Sound of the Sky, or Sora no Woto, is a character-driven slice-of-life narrative set in a world that
has restabilized after an apocalyptic event had caused society to technologically regress
to that of the early 20th century.
To make things worse, the world is still being ruined, albeit silently, by another apocalypse.
Enter our protagonist, Kanata, who arrives in the town of Seize, out in the far reaches
of the nation of Helvetia.
Her goal is to volunteer in the military so that she can learn how to play the bugle,
and later on, the trumpet.
While she improves her skills and lives with the community and her friends, the days happily
pass by.
However, the rumblings of war slowly grow in intensity, and the idyllic life of the
1121st Platoon turns out to be a most fragile thing.
It is due to the growing threat of war and the omnipresent danger of the apocalypse that
the theme of the anime becomes apparent: the desire to have a peaceful, harmonious life.
Sound of the Sky presents this theme through its opening and ending sequences, not to mention
the accompanying songs, as well as the insert song, Servante de Feu.
The anime also embodies this theme through its two legends and the plentiful real-world
references, along with its characters.
Sound of the Sky's opening visualises the fulfillment of music, and the important role
that our main characters will play in staving off humanity's compulsion for violence.
This is achieved in part by the OP being a very clear reference to several of Gustav
Klimt's works.
You can see the similarities here, here, here, here, here, here
and here.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Klimt, he was an Austrian artist who was born
in 1862 amidst the suburbs of Vienna and is remembered for his radical, sensual paintings.
He paints humans in their most vulnerable state – that of nudity – while also transforming
the foreign looks of naked bodies into positive, soothing images through the incorporation
of warm, emotional elements.
These warm elements typically take the form of gold leaf paint.
When Klimt was growing up as an artist, Vienna was in a paradoxical state.
In the second half of the 19th century, from 1860 to 1900, the city multiplied two and
a half times in size.
Consequently, the divide between both the wealthy bourgeoisie and the vast urban population
of the poor became more apparent.
Significant figures of the modern world, such as Sigmund Freud and Arnold Schoenberg, came
from a city known for waltzes, womanizing and mustachioed officers.
Vienna was simultaneously the administrative capital of an ancient empire, and a modern looking city.
It was during this time that the Vienna Secession was founded in 1897, with Klimt as its first
president.
The Secession was formed in response to Vienna's conservative art institutions and the historical
paintings that were fashionable at the time.
It existed to be avant-garde, to exhibit contemporary art in contemporary ways.
And Klimt's best known work, The Kiss, reflects the sensibilities of both himself and the
Secession, as it represents
in a most dreamy depiction of romance.
Before I convey my interpretations of the OP, I would first like to go over the Beethoven
Frieze, which much of the OP is based off of.
It is a series of paintings made to celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven, accompanied by a sculpture
made by Max Klinger.
The story of the Beethoven Frieze, which is currently displayed in the Secession Building,
flows like so.
It begins with a spare composition, composed mostly of plaster, creating a great deal of
white, negative space.
At the top, though, are figures in long flowing gowns, who are floating or slowly drifting
along.
These are genii, and they represent humanity's longing for meaning or salvation.
Next is a knight in shining armor, to whom several women are pleading to for help.
He looks ahead with resolve, armed with ambition and his sword, towards the evil in the next
section.
Here we see the massive and fearsome Typhoeus, or Typhon, a most deadly creature in Greek
mythology.
To his left are the three Gorgons, whose visages could turn you to stone should you look at
them that yet hold a fearsome beauty that invite a glance.
Above them are female figures that represent sickness, madness and death.
To the right of Typhoeus are lasciviousness, wantonness, and intemperance.
Amidst the enormous bluish eagle wing and serpent-like body that spreads out across
and fills the right side of the painting, there is a woman experiencing grief.
Her gray and black person contrasts the golds and blues of the other women, making her look
drained of life and hope.
Despite the setup of a confrontation between the knight and Typhoeus, we don't see them
again, neither in defeat nor victory.
Instead, there is a large amount of light, negative space, with the genii floating to
the right at the painting's top.
Even though the evil is gone, nothing seems to have changed.
The longing persists.
