Blood+ and Evanescence's Fallen Album
For a while, I was seeing everyone (specifically on Tiktok) talk about the aesthetic similarities between Ergo Proxy and Evanescence. It is undeniable that Re-L and Amy Lee look nearly identical, especially from the Fallen album. To completely out myself here, I am unsure if Re-L is actually aesthetically based on Amy Lee, since I have seen contradicting statements. I may not be an Ergo Proxy expert, but I do have an argument that Evanescence both aesthetically and lyrically go hand-in-hand better with Blood+, possibly more so than Ergo Proxy (no hate, no shade, just hear me out...)
I will be focusing on Evanescence's 2003 'Fallen' album for this analysis, although I do believe many of their other music coincides with Blood+ just as well as this entire album. This comparison is also only including the TV show, not the manga or novelizations. I may do a deep dive into the manga in the future, though.
The great thing about music is how versatile the meaning can be to every listener. I will admit, when I first watched Blood+, it was around the same time I was avidly listening to Evanescence nearly every day, as angsty teenagers do. The probability of me intertwining my two favorite medias was high, but it has remained something that has stuck with me after all these years. Once again, this is just a personal opinion, I'm not claiming Blood+ was inspired by the 2003 album (or maybe it was... the world may never know ;)) but I do hope I can get more people behind the belief that Evanescence is worthy of being an anthem for this show, and the music pairing with Blood+ is just as valid as the Ergo Proxy pairing.
Lets start from the beginning...
Track 01. Going Under
For years, this track was a bit estranged from my Blood+ theory, as I used to have a hard time understanding where and how it could possibly fit together, as I grew older, and my analytical skills advanced, the comparison is rather surface level, in my opinion.
Although I am following chronological order with the tracks, the meanings behind the songs in that order do not match up with the chronological order of the show (this point could be debated, though...)
Saya's main goal has been to defeat Diva, her driving force that was revealed much later in the show, if following episode chronology. But, when we get insight on her past as the audience, we see this has been something she has been working towards since her departure from the Zoo after Joel's death, sometime after 1883. The more we see her throughout history, it has always been the same goal: Kill Diva, put an end to Chiropterans for good. But what has Saya done to achieve this? What has she lost in the process? This is where this track starts to show it's similarities.
Now I will tell you what I've done for you,
50 thousand tears I've cried,
Screaming, deceiving, and bleeding for you...
This anger, sadness, accusatory tone all fits with what she has done because of the harm her sister has caused after all these years.
Don't want your hand this time, I'll save myself
Saya wants to do this herself, she pushes away everyone she has ever loved out of fear she will lose them. The only one she "allows" to help is Hagi, even with him, she is rather stubborn about accepting the help he offers.
As the song continues, we can connect these intense feelings of anger and yearning for freedom back to Saya, maybe SHE'LL wake up for once, not tormented, daily defeated by Diva. Drowning in her life's purpose to kill her.
Saya, after her hibernation is blurring and stirring the truth and the lies, she doesn't know what's real and what's not. Confusion played a big part in her self discovery, and that discovery dug up nasty memories that reminded her that she will always have blood on her hands. Vietnam, arguably her darkest time, both during the Vietnam war and her later return. How, in a state of confusion, she can become uncontrollable.
So I can't trust myself anymore
The heart of the song is a story about overcoming these suffocating toxins in your life, taking a stance to control your own life again, instead of being controlled by anger. Her relationship with Diva is much more than physically damaging, but emotional too. Diva isn't the only one hurting her, though. Saya also tends to do it to herself. By the time she realizes this, all the damage has been done, and from then on, she has to learn to live with what happened and accept it, pushing forward in life despite her losses.
