Caramel Milk 🥛

album cover for comparison

The reason for this association is not necessarily in the song itself, but in the whole album. There's a ratio in every song of very energetic, usual rock themes and sounds to more sensual, romantic and passionate lyrics and instrumentals. Some songs like Blue Highway and (Do Not) Stand in The Shadows are more heavy on the former, while others e.g. Eyes Without a Face on the latter. and then there's The Dead Next Door that doesn't really fit into either category when it comes to lyrics but still slaps - and, in relation to Mine's character (remember that's what we're talking about), fits into the way his doom is inevitable as it is ultimately a result of going through life dependent on money and status.

I think the combination of these themes and sounds - the way sometimes you really have to listen to the song to see the sensuality in them, while other times it's very explicitly sentimental - reminds me of Mine's character, mainly in relation to Daigo. Much of what he does has a seemingly clear point; power, status, whatever. But at the end of the day, his love and respect for Daigo are the fundamental reason for most of his actions in Yakuza 3.

I associate this split in the songs' presentation with Mine's denial in his feelings for Daigo - the acknowledgement of Daigo's kind nature, but the refusal to accept that he can be changed by it -, in opposition with the display of them, especially in the finale of the game, but also indirectly in multiple other previous scenes.

The reason I attach Flesh for Fantasy specifically to this drawing is honestly mainly in its instrumental. It starts slow and quiet, then builds up and then explodes in the chorus, only to start all over again at the same pace (haha like the beginning of the song get it). This formula is something I see in Mine. His professionalism is something he relies on, and a big part of his technical and non-emotional persona. But it slowly becomes clear he's much more irrational and unstable than he appears. There's a lot of build up to moments where he loses his self-control and he always goes back to his serious, unaffected attitude, only for it to keep happening. He can't escape himself, the same way the song reaches the same conclusion over and over again.

The ending of the song in my mind also coincides with the end of the game, where Mine's character finally reaches a point of peace and acceptance, just like the song ends calmly, preceded by an equally peaceful buildup, thus breaking the cycle of explosiveness.