

Welcome to Zhou Shen's family. FYI, all Zhou Shen's performances have not been autotuned whatsoever and he always sings with a full open mic which not so many artists will do nowadays because of their abilities. By the way, you only listen to 1% of Zhou Shen's talents based on this video. To tell you a bit about Zhou Shen's background. He is from China. He got bullied when he was young just because his voice didn't change when puberty came but that was not his choice and people called him names like sissy or he sounds like a woman etc..... because of that he didn't sing in front of people for a long time and he even tried to tone down his voice when he speaks. It takes a long time for him to accept his own voice again and gets where he is now all around the world. He studied Dentistry in Ukraine when he was young but because of the language barriers, he changes to study Classical music there instead. His goal is to combine Classical and Pop music together to introduce them to those who didn't know what Classical music is. His vocal range is very wide and his breath control is extremely good. He is a polite, funny, and humble guy. He can sing at least over 12 different languages which included Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Russian, Ukraine, Polish, Japanese, Hindi, French, Italian, Thai, Spanish etc........ He can even sing 6 different voices in one song. His music has so many different genres. If you are willing to dig into his performances, you will be amazed by his talents. A lot of music can heal people's bodies but not many can heal people,'s, souls. Zhou Shen's music is one of them that can heal your soul. Even with his high note, it will not hurt your ears, not like so many artists out there. Thank you again for reacting to Zhou Shen's performance.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Fantastic he’s incredible

[@VoidHxnter]

I didn't even realize that last part of your comment, "His high notes will not hurt your ears." I'm a musician with really sensitive ears, and I had never noticed that his high notes weren't uncomfortable. That breath control is insane.

[@steliosmakrogiannis2003]

Listening again this song brought me to tears because this particular song brought me back memories when I first saw the cutscene with this song.... This song its about a character in Honkai that had too much pain... I need tissues again

[@stygis6244]

Hey Marco, just wanna acknowledge you for your content. I think I can speak for the Honkai Community and say that we really appreciate your analysis and appreciation of each animated shorts and their theme songs. I hope you can try the game sometime soon without any rush and at your own pace. Keep doing you Marco!

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thanks so much this is so nice I really appreciate it

[@aqiiiiiiiil]

damn it, it doesn’t matter how many time I watched this even without subtitles I still cry.

[@PhamNam2608]

Thanks for your reaction. Your story is truly touching. However, there are still many people like Kiana out there who will help you feel warmer and especially not lonely anymore. You are one of my favorite reactors. Stay positive

[@ben-taobeneton3945]

This happens rare but I cried along with you. In a way I missed this form of humanity to shed a tear along with a person, even if he's far away, I still felt it. This masterpiece is so well balanced between the passing away and the life that is present - Samsara - The cycle of life. Amazing! No words can describe my emotions at the moment.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thank you for sharing. ❤️😫🙏

[@ben-taobeneton3945]

@@MarcoMeatball Only You - Your channel opens up me up and only here I will open up. A Likewise thank you, Marco 🙏

[@araguardian6954]

And again, thank you for doing this, you give so much of your heart into these videos and it makes me respect you so much, thank you from the bottom of my heart

[@MarcoMeatball]

[@conleyshen8062]

Despite playing this for almost a year now, you still manage to find so much hidden meaning in these shorts and music, and frankly Mihoyo does a better job than a lot of the other companies that actually focus specifically on anime and whatnot. PS the ending stills and walk was showing the character progressing through her (very) long life, and your thoughts on how she wishes things could go back to how they were is also very accurate as well. The final shot of her in more normal clothes connects to her origins as an average student, so I think it shows how she is sort of "moving past" everything that happened and finding a new place to continue onwards. Next in line is Everlasting Flames/Moon Halo. Enjoy more tears 😣

[@acyned8079]

Thanks for putting your reaction and view on the song! It resonated with me.

[@yllare]

I'm still amazed how you're able to pull out the emotions being conveyed in the songs you feature. Thanks for featuring another Honkai song. Rubia is Fu Hua's story as much as Kiana's. For Kiana, it signified the a big step on her road to redemption and acceptance. She's not losing another loved one like she did with Himeko, she's having none of that again. For Fu Hua it was the end of millennia of loneliness, of single-mindedly working towards the long-laid-out plan of guiding and guarding the budding new humanity against the resurgence of honkai. It's a beautiful song paired with a heart-wrenching story.

