Musical theatre is the most obvious example of utilizing music and song to tell a story and show character development, but this method of storytelling also exists outside of musical theatre in the form of concept albums. More popular examples include The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance & American Idiot by Green Day, and more niche ones include the sequential albums Act I through Act IV by The Dear Hunter & The Fox and the Bird by Ok Goodnight.
Even more niche—in the United States at least—are the Hypnosis Microphone albums: a multimedia music project that tells the story of various characters by combining rap music with a variety of other music genres, giving each character their own solo songs to convey the progression of their arcs at whichever point in the overall story each song takes place. My favorite character is Rosho Tsutsujimori, a high school teacher who is thrust into the spotlight after he agrees to compete as part of a three-man rap group in a nationally televised event known as the Division Rap Battle. His character arc is my favorite out of all the characters because of how effectively his journey to become more confident and self-assured is portrayed throughout his solo songs.
Each rap group represents various Japanese cities—known in-universe as divisions—as well as a division’s defining cultural and social norms. Within the rap group known as Dotsuitare Hompo, representing the Osaka division, each of its three members—Sasara Nurude, Rei Amayado, and Rosho Tsutsujimori—stand in for the respective archetypes of the celebrity, the conman, and the ordinary civilian. Rosho is the latter: the everyman, the voice of reason, the straight man—quite literally, because Sasara is a famous comedian and Rosho’s designated funny man.
When the audience first meets Rosho at the start of his character arc, he’s afflicted with deep insecurities, emotional burdens, and crippling stage fright to boot that causes him to constantly stutter and trip over his words while teaching in front of his students. And the kicker? He’s never rapped a single bar in his entire life.
So, how does a high school teacher stand on the same level as a famous comedian whose first solo is chock-full of puns, wordplay, and an incredibly catchy chorus, and a conman whose first solo is tacky and gaudy and riddled with the excessive use of autotune and air horns (but in a good way)?
At first, he doesn’t. But that’s the point.
Compared to the faster-paced songs of his teammates, “Own Stage” is a slow jazz number—almost reminiscent of something on an ASMR playlist—which immediately helps it stand out from the other two songs on the album. The lyrics have Rosho rapping about the events of his past, comparing him and his best friend, Sasara to the moon and sun, respectively—always in each other’s orbit while simultaneously moving in the opposite direction. He talks about how even though the sun—Sasara—always outshined him, he still wanted to be just like him when in actuality, he should’ve been appreciating himself just the way he is and following his own dreams, rather than chasing after someone else’s. The song is bittersweet in its emphasis on Rosho’s memories of the past, and his desire to reconcile his failings with how he wants to move forward in the present.
Subsequently, Rosho’s second single “Under Sail” focuses on his feelings in the present day, with the lyrics talking about how the best thing you can do is to keep on trying and keep moving forward, no matter how hopeless you might feel. The song was released after the conclusion of the second Division Rap Battle, which Dotsuitare Hompo lost; despite that, Rosho’s confidence and self-esteem had taken a sharp upturn after strengthening his bond with Sasara, and “Under Sail” reflects Rosho’s character progression not just with its lyrics, but with its composition and instrumentals, as well. The lyrics are faster-paced and even have a bit of autotune layered over them, which complements the use of synth and chiptune to give the song a more “technological” feel that sets it apart from “Own Stage” in the best way possible.
“On My Way” is the latest entry in Rosho’s discography, having been released just last month in preparation for the third Division Rap Battle. It’s the fastest song in his discography, as well as the most modern-sounding, utilizing the synth and chiptune from “Under Sail” while leaning more heavily on electric guitar to give it more of a rock song vibe. My favorite part of the song is during the song’s chorus, where he sings the lines “I’m still on my journey/Just focused on the future/Re-tying my shoelaces/My enemy’s myself”. This is a reference to the chorus of “Own Stage,” where Rosho sings, “Even if I have to fall a hundred thousand times/No matter the frustration or the untied shoelaces/The destination will be reached”; it’s a beautiful demonstration of how Rosho’s character arc has come full circle, and how even though he still has stage fright, he isn’t letting it control his self-image and is making the active decision to better himself as a person in spite of it.