There is a difference, though, and that is the woman who is playing the lyre at the end
here.
She represents the power of the arts, for her music is providing a blanket of warm gold
behind the genii.
When the Beethoven Frieze was finished, it was first exhibited for the XIVth exhibition
of the Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession in 1902.
The objective of the exhibit was
The Beethoven Frieze exemplified this through the presentation of a linear story on three
walls, the paintings themselves, an allusion to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (which I'll
provide more details on soon) and Klinger's statue of Beethoven.
With regards to the statue, you can see it in its own space through an opening underneath
a white section of plaster, a section that is to the right of the lyre.
The woman and her lyre presented the arts as a possible means for the fulfillment of
humanity's longing.
And the story moves into our 3-dimensional plane of existence, for Beethoven, the musical
genius, has arrived.
In the last section, the genii are now oriented vertically, and they are feeling a sense of
fulfillment in front of a river of gold.
Their longing has been satiated.
Their outstretched arms direct our attention to an explosion of warmth.
The genii here are standing like a choir would, as they offer prayers of thanks together,
as one.
They are enlightened by the arts.
Salvation has been reached.
Lastly, there is a man and woman sharing an intimate embrace, in their own little world.
Their contentment, love and companionship are eternal and/or universal.
According to Jonathan Jones in his article, The last romantic, this tender scene is called
A Kiss For The Whole World, which is a quotation from Friedrich Schiller's Ode to Joy.
Beethoven used this poem in the final movement of his Ninth Symphony, and so it's fitting
that the Beethoven Frieze ends its celebration of Beethoven's success by recreating Ode to Joy with
Now onto the OP!
Finally!
It starts with the girls in the same pose of the genii choir.
Since we only see the bottom portion of the entire visual, this serves to foreshadow that
the beauty and power of the arts will win out in the end.
Next, the girls are in the same poses as the Gorgons and the vices, but they don't look
as evil or seductive.
I believe that the sexual depiction of the Gorgons is substituted by the bishojo aesthetic
– the cute girl -, which is fitting.
Such designs can be appealing to some, and repulsive to others who want their anime to
be mature, gritty and serious, not unlike the conservative, narrow-minded perspectives
of many people, including academics and artists, in late 19th century Austria.
Regarding their poses, Kanata looks like she's hearing something only she can hear.
Kureha looks annoyed or perhaps slightly apathetic, which lines up with her tsundere attitude
at the anime's beginning.
Noel has her hands in front of her heart, as her heart aches from past betrayals and
her sins.
She wants to trust other people, to feel love.
Filicia looks like she's praying, perhaps for the safety of her family, while Rio is
holding her palms upwards, like she's also praying for something, and waiting for that
wish to be fulfilled – a wish for her to return to her family after leaving them in
order to marry the Roman Emperor.
The white garments, light background and green vines give off a positive, welcoming vibe,
which contrasts strongly with the next shot.
Interestingly, this shot moves from right to left instead of from left to right, as
was the case with the Beethoven Frieze.
We see agony first amidst hints of danger, represented by the outer presence of Typhoeus.
Lasciviousness, wantonness and intemperance seem to be replaced by figures of agony and
uncertainty.
Then the ugly visage of the danger is revealed.
Meanwhile, gold specks slowly move to the left, towards the evil, like a stream flowing
downriver.
Since the OP's song is translated as Melody of Light, I believe that the stream of gold
represents the beauty and warmth of music, and it's attracted to the source of the
danger.
The next shot doesn't reference the Beethoven Frieze; instead, it's Medicine.
This art piece was one of three pieces – Philosophy, Medicine and Jurisprudence - submitted to
the University of Austria as part of a commission called the Klimt University of Vienna Ceiling
Paintings.
The university faculties wanted Klimt to depict their academic achievements as a triumph of
light over darkness.
However, he ignored their conservative, self-promotional wishes and painted his own unflattering views
on the three academic fields, which drew harsh criticisms from the staff.
In that painting, there was a single nude, young woman, with a newborn infant at her feet.
She represented an individual life, and that life was connected to a river of life and
death by both her outstretched arm and the arm of a man in that river.