[@kukuandkookie]

Zhou Shen really is amazing… He even announced on his Weibo account that he sang the children’s chorus in the middle of “Rubia” too. 😭 I know a lot of people have commented about how amazing this short is, how brilliant Honkai Impact is, how emotional the song is, how talented of a singer Zhou Shen is… And I agree with all of that so I won’t say much else, but I definitely adore every single one of Zhou Agen’s songs. He just has both such a beautiful, angelic, smooth voice and an incredible range-I’m genuinely blown away by how he can sing soft as well as dark, and even low! His song “Big Fish” from the movie _Big Fish and Begonia_ definitely remains one of my favourite songs of his. 🥹

[@janina3879]

Rubia got me into giving the game a shot. Now I'm heavily invested in it's story, characters and music. We might not be able to bring back the dead.. but as long as we live we can remember. And that memory is a treasure worth protecting.

[@BiBye]

Been a viewer for a while but hearing someone call their parent their soulmate, their best friend hits me hard, like trying not to sob hard. I lost my mom not too long ago (about seven years ago. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago, sometimes it was just yesterday.) It feels strangely validating to hear someone else have such a strong relationship with their parent. Beautiful song and is definitely making me want to look more into this game.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thanks for sharing. ❤️ means a lot.

[@Shiina42]

I have zero exposure to honkai, zero to this song, this is only the second video of yours I have ever seen but holy hell that song and video are an amazing example of the power of music and visuals coming together. I felt emotion just hearing the song, but god hearing it, how it was edited in with the visuals, how it swelled and flowed. I don't know anything and I ugly cried, like nasty sobbed for about 10 minutes. what an absolutely exceptional work of art.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Damn. Also hi :)

[@Shiina42]

@@MarcoMeatball Yo! Fun content for sure! Keep up the good work :D

[@Talguy21]

Honkai is a carefully crafted scalpel masterfully manipulated to snip at heartstrings, I tell you. And context makes it even stronger! Up to this point there'd been months of in-game time setting up a very close teacher-student relationship between Fu Hua and Kiana, and Kiana owes no small part of her ability to FUNCTION to Fu Hua. ...their writing is top-tier, and it's exemplified in the shorts like this one.

[@relejacion7777]

Nightglow and Rubia... both are musical pieces that move many things deeper inside of me. And as you said is because it connects whit our losses In our real life. I hope you still fight day after day to achive the calm in your soul, and few to few, face your dad's lost..Maybe still hurts, and of course that scar maybe never vanish completely, but at least I hope, some day, you can deal in peace with your loss. Warm regards from Mexico bro. Keep your strenght.

[@dualwieldroxas358]

Honkai music writers really understand the notes and measures that clutch at people's hearts. Combine that with tremendously well written characters, and you have an extremely emotional score

[@GrimmShane]

I remember, when I first watched the cinematic this song came along with, and then listened to the song on my own time, tears flourished in absence of streaming, the first time in a long while that a piece of media made me cry a mix between tears of joy and sadness that can only be described as catharsis, accomplishment, and...Melting. the rest of the stories that Honkai told after hit harder and harder, one after the other as I experienced them at my own pace, reading carefully and listening to every piece of voice acting, music and in-stage dialogue that I could; and from there, it all came to a Glorious, Finishing crash with chapter 25, slowly breaking apart threads and relationships, my own heart shattering as I saw these beloved characters go through an abyss that not even their overwhleming power could take them through alone and so it all reached the climax there, with Moon Halo. a song that puts the mark to the start of something greater than just Kiana, or just Valkyries, putting down the first brick of what isn't a wall, but the forge to the mightiest blade of humanity; and as I watched in awe, rage, amusement and pride, I could not help but SCREAM, a nonsensical burst of emotion, simply punctuating the very depths of my thoughts as they were, Because we raised that girl. and she ain't going down just now. and for that, I'm Proud. Honkai has a way of making you feel emotions you'd never expect when you first download it without context as a "Haha funny little Mobile game with a lot of pretty waifus" you go in expecting a cool if not just fun adventure, and come back out with crippling depression; but that depression only leaves open the way for something else, when you're so invested in events and characters to be proud of them, to reach the very point of crying at their failures, celebrating their victories, and eagerly awaiting every step of the way, that depression turns into excitement, and eventually...Eventually it all Crashes down into reality in whatever you can process as Emotion, be it shouting, crying, laughing but regardless of what happens, you're still there, the characters will always be there for you to revisit, these songs will always be there again to revisit them, because for once, it's something you can't exactly say you'll Lose, at least not for as long as it remains supported, documented, Made. and mister meatball, your story is one I'd say is well held to heart, the dead don't return, we all know this, yet that doesn't mean we must simply forget them when moving on, for turning the page, much like a story, isn't about doing away with what came before, but to build upon it. thank you for this piece of content, your reactions and analysis are always fun to watch, and for that, I salute you; have a good day, night, or whatever time of the day it is when you read this

[@MaxDGacha]

This is without context, now imagine the players going through this. I cried like a baby.

