toeatagod

[toeatagod]

Which smile is the best?

[toeatagod]

you wanted to be the captain,then fucking drown with the ship

[toeatagod]

They make me sick if I think about them for too long

[toeatagod]

CW : gore

[toeatagod]

Curly Talks: To Anya

[toeatagod]

i feel like i've been overthinking the reason why amane dislikes shidou

i initially thought it was something related to shidou's crime, but i eventually realized that amane might've simply hated shidou because he's a doctor, and the cult isn't very fond of medicine

[toeatagod]

Destroying the Corrupted Gaze: An Analysis of Momose Amane’s Second Trial

In case you don't know, MILGRAM is a Japanese interactive music project by DECO*27 and Takuya Yamanaka, established in April 2020, where 10 prisoners are put into three rounds of trial to gradually express their guilt and sins into a song. The viewers, representing an ungendered guard named Es, vote if the prisoner should be “innocent” (forgivable) or “guilty” (unforgivable). Each prisoner has a different experience and style of music and visuals, but have a single thing in common: they all have committed murder.

This will focus on one of the 10 prisoners, a 12-year-old girl named Momose Amane who has known to have been brainwashed into a cult’s practices, and will analyze four aspects of her music video: the visuals, lyrics, song title, and the convention defied (hopefully, once I submit this to my professor, I too will also be forgiven for the length of this analysis since I am very fond of this series; I apologize in advance).

Visual and Lyric Analysis

The music video starts with an army of countless Amane’s, all poise and flawlessly in position. Each row waves four flags of different colors, representing the cult’s “commandments”. The following are the official English translations of the lyrics, with the original Japanese beside it:

Thou shall follow thine destiny. / 人は運命を生きよ

Thou shall discard vulgarity. / 人は卑しきを捨てよ

Thou shall deliver unto those thou believest in. / 信じたものに納めよ

Thou shall stay thine course, then perish. / 道を外れずに果てよ

The way these were written were imperative, and were enumerated with the word “ひとつ” (hitotsu, which means firstly or one) before it. This shows that there is no order to their commandments—all of them were of utter priority. Additionally, these lyrics were made to look like actual commandments, but the following are the actual meanings of the lyrics:

People must live out their fate.

People must abandon the lowly.

People must submit to their beliefs.

People must meet their end without straying [from their path].

Moving on, one of the Amane’s is holding a blue flag, which represents the second commandment, fails to deliver the correct pattern in the march. The leading Amane catches her mistake, summoning clouds that caused rain to sink her down the “snow” as a punishment. After an uncomfortable sequence of her struggling, she is then pulled back to reality, where she is soaked and kneeling on her bathroom floor, gasping for breath. A hand is in front of her, holding a showerhead, showing that she had been waterboarded by her own mother. Another detail to notice as she was sinking is that she still reaches out to the flag. It is common one to turn to their beliefs in desperate times, and since Amane was still at such a young age and didn’t have much to rely on, she relies on the same beliefs that hurt her. As she sinks, the “snow” covers her drowning body, a sign that no one saw (or ignored) abuse she was going through.

At the next scene, Amane is seen administering first aid to a wounded cat, and is spotted by two figures, no doubt members of the cult. They then tell this to Amane’s mother, and the poor girl gets tased as soon as she arrives at home. This was a punishment because she interfered with fate, thus violating the first commandment. It is possible that Amane receives different punishments depending on the commandment violated. The balloon that moves away from Amane’s apartment has a symbol with all four colors, encapsulating the commandments.

Amane returns to the spot where she took care of the cat, and only a torn collar and her bloodied handkerchief is found. She eventually realizes that her disobeying these commandments, intentional or not, will only bring her misfortune. Her face is covered in bruises, as she looks up and smiles. The army of Amane’s runs with the same eerie smile, with the flag and mascots symbolizing the four commandments in hand, showing that the brainwashing has been effective. She does the usual pattern with her baton, but in the third sequence, it is stained with blood.