Kanata has the sun at her feet, with no golden backdrop behind her.
Because of this, the sun, and Kanata being connected to the stream of golden music, which
is moving to the upper-right and will continue to do so throughout the OP, she represents
a singular embodiment of the innocence and hope of music.
The connection between girl and stream is explicit through her own arm and the scaly
body of danger, chaos and violence.
Just like how the river of life had death in it, the stream of music had chaos in it.
Next is a rose, perhaps?
The red flowers definitely look like roses, and so, then love is front and centre, even as
the harmony of music and the explosion of war start to clash.
Next are close ups of each character, but this time with backdrops of the golden warmth
of music.
This is followed up by the girls posing as the genii of humanity's longing, and Kanata
playing the lyre.
Makes sense since Kanata hears Rio's cease-fire signal and she plays the cease-fire signal
on the battlefield.
However, there is less colour compared to the original, and the lyre is not coloured.
The blanket is, though.
Rio is then shown holding what could be the demon's head from Seize's legend of the
Fire Maidens, and she is enclosed by a doorway adorned with motifs that's reminiscent of
antique vases.
She is inside a small space, in front of vegetation.
This is all a reference to Klimt's 1897 art piece called Tragedy.
In both pieces, the darkness of tragedy, which is visualized through both the dark colour
palette and the mask of tragedy that is a symbol in Greek theatre, is made prominent
by the women being in the centre, and by the contrast with the lightly coloured frames
around them.
The background vegetation, the ancient motifs and the women's solemn expressions yield
a synergy of timelessness and omnipresence.
The next shot is Kanata looking back over her shoulder, with the backs of all the other
girls facing us.
This is a reference to a piece called Goldfish (to my critics), which was made from 1901-1902.
For context, the Klimt University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings were made between 1900 and
1907.
Goldfish was an obvious response to all those who attacked the perverted nature of the university
paintings because, well, she's essentially mooning us with a smile.
With regards to Kanata, her smile is a reassurance.
She believes that everything will turn out alright, and she wants us to believe that
too.
Additionally, remember when I mentioned Klimt's tendency to portray women in his works, and
in a sensual way?
In his great variety of works, all of the women are displayed in a soft, glowing light,
like they're ethereal creatures.
Furthermore, his beautiful paintings, many of which had lovers copulating and women masturbating,
were for the indulgence of those who appreciated such content.
But there's also a moral conviction in his art, the presentation of an alternative morality.
His work coincided with the fin de siècle, which refers to the end of the century, where
the old order was ending, and new radical departures were emerging with the rise of
French decadent, symbolist or naturalist writers and artists.
Klimt exemplified this change in culture, as he mixed the ancient use of gold leaf,
where gold was a most important substance in ancient Egyptian decorations, and mythological
references with nudity and the comparatively newer oil paints, which were found to be in
use in Buddhist murals from the 7th century A.D., in order to create timeless, seemingly
ancient works of art.
In this OP, the simulation (or actual use, I don't know) of gold leaf and the recreations
of portions of Klimt's works contrasts with the digital colouring and the bishojo, or
moe, designs.
And just like how Klimt's work drew criticism for its inappropriate content, Sound of the
Sky was compared with K-On!, the anime where cute girls just drank tea and ate cake in
a light music club rather than actually playing music.
This was because Toshifumi Akai employed a style of character design similar to that
of K-On!'s character designer, Yukiko Horiguchi, which confused viewers on who the character
designer was and still causes misconceptions today.
Consequently, the anime was crudely reduced to "cute girls with guns."
At a time when anime was becoming more available in the West due to the Internet, people were
enraged by what they perceived was a flood of moe taking away their serious, action-focussed
shows.
I hear of this from time to time, and you can still see the evidence of such distaste
and intolerance today.
I found reviews of Sound of the Sky back when it aired and when the DVD came out.
These two reviews were from Theron Martin and considering that he had highly praised
the 2014 magical girl anime, Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero, years later, I was shocked to see
his opinions on the character designs and the characters themselves.
The other reviews had similar sentiments,
and similar distaste for the bishojo persists in some capacity today, as seen in this person's lack of patience for Comic Girls.
