Komm, süsser Tod (Arianne song)

Komm, süsser Tod is a song composed and arranged by Shirō Sagisu, with English lyrics by Mike Wyzgowski and vocals performed by Arianne. Director Hideaki Anno wrote the original Japanese lyrics, which Wyzgowski adapted into English for the finished recording. The song was used during Human Instrumentality in the animated film The End of Evangelion (1997), accompanying the apocalyptic sequence in which humanity merges into a single existence. Sagisu conceived its musical arrangement around a deliberate contrast between the song's upbeat sound and the sorrowful character of Anno's lyrics, combining piano, strings, guitar, and gospel vocals. Commentators have similarly noted the contrast between its cheerful sound and themes of guilt, self-loathing, interpersonal pain, and self-annihilation, interpreting the song in relation to the Freudian concept of Thanatos, or destrudo, and as a reflection of Shinji Ikari's psychological state during Human Instrumentality.

King Records first released "Komm, süsser Tod" on August 1, 1997, as the second track of the single "Thanatos: If I Can't Be Yours", issued under the title "The End of Evangelion". The single reached number two on the Oricon Singles Chart, receiving a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan. King Records subsequently included the song on The End of Evangelion and numerous Evangelion compilation albums. Sagisu and other musicians have produced several rearrangements and cover versions, including recordings by Megumi Hayashibara, Megumi Ogata, and Mili. Following the release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in 2021, the Director's Edit version reached number one on Spotify's Japanese Weekly Viral Top 50. Critics have praised the song's juxtaposition with the film's disturbing imagery and frequently described both the song and its accompanying sequence as among the most memorable elements of The End of Evangelion.

Background and composition Shirō Sagisu is a Japanese composer and music producer who had previously collaborated with director Hideaki Anno on the television series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990–1991). Anno subsequently selected Sagisu to compose the music for Neon Genesis Evangelion, and their collaboration continued with the 1997 film The End of Evangelion. For the film, Sagisu composed both "Komm, süsser Tod" and "Everything You've Ever Dreamed"; the latter was conceived as an alternative possibility alongside "Komm, süsser Tod" before the latter was ultimately used in the film. In the final version of The End of Evangelion, the soundtrack features two English-language songs: "Thanatos: If I Can't Be Yours", used during the film's credits sequence, and "Komm, süsser Tod", which accompanies Human Instrumentality, an apocalyptic event in which humanity merges into a single, complete existence. Sagisu recalled recording the song in March 1997 and preparing two versions of the song's latter section, one with vocals and one without. Anno had initially requested a choir; Sagisu chose the London Community Gospel Choir, drawing on the repeated refrains characteristic of gospel music. Sagisu himself regarded both "Thanatos" and "Komm, süsser Tod" as songs that marked a new direction for anime music. He explained that anime songs had traditionally drawn from Japanese popular and idol music, with limited interchange with Western pop. For the two songs, Sagisu discarded those conventions and pursued a different approach, which he linked to Hideaki Anno's eclecticism and the increasing diversity of anime music during the 1990s.

Hideaki Anno wrote the song's original lyrics in Japanese, while Mike Wyzgowski subsequently wrote the English lyrics for the finished recording. Anno's original text adopts the perspective of a speaker overwhelmed by anxiety and self-loathing, who fears both rejection and harm from others, but fears even more inflicting pain on the people he loves. Convinced that emotional intimacy inevitably results in suffering, the speaker rejects love and turns his destructive impulses inward. The lyrics ultimately present self-annihilation and a "return to nothingness" as an escape from interpersonal pain: by entering a state without other people, the speaker imagines a place free from emotional uncertainty and the possibility of being hurt. According to Wyzgowski, Sagisu generally provided him with a brief outline or keywords and otherwise allowed him to develop the lyrics independently. Wyzgowski did not contribute to the song's musical style, attributing its slide guitar, choir and extended closing section entirely to Sagisu; his production involvement extended only to occasional lyrical changes that Sagisu requested during studio sessions. South African singer Arianne Schreiber, credited mononymously as Arianne, performed the song. Schreiber moved to London around 1992 and, according to Shirō Sagisu, began preparing for a solo debut with producer Lenny Franchi after attracting the attention of George Michael. Wyzgowski similarly recalled meeting Schreiber while she recorded demo material, shortly after Michael signed her to his record label. In November 1996, while Sagisu searched in London for a vocalist for "Komm, süsser Tod", Franchi introduced him to Schreiber. She subsequently traveled with Sagisu to Japan in January 1997, where she spent four days in Tokyo and recorded the vocals for "Komm, süsser Tod" and "Everything You've Ever Dreamed" at a King Records studio.

