wave to earth’s HEAVEN AND HELL X 怪物 (2023)
I’m writing this still pretty much teary-eyed, but I can’t let the first impression linger for too long. I continue to be so incredibly impressed by the level of thought and emotional depth within wave to earth’s artistry, especially in the way they explore such nuanced themes throughout their craft. While some of the interpretations I’ll point out may be very subjective, this perspective resonated with me in a meaningful way and I kind of wanted to share it because of how strongly it connected with me personally :) I definitely missed a lot of important details since I watched the mv pretty early on and some scenes probably need deeper nuance or background context to be fully understood. But even from the subtext I was able to pick up on I already appreciated it as a very strong and thoughtfully crafted piece of art.
What makes the mv stand out to me is how deeply yet softly it engages with queer imagery. Its themes are woven through isolation, masculinity, and the quiet longing to belong. Throughout the video, the protagonist boy is constantly surrounded by men moving together, dancing together, existing together, bound by a kind of collective masculinity that feels instinctive to everyone except him. While they remain unified, he wanders alone, observing from the outside and reaching toward something that always seems just beyond him, his counterpart, but also the sense of belonging. He feels different, yet in many ways he is exactly the same as the men surrounding him. They are dancers, and he dances too, yet there is still a lingering sense of unfamiliarity. Despite sharing the same outward actions and environment, he remains emotionally disconnected from the version of masculinity being performed around him.
The distance between him and the other men creates a sense of unfamiliarity as though he is witnessing the version of manhood he is expected to grow into while simultaneously realizing he cannot fully recognize himself within it. The men share the same posture, clothing, and body language, creating a visual sense of brotherhood that also feels very restrictive. There is closeness in between them but very little vulnerability. Everyone kind of appears unified yet pretty emotionally sealed.
The boy’s alienation within this environment mirrors the plot of Monster where queerness is not expressed through overt romance or explicit confession, but rather through estrangement, the feeling of existing within a world you are expected to “belong to” while quietly sensing that “something” essential within you exists outside of it (that “something” in this case being the boy’s freedom).
One of the most striking motifs in the video is this constant sort of drifting. The boy repeatedly latches onto what he believes he should want, only to slightly detach himself from it again, endlessly moving between longing and distance. It reflects the confusion of trying to mold yourself into expectations that never fully feel like your own, while still deeply yearning for the acceptance that comes with them.
The religious imagery adds another layer that felt impossible for me to ignore. It’s one of the motifs that says the most when you read between the lines, since religion and masculinity often operate together as systems of expectation, shaping ideas of what is considered acceptable, pure, or “normal.” Within that context the music video feels like a portrait of growing up surrounded by constant performances of masculinity and trying to imitate them, while never fully seeing yourself reflected back within them.
The feeling of carrying the weight of who you are expected to become and the understanding that acceptance may only come if you remain within those boundaries, instead of breaking away from them connects the mustache scene really well. It in fact made a huge impression on me too. To me, it feels almost symbolic of maturation and the pressure to “become” a man according to social expectations while still feeling emotionally disconnected from what that transformation is supposed to mean because of the way society has shaped it. It pictures the strange experience of looking at yourself and recognizing something deeper within you that others either cannot see or refuse to acknowledge.
This is why the video reminds me so incredibly much of Monster. Both works explore queerness through the perspective of someone who feels out of place long before they fully understand why. In Monster, Minato and Yori’s relationship is constantly misinterpreted by the adults around them who are turning innocence into something suspicious, simply because it has only existed of social norms. Heaven and Hell carries the same message: the loneliness of standing outside the collective and watching others fit naturally into roles and spaces that feel inaccessible to you. In this protagonists boy’s case, the role to be a free dancer and being in the space with the other unified men.
Daniel’s line “like a child, purity is the way” kinda hit me more from a societal standpoint. The question of where “corruption” is actually located and how one is pure simply trying to exist honestly before everything gets defined for them from the outside by force. In this context impurity doesn’t come from who someone is but from what gets added onto them, like social pressure, judgment, and the meanings others project onto them.
By the end of both narratives there is a sense of acceptance and freedom, the realization that home and solace is not found in forcing yourself into the majority but in existing honestly alongside others, even after spending so long feeling alienated from them.
The ending of the MV suggests that true freedom comes from breaking away from the expectations imposed onto you and allowing yourself to exist honestly, as you are, beside the people you love. The final scenes of the two boys running together capture this idea perfectly. As previously mentioned, not as an act of rebellion, but as a quiet and powerful liberation. As if the biggest and most important form of freedom you can possibly grant yourself, is to allowing yourself to simply be.
I loved this music video deeply. It left a lasting mark on me along with a few tear stains on my cheeks. I’ve had my fan card laminated since long ago. But this truly solidified my relationship with the band’s craft even more.