Thank you all so much for watching, Didn't have a chance to put it in the video but I have to give a huge thank you to my friend Kipo for helping me review and rework Bridgets section of the script.

I love how simplistic The Hourglass is just because that’s just how Sin is. A simple hungry boy

I'd like to point out the line in Asuka's theme, "Does the sun ever defy fate?", in reference to Sol. It makes sense that he'd question how something that is "his creation" would defy its destiny. Just adds an extra layer to Asuka's mindset.

“The Circle” is the only song that I equally love both interpretations of the lyrics. I love the sad triumph of the mainstream interpretation but the dread of the second is so good.

4:41 "OH SHE FLIES" as Testament quite literally goes FLYING after that wall break was so disrespectful LMFAO

I like how The Town Inside Me goes from 4/4, the 'normal' time signature, to 9/8 at the very end. It's just guitars, all the other instruments drop out. It feels like a great capstone to the song, where after her revelation she's ready to strike out as her own person. The rush of energy from that revelation winds down, and that arpeggio settles us into her new groove. I really hope they run with this idea and make her next theme at least start in 9/8.

I think I should add: Happy Chaos mentions, entirely casually and offhandedly like it doesn't matter, something along the lines of "Bedman erased his universal ID just before he died and became a multi-dimensional being." It's a single line in his story mode, but it seems important.

I think the reason the pronouns in Testament’s theme continuously switch is a reference to how they most likely use any pronouns instead of just they/them pronouns. Testament canonically does not give a shit about gender which is why they don’t make a big deal about Nagoriyuki using he/him pronouns for them in their arcade mode. This fact doesn’t have any effect on the meaning of the theme, but it’s nice to have more Agender representation since it’s surprisingly hard to come by.

Another interpretation that is very popular (or rather is my favorite interpretation): The Circle is referring to Samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth to which all beings are subject to in Buddhism, a major religion in Japan. Bedman is rejecting moving on in order to be there for his sister. That's it. That's the song.

I think bedman's theme is him, or some version or fragment of him, trapped within the bed, lost and confused after his death, and holding on to the one thing that he knows and has purpose in; protecting delilah.

I interpret the 'reverse' lyrics of the circle as Bedman talking to Delilah, that he can feel those signs of heaven because he's on the border to the afterlife, but she cannot. And the line "If you can give someone something" refers to both himself and Delilah, that as long as there's something you can do for your love for others, you're not ready to die yet. And that's pretty amazing considering both Bedman is willing to sacrifice the little life he has left for Delilah's sake, AND Delilah was willing to throw away her own life for revenge for the sake of her brother. So the lyrics actually apply to both Bedman AND Delilah

There's one cool thing in Bridget's theme that wasn't mentioned. Bridget feels guilty for how she's feeling and how she doesn't fit in with the "town" and only watches from afar. Bridget sings, "I'm the one to blame" showing that she thinks she's the problem. Once she accepts herself, she only the background chorus sings "I'm the one to blame." Bridget doesn't sing it since she no longer feels guilty for being who she is or blames herself

"Bedman yells about his favorite shape." -Gekkosquirrel 2023

I always thought the "something that talks back" to bedman was Bedman telling himself that he can't move on to the afterlife because he can't let himself leave Delilah

I love the idea of Bridget's theme only having the electric guitar playing loudly at the final section, as if the song itself wasn't confident in its own message until the breakthrough. The beginning having an organ is also a very fun detail given her nun design As for Bedman's theme, it might be because I haven't listened to the lyrics close enough but I always saw the "I'm here"s of the song as Bedman reaching out to Delilah through the bed

I also think that, in The Gravity, "Innocents lied to, just to spare them" may be talking specifically about Frederick and Aria. He promised Frederick he could find a cure to Aria's disease, as long as he could put her in cold sleep to give him time to do the research, and he promised Aria Frederick would be around to see her when she left the cold sleep, which was the one condition she had to be put into cold sleep. What he didn't tell any of them was that he would essentially turn both of them into monsters in an attempt to fulfill those promises

If you ask me, the "Pure White, Pitch black, all the same" and "Endless, Finite, Copy that" is the bed robot itself trying to comprehend its same code (pure white meaning a 1, and pitch black meaning a 0 in binary) with the added last wish of Romeo to defend Delilah. It's such a unexplainable command, that with the robots destroyed circuitry it struggles to understand, and yet with its directive given to it as Romeo dies, it gives its answer with one goal: "Copy that."

I love how 3 of theme have some sort of physical/mental trauma they are clearly trying to sort out and overcome meanwhile sin is like "dont worry about it dude we ballin!"

Gravity is also rather interesting because the ending plays counter to Smell of the game in small ways. Smell of the Game mentions how gravity is a force that keeps people down and the singer (thought to be sol) calls it bullshit. but for Asuka gravity is the means to which he must ground himself. So even when he is trying to atone he is running counter to the feelings of sol.

every GGST song makes me cry. they just synthesize a character's identity so well

This really was a Guilty Gear Strive.😢

Another tidbit with Bridget is silencing the voices of doubt in her mind. "I'm the one to blame" is, throughout the song, drowned out by the instrumentals as she realizes her true self ❤

"I hate the alarm clock I choose" and "Taste like vegetables I don't like" are also really good and subtle implications of gender dysphoria. I don't know for sure as I don't experience it myself but I've read multiple comments of people affirming that, wich adds another layer to her theme. Pretty cool imo Also, Baiken's theme is so fucking amazing. Both because of the song itself but because of the many mirror interpretations Edit: Don't read the responses, it's a circus down there 💀 just read the 3rd one by gwen9939 for more insight and go about your day

