This was the very first song of theirs I ever heard. It has a very special place in my heart. Glad to hear Moa has it down as one of her favourites too. Thanks for your insight, it makes me appreciate it ever more.
To me, Catch me if you Can is the ultimate Kawaii Metal song. The darkness combined with the playfulness! One of my most important songs in the BABYMETAL catalogue.
Thank you so much for another fascinating talk, I have loved every one so far. Please do keep going! Yes, I have seen much discussion about the red shoes. I does seem like a multi cultural theme with the 1922 Japanese song and the rather macabre Anderson story, and also wearing ruby slippers can result in a Kansas house landing on you (if you are a witch anyway). Perhaps it just seemed like a fun thing to include in the song, or maybe Kobametal just thought "this will get 'em wondering". Also thanks for the quick glimpse of Shakespeare's Globe ! In normal times I would have spent many wonderful days there during the year. If any fellow kitsunes get the chance to go there in happier future times you will not be disappointed. You will be transported to a magical other world, very much like a BABYMETAL concert, and without the need for peppermint bubble gum . Thanks again, Andrew. I know I speak for others when I say you show us even more reasons to love BABYMETAL :)
A new review... now my Friday is perfect. Thank you for the (as always) excellent review! You always present some nuggets of knowledge that make the BabyMetal songs just that much more enjoyable.
More good stuff from Professor Metal! Thank you! I love the monster/claw part of the choreography too as well as the running choreo. This is the cutest but, heaviest song about hide and seek/tag ever and one of my favorites from Babymetal. Thanks again for the extra knowledge. Kitsune Up! 🤘🦊🤘
Another informative and enjoyable lecture. This is a fun song with a georgous choreography! Regarding adults dressed up as oni going around, partly to scare children: Such customs also exist in Germany, especially south Germany, and the costumes are quite similar. While there are many local customs or variants thereof, as a general rule Bavaria has the "Krampus", an entity that appears around Christmas and/or Midwinter, and will also tease grown-ups. It often, but not exclusively, comes along with St. Nikolaus. In SW Germany (state of Baden-Würtemberg) and parts of Switzerland the "Allemannische Fastnacht" is then local way to celebrate carnival. The active participants wear costumes and big wooden masks. As always, professor, thanks a lot for your time and work! With every lecture, I fall in love with Babymetal a bit more.
The new years festival with the Oni going door to door calling for the naughty children reminds me of krampus, but that kind of story of a malevolent entity that punishes disobedient children seems to be pretty universal across cultures. My take on the theme of Catch Me if You Can is that they are challenging that cultural expectation, rather than letting the Oni terrorize them into behaving as they are expected to, the girls play a game with him. The "I'm not scared, come and get me" message is powerful. As a child I was terrified of being taken by such monsters, and had a fear of the dark that persisted until I was an adult, a song like this that is defiant in the face of that fear placed in my mind by the adults around me would have been welcome.
Great online lecture again & thanks from Japan 有難うございます💛。 Your first comment about subverting negative thing and making it positive is the everything about this song. "Oni" is a symbol of misfortune, disease, outside enemy and so on, but those negative things can become harmless, better or even helpful once we subdue or get along with it. (I hope current pandemic will turn out to be a positive "Oni" in the world on a long-term basis). As Rick Wagner commented below, 1922 children song "Akai Kutsu" is a possible inspiration for the red shoes, because when Japanese people hear the word "Akai Kutsu" we all recall this song like a dog of Pavlov (a conditioned reflex). A foreigner who kidnapped a girl wearing red shoes was a criminal and the people at that time (more than 100 years ago) were cautious about foreigners as potentially dangerous existence like big red-haired ogres. But again BABYMETAL with their magic turned the sad feeling into a cheerful atmosphere in a child play, hide and seek, as you analyzed. In addition, another analysis that red shoes which stand out and draw attention in a commonality is fresh and enlightening again. I am ready to your next lecture with notebooks entitled "New English Words" & "New Perspective Towards Our Culture"
Excellent. I'm so glad you are still coming along for the ride and that you are finding it of some value. I know that in times past foreigners and monsters/devils have been fused together (as is the case in many comparatively isolated cultures), so maybe the song's foreigner is not so far from being an oni (metaphorically) as I had thought.
Love your analysis and insights, especially on how the Japanese culture is intertwined into Babymetal's music. Very informative! But above all, for me, what keeps my attention so glued to your videos is your obvious ENTHUSIAM. During my college years, English was my worst subject (although it is my first language), however I'll bet that I would have loved to be in your Shakespeare classes just to have you as an instructor.
