#Enstars Climax

[scotts-takes]

"Black Out See Saw" is the Climax Alkaloid Deserved

Top Songs from Enstars 2023 Number 1

I was blown away when the album art for Alkaloid was released a few months ago...

This art is such a sharp contrast from their first album art, that shows how they have grown. The basic military style unit outfits have been replaced with regal commander-style ones. The basic emotions that are shown in the original are now much more refined- in particular, Aira has evolved from someone simply happy to be on a stage to someone who is confident in his place on it, Mayoi is putting himself more in center, and Hiiro's confident smirk has become more stoic, as he now has the experience to go with his skills.

All of this went away, however, when we actually got the Alkaloid Climax song...

Sigh...it was the seasonal Halloween event for the year. Yes, the idea of incorporating hospital/illness and Tatsumi's relationship with it is an interesting story to tell...but Alkaloid deserved so much more, especially as the "Protagonists" for the !! era of Enstars. I was frustrated that the end of this era of Enstars for Alkaloid was wasted on a seasonal event, but was at least able to take solice in that Alkaloid gets 200 chapters of the main story dedicated to them, and we still had solo songs for each character to come from the album. December rolls around, and the album releases. After jumping through hoops to buy it, I throw my headphones on to give the album a listen. The first track, "DiZZineSS" is a weird 30 second preamble with no singing, not something I was expecting. However, it rolls directly into the first new song on the album

Bam

Black Out Sea Saw is a violent wall of sound, unlike anything else that has been done for Enstars before, and I can understand fans not liking it. The reason it sounds so different is because it was produced by TK of Ling Tosite Sigure, a 20+ year going Prog Rock group. I listened to the song 3 times before moving on, and waited for the MV release to come, as is usual with the "B" side track from Albums. And what we got was one of the most well constructed videos for Alkaloid fans, and the climax that I was looking for that wasn't provided by the Halloween song.

The video opens...strangly, especially if you haven't heard the song before. The opening is intentionally choppy and rough, almost like it was an unfinished song that still needed production. There is a weird reverb effect happening- which you can especially hear when Mayoi hits the high note, that led to a friend saying "it sounds like they recorded this in a bathroom or something". The other thing that really jumps out is how robotic and synchronized the movements of all 4 members are. This is a BIG deal. In just about every Alkaloid video, you can find little inconsistencies at various points- Aira is sometimes a bit slow to do something, Hiiro is sometimes a bit too fast, Tatsumi's movements are less athletic, etc. The robotic movements are all in perfect unison, especially at points where characters do things together, like make hand bridges. It's a sign of Alkaloid's growth as a unit- they started as a collection of rejects, and now they haver come together and become a great unit together.

As we go to the first chorus, the intensity of the song ramps up- it becomes FAST, yet every member is in perfect harmony. The dancing becomes more intense- and everyone stays perfect. And then we get to the final line "It's Error-Error", and things start to change- we start to see more finger movement, the motions become more flowing and less robotic (the robots are malfunctioning! error! error!), and more personality is shown by each member.

We then get a wonderful effect of feathers raining from the sky, before, and then we get to see everyone smile, including Hiiro with this soft and expressive look. (that I wish I was able to time slightly better when I took my screenshot!)

Why is this important? Lets take a look at the first Introduction of Hiiro, in his first close-up in Kiss of Life

It's a look of focus, of determination, and NOT one of joy. Hiiro NEVER smiles at any point in Kiss of Life except during the SPP- he maintains a focused look the entire time. Additionally, you can look at just about any Alkaloid video, and Hiiro rarely smiles- if anything, he just physically assaults the camera in every one of them! The final chapter of the main story is titled "Smile", which is a discussion between Hiiro and Rinne on what it means to be an idol, and Rinne telling Hiiro "Whenever I see you smile, it makes me smile too", with Hiiro responding that he will do whatever it takes to make people smile

Hiiro wasn't able to smile in Kiss of Life, as his focus was on putting smiles on the faces of others. It's weird, because when he isn't preforming, a smile is basically plastered on his face permanently. He has a very loud and infectious laugh, and he's just happy to be doing anything at any time. On stage, for him, its different. And Black Out Sea Saw is the first time that Hiiro is able to not just smile, but show kindness in it, as opposed to simple joy or excitement. It's a MASSIVE step forward for him- the kind of thing that, you know, you might build a Climax story around?

And then, we come to the end, where the intensity of the song does not let up, before it all crashes to an end as the lights go dark and Alkaloid go still

To me, this is the Alkaloid Climax, the song that I will remember. They have gone from a group thrown together to a cohesive unit with a sound unlike anyone else in the franchise, and all of whom have had character growth. It's the one that they deserve going into the new era that is upcoming, and even has a level of finality to it, seeing as how it was released right at the end of the year.

Alkaloid deserved better than Undying Holy Love, and boy, did they get it...

[raelyn-dreams]

Screenshots from AKATSUKI's climax announcement! Koga & Souma 3 stars, Kuro 4 star, and Keito 5 star. Event starts on JP server at 15:00 on 11/30!

Very rough translations for each character screenshot:

Koga: It still sounds like hell, that bastard!

Souma: From Akatsuki, I am Kanzaki Souma!

Kuro: Danna... I'm a useless man.

Keito: Effort never betrays anyone. Only people betray people.

[xienst]

valkyrie climax

does anyone know who the songwriter for valkyrie's climax song is? it's so good for example the strings TvT

somehow this is the closest profile i get? the piano + strings + rock kind of fit, but he ^ passed away in 2021

[milksetters]

that's fair, I'm the one who still embrace you knowing that.

[poyaposted]

So that Eden Climax right

[randomminty]

Enchanted by akatsukis princess carryisms

[chichapalabok]

"Only the two of us can understand the sureness of our love...My Dear"

Dear by Ben&Ben

[madakunn]

[yume-fanfare]

it's kiss day!

[puff-z]

time out corner

[heibon-hiroo]

oughh hiyojun...save me hiyojun save me hiyojun save me

[cosmical-flowers]

ryuseitai papercrafts :D

i have more silly images under the cut

i have the power now to recreate sooo many stories

The templates were made by @nanashisaboten_ on Pinterest! Here is a link to his account :D https://pin.it/7KTYb9riT He also made some for ra*bits and 2wink. This was also cross posted to my Pinterest account!

[mephinomaly]

[TL] Flashback/UNDEAD Climax Directory

(Visuals set to change)

Character(s): Rei Sakuma, Koga Oogami, Kaoru Hakaze, Adonis Otogari, Keito Hasumi, Tomoya Mashiro, 'Hajime Shino'

Description: Rei and the rest of UNDEAD are set to relive their past in a "certain experiment". Though, the events that lead to the formation of their unit seem to be different from what they can remember...

Read below!

BIOHAZARD/Prologue

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 1

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 2

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 3

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 4

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 5

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 6

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 7

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 8

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 9

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 10

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 11

BIOHAZARD/Chapter 12

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 1

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 2

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 3

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 4

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 5

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 6

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 7

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 8

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 9

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 10

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 11

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 12

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 13

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 14

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 15

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 16

PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 17

Epilogue 1

Epilogue 2

Completed :)

[areeeee-k]

Toy theatre

[hitsuyou-fukaketsu]

Happy trickmas

[aliquidether]

They invented marriage