In the scene of the crime, Amane stands over her mother’s dead body, wearing her same outfit from the march. This symbolizes that it was the beliefs taught to her that pushed her to that extent. Additionally, her voice as the song prolongs becomes more aggressive, compared to when she started the song, where she was more soft-spoken.

The lyrics of the song is Amane implying the things taught to her and the punishments she endured for violating them. On the second verse, she can be heard constantly muttering the commandments over and over again in the background, and the following lyrics are one of the phrases that are sung over and over again: “After you cry, repent, and kneel, it’s now your turn to say that hopeless ‘I’m sorry’!” That sentence of apology can often be heard from children who promise they won’t act up ever again.

Title Analysis

The Purge March’s title is written as 粛清マーチ in Japanese and pronounced as Shukusei Māchi. It can be broken down into two parts: the Chinese characters “粛清” and “マーチ”. 

Shukusei is usually written where, when the characters are combined, it would literally mean solemn justice. But in this case, it is written differently (although pronounced the same). The first character stays the same as solemn but the second character “清” means pure, cleanse, or even exorcise. This implies that the beliefs brought upon Amane can be viewed as unjust to some.

Conventions and Conclusion

Songs with an upbeat tempo are often associated or assumed to have wholesome lyrics. Not only does this case defy that stereotype, but The Purge March also mixes in a haunting sense of reality in both the lyrics and the song in the fictional case of Momose Amane. She sings with threats that attack both believers and non-believers alike, because she only knows about the incoming punishment if she doesn’t obey. 

To think that there really are people out there—children, specifically—who experience this lingering fear with their beliefs is incredibly concerning, and even more so with the possibilities that might happen once they are pushed to their limits. I speak from pure experience, and I have chosen this piece of media not only because it is dear to my heart, but because it also reminds us of the reality we are in. It is better to be educated and afraid than to be blissfully ignorant.

[EDIT] Additionally, Amane mentioned in her voice drama that those who run away from trials are the worst kind of people, and in the last scene depicting her murder, droplets of water are trailing outside of the bathroom, showing attempts of escape. The trail ends in the living room, where Amane hovers over the dead body. She really is just trying to live the way she was taught.

[toeatagod]

The Magic That Kills: A Detailed Analysis of Momose Amane’s First Trial

If you’re here from my last post about Amane’s second trial, hi! If not, well it’s still a hi for you.

If you don’t know what MILGRAM is or how it works, here’s a snippet from my last post:

“... MILGRAM is a Japanese interactive music project by DECO*27 and Takuya Yamanaka, established in April 2020, where 10 prisoners are put into three rounds of trial to gradually express their guilt and sins into a song. The viewers, representing an ungendered guard named Es, vote if the prisoner should be “innocent” (forgivable) or “guilty” (unforgivable). Each prisoner has a different experience and style of music and visuals, but have a single thing in common: they all have committed murder. This will focus on one of the 10 prisoners, a 12-year-old girl named Momose Amane who has known to have been brainwashed into a cult’s practices ...”

Anyways, here’s a detailed analysis (with timestamps!) with my interpretations of Amane’s first trial. Please note I’m not saying this is what Amane’s trial is about, they are mere speculations.

P.S. Please make sure you have watched both Magic and The Purge March. I will be cross-referencing both.

Title Analysis

Unlike my previous post, I’ll go with this analysis first because I feel like it’s an important thing to keep in mind in the entirety of this post.

おまじない (omajinai) can also be written in kanji as 御呪い. The character 御 can mean manipulate/govern and the character 呪 can mean spell/curse.

Visual and Lyric Analysis

0:00~0:23: Amane is introduced like she is in a show. Considering that MILGRAM shows these MVs through the prisoners’ point of view, memories, etc. and that Momose Amane is only twelve, it is possible that what she is going through is being sugarcoated as something everyone goes through/can withstand—in terminologies, this “show” is made to look like it’s rated for all audiences.

