Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a great Butter come back! Our boys broke so many records! Woott! I’m so so proud of them… and what a bop of a song it is!
Today we are going to be discussing Anpanman. This song is so so utterly precious and I’m so grateful that we have this song in our lives! It really does remind everyone that anyone can fulfil their childhood dream and be a superhero. If a man made out of red bean can be a superhero, why can’t we?
Let’s get started!
Assumed Knowledge & Assumptions
I have written this post assuming you know:
- my theory, that all of the songs in LY albums are connected and reveal storylines when read in a specific order; and
- Joon, Yoongi and Hobi’s stories discussed in my blog so far.
New Readers
Hello there and welcome to my blog! I’m sorry to say that if you haven’t read any of the above posts… I may lose you in the detail as my lyrical analyses are built on existing knowledge!
This is simply because all of the songs are interconnected and need to be read in a specific order for it to make sense, just like a book.
This idea is completely consistent with what Namjoon said about the Love Yourself albums.
If you’re wondering where to start, please start here.
Please also note the assumptions I apply when I analyse songs.
Enjoy! 😊
1. Who is Anpanman?
We have previously touched on who Anpanman is in IDOL. In IDOL, I said:
The decision to associate BTS with Apanman is a beautiful and symbolic choice. If you don’t know about Apanman, Anpanman is the main character in a picture book series by Japanese cartoonist Takashi Yanase.
He is a red bean bread man and the world’s weakest hero. He doesn’t have any superpowers like Batman or Superman, but is a kind hero who helps those in need and gives to hungry people pieces of his face, which is made out of red bean bread (or more precisely, a Japanese pastry called Anpan). If Batman and Superman are star heroes that can fly anywhere in a flash, Anpanman is a bourgeoisie hero who is always nearby and stays by your side for a long time.
Anpanman is essentially a quintessential Hufflepuff. He is a hero who embodies the values of kindness, altruism and loyalty.
IDOL Analysis
And although he is perceived to have very little to offer, whatever little he has, he offers them all.
Namjoon also shared at 35.00 of his VLive that:
If Anpanman gives a part of his head, it reduces his power. Anpanman is weak, he does not have a muscular body. He doesn’t have special skills. However, Apanman wants to try his best for the day.
Thus, the lyrics of Anpanman explores how anyone can be a superhero. Or more precisely, how BTS and us can be a hero for someone, simply by trying our best.
2. Who is the author of Apanman?
Namjoon said this at 34.18 of his VLive:
Supreme Boi did a great job for this song… I think Supreme Boi did a great job writing the song.
Namjoon also said:
He sang the part… “I don’t have a super car like batman“… at first I thought it was “super colour Batman“… I was like “What? What is Super colour?”
The funny thing is that Anpanman reminds me of One Punch Man. The pronunciation is similar to it. I thought like can we release Apanman Part 2 under the title of One Punch Man? … I wanted to release One Punch Man after Anpanman, then I thought Anpanman is the opposite of One Punch Man… Supreme Boi, thank you.
Namjoon’s comments makes it clear to us that he was not familiar with the song lyrics when he heard them the first time, indicating that Anpanman was not his idea.
This directs us to the same conclusion that we came to in IDOL:
The idea and concept of Anpanman are (mostly*) not based on Namjoon, Yoongi and Hobi’s true stories and experience.
This is because as at the time IDOL and Anpanman were written, Namjoon, Yoongi and Hobi were still in the process of learning to love themselves and how to be the best person for their respective “Hers”.
This is Supreme Boi’s way of saying “Fighting!!” to the boys and helping them realise that though they don’t have any superpowers… they can still be superheroes.
*The reason why I have said “mostly” is because Namjoon and Yoongi are also listed as accredited authors. Thus they would have written lyrics based on their experience per my assumptions.
Since the lyrics appear to be quite general throughout the song and have no clear distinction as to who contributed to which lyrics, I have thus used “the speaker” and the pronoun “they/them”.
However, there is one small part where I believe Joon may have written the lyrics and it is possible to interpret those lyrics in the context of his story arc. Thus, I have analysed that separately at the end of this post.
3. The Everyman Hero
I researched hero archetypes in preparation for this analysis, and my goodness, there are many. It is clear that the speaker in Anpanman is not a Classical Hero like Harry Potter with magical powers, or an Epic Hero like Superman with huge biceps and superpowers, or an Anti-Hero like Tyrion Lannister.
Instead, the speaker is simply an Everyman Hero, an ordinary person(s) without any apparent heroic qualities or characteristics:
I don’t have biceps or pecks
I don’t have a super car like Batman
My ideal is a really cool hero
But all I can give you is just Anpan
Per this source, Everyman Heroes are:
… underdogs placed in extraordinary circumstances that force them to act heroically. Though lacking inherent heroic qualities, everyman character types often have a strong moral compass and act with extreme selflessness. Readers can easily relate to these types of heroes due to their ordinary nature. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit—the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy—Bilbo Baggins is a common hobbit without extraordinary abilities who nonetheless finds himself on an adventure to obtain the treasure guarded by Smaug the dragon.
