Hello everyone! Justin here and welcome to the Otaku Mind. Eve, to his fans his name means Excellent voice everytime. Over the last few years, Eve has been getting the recognition and attention he so rightfully deserves. Having songs for animes and even getting his own Netflix movie. Whether you’ve been a fan of his music for years or have only just discovered him, you’ll be amazed at how great his voice is and how creative his music videos are. So creative that they could actually work as their own anime shorts. I’ve praised the work of Eve ever since discovering him and it only seems right to show my appreciation by naming what I consider to be my favorite songs from the man himself. This is your boy Justin, and these are my top 11 Favorite Eve Songs.
#11. Yamiyo
If you’re like me you discovered Eve through the anime Dororo. Serving as the second ending this song cuts deep. It’s a very calming song that puts you at ease. Like no matter how bad things are or get they’ll somehow someway work out. The world is cruel and tough, but there are also things in it that give you happiness and comfort. This song also captures the relationship between Dororo and Hyakkimaru perfectly. As Hyakkimaru struggles with his humanity and everyone around him sees him as nothing more than a monster out to destroy their happiness, Dororo is the one person who sees him for what he truly is; a human being who deserves to live and who she will never abandon. A great song that’s a blessing to the ears and a good song to introduce you and your friends to Eve.
#10. Leo
Out of all of Eve’s songs this one might be the saddest of the bunch and his most underrated. Why? Because it focuses on suicide. After reading the lyrics and listing to the song multiple times, a lot of fans have come to this conclusion. The song perfectly depicts a person committing suicide and their lover crying out for them. Eve does a good job depicting the song from the perspective of the lover and the suicide victim we will call Leo. The lover has a high and loud voice that’s filled with worry and concern while Leo has a low and sober voice filled with sadness and loss. The music also contributes to the imagery of this song as it feels like we’re listening to the final thoughts of someone about to take their last breath and hearing everything going on around them. This whole song serves as a message to anyone out there suffering from depression or know someone dealing with depression to seek help and talk to someone.
#9. Heart Forecast
Moving on to something more pleasant. Serving as an ad for chocolate, this song is straightforward and encapsulates the feelings of a young girl working up the courage to confess their feelings on Valentine’s Day. It’s really hard to put into words why this song is so good. It’s as if happiness was the song itself it just satisfies you whenever you hear it and you want more of it in your life. The animation for this song is also great. Like I said, Eve’s songs do a good job telling a story that could make for a good anime short and this really does feel like I’m watching a school romcom. This was some good marketing that I’m sure paid off in the long run.
#8. Rioter
I believe that’s the title of this song. I used Google translate so I’m not 100% sure this is accurate. One of Eve’s newest songs and one that goes incredibly hard. One of the themes in Eve’s music is society and breaking away from their norms to be yourself and pursue your passions. And in a country where that’s frowned upon and discouraged at times this song really speaks volumes. This is one of those songs where you don’t need to understand everything they’re saying, just watch the video and you’ll put everything together. The guitar in this song is amazing and the animation is spectacular. Like something out of a movie. While I understand society has rules and standards it wants us to adhere to I do believe we should allow others to be themselves, pursue the things they love, and stand out if they chose to.
#7. Don’t Replay the Boredom
Another one of Eve’s newest songs and one that tackles a very heavy issue plaguing the world right now. Our addiction to media, how it controls us, the dopamine rush we get from it, and our desire not to be bored. The visuals in this song are great. A lot of the characters we see in this video are characters from his previous videos showing this song has some connection to them and worth checking out if you liked this song. This might sound weird for a content creator to say but sometimes I think we need to turn off the media and focus more on the world and people around us to understand them and keep our human connections.
#6. How to Eat Life
This was the song that made me say Eve is amazing and worth my attention. Based off a manga called Kara no Kioku which was written by Eve himself, this was a bop to listen to. The melody of the song and the way it transitions is like a rollercoaster ride for the ears. The song just like the manga is focusing on inner struggles and the dangers of them consuming us. The song makes a lot of callbacks to some of Eve’s previous works, Literary Nonsense and other songs I’ll talk about later once again showing a continuous story at play here. Once again the animation is amazing here. If this was an anime I would totally watch it. If you liked this song definitely give the manga read, it’s good.
