Kai’s New MV Makes The World A Better Place…

/ supremenothing

So hot on the heels of the release of Moonlight Tokyo, (Which is excellent and brilliant and probably one of the best releases that will come out this year.) Kai and TRASH-UP!! Records have followed up with an MV for the song “Himitsu No Tobira”.

As I mentioned in the review, this is one of my personal favorite tunes on the EP, with it’s uplifting organ groove and cool little xylophone vibes. I loved this song, and now here comes an MV that takes something already great and elevates to an even higher plane!

While I have to say I’m glad I got to hear and appreciate the song without the MV first,  (I love videos, but sometimes I think they can distract from a true listening .) great googly moogly do I totally adore this video! What a beautifully shot, simple but yet incredibly rewarding short film this is. It’s the first time in a very long while that I’ve watched a video and had a sincere emotional reaction to what I was experiencing.

There may be multiple ways to interpret this, but I see the video as a call to embrace being who you really are when finally freed of the outside forces that try to tie you down into the role they’ve attempted to force upon you. That inner sadness of that kid as he sits trapped in a wheelchair at gunpoint… Is the man with the mask a repressive authority figure? A symbol of restrictive society? The pressures to conform?    Maybe a well-meaning figure who doesn’t understand the damage he’s doing holding a metaphysical gun to the kid’s head? Maybe it’s just a jerk guy pushing a kid around? It’s all up to the viewer, but I think it’s very safe to say that nearly all of us have, at one time, felt internally like what that tearful child is going through. (Although hopefully not on this literal level. )

Sad and alone, the wheelchair-bound child reaches out and finds reassurance from someone who understands and answers his call. I love the look on the kid’s face with Kai comes running to the rescue to knock the oppressive masked man back. Holy smokes, I really do love it. I honestly cheered a little bit watching it. And then Kai happily takes the young person away and since she understands, allows the kid to finally live as free individual on their own terms and yes, in the scene where at last the confines of the wheelchair are left behind, I freely admit I kinda choked up a little. It’s beautiful.

“Dammit Kai, you liberated this child to be what they want to be and bless you for it.” 

You think I’m over-reaching and gushing too much over a music video? That’s perfectly fine. I’m taking Kai’s guidance to heart and marching to my own drum here. You’re welcome to have it your way too. By all means, gather from art whatever you wish, and feel free talk about your own interpretations, because that’s also valid.

The video was wonderfully directed by Chi Koike , who mentioned on twitter that the MV’s theme is a something of a rallying cry to “children to not let the fire of the revolution die”. (That’s very loose paraphrasing and please forgive if I totally botched that.) I don’t know anything else of the director’s work, but rest assured I’ll be paying attention in the future…

And also, I learned another factoid from all this, the song “Himitsu No Tobira”  is actually a cover of a 2018 song by the Kyoto-based band Honjitsu Qyen, and they also appear in the video as the musicians accompanying Kai as she sings. Here’s their original version of the song. ..

It’s such a terrific tune. You can listen to Honjitsu Qyen’s music on Spotify and Apple Music too, so be sure to look them up!

If you’ve gotten anything like what I got out of this video, or maybe you just simply liked it, why not take a moment to share it with your friends? I think it’s a quietly brilliant piece of work, and I think others might get some positive vibes from it. And also, like myself and Kerrie have already been gushing over, Kai’s “Moonlight Tokyo” is a fabulous release. Let’s spread this love around a little!