Mousou Nikki battle ~ Part 1 -_-

Brace yourselves (or yourself, I only have one reader XD). It's gonna be a looong post.

Yesterday, I found out about the infamous Mousou Nikki battle. In case you're unaware, the Mousou Nikki (or Diary Of Delusions) battle is a competition of sorts that started out as a SID song named Mousou Nikki. Nine bands have covered it thus far, leading fans to debate over who had the best cover version. These nine bands are:
* Moran
* DaizyStripper
* v[NEU]
* ZORO
* AYABIE
* DIV
* R-Shitei
* DOG inThe PWO (or DOG inThe Parallel World Orchestra)
* Kameleo

Interestingly, I didn't actually find this through SID's original version. I was listening to Moran on YouTube, and found their version of Mousou Nikki. I wanted to look up the lyrics, but as I'm not so good at reading kanji, I had to refer to JpopAsia's collection of Moran videos for the title. I found the title of the song there, looked it up, and was confronted with... well, more versions of the song than I once thought. I then found all the bands who covered it and, being bored and nerdy, I wanted to analyse it.

We'll start by analysing the lyrics:
"Our fateful meeting has resulted in a red thread tying us together"
The narrator believes that, after meeting the person of her dreams (presumably online), they are fated to be together.
"Opening my diary again, I make up today, tomorrow, always"
The narrator is so infatuated with this person that she is building up an imaginary future with them.
"You always give kind smiles to everyone around you; I can't hate you for something like that
Because you're popular, a little of such can't be helped"
The narrator does not feel any envy or perversion at this point. While a mite obsessive, she wouldn't hurt the person she loves.

"A room for one, two photos lined up together, we'll meet three days later
Anxiously waiting, anxiously waiting, today I can't sleep again"
At this point, the narrator's fantasies about the person she loves are perhaps becoming sexual.

Chorus:
"I believe you'll call the number I added in my letter
Surely you lack the courage to call because you're a shy person"
The other person is not calling the narrator - mayhaps because they do not truly love her like she believes they do, or because they're not who they say they are and do not want to give away their true identity - but the narrator is clinging to false hope that they will.
"Don't look at me like that, people around us will realise
Your secret relationship with me"
The fact that the relationship is being kept secret could mean that something scandalous is afoot; perhaps the other person already has a girlfriend, or they are some kind of sexual predator.

"Forgive me for burning with jealousy, I'm fishing around in your garbage
There are other girls besides me, right? I want you to look at me only"
The narrator's obsession has lead to her finding out where the other person lives and rooting through their garbage. Through this, she may have found evidence that the person she loves is not being faithful or truthful.

"It's not good to be fickle. Haven't you promised me? I won't stop before morning"
The narrator is prepared to stay up all night to find "proof" that the other person loves her.
"Calling you without speaking, calling you without speaking, I won't let you sleep tonight either"
The narrator's infatuation has lead to her actually wanting the person she loves to feel uncomfortable. At this point, her love is completely devoid of innocence, and has become more of an obsession.

Chorus

"Your voice, body, fingers, hair, sleeping face too, even your heart and everything else
My love won't exclude a single thing. You belong solely to me"
The narrator has become extremely possessive over the other person.
"People say I'm deluded and they mock me
You don't even know my face"
Perhaps the most interesting lines in the song. At the beginning of the song, it seemed that the other person's anonymity was a way for them to take advantage of the narrator, but at this point, she has completely flipped it on them and is now using HER anonymity to do exactly the same thing.

So, that's my interpretation. Now, let's analyse the videos... that is, if you're still reading. XD

Moran: Not much of a plotline in this video, but lots of symbolism.
* Hitomi's devil horns symbolise evil.
* His white eye contact symbolises how the girl is blind in her delusion (I would relate this to Sizna's white eye contacts, but he always wears white eye contacts).
* The magnifying glass symbolises the girl's obsession with minor details ("Your voice, body, fingers, hair, sleeping face too, even your heart and everything else").
* The jail cells and restraints symbolise how the girl is trapped in her delusion, so it's interesting when Sizna does a creepy smile in the second half of the video while still in the jail cell. This probably relates to when the girl is making the other person feel uncomfortable. She's still trapped, but more in control than she was before.

~ TBC ~

Mousou Nikki battle ~ Part 2 -_-

* The pouches reading "FILL YOUR ENERGY UP!" symbolise a desire for thrills and adrenaline. Also, Hitomi drums his fingers throughout the video, which is a sign of boredom. This is some really interesting symbolism; the way I see it, Moran have gone for a very dry interpretation of the song, and believe that the only reason the girl is doing the things she does is because she is simply bored and wants something to do; even if it's at someone else's expense.