0:24: In The Purge March, the green flag is the green mascot in magic, named Gachata, embodying the lyric (commandment) of “[achieving] a goal without straying from the path.” You could say Gachata teaches faith. Additionally, he is said to have a serious personality.

0:26~0:35: Amane is shown a board, where she is taught her schedule—possibly even her life—planned out by her parents (which lowkey reminds me of the little girl from film “The Little Prince” if I’m being honest) and how she should always follow this “schedule” waking up, work first, play later.

0:40~0:50: Yuri is introduced, whose commandment in The Purge March literally means “pay for what you believe in” as it collects fees to the point the box is overflowing. Yuri is said to have a “big brother” personality.

The animals that pay for the beliefs are the cult members, who are also shown to be animals. It is possible that this is how Amane views them, and it is also possible that her parents may be the only ones benefitting from it (the money).

0:52~0:54: Amane encircles her arms above her head, showing that she is agreeing to something, while the two robots look at each other, skeptical. They look like they are in a TV show where the mascots are the hosts and Amane is participating in a Q&A segment. On the podium where Amane stands, the phrase さいかいは? is written. They are possibly testing her if she learned from the lessons these two mascots gave her.

0:56~1:03: The robots cross their arms, disagreeing with her. A penalty is given, thus it “flicks” her forehead. Amane gets dizzy and falls, in a display of exaggerated childishness—a forehead flick is not enough to knock over a child. The crosses that resemble her eyes in her face are often seen in characters who have been beaten up, and Amane might have suffered physical abuse from being unable to comprehend the commandment (it may seem far-fetched, but an explanation for this will be mentioned later).

1:04~1:07 Amane comes to her senses, and the mascot extends a hand to “help” her up. This is a tactic with the use of praise and punishment, most likely to effectively instill the beliefs into Amane’s system—you punish someone and then praise them to discipline them.

誓います　もういい子になるしかない！ですよ I swear! I’m going to be a good girl now! That’s it!

The lyrics are also kind of sugarcoated. Not only is this a phrase helpless children promise to parents because of the fear of being punished again, but the literal meaning of this is “[I am] wrong! I have no choice but to [obey]!”

1:08: There is a sequence of Amane agreeing and the mascots simultaneously disagreeing. It shows that she’s still having a hard time grasping her beliefs, and may sometimes do things that she thinks is correct, but actually isn’t (at least, according to their commandments).

1:16~1:31: Gozake is introduced, whose corresponding belief according to The Purge March literally means to “give up baseness” (which is the lack of moral principles or bad character). Gozake is known to be a mysterious monk, who seems to be in charge of what seems like a choir along with other animals (believers).

1:32: The last mascot is introduced, Riyone, whose corresponding belief is to “live destiny [as it was written/given unto you].” She is described as a healthy tomboy (all these mascot descriptions are from the MILGRAM Wiki).

1:34~1:51: A faulty light starts to act up—and it is possible that this was a challenge deliberately given to Amane to challenge her beliefs. The robots (feign) surprise/concern, as Amane starts to worry over the injured cat.

1:48~1:51: Riyone suggests to just pray for the cat and not interfere. Whether it heals or dies is up to their “god” and that treating its injury would interfere with destiny.

1:54~2:00: Amane is visibly shaken, starting to question her beliefs, but decides to help the cat in the end, little did she know she’d suffer intense punishment(s).

2:16~2:30: For an agonizing several seconds, we watch as she gets tortured in all different ways, but it’s done in a way that one wouldn’t notice—as if it were a mere comedic effect. Amane gets electrocuted by Riyone, waterboarded by Gozake, physically abused by Yuri, and aurally tortured by Gachata.

How can you tell she is being aurally tortured? Amane has her hands on her ears. It’s possible the method being used on her are bells because a) there are bells resounding throughout the entirety of the sequence and b) there are bells in Gozake’s head.

