THE TREE BED

The child did NOT have to look into the camera like that 😭 stop hitting me in the feels

The way Odysseus holds Astyanax at the beginning like he held his own son, then at the end how he just grabs the blanket... he cant even bring himself to hold Astyanax like a child or he will not follow through. 👌👌👌

One of the things I love about this song is that the question "When does a man become a monster?" has a double meaning. When does Odysseus become a monster, to protect his family? When does the baby become a monster to avenge his? I think this animatic does a really good job of keeping that question mutual between the two of them. I don't think it's ever clear which one Odysseus is asking, and I think that's the point.

Neoptolemus: "that was such a good fight, I'm so glad I got to avenge my dad" Odysseus: *INTENSIFYING PTSD*

This absolutely destroyed me. Such a fatal blow with the ten year old Telemachus and Penelope. Now that I've suffered, I'm hitting replay.

I love the look of the baby when he's about to be thrown off.. like he knows what will happen. Usually animatics make them oblivious to whats about to happen (which is equally hearthwrenching) but for there to be a feeling that he knows something is wrong.. uff Amazing animatic as always

I’m way too attached to a dead mythical baby

The way you drew Astyanax expression before Odysseus dropped him hurts ahh

Man, that one shot of Odysseus in his armor, carrying the baby with a distance in his heart, unlike Hector, who holds the baby close to him in his armor with his smiling wife, like Odysseus and Penelope would with Telemachus in that same situation... Knowing full well neither Hector nor his wife will ever be coming back to save him, while Odysseus has to live with the guilt when he goes home to his own living, loving family... Destroying one family tree, grown from love in a time of war, destroying one just like his own to save his own, not knowing that everyone else aside from Penelope and Telemachus will be ripped away from him in the very near future to possibly compensate... That Shit Hit Different™

I like to point out the beginning deliveries of line 'I'm just a man' was used to justify he can't harm the baby but as he continues on the song, the line 'I'm just a man' was used to justify this cruelty. He tried to reason with the act, saying he's just a man, he can't do it, but at the end of it, sadly, it's because he's just a man can he be capable of doing such a thing

🎶when does the animator become a monster 🎶

SO GOOD. Your take on "Close your eyes and spare yourself the view" is the most gut-wrenching I've seen, like Ody just stabbed *me* instead. It's such a literal interpretation of what Odysseus is surely _thinking_ in all of them, but showing him physically covering baby Astyanax's eyes and steeling himself as he lifts the sword until he finally accepts that he can't make himself do the deed so violently ... it's very effective. Love that you've shown Neoptolemus in the crowd, since in myth it's usually him doing the killing if it's not Odysseus. It's a nice nod to other versions, and a reminder that though this moment pains Odysseus it's precisely because of the type of man and warrior Odysseus is (one who considers everything, a strategist, and who despite his best efforts cannot harden his heart completely) that it does so, unlike Neo who is usually portrayed in the moment as a mindless ball of rage with no care for honor or laws or consequence only violence. Sidebar that I love your design for Neo in both of these--such an effective shorthand for what I described, just by showing his face constantly in chaotic shadow!

The "close your eyes and spare yourself the view... How could I hurt you?" made me tear up omg

I love how you included the detail of Odysseus and Penelope's marriage bed from the Odyssey. For anyone who doesn't know the Odyssey's end (slight spoiler), Penelope is skeptical when Odysseus returns home and reveals himself. So she tries to trick him by saying she had moved their bed, because only a few including the real Odysseus knew it was made out of a real tree. I think (it's been almost a year since I last read it so this is based off memory, correct me if I'm wrong) Odysseus is shocked and upset and asks how she managed to do it considering how he made it out of a tree. Penelope realises it's really him, they reunite and live happily ever after....... Until you remember there's a sequel to this... LONG OVERDUE EDIT #1 (sorry it took a year): the ‘sequel’ is called the Teleology, ALTHOUGH it was made WAY AFTER THE ODYSSEY and is by a DIFFERENT AUTHOR SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED CANON IN HOMER’S UNIVERSE. Especially because it's a lost epic anyways. ALSO Ik that now in the EPIC musical Odysseus isn't successfully coerced by Circe (sidenote: I have made a long comment in the replies on this topic [pls check it out before arguing: it's the second part of my 7th reply] but basically in the ODYSSEY: Circe holding his friends/crew as hostage and only letting them free when Odysseus agreed to sleep w/her ISN'T actually CONSENSUAL so I don't qualify it as cheating) so in the EPIC universe the Teleology cannot be canon (because in the Teleology Ody is accidentally killed by his illegitimate son). BUT I made this comment well before I knew how much EPIC would stray from the Odyssey's and Greek mythology canon.