Good one! Enjoyed learning what this song is about. However, I do sometimes smile and roll my eyes when, during many of your analyses, you say something like "well, of course, everybody already knows this ....". I guess I'm not part of the "everybody" or "everyone" group because most of the time I don't know what is supposed to be obvious or well-known to "everyone"! 🤣 However, I still learn much that is new to me every time I watch one of your videos on Babymetal songs. So, thank you for doing this and keep it up as you find time.
Thanks! I think I say that because sometimes when I point beings out I get comments from people telling me they already knew that :) The BM fanbase is pretty hardcore so I go into these asking myself if I have anything to add to the conversations about the songs which are already out there. It's why I'm sometimes hesitant about addressing certain songs. I'm actually glad that there are folks like you who are discovering the band and don't already know everything that has ever been said in interviews etc. So thanks for watching. I appreciate it!
Yes me too! For me there is definitely a very similar emotional response (love and wonder mostly!) going on. I think it's a combination of having to actually work at understanding the language, and then finding there are multiple, sometimes hidden, meanings and word play involved. So much depth and detail to explore, and a wonderful journey into a unique and fantastical world. And all delivered in such a creative way! Who would have thought 10 years ago that a clever headbanger and 3 supremely talented little girls would have created such wonderful things? Or indeed 500 years ago that we would still be transported so much by Shakespeare's beautiful plays? I feel so privileged to have discovered the joy of both these treasures.
great stuff again - slightly disappointed it doesnt actually say "bass guitar" in the deep voice like i thought but it makes more sense now seeing as there never was a boh solo immediately afterwards! keep em coming and stay safe, stay metal
@@smartinro. first 1000 times for me - im also aware that theres no way that yui and moa chant "cheeky cheeky b*stard,cheeky cheeky b*stard" at the start of megitsune but i still hear it hahaha
Babymetal songs - even the simple ones - so much deeper than you first think. Music from other cultures is perhaps inherently mind bending, because it encapsulates an entire cultural framework different than our own. Oni 2.0 lessons much appreciated! One correction... everybody knows the Oni when it finds you inexplicably shouts "Bass Guitar!". Lastly, I played a variant of hide-n-seek in which if the Oni overlooks your hiding spot, and you are able to run past the Oni without getting tagged and touch the home base, then you are safe. I remember this well from a chipped tooth resulting from a massive collision involved in the sprint to home base.
I spent many years in Japan, of which some was teaching heavy metal guitar to kids. "The Red Shoes" as "dangerous" enigma at 13:00 on is based, I believe on a poem: Akai Kutsu, about a little girl named Iwasaki Kimi that was kidnapped at a shipyard near Yokohama by a strange foreigner. Later, a statue was erected in Yokohama in her honor. It's culturally well-known in the same way one could mention A.A. Milne's Tiggers' "bottoms are made out of rubber and tops are made out of springs." That is, a bit lost in time but still kids know it. Red shoes are bad-luck because of this.
⚡ 💀 💕 / 🏃♀️👹 I've seen Kami Band guitarist Takayoshi Ohmura rocking some red shoes in concert, but since he's a grown-up, it's probably OK. : ) While 'Megitsune' is still my favorite, this has got to be one of BABYMETAL's cutest choreographies. If much of their charm is in the blending of the cute and the brutal, this song is a stellar example. I agree that the Hans Christian Andersen story really seems like a bit of a stretch, but that the 1922 children's song 'Akai Kutsu' is a possible inspiration for the red shoes. They performed this song quite a bit in 2017, but not since. The last time I saw this one was in Chula Vista, California when they were on tour opening for Korn. I'd love to see it make a surprise comeback. It happened with 'Ijime, Dame, Zettai', so anything is possible. BTW, I almost forgot to suggest the song 'Namahage' from Japanese Doom Metal group Ningen Isu: czcams.com/video/CLoUY1kA4ZY/video.html Some of the lyrics are very similar.
Rick Wagner : My friend oimatsu0531 has just uploaded compilation video of From Dusk Till Dawn after enhancing the sound quality of original fan-cam. Just for your reference, because you were at the venue as eyewitness.
Hadn't come across Ningen Isu. Thanks! Fun stuff. I like the bass player's Kabuki styling :) Of course, there's always a danger with hard rock/metal bands when they dive into folklore very seriously that they risk turning into this: :) czcams.com/video/qAXzzHM8zLw/video.html
One interesting bit I read about Namahage recently that I hadn't heard before: Apart from scaring the kids into behaving, the Oni also go around praising elderly people for having lead a good life and urging them to continue doing so. I think that's an interesting aspect that gives it a more positive vibe.
