Katanagatari as an Argument

Hey look, this piece is finally out.

Listen to the audio version here!

      Telling a story can be a tricky thing. It requires a lot of finesse to simultaneously push the story along while describing each aspect to the extent you need -- all without losing the audience's attention. On top of that, it's very easy to accidentally go off on a tangent, or get sidetracked with a part of the story that doesn't add a lot of value to the narrative.

      Which brings up a good question: If there are things that don't add value to a narrative, what is it that does?

      I've never really been able to come up with an answer to that question on my own; there is no secret formula to a great story. Each one is complicated and has its own unique traits. The common consensus seems to be that every work should have a point, and every part of the story should work to sell that message. Even as I write this, I wonder if it all is worth keeping; if it all works in my favor.

Katanagatari has unique answers to this question. 

An Introduction
&
"Should you Watch" for Katanagatari

      This is not a review or grading of Katanagatari. It's also not an intro or recommendation. It's an opportunity to re-evaluate the message Nisio Isin was sending with this story. I do recommend you decide whether or not you want to ever watch Katanagatari before reading this, as it will be full of spoilers and direct references to the series, but it's not necessary to have seen it to understand the post (you'll be able to keep reading spoiler-free until the section titled "Katanagatari is a Story Worth Telling").

      If you think you might be interested in the series, here's some basic info: It's 12 ~forty-eight minute long episodes, features a romance, is somewhat action oriented, and has a LOT of talking. There are a couple of major twists, and it has a unique art style. It's well received, with an 8.5/10 on MAL, and is somewhat of a mix between The Monogatari Series and Spice & Wolf -- though I don't think it stacks up to either of those two. Here's Demo saying why it's really good, and Digibro saying why it's really bad. 

     I liked Katanagatari well enough, but it did have its problems in my mind. The show is pretty episodic, meaning that it spends entire episodes on an idea and group of characters, and then never really brings those things back up in later episodes (except for major plot points). This is only a problem because there were some episodes that were about characters or ideas that I just wasn't interested in. On the flip side, some others were fantastic, and got me really excited to continue the series. 
     The comedy was also really unique, and as I mentioned, is easiest to compare to Spice & Wolf. Though some of the comedic moments seemed to fall flat, when it connected, I found it very funny. 

I found this on yande.re, I think it might be official art?

     White Fox was the animation company behind Katanagatari, and that's one of the best things about it. The quality is outstanding, and the art style is unique and beautifully animated. In the episodes with lackluster plot, I could at least get engrossed in the visuals.
     I liked Katanagatari, but I don't think I would recommend it to myself or ever re-watch it.
     

The Things That Aren't Important

     Before we really dive into Katanagatari, it's worth noting that there's a lot going on, and it's tricky to sort through what is and is not important to talk about. For example, the protagonists are (to an extent) driven by their duty to the shogunate, but that's only important to progress the plot, and not for the overall message of the show (or this blog). 
Similarly, the witty dialogue and extremely human (read as: complicated) motives and character interaction dominate the series, and if those things don't appeal to you, neither will this show. But again, this doesn't add to the message at all. Even the title gives us an idea of what the premise is -- lit. "Sword Story" -- without conveying the message of the show.
     However, this is all simultaneously what Katanagatari is about, and it makes it really difficult to talk to someone who's never seen it about what it is without spoiling it. With that, you get your last spoiler alert. 

Katanagatari is a Story Worth Telling

     And that's it. The end result of Katanagatari is utter failure for everyone involved, and that nothing was changed. 

鑢七花 by Nod

     Here's a rundown on the conclusion: It's revealed that the entire journey was a premeditated process to transform Yasuri Shichika (The protagonist) into the perfect weapon [against his will], and it works. Kiki Shikizaki, the man who put this plot into motion and who made the 12 "perfect" blades many years before, saw a future of Japan becoming globally obsolete and wished to avoid that future by killing the shogun with the perfected Yasuri. 

     Togame dies, bested by Princess Hitei, and Yasuri's love dies with her. The swords that she and Yasuri spent the entirety of the show collecting are all destroyed, giving the journey seemingly no purpose for those involved, and Togame's presence in history becomes insignificant (other than for being the catalyst for the perfected Yasuri in death, which again, really doesn't have much meaning in and of itself).

     Shichika does in fact kill the Shogun, but the next heir succeeds him, takes his throne, and Japan lives on as it was. It continues on the original path, and the future that Kiki Shikizaki saw comes to be.