Regarding Bridget's theme, I think there's a lot more trans related elements than what you mentioned, like it's so accurate to the trans experience I'm almost suspicious of Daisuke lol. So, the beginning parts she's talking about hearing the town but she's not really there, feeling like an observer from afar, and she has this feeling towards herself too, it doesn't feel like she's her, and this sounds very much like she's dissociating, like she's not herself and all that, which is a common feeling for trans people who aren't out yet, feeling like they're not actually themselves, just playing a role expected of them. And Bridget is feeling this wear her down but not really understanding (or at least accepting) why, there's just that uncomfortable feeling, like vegetables you don't like, or a bad alarm clock, and an overall gray haze over life, but she's blaming herself for this, and is continuing to play the role because that's what she's always done, and change is scary, and where would she even go for help? In the final part though, she finally breaks free from her haze, she accepts herself and her heavy burden disappears, she feels light again, the sky is blue again, and food is good again, she finds where she belongs and she'll no longer pretend to be someone she's not to please the world. Honestly there's just so much trans specific stuff about her in strive, like even her design with a hoodie hiding her shoulder outline, the long neck shirt hiding her throat, both pretty common points of dysphoria for trans people, the snapped handcuff implying she's broken free. Man... I wonder what Daisuke did for research for this.

To add to this, the name "Sol" is Latin for "Sun". And on top of that he asks a lot of questions directed towards to people who would be too specific to fit any sort of general whole. The line "Beyond it all, do you recognize me?" could be him talking to Sol as he never meant to harm Sol at all and simply wanted him to live long enough to where him and Aria (now Jack-O) could live together happily due to her incurable illness. We really see in Xrd and especially Strive that Asuka was only trying to help but got blamed for everything and had to hide as That Man after the Justice incident. However we now know that with the exception of simply creating Justice and the gears he didn't do really anything to warrant such infamy. Not to say he's completely innocent however but still. We also know from his likes page it specifically says "Likes: Sol, Aria" as well as his interactions with Sol and Jack-O showing he greatly still cares for them and also how Sol seems to have forgiven him letting Asuka take the Flame of Corruption seed away from him and in the end of Strive's main story Sol and Jack-O seem to be building a rocket to go and visit Asuka on the moon. Something I feel Gekko has wrong here is Asuka wasn't on the moon until after Strive's story. The Asuka we see throughout the games is actually Asuka and this is backed by dialogue exchanges and the fact he has the power to remove the Flame of Corruption and has the Tome of Origin fused with him and we know only the real one would work since HC needed it specifically as he wrote the thing. It's after Strive's story that he goes to the moon so he can keep the tome safe and make sure it can't be used. You can interpret him saying "Gravity holds all the answers" as his Arcade route where he and his clones are constantly fighting each other to show each other that Asuka no longer needs to be held back by his past and what the public saw him as now and that he can begin forgiving himself, simply looking at the facts. He becomes a literal truth seeker in his arcade route where he states that he had nothing to do with the events that made him That Man, he was just blamed for it and easily so. We can see him asking these questions both as him becoming this arising truth seeker and him struggling to really forgive himself as at the end of the day he did hurt the ones he cared and loved for most even if he never meant it to be that way. This is further backed by him asking "What facts should we accept?" which can be him no longer caring if he is the one to still be blamed as in Strive's story he accepts that the people see him as "The Devil". Asuka is an odd character but really he just wants to try and do the right thing but from a distance, now just trying to nudge people in the right direction then be a real key player in fear he might be a catalyst for something bad. Love Asuka, love me his shoes and eye patch feather thing. Cool dude

I like the idea that Bedmans? theme is actuallly both of your interpreations simultaniosly. It works from both perspectives. The machine finds a way to go on without bedman AND it's also about Bedman's death, and his wish for the machine to go on. The two interpertations aren't mutually exclusive

“You have the reading comprehension of a chainsaw man” I have never been so offended by something I 100% agree with

Thank you for redoing Jack-O’s theme. That was beautiful

one thing i like to think about the hourglass is that the roar of the spark reference in the instrumental break is showing how sin has come to accept and love his father, whereas before he did not like him

I've been interpreting the line "Do you recognize me?" in The Gravity as Asuka reaching out to Sol and Aria for a while now. As brief as the line is, it's a heartwarming idea for reasons I'm struggling to grasp.

Bridget's theme is not just a banger, but deeply personal to me. It's so nice to see this kinda representation in a game like this. (especially considering who Brdiget used to be.)

I think that The Circle is Bedman's final cries to try and reach out to Delilah, before passing onto his next life. There are parts of the song where the singer sounds like he's singing a Hindu prayer, at least from what I know of. The cries of agony as he lets out, trying to account for everything before he's gone. Moments passing like years. He isn't able to upload himself completely into his bed and is cut off before he could finish all his orders. The song always felt like it was cut off preemptively, like there's more he wanted to say/do.

I think the "On its own" in Sin's theme could be referring to him mending his relationship with Ky, and him acknowledging that neither one of them could've fixed it singlehandedly; they *both* had learn and grow.

Jacko split theme could also be in reference to her half baked personality from being created prematurely.

bridget's true theme is how she ate a town and how delicious it was

Bridget, her story, and The Town Inside Me made me come to terms with being trans myself. Before she came around, I was having a crisis trying to figure out who I was- Then, all of a sudden, this little blonde british girl with a yoyo came spiraling into my life and helped me find the answer~ I played Strive very little at the time, cuz I suck at it, but she has made me want to play more and get better- as well as learning all the Lore cuz... that's my role among my friends.

Another thing to note about Like a Weed: The line 'There's no exception, it's just less/I guess you can't trust a gentle tiger' is Testament acknowledging that they've made some pretty big mistakes in their life- the kind that you can't take back (mainly the things they did while having Justice and the Conclave in their head) but resolving throughout the rest of the song that they can't change the past but can aspire to be a better person in the here and now. Also, am I the only one who's always thought Mirror of the World is referring to both Anji *and* Delilah?

While I haven't listened to the hourglass that much, I feel like "The hourglass does not turn upside down on its own" could be more so linked towards not feeling angry or crying without anyone trying to force anything, as a hourglass slowly flows to the lowerhalf, and doesn't move without something externally moving it. Which would link to the part where you were referring to Sol not really fucking with you unless you fuck with him.