ok i think an AMAZING detail that’s going unnoticed is the black tree growing around the baby! if i’m right, that symbolizes how the act of killing the infant would only be the first of many acts ody commits, until he eventually loses all his morals and would do anything to see his son and wife. which is. wow. such a cool and heartbreaking detail 😭.

I feel like the line “when does a man become a monster” has a double meaning. Like when does the baby that he holds become the monster that will seek vengeance against him, or when does he himself become the monster for taking the innocent life of an infant.

The fact that he drops the child instead of more “painless” methods bc he can’t bring himself to directly do it is KILLING ME

I know I sound like a terrible person for this but it would be really funny if there was a falling whistling sound at the end when it cuts to black.

I like how the future of the child is this really dangerous Beast like man but still has features that show he is human while main character his monster is just a black void lacking any similarity to a human just a suit of armor showing that his monster brings him too far

His crew looks so shocked when they realize hes at the window and it breaks my heart

I want this turned into a film so badly

“When does a comet become a meteor?” When it hits the earth. “When does a candle become a blaze?” When it catches the house aflame. “When does a ripple become a tidal wave?” When it strikes the shore. “When does the reason become the blame?” When it is assigned to another. Each of these questions can be answered with the same idea, that something changes when it does harm to something else. That is when a man becomes a monster.

I love how this whole story is centered around the lyrics "when does a man become a monster"

I like how Odysseus initially has his eyes closed when he sings "Close your eyes and spare yourself the view." It's like he's trying to spare himself as much as he wants to spare the child. Then he opens his eyes and immediately backtracks, remembering how badly he does not want to do this.

This made me cry on the bus 😭

YES! the helmet showing him losing his humainty becoming the very thing he's trying to protect his family from, goddam gigi hitting it out of the park!

OH GOD YOU'RE THE FIRST ONE TO HAVE THE BABY ACTUALLY NOTICE AND RESPOND TO THE DANGER HE'S IN AT THE END MY HEART

OHOHOHO THIS WAS DELICIOUSLY PAINFUL The visuals were stunning, I especially adored the tree growing out of the baby… what a great callback to both Odysseus and Penelope’s olive tree (and the fact that he was basically destroying someone else’s) and the lyrics that the baby “will grow an avenger”

2:28 that little frown actually shattered my heart

A toast to another great animatic by a great artist. 🥂🥂🥂 Also a moment of silence for baby Astyanax 👶💔👶💔👶💔

y did this make me cry

this made me cry👍🏼👍🏼

The foreshadowing for Monster makes me so mad I love it

this is so amazing i cannot and its exactly how i pictured it! amazing i cannot

"when does a man become a monster"

That tree growth was such an intriguing way to portray Odysseus's way back to his life (seen through the window) becoming obscured by Asyntax (the baby) growing up, yet it was strangely elegant at the same time? It was almost a connection to the olive trees that comprise Odysseus's bed, like there's a shared motivation to return to loved ones in that revenge.

honestly i feel like not showing him drop the baby is more powerful than otherwise like that actually made me sad

Omg seeing the baby looking down, so innocent and unknowing, made me tear up so bad. THE FEELSSSSS

0:58 ok but the light from the war going on out side just shows how odysseus is thinking in a war like way when he is going to kill hectors son ( that’s just really good visual story telling)

bro i almost started crying

It makes me bawl knowing he'd give anything to be home but he knows how wrong it is to do this and he wants so badly to not have to do it. Love how the animation shows his loving father side and how he cares for the child as a innocent child yet is left with little choice. The thing that gets me most is the child's expression of innocence and trust towards the man till he starts slipping and he gets frightened. Crying my eyes out realizing that people in war may have to come across decisions like this