You can watch the Going Under music video here
Track 02. Bring Me To Life
Bring Me To Life has always been THAT song, infamous for early 2000s anime AMVs, every emo kid knows all the lyrics, and known for being a meme. Aside from the cultural significance this song has literally all over the world, I just know plenty of people claim that this song is an anthem for their personal favorite early 2000s edgy anime. And I can't blame them, I mean hell, here I am doing the same thing. I cannot claim that I am the first person to make the comparison between this song and Blood+, actually I'm pretty positive nearly all the Blood+ AMVs I used to watch on Youtube almost always used this song.
This song, like all the others, has many meanings and many comparisons I can make, but the one that is always at the forefront of my mind when I hear this song is the unspoken love between Saya and Hagi.
Immortality is a lonely reality, can people who have lived for decades truly connect with regular people? Immortality in vampires is an age-old concept, so it comes as no surprise that it plays a huge factor in Saya's story. What I love about Blood+ is the unusual logistics in the Chiropteran Queen's immortality. The loneliness of a Chiropteran Queen's reality, but the ones even more obscured from society are the Chevaliers, especially when one loves his Queen so deeply.
Chiropteran Queen's must sleep in a 30-year hibernation period, a vital and unstoppable bump in the road for them, but the Chevaliers? They never sleep. They can't sleep. A 30-year sleep feels like a blink of an eye for the Queens, but for the Chevaliers, for Hagi, every day must feel like a lifetime. Saya may wake up to a different world every time, but Hagi must remain stagnant as he watches the world go on without her. Once the hibernation is over, and Saya is once again reunited with Hagi, he is the one person who truly knows her, who truly understands her like no other.
All these years together, side by side, Hagi can see right through Saya, knowing her possibly more than she knows herself.
How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb
A mystery to Saya, how Hagi understands her so deeply, knows her so well, until their past together reemerges in her memories.
In a literal sense, Hagi wakes Saya up. Literally. With his blood. Bring Me To Life, to me, encompasses their unspoken love, but also the literal waking up of Saya.
A few verses later is where Hagi's voice and feelings become more prominent to me.
Frozen inside without your touch, without your love
Hagi's life ever since he was a child has been around Saya. His life is hers as her Chevalier. Deep down, could he be thinking "What is life without Saya? Without her touch, without her love?"
Hagi is his own person, yet his devotion and stoic nature, disregarding his own feelings and desires for Saya's, he has a deep, primal dependency on her in a way that is borderline toxic. Not in an abuse sort of way, but in a way where Hagi has nearly completely forgotten himself because he is so drunk on Saya.
To finish it up, a surface-level similarity,
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything
Has always reminded me of Saya's hibernation, how every time she wakes up, the world around her completely changes, like a thousand years has passed.
This song will always remind me of Blood+, even the duet style of the song in a way reminds me of Saya and Hagi... although I CANNOT stand the male vocals, simply the duet aspect furthers my point. I would like to personally decre this song as one of the ultimate Blood+ anthems, but I'm sure many people would like to disagree with me :p
You can watch the Bring Me To Life music video here
Track 03. Everybody's Fool
TW: Mentions of suicide
I will keep this track short and sweet (probably)
The meaning behind this song is a heavy topic that I don't want to misinterpret too much. Evanescence's original interpretation of this song seems to be criticizing how sociey values (or lack there of) women. The over and unnecessary sexualization of women. But I also feel that this song shows how the high beauty standards that women are held to can subject them to self hatred if they don't fit into the box that society has forced them into.
The way Blood+ fits into this song is a bit different than what the original meaning is about.
Saya obviously suffers some mental health problems, even if it isn't spoken about it in the show, it is apparent in her behaviors. The most prominent one being her suicidal mindset. The pact she has with Hagi, the promise to kill her once she finally kills Diva. It is blatant suicidal behavior, and I really don't think any arguments can be made against that. And I hate to say it, but it is incredibly selfish on Saya's end, to force the man who has loved her through every life time to kill her.