and Namahage culture. However, I must add one very important keyword about these three folklores, that is about taking kids away or kidnapping, to “Anoyo” or the other world. Oni, is someone who came from the other world, and Oni Gokko in the evening is thought dangerous as it leads to the accident of kidnapping. Akai Kutsu song, is clearly saying in the lyrics as “The girl with red shoes was taken away by Ijin San(the foreigner)”, and Namahage is thought to take naughty kids to their mountain. So, the whole lyrics make me think about the fear of taking away to the different world that I don’t know. I think these fears of childhood are common in many countries. I once had written that Kitsune reminds me the raven of Poe here, and again, Oni, Redshoes, Namahage are the mediators that comes from the other world/the underworld. So, if this the song about the kidnapping or the fear of kids for being taken away (spirited away), the last chorus of Guru guru Kakurenbo” must mean the girls are finally taken to the other world and dance with Onis there. I think this interpretation can make the role of BABYMETAL more interesting, that they are also the mediators to connect this world and that world. How do you think?
I think the "red shoes" are just a reference to the Japanese children's song because: 1) it has a similar theme as hide and seek or tag ie being caught and taken away 2) it's going to be the first thing that occurs to the Japanese when red shoes are mentioned as they all sang it in school. I mean, Moira Shearer isn't going to come to mind.
教授にしてもここのコメントの人にしてもよく"赤い靴"とかご存知だと思いますね。 最後の「泣いちゃダメ…強いコ…」のくだりは途中に言及のあったなまはげからです。なまはげといえば人間椅子というバンドが同名の曲を歌っていて(Catch Me If You Canではないですよ)こちらの曲もおもしろいので是非聞いてみて下さい。 あとは妖怪にしても鬼にしても、悪いモノばかりではないという事ですかね。今年流行ったアマビエなんかは病気を治すとされていましたし、桃太郎の鬼のように恐れられ退治されてしまう鬼もいれば、「泣いた赤鬼」のように人間のように感情のある存在として書かれている場合もあります。妖怪でも鬼でも人と差はなく、同等に見られているのが日本です。海外の方が日本に来られて差別がないというのも納得できるのではないでしょうか。 また次の"講義"を楽しみにしております。
Thanks! Yes, I just watched the Ningen Isu video and enjoyed it. I hadn't realized that the last lines about the strong kids not crying was also from Namahage, so thanks for pointing that out.
I will write my comments down for the first time from Japan. I was surprised that Sensei was familiar with Japanese culture. The other day, when I commented on the some reactors by this same song, I received a lot of good👍. The content was almost the same as what Sensei said here, however this is the first time I've seen this video now, lol. Btw, I don't know totally about Shakespeare, lol. Honestly speaking, I don't like this song so much, but at the same time it makes me laugh and admire bitterly. Because it makes me recognize the Greatness of BABYMETAL project. First of all, the idea of composition and lyrics, the idea of mixing Metal and Japanese children's play and nursery rhymes are wonderful. I don't think anyone ever did such like these things imposingly in the world of Japanese popular music as far as I know. Because in my opinion, we, Japanese, have been longing for the western rock music for a long time. So they think Japanese-like things are ugly and not suit for rock music, and have rarely done to take Japanese-like things in their rock music. However, BABYMETAL was totally different from that. So I think BABYMETAL is very innovative. Although there are several interpretations, Japanese nursery rhymes are characterized by a slightly scary feeling. Hide-and-seek play is also a little scary play that leads to folk tales of spirited away. Red Shoes is a song like slightly scary and sad song as you know. So I think BABYMETAL not only sings cutely, but also expresses a scary vibes at interludes, 19:47 (though Moa is smiling, lol) . The MV's intro of this song also starts with a scary vibes, using the sound of Western bells and shoes (Yui seems to have been seriously scared of this intro, lol). So I think these themes actually go well with Metal. I think The charms of BABYMETAL are multi-layered. However, at my level, I don't have the qualifications to talk about. Sensei is also good at Japanese. I am still not good at listening to English, but I tried my best to listen to the video. I heard that you used to live in Yamanashi prefecture before, but I am currently living in the neighboring Nagano prefecture. I am sorry for my poor English. Thank you from Japan. Here are some references in Japanese articles about Oni and spirited away . Please here using automatic translating. If you already know about them, I am sorry. oni ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AC%BC#%E7%99%BD%E4%BA%BA%E8%AA%AC hide and seek, spirited away www.worldfolksong.com/songbook/japan/warabeuta/kakurenbo.html
Thank you for this kind and insightful comment! I am so appreciative that you took the time to write from Japan. Your English is great: very easy to understand. Thank you again. I hope you will respond to some of my other videos!
Thanks very much for your fascinating and enjoyable analyses. Yava would be a great song to breakdown, as it seems to offer us westerners a glimpse into some of the complications of Japanese society.