I especially love that he removes his helmet to hold Astyanax because Hector took of his helmet because it would scare him :(

I love love LOVE the way you portray Odysseus! He's just so tired, desperate to go home, and I was literally gasping when I saw his younger self fade back to the present. Huge props, this made me cry buckets

Lyrics really makes me cry 😢😭

...now I don't want to see it on stage. Now I want to see all the animatics compiled into a whole animated musical by you and keep it under my eyelids till the die I die. Such a good wooooork. Every next installment is somehow better than the rest and makes the whole set elevated.

It was beautifully told. I loved the internal conflict between duty, love, fear and consequences. It is those conflicts that makes our life difficult because no one wants to make a bad choice for oneself, the one they love or for others. Yet when we come to the crossroad there is no turning back and we have to weight our choices to move on. I remember playing witcher 3 and being so frustrated that no choices were "good", there was always a consequence to it even if you thought it was the best thing to do at first. But it also was echoing deep down on how important it is to understand that our actions have consequences, we tend to not want to suffer the burden of complicate decision but to me an adult that shoulder his choice is a true adult.

This is quite a song

Omg the tree makes a skull face Wow!!!

Incredible

Listening to this song and now watching this animatic gave me very similar imagery of his armor by a large imposing tree. I have cried everytime I have seen this.

I love the way Odysseus sings in the first half to the baby- almost like he’s soothing him like a lullaby.

No one talks about the double meaning in “When does a candle become a blaze?” Meaning that it could be him or the infant, who is harmless as it seems, but when he grows up, he becomes the ‘Blaze’ from the harmless ‘Candle’

Love the Mimikyu sm>>>> (And ye ofc the animation too ✨️)

You've managed to make this song with Odysseus dropping Hector's son more tragic and haunting... Incredible work.

Music in this video for “Just a Man” sounds a lot better than the official released music. You can hear it in the chorus, sounds so much better!

When I discovered Epic, I had no idea there were other songs, but this was the first one I heard. I knew there was more to it so I looked and I didn’t like the songs except for 2. Both of them were Athena songs. Then I listened to the other songs and I got hooked. It’s a fun experience. I also had no idea this was about killing an infant, I thought it was shielding a ten year old from war after rescuing him, then I heard the song before it and I was like ‘what is this? I love this.’

Gigi this was amazing! I absolutely love it! The flashback. The tree. Penelope and ten-year-old Telemachus. The flash of Ody being a monster. Everyone seeing Odysseus about to drop Asyanax from the balcony as the battle comes to a close. It's amazing!

I feel so bad for astyanax he's just a baby and got caught in all cause aphrodite wanted to win some random beauty contest

I thought the pop at the end was the kid hitting the ground and actually yelled: YOU DID NOT!

IS THE DETAIL OF PENELOPE WEAVING AT 1:34 BECAUSE THATS HOW SHE SPENT HER TIME TRICKING THE SUITORS WHILE ODYSSEUS WAS GONE?? omg i love this so much 😭😭

The image of the boy growing into a tree. I just now realized the song is about the child and Odysseus

THE OLIVE BRANCH TREE THAT ODY MADE AS A MARRIAGE GIFT 😭😭😭

That moment he looked in the mirror and his reflection changed... That was a punch to the gut

It was already so depressing to hear, "Just a man", but seeing this animatic... The babies expressions... The way Odysseus held Astyanax(unsure of how exactly his name is spelt) makes me wanna cry😭... Jorge be giving even his characters PTSD... Cause i remember Pyrrhus(Neoptolomus) just yeeting the kid over the wall for the fun of it and then taking his mother as a slave, aswell as another beautiful trojan girl😭😭😭

I love how you made the braches of the tree for a skull to signify the baby's fate, it was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. I think what really broke me though was the end where baby's face got more concerned as Odyseuss was holding him over the ledge

I love your style so much omgg

I like that the tree that grew above the baby looks like a skull.