Other quirks about her that has lead me to the conclusion of her suffering mental health issues is her ability to push people away, the insecurity she has after she finds out she is the same type of creature that she has been killing all this time, the self hatred that comes along with that discovery. PTSD is another very obvious struggle she has. One of the most lowkey and drawn out one is her feeling like a fraud. Hear me out here...
She woke up in Okinawa with no memory of who she is, she lived this near perfect high school life with a loving family, then suddenly it is revealed to her that she is a weapon, a killer, a monster. Although she, and everyone else are fooled, Red Shield and her father were not and they knew the truth the whole time. To discover a lie such as that is a world altering devastation, along with the other trauma she suffered in such a short span of time. Feeling fraudulently of who you are is a given after such an event.
To encompass the entire song, rather than give direct lyric quotes, is a perfect example of how Saya truly feels about this "perfect" persona that she once had, and how she feels she will never truly be that. How she feels that everyone can see right through her "lies."
I do believe that her family life with George, Kai, and Riku was not fake. They are a true family, and who she was in Okinawa was simply herself in blissful ignorance, not that she truly wasn't that happy girl. Insecurity does wild things to the mind, including making you believe things that are not true. In the future, I would like to go into deeper analysis about Saya's mental state.
If you are struggling with your mental health, help is available.
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Call 988
You can watch the Everybody's Fool music video here
Track 04. My Immortal
A very fitting title for a show about Vampires.
Everyone has cried to this song at least once, and if you say you haven't, you're lying.
The state of mourning that Saya is constantly in, losing loved one after loved one for decades, there is no better song to compare to than this.
There's just too much that time cannot erase
No mater how many years she lives, no matter how many years she sleeps, time will never erase the scars of losing the people she loved. She even mourns innocent lives taken by her own hands, haunted not only by the pain and suffering she has experienced, but also the pain and suffering she has caused.
Arguably, the loss of George and Riku have impacted her the most, especially Riku, as she has an intense character change after his death.
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears
With all her might, all she's ever done since she woke up in Okinawa is protect her family, fight anything that puts them in danger, and she still lost them.
I could also see this song applying to Hagi, once again. A song just as melancholy as he is. The same applies to him, he would fight anything that put Saya in danger. I also feel it resonates with his loneliness during her 30-year hibernation, and the dilemma he faces when he yearns for Saya to live on and be happy, yet bound to fulfill his promise of killing her once Diva is dead.
I held your hand though all of these years
But you still have all of me
Underneath the mask of a monster fighting show, Blood+ does a wonderful job at showing the way trauma effects and changes you, along with the hardship of overcoming loss. This soft underbelly of storytelling beneath all the blood still leaves me breathless, even after all these years of re-watching the show.
(On a sillier note, I'm sure I used to watch plenty of Blood+ AMVs featuring this song as well... I was an AMV fiend as a kid.)
You can watch the My Immortal music video here
Track 05. Haunted
TW: Mentions of SA
When I first listened to this album as a kid, I didn't quite understand the meanings of every single word in every single song. This was one of them.
My first comparison I ever made to this song, before I understood the implications, was Episode One. Specifically, Hagi's stalking. In a very surface level sense, this can still apply, but just barely.
(I know you're still there)
Watching me, wanting me
In my adult years, with a now full understanding of the meaning of this song, I don't stand behind the comparison of Hagi's stalking to this song.
To me, this is the hunt for prey that Diva is constantly on. The hunt for Saya, yes. Moreover, the hunt for Riku.
Diva wanted Riku the moment she had a taste of his blood, thus began the dreadful string of events that lead to his ultimate demise.
As strange as it was, once Riku became Saya's Chevalier, his nose sniffed out Diva better than anyone else. Perhaps it was her haunting him, in a way. This song encapsulates the panic of Diva's arrival on The Red Shield Headquarters Ship.
Hunting you, I can smell you alive
Your heart pounding in my head
Such as Riku hearing Diva's voice in his head.