Thank you for your deep analysis of the video, professor. It may not be relevant here, but as the professor mentioned the role-changes when Yui and Moa were captured as seen in their performance (Moa becomes Red Oni and Yui becomes Blue Oni by growing horns on their heads), it reminds me of Japanese chess game called SHOGI played on 9x9 grid in contrast to western chess played on 8x8 checker board. The both games have similar pawns and other pieces (20 for SHOGI and 16 for Chess to start on each side). However, in SHOGI, all pieces on one side are identical to the ones on the other side unlike the two different colors in western chess. What happens in SHOGI game is when you take (capture) an opponent piece, you can reintroduce it onto the board as one of your own pawns at an opportune time and it can also be promoted to higher ranks as the game progresses. And it can be recaptured again by your opponent. Whereas in western chess, a piece "taken" means killed and off the board for good. It is perhaps a stretch, but there may be more (practical?) acceptance in Japanese culture for switching sides when defeated and gaining a chance to become better self. If that is not the case and my memory is correct, at least "Catch me if you can (KAKURENBO)" is certainly a children's play and everyone knows that "captured" becomes the new Oni when the next game starts.
Thank you for the insight. A few years ago Yui and Moa started doing the "I found you" and they stopped the growling at that point, when they played it live. So my take on that, after what you were saying is, when they were doing the claw bit, they were playing the part of the oni, and the crowd were the hunted. One of my favourite things about this song, is watching 16+ stone metal heads dancing around to a song and hide and seek, with big grins on their faces.
Just let me know when you get the green light for a full college course dissecting BabyMetal songs, I'd like to be getting credits for all I'm learning!
To be perfectly honest, I don't think it would be too far fetched for there to be a college course that uses Babymetal songs as a basis to discuss elements of Japanese culture, much like Professor Hartley is doing here. I would sign up for that course in a heartbeat.
Wow, that was really fascinating learning about all the Oni cultural aspects of this song (and japanese culture in general). Once again I'm astonished how many layers even those apparently simpler songs have. So thank you very much (as usual :-) for these insights. Btw the choreography of this particular track is so awesome, it's so kawaii and playful and energetic, I love it.
I know the video was a compilation, but would you happen to know which show the audio is from? I can hear Su putting an almost burikko inflection in her voice that I haven't heard on other performances of Catch Me If You Can, and I think it kind of works considering how playful the song is.
All of Babymetal's songs are better live due to the choreography... But this song vaults way up the list because of the choreo... And because of the vocal production. The studio version is overtly dark and brooding and, imo, the voices never break through that darkness. The live versions are much brighter and capture the duality of the song better. Excellent talk as always 先生
This was the very first song of theirs I ever heard. It has a very special place in my heart. Glad to hear Moa has it down as one of her favourites too. Thanks for your insight, it makes me appreciate it ever more.
To me, Catch me if you Can is the ultimate Kawaii Metal song. The darkness combined with the playfulness! One of my most important songs in the BABYMETAL catalogue.
Yeah, it's one of my favourites too (probably my no. 2, just behind Headbanger.)
Agreed!
Enjoying Babymetal and learning japaneese Culture. Always a win win watching your videos about BabyMetal.
Thanks for this latest in your series, very enjoyable and informative once again.
This may be the shortest reply I have ever read from you Grington. Are you slipping? 8)
@@sleestackseven4989 Haha maybe I am, but I don't think I could have added anything he doesn't already know or that hadn't already been said.
Thank you so much for another fascinating talk, I have loved every one so far. Please do keep going!
Yes, I have seen much discussion about the red shoes. I does seem like a multi cultural theme with the 1922 Japanese song and the rather macabre Anderson story, and also wearing ruby slippers can result in a Kansas house landing on you (if you are a witch anyway). Perhaps it just seemed like a fun thing to include in the song, or maybe Kobametal just thought "this will get 'em wondering".
Also thanks for the quick glimpse of Shakespeare's Globe ! In normal times I would have spent many wonderful days there during the year.
If any fellow kitsunes get the chance to go there in happier future times you will not be disappointed. You will be transported to a magical other world, very much like a BABYMETAL concert, and without the need for peppermint bubble gum .
Thanks again, Andrew. I know I speak for others when I say you show us even more reasons to love BABYMETAL :)
Thanks for your support. Really appreciate it!
A new review... now my Friday is perfect. Thank you for the (as always) excellent review! You always present some nuggets of knowledge that make the BabyMetal songs just that much more enjoyable.
Thanks again!
More good stuff from Professor Metal! Thank you! I love the monster/claw part of the choreography too as well as the running choreo. This is the cutest but, heaviest song about hide and seek/tag ever and one of my favorites from Babymetal. Thanks again for the extra knowledge. Kitsune Up! 🤘🦊🤘
Glad you enjoyed it!