     Immediately, Katanagatari seems like a story about failure, right in line with its conclusion. Initially, I assumed the message to be something like this: 

Some things you just can't overcome. Sometimes the biggest kid on the playground is the strongest kid on the playground. Sometimes the puppet-master cannot be overcome, and accepting that is a part of life.

     That message could even be expanded further -- to the incredible force that is fate. It's a grim message, but one that I thought matched the tone of the ending and fell in line with the conclusion of the journey.

     The narrator, however, sheds some light on the real message. Despite everything turning out to be for naught, Nisio Isin argues that Katanagatari was still a story worth telling. So I return to my initial question: 

What Was It That Was Worth Telling?

     The answer to this question is what makes me as fond of this show as I am. There really wasn't anything about Katanagatari that made it worth telling at first glance. Again, there didn't seem to be any real moral to the story, and there definitely wasn't a victorious ending. A grand lesson wasn't learned, and nothing seemed to be overcome. 

I need to learn Japanese so I can source images better.

     The problem isn't Katanagatari, however. It's in this way of thinking -- that a good story has to have a goal accomplished, whether it be happily ever after or otherwise. Again, nobody walked away from Katanagatari successful. Not even the antagonist(s). So what's the point?

The point is that the characters of Katanagatari lived.

     There's a few variations of a cliché I often hear people say when they state what would validate their lives: 
"All that matters in life is that I leave my mark on this world,"
"I want to be remembered," or
"I want to change the world with my life"

     The point of Katanagatari I believe is an argument against this cliche. None of the characters of Katanagatari made a mark in the world, and in fact, you could say that the world was largely unaffected by their presence. To the people who would validate their own lives with these common saying, the lives of these characters logically were worthless. Again, I think Nisio Isin's message with Katanagatari is an argument against just that.

     If you even for a moment enjoyed Katanagatari, it was a story worth telling, and the lives and other things within it had meaning.

     I genuinely believe this, too. There are things about Katanagatari that welcome extra thought, and indulging in them is as rewarding as any other critical thinking.

What is There to Think About?

Togame

    Togame is an interesting character (though perhaps more clever viewers would argue that with me). She's introduced to us as a "good guy," and a romantic interest and partnership is very quickly formed around her. Initially, I accepted these rushed developments as something comparable to Senjougahara in Monogatari. 

時すでに始まりを刻む by  木崎七

"...the moments between Araragi and Senjougahara become less important. They're already established, and you, the viewer, have to be sold... that there is no real threat to that relationship."

- Excerpt from Extra Pulp OJ, Finalemonogatari pt. II

     In hindsight however, throughout the journey, we see that Togame was never really that good of a person. Her romance with Yasuri was very forced and unnatural, and she was never really that nice to him. In fact, she used him down to her final moments, and intended to continue that trend had she survived.
     On top of that, every single other character either questioned Togame's character, or outright said that she was a bad person. If anyone in Katanagatari was bad, it was her.

     Of course though, it's not that black and white. Togame was relieved to see that this journey ended prematurely with her death. She came around to sincerely loving Yasuri, and didn't want to kill him when the journey concluded (though she said she still would have). She seemed to only be able to continue her life with an ultimate goal in mind, and that life seemed hollow to her if she allowed herself to be caught up in anything else. She wasn't a bad person to the core, she was just living with herself the only way she thought she could. It's an interestingly fresh take on death being a sweet release, and the whole scene was one that kept me teetering back and forth between sadness and relief, and then guilt for feeling relief -- etc. etc. It was a really unique moment, and one that I don't think I will ever see the likes of again.

     It all gets even more interesting when you bring up the rivalry between her and the Princess, Hitei. Similarly, the viewer is spoon-fed the idea that Hitei was a bad person. Of course, she was an antagonist (albeit not the main one), but the only person who ever said anything bad about her was Togame. Again, that gets stranger the more you think about it. 

Hitei, the Rival

     Since she was Togame's rival, naturally Princess Hitei was also not the bad person that we were led to believe she is. Togame also never explicitly said that Hitei was a bad person, only that she got on her nerves, and was in fact her rival. 
     Also, the end result Hitei chased was in ways a good one. Hitei wanted to see Kiki Shikizaki's plan out for no reason other than to "see what happens." If it succeed, then she believed that Japan would have a better chance to change its ways in hopes of staying a global power, ensuring its people's prosperity. If it failed, then we weren't throwing that possibility away, and nothing really was going to change anyway. 
     Of course, you can't look past the fact that she was more than okay with throwing away lives for her cause. Though this includes Togame, it goes much further than that. She took it upon herself to ensure that Yasuri became the insane, perfected weapon that would kill all who stood before him.

