Ratings

Iron lotus is the only mili song I have listened to so far that is equal to children of the city for me. Let’s get the negatives out of the way, I don’t speak Chinese (shocker!) so some of the lyrics were impossible for me to understand without a translation (奶糖 ‘White Rabbit’, 麦芽糖 ‘Starch Syrup’, etc.) which doesn’t exactly bring it down for me but it is something I do have to address when making this rating. Now onto the upsides which is literally everything. The theme fits perfectly with Xiao’s personality, the instrumentals are good, the pacing is good for a 4 minute song, the transitions are good and lyrics are good. Also the song just sounds really interesting, which is mainly the reason why it’s at the same level as children of the city for me. Children of the city has better lyrics, but I’d say iron lotus makes up for the deficit in lyrical depth (IN COMPARISON!) with how pleasing it sounds on the ears. This song is straightforward in what it wants to get across, which is love, loss, and regret. To start off, lines like “Despite our promises, here I am following your steps I’m following your steps” The promises in question being to survive and live happily, which going into the library is quite literally the antithesis of (since it’s basically guranteed death unless your name is Phillip or like 12 other exceptions.) The next line adds something new to the analysis: “I am fire Burn those who dare to care for me And my fuel are memories, fuel are memories you They perish with the heat, perish with the heat So I can move on” This is obviously not literally, but she still “burned” many of those she cared for with her words and actions. She is not called the Maiden of Iron for nothing, as her personality was essentially a pushback against anyone, friend or foe. This is especially shown to be true at the reception finale when Miris tries to talk sense into her, just to be shot down brutally by Xiao, who’s trying to keep her Stalwart persona in the face of actual sadness. Xiao eventually got back to her senses, but only after she was cooled down, or the “fire” dissipating. I’m barely 1/5th through my take and I’m almost halfway at the character limit, so I’ll leave this take with my final statement on this song, which is that this song is so, so damn good, and I have absolutely zero regrets ranking it so highly. Actual masterpiece.

This song is actually the pinnacle. The fact that it is on equal footing with Iron Lotus for me is saying a lot. The lyrics push the theme of the prescripts so well, the instrumentals are light yet get pushed out of the way by Cassie Wei's vocals to create this sort of perfect harmony where it's just the right amount of each. Every lyric is something that relates to Yan completely and is integral to his character, this can be shown within the opening prescripts: "Sleep for a total of 800 hours per day And then drink a liter of milk but not before you go play Only eat, or write Or pull the trigger with your right hand Only thing that's left Is to work on following commands" being forced to comply with ridiculous demands by the prescript is what slowly broke him, especially when he already doesn't view the prescripts as a god like entity and more like a job, seeing no purpose to them. This is expanded on in the line(s): "By the time you realize You'll be restrained to a desk And with your dreams on the floor, you comply Eyes chained to the test In 30 minutes, find a groom or bride Bonus if brunette In 90 hours, spill their insides Paint your room picturesque" Yan does not want to do these things, yet still complies regardless due to there being no other way to get where he needs to be. That concept is further explored in the following line: "Pick up a knife and stab a familiar warm body Learn to fight before I knew love nor bitterness of coffee Snippy scissors cut down the strings I set myself free Only to figure out everything I chose was by proxy" Yan, killing loved ones and friends, sought a way to be free from the prescripts and their horrendous "missions", in which he was given such a chance by being bestowed messenger, which allowed him to forge prescripts instead of delivering the will of the city. Sadly, it was all part of the prescripts plan which is why "Everything I chose was by proxy", is a significant line, with proxy being by proxy of the city's will, as it was all pre-determined anyways. Yan assuming that he was free is what makes this song amazing, as he's living a false dream of freedom instead of the actual thing, completely unaware that there is no freedom in the city. "It takes my heart being broken and broken again To know that I am the reason why The sufferings never end" Yan knows what he is doing is wrong, acknowledges it, and attempts to help people while delivering the prescripts, yet it's all for naught as it ends badly eventually one way or another. He is the reason why they are suffering, yet also the reason they are suffering less than they would. "Children of the city sees only the neon stars Reflected upon the murky gutter sky Don't ask me why I desperately wish to be noticed by the city's night" Yan probably just wants to have a good life, with recognition and status without having to harm anyone, which is what I assume this line means. "Do not go home until you finish reading the value of E." seems like a bizarre thing to include, but it's really just the cherry on top to the entire mockery of Yan by the prescripts. In my opinion it may be quite repetitive just like the delete segment of through patches of violet, but in my opinion holds much more meaning. This entire analysis is EXTREMELY simplified, and I wish I could put more but there is a character limit for these takes. This song is actually on another level.

