Why These Motifs Make Us Cry [Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]

"It's alright. You can stop now. Xion." Instantly made me teary eyed, despite knowing it was coming. Such a powerful moment. Names have power. Take away someone's name, their identity, their reputation, and you take away them as a person. Acknowledging Xion by name gave her the power to overcome and fight back.

I very explicitly remember the first time a video game made me cry was the final xion scene when I was maybe 12. I was on my DS on a car ride and it was hella awkward. Regardless that Ice Cream line do be hitting different with proper context

“We’ll call it BB—- We’ll call it block based composition” I burst out laughing good lord 😂

"Roxas showed her how to feel, and to care, and they both paid the price." is so heart-crushing, well put.

There's something that's never brought up in the video but it's something I've never been able to stop thinking of ever since I first noticed it. The first half of the block denoted in red is actually used in another song in Days, it's the glockenspiel of "At Dusk, I Will Think of You" and it goes for THE ENTIRETY of the song. If you take this part as being from "Dusk" and not "Xion" (because of how ever present it is) it's like her theme is calling back to those afternoons sitting on the clocktower with Axel and Roxas, a testament to why she Is. And if you take the alternative, it's like even when she's gone she's always there with Roxas on the tower. At dusk, I will think of you.

What makes Shimomura's work, and honestly just music in general, so incredible to me is that you can understand the meaning and emotion in the music without understanding music theory. You can feel it. And understanding the musical theory behind a piece doesn't ruin the magic at all it just makes you appreciate the intent and composer's artistry even more. You explain music theory better than any other music theory content creator I've watched, and you inject so much emotion in the explanation itself that it really makes watching you break down these pieces of music such a joy to watch!

And then in the KH3 version of Vector to the Heavens there is percussion and the tone of the song shifts as a result, showing just how much of a difference it made.

I still remember that I cried so bitterly over this fight and the end of the game that my mom asked me if something happened and if I'm alright, cause I looked like someone died

The biggest cruelty of this piece, I think, is how difficult it is for me to remember it, despite loving it so much. I can remember Sora's theme, I can remember Roxas' theme, but I can't remember how Xion's theme goes without outside help, yet every time I remember it, I cry as though I'm hearing it for the first time. There's a strange, beautiful, sad sense of irony to that, I think.

Xion, the girl who never was, who just wanted friends. She is honestly my favourite character, not just in kingdom hearts, but period.

I was an adult when the very first Kingdom Hearts game was released. I remember the first time playing it and the game made me feel like a kid, evoking so many feelings and memories watching these Disney properties and playing the Final Fantasy games growing up. I definitely know what you mean about the songs evoking such childhood wonder and emotions. I always laugh when people say they grew up with the series; the rare times I feel old.

“Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME 😭😭😭

I was crying like a baby when I heard Xion's theme in KH3, followed by seeing the Sea Salt Trio reuniting together, I just bawled out like crazy for about 6 minutes. 358/2 Days was my first KH game (not a good first game, I know), and I grew so close to Roxas, Axel, and Xion despite my annoyances with the game. I saw myself in all of them and the rest of O13, and I genuinely didn't want to fight Xion in the fight against her. I get why people think Kingdom Hearts is cringe. It can be dumb, inconsistent, and all around confusing. But beneath all of that, it's a genuinely emotional series that doesn't hold back when it's about to throw hands at your heart. So thank you, Jon. Thanks for helping me keep this series, and especially Xion, memorized.

Just wanted to say that using the title of the Xion’s theme as a quick gag at the beginning of the video and then hitting us at the end with the emotional punch of what the theme actually means is actually genius scriptwriting

Yoko Shimomura is a genius. This theme always makes me tear up.

She may not have supposed to exist, but as she’s easily my character in my favourite series of all time, I’m really glad she does. Her reunion in KH 3 and Data Boss fight are just the Cherry on top of the delicious cake that is Xion.

The VA and voicle lines during the boss fight make the music even better

Jonathan, this one made me tear up. Your editing here was phenomenal, and you made the whole thing easy to follow. What a wonderful work. This song has always been incredibly important to me, and looking at it through this analysis brought it even closer to my heart. I can't believe you mentioned Against all odds at 8:58. I heard it so many times and I KNEW that those progressions were familiar, but I could never pinpoint why! In some way I too was emotionally linked to Xion, but ultimately forgot her, just like Roxas. Vector to the heavens has always been a slap to my face. You're so right in saying it makes us reluctant to approach the fight, because whenever I got to that point in game it always felt like I was punching with my right fist, then punching myself with the left for daring to do such a thing to our best, most precious friend in game. It was a slow, painful fight, with an overwhelming music surrounding us screaming at us "Is this what you want to do? Do you really want to go on, and attack and kill your best friend?" She was unrecognisable and distorted, but undeniably it was still *her*. It all happens so fast, while you remember all the beautiful times you spent together in that location. I think that's still one of the most impactful scenes I played in games as a whole. The way you explained leitmotifs was incredible too: I never before realized that they weren't linked to notes but to intervals, and that makes them beautifully versatile in musical composition. It's always there, recognisable and familiar, even when used in different contexts. In my musical ignorance I always pictured leitmotifs as a smooth, short dance move. The piece is a choreography, it rises and lowers in tension and pathos, but you can alway slide in a more familiar move to link everything together Also, I had never seen that KH3 scene before! Thanks for the free feels :) Overall I am SO happy to see new works from you. You've been going for a year strong, and I'm really proud of how your content has organically evolved in its presentation the more you explored it. Every new video from yours is unique, perfectly tailored for the track you want to tackle, and that grants special insights in the most meaningful tassels that build the music we all cherish and love. Thank you so, so much for your hard work, every video of your truly helps us appreciate the tracks most close to us even more :)

Excellent, just excellent. The jokes, the clear visuals, the pathos. Even disregarding how invested I am in the topic (Vector to the Heavens is one of my favorite pieces to play), you make engaging soundtrack analysis seem so effortless.

It feels like a failure -- Sora's failure, Roxas's failure, Axel's failure, my failure -- that her existence turned out that way. 358/2 Days doesn't get enough love, but the story was definitely worth playing, for better or worse. I both love and hate whenever Xion gets mentioned or shown off in any way... Mostly because it worked. That final fight? Oh, that caused so much pain, and it WAS very much a "why did it have to turn out this way" situation. Xion and Xion's music make me feel so much sadness.