Epic: the Musical: the Curated Fanimatic Series

This review was fast lane commissioned by @Kaiya


"Epic: the Musical" is a multi-part concept album - released in stages from 2022 up to the present - by a team led by indie musician Jorge Rivera-Herrans. It's meant to be a musical adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, and supposedly takes a lot of cues from anime and videogame soundtracks. An ambitious project, to say the least. Especially considering that they're on 28 released tracks and counting.

Rivera-Herrans' own work on "Epic" is strictly musical, but the project has a thriving fanart community, and people have been dutifully making animatics for the entire project so far. To the point where there is at least one - and usually more than one - animatic for all 28 tracks that he's put out so far, made by someone or other within Rivera-Herrans' following. Whole little YouTube microclime that's been doing it's thing for a few years, apparently.

I'm going to be looking at a curated list of what @Kaiya deems the best fanimatic for each of the first 25 tracks in the project. That's a lot of material, obviously, so I expect to divide this into several posts.

Also, I should say up front that I haven't actually read the Odyssey. I've read highly abridged versions of it in various mythology books, and a few translated excerpts, but I have not read the Odyssey. I initially planned to read the relevant sections of the original alongside watching the animatics, but I'm told that "Epic: the Musical" restructures, expands on, and skips over enough things that this wouldn't be doable. So, I'll just keep the notes handy while making my way through the album.

On the topic of background knowledge, most westerners grow up with at least some familiarity with Homer's work, but I'm not sure about people in other parts of the world, so: the Odyssey is part of an epic cycle by the Iron Age Greek poet Homer, telling of the mythical Trojan War and its aftermath. The Odyssey is the final book of the series, and concerns one of the participants in the war - Odysseus, king of the city state of Ithaca - making an extremely arduous and cursed voyage back home after a bitter victory. Some of the best-known staples of Greek Mythology - monsters like the sirens and cyclopes, gods including Zeus and Poseidon, etc - make appearances along Odysseus' journey.

I think that's sufficient. Let's check out Epic: the Musical!


1-2. "The Horse and the Infant" and "Just a Man"

Animatics by Gigi.

I'm mashing the first two together because they're really just one song separated into two tracks, and the two animatics are by the same animator and flow right into one another.

Part of "Epic's" restructuring includes biting off a chunk from the end of the prequel. This first track is about the fall of Troy, centering Odysseus' role as the architect behind the Trojan Horse stratagem, and also playing up his importance in the deliberations over what to do with the orphaned heir to the Trojan throne, one-year-old Astyanax.

And by the latter, I mean that the deliberation takes place inside of Odysseus' own head. He enters the hiding place alone, finds the baby, and has a tortured dialogue with himself over what to do with him.

So, first things first. While Rivera-Herrans might advertise himself as primarily a vidyagaem music guy, it's pretty clear from the beginning that "Epic's" main musical inspiration is "Hamilton." It's got the same vaguely rock-opera style of exposition via lyrics. A similar amount of hip-hop, jazz, and RnB influence. And also the same kind of massive mood swings and gear shifts within single tracks.

"The Horse and the Infant" is divided into two parts. The first has Odysseus executing the Trojan Horse attack, being an inspirational commander to the men, and...the phrasing and energy almost make you think more of a football captain talking to his team than anything else. The second half is when, after using this dishonourable tactic to end the war and slaughter the Trojan royalty, Odysseus finds himself faced with the decision of whether or not to kill a baby, and his justifications for his actions thus far all come crumbling down.

The solo piece becomes a duet as Odysseus' mind fractures into idealistic and cynical halves. The latter presenting itself as a Zeus-like avatar of fate and destiny (or maybe it's literally a divine warning from Zeus?) who declares that death is the only answer. The former, as Odysseus the human trying to come to grips with where his inhuman actions have led him. Part of the Zeus-figure's warning manifests in the animatic as Astyanax growing into an inhuman monster who will one day seek revenge if not killed now; which could be an actual prophetic vision, or it could be Odysseus trying to dehumanize this baby and convince himself why his death is justified and not just expedient. It's nice ambiguity.

Memorable parts are when, as he's entering the room, the Zeus/fatalist voice warns him about how he's about to face an enemy unlike any he's met before, one who will never retreat or run from him...and it turns out to be a baby in its crib. And also, even more potently, the line "The blood on your hands is something you won't lose; all you can choose is whose." Making it clear that Odysseus is looking at the sleeping infant's face and seeing all the other innocents who died in this war that he's been pointedly not thinking about.