WHY THAT BABY IS SO CUTE! 😭

CURRENTLY CRYING BUT ASIDE FROM THAT, THE WAY ODYSSEUS GRABS THE BABY LIKE A BAG OF GROCERIES IS SENDING ME 😭😭😭

Odysseus would be a great villain.

oh my goodness the animatic gave me chills! It was beautiful yet haunting the way you showed Odysseus's struggle and decision just before the baby gets dropped

I dunno if it was a blessing or a curse to find these songs so late. I'm glad I got so many amazing animatics to watch for it, but wish I was here when it started. :(

this is the first time I saw the video, and fudgeeeee. I wish I didn't. It freaking hurts.

The way he just put his hand on the baby’s face made me laugh a little

This explains the story so well!!!!

THE WAY HE FIRST HOLDS THE BABY LIKE HOW YOU SHOULD BUT THEN HE ENDS UP HOLDING HIM IMPROPERLY LIKE OTHERWISE HE WONT BE ABLE TO GONTJROUGH WITH IT UGHHFGGHH

I THOUGHT THE POPPING SOUND WAS THE BABY

Look, ive listened to hundreds of musical tracks before. I love them. Each song from Epic I listen to is my new favorite. But this one? The section with his Mother is not only one of the best musical song segenents ive heard, but its one of the most evocative and beautoful peices of music Ive ever heard. The fact your (actual) Mum sang with you i think adds layers to this that tao into something pat music. Something universal. Something beautiful. Thank you for creating it.

I'M SOBBING WTH

The tree looking like a skull aaaaaaaa such a good detail

*sniffle* This was the best depiction of this song I have ever seen. This is my favorite song in this Saga. I really loved how it showed the inner turmoil that Odysseus went through and how much it pained him to have to kill the little boy. It brought me to tears, I absolutely love this

Oh my god, the baby is so cute, I was dying inside everytime I saw him, especially at the end looking down and being scared :'( Baby Asyanax noooo!

2:01 Tell me how I've watched this video before but I just realized that the tree is a skull or am I just looking too into it and imagining it because if that's a skull with the tree as the "format" that is so cool ❤❤

Neoptolemus: I can kill the baby for you bro.

The last "I'm just a man" at 2:30 is just too good

The is just the boy's version of the "I'm just a girl" song

Wasn’t it the son of Achilles whom threw Hectors boy off the castle walls

Also all of this is very well drawn

Aaanndd now I’m crying thanks (I do love the animation tho good work)

god this one never fails to make me tear up :') the tree sprouting out of the bed, the flash of Odysseus as a monster in the mirror, the EXPRESSIONS and the one last look of the baby at the viewer...absolutely gutting.

Not gonna lie; I was expecting a thud right when the end card *pop* noise happened at 2:41

look, I love this traumatizing masterpiece, but the fact that right after that trauma of him dropping Astyanax there's a cute little popping sound effect killed me. And I loved it btw, almost cried but I loved it

Ough the roots growing from the baby as his resolve grows and the roots look like a smiling face and then his shadow growing as the soldiers look at him on the wall! Thanks for making this!

holy shit, this hurts. and this cold is just making it worse. I am literally crying and I'll keep crying no doubt the more I watch.

Odysseus; “Hey Zeus you’re not gonna make me… you know… are you?” Zeus; “stab the baby.”

How… how dare you… this is… this is sick, and evil, and twisted. I cried so much. How dare you make that toddle so realistic and sweet and showing fear. How could you ruin my day, no, my YEAR with this immaculate piece of art. I’m subscribed now. I’m addicted to your animations that rival Pixar in beauty and emotion. The framework, the colors, the simplicity… you are a true artist.

This is so good. Penelope looks so regal, I absolutely adore her design. The tree growing out of/around the baby >>>>>; I also love a good mirror shot. Thank you for sharing this with us, it was an absolute joy to watch 😊

All of his men are just so confused like: DUDE WTF!?!

ASTYANAX'S FACE AT THE END KILL ME