True Life Seek

This is the PV to “Planetarium” from ikimono gakari. Raid has told me it is a good song. pengie has written up an entry on it, calling it “beautiful.”

I’m not really taken by the song.

But the PV. The PV has that right mix of seeming normal while being absolutely absurd. That is beautiful.

Damn it must be a full moon. That window is way too bright.

We start out with a sweet mother-daughter moment. Wait, this isn’t sweet at all.

Ashley: Mommy, can you talk with me, please?
Mother (awkwardly): It’s time to go to bed Ashley. Do you remember? You must clean up all your toys tomorrow from the morning. Okay?
Ashley: Ok…

Ashley just got shut down. What a ruthless, cold-hearted mother. Look at the emotion in Ashley’s eyes. Don’t see any? Me neither.

Forget that though, what the hell did she even say? “Clean up all your toys tomorrow from the morning?”
That is actually a smart technique to parenting. Instead of trying to reason with or beat your kids, just confuse them until they can’t muster up a response.

Poor, dejected Ashley. The human world has shunned her, so she turns to her doll - and does an awful job at voicing said doll. Don’t become a ventriloquist dear.

Ashley: We’re gonna move again.
Doll: Hurry up and sleep or your mom is going to get mad at you.
Ashley: Do you think I’m going to get friends at Next Town?
Doll: You’re gonna be ok Ashley. I’m going to be your best friend forever.

I wonder what population of Next Town is?

That doll is lying. Oh, it may say that it will be Ashley’s BFF. Once some Yamapi doll comes along - poorly voiced by Ashley - this doll will be ditching Ashley. We all know how that goes.

Wait a second… What is that light in the window? Aww how cute. Our little Ashley has her very own creepy stalker hanging by her window. And she was afraid of not being able to make friends!

Well, now it’s time to go to sleep, end the story and watch the band sing their son… wait…

Ahh! The doll is alive!

I hate it when dolls come alive just after you fall asleep. Why is that??

Ahh, it’s so creepy watching them walk. What kind of PV is this?

Ashley wakes up to see the dolls throwing a concert for her. Inexplicably, she doesn’t get the hell out of there. If I woke up and saw my dolls rocking the acoustic guitar, I’d scream bloody murder.

I guess it doesn’t matter if she – like a sane, rational person – ran out. We all know how this story goes. The dolls come alive and kill everyone. Nobody believes Ashley that the dolls are alive. Some rogue doll tells Ashley that she needs to read a spell to return the cursed dolls to their pre-murderous rage state.

Why is it that dolls can sing songs but never wake up the parents?

Oh, that’s right. Because Ashley is insane and the dolls aren’t singing at all…

Oh ha ha, he’s catching stars. How cute! How inspirational! The PV doesn’t show the other half of it. The part where the ultra-hot star burns straight the catcher, the doll holding it, the entire house and tri-state area.

That’s a good way to get a tan…

The star gets a little brighter in her hands. Ashley is amazed. Will she be amazed when it burns through her? Find out!

Does she have a freaking galaxy in her hands? I gotta say, if the Milky Way is in the palms of some insecure little girl - who thinks that talking dolls is a perfectly normal and sane occurrence - well, we are all screwed.

Ashley, who believes dolls perform concerts in her bedroom, opens the window. Here is where the real hero of the story, our mysterious stalker with a flashlight, pops out and runs away with Ashley. Oh please, like Ashley’s mom would even notice.

Ashley opens her hands and the star floats away. Look, if the Earth’s gravity can let a star escape its pull, then Ashley should be flying into deep space like a feather. Sure, Ashley’s death as she burns up through the atmosphere will be painful. But think of this way: she always wanted to fly.

Ok, after all we learned about Ashley - she talks to dolls, she thinks dolls talk back to her, she’s not adverse to running off with some stalker with a flashlight, she wants to burn up through the atmosphere - isn’t this smile really freaking creepy?

Diva!!

She looks like she is on the hunt for some flies to pull wings off of.

A HA! It’s a medicine cabinet right by her bed. So this PV wasn’t all a dream to make Ashley feel better. She was tripping the fuck out.

And after that trip, Ashley, who believes inanimate, wooden dolls sing to her, finally gets a good night’s sleep.

Posted on October 2nd, 2008 by broomhead. Filed under Article.
Tags: ikimono gakari