LogFAQs > #951846520

2./3. Ar tonelico 2 - Sen ~ Kono Hana Saku ya (Dye ~ Let This Flower Bloom)
Nominator: @dowolf
10.3 (9.8/1)
VGMC History: ELIGIBLE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igWXbPWrqMQ
My original review: yep that's ar tonelico alright. The distorted screaming at 3:06 is neat

My new review: Out of every song nominated that I haven't saved due to being part of a soundtrack that I've gone through, this is undoubtedly the one I've listened to the most. The flow chart for me listening to it is essentially "Did I think of this song? Yes -> listen to song". It's sublime. It's isn't common for me to connect emotionally with a song I have no context for. This absolutely did (to the point where writing that line made me tear up a little just by making me think about the emotions). I'm not sure I can even say why. I think the way its constructed, more than the lyrics, is extremely magnetic to me, kind of similar to how I haven't stopped thinking about XaaaCi in a year or how I get filled with energy at CIEL_NOSURGE's 'FAMNE'. I often tend to view things in a way akin to Freytag's Pyramid (without the inherent strict organization), of swells and trenches of energy or emotion or drama. I structure my lists in terms of 'movements' like this, for example, trying to build a story, of hope and disaster and determination, told without words. This song is the ideal of this kind of storytelling, and I'm not sure if I've ever heard another song that did anything like this in this way, or another song that I felt I could understand despite not knowing the lyrics (btw, having lyrics that aren't perfect is infinitely better than not having lyrics at all #newvideolink). Honestly, other hymmnos like EXSPHERE or the ones I mentioned earlier are the only examples I can think of. So what I'm saying here is that this song is basically goals

There's another song that's well-known I think I can use as a point of comparison. I've mentioned, here and elsewhere, that songs that are very emotion-focused (for example, End of All) need something else to draw me, otherwise they'll just be complete misses. This manages to hit three marks. It's got an energy, it's interesting, and it's beautiful enough to get over the barrier and connect with me. The last trait is very rare. The former two are why I like lot of PSO2 music, and *especially* Endeavour. You'd think I'd hate Endeavour from some of my other opinions. You'd be forgiven for thinking I'd hate this. But they both manage to succeed where most other pretenders failed. You might remember how hard I pushed for Endeavour to win in 14. Draw your own conclusions (ha ha, I gave them a tied Personal score but this is ahead because of Deserved. I'm leaving this comment here regardless)

Oh cool, this is now specifically eligible. Needless to say, I will be nominating this
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