"The Horse and the Infant" ends with Odysseus wondering if maybe he can somehow keep the baby and start raising him during his trip back to Greece, or find a place far away to send him where the Trojans won't be able to rally around him, or something else. "Just a Man" is about him realizing that none of these options are practical, agonizing over how Astyanax is the same age that his own baby son was when he last saw him before setting out to war, ad realizing that his cynical side's attempt to read monstrosity into the baby is just him projecting his own corruption onto the child.

And then throwing him off the castle wall, because - despite the moment of self-awareness - Odysseus is just too morally weak and/or politically insecure to do anything other than that.

It's a beautifully ugly piece. Especially contrasting the gung-ho attitude of the first half of "Horse and Infant" with the introspection of the second, and then with the tragic horror of "Just a Man." It establishes from the start of the album that Odysseus is cursed and his voyage home likewise not because of the things he did, but because he still had a conscience while he did them.

I'm not going to declare that this whole album is reinterpreting the Odyssey as a metaphor for military PTSD until I've seen more of it, but the first two tracks definitely make it seem like that.


3. "Full Speed Ahead"

Animatic by Wolfy the Witch.

This one starts the actual Odyssey storyline, with Odysseus and his 600 soldiers beginning their voyage home and almost immediately stumbling into the island of the lotus-eaters.

"The problem's not the distance; it's what lies in between."

Odysseus is trying to sound inspirational and leaderly again, but there's a hollowness and melancholy in his voice, and Wolfy the Witch's drawings match this well with the character's expressions and poses. Trying to go home afterward, but no longer being able to, and kind of being in denial about it.

This song also introduces Odysseus' two lieutenants; Eurylochus the cynical one, and Polites the idealistic one. I am amused by Polites having modern eyeglasses. Glasses existed in ancient Greece, but they didn't look like this:

It fits the blithely upbeat, oblivious personality this song gives him, as he cheerily points out the inhabited-looking island and is aghast at Eurylochus' suggestion that they raid instead of trying to barter for much needed supplies. Like the angel and devil on Odysseus' shoulders, after he's already kind of given himself over to the latter and is trying to decide if he can come back from it.

I'm amused that the different animatic artists have kinda-sorta agreed on a look for Odysseus, also. The facial hair and some other details are different, but they're still recognizable from one artist to the next. Wonder if Rivera-Herrans put up a visual reference at some point, or if it's just a case of follow-the-leader?


4-7. "Open Arms," "Warrior of the Mind," "Polyphemous" and "Survive"

Animatics by mircsy.

What the hell am I doing, mashing four tracks into a single section? Well, though their sound varies a lot, these four all pick up literally riiiiiight where each other leave off, and all four animatics were made by the same artist and clearly designed to be watched together. They (at least with this animatic treatment) don't make sense individually, only together.

And yeah, I was totally right about what "Epic" is really about. The lyrics make it clear, and mircsy's visuals lean into it even harder.

"Epic: the Musical" combines the island of the lotus-eaters and the island of the cyclopes into one island. The lotus-eaters live their lives of drugged-out bliss in a forested area on one side of the island, and avoid the caves and pasturelands claimed by Polyphemus and his fellow one-eyed giants on the other side. Odysseus and his men wander from one of these hazards into the other as they try to find resources to supply the rest of their trip home.

As well as combining these two islands, "Epic" introduces another moving part in the presence of Athena, Odysseus' divine mentor. She doesn't really do anything here, just talks to Odysseus, but her song ("Warrior of the Mind") is still the most memorable one. Apparently it's actually become something of a TikTok sensation.

Among the lotus-eaters, Odysseus' wilfully optimistic underling Polites (who still has those silly glasses. Apparently the Epic fanimatic community all came to a consensus about this for some reason lmao) is a proponent of eating the lotus fruit, blithely ignoring the fact that it's addictive until Odysseus points it out to him (and even then both of them are tempted to have at least a nibble, at least going by the animatic). He describes this as "accepting the world with open arms." Even though it's really more like a denial of the world.

Odysseus resists the temptation to partake of the drugs with the help of Athena, who interrupts the scene to give Odysseus an out-of-body experience and talk sense into him.

Athena's portrayal here isn't an entirely positive one, though. This is specifically Athena in her martial aspect. Her teachings help Odysseus get out of problems, but they're also ultimately what got him into them.

In a retrospective portion of "Warriors of the Mind," we see that Athena first took interest in the young prince Odysseus when he and his friends (most of whom are currently officers among his crew) rose to the challenge of hunting a preternaturally large, cunning, and vicious boar. On one hand, Athena created this boar and released it into the wilderness for the express purpose of finding a worthy mortal tactician to take under her wing. On the other hand, this is still a test that Odysseus passed by choosing to kill something for no particularly good reason. She claims in as many words that her life's goal is to shape mortals into perfect warriors who can face any challenge and succeed. She offers no moral guidance, only tactical advice.

