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nitefyre443 · 7 months

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Song of the Moon and Sun

Nitefyre 443

I'm a huge Castlvania fan, I can’t tell you how much I love this game and franchise. I fell in love with the whip wielding vampire slaying Belmont's, Dracula, Alucard, all of it. I have not played every Castlevania game because there are a lot of them. My first Castlevania game was Castlevania II: Simon's Quest on the NES, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night being one of my all time favorite games. Also as many Castlavania fans I’m heartbroken at the state of this important and beloved franchise. This is why the Deat’s Brother’s and Powerhouse’s Castlevania Animated Series excite me so much. They seem to be the only people who give a damn about this world, its story and its character because Konami could care less. So when Castlevania Nocturne the follow up to Castlevainia was announced, I was ready and Powerhouse Animation did not disappoint.

What I’m going to talk about today is the music video for this song “I’m Free” by Sydney James Harcourt and Lindsey Stirling. What a beautiful song that serves as the character theme for not only Annette but Richter and Marie as well. Watch the video here and let it play along while readying because damn Sydney James Harcourt and Lindsey Stirling did the thing with this one.

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So the song and video starts with clips of Annette's childhood, with beautiful gentle and sorrowful lyrics

See them stand ready to die For whose sake Was life fair?

The way one could look at the start of the song is Edouard as an observer, a freed man himself seeing his people in chains, literally worked and beaten to death for the sake of those that enslaved them, that is blatant and in your face. However there is a lovely duality to this song when applied to the Belmont's in the context of Castlevania itself. Yes both meanings are valid and true to both Annette and Richter. I will go further into what this song means for Richter, his story and his legacy within the Castlevania franchise but let's say making his love interest and romantic partner, formerly enslaved Black woman, is absolutely brilliant on the writer's part. Especially for Richter post the events of Symphony of the Night. So we move to the next part of the verse

Pleasure pleased and power gained Slay I deal death, enough they seek to slay

This part is one that I love and I’m all over the place about it. It feels very much from a vampire's perspective, this could be seen as applicable to Olrox in some way even though he is not shown in the video. The way the video presents it, makes it look like Annette's struggling as a child realizing she is going to have to kill to survive. There are no ways around it. I’m going to need to stew on this more.

Sick at heart Wicked betrayal Another life escaping sight The realm of flesh were all things change That life is mine and I am there x2

Annette is now a “runaway” slave which is horrific in its own rights, a girl running for her very life in a place where people saw her as nothing more than livestock to be sold, worked, bred and traded. There was no one who she could trust, absolutely no one. She is terrified and alone at this point with no place to go on an island with a slave master's dogs at her heels Until she fatefully runs into the opera house where Edouard is performing. This is the point where the song takes a dramatic shift from a lonely melody to this amazing warmth, life and full of color when the chorus kicks in.

I’m free x2 unbound by fear that’s holding me Holding, holding, holding, holding, Holding me

Now we move into the second verse and we see clips of when Annette first met Edouard, the first person that gave her refuge and trust when she was alone. Also this first time where Lindsey Stirling violin far more clearly, it was in the background earlier much subdued. This is important because each character is tied to an instrument. For Richter it’s the violin which can express sorrow and grief but also freedom and boldness. Maria’s the French Horn, why the French horn because Maria is a lot like that horn. She is loud and you will hear what she has to say on freedom whether you like it or not. The French horn has a very distinct sound and often heroic sound, we know it when we hear it and it’s declaration, so it just fits. Annette is the drums and percussion which by the start to come on strong in this second verse.

Death am I, immortal life Touch the sky again and repent The dark alive inside of me Loving made But makes no sense

The drums being Annette's instrument is so perfect, her being the descendant of Ogun the Yoruba god of War and Iron on her fathers side, war and drums are like peanut butter and jelly. This goes even deeper because drums are some of the first musical instruments we as humans created, anything can be a drum they are as old as you can get for instruments or than our singing voices. Hold up, who is the first person she meets oh it’s Edouard an opera singer, well look at that. This is the part of the song where percussion kicks in strong as we cover Annette and Edouard time fighting in Saint-Domingue during the slave rebellion that kicked the French's sorry asses off the island that would become Haiti. This verse also has Annette realizing her rage not anger but rage. Anger is not a strong enough word. What I love about Castlevania:Nocturne is that it does not chastise Annette for her rage, it is justified and the weapon she wields, but it is not the source of her strength. “You wield rage but it is not the source of your strength” This is where “Loving made but made no sense” applies that rage is born from being subjected to brutality and injustice beyond what anyone should live through. From witnessing so many you love taken away by such senseless cruelty. The source of her strength is love and the rage born of when that love is wronged by injustice and cruelty. Where it can’t stand to witness the sight of such brutality and action must be taken. Remember love and war are often bedfellows.