You should have so many more views.. these are fascinating!
Another informative and enjoyable lecture. This is a fun song with a georgous choreography!
Regarding adults dressed up as oni going around, partly to scare children: Such customs also exist in Germany, especially south Germany, and the costumes are quite similar. While there are many local customs or variants thereof, as a general rule Bavaria has the "Krampus", an entity that appears around Christmas and/or Midwinter, and will also tease grown-ups. It often, but not exclusively, comes along with St. Nikolaus. In SW Germany (state of Baden-Würtemberg) and parts of Switzerland the "Allemannische Fastnacht" is then local way to celebrate carnival. The active participants wear costumes and big wooden masks.
As always, professor, thanks a lot for your time and work! With every lecture, I fall in love with Babymetal a bit more.
Excellent. That's what we're here for :) I knew of the Krampus but hadn't made the connection to this. Thanks!
Thank You, professor. For me, one of the best coreography from Mikiko Mizuno for Babymetal.
Great lesson, professor. Enjoying your lectures. Please don’t stop
Thank you
The new years festival with the Oni going door to door calling for the naughty children reminds me of krampus, but that kind of story of a malevolent entity that punishes disobedient children seems to be pretty universal across cultures.
My take on the theme of Catch Me if You Can is that they are challenging that cultural expectation, rather than letting the Oni terrorize them into behaving as they are expected to, the girls play a game with him.
The "I'm not scared, come and get me" message is powerful.
As a child I was terrified of being taken by such monsters, and had a fear of the dark that persisted until I was an adult, a song like this that is defiant in the face of that fear placed in my mind by the adults around me would have been welcome.
Yes, I agree. I think the threat is defused by the playfulness, but I think you are right about their defiance too. I should have said that :)
Great online lecture again & thanks from Japan 有難うございます💛。 Your first comment about subverting negative thing and making it positive is the everything about this song. "Oni" is a symbol of misfortune, disease, outside enemy and so on, but those negative things can become harmless, better or even helpful once we subdue or get along with it. (I hope current pandemic will turn out to be a positive "Oni" in the world on a long-term basis). As Rick Wagner commented below, 1922 children song "Akai Kutsu" is a possible inspiration for the red shoes, because when Japanese people hear the word "Akai Kutsu" we all recall this song like a dog of Pavlov (a conditioned reflex). A foreigner who kidnapped a girl wearing red shoes was a criminal and the people at that time (more than 100 years ago) were cautious about foreigners as potentially dangerous existence like big red-haired ogres. But again BABYMETAL with their magic turned the sad feeling into a cheerful atmosphere in a child play, hide and seek, as you analyzed. In addition, another analysis that red shoes which stand out and draw attention in a commonality is fresh and enlightening again. I am ready to your next lecture with notebooks entitled "New English Words" & "New Perspective Towards Our Culture"
Excellent. I'm so glad you are still coming along for the ride and that you are finding it of some value. I know that in times past foreigners and monsters/devils have been fused together (as is the case in many comparatively isolated cultures), so maybe the song's foreigner is not so far from being an oni (metaphorically) as I had thought.
Love your analysis and insights, especially on how the Japanese culture is intertwined into Babymetal's music. Very informative! But above all, for me, what keeps my attention so glued to your videos is your obvious ENTHUSIAM. During my college years, English was my worst subject (although it is my first language), however I'll bet that I would have loved to be in your Shakespeare classes just to have you as an instructor.
I appreciate that. Thanks! I do wear my heart on my sleeve, I think :)
Good one! Enjoyed learning what this song is about. However, I do sometimes smile and roll my eyes when, during many of your analyses, you say something like "well, of course, everybody already knows this ....". I guess I'm not part of the "everybody" or "everyone" group because most of the time I don't know what is supposed to be obvious or well-known to "everyone"! 🤣 However, I still learn much that is new to me every time I watch one of your videos on Babymetal songs. So, thank you for doing this and keep it up as you find time.
Thanks! I think I say that because sometimes when I point beings out I get comments from people telling me they already knew that :) The BM fanbase is pretty hardcore so I go into these asking myself if I have anything to add to the conversations about the songs which are already out there. It's why I'm sometimes hesitant about addressing certain songs. I'm actually glad that there are folks like you who are discovering the band and don't already know everything that has ever been said in interviews etc. So thanks for watching. I appreciate it!
so in depth. I love it
Thank you for this analysis I enyoyed it a lot. It's impressive how much room for interpretation you have with some parts of they lyrics.
My pleasure!