I refer to the following lyrics:
I’ve dreamed of becoming a hero like Superman
I jumped hard Jumping high up in the sky
I’m not afraid of bruising my knees
A delusion of my innocent childhood
I’m not a superhero
Don’t expect too much from me
I can be your hero
I’m really not sure whether this even makes sense
But mom, I really need to do it
Who’s gonna do it if it isn’t me
You can call me say Anpan
Similarly to Bilbo Baggins and Anpanman himself, the speaker is well aware of their lack of traditional superhero powers and qualities, “don’t expect too much from me.”
However, the speaker is motivated to do their best to help people despite their parents’ concerns, “but mom, I really need to do it.”
Despite lacking the traditional qualities of a hero, the speaker volunteers to be one. All a person-in-need-of-help needs to do is to call out “Anpan!” to summon them.
This juxtaposition of ordinary and hero elements in the context of an ordinary person being summoned like Batman amplifies the heroism of the speaker, aspiring us listeners to be like them.
4. The Willing Hero
There is however one general attribute of the Everyman Hero that is not relevant to our speaker.
The Everyman Hero is generally a person that is placed in extraordinary circumstances that forces them to act heroically. This as we can see, is not the same for the speaker in Anpanman.
Instead, the speaker in Anpanman has no obligation to anyone and is in no particular circumstances at all. If anything, the speaker is actually mustering up their strength while waiting around for someone in need to summon them:
Waiting for you Anpanman
(Lemme hear ya say, lemme hear ya say)
Waiting for you Anpanman
(Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up)
I’ll muster up my strength a little more
(Lemme hear ya say, lemme hear ya say)
I’ll be your strength
(Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up)
This characteristic of proactively looking for an opportunity to help is generally attributed to a hero archetype known as the Willing Hero.
Per this source, the Willing Hero is:
The first type of hero we’ll meet… You know this hero because he runs towards danger with a gleam in his eye when everyone else is running from it.
The willing hero is motivated by the obstacles that he faces. He’s always ready for challenges, and is bored of a life that doesn’t provide some threat to overcome.
The willing hero is also noted for his bravery. Unlike some other heroes on this list, the willing one is fearless and daring, almost to a fault. He’s optimistic and overly self-confident in his abilities.
However, unlike a Willing Hero, the speaker does not have the following two traditional attributes. The speaker is:
- most certainly not overly self-confident about their abilities. As above, the speaker in fact tells us not to expect too much from them; and
- actually scared. Though the speaker used not to be “afraid of bruising my knees” as a child (“a delusion of my innocent childhood“), as an adult who is “almost an old fossil now“, the speaker shares that:
Sometimes I’m afraid of all this
Because I became to have so many things that I love
Some say, you’re almost an old fossil now
You’re not qualified Just do well what you’ve been doing
But I still want to be a hero
All I can give you is Anpan
and a word ‘you’ve worked hard,’
but I’ll fly to you right away if you call me
Please call me
To be honest,
I’m scared of falling
and of turning you down
But, even if it takes up all my strength,
I will be sure that I stay by your side
The speaker is afraid of running towards the danger because they are fearful of losing something or someone they love, and/or failing the person-in-need.
Despite the fear and lack of hero qualifications, the speaker promises that they will still “fly to you right away if you call me” and “stay by your side” to help whoever has summoned them. The “you” in the above lyrics could be anyone, including their respective “Hers”.
The point is, the speaker is embodying a new combined hero archetype that adopts, in my humble opinion, the best qualities of the Everyman Hero and the Willing Hero.
Supreme Boi and BTS created a new generation new superhero type of hero: The Everyman Willing Hero.
5. The fight of this Everyday Willing Hero
We are now going to explore how Supreme Boi / BTS / the speaker have used this one song to fight crime and evil in the world.
I refer to the following lyrics:
Keep spinning and spinning my Anpan
Keep ballin’ ballin’ still Bangtan
As I open my eyes, I’m a hero but still in a maze
That young man, young man, young man
Keep secretly secretly getting covered in bruises
But ballin’ ballin’ still Bangtan
Even if I’m hurt, I’m a hero Put the fear behind
Anpanman panman panman
I’m a new generation Anpanman
I’m a new superhero Anpanman
What I have is a single blow of this song
Lemme say “All the bad men, cop out”
I’m a new generation Anpanman
I’m a new superhero Anpanman
What I have is a single blow of this song
Lemme say “All the bad men, cop out”
Although I’ll fall again,
I’ll make a mistake again,
and I’ll be covered in mud,
I believe in myself because I’m a hero*
*Per doolset lyrics, this line can also be interpreted as ‘Trust me because I’m a hero.’
Step 1: Make Hero relatable
The above lyrics provide further characteristics of this new generation Anpanman. We are told that the speaker:
- is still feeling lost and trying to navigate through life, “I’m a hero but still in maze“;
- is young, “that young man, young man, young man“;
- gets hurt quite a lot but never shows their pain to the public, “secretly secretly getting covered in bruises”;
- feels fear, “even if I’m hurt, put the fear behind“; and
- makes mistakes again and again, a defining characteristic of the human condition, “I”ll fall again, I’ll make a mistake again.“
These characteristics embedded by Supreme Boi and BTS help make the speaker (i.e. BTS) relatable to us and allow us to easily imagine ourselves in their shoes.