ずっとね by みくに

     Though this dynamic of bad-with-good-motives and vice-versa is interesting, I still find the most entertaining part of her character to be her rivalry with Togame -- specifically, how playful it was. Hitei and Togame loved to get under each other's skin, and they both knew fully well that they couldn't both accomplish their goals. However, neither of them ever said that they hated the other, and Hitei even mentioned that she was somehow sad to see Togame gone. I believe the reason that Emonzaemon's serious demeanor bothered Hitei so much was because it was so against everything that she saw the situation as. If it were recorded historically, it would seem like a hostile rivalry that was perhaps over-cautiously handled by Hitei, but if you asked her, I think she would remember the whole affair fondly.

Shichika and Death

     The motive for Yasuri's epic finale at the castle seems apparent, but it's a little more than what it appears at face value. He claims that he came to the Owari Shogunate Castle to die, but I don't believe he ever entertained the idea that he could be killed by anyone [there]. 
     What Yasuri wanted from this showdown was for the Yasuri Shichika that acted according to Togame to die. In simpler terms, he wanted to prove that he no longer operated according to the criteria Togame placed upon him. It's important, however to understand this as Yasuri dying, because as he puts it, he "can't do anything without [Togame]."

     First of all, Togame told Yasuri to avoid ever hurting himself. By showing up to the castle, he deliberately put himself in harm's way, and in as much of it as possible. Secondly, as Yasuri worked his way up, he destroyed every Deviant Blade that he and Togame had collected. This accomplished two things:

1. It destroyed the physical items that bonded Yasuri to Togame
2. More importantly, Togame had told him to never let the swords be damaged. Yet again, this was him proving that he was no longer acting according to Togame's commands.

     The third important thing for Yasuri was for Emonzaemon to face him in this death battle. More specifically, he believed that Emonzaemon was the only one who could "kill" him. There's an interesting level of understanding from Emon- to Yasuri that's, as they see it, unique to the two of them.

     If you recall, or somehow missed it, Emonzaemon changed his name. He did so after his village was annihilated by the Maniwa Corps. well over 100 years ago. In a sense, he became a new person and took a new name to signify that. His death was mental, not physical.

     Yasuri wanted Emonzaemon to be the proof that Yasuri, Togame's sword, was dead. There are a few more additional elements to this act -- it was Yasuri's defiance to simultaneously avenge and disobey Togame by killing her killer, and a sword cannot act on its own, so by him acting, he was obviously no one's sword anymore, just to name a couple -- but the mutual understanding is the most important element. 

     Of course when this is all said and done, Yasuri still has life after Togame to address. When you look at the state of Yasuri's life after the journey, it's not a pretty picture. For one, he killed his sister, who he very much loved, with his own hands for the sake of multiple people who were using him.

刀語 by 白谷

     By the story's conclusion, he has no family, no home, and no place to really go. He should be wanted as the man who killed the shogun, and the love of his life is now dead. He's probably the most powerful person in at least Japan for nobody's benefit (other than there being no one who can really harm him). 

     And yet, he moves on and lives on. He's able to walk alongside the woman mainly responsible for Togame's death, and decided to do something with himself, using his knowledge from the journey to map out Japan (which is something that hadn't ever been done well before). I like that he chooses to do this, because it's what Togame believed she would do at the journey's end, so it is in a way a tribute to her. However, she had asked him to spread the phrase "Cheerio!" across Japan as a triumphant slogan, and it seems as if he refuses to do that. He's finally able to live his life without being manipulated or secluded.

Conclusion

     There are so many aspects like this -- too many to write about -- that make Katanagatari a completely different show than what it's actually about. Despite the fact that nothing in it seems to matter, and that every conflict and death are pointless, they're worth telling. When I write, I have a hard time worrying about whether or not something is worth stating.

But that's Katanagatari's secret, Captain. None of it matters. 

I can't believe I'm going to end this post on a meme.

An Update, My Absence, and a Couple of Small Reviews

Hey, Extra Pulp OJ readers! I Got a logo!

Let's Catch Up!

     Maybe I owe you all an apology, Sorry I haven't had anything new for you in a while. It's not that I haven't been writing and note-taking, because I have, I've just had no finished product yet. There are a few reasons for this.

     First of all, I've moved! I was living in a rural west Texas town, and ~400 miles later, I'm in San Antonio. Obviously, this has changed a lot for me; my living situation is completely different, my financial standing is up in the air, and I'm still trying to figure out a daily routine. This is NOT a bad move however, and I foresee myself being a lot happier here.

