![]() ![]() ![]() Writing lyrics specific to the Kingdom Hearts series would have hurt the singles’ universal appeal. “Passion,” by contrast, is one of Utada’s lowest performing singles, but both songs were never intended exclusively for the games. “Hikari” enjoyed success independent of Kingdom Hearts, topping charts, earning Utada a number of accolades and awards, and helping her break into the worldwide market. This may have also been a conscious, commercial decision on Utada’s part, and not simple unfamiliarity with the games. Still, the relationship between the song’s lyrics and the games is tenuous at best. Utada similarly wrote “Passion ,” the theme to Kingdom Hearts II, to coincide with the story of the sequel, and seemed to have a better idea of what the series and game were all about in an interview, Nomura says that, for “Passion ,” Utada was given a much longer explanation of the game’s story this time around. The relationship between Utada and Kingdom Hearts seems to be of mutual influence, as Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, claims that many elements of the first game were inspired by “Hikari” and not the other way around. ![]() Despite her writing and recording it specially for Kingdom Hearts, Utada found little inspiration in the game’s plot, describing it as “soulless.” Given the number of revisions the game underwent in its development cycle, that Utada was writing while the game was still in the works, and that requesting a musical artist to play a 30-hour game just to write one song would be absurd, it’s likely that Utada had an incomplete vision of the game’s story and characters. The first Kingdom Hearts game’s opening video pumped along to a remix of Utada Hikaru’s “Hikari” ( 光, or “light”) in its original Japanese release. These full motion videos are often highly symbolic, featuring series staples like characters falling and/or reaching towards one another, only to be separated by the sea or the sky, and generally establish the themes of the game or recap the events of previous titles. The Kingdom Hearts games typically open and close with cinematic sequences, set to Utada Hikaru’s music. Therefore I’d like to take another stab at dissecting the lyrics and larger meaning behind Utada Hikaru’s “Simple & Clean.”įirst, somewhat of a background and history lesson, for those who are not familiar with the song or the series. I’m routinely surprised to find many within the fandom claim that the English lyrics to the first game’s iconic theme song are, like the plot of the series as of Dream Drop Distance, complete nonsense. Having thus established my cred as a Kingdom Hearts fan, I’ve got beef. I’ve attempted, with varying levels of success, to decipher the wayward and needlessly complicated plot. I’ve gone through the ringer with the series, followed its many plot twists, turns, and holes, waited - patiently and impatiently - for each new title. I’ve spent the ten years since consuming every piece of Kingdom Hearts news and media available. My adolescent years have become inextricably tied to these games. Between me, at 8 years of age, and my sisters at 10, we were rather pitiful at the game, and it’d take me another two years to finally complete it (and subsequently, become obsessed). Orchestral version of “Simple & Clean.” I’m just…I’m so done (and, apparently, a soon-to-be owner of a Playstation 4.)Įverything is simple and clean and nothing hurt.I have been a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series since before it was a series at all enticed by the appearance of Disney characters, my sisters and I broke in our PlayStation 2 with the original Kingdom Hearts not long after its 2002 release. You can now watch the teaser trailer for Kingdom Hearts III below. And In the brand new teaser trailer that premiered during Sony’s presentation at E3 2013 conference tonight, the two came together yet again. Of course, Utada Hikaru is my everything. Final Fantasy meets Disney? Like, quite literally the essence of my being. What boyfriends?)īut there was a time long ago that I did, and Kingdom Hearts was my everything. Like Lana Del Rey, I just passive-aggressively encourage my boyfriends to go play their video games while I twirl ’round slowly and contemplate life’s great truths on those lonesome Friday nights. Now, I don’t actually play video games these days. Kingdom Hearts - the Playstation franchise responsible for propelling Utada Hikaru into mainstream America’s consciousness with her masterpiece of a theme song “Simple & Clean” (Japanese: “光”), as well as her Kingdom Hearts II theme song “Sanctuary” (Japanese: “Passion”) - is getting a third installment. Excuse me for a moment as I stan the fuck out. ![]()
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