Music and lyrics

A Neon Genesis Evangelion soundtrack booklet noted that Shirō Sagisu's arrangement for "Komm, süsser Tod" begins with a piano introduction, followed by flowing strings that gradually heighten the song's emotional effect. The liner notes from the Refrain of Evangelion album also describe "Komm, süsser Tod" as deliberately contrasting its rhythmic arrangement with the "heartrending sorrow" of Anno's lyrics, and compare this approach to Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space (1982), which similarly used a song written by its chief director during a crucial scene near the end of the film. Sagisu himself highlighted the ascending and descending movement of the string arrangement. He cited the Instrumentality sequence as an example of what he called the "unplanned harmonies" that frequently emerged between music and imagery in Neon Genesis Evangelion, which he believed could simultaneously exhibit both correspondence and contrast between sound and picture. Sagisu also attempted to rotate the guitar sound of "Komm, süsser Tod" across all surround channels. Anno asked him to compose the piece so that every element, from the harmonic progressions to the instrumental layering, would match the onscreen imagery.

SoraNews24 reporter and musician Seiji Nakazawa characterized the original version of "Komm, süsser Tod" as having a "joyous U.K. rock feel". During its latter half, a gospel choir gradually enters the arrangement, with the overlapping voices accompanying the film as it approaches its climax. Gabriella Botello of Fandango Latam compared the song's combination of grand piano and acoustic guitar to the Beatles' "Hey Jude", noting that its initially cheerful sound builds toward a more psychedelic climax near the end. SlashFilm's Devin Meenan interpreted "Komm, süsser Tod" as giving voice to Shinji's desire to die as Human Instrumentality begins, reading Instrumentality as an allegory for suicide. Nicolo Manaloto of Epicstream noted the "sharp contrast" between the song's upbeat sound and the unsettling imagery of the Third Impact, and considered its lyrics an encapsulation of Shinji's feelings and story. He interpreted the lyrics' sadness, guilt, and self-loathing as reflections of Shinji's emotional state, while reading the phrase "tumbling down" as a reference both to his emotions and to the events of the Third Impact. Sage Ashford of Comic Book Resources similarly noted the contrast between the song's upbeat sound and its despairing lyrics, which express regret, self-reproach and a desire for death. Max Covill of Polygon connected the use of "Komm, süsser Tod" over "disturbing crayon drawings" to Anno's earlier experimentation with avant-garde techniques in Gunbuster. Writers Kazuhisa Fujie and Martin Foster further linked both "Thanatos: If I Can’t Be Yours" and "Komm, süsser Tod" to the Freudian concept of Thanatos, or destrudo—the death drive, an impulse toward self-dissolution, destruction, and ultimately the death of oneself and others. Critics and official materials identified the conflict between the life and death drives as central to Shinji's struggle throughout the series and The End of Evangelion.

Release King Records released "Komm, süsser Tod" on August 1, 1997, as the second track on the single "Thanatos: If I Can't Be Yours", issued under the catalog number KIDA-155 and the name "The End of Evangelion". The single also contains its title track and "II Air", an arrangement of the second movement of Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068. The single's cover features a computer-generated artwork by designer Norihiko Netsu. King Records also included the song on The End of Evangelion, the film's soundtrack album, as the tenth track under the title "Komm, süsser Tod (M-10 Director's Edit. Version)". The label released the album on September 26, 1997, under the catalog number KICA-370. Both the original and Director's Edit versions of "Komm, süsser Tod" later appeared on Neon Genesis Evangelion: S² Works, released on December 4, 1998; the Director's Edit version subsequently appeared on Evangelion: The Day of Second Impact, released on September 13, 2000. The song was later included on the album Refrain of Evangelion, released on July 24, 2003, and Neon Genesis Evangelion Decade, released on October 26, 2005. The A.T. EVA01 Reference CD, released on December 20, 2007, featured a remastered version. King Records later included the song on both Neon Genesis Evangelion Soundtrack 25th Anniversary Box and Evangelion Finally, both released on October 7, 2020.

A remix titled "Komm, süsser Tod – Tumbling Down-Mix (M-10)" appeared as the thirteenth track on Evangelion-Vox, released on December 3, 1997, an album featuring hip-hop and R&B reinterpretations of Sagisu's music. Produced by Mash, the version features Loren on lead and backing vocals, the London Gospel Choir on backing vocals, Shirō Sagisu on synthesizer and drum programming, Yasuharu Nakanishi on Hammond organ, and Yoshinobu Takeshita on acoustic bass. On October 23, 2013, King Records released Evangelion PianoForte #1, the first piano concept album in the Evangelion franchise, with Shirō Sagisu as producer, under the catalog number KICA-3216. The album includes "M10_nakanishi_arianne", a version of "Komm, süsser Tod", as its fifth track. For the track, Sagisu extracted the piano and vocal parts from the original recording, leaving only Yasuharu Nakanishi's piano, Arianne's lead vocals, and the London Community Gospel Choir's backing vocals.