I have to interpret Bedmans theme as his will beyond the afterlife. Like in the line "Pitch Black, Pure White, all the same. Endless. Finite" I think is a comparison of how similar his life and afterlife is. When he was alive he was always sleeping, never able to interact with the world beyond his bed. And that still hasn't changed. Even though his life was finite, the way he pursued his goals will be never ending.

20:45 i have a different interpretation on what this last chorus means, it ends with “if you can give someone something”, I believe that whatever is talking back to him is telling Bedman that he can’t ascend to heaven because he needs to be there for Delilah.

I have wanted this video so bad, and I am so happy to finally see it. MORE EXCUSES TO LISTEN TO THE SOUNDTRACK YESSSSS Edit: One thing I'd like to point out something about The Circle that makes me think of the first interpretation more, being that "The circle" means the circle of life. Romeo (Bedman) breaks out of the circle, defying his death, defying the cycle, locking himself out of heaven. The whole, "You can't see..." section being him being told he can't reach heaven, because he can give someone something. He can give Delilah protection. He can give her a little part of him still. Romeo ruins his own circle of life to death, because if anyone is going to tell the afterlife no it's probably him.

I like to think that both bedman theme interpretations are correct. just like the pitch black and pure white in the song, both are happening.

When listening to "The Circle", I always heard that verse as "you can't feel a tender warmth if you CAN'T give someone something," which I think changes the meaning entirely. Bedman is denied this eternal rest and release until he can atone for his wrongs in some way or another. He can right his wrongs if he gives one last thing to his sister: a memento of him. He can use this machine once used for evil to now do some good.

The repeating life 4 times may be a nod to how, in some asian cultures, the number 4 is considered unlucky because the character for it sounds like "death".

The chorus of Sin's theme not only speaks to how Sol's outlook has shaped him but also shows that he's learned that he has more control over than his life than he thinks. Specifically, the hourglass can't turn upside down on it's own (as someone must choose to do so) and its his choice if he wants to restart his relationship with his family.

I've always interpreted the part in the circle where "Bedman" is given a response as god directly telling him he can't access heaven before telling him "If you can give someone something", implying that he isn't able to see the light, hear the chants or feel the warmth because he's still holding on to his desire to protect Delilah. After this (and a couple other lyrics) "Bedman" says that he "struggled to go outside the circle" which tells me that he did manage to escape the afterlife in some way, presumably in the form of the bed to protect Delilah. How he managed this and what part of him is the bed or whether he is even in the bed at all is up for debate. Either way I didn't expect the song where a sleepy redditor sings about a circle for 5 mins to be one of my favourite tracks out of all of them.

I think “no you can’t see the radiant light” and “if you can give someone something” is Bedman telling himself that he can’t go to heaven if he can still give Delilah something so he needs to keep his spirit inside the bed to protect her

I always thought that the "God" segment of the Circle was the singer giving a condemnation of God. Hes asking if God can see the Light, hear the Chant, Feel the Warmth. If God can see the love that humanity has for each other. And then grows angry when he realizes God Doesnt feel it. That God is so separate from Humanity, because God is the circle and Bedman is trying to escape the Circle to protect Delilah.

I do see the line ending as "Im here" abruptly cutting, that, that was his final moments, and his wishes of protecting delilah were with him until the end

I feel like something to keep in mind for Bedman's theme, is that during the arcade he's basically trying to off himself in a fight, and it isn't till Delilah shows she's crying he stops. With that being said I think that Romeo is possessing the bed, and feels like a monster in his current body after the story, so trying to go to Heaven only getting denied after everything he's done, and because he internally isn't ready to go yet

On one hand, I’m bummed you didn’t do a redo of Happy Chaos’ theme, on another the previous interpretation is probably just as accurate

There's potentially a third meaning of the Circle, since Happy Chaos brings up that Romeo removed his "ID" from the world that would make him mortal. He's apparently in some higher consciousness now, so I'm of the mind that his getting out of the circle is him getting to that higher plane.

My interpretation of The Circle is something of a combination of the two ideas presented here. To me, the line "You can't see the radiant light... if you can give someone something" implies that Bedman can't move on to the afterlife after his death, because there's someone he cares about too much to leave. It's the "unfinished business" trope, a la Guilty Gear. I think this interpretation fits the song's conflicting moods, which flip back and forth between optimism and darkness, quite well. The idea that Bedman couldn't find peace because of his desire to protect is sister is haunting, but it's also moving. Anyway, I only just learned about this guy's lore yesterday, and I think he may be one of my favorite characters in fiction. This song is masterful.

20:45 it's cool you mention something yalking back, cause the way i viewed it, it was Bedman answering his own question. Up to that point he had asked the question 3 times like he wants there to be something, and on the 3rd, it seems that he answered his own question. Because he himself is on the border of the circle, he has looked past and seen there's nothing there. No light, no chant, no warmth, no afterlife.

I like both interpretations of bed man’s theme but I personally see it as bedman saying to himself that he cannot leave just yet and that he needs to protect Delilah and as he tries to understand what he can do and asking him self if he can see paradise with the somber tone being interrupted by a struggling tone in his voice as he rejects paradise to protect Delilah with the final “I am here “ he has finally made his mind and rejected Paradise to help Delilah until he can be reunited with her (edit: I just had a thought about the line "copy that " when the last copy that is herd the machine cannot be herd starting up this can be that he has taken full control permanent or something close to that )

The Town Inside Me and The Circle are so good, I love Gekko tryna explain The Circle

FYI the guitar that first kicks in on Bridget's theme is actually the intro from Simple Life. Notably it's the first time you hear electric guitar on the song at all, so that's pretty cool.

