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Information

• Member: Koopiskeva
• Studio: A2000A Studio
• Title: Perception
• Premiered: 2002-11-18
• Categories:
  • Drama
  • Character Profile
  • Romance
• Song:
  • Christina Aguilera Reflection
• Anime:
  • Strawberry Eggs (I My Me!)
• Comments: Warning: The video and the commentary contain spoilers about the anime. Read and download at your own risk.
  
  
  Another AMV ey...
  
  Actually, I hadn't really planned on creating this video for sometime, until I found a song that just truly inspired me. I had downloaded Gundamrw's (MAS Productions) "The Woman in the Mirror" AMV a few weeks back, and I thought it was a pretty well-made music video. I didn't really think too much about it until I watched it again a few days later. It wasn't until I really analyzed the lyrics of the song that I was inspired to use it. Although it worked well for Motoko (Love Hina) as a character profile song, I immediately envisioned something just a little bit more complex, maybe original, but definitely something out of the ordinary.
  
  Note: The video was made in four days immediately upon the analyzation of the song, being one of the quickest videos I've created thus far.
  
  Anime Background: "Hibiki Amawa is destitute and desperate to find a job as a teacher. Unfortunately, the only school nearby would not employ him because it is headed by an extremely prudish schoolmarm who is against the idea of having male teachers around. Hibiki, with his manhood maligned yet with his pride intact, does the unthinkable...." - animeokashi.com
  
  The anime: I My Me, Strawberry Eggs. A typical school romance comedy on the surface, but has many levels of moral complication within. The two main characters, Hibiki and Kuzuha, stood out to me as the ones in the most difficult of positions. Both having to deal with mixed emotions about themselves and what others might think of them for what they're feeling. Although the amv itself could center around both of them separately, I felt that the song worked for Hibiki much better. Not only because of the physical reflection of himself, but because the song focuses around a character that has not yet fully accepted him/herself inside. Hibiki accepts certain feelings that he is having in the series, but does not truly acknowledge the deeper emotions and doesn't know what to do with them. Kuzuha, on the other hand, admits her emotions and what she feels for Hibiki, so therefore, she has taken farther steps than he has.
  
  There is another plane that I tried to step on with this video. If you've seen the series, you'll notice that Kuzuha doesn't have any parents. All she has is a memory of her mother before she passed away. Although I would've liked to have shown more of this aspect in the video, it became more of a subtle implication that Hibiki wanted to care for her, but the feelings were mixed inside him that it seemed like a different kind of love. However, for those that have seen the series, you could always tell that Hibiki had not the slightest intention of being a pervert, he had only a nurturing and caring attitude toward his life and his work.
  
  The song: Reflection. I admit it, I haven't seen Mulan, so I was not influenced by the background of where this song originated from. Therefore, I think that this actually helped me because it did not limit my imagination of how far I could take liberty on the lyrics of the song. By using the basic outline of the song, I was able to separate the song into 3 phases. The first dealt with Hibiki's physical perception. Pretty straightforward to begin with, always hiding his real appearance from those around him. The second phase becomes more complicated where he is introduced to Kuzuha. He begins to wonder about his feelings for her and also the perception of himself using a false image to be near her. The third phase is where everything either falls apart or comes together depending on how you look at it. Hibiki's true self is revealed, but instead of alienating Kuzuha, it actually pushes her closer towards him. Hibiki realizes this, but still only sees himself as a nuturer for Kuzuha, remembering the times where they were close using his other self. The video follows the progression in their relationship very closely, but also takes a much deeper perspective upon Hibiki's thoughts on the situation.
  
  Symbolism. This video has plenty of them. Although I would like to indulge the significance of each of the symbolic themes and scenes, I feel that it would be much more appropriate to let the viewer decide for themself what they see. I know that many will look at this video in different lights, and everyone perceives a video differently comparing it to what they've previously seen and how they feel about certain topics. That there became one of the main reasons of the title. The video deals with a character having difficulties with his own perception, and those that see this video will also perceive it differently. I just hope that others can see the video in the same light that I did.
  
  
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  Summary: Symbolic video filled with emotion and false images. To be perceived with your own morals and imagination.
  
  Other notes: After being labeled as somewhat of a technical creator, this video places me back into my drama roots. No fancy video tricks, just pure story and emotion.
  
  Update: I've added a direct link to the RVP server. Enjoy.