Its great how you equate the song to Shakespeare I am a babymetal fan and a Shakespeare fan too. :)
Yes me too! For me there is definitely a very similar emotional response (love and wonder mostly!) going on. I think it's a combination of having to actually work at understanding the language, and then finding there are multiple, sometimes hidden, meanings and word play involved. So much depth and detail to explore, and a wonderful journey into a unique and fantastical world. And all delivered in such a creative way!
Who would have thought 10 years ago that a clever headbanger and 3 supremely talented little girls would have created such wonderful things? Or indeed 500 years ago that we would still be transported so much by Shakespeare's beautiful plays?
I feel so privileged to have discovered the joy of both these treasures.
I love it that I'm not alone in this :)
great stuff again - slightly disappointed it doesnt actually say "bass guitar" in the deep voice like i thought but it makes more sense now seeing as there never was a boh solo immediately afterwards! keep em coming and stay safe, stay metal
Hahaha, same happened to me the first time I heard it =)
@@smartinro. first 1000 times for me - im also aware that theres no way that yui and moa chant "cheeky cheeky b*stard,cheeky cheeky b*stard" at the start of megitsune but i still hear it hahaha
It really does sound like "bass guitar" yes :)
I thought it said bass guitar too 😂
Babymetal songs - even the simple ones - so much deeper than you first think. Music from other cultures is perhaps inherently mind bending, because it encapsulates an entire cultural framework different than our own. Oni 2.0 lessons much appreciated! One correction... everybody knows the Oni when it finds you inexplicably shouts "Bass Guitar!". Lastly, I played a variant of hide-n-seek in which if the Oni overlooks your hiding spot, and you are able to run past the Oni without getting tagged and touch the home base, then you are safe. I remember this well from a chipped tooth resulting from a massive collision involved in the sprint to home base.
Ha! Yes, indeed. Totally with you on the "bass guitar!" :)
I spent many years in Japan, of which some was teaching heavy metal guitar to kids. "The Red Shoes" as "dangerous" enigma at 13:00 on is based, I believe on a poem: Akai Kutsu, about a little girl named Iwasaki Kimi that was kidnapped at a shipyard near Yokohama by a strange foreigner. Later, a statue was erected in Yokohama in her honor. It's culturally well-known in the same way one could mention A.A. Milne's Tiggers' "bottoms are made out of rubber and tops are made out of springs." That is, a bit lost in time but still kids know it. Red shoes are bad-luck because of this.
Thanks for that. Much appreciated.
Love how your face lights up the moment the girls appear. Sign of a true believer, lol!
⚡ 💀 💕 / 🏃♀️👹
I've seen Kami Band guitarist Takayoshi Ohmura rocking some red shoes in concert, but since he's a grown-up, it's probably OK. : )
While 'Megitsune' is still my favorite, this has got to be one of BABYMETAL's cutest choreographies.
If much of their charm is in the blending of the cute and the brutal, this song is a stellar example.
I agree that the Hans Christian Andersen story really seems like a bit of a stretch, but that the 1922 children's song 'Akai Kutsu' is a possible inspiration for the red shoes.
They performed this song quite a bit in 2017, but not since.
The last time I saw this one was in Chula Vista, California when they were on tour opening for Korn.
I'd love to see it make a surprise comeback. It happened with 'Ijime, Dame, Zettai', so anything is possible.
BTW, I almost forgot to suggest the song 'Namahage' from Japanese Doom Metal group Ningen Isu: czcams.com/video/CLoUY1kA4ZY/video.html
Some of the lyrics are very similar.
Rick Wagner : My friend oimatsu0531 has just uploaded compilation video of From Dusk Till Dawn after enhancing the sound quality of original fan-cam. Just for your reference, because you were at the venue as eyewitness.
@@flugelhornoldman1362 They did a great job with the sound.
I just subscribed to their Channel.
Thanks so much!
Hadn't come across Ningen Isu. Thanks! Fun stuff. I like the bass player's Kabuki styling :) Of course, there's always a danger with hard rock/metal bands when they dive into folklore very seriously that they risk turning into this: :) czcams.com/video/qAXzzHM8zLw/video.html
Ningen Isu, my other favourite :)
@@AndrewHartley “We'll go back in time. To that mystic land.
Where the dewdrops cry. And the cats meow”.
A true Rock 'n' Roll classic.
Thank you. Reinforcing the strong supportive message BM provided.
Totally fun. I love it.
I enjoyed that a lot! And it's awesome that I'm always learning something new about BM and Japanese culture in your videos - thanks once again!
Glad you enjoyed it!
One interesting bit I read about Namahage recently that I hadn't heard before: Apart from scaring the kids into behaving, the Oni also go around praising elderly people for having lead a good life and urging them to continue doing so. I think that's an interesting aspect that gives it a more positive vibe.
I hadn't heard that. Thanks!