The assault and murder of Riku is one of the most gut wrenching and hard to watch scenes, even though the assault happens off-screen. As disgusting as it is, things like this do happen every day in the modern world. I have seen discourse about this plot point, that it was unnecessary, triggering, etc. I do not disagree, yet I don't agree at the same time. awareness to the reality of CSA is necessary. For an assault to happen to a boy rather than a girl is not often portrayed in media, male SA survivors don't have a ton of "representation," showing that SA can happen to anyone is a very bold and brave plot point to add into a show, especially one airing in 2005.
At the end of the day, although fictional, what Diva did to Riku is obviously not okay. I didn't write the show so please don't shoot the messenger here. Everyone is allowed to have their opinions on what happened. Like it or dislike it, it is something that happened in the story, and something I believe should be discussed more in the fandom.
Aside from Diva, Karl is another character who comes to mind while listening to this song, his absurd obsession with Saya. His violence towards her, his drive to kill her, sometimes in certain scenes IN MY OPINION feel sexually driven. I know this is an odd observation, perhaps I watch too much true crime, but many men tend to kill for sexual gratification. Karl is a rather monstrous character, and I believe he does have an attraction towards Saya that has become so intense and obsessive that it turned towards extreme violence. Almost the "if I can't have you, no one can" mindset. This is not a claim that I ship them! It is simply an observation and opinion, taken from statistics of sexual violence in the real world. Karl's infatuation with Saya is also most likely amplified by the idea of the opposite queen's Chevalier bound to be the other queen husband, or mate. (And considering Karl's jealousy of Solomon when he manages to get close to Saya.)
This is a rather heavy subject, please make sure to take care of yourself and take a breather if its too much. If you have been or are currently being sexually abused, help is out there for you.
National Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-656-4673
You can listen to Haunted on Spotify here
Track 06. Tourniquet
TW: Mentions of suicide
Back on my Saya/Mental Health rant again...
This is another heavy hitting song, and does have theme's similar to the Everybody's Fool analysis, so I will try not to yap too much.
When anyone asks me 'if you could have a super power, what would it be?' I never say immortality. People are perplexed. "Why?! It would be so awesome!" is often the response. Yeah, the idea is cool if you don't put too much thought into it. It would be cool probably for the first 30 years, maybe 50 years... until everyone around you starts dying. Befriending people, knowing that you'll just watch them die one day. Sure, with immortality, you no longer fear your death, but instead, you fear everyone else's death.
Saya's suicidal tendencies make sense. Selfish? Yes. But they make sense. You can only live for so long until you get tired. Tired of losing people. Tired of fighting. Tired of living. It makes me believe that her careless fighting, when she doesn't care if she gets hurt or not, is a cry for death. Maybe she is hoping one of these times, it'll finally take her out.
My wounds cry for the grave
My soul cries for deliverance
Will I be denied Christ?
This song is a more direct take at suffering from suicidal tendencies. Saya's are much more reserved, as she suffers in silence, putting on a strong face for everyone around her, but she yearns for eternal rest.
If you are struggling with your mental health, help is available.
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Call 988
You can listen to Tourniquet on Spotify here
Track 07. Imaginary
One of the more underrated songs by Evanescence, everything from the lyrics to the instruments, the heavy guitar and symphonic strings and piano that accompany it. Almost like an opera, which is a common musical theme I notice as we draw near the end of the album.
Imaginary is a track that is rather ambiguous in nature especially when intertwined with Blood+. When I was younger, it reminded me of Diva in her own childish world that she lives in. That argument could still be made, but once again, as I grew older, the lyrics true meaning revealed itself to me.
As mentioned before, I believe that Saya clings on to the idea of a normal life, perhaps too much. Once her hibernation starts inching closer and closer, her ability to remain awake is far and few. Towards the end of the show, she is seen sleeping a lot. I've always wondered 'What could she be dreaming about?'
We've gotten snippets of her dream-state, often ethereal and floaty. Which is exactly the feeling I get while listening to this track.