I always interpreted the circle as a mix of both the grim and hopeful ones The majority of the song is his mind trying to comprehend death in its last moments, But the voice that talks to bedman is not God, it’s bedman himself. after finally getting to a perfect world like the one he wanted to create he rejects it, he can’t experience heaven, nor the bliss as he can still “give someone something” he chooses to posses his failing machine, his mind being suppressed by the programming of the bed but still being lead by his objective to protect his sister he’s here for Delilah to make sure she gets a safe life (this also connects to my interpretation of why The bed seeks to destroy itself in the arcade mode, in his mind he has completed what he sought to)

Such a great analysis of The Town Inside Me. Love this channel!

One last thing about Mirror of the World I found interesting while listening to the cutscenes from the Ex Story was a possible callback to the line "If I had a comrade, I wonder what I would tell them Yes, yes I knew the answer." Right before setting off on her mission, when Anji asks Baiken one last time if she really plans on going to America, she replies "You're the only one who could talk me out of my revenge, but this time *You know my answer* " which I like to interpret as Baiken having answered her question from her original lyrics, and is currently in the process of trying to adjust herself to her new way of life with her newly admitted comrade. It's very cute, and quite nice to see.

I want to point out how good The Town Inside Me is at not only being about Bridget, but about being transgender in general. I could do a line-by-line analysis of almost every line in that song about how it so beautifully describes what it all feels like.

For ‘The Circle’ I think it’s more of a mix of both, to me it’s like his soul lingers in the bed. Bedman/Romeo had always wanted to make the world his own heaven for Delilah, he always wanted the radiant light, the beautiful chant and to feel the tender warmth, and when he died, he was stripped of everything he hoped for stuck in a purgatory inside his own bed. That’s why for verses 1 and 2 he gets more desperate in his speech trying to cope with the fact he can’t pass on, and it all accumulates until he breaks, which is why the voice sounds so broken the second time he asks “god?” He’s desperate he wants to feel it. But it was at his most desperate he realised. No he can’t find heaven. Not while he can do something for Delilah. He stops thinking about his situation with “pitch black pure white” each time ending with “copy that” since all his soul can do is give orders to his machine. But once he’s accepted that he won’t be going to heaven until he’s helped Delilah we get what should be a darker part of the song “No hope, No rest, No home, Copy that” with this “copy that” seeming more determined then robotic, and the line “I may not be able to make you smile but I’ll never make you cry even once never” shows how before he thought his death would be what ruined Delilah and it made him give up. But now he’s come to terms with his purgatory and he’s going to help Delilah as much as he can. The “border of the circle” is him about to pass on trying his absolute best to reach heaven. And the reason he doesn’t mention it at the end is because he’s stopped trying to pass on returning to Delilah’s side inside the circle. TLDR: The Circle is about Bedman accepting his purgatory trapped inside the bed trying his best to comprehend it until he realises that he still has a mission to protect Delilah and then he can think about passing on.

The circle is one of my favorite songs cause of how many different interpretations you can get. One of the ways I see it is bedman going through the circle of life and trying to find a way to get out of it or at least a way to circumvent the circle for not only him but Delilah and maybe the world as well. He's on the border trying to reach in and guide everyone through something that he may not completely understand but is willing to learn about and ask "god" about to understand more and more but finding he just ends up in another circle that leads him back to the same place he was before. When two circles are joined together what you get is infinity. He's learned that the afterlife isn't an escape from life but a way to look inside of it without being bothered by the things life throws at us and while he may be trying to get Delilah out of it, it may not be a better place than the place she's in cause at least in life she can learn, grow, and love. He's dead and gone but he's still there for her through the bed as his last token to keep her safe and while he can never make her smile since he's gone, he can at the very least make sure nobody makes her cry.

To sort of expand on what you said, I always interpreted The Circle as representing bedman being trapped in some sort of afterlife in which he’s trying to escape but the parts where he says “I’m here, on the border of the circle” is him trying to reassure Delilah that he’s almost escaped and through the machine he’s still technically with her. The final verse where he just says “I’m here” is the realization that he can’t truly escape, but through the machine he can live on, and whether his consciousness is literally living on in the robot, or the robot represents his legacy doesn’t matter. The song ends with him knowing the machine being with Delilah is the closest to “escaping the circle” he can achieve. In turn the part where god responds to his questions and condemns him to hell, I think metaphorically represents how he can’t find peace in death while he feels Delilah needs protection.

I frickin LOVE Bedman? 's theme since the first time I heard it, and this video gives it even more deep than I thought, but personally I always interpreted the theme as Bedman, the original, talking to himself in the afterlife, seeing this contradictory plane black and white, endless infinity, and the chorus more like voices in his head, his conscious, with the omnious voices asking if this is how he imagine the Heaven or a perfect world, and on the opposite side Bedman in denial, angry, seeing this like a circle, an infinite loop without escape. In the "if you cant give someone something" part, I interpreted It like the voices and bedman reaching to a conclusion, that he can't "give Up". He searched for a perfect world for her sister, but now he's dead, and Delilah is alone (or he thinks that), understanding that Delilah needed more Bedman than a perfect world, and now Bedman tries to break the circle, tries to come to live, now for stay with his sister and protect her, even if is in the form of a machine, so the final "I'm here" is Bedman telling Delilah, well, that he still with her, even if he can't talk to her. Anyways, that's my interpretation, i also likes yours, and the other themes, and I will listen this absolute banger with a tear in the eye. Nice video, i have waited TOO MUCH since the first one only for the analisis of The Circle, but It was worth. Hope to see you again when season 3 drops XD