The potency of evil kings None can parish trust in me None can perish trust in me

This is where we hear Richter’s violin in the background and a little of Maria’s French horn. This little section covers the first night the trio meets and its the first time you here all three of the respective instruments together in the song. Annette's drums and percussion, Richter's violin and Maria's French horn but they are not unified yet, they are all still on separate paths but not one unified song.

I’m Free x 2 Unbound by fear that’s holding me Holding, Holding me

Just like in the series when the trio meets there is tension and bumping up against each other. You have a set of wounded people fighting to survive in cruel times learning to trust each other. This moves into the second chorus where Annette's percussion becomes much more clearer, defined and vibrant, she knows who she is and like a good drummer she is setting rhythm, she is the cadence it which the trio marches. Maria French horn settles in nicely as she is already very clear on what she believes.

I’m Free x 2 My love, My light Will shine on thee Will shine on, shine on, shine on, shine

Richter’s violin is here but still very distant in the background. Just like in the series he’s not quite there yet. It’s not until he see’s Annette during her speech that he realizes, “Oh shit, she is the one” The shown in lovely fashion with a clip Richter awe struck during her speech. Also notice the lyrics changed. No longer is it just “unbound by fear”, its “My love, my light will shine on thee” Annette offering the same hand to Richter that Edouard offered her. See what they did there. Now we jump into a damn amazing part of the things and build up this just chefs kiss

My heart set on truth That no fire can contain Burnin the body lay life in the flame I scoured the good And I thrusted the Evil Back Sacrificed everything Watched as it burned to ash No more self pity No more will I wait I’m breaking a path That will take me away From this place

Remember when I said this was also Richter's song, well here it is because this part is all him and the Belmont's, this furious build up all this emotion the pain, fear, love, hate, having the generations fighting the shadows in the night. Him being the last descent of the family of Vampire slayers, being so terrified when faced with his own trauma and nightmare he did the only thing he remembered to do, the last words his mother said to him “Richter, run” Remember everyone starts out running. Now, though he is running no more, because he is not alone in this fight anymore, the Belmont's, who are never really alone, he has his friends, his family, his love, his deadbeat grandfather Juste, and a pain in the ass recluse mentor Alucard. This is where Lindsey Stirling comes in with the violin and his melody as clear, bright, bold and triumphant as it must be for Richter Belmont, where we see him tie his famous white bandana around his head and become the Richter we know that kicked the monster of the night asses. Even giving us a clip of him using the greatest magical technique the Belmont's used, The Grand Cross. Yes that was the burst of flame ya’ll saw when he faced off against the Hunters on the lake.

Now I’m Free Now I’m Free Unbound by fear that holding me Holding me Now I’m free Now I’m free My Love, My light Will Shine on the

The song is their song finally coming together clear, and bold. Richter violin, Annette's percussion Edouard voice, Maria French Horn, and even a choir saying cheering them on saying “Shine on” which we can say is Julia, Juste, Annette mother, Tera, and those that came before urging them forward. Also the lyrics change again, to "Now, I’m Free." It’s just no longer saying they are free, it’s now a declaration, not just a wish but a statement of fact. They are free and no longer afraid to face the denizens of the night.

What a journey this song was in the 4 minutes and 27 seconds we were with it but what a perfect song for Castlevania: Nocturne. A song that is Annette’s song but very much it’s Richter's song by the end because he is a Belmont he is the clear unifying melody where everything just comes together. Richter is so important for not just his martial prowess, but because he was one the last Belmont's to solely by himself wield the Vampire Killer. After the events of Castlevania:Symphony of the Night, realizing that it could not just be the Belmont's who wield these powers to fight the monsters of the night. He trained others and he placed an enchantment on the Vampire Killer that if one wished to wield it they would fight his shadow, if they won they would be allowed to wield it, if not, the Vampire Killer killed them. He made it so more than just the Belmont's duty to fight the night, it was not just one family's legacy anymore, The family legacy itself being a very old world concept, any and everyone could take up arms. This theme runs through the period of history in which Castlevania: Nocturne takes place the fights for independence and revolution. Richter reforms lead to the creation of the Order of Ecclesia. The theme of an animated series featuring Richter Belmont being titled “I’m Free” has so much meaning not just in the narrative of this story set within the Castlevainia world but for the franchise itself. Some Ster Werms shade Richter is everything Luke should have been and what Ben Solo could have been for Star Wars.

Now if we could just get Castlevania free from Konami and get some new games.

#castlevania #castelvania: nocturne #Meta analysis #Youtube

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