Lyrics
Japanese/German
Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind die Jäger! Wir sind die Jäger! Wir sind die Jäger! Wir sind die Jäger! Fumareta hana no namae mo shirazu ni Chi ni ochita tori wa kaze o machiwabiru Inotta tokoro de nani mo kawaranai Ima o kaeru no wa tatakau kakugo da... Shikabane fumikoete Susumu ishi o warau buta yo Kachiku no annei...Kyogi no han'ei...Shiseru garō no "Jiyuu" o! Torawareta kutsujoku wa hangeki no kōshi da Jōheki no sono kanata emono o hofuru Jäger Hotobashiru shōdō ni sono mi o yaki nagara Tasogare ni hi o ugatsu—-- Guren no yumiya Wir sind die Jäger! Wir sind die Jäger! Wir sind die Jäger! |
English
Are you the prey? No, we are the hunters! We are the hunters! We are the hunters! We are the hunters! Unknown are the names of the flowers that have been trampled Birds have fallen to the earth and long for the wind Prayers will not solve anything Only the will to fight can change the here and now! O pigs who laugh at the resolve to walk over corpses to move forward Livestock complacency? False prosperity? Give us the freedom of dying starving wolves! The humiliation of being caged is what triggers us to fight back We hunters slaughter prey beyond the castle Walls, consumed with surging bloodlust, as our crimson bows and arrows pierce scarlet holes into the twilight We are the hunters! We are the hunters! We are the hunters! |
Overview
Guren no Yumiya, often referred to as Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen or "Crimson Bow and Arrow", is the first of 7 current opening themes for the massive hit anime Attack on Titan. This opening was written and recorded by artist Linked Horizon, who also wrote the second, third, and fifth opening for Attack on Titan as well as the fourth ending. The theme runs from episode 1 to 13 of Season 1, being replaced by the next theme Jiyuu no Tsubasa in Episode 14.
There is no further information on the process of the song's conception and forming, only that the first three openings of Attack on Titan are all from the same album, Jiyuu e no Shingeki. As of 12/13/2022, the song sits at 122,844,436 streams on Spotify. |
Are you the prey? No, we are the hunters! " |
Analysis
Written Analysis
This was a much trickier song to try to analyze, as there are quite a few modulations that occur in the opening sequence. These modulations happen primarily in the intro and outro of the song, which help it pick up intensity near the end of phrases. The song is very reliant on i, VI, and VII or v chords to help move along the melodic lines. At the very end of the sequence, the last two measures seem to be in a 3 feel, perhaps 3/4 or 6/4 for one measure. This is another example of hyper meter appearing in an opening sequence, although another form of it. This opening is very programmatic to the show it opens for, which is clear in the style of music, the orchestration, and the accompanying animation. Instruments heard in the back easily are guitars, drums, full orchestra and choir, bass, lead vocals, and synthesizers. Guren no Yumiya is also unique in the sense that in combines multiple languages, with Japanese and German both playing significant roles in the song. Isayama, the creator has always had a very prominent role in the production of his show, and would hand-pick artists to create his openings and endings for him. There are also included pages of manga that go hand in hand with the chaos of the music in the opening sequence. This song is often grouped into fantasy rock or just plain "Soundtracks". |
Form and Musical Analysis
Tempo: 180 BPM Time Signature: 4/4 Key: C# minor/G# minor Song Length (Full): 5:10 Chords Intro (C# minor) i - - - VI - - - (Em) i - - - VI - - - Verse (G# Minor) i - - - VI - - VII (4x) Pre-Chorus (C# Minor) III - - - V7/v - - - v - V/VII - VII - viiDim - i - - - VII - - - VI - - - vsus4 - V - Chorus (C# minor) i - - - VI - - - VII - - - III - v6/4 - (3x) i - - - VI - - - VII - - - i Outro (C# major) i - - - VI - - - (Em) i - - - VI - - - i - - - VI - - - (Gm) i - - - VI - - - i |
Notable Information
1.) The melodic line heard throughout the opening sequence for Guren no Yumiya is used as a leitmotif in other openings and songs by Linked Horizon, including Jiyuu no Tsubasa (2nd opening) and Shoukei to Shikabane no Michi (5th opening) of Attack on Titan.
2.) On November 7 2021, U.S. Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) of Arizona's 4th district tweeted an edited video of the opening sequence from Attack on Titan with the caption "Any Anime fans out there?". The video was edited to put his face on a soldier, attacking titans with U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and President Joe Biden's faces superimposed on them. Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for an investigation, and on November 17th the video was deemed as a threat. Gosar was censured and removed from all committee responsibilities as a result. |