もっともっともっと　いい子になれたなら きっときっと　みんな笑顔になる ずっとずっと　一緒にいられたらいいな

Only if, only if, only if I could be a good girl I hope, I hope everyone can be happy and smile Forever, forever together would be a dream

Amane visibly regrets her actions, and starts questioning why she helped the cat in the first place, forcing to blame herself and to look back at the beliefs being taught to her. Are they right? Did she do the right thing? Should she have done that?

2:32~2:39: Amane is left alone, as she prays for the first time in the entirety of the music video—all the torture she had gone through made her turn to her “god”.

2:40~2:56: She gets rewarded. For what? Enduring her suffering, probably. The spirals in her eyes are the same as the ones from the purge march, showing she has started to apply these commandments in her life. The wand that she waves could be seen as the baton she uses in the purge march—the murder weapon used.

3:21: The footage of the TV show reflects in her eyes. The mascots are gone, and what's left was the stage she used to be in, indicating that she has done it, she has purged evil! :D

If you’re still reading, hi! I’m surprised you’ve stayed this long. I hope you enjoyed reading it, although some of the things were very obvious and already known. I personally would say Amane is innocent—I’m still trying to grasp why people have voted her guilty when the brainwashing was quite obvious. Plus, she’s a mere child. But I suppose that factor could also be something to be suspicious of.

Additionally, Amane thinks that being imprisoned is another trial given to her by God, and she’ll face whatever comes her way. Just like how she was taught. Do what you will with this information. Once again, I hope you enjoyed reading, thank you!

[toeatagod]

Destroying the Corrupted Gaze: An Analysis of Momose Amane’s Second Trial

In case you don't know, MILGRAM is a Japanese interactive music project by DECO*27 and Takuya Yamanaka, established in April 2020, where 10 prisoners are put into three rounds of trial to gradually express their guilt and sins into a song. The viewers, representing an ungendered guard named Es, vote if the prisoner should be “innocent” (forgivable) or “guilty” (unforgivable). Each prisoner has a different experience and style of music and visuals, but have a single thing in common: they all have committed murder.

This will focus on one of the 10 prisoners, a 12-year-old girl named Momose Amane who has known to have been brainwashed into a cult’s practices, and will analyze four aspects of her music video: the visuals, lyrics, song title, and the convention defied (hopefully, once I submit this to my professor, I too will also be forgiven for the length of this analysis since I am very fond of this series; I apologize in advance).

Visual and Lyric Analysis

The music video starts with an army of countless Amane’s, all poise and flawlessly in position. Each row waves four flags of different colors, representing the cult’s “commandments”. The following are the official English translations of the lyrics, with the original Japanese beside it:

Thou shall follow thine destiny. / 人は運命を生きよ

Thou shall discard vulgarity. / 人は卑しきを捨てよ

Thou shall deliver unto those thou believest in. / 信じたものに納めよ

Thou shall stay thine course, then perish. / 道を外れずに果てよ

The way these were written were imperative, and were enumerated with the word “ひとつ” (hitotsu, which means firstly or one) before it. This shows that there is no order to their commandments—all of them were of utter priority. Additionally, these lyrics were made to look like actual commandments, but the following are the actual meanings of the lyrics:

People must live out their fate.

People must abandon the lowly.

People must submit to their beliefs.

People must meet their end without straying [from their path].

Moving on, one of the Amane’s is holding a blue flag, which represents the second commandment, fails to deliver the correct pattern in the march. The leading Amane catches her mistake, summoning clouds that caused rain to sink her down the “snow” as a punishment. After an uncomfortable sequence of her struggling, she is then pulled back to reality, where she is soaked and kneeling on her bathroom floor, gasping for breath. A hand is in front of her, holding a showerhead, showing that she had been waterboarded by her own mother. Another detail to notice as she was sinking is that she still reaches out to the flag. It is common one to turn to their beliefs in desperate times, and since Amane was still at such a young age and didn’t have much to rely on, she relies on the same beliefs that hurt her. As she sinks, the “snow” covers her drowning body, a sign that no one saw (or ignored) abuse she was going through.