I appreciate your raise of discussion on this super interesting song. As a Japanese BABYMETAL fan, I am happy to hear your mention on Oni, Akai Kutsu,
and Namahage culture.
However, I must add one very important keyword about these three folklores, that is about taking kids away or kidnapping, to “Anoyo” or the other world. Oni, is someone who came from the other world, and Oni Gokko in the evening is thought dangerous as it leads to the accident of kidnapping.
Akai Kutsu song, is clearly saying in the lyrics as “The girl with red shoes was taken away by Ijin San(the foreigner)”, and Namahage is thought to take naughty kids to their mountain. So, the whole lyrics make me think about the fear of taking away to the different world that I don’t know. I think these fears of childhood are common in many countries. I once had written that Kitsune reminds me the raven of Poe here, and again, Oni, Redshoes, Namahage are the mediators that comes from the other world/the underworld.
So, if this the song about the kidnapping or the fear of kids for being taken away (spirited away), the last chorus of Guru guru Kakurenbo” must mean the girls are finally taken to the other world and dance with Onis there. I think this interpretation can make the role of BABYMETAL more interesting, that they are also the mediators to connect this world and that world. How do you think?
That's really interesting. Thank you. The "spirited away": idea is very compelling. Makes me see parallels to Akumu no Rondo as well.
I think the "red shoes" are just a reference to the Japanese children's song because:
1) it has a similar theme as hide and seek or tag ie being caught and taken away
2) it's going to be the first thing that occurs to the Japanese when red shoes are mentioned as they all sang it in school.
I mean, Moira Shearer isn't going to come to mind.
Yes, I agree.
教授にしてもここのコメントの人にしてもよく"赤い靴"とかご存知だと思いますね。
最後の「泣いちゃダメ…強いコ…」のくだりは途中に言及のあったなまはげからです。なまはげといえば人間椅子というバンドが同名の曲を歌っていて(Catch Me If You Canではないですよ)こちらの曲もおもしろいので是非聞いてみて下さい。
あとは妖怪にしても鬼にしても、悪いモノばかりではないという事ですかね。今年流行ったアマビエなんかは病気を治すとされていましたし、桃太郎の鬼のように恐れられ退治されてしまう鬼もいれば、「泣いた赤鬼」のように人間のように感情のある存在として書かれている場合もあります。妖怪でも鬼でも人と差はなく、同等に見られているのが日本です。海外の方が日本に来られて差別がないというのも納得できるのではないでしょうか。
また次の"講義"を楽しみにしております。
Thanks! Yes, I just watched the Ningen Isu video and enjoyed it. I hadn't realized that the last lines about the strong kids not crying was also from Namahage, so thanks for pointing that out.
Bloody good content professor, I can't wait til you get to FDTD.
Simply THE best Metal song ever about playing Hide and Seek (because it can't always just be about Satan, Halloween masks and fire). 🦊
Thanks again Professor-Metal, great analysis.
I will write my comments down for the first time from Japan. I was surprised that Sensei was familiar with Japanese culture. The other day, when I commented on the some reactors by this same song, I received a lot of good👍. The content was almost the same as what Sensei said here, however this is the first time I've seen this video now, lol. Btw, I don't know totally about Shakespeare, lol.
Honestly speaking, I don't like this song so much, but at the same time it makes me laugh and admire bitterly. Because it makes me recognize the Greatness of BABYMETAL project. First of all, the idea of composition and lyrics, the idea of mixing Metal and Japanese children's play and nursery rhymes are wonderful. I don't think anyone ever did such like these things imposingly in the world of Japanese popular music as far as I know. Because in my opinion, we, Japanese, have been longing for the western rock music for a long time. So they think Japanese-like things are ugly and not suit for rock music, and have rarely done to take Japanese-like things in their rock music. However, BABYMETAL was totally different from that. So I think BABYMETAL is very innovative. Although there are several interpretations, Japanese nursery rhymes are characterized by a slightly scary feeling. Hide-and-seek play is also a little scary play that leads to folk tales of spirited away. Red Shoes is a song like slightly scary and sad song as you know. So I think BABYMETAL not only sings cutely, but also expresses a scary vibes at interludes, 19:47 (though Moa is smiling, lol) . The MV's intro of this song also starts with a scary vibes, using the sound of Western bells and shoes (Yui seems to have been seriously scared of this intro, lol). So I think these themes actually go well with Metal. I think The charms of BABYMETAL are multi-layered. However, at my level, I don't have the qualifications to talk about.
Sensei is also good at Japanese. I am still not good at listening to English, but I tried my best to listen to the video. I heard that you used to live in Yamanashi prefecture before, but I am currently living in the neighboring Nagano prefecture. I am sorry for my poor English. Thank you from Japan.
