Art review of Gunjō shigunaru(群青シグナル）

This is an art review on the Japanese song, Gunjō shigunaru(群青シグナル), and this
review is going to focus on the music video along with the lyrics in order to explain
why I feel this song aesthetic.

I'll give a brief synopsis of the music first. テヅカ tezuka VOCALOID published this
song on YouTube on December 15, 2022.The song was composed for the Japanese
rhythm game "Maimai DX."I initially became aware of this music when I discovered
it was included in my all-time favorite gaming map.As seen in Figure 1.1, this rhythm
game has a variety of map genres. I will always be enamored with Sky Streets 3, also
known as スカイストリートちほー 3. The premise centers around a group of teens
who are stuck in time and space and are searching for a way out. This leads to the
creation of my all-time favorite song, Gunjō Shigunaru (群青シグナル).

This song is about a boy with blue hair called Sou(ソウ), he has the power to go back
in time and the song talks about what would he do if this power got stolen and it
happens in a dream.The Music video cover as shown in Figure 1.2 is what I
admire.The background of the cover is a city but there are some sea animals like
whale and manta ray swimming. And at the top of the cover people can’t even tell it is
sky or the water surface. This hazy vibe is creativity for me as this scene made me
feel like this is a dream on the first glare. And this can refer to my own aesthetic
experience, I had some dreams in the past where I was in the bottom of the ocean yet I
am walking and talking. I enjoyed this experience and therefore this cover attracts me
and it impresses me.

And to continue, in this music video there are effects made as shown in
Figure1.3.These are the lights similar to sunlight refraction in the sea. I like this very
much and the reason behind this is my aesthetic experience.Jacobsen(2010)
mentioned that the aesthetic judgment process is influenced by a variety of factors,
including emotional state (Konecni, 1979), interest in a stimulus (Berlyne, 1971),
appeal to social status or financial interest (Konecni, 1979; Ritterfeld, 2002),
education, and historical, cultural, or economic background (Konecni, 1979;
Jacobsen, 2002; Ritterfeld, 2002). Therefore from the above it is shown that people’s
aesthetic judgement is influenced by many internal and external factors. And in this
situation sunlight refraction in the sea gave me a pleasant sensation as I am a guy who
loves to do water sports like kayaking and snorkeling and this is also the reason I can
recognize it is the lights by the sunlight refraction.

Last but not least, The MV shown in Figure 1.4 and 1.5 and two scenes that I felt
resonant. In Figure1.4,The thing that person holding was Sou’s time travelling tool,
and this person called Kohaku(コハク) stole it from him.And he said, ‘Although I
want to know how would you choose you life in a second chance,it is a shame.’I
found connections with myself. I used to have a nice group of friends, but I made a
mistake and lost them all. And I frequently feel regret over it and consider what I
would do differently if I had another chance.However I find myself wondering: would
things have turned out differently even if I could travel back in time? And the chorus
of this song leads my way.As shown in Figure1.5 the left side is the young Sou and
the right is the older Sou. Pay attention that the older Sou is looking at the younger
Sou. At the same time the lyrics is about, ‘I know this is not scary.’ ‘If there is a new
way,even if there are worries, I will keep moving forward like you.’This represents
even if the future is unclear, just keep moving forward.My personal experience
resonates with these lyrics and every time I hear these lyrics I feel relaxed and
therefore giving me motivation and pleasure.

To conclude, Gunjō shigunaru(群青シグナル) is a piece of artwork that I feel

pleasant and the above has shown the reasons. The music video and the lyrics are
connected with my personal experience and the resonance made me being obsessed
with this song.

Appendix
Figure 1.1 Screenshot of https://maimaidx-eng.com/maimai-mobile/map/ that shows different
map in the rhythm game,Maimai DX,2022.

Figure 1.2
Figure 1.3

Figure 1.4
Figure 1.5
 References
Jacobsen, T. (2010). Beauty and the brain: culture, history and individual differences in

aesthetic appreciation. Journal of Anatomy, 216(2), 184–191.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01164.x

テヅカ tezuka VOCALOID. (2022, December 15). 群青シグナル / テヅカ feat. 獅子神レ

オナ [ for maimai でらっくす ] [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VmT-9d_FoA