I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge
The nightmare I build my own world to escape
Sleeping is her unavoidable fate, but also her escape.
Many people cope with depression and trauma in all sorts of way, but a common denominator is the need for sleep. Matter of factly, you cannot be sad if you're asleep, a mindset many have, including myself at one point. It can only lead me to believe that she can escape the hell of reality with the temporary relief of her sleep. Just as unavoidable as her hibernation, she is always bound to wake up.
I linger in the doorway of alarm clocks screaming
Monsters calling my name
Let me stay where the wind will whisper to me
I am a firm believer that her sleep has its pros and cons, as heartbreaking as it can be to sleep and wake up 30 years later, the possibility of your loved ones being gone will never be enjoyable, but perhaps she can self medicate, for lack of a better term, in her dream-states.
You can listen to Imaginary on Spotify here
Track 08. Taking Over Me
Alright everybody, buckle up for this one because this is my number 1 choice for a Blood+ anthem. This will always be one of my favorite Evanescence songs for many reasons, and yes, a big reason is the eerie similarities to Blood+.
It's a rather direct mirror, this track and the show. The lyrics prove it themselves. To be more clear, this is absolutely a Hagi song. No doubt about it.
You don't remember me, but I remember you I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you But who can decide what they dream? And dream I do
If this isn't the most Hagi coded verse of lyrics you've ever read, then I don't know what is. Gah, these opening lyrics get me every time.
I believe in you I'll give up everything just to find you I have to be with you to live to breathe You're taking over me
Ahem... 'I'll give up everything just to find you' HELLO? Did Hagi write this song? Hagi searching for Saya in every lifetime, no matter where she goes, he gives up everything just to find her, to be with her.
Have you forgotten all I know And all we had?
(Such as Saya's amnesia)
You saw me mourning my love for you And touched my hand
(Such as his CHIROPTERAN HAND,,,,,,,,,,, sorry I'm getting way too worked up over this...)
I knew you loved me then
I am a firm believer that Hagi has always known that Saya loves him, even if she won't admit it to herself. It is undeniable.
I look in the mirror and see your face If I look deep enough So many things inside that are just like you are taking over
When Saya is in her hibernation, I am sure Hagi sees her face just about everywhere, in everything, in everyone. She has taken over him, body and soul. After all, if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't even be alive, able to live all these lifetimes with her. Saya, cursed with the fate of forgetting everything, everyone every time she wakes up, Hagi is cursed with knowledge, with memory. One more time for good measure 'I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you' oh buddy. OH BUDDY. He is so down bad. Unable to sleep and I just know she is all he can think about.
I love them so much. Wish this could be written a little more professionally but I simply cannot contain my excitement when I listen to this song.
You can listen to Taking Over Me on Spotify here
Track 09. Hello
Amy Lee has been rather vocal about how the death of her sister has effected her, and how it inspired a lot of what Evanescence is today. Death is a common theme between this show and this album.
As stated before, Riku's death was one of the most hard-hitting losses that Saya has gone through. To lose someone you love is hard already, but to lose a little brother who you always swore to protect? A little brother who you've already watched die once before? Talk about twisting the knife in the wound.
This song lyrically brings in very childish aspects into play, intentionally. Lee lost her sister when she was a child, and at that age, death is very foreign. Death may not be foreign to Saya, but a loss of this caliber? It most likely leaves her in a state of denial,
If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream
Saya wasn't the only one to lose a brother. Kai lost a brother too. There is not a day where he walks past a park, a playground, other children, and see Riku.
Playground school bell rings again
Kai's state of mourning appears to be much different than Saya's. After his death, Saya falls down a path of anger, isolation, which are valid responses to such a trauma. But, Kai reacts differently. The next time we see Kai after Ep. 32, his demeanor is much more grown up, perhaps his brothers death is what lead him to realize that Riku would've wanted Kai to live his best life, to do what is right, to fight for what is right, and we all know Kai would do whatever it takes to make sure Riku is happy, even beyond the grave.
Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping
Hello I'm still here
All that's left of yesterday
I also like to loosely connect this song to Diva's mental state when she was locked up for experimentation at the Zoo. Due to the childish nature, the feeling of loneliness. What her feelings were and what she went through are merely up to our imagination. How did she feel when she met Saya? A sense of betrayal? She was basically a living test tube for Amshel and Joel, while Saya got to roam free, and receive the care and love every child should get? It's obvious her resentment started very early on. She was tested on, treated like a thing, an animal, all so Saya could live a normal life.
Hello I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
To finish up my thought on this song and how death plays a huge role in everyones lives in this show, this song also connects well with The Schiff and their limited understanding and fear of oncoming death.
I mean, what is life without the fear of imminent death?
You can listen to Hello on Spotify here
Track 10. My Last Breath
A lot of my analysis have focused primarily on profound emotions of the characters, and how the story has effected them. As we look at these last two tracks on the album, they have always stood out to me as more situational.
From the opening note of this track, it feels more 'hopeful' in the light of Blood+. Although the true meaning of what Lee wrote this song is up to interpretation, and perhaps the true meaning is not meant to come off as 'hopeful,' but all I can think about is Saya before the opera, before the final fight against Diva. Right when the song opens, it riles me up as if it's a cheer for victory. As if it's Saya telling everyone 'This is it, this is the end.'
Hold on to me love You know I can't stay long All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your arms
Saya's unspoken goodbye to Hagi, the reminder of their promise once the fight is over.
Holding my last breath Safe inside myself Are all my thoughts of you Sweet raptured light? It ends here tonight
Heavy on 'It ends here tonight.' She made up her mind the moment she stepped into the opera theatre. It was going to end here and now, the end of Diva, and the end to all Chiropterans.
I'll miss the winter A world of fragile things Look for me in the white forest Hiding in a hollow tree (come find me) I know you hear me I can taste it in your tears
At this point in the story, she knows her past. She knows who she is, what she's been through, what she's done, where she's been. This is a callback to her time in Russia during the Russian Revolution. Deep down she knows how much she has cherished the moments she has lived, those moments with Hagi.
Closing your eyes to disappear You pray your dreams will leave you here But still you wake and know the truth No one's there Say goodnight, don't be afraid Calling me, calling me as you fade to black
Yet, all those memories we see of her past, she is always bringing up the promise. After all these years, it is the one thing she consistently remembers. How many times do you think Hagi as hoped she forgets the promise after her hibernations? How much does his heart break when she remembers? Every time she brings it up? 'You pray your dreams will leave you here, but still you wake and know the truth.' As the end draws near, even thinking back to those memories, Saya still doesn't hesitate with the reminder.
'Say goodnight, don't be afraid.' Is this a reassurance to her friends? Her family? To Hagi? Or is it a reassurance to herself, to not be afraid of her sister. After all, this is what she believed her life has been leading up to. To not be afraid to die, whether it be at the hands of Diva, or at the hands of Hagi.
You can listen to My Last Breath on Spotify here
Track 11. Whisper
As we transition into the last song on the album, we also transition into the final fight. This song makes the album go out with a bang, bringing back the powerful guitar and rock music artfully intertwined with the operatic scales both in symphony strings and singing. The opera in the song perfectly cascading us back into the battle between Saya and Diva, one of the most anticipated scenes in the show.
This truth drives me into madness I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away If I will it all away
Saya knows it is up to her and only her to finally put an end to all of this. Her determination as her sheer driving force, pushing her to will it all the way, no matter how tired she is.
Don't turn away (don't give in to the pain) Don't try to hide (though they're screaming your name) Don't close your eyes (God knows what lies behind them) Don't turn out the light (never sleep, never die)
What I also like about this verse is how Lee's harmonization with herself makes it sound almost like a duet. Almost as if those haunting harmonizations are Diva's taunting words as they fight.