[@raulbrener6584]

That got me emotional. I was already with a teardrop dancing in my eye with this beautiful song but with your story with you dad I couldn't help it. Thank you Marco

[@lucianocantu4266]

Oh MY God. Rubia! Thank you so much, this song is so powerfull-beautiful at the same time one of my favorites in honkai series. Thanks for watch the animation in chinese. Hits different

[@smartinro.]

Mihoyo knows what nerve to touch to make you cry... It does with every animation short, specially the most recent ones. They are so good doing it, that a non-captain, who doesn't know any context, can also be moved.

[@SlaineReigns]

This is my favorite piece of Honkai Impact music. It hits really hard, when I first heard this song in the cutscene i can't help myself but react like you, the story going on in the screen and the music just made me lose my composure. It's so much filled with emotion, I can't even describe how amazing it is. Also, thank you for sharing your personal story with us Marco. We appreciate what you do for us.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thank you for your kind words

[@XeosLolicon]

i like your reactions about honkai because u understand everything in the animation and music. while this is powerful moment honkai knows very well how to make some of the hardest topics in life like suicide or death depression everyone of those honkai makes good use of them explain them shows them and give u the true answer to every trouble some time its imposible to live is just to hard but u gotta keep moving kiana is that example she is the toughest character i know she lived trough hell and still is moving to save everyone including herself, hua lived 50k years alone betrayed seeing everyone die and she couldn't do anything about it and still to this day she saves people and tries to live bronya was broken by experiments and abuse but she made it trough. himeko die in the most saddest but more mature way possible, mei dealt with her world crumbling when she seen the only one she cared about dying in front of her and chose the hardest choice just to save her, honkai knows what is pain and knows that is hard to deal with most will kneel under the pressure but even if they kneel u can keep moving not matter how hard it gets u need to keep going that beautiful i love this game it helps with my depression it helps love this reaction and keep being strong man i'm sure your father not only is proud of u he is happy for u.

[@MarcoMeatball]

❤️

[@fluffanimationstudios6425]

Fu Hua's story is so complex and beautiful (to the point where I always explain it separately from the main story when I talk about this game) and this animatic was extremely fitting along side the music. You explaining everything in Rubia really reinforces that in my eyes. Thank you as always for the amazing video.

[@harriswang1280]

Thank you for reacting Rubia!☺️ I am a fan of Zhou Shen, the singer of this song. I have been watching the stories in Honkai these days, they made me so sad😭 Sorry if there are grammar problems :)

[@icewindsuite]

OMG ZHOU SHEN MY KING HIS SONG RING THE DOORBELL IS SO !!

[@FiragaJJC]

Zhou has such an amazing voice. Love his talent.

[@lanayer]

Thank you so much for reacting to the song I suggested, it's one of my favorites and I envy anyone who is just experiencing this song for the first time

[@ZHX-CHEN]

我看过，我听过，我也哭过，我的rubia，我的周深，谢谢播主👍🏻

[@phantomchaser0963]

Shattered Samsara as well as Rubia was already one of my favorite animations from honkai, and hearing your story about your father has only deepened that love, may he rest in peace and I know he would be proud of what you are doing.

[@parrallex2038]

Nice reaction. Can't wait for more especially 'Because of You' reaction😁.

[@damieneifer]

There's deeper level to Hua's story actually, Mihoyo even released a short video about her. She is 50k+ years old warrior after all with very unusual life. Should've check it out before Rubia, honestly :(

[@MarcoMeatball]

Would have influenced my interpretation

[@damieneifer]

@@MarcoMeatball but would be okay after initial song reaction and before watching animation :p

[@mybrotherisnotapig6750]

For us Old Captains listening back to past Honkai Ost's hits hard. Such a well crafted and beloved game by Mihoyo/ Hoyoverse. Crazy that a bunch of talented College Tech Otaku's made this game a half decade ago is wild.

[@niffleraku]

Oh boy if you're crying now, just wait til you watch/listen to Everlasting Flames, it's like the ultimate culmination for all of Kiana's hardships and losses, and the payoffs for it all that pain

[@PSSF23]

This song alone pulls me to all the treasures in hoyoverse stories. The animations/music/manga/streams... I don't play the game because of motion sick but man the emotion is strong.