Memorable moment is when - after slaying the boar - Odysseus tricks Athena into revealing herself when he feels like something is watching him and then addresses the empty air to make it think he can already see it. And then noscopes her identity after she shows herself, even while she's masked and being all mysterious. The animatic actually has her look genuinely surprised for a moment at that last bit.

Another great moment, right after that, is this exchange:


Athena: "If you're looking for a mentor, I'll make sure your time's well-spent."

Young Odysseus: "Sounds like a plan, goddess and man, bestest of friends!"

Athena (with a half-suppressed grimace): "We'll see where it ends."

Young Odysseus: "O...okay."


I like this both because it's cruelly funny, and because it's a great illustration of what the gods actually *are* in "Epic" (and also, to varying degrees, in the original stories). One can align oneself with or oppose these greater-than-human forces, but there's no actual person in there to be friends or enemies with. They're literally just aspects of nature, human nature included.

Also, this song is probably the most reminiscent of "Hamilton" in the playlist so far, heh.

So, remembering that he's all about solving problems and dealing with the world instead of hiding from problems and denying reality, Odysseus rejects the lotus and leads his people away from the lotus-eaters. Who, by the way, the soundtrack voices as these bizarre little squeaks for some reason (even though the Odyssey describes them as just normal humans with a drug habit). And which the animator decided to interpret as diminutive Studio Ghibli creatures with flowers on their heads. I'd call the latter a really inexplicable choice, but given the squeaky cartoon noises the album provided, well...it's a logical enough interpretation of what they were given to work with.

I'm not sure what to think of this either tbh.

Of course, facing reality means immediately being confronted with the thing Odysseus wants to escape from. Leading to him discovering the cave full of sheep, and encountering the most outright demonic portrayal of Polyphemus I can ever recall seeing.

The animator is, once again, following the voice effects pretty faithfully with their character design.

In this version, Odysseus - trying to put Polites' idealism into practice while still being realistic - tries to avoid a fight. Apologizing to the cyclops for intruding on his lair and killing one of his sheep (turns out it was his favorite sheep; I think "Epic" is mixing the Polyphemus part and the Helios part together as well). Polyphemus holds the sheep up and lets its body dangle, like a baby hanging off of a castle wall, while he weeps over it. He rants (musically, despite the echoey demon voice filter) about how pain inflicted is pain received, and their lives are forfeit. It's only fair. It's only just.

Odysseus tries to bargain, offering to pay Polyphemus for the slaughtered sheep by giving him some wine (that Odysseus secretly mixed some lotus fruit into, hoping to drug the monster enough to slow it down so they can escape). Polyphemus drinks it, feels the euphoric high, and then declares that because of his generous gift, Odysseus can have the mercy of being eaten last.

There's no bargaining your way out of guilt. You can't reason with PTSD.

Thus, the battle ensues. A refrain of this fight is "one life to save six hundred." As if Odysseus realizes that yes, he was being wilfully ignorant when he saw the cave full of sheep and decided that it didn't look like they belonged to anyone. No, this isn't just Polyphemus being hostile for no reason (even if he's taking it to unreasonable extremes, the initial cause of the conflict is all on Odysseus, and he knew he shouldn't have done it). Odysseus' refrain here isn't "we're in the right and he's in the wrong." It's "either he dies, or many other people die, so killing him is the lesser evil." The exact same logic that motivated his killing of the infant Trojan prince.

Polyphemus' crawling, scrabbling motions on the cave floor even look like a monstrous baby crawling around. And, as they attack, the humans are made to look almost as demonic as Polyphemus does.

Polyphemus' own refrain, meanwhile, is "when I kill you my pain will be over." This is absolutely Odysseus talking to himself.

Despite Odysseus' clever tactics and leadership, Polyphemus kills several men while only sustaining minor injuries of his own. Eventually, they get a lucky break when the lotus catches up to Polyphemus, and he passes out mid-battle.

Unfortunately, before that can happen, Polites - the doggedly optimistic one, the angel on Odysseus' shoulder - meets his death at the head of Polyphemus' club. The cost of doing things Athena's way.


That's about the first 25% of the commissioned material.

The question of "what does it take to really come home from war" is definitely present in the Odyssey as it was originally written. This 2022 interpretation, written after the War on Terror's final withdrawals, focuses much more heavily on that aspect though, and makes it specifically about whether or not a war criminal can ever find redemption. Or if they should even be allowed to.

Does Odysseus deserve to see his home again? Will anything he ever does really be able to change the answer to that question?

So far, the musical doesn't propose an answer. Just a question.