     As you all probably know, I'm a part of The Fence, a twitch channel with a very connected community. More than just being a part of it, I am a moderator of the expanded community. Here's the secondly: lately, we've had more than our fair share of things to be addressed, and it's been emotionally taxing. Again, not a bad thing -- I want to put a lot into this because of all I get out of it, but this was another element of my daily life that I saw change in.

     There's also the issue of my topic for writing. If you follow me on Twitter (which I recommend for those who want to keep up to date and out of the dark), you know that my post for this past month was to be on the anime Katanagatari. If you still haven't seen this series, I recommend it, because this will still be a series that I cover in the near future.

     There's the problem, I've questioned this decision. It seems like nobody has seen this series, and since I've done an alienating anime piece recently, I've wondered if it's too soon to do another one. For a brief moment, I had decided to [temporarily] abandon the idea, and to cover "The Laughing Scene" from Final Fantasy X. Long story short, I changed my mind again, and made some headway with the Katanagatari piece. It's not done yet, but I plan to have it be my next piece.

     Okay, so there's two more things I want to get out there:

     1. What have I been doing?

     2. What can you, the readers, expect in the future from XPOJ

What Have I Been Doing?

     Let's start with the fun -- I've been having a lot of fun! For starters, I introduced a friend of mine (that I moved away from) to my favorite game, the previously mentioned Final Fantasy X. We sped through that game in my final weeks home, which took a lot of my time.

A Mini Madoka Review!

   
     I also took a few steps toward exposing and re-exposing myself to some of the really popular anime series that have never really resonated with me. I finally broke down and watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I watched the entire series in two days (well, three days if you include the day I watched none of it in-between), and... It was okay. I learned after I finished the series that it was a work from Gen Urobuchi who I am generally unimpressed with, which explains a lot. I felt the show was boring for nine episodes, and that the final three episodes were great... but not worth the trek to get to them. 

     The thing about Gen Urobuchi's works (and similarly, things produced by Shin'ichirō Watanabe) is that the show's primary focus tends to be an emphasis on atmosphere and premise, which is absolutely fine, and it works well enough for most viewers... but I'm not included in that category. I often cite Cowboy Bebop as a show that's more about the premise than the characters, and for that reason, the show never resonated with me. I as a viewer crave characters that I care about -- not just because they're cool or have an interesting backstory, but because we took time to get to know them and their plight. I think what bothers me so much about Cowboy Bebop, and to be back on topic, Madoka Magica, is that I didn't know the characters before I experienced their plight. While watching, I felt as if the story depended on me caring about the characters, and that I was supposed to care about them simply because I was supposed to care about them, and I will never be able to buy into that, much to my own dismay.

     To give the opposite side of that spectrum, we could look at Steins;Gate, which is often criticized for it's "slow" opening half. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of this show (it's probably my favorite show, beyond the scope of just anime), and I think it has in large part to do with this opening section (note: I enjoyed the second half more, for the record). Now, of course I understand that not everyone found the first half of this show as entertaining as I did. I was in tears laughing at times while I was getting to know these character. I saw why Okabe was okay with being such a weird guy, because he felt these things connected him with another character. I was allowed to reach the conclusion that Mayuri wasn't just a dunce all on my own, and that Daru was very comfortable in his own skin before that became a plot tool -- and that's the key. I find that if I'm introduced to a character trait in the same moment that it's being utilized, there's no time for me to appreciate that, and I think that's a problem. When I look back at a story that operates like this (referring to Madoka and Bebop), I actually find myself remembering it fondly, but when I'm in the moment experiencing it, I don't connect with the character, and I feel nothing, and that's definitely a problem. 

     So I didn't think Puella Magi Madoka Magica was all that great, but I watched the movie a few days later. Again, I had the same problem: the start was slow, but not unforgivably so this time. This was probably less to do with an improvement in the aforementioned areas, and more-so to do with a shorter run-time, and the fact that it followed the series with the same cast that I now felt more connected to.

     Despite how negative that all may sound, I loved the movie. I thought it was a brilliant end to a pretty good series, and I feel like with the prospect of a really good conclusion movie, the first nine episodes of the series are forgivable. I'm in the process of watching the first two movies to see if they offer a better alternative to the episodic series route, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

End of the Madoka Review

     I'm also watching more from genres that I tend to stay away from, specifically the slice of life and action/adventure genres. Of course, my results have been mixed. I've found some really good and really bad shows with plenty of the in-between. With shows like Flying Witch, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress and Space Patrol Luluco though, I have to say it's been a good decision.