[@TheElemynt]

Great video. Can't wait to see you react to everlasting flames

[@mandaras007]

Definitely my most favourite song in HI3. Hit me difference and I admitted I did cry too.

[@flauscheballchen2855]

I saw that CC so many times but everytime i cry :'3 its just so sad with the music and viusals combined. Also when you know the backstory qvq.

[@lynnovo6598]

Fun fact: the part from 4:08 to 4:36 where there’s a children choir was also sung Zhou Shen He's truly sooo talented

[@carmelomacricm]

ti ci dovrai abituare...i corti di Honkai impact 3rd sono tutti così... ti fanno sempre provare queste emozioni veramente intense da non riuscire a contenere le lacrime anche se alcune canzoni trasmettono emozioni differenti ma sempre forti

[@MarcoMeatball]

Infatti queste canzoni sono veramente belle e hanno la capacità di entrare nell’anima per sicuro

[@carmelomacricm]

@@MarcoMeatball più di una volta ho pianto con regression...quando le ascolti e vedi i corti annessi sapendo di cosa parla la storia è impossibile non piangere...tranne per altre canzoni che ti danno molte altre emozioni...comunque ti consiglio di giocarlo perché ha davvero DAVVERO una grande storia

[@azrael7582]

everytime i listen to this song or the Cinematic i kind of tear up because it hits hard with the lyrics, the visual and the voice...

[@cpo9504]

Been waiting for this sence the first honkai reaction video. I remember crying not because its sad, but this is the second time players of honkai impact experienced a win

[@carln5690]

Chills. This song gave me chills. I think that speaks for just how much emotion was input by the singer and the mastery of the composer, because I have NO experience with the game. There is no lore or story significance it holds for me, and yet it still gives me chills.

[@edward-gh7gq]

cant wait for next review

[@bronyanword4099]

Wait till you see Everlasting Flames and Because of You

[@t3hDaveVODs]

Shattered Samsara is still my favorite Honkai animation because of Rubia. It was also my first new animation as a new captain. I regularly come back to it. Thank you so much for your interpretation and for sharing your story.

[@MarcoMeatball]

❤️🥹🙏

[@kylesmith987]

Loved the reaction and break down. I also really like the format of breaking down the music and then reacting to the cinematic its designed for. Keep up the awesome work.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thanks Kyle!

[@possumsam2189]

Zhou Shen actually sang Rubia live at two separate venues, both at even higher pitches. He added a fair bit of extra flair for his esquire performance but the official broadcast quality was terrible (The fancams are much better). Recently, he sang it live again during his douyin livestream concert.

[@知粥常樂]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6eyl4uYm6dnlbM

[@trba_biko]

yes 😭 Fu Hua has been through so much... i'm so happy you got to listen to this song!!

[@lynnovo6598]

The last part of this video of yours made me tear up )': I'm sorry for your loss... glad your love for music (and games :D) can make you feel such emotions! Loving all your vids so far, keep it up!!

[@Syl14_]

my favourite part of it is when kiana was falling past down all of fuhua's memories she only stopped once by one of the memories possibly one them having a great time showing that she's pushing past aside all of fuhua's life and experiences as the only thing she cared about in that moment was fuhua herself. It tells you that people go through bad things and that you shouldn't let them isolate themself within their trauma but reach out to them for them to move forward.

[@miltonarijr]

how heavy is the burden that you can hold? How many times can you see your loved ones get assasinated, die naturally or just... Disappear? How many times can a single person bear betrayal, hatred, cruelty and lonelyness? These are the questions that Fu Hua has to face. As an inmortal being from a long, long era, she watched the end of her world by the hands of the honkai and the herrshers, failing to protect everyone that she loved and known. When the "zero dawn" (humanity decided that the best way to survive was to let everything gets destroyed and then reborn later, just like horizon zero dawn) activates, she was the one chosen to lead humanity to rebuild and fight against honkai, and yet again begins the cicle of pain, suffering, betrayal and despair, where she just has to suffer all alone as no other people can even comprehend nor understand who she was and how heavy was the burden behind her shoulders. When herrsher of Void awakened, she tried to stop otto's plan, but suddenly... She got betrayed by him and got shot from behind and killed. Fortunately she posseses a mythical weapon called Fenhuang Down that allows herself to reborn like a phoenix at a cost of losing a part of herself everytime, but this time was different... Trying to save everyone else, she transfered her conciousness into the weapon and scattered these parts in order to help her friends save K-423 and, without her main conciousness, all the burden that she was carrying all along came and took over her, corrupting her and becoming the herrsher of sentience