I personally interpret The Circle to be referring to the seemingly cyclic process the bed goes through, looping between furious rampages and the calm moments where Bedman breaks through with Delilah’s help so he can interact with her through the frame. I also think the God he’s talking to is Ariels, and the “No, you can’t see the radiant light” section in the bridge is her response to him trying to make the Absolute World with her help: it represents her betrayal to him, her denying his Absolute World and its radiant light. With Ariel’s backstabbing and his death, Bedman is left with almost nothing. The one thing he has left is Delilah, his magical hyper-intelligence only affording him the briefest moments of connection with her. It’s no longer about his grand plans and making a perfect world for the two of them, it’s just about his basest, most instinctual, most human desire to simply be there for his sister. I interpret him being on the border of the circle as him being on the border between life and death - it’s those brief moments where he can interact with her through the bed - but I interpret the ending to be his more emotional insistence that he’ll keep fighting for these brief moments. It’s dark because the bed is deteriorating, he is getting less moments to interact with Delilah while she is getting more of the bedframe’s rampages, but the instruments go on in spite of the absence of his voice saying that he’s at the border of the circle almost as if Bedman is refusing to let the song end. I love how this song depicts this aloof, intellectual character being deconstructed, having his facade of being above simpler human emotions stripped away and revealing this side of him that isn’t in control, that has to scramble and claw for what he wants instead of chuckling as his mastermind plots unfold exactly to his design. My interpretation lies somewhere in between the hope and the despair: to me, The Circle is at its most meaningful representing Bedman’s pure, unadulterated desperation, and that in the wake of how disastrous things have turned out for him and how precarious his current situation is, that he’ll still work as hard as he can to reassure Delilah that he is still here, he is still fighting

16:32 i more read the line of "The hourglass doesnt turn upside down on its own" more as "time doesnt go backwards, but we can look backwards and forgive" with regard to sins relationship with ky. hes saying "cant change how you made me feel, but i can change how i think of you from now on" 20:47 this refrain says to me that bedman did in fact see the afterlife, but refused it out of obligation for delilah! you cant see the radiant light etc. if you can give someone something - if you still have a duty in this world, you have to deny death and do what you can for them

For the circle i view the start of it as bedman waking up in what is effectively pergatory, there is no sensation or anything there and no matter how much he tries to learn about it nothing is there. Its torture to him because he cant understand it and he loses his perception of time, hense ten billion years coming to him in an instant. Then in the middle he finds a way to reconnect to the bedframe which was already linked to his mind and he can now find his sister again through the access to the back of its eyelenses. And some time later at the end whatever is talking to him lets him know that he can’t experience peace in the afterlife because he can still affect the world, he cant rest unless he gives up on his sister and leaves the mortal world alone. Which obviously bedman refuses, the thing starts screaming at him that he will have no home, no rest, and no hope and he confidently replies “copy that”. Knowing what he is doing could very well damn his immortal soul to suffer eternity in a sensationless void, but it gives him the opportunity to spend a little bit more time with his sister and maybe increase her chances of living a happy life even a little bit, and he makes that choice without hesitation like its the easiest deal he has ever made. To me bedman is the brother that gave everything for his family and even after his body crumbled to dust he had more to give.

Testaments theme is amazing cuz it’s reflected in their arcade tower dialogue. Loved listening to you talk about it while they’re getting destroyed by Baiken in the background.

i always felt like perfection cant please me was an argument between jack o and arya about one of them stressing over stuff and the other talking about enjoying individual things, and they eventually reach a consensus.

i think with baiken's theme, both interpretations are true. because that's the nature of mirrors. not only is the reflection all about perspective, but a reflection is also different to how things actually are. left and right are swapped in a reflection.

I lean more towards to positive side of bedman's theme for 2 facts: during the last pre-chorus, his final "copy that" sounds human rather than machine, and during the final chorus he says "I struggled to go outside the circle" which explains why in the last verse he ends with the "I am here, I am here". This implies that it's finally him that is in control of the bed, and not that he is about to die (It wouldn´t make sense that way, why would he say that he struggled to get out the circle if the circle is him before dying). Now Asuka, he has been observing the events of the crusades and the games either on the backyard or somewhere on earth, he only went to the moon to do his spotify podcast after Strive´s ending. I want to point out that his song is also about him seeking redemption for his actions that led to the crusades (even if some of those actions were the Universal Wil and also later Happy Chaos and people simply blamed asuka) and for what he did to his two friends. He has done enough damage and decides to remove himself alognside the tome of origin so that he can no longer screw things up for humanity and his friends, which is why the song sounds more emotional than final boss during the last chorus. In the line "Beyond hope, do you recognize me?" it´s like he is asking both Sol and Aria ,very emotionally I might add, that despite all the tragedy and conflict that surrounded them all, can they still recognize the good but awkward friend that is Asuka instead of That Man.

Okay, so a bit about a single line from The Circle. "Pitch black! Pure white! All the same!" Is not Bedman describing his location. It's him saying that he doesn't know what the afterlife may hold, but he doesn't care because he'd rather spend his time after death protecting Delilah.

I think one thing of note is themes of Goldlewis and Gio are supposed to sound chill and calm, but if you examine them more closely its clear they are hiding something. Which is fit for goverment agents...

I love your second interpretation of The Circle. It was already my favorite song and you made it somehow even better. I always viewed the final lines of "i'm here" being Bedman crying out to Delilah that he's there, not gone. But she can't hear him, making him have to repeat it

Ive almost gone the complete middle when it comes to bedman?s theme i think bedmans life is quite litterally a shrödingers cat in that he is dead but he is alive at the same time. clinging to this void hes found himself in for all eternity just so that he can attempt to help delilah. he tries billions of times to reach to delilah in any way he can but he has no way of confirming if its working or not, and then one day he stops. eventually bedmans very being cant bear the void of nothingness and everything anymore and he finally stops existing not accepting death but doing everything in his power to delay it.

I've also heard interpretations that the aforementioned "gravity" in Asuka'a theme could refer to Sol and Aria, his two closest friends, that they are his answer for living. Edit: Also nothing to do with lyrics but one of my favorite bits of The Hourglass is the brief leitmotifs of "Holy Orders" and "Awe of She" overlayed on top of each other. Sin's theme has bits of both his parents' themes and I think that's cute.

Fun fact about the Asuka clones! The # that they're marked as makes a lot more sense than one might think initially. They get referred to as "Asuka R Cross" since that's exactly what the symbol is. This further leads to the word kreuz, and its predecessor kreutz, which is the German word for cross, making it full circle. It all means the same thing, but the context and origin is different, just like the clones compared not only to each other, but to Asuka himself.