     Right now I'm playing through I am Setsuna and loving every second of it. It's short though, and I think I'm almost done less than a week later. I really think that fans of Chrono Trigger who have heard the comparisons will find it disappointing, though. The narrative isn't as powerful, and the combat system is maybe not as similar as you've been told. The story is in many aspects a trimmed-down version of the story that FFX tells (comparable to how Little Witch Academia borrows a lot from Harry Potter), which could disappoint a lot. Even past all of this, it completely satisfies my finicky taste.

**The Thank You Scientist link is lyrically NSFW. It's hilarious, but there's a song that auto-plays.

     Finally, music. I'm in a bit of a drought (I've played letlive.'s If I'm the Devil into the ground), so I've reached into the bag of Japanese music. Much disappointment has followed, but I found Aimer who I've fallen in love with. The coming month[s] are very promising though! In less than a week, we'll have Periphery's P3, and in just over a week, Thank You Scientist** is releasing their second full-length album. Plini and Aimer are releasing albums in August, and The Dear Hunter is releasing Act V in September. I'm so excited!

What You Can Expect in The Future

     For starters, I'm going to do my best to stick to my original schedule, maybe slightly altered: One post every month to be released within the first 10 days of the month! I can't say for sure how well I'll be able to stick to that, we'll just have to ride the wave. As for a content schedule...

     I've tried to do this with no success, but I'm going to really pursue this three month pattern: One non-anime review (may still be about elements of anime in general), one anime dissection, and one reader's choice -- in that order. So, with that in mind, here's my tentative schedule (my last post was Set Course for An Album Review):

• August: Katanagatari
• September: Viewers Choice! (We may not vote on this, as I've had multiple viewers request the same piece)
• October: I'm debating a couple of options here.
• November: Possibly Steins;Gate?

So anyway guys, I'm sorry I've been so sparse lately, and Hello to our many new subscribers! If you like our logo, be sure to tell The Great Hootino about it! I'll leave you with fan art, courtesy of Angelica Realy of Floofy Floofers

Set Course for an Album Review!

inb4 


      Hello again, Extra Pulp readers! It seems like it's been so long. I hope you guys like the changes I've made to the website since our last post, which includes more about myself and the blog in general.
No audio version for this one, but you can listen along to the album here. If you like it, please consider purchasing it and supporting the artist!



     This month on Extra Pulp OJ we have a first: an album review! I chose Sithu Aye's Set Course for Andromeda as the subject of review because it offered me a unique opportunity to dissect something that is very up-for-interpretation but also has an absolute narrative. First and foremost, I'd like to get the formalities out of the way.

Sithu Aye's Bandcamp Banner

      On May the 4th, 2016, while everyone else in the world was making terrible Star Wars jokes (and I was probably somewhere making terrible Steins;Gate jokes to cope), Sithu Aye, pronounced "see-too A" or "C2A", released his first full-length album in three-and-a-half years, titled Set Course for Andromeda. According to Sithu, he chose to "go all out" with a two-disc, 76-minute album to make up for the long wait between albums. 
      Sithu Aye is an instrumental progressive-metal (read as: djent) act from Moscow, though actually defining his sound is more difficult than calling it "prog." At times, Sithu is absolutely heavy metal, but that's not to say he doesn't explore genres outside of the metal and progressive scope(s). You'll often find that he has the chops to play any type of music, seriously or not.
      Back to the album, Set Course for Andromeda's discs tell two stories that are equally disconnected and one-in-the-same. The first disc tells the story of a group of space cadets who travel to the Andromeda galaxy -- much like the album's name implies. The second disc tells a story of an inhabitant of the Andromeda galaxy's heroic journey. All of the tracks on the second disc are intended to be enjoyed as one 29-minute song broken into parts to starkly contrast the first disc, which utilizes hard cuts between drastically different songs to really capture the differences between them.

      As a disclaimer, I absolutely adore this album, as well as Sithu as an artist. As a way to combat this bias, this review will be very harsh when it comes to the ratings following the tracks. Even a song I might rate as [5/10] is one I would find enjoyable, but graded on my harsh curve, it doesn't stand up to the other tracks/the standard I set for the album. Otherwise, We'd have a bunch of [9/10]s and [10/10]s 
      
      For the first disc, I'll discuss each track separately. The second disc will be discussed as one coherent track, though I will address the different parts as needed. Also, all artwork used in this post was created by Sithu Aye, though some were edited by myself (mostly text removal).
      Finally, you can listen to the album as I dissect it either from YouTube or Bandcamp (I personally recommend Bandcamp, as the tracks are actually separated.)

