ANTIFRAGILE- LE SSERAFIM REYVIEW

ANTIFRAGILE- LE SSERAFIM

Well well, if it isn't the most awaited comeback of the month and the wait was all worth it. This song is an amazing Latin reggaeton inspired piece, sending the message of feminism by stating that this girl group isn't as fragile as everyone makes them out to be. Their name, 'LE SSERAFIM', is an anagram for 'IM FEARLESS', and the song is about being proud and confident like a lion despite the obstacles that they face. 

They are a five-member group consisting of Miyawaki Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha, and Hong Eunchae. They previously had a controversy with one of their members, Kim Garam, getting into a bullying scandal, which caused the company they are under to terminate her contact. This scandal brought the group negative attention and criticism, but I am very glad that this song was released as it represents their will to fight against controversy.

First Listening Experience

They exceeded all my expectations on this comeback as their debut song, Fearless, broke records and I thought that they would not be able to outdo that, but I was very wrong. This immediately went into my Spotify playlist and has been on repeat for a while. The hook of the song was so strong that I was immediately 'hooked' by the start of the song, and I found it very catchy. I found myself humming the hook "anti-ti-ti-ti-fragile" the whole day and dancing to it. I did, however, think that Kazuha's "lovey, lovey, lovey, dovey, dovey, dovey" part a big cringe and uncalled for. Other than that, I loved the song from the first listen as it was catchy and fun to listen to. 

The Music:

ANTIFRAGILE Album Art
Image from Spotify

This song is still as good as the first listen, and I do not think I will ever get over this comeback. The vocals are amazing and the mixing is done very well. The verses are my favorite parts, as Sakura and Eunchae's vocal huskier voices bring out this otherwise dim verse into something amazing. Yunjin and Chaewon's singing add a modern twist to the song as their vocal timbre is very flavorful unlike all the other vocalists out there. The rap is still a jarring part of the song as I feel like there could have been something more musically toned to replace it, but everyone else loves it, so I do feel a bit conflicted. One thing I can say is that the rap part is memorable and addictive due to the out of place and cringe-inducing lyrics. The production choices for making the hook repetitive were amazing, as that was the part that entranced everyone, and the instrumental is addictive and can serve as a hip-busting dance track.

On a side note, I found the album art is also very interesting as represents cracks filled with gold. This is a reference to the Japanese art called 'Kintsugi' which is filling cracks in pottery with gold sending the message of embracing flaws as is.

Favorite B-Side: Impurities

The Video

Dystopia
Image by LE SSERAFIM via YouTube

The concept was amazing and fresh as it shows a dystopic world where they fight to survive. The visuals are beautiful and fresh, but I do wish we got more "dirtier" looks where they do look the part of dystopian warriors. The outfits are very "sporty" yet fashionable, which makes them look amazing, and I personally felt the denim was an amazing touch, although the lack of rough beaten-up looks takes away from the dystopic feeling.

The sets are amazing for the video as we see them portray such dystopic landscapes beautifully or in this case very accurately to the point that I immediately got the theme that they were going for. 

Antifragile Dance
GIF via Tumblr

The dance is catchy and simple to attract even bad dancers like me to groove to each beat. The music video emphasizes the catchy hook dance steps and makes sure they are ingrained into the minds of everyone who watches. 

VHS Shot 
Image by LE SSERAFIM via YouTube

The camera work is sharp and uses various different editing techniques out of which my favorite is the old-school VHS shot where it seems like they used those old school cameras to film it. 

Favorite Member:

My favorite member this time round was definitely Kim Chaewon. Her charisma was so deadly and I could not keep my eyes off of her. Her dancing improved so much and her verse where she does this dance:

Chaewon Verse Dance
Image from Tumpik

had me gagged. THE CHARISMA, UNIQUENESS, NERVE, AND TALENT THAT SHE HAS THIS COMEBACK IS UNMATCHED. Her vocals are one of the best out there and the high note that she hits was just icing on top for me. The outfit that she has on in this GIF looks so amazing on her and she just killed it this comeback.

Rating:

Music

Catchyness: 10/10

Production: 10/10

Vocals: 9/10

Video

Theme: 10/10

Wardrobe: 9/10

Video Editing: 10/10

Dance: 10/10

Overall Rating: 9.6/10

Grade: A+