I feel like you missed on "The Gravity" In the story, Asuka decides to leave earth and start a radio broadcast so he can relay information to people on earth. He does this because of how, when he's taken the knowledge he has and tried to come up with a solution on his own, it ended poorly every time; as a result of this, he instead decides it's best to simply relay information to the people on earth, so they can make their own decisions on how to best proceed with this knowledge, rather than acting on his own and making more misguided attempts at saving people. The theme itself, we can see some repetition and divine some meaning "As if a divine truth seeker" is Asuka realizing that he's been playing this role, when he now knows he's not, which is why he's saying "As if," showing that he's regretful for acting in such a way, detached from everyone, instead of talking to them to understand the problems and what should be done to solve them, instead of acting all on his own in an attempt to help the people he's not even talking to, that he doesn't understand emotionally. The whole Chorus, with "As the universe turns black, Did the sun ever defy fate, Beyond it all, do you recognize me, does meaning have a meaning" I think is talking about his relationship with Sol; talking about how after Asuka left to work on whatever he thought was right at the time, Sol was moving on and growing as a person, as well as defying the odds, and denying Asuka's help, leaving Asuka to wonder if Sol even sees him as the same friend he once had anymore, and questioning why he's doing what he's doing. Another part of the song that's repeated, and holds something of significance, "Arises, Find it, find it, Something unseen, Play back the history, answers within" I feel has to do specifically with him reflecting on his previous attempts to make things right, and trying to find the flaw in his logic where the mistake was made, which caused people to dislike his actions. He's very bright but emotionally detached, so this would show up in him making Jack-O a living, thinking being with emotions, just to be a vessel for Aria, and not seeing how this was wrong, just as an example. Furthermore, "Words know the morning light, No, it is not truth that you divine, And love embraces the darkness of the night, All things as they are" comes near the end of the song, showing the conclusion that Asuka has come to; that he shouldn't be the sole arbiter of knowledge and decision making for all of humanity; that people living without knowledge of everything is something precious, and that it isn't right to intervene with peoples' lives when they don't even know what is happening. And finally, "Gravity holds all the answers," I think is Asuka relinquishing his role as a pretend "Divine truth seeker," giving it up to instead let humanity decide their own fate. There is more that I didn't cover, obviously, but I feel like this hits all the big notes and covers most of what's being conveyed with this song.

I have been listening to the Circle for almost 1000 times like a madman. A couple of things I just realized The song is a mix of Bedman and His Bed's conversation and a message he left for Delilah. You can notice that there are different voices/style of dialogue "God(The Bed referring to Bedman since he is it's creator), Do you hear the beautiful chant, can you feel the tender warmth"? : Is the Bed asking Bedman the feeling of death "Nothing here (T'is the start of Bedman's reply to the question), Pitch Black/Pure White/All the Same" :Bedman describing Death "Endless Finite, Copy that" :The Bed translating the description All Choruses are Bedman's Message/Orders to the Bed The last part of the Song before the Final Chorus "God, Do you see the radiant light / Do you hear the beautiful chants/ Do you feel the Tender Warmth" The last question sounds like the Bed losing hope alongside Bedman, the tone of the voice sounds like they are both saddened that they can't do anything until they heard a reply from ACTUAL GOD "NO! YOU CAN'T SEE THE RADIANT LIGHT/YOU CAN'T HEAR THE BEAUTIFUL CHANT/YOU CAN'T HEAR THE TENDER WARMTH," Since you hear something similar to an Orchestra, This means this is supposed to be said by something grand. Explaining their current predicament "UNLESS YOU CAN GIVE SOMEONE SOMETHING" Telling them what they can do for Bedman to be out of Limbo. This is not literal since Bedman is already doing everything before to save his sister. The something means Everything he has and can do. His will/want for the safety of Delilah. So he trust his Bed and giving it his last command and his last full message is the Final Chorus There are a lot of holes on this theory I am convinced I'm getting somwhere

22:39 My theory about 'The Circle' is actually a mix of both ideas: 'The Circle' could be Bedman and Delilah themselves. They're tied to The Backyard, and they can't exist at the same time. For one to live, the other has to die! The only time one gets to live is when the other sleeps, so they 'circle' back and forth. That's why Bedman is trying to 'step outside The Circle'; if he ever fully wakes up, Delilah dies. I think that the thing that answers him at 20:46 is actually giving him a condition/ultimatum: 'No, you can't [UNLESS/BUT IF] you can give someone something'. The interlude after is Bedman figuring things out. He wanted to make it so they both could live, but he could still give. Bedman assigns him Bedframe to Delilah and dies. He 'gave someone something' in dying: Delilah gets a full life now, with his Frame to protect her, and Bedman finally broke 'The Circle'. 'The Circle' could also be the cycle of reincarnation. Bedman and Delilah are tied to The Backyard, which is a different plane of reality so 'Heaven or Hell' may not apply to them. So, 'a new Pendulum' may mean he feels himself about to reincarnate. TL;DR Bedman/Romeo and Delilah could be 'The Circle' who have to 'circle' back and forth through The Backyard to live. Bedman gives his Frame and dies to give Delilah a full life, so he 'gave someone something' and broke 'The Circle'...

I think the other voice for bedman can havw a positive meaning, saying no you cant go to heaven while you still have something to do on earth.

My interpretation of the circle if that the song is bedman last thoughts replicated by the bed, which believes itself to be bedman himself, but in this case the bed is unable to die so while bedman could get out of the circle, the bed is stuck on the thoughts of a dying man constantly replicating them. There is also something about the circle that I find quite odd and it is that there is no a single mention of bedman's sins while he was alive, I interpreted this as these thoughs just not making it into the bed program, thus while bedman can easily tell while he can't go to heaven since he well aware of all the horrible things he committed, bed is not aware of these things and thus he thinks that the condition he needs to fulfill in order to rest is to protect Delilah since it is the only task he was assigned and the only thing he can do, that's the reason why the bed tries to kill himself in the arcade, since baiken was already taking of Delilah bed had no way to complete its function or rather assume that the function was already and when he realized that he was still alive and he decided to take matters into his own hand and end himself. By the end of the arcade mode realizes that he doesn't need to end himself to give Delilah something since he already is a thing and that the radiant light, beautiful chants and tender warmth that he was looking for were always right in front of him.