Disc One

1. Space Cadet

      If there's one thing to say about Set Course for Andromeda, it's that Sithu definitely captures the atmosphere (no pun intended) of space travel, and he does so from the get-go. Oftentimes, intro tracks are easily thrown to the side because they tend to be little snippets of an idea, and they're almost always the weakest stand-alone track; they're little more than an intro to track #2.
      "Space Cadet" however feels like an opening scene of a movie, or waking up to a new day. In terms of musical structure, I can't necessarily say it does anything new and game changing, but the main melody is so perfect. It's light and easy, and the electric ambience makes the whole track sounds like space. [6.5/10]

2. Set Course for Andromeda!!!

Artwork for Set Course for Andromeda!!!

      I kind of like that the title track comes so early. Space Cadet leads into Set Course for Andromeda!!! (the title track has three exclamation marks, while the album itself does not) extremely well, playing the opening guitar lick on a low-bit sounding MIDI tone, oddly-reminiscent of The Senpai EP... just not as meme-tastic.

      Appropriately, Set Course...!!! sounds like the epitome of the album; It's got Sithu's signature sound all over it, but what overshadows that is how its intensity varies throughout the entire track. 

      It starts off with the intense, staccato guitar that's as proggy as it gets, and eventually settles down into an open-sounding section. We see this throughout the entirety of the first half of the album. Sithu Aye explores all of the chaos and [possibly over-]peacefulness that defines space travel. Every serene moment needs to be appreciated because, for one, it's the unique serenity of space, and two, things can go wrong at any moment, and when floating through space, that could be the death of you.

      From the 4:16 mark in Set Course...!!! to the end of the track is one of my favorite places on the album. It's starts with an acrobatic lick or five, then it gets somber, bringing in Yvette Young to soothe us with some wonderful violin in unison with an acoustic guitar. Sithu round us back to the main theme of Space Cadet with a bass guitar feature that abruptly moves into the final section. 

      The whole song is praise worthy, especially the second half. [9/10] 

3. Constants and Variables

      As I somewhat mentioned, Sithu ordered the tracks in the first disc in such a way that really shows off their diversity. I haven't heard anything as heavy as the opening of Constants and Variables from Sithu Aye in a long time.

      The whole first minute and a half of this track is heavy and driving. He substitutes the old school electronic sound from the first two tracks with a guitar track that's not quite melodic, but it's also not quite mindless sweeping up and down a scale (I also can't quite tell if there's a MIDI-track behind and in unison with it). One of my only complaints with the album is that this section seems a bit too long; by the time we get to the chord changes, I'm bored with it. 

      

      For a track that I had so much excitement for in the opening minute, this song was oddly disappointing -- probably the low point in the album. I never have been one to enjoy the monotony of the overly-heavy sounding pieces though, which is why I think I find myself preferring Sithu's newer sound over his older tracks. Away from the negative criticism, I love the bold idea to add an acoustic guitar to possibly the heaviest track on the album, and Sithu makes it work. 

      Yet again, this track comes through most in the second half, capturing the setting of floating around in space. The ambiance is almost breathtaking, especially in the fading echos that start around the 5:45 mark. You feel like something is constantly disappearing in the vast, open blackness, like stars giving one last flicker before fading away into the nothingness.

      The other major part I really liked from the final few minutes of Constants and Variables was the dissonant lead guitar that starts around the 6:17 mark. If I praised every solo in the album, I wouldn't be able to highlight all of my favorites, but Stephen Taranto's solo in the final minute and a half is so perfectly menacing, and so completely different from Sithu's style. In mass amounts, I don't think I like the sound, but this little tidbit of it keeps me coming back to a track I just kind of bear through for the first half. [5/10]

4. Spiral

      Wanna know a secret? I didn't like this track the first time I heard it. I kind of liked it when Sithu played it in a Christmas sweater on Instagram, but on the first listen, I was very unimpressed. Now, I wonder what in the world I wasn't getting because all I want in my life is more "jazz" like this from Sithu.

Artwork for Spiral

      This is the first track on the album besides Space Cadet where I see a grandiose picture painted before me. Every time I hear Spiral, I feel like I'm looking through a window at a light show the stars have put on for us. It's kind of like what God looks like in Futurama, only instead of a man's deep voice resonating with every shimmer, it's a light, bouncing melody.