At the next scene, Amane is seen administering first aid to a wounded cat, and is spotted by two figures, no doubt members of the cult. They then tell this to Amane’s mother, and the poor girl gets tased as soon as she arrives at home. This was a punishment because she interfered with fate, thus violating the first commandment. It is possible that Amane receives different punishments depending on the commandment violated. The balloon that moves away from Amane’s apartment has a symbol with all four colors, encapsulating the commandments.

Amane returns to the spot where she took care of the cat, and only a torn collar and her bloodied handkerchief is found. She eventually realizes that her disobeying these commandments, intentional or not, will only bring her misfortune. Her face is covered in bruises, as she looks up and smiles. The army of Amane’s runs with the same eerie smile, with the flag and mascots symbolizing the four commandments in hand, showing that the brainwashing has been effective. She does the usual pattern with her baton, but in the third sequence, it is stained with blood.

In the scene of the crime, Amane stands over her mother’s dead body, wearing her same outfit from the march. This symbolizes that it was the beliefs taught to her that pushed her to that extent. Additionally, her voice as the song prolongs becomes more aggressive, compared to when she started the song, where she was more soft-spoken.

The lyrics of the song is Amane implying the things taught to her and the punishments she endured for violating them. On the second verse, she can be heard constantly muttering the commandments over and over again in the background, and the following lyrics are one of the phrases that are sung over and over again: “After you cry, repent, and kneel, it’s now your turn to say that hopeless ‘I’m sorry’!” That sentence of apology can often be heard from children who promise they won’t act up ever again.

Title Analysis

The Purge March’s title is written as 粛清マーチ in Japanese and pronounced as Shukusei Māchi. It can be broken down into two parts: the Chinese characters “粛清” and “マーチ”. 

Shukusei is usually written where, when the characters are combined, it would literally mean solemn justice. But in this case, it is written differently (although pronounced the same). The first character stays the same as solemn but the second character “清” means pure, cleanse, or even exorcise. This implies that the beliefs brought upon Amane can be viewed as unjust to some.

Conventions and Conclusion

Songs with an upbeat tempo are often associated or assumed to have wholesome lyrics. Not only does this case defy that stereotype, but The Purge March also mixes in a haunting sense of reality in both the lyrics and the song in the fictional case of Momose Amane. She sings with threats that attack both believers and non-believers alike, because she only knows about the incoming punishment if she doesn’t obey. 

To think that there really are people out there—children, specifically—who experience this lingering fear with their beliefs is incredibly concerning, and even more so with the possibilities that might happen once they are pushed to their limits. I speak from pure experience, and I have chosen this piece of media not only because it is dear to my heart, but because it also reminds us of the reality we are in. It is better to be educated and afraid than to be blissfully ignorant.

[EDIT] Additionally, Amane mentioned in her voice drama that those who run away from trials are the worst kind of people, and in the last scene depicting her murder, droplets of water are trailing outside of the bathroom, showing attempts of escape. The trail ends in the living room, where Amane hovers over the dead body. She really is just trying to live the way she was taught.

[toeatagod]

whoever put this in ryker dublin's fandom page, i applaud you

[toeatagod]

rolled a blunt in mass call that highlellujah

[toeatagod]

TOEATAGOD's blog ⋆. 𐙚 ˚

𖦹.. ꣑ৎ .˚ welcome !!

☁️ my name is elio, although i sometimes also go by eros in some of my works. kindly use he/him and it/its pronouns on me (they/them works, too!). i identify as androgyne and i'm non-conforming. i'm also aromantic-asexual.

🪩 i'm a self-taught writer and artist from the philippines, and have been writing for about seven years. a few of my hobbies aside from writing are making playlists and carrd sites, traditional art, and a bit of reading.

🦴 please be patient with me since i am neurodivergent and i sometimes even age regress, although it doesn't happen (much) online.

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