Did you know that an anime tune was used at some point during the arrival rites for former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III?
Some anime fans recognized the instrumental version of a song used in popular mecha anime “Gundam Seed Destiny” when the group of uniformed personnel was bringing the urn of the late chief executive in the Church of Gesu on June 25.
Public viewing of his remains was held in his alma mater at the Ateneo de Manila University before his urn was laid in rest at the Manila Memorial Park on June 26.
State-run People’s Television Network (PTV-4) aired a live broadcast of the public viewing which featured military honor guards escorting Aquino’s urn at the front of the church. It was also uploaded on its Facebook page.
A broadcaster was reporting when an instrumental tune titled “Kimi to Boku, Todokanu Omoi” (You and I, Unfulfilled Feelings) suddenly played towards the 3:38-minutes mark of the footage.
In the anime, a song titled “Kimi wa Boku ni Niteiru” (You Are Similar to Me) was used as its fourth ending theme song. It was performed by See-Saw.
“Gundam Seed Destiny” is a sequel to “Gundam Seed.”
Its story takes place two years after the peace treaty signing between the fictional “naturals” or earth-dwelling humans and “coordinators,” genetically-enhanced humans in orbital colonies.
The sequel focuses on the continued threat of a group called “Blue Cosmos,” a radical anti-coordinator activist group composed of resentful naturals who abhor genetic modification.
Meanwhile, the particular moment in Aquino’s wake, although brief, caught some anime fans’ attention as they didn’t expect such a tune to be played during the arrival rites.
“My dad was watching a local news report about a former president’s very recent death and he messages me asking if I recognize the music playing. F**kers actually played literal Gundam SEED music to air on their nationwide live broadcast covering a president’s death. Holy f**k LMAO,” wrote a Twitter user with an accompanying video.
“Still not over the Noynoy Aquino funeral playing f**king Gundam Seed music,” wrote another online user.
“OHMYGOD I can still remember the lyrics to this song!! It was so good yet so sad huhuhu,” a different user commented.
Others wondered if Aquino could be a “fan” of the anime series.
“Maybe the man was a fan of GSD? Weirder things have happened, I suppose,” wrote an individual in a forum on Anime News Network.
Aquino died in his sleep on June 24 due to renal disease secondary to diabetes. He was 61 years old.
He is the only son of democracy icons former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino.
READ: Embraced legacy: Aquino, son of Philippine democracy icons, dies at 61
