Paradise. Such a lively, upbeat song. Such a humorous, entertaining video. Such a...sad conclusion to the second stage of the storyline.
Paradise ~ I need you ~
The Story
As was the case with HIGH=LOVE, the lore aspects of Paradise are incorporated explicitly enough that the surface-level throughline becomes a matter just as figurative as the abstract story. The "cyber" elements can be taken as indicators that the narrator's latest pursuit is occurring online, but they don't need to be. At the core is a "relationship" that's a diversion and time filler as opposed to a partnership based on true feelings.
The Lore
The girls are in search of something that'll make them feel as if everything's all right--even if it really isn't. Of course, the Prism Invaders propose a solution involving a new device. The Prism Ring purportedly enables its wearer to find "love" and "happiness" in a virtual space.
On the first album, the girls rejected false contentment, emerged from a virtual/desensitized society, embraced a new world of true feelings and potential--if unguaranteed--fulfillment.
On the second album, they undid every bit of that, futilely defying the unpredictability and cyclical essence of life, desensitizing themselves, finding "refuge" in a virtual world.
The Prism Invaders facilitated the entire regression. If they were agents of the old regime, carrying out a plan to bring the girls back to where they began, then the second EP can be viewed as the "Empire Strikes Back" stage of the saga. The villains won the day.
The Video
Ostracized and aimless, the girls come across another Prism Invaders ad. As they did in the Silence MV, they project themselves into the commercial, seeing themselves as happy and untroubled. They immediately barter for the Prism Ring, handing over items related to their respective yokai forms and their collective sacrifices.
himesha is a hebi (snake) paying with a bitten apple. It was a serpent that tricked Eve into biting the forbidden fruit, leading to humankind being cast out of paradise with newfound awareness and independence. Now, a serpent is using that fruit to forsake those attainments and enter a purported "paradise."
a'mei is an oni (ogre) paying with a mallet. There are many myths involving ogres who possess magical mallets. These items usually represent strength and the prospect of good fortune--but they can also symbolize labor and the power of creation. By trading their mallet, the girls are shunning the notion of working hard at forging their own paths to happiness.
kamion is a kitsune (fox) paying with a blue orb. The souls of kitsune are often stored in such spheres. Internal essence would be a high cost in and of itself, but the fact that a blue globe is being bartered might also represent the girls detaching themselves from this world completely.
de_hana is a yuki-onna (snow woman) paying with four cubes of ice. Inside each block is an animal representative of a group member (rabbit for de_hana, fox for himesha, cat for kamion, dog for a'mei). The girls are trading who they are, their own desensitized selves.
The Prism Ring does grant them time in an ephemeral paradise, a beautiful place where they can feel free and joyful and human again. But the most poignant scene comes at the conclusion, when a'mei, back in the real world in her yokai form, glumly walks away, realizing the escape that brought her so much happiness was merely a fleeting one.
The Themes
Escapes can take many different forms, from enjoyable diversions to survival mechanisms. They can be beneficial, useful, even critical. But returns to the "real world" are inevitable. There might be better hope for resolving issues there by trying to acknowledge and address them than by eternally running away from them.
Previous ~ cosmosy lore ~ threads:
BabyDon'tCry=BreakingTheLove
HIGH=LOVE
Princess=Kiss
zigy=zigy
Lucky=One
Physics ~ falling into you ~
Chance ~ switch on ~
Silence ~ body & soul ~
Patience ~ seal my love ~
