Before streaming a little more of Shadow Hearts 1 last night, I went to karaoke for an hour or two and sang a bunch of songs, one was the Shadow Hearts 2 Ending Theme, which almost always makes me cry. It’s become a sort of game to see how far I can go without sobbing to death. I’m not actually trying to sing well here; I’m absolutely letting my emotions take control on purpose.
The reason why this song has such an emotional impact on me, even after 17 years is based on the story and characters, so I can’t really explain it without spoiling the story, which I won’t do here. But just know that my strong emotional reaction to this song isn’t a negative thing but is actually proof of how amazing the storytelling and character development was to cause such a visceral reaction.
This is a series of clips from my latest karaoke session in which I entirely fail to not only to keep my emotions in check but also utterly fail to sing properly whatsoever. Some might only see it as total cringe, but maybe it’s somewhat amusing as well, given the context.
Here’s the full video and the individual clips will follow below:
Clip #1: 泣くしかない / All I can do is cry…
Clip #2: オープニングのピアノで完全に泣く / Completely sobbing with the first piano notes
Clip #3: Okay, okay! I’ll sing!
Clip #4: もう無理… / I can’t take it any more…
Clip #5: 無理無理無理 / nope nope nope
Clip #6: もう無理だよ、この曲… 弘田さん！！ / I can’t bear this song anymore… Hirota-san!!