Bedman is the character that got me into Guilty Gear, I think his story is one of, if not the best in all of fiction, the way he's written is impeccable and insanely funny, and I want to take a stab at analyzing my favourite song in this game. I see it as a mix between the two analyses you brought up, but I lean closer to the second reading. I think The Circle is Bedmans dying thoughts, but not as he's actually dying if that makes sense. Y'know how people say their lives flash before their eyes when they go through a near death experience? There's a theory that that's a defense mechanism, like your brain is searching through everything you know, believe, and have experienced to look for a way out, and if it can't find anything it spits back a white void. The "light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak. Put a pin in that, I'll come back later. There's another phenomenon I want to bring up. I can't remember what it's called, so feel free to tell me if you know. When someone with dementia is about to die, they go back to normal. It's like a last hurrah before they finally die. Their memories come back to them, their personality goes back to what it used to be, it's like nothing's wrong. Family of the patient often think it's cured if they don't know it means they're on the verge of death. Their brain returns to the state it used to be in, then their body crumbles. They die very shortly after. Put another pin here. One last thing to mention. A belief some people have that somewhat mixes these two ideas together. There's a slight spike in brain activity immediately before people die. There's a belief that this is the brain is experiencing the eternal nature of the afterlife in that small spike. Like time slowing to a crawl when you get a hit of adrenaline, or when your brain is searching for a way out using everything you know, or as if it's giving the final performance it'll ever give. The Circle is Romeo experiencing all of this at once, in his own Bedman way. His brain is going through all of the information he knows, or he thought he knew, in a vain attempt to find something of worth that could help him. But since he's zoomer insomniac redditor child Bedman, his brain as a shit ton to file through. This, combined with that last millisecond of eternity people experience, leads to Bedman's consciousness being pushed to the brink of what's comprehensible. During the song, he's thinking his final thoughts after the death of his body. His brain is giving out but his consciousness still keeps going, still searching for an answer. At first he's just trying to understand where he is, but as he learns more, his desperation grows. The cocky monologues he's known for give way and he's left scared and alone. The voice he hears answering his questions isn't god, it's himself. His own voice is his denial and the response is his acceptance. Basically everyone in Guilty Gear is religious. Asuka is dressed as a priest, Bridget has a nun motif, hell, the bitch Bedman teams up with is pretty much the pope. It's not a stretch to believe Bedman would probably also be christian. Those expectations of what the afterlife is is the "radiant light, beautiful chant, and tender warmth", but there's an important detail in his story I'm kinda disappointed you didn't bring up. Bedman's intentions. Romeo wanted to save everyone. He memorized the names of every single person he killed in his entire life with the intention of bringing them back when he succeeded. But he didn't. He died before he could do that. The last thoughts Romeo has is that if he can use the life he wasted to save his sister, if he can give someone something instead of taking with the flimsy intent of repayment, he will be able to enter heaven. But that's not what happens. His efforts push him back from the brink of death, forcing his soul into the bed he lived in, with only one command. "Give someone something". But the bed was made for combat, and that "someone" is obviously Delilah. So what does it do? Go berserk and protect Delilah from everything that could be considered a threat. Romeo is dead, but Bedman isn't. The question mark in his name in Strive isn't because it's just his bed. The real Bedman is still in the roster. The difference now is that Bedman isn't human anymore. Romeo passed through The Circle, but Bedman was still there. He's here to protect Delilah in an effort to alleviate Romeo's sins and let him enter heaven. TL;DR Bedman is going through his reddit post history thinking of a way to get out of his permaban from r/heaven. He then takes the bedless bedman and puts the man into bedman's bed so bedman can protect bedwoman. This means bedman is still in bedman's despite bedman not being in bedman's bed, because bedman's bed is now bedman.

I wanted to quickly mention a tiny detail that I've noticed in 2 of the themes. Sin's theme includes the main line of "The Hourglass doesn't turn upside down" and then in the first two verses, it finishes the thought with "on its own". See, in my mind, this recontextualizes "The Hourglass" as a metaphor for time. Once it runs out, time stops, and if you don't turn it back around, time will just stay stuck in a constant place. Saying "on its own" is Sin saying you need to consciously decide to move on, to let time keep moving forward. This doesn't change the interpretation of the overall song-it's still about how Sin is going through life and choosing to forgive people for what they say and do, the same way he did for his father-but it's a neat detail about what the title itself means. Now the second observation is a lot more out there. The final stanza of Bridget's theme reads "I can feel the light even after the sun goes down" which MAY be a very subtle reference to Ky's theme, which ends with "Hoping to fill the world with all kinds of light". See, in Bridget's arcade mode story, she meets up with Ky and he helps her figure herself out and gather courage for herself. This allusion, at the very end of her theme, may be a reference to how, even after she's left him and his direct company, the advice and comfort that Ky (and Goldlewis and by extension any other friends she makes along the way) will stay with her into the future.

Asuka's theme: "Gravity holds all the answers" Meanwhile; Smell of the Game: "Gravity keeps us on the ground... THAT IS BULLSHIT BLAZING!"

This video was something I was always looking forward to. So I am so happy you did it bruv.

It should be important to know that Jack'O's song can also be interpreted by her split personality, as she tends to act like an excited child or a mature woman.