Here are some references in Japanese articles about Oni and spirited away . Please here using automatic translating. If you already know about them, I am sorry.
oni ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AC%BC#%E7%99%BD%E4%BA%BA%E8%AA%AC
hide and seek, spirited away www.worldfolksong.com/songbook/japan/warabeuta/kakurenbo.html
Thank you for this kind and insightful comment! I am so appreciative that you took the time to write from Japan. Your English is great: very easy to understand. Thank you again. I hope you will respond to some of my other videos!
Thanks very much for your fascinating and enjoyable analyses. Yava would be a great song to breakdown, as it seems to offer us westerners a glimpse into some of the complications of Japanese society.
Yes, I agree. I need to wrestle with that one.
@@AndrewHartley Good luck with it, and again, thanks for your work and thoughts
Thank you for your deep analysis of the video, professor. It may not be relevant here, but as the professor mentioned the role-changes when Yui and Moa were captured as seen in their performance (Moa becomes Red Oni and Yui becomes Blue Oni by growing horns on their heads), it reminds me of Japanese chess game called SHOGI played on 9x9 grid in contrast to western chess played on 8x8 checker board. The both games have similar pawns and other pieces (20 for SHOGI and 16 for Chess to start on each side). However, in SHOGI, all pieces on one side are identical to the ones on the other side unlike the two different colors in western chess. What happens in SHOGI game is when you take (capture) an opponent piece, you can reintroduce it onto the board as one of your own pawns at an opportune time and it can also be promoted to higher ranks as the game progresses. And it can be recaptured again by your opponent. Whereas in western chess, a piece "taken" means killed and off the board for good.
It is perhaps a stretch, but there may be more (practical?) acceptance in Japanese culture for switching sides when defeated and gaining a chance to become better self. If that is not the case and my memory is correct, at least "Catch me if you can (KAKURENBO)" is certainly a children's play and everyone knows that "captured" becomes the new Oni when the next game starts.
That's really interesting. Thank you. I did not know about the chess parallels.
Thank you for the insight. A few years ago Yui and Moa started doing the "I found you" and they stopped the growling at that point, when they played it live. So my take on that, after what you were saying is, when they were doing the claw bit, they were playing the part of the oni, and the crowd were the hunted.
One of my favourite things about this song, is watching 16+ stone metal heads dancing around to a song and hide and seek, with big grins on their faces.
That's a good take. And yeah, I love the way hardcore metalhead are powerless before these 3 :)
Liked first,... Now I'll go watch it... ;)
Same! :-) Unfortunately I have to go to bed now but this video will be the first thing I'll do in the morning.
Hope you enjoy it!
Just let me know when you get the green light for a full college course dissecting BabyMetal songs, I'd like to be getting credits for all I'm learning!
Deal!
To be perfectly honest, I don't think it would be too far fetched for there to be a college course that uses Babymetal songs as a basis to discuss elements of Japanese culture, much like Professor Hartley is doing here. I would sign up for that course in a heartbeat.
Wow, that was really fascinating learning about all the Oni cultural aspects of this song (and japanese culture in general). Once again I'm astonished how many layers even those apparently simpler songs have. So thank you very much (as usual :-) for these insights. Btw the choreography of this particular track is so awesome, it's so kawaii and playful and energetic, I love it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I know the video was a compilation, but would you happen to know which show the audio is from? I can hear Su putting an almost burikko inflection in her voice that I haven't heard on other performances of Catch Me If You Can, and I think it kind of works considering how playful the song is.
Audio: 2015 Japan Saitama Super Arena
Thanks! I wasn't sure.
@@AndrewHartley It was in the description, i just copy pasted. But i do appreciate what you are doing.
FDTDの歌詞なのですが、特に間奏（break down）部分がよく聞き取れません。ネット上にある歌詞も間違っているようにも感じます。イジメ、ダメ、ゼッタイ、の日本語の英訳だという意見もあります。教授の考えを聞けたら幸いです。
Interesting. I will definitely get to FDTD soon.
All of Babymetal's songs are better live due to the choreography... But this song vaults way up the list because of the choreo... And because of the vocal production.
The studio version is overtly dark and brooding and, imo, the voices never break through that darkness. The live versions are much brighter and capture the duality of the song better.
Excellent talk as always 先生
Yes, and their smiling faces, of course, which really light up the show.
I'm confused. I thought onisan was an older brother.
Oniisan is older brother (long 'i' sound)
@@AndrewHartley Ah. Thank you.
Hi.
Kami Band performed a few times with redish guitars.
True.
but oni"san"
Yes, I think that adds a playfully respectful tone, as does the same addition for the children at the end.