[@Necr0e1]

man rewatching the animation hits me everytime

[@nswlite9899]

wow I didn't expect you have such personal feelings towards my favourite video in honkai, thats amazing, ill be a new sub! I saw some comments mentioned the background about Fu Hua, I also want to add some info. She was just a small town girl, her dad runs a martial art gym in town. Her life plan was go to school & take over her dad's gym later. But after honkai disaster happen everything changed. She survived the disaster, but everyone she knows of died. So she joined the defense force & fight against honkai. During the process she went through experiments, so she became immortal. Then she live 50,000 years to see everyone around her gone & were betrayed by her apprentice and friend. She went through all of this because she believe in her mission to protect humanity. But deep down shes still just the same small town girl. Fu Hua is the most developed character in honkai imo.

[@MarcoMeatball]

❤️

[@peachcloudx1672]

This reaction really touched me, I couldn't help but tear up along with you! Thank you for your heartfelt commentary, I really love your channel. I know this channel is mostly about video game music, but I would love to see your reaction to Made In Abyss OST. It's an anime, it's not for everyone but the soundtrack is one thing everyone agrees is beautiful. I would recommend listening to the tracks Transcendence & Hanazeve, Tomorrow, Made In Abyss Theme, Pathways and The First Layer.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thanks for your kind words. I certainly won’t be doing anime for a while but perhaps that may change as the channel evolves

[@godblessed2338]

Watchin' this video in a dark room and crying silently... goodbye old honkai...

[@dlx7844]

Man that's amazing the music passes so much of the message emotionally, that you've caught on that pretty spot-on :o

[@felipepena9405]

Hey Marco! Idk if you'll read this, but I've recently found your videos and it has been really good to watch each one of them while I get to know a bit of you too. I love the way you express your emotions, truly. Thank you for this video, even though I cried alot while watching it, it made my day. I lost my two moms recently and it has been difficult to deal with their absence, but it just shows how much I love them and how important they were in my whole life. I'm pretty sure your Dad is happy and proud of you, wherever he might be, that's a good place for sure ❤

[@RoninBlackwing]

Shattered Samsara is my favorite short in Honkai. Not only is Rubia an unfairly beautiful song but the storytelling implications of the short are massive. I cry on Everlasting Flames out of sheer pride for Kiana's growth but the biggest step she takes in that growth is here. She makes a choice - her friend over the possible risks of letting a Herrscher roam free. Because she has a had enough of people sacrificing themselves for some vague sense of victory. And with that comes the self-realization she is one of those people and she needs to change and be better about it. Kiana has always cherished her friends but after Shattered Samsara she starts to actually rely and lean on them and it does absolute wonders for her. Fu Hua's story is intertwined with and entrenched into most of the 50 thousand year timeline of Honkai and much like the rest of the main cast it's a story of loss and it is really cathartic to watch her finally actually process all of it in healthy way during her time with Kiana in the main story of the game. Shattered Samsara is simply the culmination of that process - she finally understand and more importantly believes she has a place in the world, after 50k years she is no longer just a survivor of a lost civilization, the guardian of the new civilization or a superpowered soldier. I love the core cast of this game. I even love some of the supporting characters. With time I've even grown to appreciate Rita and Raven :) But Kiana and Fu Hua just speak to me in a way the others fall just short of. I adore both of them and that's probably part of the reason why I love this short as much as I do. I've been invested in games before. But it was always more about the gameplay and/or the overall story. Or the social aspect of playing with friends. There was always a degree of detachment. I don't have that with Honkai's characters. The connections with them are shockingly deep and personal and it's why over 95% of my gaming time in the past 18 months has been spent on Honkai Impact. I spent 12 years as a WoW player and while there are characters I do enjoy and love reading fanfic about .... there's just so few of them. Also the game felt like a chore in the final 3 of those years so that didn't help. I was invested in Kiana and her friends and her story in less than 2 hours. I cried to Final Lesson despite having seen it before - that short is what got me interested in the game. Losing Himeko hurt in a very real way. And that's despite the limited time we get with her. And I think it comes down to this - Honkai's writers were given freedom to write and emotionally honest story and it shines through. Yes, it's a gacha game, yes it's trying to sell you pretty character models to fight enemies with but where a lot of other games stop and 'pretty character models', Honkai goes and gives you a reason to what those characters beyond looks or mechanics. The first time I've ever "whaled' for a character was Kiana's Herrscher of Flamescion, not because it was going to be 'meta' ( and it was) but because after seeing Everlasting Flames I couldn't not get her.