Tangent: I watched My Hero Academia, Megalo Box, Hinamatsuri, Crossing Time, Isekai Izakaya,
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, Hugtto!
PreCure and Comic Girls, and Comic Girls was the one show that I looked forward to the
most, alongside Gun Gale Online and Megalo Box.
It's a really good anime brimming with passion for manga, as well as cuteness, fun antics,
very likable characters and numerous moments that evoked empathy, like when Ruki was stressed
out over how her fans would react once they saw the mangaka of their favourite, erotic
manga, or the entirety of Kaos-chan's character arc where she tackles her low self-esteem,
anxiety and lack of skill as she tries to create her first printed manga.
The principal cast has such great chemistry together, and I was oftentimes smiling at
their interactions, not to mention shedding a tear or two at seeing both their relatable,
individual troubles and the endearing friendships that helped to relieve those troubles.
The dormitory was a comfy, homely place what with its earthy, wooden aesthetic and the
wide shots that showed how open and free the grounds and the interior are.
I really liked the addition of the ero-kawaii in the comedy, which is executed whenever
Ruki becomes greatly embarrassed about her erotic work.
Oh, and their clothes changed during and between the four seasons, which furthered their characterization
as individuals and made them more believable, empathetic characters, since girls typically
have a large selection of apparel.
And, and ponytails! – cough cough.
Anyways.
Here's a great blogpost on how Comic Girls is a fresh take on otaku and Legof translated
these wonderful clips from the Comic Girls Nico Nico stream.
End tangent.
Now back to the OP.
Kanata's pose, while not in keeping with her character (she's not narcissistic nor
prone to taunts and mocking, after all), reflects her eagerness to be friendly with others.
She's comfortable with that side of herself, with the simple life she lives with her family,
and that's a slap in the face for haters of bishojo designs and cute-girls-doing-cute-things
anime.
The second to last shot is Kanata, alone, listening to a sound only she can hear, while
the last shot is the complete picture of the OP's first shot: the five girls resonating
with the music, fulfilled.
The OP's song, which is titled Melody of Light, or Hikari no Senritsu, is also about the power of music
Here are the lyrics, provided by the Blu-Ray release.
In summary, the OP reflects the story up to episode 12.
The ending is foreshadowed,
followed by the positive, tranquil depiction of the protagonists.
This is accompanied by a question of whether the sound of the sky is resonating with you
as well as a statement of how that tranquil, harmonious sound is subconsciously present,
and desired in your soul.
This is contrasted by the agony and uncertainty felt as the omnipresent threat of war becomes
more prominent, yet the song reminds us to remember the gentle voices of the people who
strongly desire peace.
Chaos is part of the stream of melody and harmony – it will always exist in order
to balance it out.
And so, even as war clashes with harmony, love will bloom all the more.
Optimism and youthful innocence are still connected to that stream, so listen to her
voice.
Hear her love of music and peace.
Echo forth, sound of the sky.
Embrace these girls, and encourage them to help us embrace the music too.
Do you perceive the world as one where music is not enough, and sacrifice is needed to
attain happiness?
No, that's not the answer.
Even though you've shed tears, they cannot stop here, and they can't stop the protagonists either.
Let them inspire you.
Believe in them.
And from within that cascading light, Kanata hears hope, and she plays the song of tomorrow,
and the brilliance of the sky reaches your heart.
In regards to the ED, I really like it for its energetic atmosphere, and there's some
stuff to unpack when it comes to both the scenes and the song.
You see, the ED is about Kanata becoming part of the platoon, the family.
Here are the translated lyrics, which were provided by the Blu-Ray release again.
The storyboards, direction and animation direction were all done by Akai, and that's quite fitting.
As a big fan of Horiguchi's work, which was excellent for character animation, he
was responsible for depicting the personalities of the protagonists, their relationship dynamics
and Kanata's energy.
"Love, friendship, let's gather all your feelings together," in a hug, as a group,
"and let's play something precious" - the sound of the sky.
We see Kanata and Rio on top of the wall, at an equal elevation.
They're being friendly with each other.
They're bonding.