Before today I despised this song with all of my heart alongside disliking compass. I now see that's not because the song was actually "bad", but because I didn't pay attention to it. Between two worlds is a curveball for me, I still don't like the light world segment of the song, I can understand why some people would but for me it is way too sluggish (which I admit, the point of it IS to the slow) and kind of hurts my ears. Now the dark world segment this why this song is good. The slow build up to the speed it reaches afterwards is highly appreciated, especially with it slowing down after. The instrumentals are quite good in the song, though not comparable to other Mili songs. Lyric wise it's also quite good, featuring hits like this: "Found a sunny spot, curled into a ball Spinning out the silk from my head to my toe Inside the warm cocoon, I dreamt to be like you Though I know there's no undo What do I have left to lose?" Sinclair growing up, slowly maturing as he lives in his upper-class home, just for it to be ripped away and for him to be dropped into a new world to be "born" once-more (came from the sky, dropped to earth): "Split, a sky A birth (a birth), an egg (an egg) A freshly opened membrane" which is what I believe in my interpretation at-least, though again I'm not some music theory expert or lyrical genius who understands this all, so be patient if this is a misunderstanding. I feel like this song is quite well after deeper analysis instead of just being a robot and calling it bad like I did before. I am happy I took the time to change my mind, overall quite enjoyable.

This take won't be nearly as long or in-depth as the others. This song is a perfect little balance between not doing too much and not doing too little. Fly my wings is quite a good song, I appreciate the piano in the background especially for what it adds to how the song overall sounds. This song is quite relaxing, it's short and still retains good lyrical depth within the song itself despite being one of the shorter songs. Lines like: "The mirror says that I still remember hope" are simple yet get the point across (much faster than the actual canto did). Something that really hooked me was this: "You're doing what you love Isn't that enough? Isn't that enough? A genius perfect job Isn't that enough? Isn't that enough? Again and Again you lock me down, I locked me down We staked me to the ground The soil gave me warmth" Yi Sang looks like he has everything, yet still has nothing, a short but bitter statement. The conclusion is a great wrap-up of the song and Yi Sang's character: "Please die little dreams Kill the Camellias in me Wouldn't it be easier to give in Why are these hands chasing dreams out of my reach is my thirst for normalcy wrong Fly, perfect wings Where have you been hiding? Bring to the mind that got us started Show them who I can be For the one last time, if you will That's all" Originally I was disappointed when listening to this song when I first heard it in-game, I was like "that's it?", but I've grown to like it more and more over time. Pretty good song, nice conclusion of Yi Sang's character through the perfect wings verse in which he (obviously) fixes his "broken wings" and rebuilds his dreams to pursue once-more. Also stabbed Dongrang so +++.

This song gives my back chills. The duet is actually top tier, it’s actually one of the reasons this song is rated so highly alongside the instrumentals and really good lyrics (Which is basically just me saying the entire song is REALLY good, which has already been said 9192928 times before.) The attempt to keep such a toxic connection stable in lines such as: “I must be the reason why you have given up your smiles And the hope inside your eyes has been stolen I must be the reason why you must tell me all these lies Wishing you a better life without me by your side” you can feel the bond that Catherine and “Heathcliff” share, but you know that they SHOULDN’T share that. I interpret that line as the Erlking and Catherine’s relationship, with the final line of the song: “I could be the reason why You were able to be kind And the hearts we held so tight won’t stay broken Love must be the reason why I still believe in this lie That you’ll live a better life without me by your side” as Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship. That may be an incorrect interpretation but nonetheless it is still a beautiful line. Lines also like: “This message has already been said through patches of violet” intrigued me seeing as how Catherine’s favorite flower was a beautiful shade of violet, which is why the line even exists in the first place. That’s obvious enough as it is, but it’s nice how Mili went the extra stev and added that in there. The whole delete segment interests me as to why there is so many in the song, Mili could have added less into the song and still got the point (and beat) across, which is virtually my only critique of the song (unless it has some sort of hidden meaning). What mainly gives this song its points is the INSANELY GOOD instrumentals. The first 20 seconds of the song as I’ve said before, give me chills. The usage of each instrument is very precise and beautiful, Mili obviously knew what they were doing and created yet another masterclass song. I have nothing more to say.