DaizyStripper: This video has more of a chronological sequence of events than Moran's.
* The girl writes in her diary.
* She lovingly clutches a picture to her chest.
* She eagerly answers her telephone (which is shaped like a pair of lips).
* Throughout the video, she stares deeply into the camera lens.
* She writes a letter and seals it in an envelope.
* Near the end of the video, she throws the fur that once covered her body to the ground, suggesting that her innocence and softness have disappeared.
The girl in this video could be viewed as somewhat of a spoiled brat. When she's not getting what she wants from the other person, she throws a tantrum and turns sour.

DIV: Again, this one tells quite a story.
* The girl repeatedly rings a doorbell, getting no response, so she leaves a red note in the door. This probably relates to how the other person will not call her, so she gets her point across without directly saying anything ("Surely you lack the courage to call because you're a shy person" and "Calling you without speaking, calling you without speaking, I won't let you sleep tonight either").
* Chisa has a red thread wrapped around his little finger, in the same way that the girl seems to be wrapped around his little finger ("Our fateful meeting has resulted in a red thread tying us together").
* The girl sends messages to the other person online.
* Throughout the video, we see lots of pictures of Chisa on her wall, as well as some sort of bottle with his name on it, three pictures of him with his Taste Of Life look and a can of Taste Of Life-flavoured DIV soup (yummy). The three pictures and the can of soup are protected by glass.
* She puts on makeup and takes a selfie, which kind of contradicts the line in the song about the other person not knowing the narrator's face ("You don't even know my face").
* The girl holds a red ball (possibly symbolising her love/obsession) in the bath.
* She takes the other person's trash out of their bin, takes it home and goes through it, finding some interesting things. The first things she pulls out are five giant playing cards: the 10 of Diamonds (which could symbolise all of the expensive things the other person has promised her), the King of Clubs (probably the other person as the narrator first sees them, or mayhaps the club is a weapon), the Ace of Hearts, the Ace of Diamonds (both of these cards could symbolise the narrator's feelings of love/obsession) and a Joker (which probably symbolises the other person's true self). She also finds some red thread. The fact that the other person has discarded all of these things could mean that they are trying to eliminate their ties to the narrator.
* She is in the bath again; this time, holding two red balls instead of one.
* It is now that we see Chisa completely tied up in the red thread (yummy), which could symbolise how the girl has trapped him ("My love won't exclude a single thing. You belong solely to me").
* The girl is in the bath again, holding three balls before then being obscured by many.

R-Shitei: Another video with a story. Not an awful lot to say about it, though.
* A gothic lolita manga artist (who I really wish I looked like) is obsessed with R-Shitei; she eagerly counts down the days until she can see them live in concert.
* In the crowd, she silently wishes for the band to notice her.
* She fantasises about the band noticing her and depicts this in her manga until she seemingly goes insane (if not already).

DOG inThe PWO: Badly-choreographed, half-arsed "dancing". That is all.

Kameleo: An interesting video with two sides to it that link together nicely.
* The video starts with a woman retrieving a Kameleo vinyl from a safe.
* The band, all in classy white suits, begin to play a jazzy rendition of the song, and they play until after the first chorus.
* There is an interlude of the woman talking to someone in Japanese (I apologise for not being able to give a translation).
* Kameleo then play the first part of the song again, this time in their usual oshare kei style.
* They then return to jazz.
* They then play the second chorus in their usual style.
This video is interesting; I think it symbolises how two-faced people can be. What you might believe at first to be angelic and kind may actually turn out to be erratic and wild. The video could even tell a story of someone afflicted by split-personality disorder, but that's probably not very likely.

Well, those are my interpretations. Hopefully, I didn't bore you too much. XD

~ TBC ~

Mousou Nikki battle ~ Part 3 -_-

Now, to announce the winners and losers...

Winner (music): Moran. I admit, it was very close between them and v[NEU], but, as always, I must congratulate Moran not only for the sound of their music, but also for their uniqueness. Honestly, though, Kameleo probably would have won if they had stayed jazzy. Not that I don't like the rest of their rendition - quite the opposite - but I do like me some jazz.
Loser (music): ZORO. Their techno style doesn't really work very well with this song, in my humble. Also, singing the entire song in terrible Engrish was a huge mistake.

Winner (video): DIV. I feel like, out of all of the bands with videos for this song, they paid the most attention to the lyrics and what they might mean while still being imaginative and clever with it.
Loser (video): By default, SID/v[NEU]/ZORO/AYABIE as they didn't have videos for this song. All joking aside, DOG inThe PWO. I think it's pretty obvious why.

*takes a deep breath*

All in all, that took me about five and a half hours. That includes research, analysis, planning and typing all of this. Actually, five and a half hours probably isn't half bad for something as long-winded and pointless as this.

Who do you think won the Mousou Nikki battle?

If anyone else joins the fray, please notify me and I'll review it. Or don't. This probably bored the shite out of you, and that's only if you actually read it all without falling asleep on your keyboard and leaving an unsightly puddle of drool on it. XD