https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/7df56fa700a63354737d322538274ded.mp4 Sometimes a single look and a chance encounter are all that it takes to form an intense fascination. For a girl with black hair who Ill call Kuro since she doesnt actually have a name she sees a girl with pink hair who Ill call Pinku because again they have no name intext and their pink hair is one of their defining physical features out by the train station. For a fleeting moment before the train goes by they make eye contact. That expression that Kuro saw matches that of the boy who just recently joined their class. A thought occurs to her as she lies on her bed and turns over Is this the same person? 550https://i.ur.com/NKdyFln.png The Kanji translates roughly to Is this the same person? In asking the question pointblank in this indirect fashion it sets off the MVs emotional throughlines of doubles and wondering about something but always being one literal or metaphorical step away As time passes Kuro cannot directly get an answer to her question. But as to why? Well its certainly not for the lack of opportunity. After all if this boy and Pinku are the same person and they happen to be in Kuros class then wouldnt walking up to them and just bluntly asking be the mostsensible thing to do? The problem though is that asking about such a private matter is needless to say horribly unwarranted. For someone who has such an intensely personal way of being particularly because of something relating to sex or gender thats not the kind of thing that Kuro both by politeness and her own shyness is able to just ask about no matter how innocent the intent. But Kuro actually asking that ultimate question is ultimately not the point rather the COLORs MV is a rumination on an answer always being just slightly out of reach either in terms of its literal or metaphorical meaning. And its because she never gets a proper answer that Kuro is dogged by the thought in numerous ways. We as audience members know the truth through numerous audiovisual clues yet Kuro the one who is not in the know constantly finds her curiosity and intuition thwarted by circumstance or her own inability to muster her courage. Director Araki Tetsurou Bubble the Studio WIT seasons of Attack on Titan and Death Note among others built every almostencounter to touch on the possibility of what if before beautifully backing down and letting the unfortunateness of the moment set in. Kuro passes by a caf where Pinku is drinking something which opposites a portion of the second verse but decides to catch up with the people shes walking with instead. She spots Pinku at a festival but before she decides to go find and talk to them Pinku has had plenty of time to move somewhere else not knowing that Kuro was even there. All Kuro can do throughout the animation is observe Pinku from a distance captivated by the glorious array of color and light from the fireworks that surround them. https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/d75c6e782935b4dda22a9b87ed70370d.mp4 The image of Pinku rather than the boy from class is what dominates the MV. So as the MVs story gradually unfolds we learn that it is Pinkus impression on her more than the boy that is likewise what dominates Kuros imagination. We can only guess just how many nights Kuro spent wondering about them. And every time that they just miss one another in some way and the end of the MV hits with its perhaps exaggerated but nonliteral climax theres always the underlying thought that how would what we see transpire if they did in fact meet early? Would their destinies have changed or would they just drift apart again? Yet maybe thats a fools errand because Kuros question is far too simple. We are also privy to seeing the Pinku that Kuro is not able to see as we spend time with Pinku talking with figures whose faces are obscured. Pinkus doublelife as an idol is itself a double of what Pinku really does showing that in a truly nuanced fashion pertaining to sexuality there is always more than simply what a clean label would insinuate. The beauty of COLORs is how it combines its themes of doubles and surfacelevel questions about sexuality to show the multifaceted complexity of a person. When the ending arrives its a foregone conclusion that Kuro never could have averted because her understanding of Pinku would have been dominated by only one impression of one half of who they were. For as much as Kuro fascinated or idolized to use a more textuallyapplicable term and developed a complex about Pinku distance would always be kept no matter how close they got. It therefore becomes less that she could have asked but also she wouldnt have truly found out nor that she should have to. Pinku both as an individual and in the power dynamic between them and Kuro owes the world nothing. All the while Sawano Hiroyuki and Hata Morihitos music plays with its beautiful swirl of electronic sounds. Even from the first time that Kuro sees Pinku the gradual descent of the bass fades in and out as though it itself is as uncertain as Kuro. The verses stay relatively low and are melodically constrained with few disjunct motions and often accompanied by descending motions. Its rather unassuming as though mirroring the image of the boy that Kuro saw on that fateful day when he joined their class. But as we realized there is something behind that visage and the chorus is what happens when you pull back the curtain. Structurally it acts in much of the same way as the verses but in raising the overall register of the vocals it allows the piece to adopt a more exclamatory air. The jumps are also more frequent and starker powerful statements of presence. The voices which double and harmonize to encapsulate Pinkus doublelife are also allowed to trail off and slightly downpitch at the ends of certain phrases emulating a musical sigh as though Pinku themselves was breathing a sigh of relief that they can now don the pink hair and clothes that they wear with such poised confidence. 660https://i.ur.com/Ews6Tci.png The MVs melody for the chorus follows this general melodic pattern. The prevalence of dotted rhythm is a helpful musical cue for the nonJapanese listener writer or speaker that Pinkus existence is outside normal convention represented by emphasis on offbeat syncopation That confidence and the wider breadth of expression retained with all the characters is vital to making COLORs work especially since sex gender and performativity are so integral to the overarching metaphor. Yoneyama Mai whose previous efforts include the visuallylush YOKU MV by Eve manages to accomplish precisely that through her phenomenallydelicate character designs as do the numerous animators who brought these creations to life. At times seemingly gliding and at others creating powerful bursts of physicality and emotiveness Pinku is always caught in a sensuous whirlwind sometimes the wind is more literal that visually highlights their doublelife. Particularly during the brief dance sequence the presence of blue white and pink allude to the colors of the transgender flag and coupled with the burst of exertion and the use of closeups mediums and distant shots shows that Pinku is at their most physically and emotionally liberated when in this state of dress and performance. Animated by osumin it is a dance of celebratory selfactualization. https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/363e9c08f32776a16ba368d6caca8f2c.mp4 COLORs is beautiful. Delicately put together the story told within is aided by such a mouthwateringly beautiful aesthetic and manages to come across both as heartfelt and large in scope despite the brief runtime. Always striking and always succeeding in its resonance it has entered a realm of musical entertainment that I am always searching for unbridled creative expressions of depth and poise where each viewing or listening shows me something new. https://youtu.be/yYAgBROaT8