      Unlike the rest of the tracks on the first disc, Spiral isn't a long track at 4 minutes 20 seconds, and it doesn't seem to explore the perils vs. beauty aspect of the journey in space; It's all so light and whimsical. 

      In general, the melody in Spiral wasn't particularly memorably to me the first couple of times around, but that worked wonders for the track. Instead of remembering the melodies, I remembered the experience. That being said, The section from ~1:55 to about 2:16 is one of my absolute favorite moments on the album, and it's immediately followed by an absolutely fantastic rhythmic section that leads into the guitar solo "back-and-forth" between Sithu Aye and Plini (who, by the way, is undoubtedly my favorite guitarist).

      The drum solo is a bit silly to me, but silly and Sithu go together like peas and carrots. [9/10]

5. Beyond the Boundary

      This is my favorite track on the album. It's also the track that I think best depicts the ups and downs of the journey. Those points aren't necessarily related. Kind of a side thing here, Sithu Aye likes to say that he's defined by the four notes, but I don't know that anything sounds more Sithu than the lick from ~1:32 to 1:36.

      Beyond the Boundary starts of really high, but it quickly breaks down and begs you to rest a while. Up until (almost) the 3 minute mark, this song absolutely nails the potential that space as a subject offers in the form of relaxation. 

      Andromeda is over 2.5 million light years away, so the journey there -- even with futuristic tech -- would take an incredible amount of time. I don't think it's out of the question that it would take multiple lifetimes. 

      There's a good chance that you read that and say, "Well duh, Tanner, Even at light speed it's take over 2.5 million years! That's definitely a lot of lifetimes," which is the conclusion I want you to draw. The title of this track, though is Beyond the Boundary. Beyond the boundary of what, though?

      Another disclaimer, I really don't think this is meant to be thought through this far, it's just a song -- but this is what I hear every time I get to this song. I hear people living a long life where it at least seems like all they've ever known was this trip to the Andromeda galaxy. It's people relaxing, letting the days pass by (something along the lines of living a lifetime in the vaults in Fallout)

      Until something happens...

      That something, as I hear it, is the key to this journey: they're passing beyond or through something, maybe a black hole or a worm hole, (an event horizon, maybe?) but it's something potentially dangerous. 

      Once that passes though (now we're at the 3:26 mark), things are getting exciting. I love the use of the almost jumbled guitar at 3:39, like someone can't contain their jubilation! As if the destination is in sight.

      Again, the highs and lows in this track are amazing, and that's not to discredit the melodies, either; some of the best in the album are in this track. 

      Once we hit ~4:30 though, all bets are off. Sithu does some stuff in this part of the track that are completely outside of the realm of what I imagine Sithu being. Maybe that's what he means by "Beyond the Boundary."

      I know the feature guitarist in this song is David Maxim Micic, but the entire final 2 and a half minutes of this song has a unique Periphery + Dream Theater vibe to me, which is about as big of a compliment as I can hand out. This song in its entirety is golden, and the pinnacle of the album. [10/10]

6. Transient Transistors

      If you took Sithu's two most recent EPs, Pulse (2014) & The Senpai EP (2015), and put them in a blender to create one song, you'd have Transient Transistors.

      As a result, This song sounds more Sithu Aye and less Andromeda. There are still the elements of space-iness sprinkled all over, but if you told me that this track was wrote before the Album was conceptualized, I would believe you.

Artwork for Transient Transistors

      That's not to take away from the song in any capacity, however. Transient Transistors is consistently heavy without bringing along the monotony that plagues tracks that are heavy for the sake of being so. The small section from 2:18 - 2:30 is arguably the most fun section of the album. 

      There's not a lot to be said about this track that can't be said about many of Sithu's previous works. It sounds familiar, which if nothing else is a nice reaffirmation that he is still Sithu. It's not particular risky, but not every song has to be.  [7/10]

7. ...We Actually Made it to Andromeda!!!

      I love this track's concept; it makes me wonder if it or Set Course!!! was written first. Most of We Actually Made it is Set Course in a different time signature. This effectively gives the track a triumphant feeling while still being reminiscent of the beginning of the journey/album. It's a recycled song in the best sense. 

      Because Sithu released Set Course!!! as a single before the album was released, the idea that this is the end track of the two is sold extremely well for fans who anticipated the release as much as I did.

      Mark Halcomb (Periphery) is another one of my all-time favorite guitarists, but I would have much preferred to hear him featured in a slower, more melodic setting. He absolutely shreds to end We Actually Made it!!! and he definitely wrote something uniquely Mark, but for reasons I cannot explain, I was left wanting something more.

      Overall, We Actually Made it!!! is a great way to end the first disc, but the sound outside the experience is a forgettable one. [6/10]

Disc Two

The Andromedan(s)

      Disc 2 of Set Course for Andromeda is, again, intended to be experienced as one complete work. The second disc finds success in this strategy to varying degrees throughout. For example, if parts II-IV were released as one song, it'd be my favorite track on the album. However, parts I and VI feel like very separate, disconnected tracks -- especially part I, thought I think it suffers in that regard from being another single that predated the album.

      The Andromedan creates a very specific race in my mind, and I imagine it does the same for others, but probably not the same image. This is something I'd love to hear from others -- what they imagine the Adromedans are like. 

      For whatever reason, this album makes me think a lot about Futurama, and I picture the Andromedans as something akin to the Martians from that show. I don't so much imagine them looking like the Martians, but acting like them to some extent. To be more precise (and to make some sense for people who aren't Futurama fans), I imagine them having a ritualistic and "one with nature" lifestyle like native American's are often shown to have.

      Some of the track names support this idea -- names like Mystic Village, The Trials of the Elements and Mother of Creation.

Artwork for The Andromedan Pt I: A Single Step

The Journey

      The hero's journey in the second disc is very expressive, and I love the experience. As I interpret it:
      Part I introduces the themes that mirror the life of the Andromeda's. It also introduces the idea that there will be a journey. I like the imagery of that journey being a physical one taken by foot to some location.
      Part II includes my first fault with the names of the track. This track feels much more like a "first step" to me. I can easily visualize a sunrise, or maybe before-dawn twilight, and the hero imagining the journey ahead of him. Both the highs and lows of this song sound expectant, and not really like it's currently being experienced. 

      Part III including "trials" in it's name, however, is perfect. from the beginning of the track, it's as if something's been unveiled to the hero. There's worry, but not distress; there's something daunting ahead. This is yet another track in this album where the second half puts the first to shame.
      The transition to Part IV is so smooth, even with how drastically different the tones are. This short, two-and-a-half minute track is what every heavy instrumental song should aim to be, but I think it only achieves that title by being in the context of The Andromedan. In this song, I imagine the Hero has to come face to face with the real evil, whatever it may be -- though the title of the next track makes me believe it's something internal. Perhaps the point of the Hero's journey is to find salvation for himself, not to be salvation for others.
      Part V, or "Rebirth" is where I wish the album ended. No, it's not as good as the three songs that proceed it, but it's movement from harsh to peaceful to triumphant is everything I want in an ending (and that solo at the end is orgasmic).

      Part VI feels more like an epilogue and a nod to the first track than a true ending. I can appreciate the consistency of ending the second disc in the same fashion as the first disc, but I really felt like at this point, the story is dragged out. However, I would love to hear Sithu's explanation as to who the Mother of Creation is, and what she does during her appearance in this story. Perhaps she just shows up to play that solo at ~the 2 minute mark.

The Review

Part I: Stand-alone [10/10] as part of The Andromedan [3/5]

Part II: Stand-alone [6.5/10] as part of The Andromedan [5/5]
Part III: Stand-alone [9/10] as part of The Andromedan [5/5]
Part IV: Stand-alone [7.5/10] as part of The Andromedan [5/5]
Part V: Stand-alone [8.5/10] as part of The Andromedan [4/5]
Part VI: Stand-alone [6/10] as part of The Andromedan [1.5/5]

Final Thoughts

      As I said, I absolutely adore this album. My final thoughts are that you should go buy the album. 

Seriously, go buy it.

      I'm just kidding, I do have some other thoughts -- namely that I probably won't be doing another album review for quite a while, so I hope you all enjoyed this one. If you want to know my true biased feelings and ratings of the songs in this album, here they are (out of 10):

Space Cadet: 7.5
Set Course for Andromeda!!!: 9.5
Constants & Variables: 7.5
Spiral: 10
Beyond the Boundary: 10

Transient Transistors: 8.5
...We Actually Made it!!!:8 

The Andromedan: 9 

Part I: A Single Step: 10
Part II: Mystic Village : 8
Part III: Trials of the Elements: 10
Part IV: The Darkness Within: 8.5
Part V: Rebirth: 9.5
Part VI: Mother of Creation: 8

      And that's why I was a lot more harsh. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. If you enjoyed this piece and my reviewing style, check out Finalemonogatari: part I, my spoiler-free introduction/review of The Monogatari Series!
      I'll see you next month! Take care, Pulp-pourri!