Love that Daisuke didn't even consider that these songs would be in a fighting game soundtrack. Baiken's theme doesn't even pick up until the second round most of the time

After playing the Arcade mode for Bedman? I think Romeo (the character Bedman) is now inside the machine, and the lack of radiant light and chanting is him realising he was denied paradise, the constant "I'm here" is him trying to reach Delilah, after being seperated for so long, he's FINALLY here, which is why it's literally screamed during the chorus, he's trying to break through, though his knew robotic body can't quite communicate, finally setting to a much softer "I'm here" to close out the song, accepting his role as delilah's protector The arcade mode picks up after the story with Delilah living with Baiken and Ramlethal and seeing his sister happy and looked after, the Bedman literally tries to kill himself, seeking out stronger and stronger opponents thinking they're no longer needed, only for Delilah to interrupt the fighting at the end, how the bed is all she has left of Romeo and this calms the machine, he's still needed, she still needs him, and he's here...

In my humble opinion, The Circle is about edman Being in purgatory, and how he cant reach heaven until he helps his sister hence the disembodied voice in the song saying "If you can give someone something", this could be part of his sprit saying "No not yet there is something I still need to do" which is why many spirits haunt the earth in many depictions, so the "I'm here on the edge of the circle" might be a refrence to my overall analysis and the final use of the line that drops the "on the edge of the circle" may be bedman's spirit finally entering heaven. The Circle is of of the reasons I love guilty gear music. The fact the songs can be so profound amazes me

So, note to interpretation of Bedman lyrics: It could be something in between as well. He isn't allowed to enter heaven, hear the chant, because he has to in a way attone for all his acts that he did in good faith, but contributing to evil. He can give someone something, which is protecting Delilah. His soul cannot pass on from limbo as his own personal hell while he protects her, restrained to a body of a robot with much limited expression. Regarding Sin, I think you didn't use the opportunity to tell about the fact how his theme subverts a very pesimistic statement "The hourglass does not turn upside down" by adding "on its own", giving it a mark it a sense that his optimism is a very active one - things won't reolve themselves, action is required to change for the better. Like how Ky genuinely had to make effort to fix his relationship with Sin in Overture by fighting alongside him and bringing a literal freaking army with him. It really is a blend of both free and hope in there which i appreciate.

My interpretation of The Circle is that he switches between talking to delilah and airels, "I see the circle" being him knowing that he's trapped and his attempt at trying to tell delilah that, and his lines at "god" being taunts towards ariels like they're both trapped somewhere (my guess is the backyard) and how she can't feel heaven. his alternating lines being references to his split morals "pitch black/pure white" being his thoughts on ariels, a good person to the person he should point all of his hatred towards, "endless/finite" being her power before and after her death, and "copy that" being how it applies to himself. afterwards telling how he'd come to delilah/ariels no matter what while still being trapped in the backyard "I'm here" being comforting or threatening depending on the person. the next lines being how he can't reach delilah physically, only being able to see her through his robots eyes. "You can't..." and "No home/rest/hope" being more taunts towards ariels about how she can't feel anything, but he can, and while she has nothing he lists, delilah does because of bedman. and his last lines are towards delilah (and thus taunting ariels) before repeating "I'm here" to both of them. (I also want to note that his last "I'm here, I'm here" can be seen as sad, showing how much he wishes to be with delilah while still trapped, while his first utterance can be seen as angry, being towards ariels)

A recent Veritasium video is about the meaning of entropy. It starts and goes on about what gives Sun to Earth. And it's highly packed energy through high energy photons. As in, Low entropy. A line in Asuka's song is: 'Did the Sun ever defy fate?' So yeah, that's cool.

GekkoSquirrel over a year ago: "Jack-O wtf are you talking about I don't understand your theme!" GekkoSquirrel a year later: "I'mma be honest I still don't entirely understand Jack-O's theme" In all seriousness though, thanks so much for going back and re-reviewing some of those songs! Your breakthrough was astonishing, showing HOW the song can be split to create two separate but cohesive sets of lyrics to reflect her split personas and inner conflict. Great video as always, glad I found your channel. PS - Idk if you've done it yet, but if you made a tier list of all the season 2 themes how would you stack them?

I have an interpretation of Bedmands theme thats kinda of a mix of both you gave, Like, Bedman isnt just dying, the chant and the questions are him already in the afterlife and the voice that answers him is either god or who ever decides who can rest in peace for eternity, saying he isn't allowed to see the light or to hear the chants nor even feel warmth, then this voice says "if you give someone something" and then cuts, like if this Gatekeeper tells bedman he needs to do something before he is allowed to rest, and Bedman himself internalized that this is protect Delilah, how ever its not Protecting her but giving her a purpose, as this is a big point thats even in the Bedman trailer "My brother left me a meaning" This paired with Bedman trying to get itself destroyed during the story game solidifies the circle he's in of constantly craving for a rest in the afterlife that he just isn't allowed to reach, how ever when he realizes that he is hurting Delilah by doing this (hearing Delilah tell Ramlethal that the bed is the only thing her brother left him) he just stops instantly, realizing that he didn't had to destroy or fight or kill something, the something he had to give someone was love and care, something Bedman didn't understand thanks to his "no emotions only logic" ideology that he believed (even if he always knew that was him being a hipocrite cause he did all just to give a perfect world to his sister )

I think Asuka's theme is honestly him realizing that the answer to all of his questions is how humanity comes together in times of crisis. "Gravity" in this sense would be the bonds between others, and by coming back to earth (actually him and not the clone, by the way; IMO the entire Asuka Arcade mode takes place over an extended period of time over the course of the series prior to him appearing in GG Xrd, and any battles with others are just simulations), he can make those bonds he needs to find his answers. Also, I feel the phrase "As if a divine truth seeker" is him both looking back at how he started his journey as well as a sarcastic view of what he has become.

The Gravity does somewhat remind me of Neccessary Discrepancy. “Don’t take them down to the ground without a face to face. I just want you to hear that one little voice that is the voice of life” feels similar to Asuka dropping the “Divine truth seeker” role and experience life first hand again

Honestly can't wait for season 3 to finish so I can hear more theme meaning

I love how much rage he got on the Baiken section Only 1/4 of the people watched this part compared to the 1st part of the Strive themed