I like Shadow a normal amount

This song is the embodiment of grief.

In general, the song is sad as hell, but it can also be joyous and hopeful, like the feeling of revisiting happy memories with what (or who) you're grieving; the lyrics of the song reference Muse's first song (Bokura no LIVE Kimi to No LIFE), the first song ever written for them in the anime (Start Dash), and all 9 of the members.

In relation to revisiting happy memories, the song feels celebratory in some parts; the girls celebrate the fact that they made it to that final point together ("we made it here chasing the light because it's us," which also shows up again as the last line of the song (with "because it's us" not repeated), and the line "ima ga saiko" ("the greatest time is now") is repeated several times throughout, with "ima ga saiko" emphasizing the importance of cherishing the current moment with the people (and things) you hold precious (which can be associated with the process of grieving), following the lyric that asked if the girls wanted to rewind time to when they were still together.

I sometimes think this song won't make me sad if I let it play in my head for a bit, but then I re-remember an emotional lyric and feel myself start to cry all over again. Sometime a while back it was "the little bird's wings have finally grown large / it's a day to take flight," and the "because it's us" always makes me tear up, whether I'm thinking about all 9 seiyuus singing that, or if I ever feel like crying profusely and decide to rewatch the performance at their final concert.

Speaking of which, I didn't tell y'all this, but I showed my dad the aforementioned performance on the last day of our staycation last month, and it ended up becoming really symbolic of our time together. I treasure that night deeply.

Snow Halation used to be my GOAT (and, don't get me wrong, it's still a masterpiece), and it's really hard to choose just one favorite Muse song, but I honestly don't think any will be better than this one. It's so good.

Aki Hata writing Bokutachi Wa Hitotsu No Hikari, probably: