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There’s a special, familial reason Utada Hikaru looks so natural and unguarded in her new video

Casey Baseel Mar 31, 2021
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Part of the 21-million-view video for Evangelion theme “One Last Kiss” was filmed by a five-year-old.

It was sort of a foregone conclusion that Utada Hikaru’s “One Last Kiss” was going to be a hit. A brand-new song from an undeniable top-tier A-lister of the J-pop world, which is also the ending theme for the final Evangelion movie, is destined to to get plenty of attention, and Utada’s melancholy yet comforting vocals make for an unforgettable listening experience.

But even still, it’s amazing to see just how popular the “One Last Kiss’” music video is, racking up over 21 million views since its release three weeks ago. It’s not some lavish, big-budget video with fancy sets, elaborate costumes, or hordes of background performers, either. The real appeal is the intimate atmosphere as the camera shows Utada in scenes of ordinary life, with the shots of her at home feeling especially personal.

And it turns out there’s a reason for that, because the person filming some of those at-home scenes was none other than her five-year-old son.

Utada herself revealed the familial assistance in a recent tweet.

パジャマ姿でベッドの上で息子にiPhoneで撮ってもらった私やカメラマンの友達と近所の公園てくてくしたり小旅行に行ってきゃっきゃしながら撮ってもらった私の映像が2週間で2000万回も再生されて場所によっては街中でも流れていると知って戦慄している

— 宇多田ヒカル (@utadahikaru) March 28, 2021

“It makes me shudder knowing that video I had my son record on an iPhone of me in bed in my pajamas, and that my cameraman friend took of me walking around the park and on a local trip have been watched over 20 million times in two weeks and are playing on monitors throughout the city.”

The tone of Utada’s tweet is tongue-in-cheek, implying more surprise that something created in such casual circumstances has now been seen by so many as opposed to genuine distress at a loss of privacy. Knowing this, going back and watching the “One Last Kiss” video again shows a couple of around-the-house sequences that definitely look like they were shot from toddler-height, like when Utada makes herself into a blanket monster.

Likewise, the relaxed, unguarded clips of her out and about aren’t just showing a top-of-her-game professional musician, but also a person spending time with a personal friend.

And for Eva fans, a mother singing “I’ll love you more than you’ll ever know” while her son is standing right in front of her adds yet another emotional element, bringing to mind anime protagonist Shinji’s having little-to-no memories of his own mom, and how much time he spends wondering if he’s ever truly been loved by anyone.

All in all, not bad at all for a collection of one mother’s home videos.

Source: Twitter/@utadahikaru via Hachima Kiko
Images: YouTube/Hikaru Utada
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