Here's the best way I can visualize what I am hearing, color coded With red for Saya, and blue for Diva
Don't turn away (don't give in to the pain)
Don't try to hide (though they're screaming your name)
Don't close your eyes (God knows what lies behind them)
Don't turn out the light (never sleep, never die)
Twins, the harmonizing is just as identical as they are, yet the different notes that are sung encapsulate the hopefulness that Saya brings, and the sinister intentions Diva has. So alike, yet so far apart from each other.
Fallen angels at my feet Whispered voices at my ear Death before my eyes Lying next to me, I fear She beckons me, shall I give in? Upon my end, shall I begin Forsaking all I've fallen for? I rise to meet the end
The frantic singing mirrors that of the climax of the fight, the way the sisters both rip their dresses, symbolizing that nothing is holding them back from their goals anymore. The final acceptance of what they are about to do.
And, excuse me, the opera singing at 2:39? Is that not perfectly fitting? No one can convince me that isn't Diva.
Let's visit back to that verse, because there are a few things to unpack there. First of all, theres that theme of death coming back to haunt the narrative again. The haunted memory of her losses, but death itself before her eyes. Death herself. Diva has been the cause of all this destruction, ironically enough since she is the one with the blood power to create, whereas Saya has the blood power to destroy.
'She beckons me, shall I give in?' Diva has beckoned her from the beginning with her singing, all the way back at the Zoo up in her tower.
'Upon my end, shall I begin' potentially foreshadowing how Saya breaks her promise of death after the fight is over, and lives on. Upon what she thought was her end, is actually her new beginning. 'Foresaking all I've fallen for?' But that constant battle inside, living is forsaking the decade long promise she has sworn Hagi to keep. Thus regardless she 'rise(s) to meet the end' and follows through with killing Diva, in hopes maybe Diva's blood will kill her, to save Hagi from the heartbreak of having to kill her.
As the song speeds towards the ending, I can't help but imagining the sheer adrenaline that the sisters had during the final moments of their battle. The instrumentals do a lovely job at invoking that sense of adrenaline and determination.
Once their swords finally pierce each other, I don't believe either of them had an immediate sense of relief. I imagine it probably felt like the aftermath of an explosion, ears ringing as you try to figure out what the hell just happened. Until the gravity of the situation hit them both. Saya is immediately struck with anguish, confusion, regret, as she tries to hold the crumbling pieces of her sister together, crying and wondering why her sister is dying, but not her. She was supposed to die too, she thought.
As the song closes, we are bombarded with the sound of a choir, singing Servatis a periculum Servatis a maleficum
Chanting over and over again, almost unsettling, yet in a way it's telling you 'it's finally over.'
In Latin, 'Servatis a periculum, Servatis a maleficum' roughly translates to 'Saved from danger, saved from the evil one.'
The world is finally saved from danger, from Diva's villainy. But that anxiety still lingers regardless of the victory they won. Diva's children remain, and if she wants to rid the world of their kind, she must kill the children too. And after that, Hagi will be the one to finally put an end to all Chiropterans by killing Saya. A victory won, but bloodshed is still a price that must be paid even after Diva is dead.
The track ends leaving us with that exact same feeling, and although the song may not end in a happy, hopeful way like the show does, it still represents the climax of the show like no other.
You can listen to Whisper on Spotify here
Sheesh, thats a whole lot of yapping. I do hope this made sense, I know music is always and entirely open to interruption, and I do not want to discredit those who like to correlate Evanescence's Fallen album with Ergo Proxy, but I did want to make the argument that Blood+ also fits the narrative of this album as well, since I feel like I never see people compare the two.
This was all fun and games for me to write, and thank you to everyone who has read this and people who have shown interest in reading, even before I was able to publish this! I love this show and fandom with my whole entire heart. I hope you guys can feel just as passionately about these similarities as I do!