#5. We’re Still Underground
One of Eve’s most well-known songs and easily one of his best. First off, this song features the best animation from all of Eve’s videos. The animation was done by Wit Studios and by God did they go all out here. I don’t know if a lot of money was poured into the production but I want to see Wit do more of this. The theme of this song is something I’m sure everyone can relate to, growing up. Making the move from kid to teenager, developing an ego, becoming an adult and the changes you will experience throughout life. Some of these changes will be good while others will be bad. Sometimes you’ll have to say goodbye to things you love but you won’t forget them. In the end, the world is comical to the point of absurdity, and all you can do is go out there and make it the best show possible.
#4. Outsider
Why can’t you let people stand out and be themselves Japan? Outsider is another song that focuses on society sucking the color (literally) out of everyone and making them conform to a monochrome world where nothing stands out and everyone is the same. The symbolism in this song is off the scale. I had to watch this video multiple times to process everything that I saw. There were so many hidden meanings and each time I found myself digging deeper and deeper into what they symbolized. It’s an awesome song but it can’t top Eve’s original song of individuality. Speaking of-
#3. Dramaturgy
https://youtu.be/O8IhTEi3U9U (Live)
The world’s a stage and we’re all actors improvising our lines. If I was doing a list naming Eve’s best songs this one would definitely take the top spot. Dramaturgy is the song that put everyone on notice that Eve is awesome and worth checking out. If Persona 5 was a song this is definitely the song it would be. Wearing masks to hide our true identities and trying to be true to ourselves. The whole song is like a character study of someone losing their true self and wearing a mask to keep up appearances for the world but gaining the courage they need to remove the mask and face the world with their true faces. Life is hard, sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want it to, but that doesn’t mean you need to give up. Keep moving forward pursuing what you want and don’t forget who you truly are.
#2. Kaikai Kitan
https://youtu.be/ijXeGqSRNJc (Live)
The song that made Eve gain recognition in the west. If you didn’t know who Eve was before this song you knew who he was now and you were addicted. While not his most meaningful song this was a song where you could tell Eve was on top of his game. Seriously, nothing feels off here. The lyrics, the beat, the music, this is Eve delivering an epic song for an epic anime and holding nothing back in setting the tone for the series. An addicting song I still listen to and the fact that it has three music videos on his channel is proof of its popularity.
And number one. . .
#1. Last Dance
I love this song. I love it to death. Just like Kaikai Kitan Eve was on top of his game here but unlike the previous song, this one has a deep meaning with great lyrics and an instrumental to match. Now for the longest time I thought this song was about drug addiction but I recently watched a video that debunks that theory. For starters, the characters are in a hospital, so it wouldn’t be giving its patients LSD as I originally thought. Not to mention Japan has very strict drug laws so getting your hands on them in Japan would be next to impossible and they discourage the representation of them in the media outside of tobacco and alcohol. So what else could it be? Anti-depressants or painkillers. Now this is just my theory on the video so take it or leave it. I believe the main character who we will call Dancer had dreams of dancing but suffered a serious injury to his feet or legs which caused him to be hospitalized. Now he is either depressed because his career is over and needs anti-depressants to cure his depression or the painkillers to null the pain he’s feeling. As the song continues we see a woman named Mika who was his dance partner come and visit him from time to time. I believe she’s trying to see if they’ll be able to dance again which unfortunately they won’t and thus Dancer and Mika have to address the truth of the situation at the end of the song whether they like it or not. They can’t put on a mask and pretend that everything is fine like idiots, they have to address the reality of this situation and figure out what to do next. Out of Eve’s songs this is probably the one song that has the most callbacks to his previous works. It references Literary Nonsense, Dramaturgy, Outsider, Tokyo Ghetto, and even Demon Dance Tokyo. In my opinion, this song is the perfect gateway into Eve’s music. It sounds great, very imaginative, open to interpretation, and will make you want to check out his other songs to figure out what they were referencing in this song and how it all ties in.
And that’s list. What’s your favorite Eve song? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.