But meanwhile, Kureha's a bit jealous or left out, since she admires Rio greatly and
Kanata is attracting Rio's attention more than Kureha is.
This lines up with Kureha's initial disposition towards Kanata – strict and critical.
Then we see Noel making sure that the curious Kanata doesn't tumble over the wall.
Rio casually chides Kanata, Kureha is tense, and Filicia is contentedly taking it all in
from a distance, like a mother does towards the antics of her happy family.
When the line, "I was so happy, I cried," was sung, they were having a meal.
This seems to imply that Kanata is a part of the family, but that's not actually the case.
The table is rotated 180 degrees.
Consequently, this scene presents a false seating arrangement; an inversion of the truth.
Kanata also can't handle whatever she was trying to ingest.
Perhaps she was trying to drink the calvados that the platoon illegally makes?
Anyways, from this point forward, Kanata is always apart from the others, be it spatially
or emotionally, and here she is at the bottom of a bridge rather than crossing it to where
the platoon is heading.
But she won't give up.
Kanata's discouraged but she'll take it slowly.
She'll get there one day, and so she'll sing her wish out loud.
Against the backdrop of the sky, what are her true feelings?
(You're just my friend) It is for that simple reason that the song
picks up and she eagerly runs with the sky towards the others.
And what are the others doing?
In a scene where the girls' personalities and relationships are visually summed up,
Filicia encourages Kureha to hug Rio affectionately while Noel disappears into the distance.
In later scenes, they are walking through alleyways, and Kureha pauses to look back
at Kanata.
It may not seem like it, but she's slowly catching up.
Even if their feelings for each other waver, those bonds will "resound forever and ever".
Kanata remained ambitious, optimistic and energetic, and so, her precious note was heard
by all, and she attained the tranquil, harmonious life of a family.
Lastly, there's the one insert song in Sound of the Sky: Servante de feu, which is sung
by Matthieu Ladouce.
Here are the lyrics, which came from the Blu-Ray release.
It tells of how the world is both beautiful and cruel, wondrous and terrifying.
There are positive and negative emotions, warm and cold colours.
They are all present.
They are all important, for they all contribute to the symphony of music, humanity and life.
What does your heart tell you is most important?
To many of the characters, it's harmony.
Everything has its place.
And so, without sorting through the good and the bad, accept it all.
Don't avert your eyes, for joy and misfortune are both part of our destinies.
In every laugh, there is sorrow.
In every voice, every little sound, lives the infinite.
Savour the harmony of the sky, and of the sounds of humanity.
As this song played during the description of Seize's legend, the song played a significant
part in making me feel that this ancient tale was one with a resonating truth inside.
Servante de feu soothed and comforted, like a reassurance of hope.
The song speaks of harmony, and it supports the legend, which entails the preservation
of the harmonious life of the townsfolk through sacrifice.
However, the song was incomplete at this time.
During episode 12, when the original, and true, version of the legend was told, the
complete song also played.
Here's what was missing in the first rendition.
The song still supported the desire for harmony, and this desire was shared by both the angel
and the maidens.
But what's important in the added lines is that this line is sung: "In every voice,
in each little sound, lives the infinite."
According to this government article, The Dissemination of Amazing Grace, Amazing Grace
is a Christian hymn written in 1772 by John Newton in the English countryside.
As it disseminated throughout the world, particularly America, it gradually received a musical accompaniment,
which was refined by William Walker and entitled New Britain in 1835.
Amazing Grace is about how we can be forgiven and redeemed regardless of our sins.
There can be salvation from despair, and this can lead to infinite happiness, even as one's
life, and the world, ends.
Amazing Grace is one of the most recognized songs in the English speaking world, and its
simple, heartfelt lyrics and tune contribute to its memorability, as well as its ability
to inspire and touch even those who aren't religious.
The article states that emphasis was shifted from the words to the music once a unique
tune became associated with the hymn.
I think that's fitting, as only the tune survived in Sound of the Sky.
The words were lost, but the message persisted, and it resonated with both the Helvetians
and the Romans.
It stopped their violent advances, albeit briefly.
They all shared a common desire, a sensation, of ephemeral universal peace and fulfillment.
Of harmony.
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