Subconsciously, this allows us to believe that becoming an Everyman Willing Hero like the speaker and Anpanman is very achievable.
5b. Step 2: Give them a weapon
The speaker reveals to us that they have one weapon: “a single blow of this song.”
Supreme Boi, through BTS, has very cleverly (and literally) “weaponsied” this song to do good and fight “bad men“.
Through a single blow of this song narrated by a relatable speaker and based on a well-loved character, millions of ARMYs and listeners became inspired to follow the speaker and become an Everyman Willing Hero in their own lives.
With an ARMY of millions doing their best to be like Anpanman, “all the bad men” in the world don’t stand a chance.
All the bad men, cop* out!
*Cop can also refer to a police cop. In other words, you can interpret the sentence as: All the bad man will be taken out by police cops.
6. Alternative interpretation of Namjoon’s lyrics
6a. The Old Fossil
As I mentioned earlier in this post, I believe it is possible to interpret Joon’s lyrics in a more personal way given his heavy involvement in Love Yourself: 轉 Tear and his story arch.
Namjoon raps the following lyrics:
Sometimes I’m afraid of all this
Because I became to have so many things that I love
Some say, you’re almost an old fossil now
You’re not qualified Just do well what you’ve been doing
But I still want to be a hero
All I can give you is Anpan
and a word ‘you’ve worked hard,’
but I’ll fly to you right away if you call me
Please call me
The reason why I was triggered to consider the possibility that Namjoon’s lyrics could be interpreted more specifically towards his “Her”, is because of the lyrics “some say, you’re almost an old fossil now.”
The first time I read this, I interpreted it as: “some say [to the speaker], you’re almost an old fossil now.” However, throughout the song, the lyrics imply that the speaker is a young male through the repetition “young man, young man, young man.”
Due to this slight inconsistency, I realised it is possible to interpret it as Namjoon saying to “You”: “some say [to Namjoon’s lover], you’re almost an old fossil now.” This assumption makes the speaker’s point of view more consistent throughout the song.
Since it is ambiguous as to who is “almost an old fossil,” I thought it would be interesting to explore how the meaning changes if we assume Namjoon was directing the lyrics to his lover.
6b. Her
Namjoon shares with us that he is “sometimes… afraid of all this because I…have so many things that I love.”
This is not surprising news to us as we have studied the countless romantic love songs written by Namjoon which, based on these pieces of evidence, is based on his personal experience. This means that Namjoon has someone that he loves romantically.
Assuming that the “you” in the above lyrics is Namjoon’s lover, Namjoon’s lover:
- is considered to be getting to an “old” age compared to Namjoon’s age. Thus, some have told “Her” “you’re almost an old fossil” ;
- has been told “She” is not good or qualified enough for something, “you’re not qualified, just do well what you’ve been doing“; and
- is a hard worker because Namjoon wants to offer a word of encouragement, “you’ve worked hard.”
This also implies that Namjoon’s lover as at the period of Anpanman was fighting battles of “Her” own.
The words “right away” and emphasis on “please call me” convey to us Namjoon’s strong desire to be “Her” hero and protector. We can clearly imagine Namjoon receiving a call from “Her” and dropping everything he is doing just to rush to “Her” side and aide.
Beautifully, this comes full circle as it was originally Namjoon who needed saving and “She” who saved him.
Now, it is Namjoon who is able and ready to save “Her” should the need ever arises.
Author’s Thoughts
This is slightly off tangent and philosophical so I didn’t discuss it in my main post, but the following four lines keep circling around in my mind and I needed somewhere to brain dump. So kindly humour me while I rattle on.
The four lines are:
I’m not afraid of bruising my knees
A delusion of my innocent childhood
Sometimes I’m afraid of all this
Because I became to have so many things that I love
These lyrics explore how most humans start out fearless due to the innocence (or ignorance) of childhood. However, as we start to grow up, we begin to love and treasure things… and this, in turn, generates fear because we start fearing for our own death, of losing loved ones, of change, of being alone, of being hurt, etc.
All of these fears belong to our shadow self. Our shadow self lives deep in the shadow of our subconscious, affecting the way we behave, think and act.
What the above lyrics, and really, the whole Love Yourself trilogy (and possibly MOTS7 albums) explore… is that Love inevitably leads to Fear.
As a wise Master Yoda once said… Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering… This is commonly how emotional energy transforms.
This is why we humans are so flawed and humankind suffers endlessly. We are all inevitably emotionally damaged in some sort of way because we are constantly ruled by the law of physics that for every positive reaction, there is a negative reaction, and for every light ray, there is a shadow. Hate and Love are truly the same things.
This is why we all need to face our own shadows like BTS. It is only when face, explore and examine our own shadows can we realise that for whatever is horrible and wrong in the world or someone… their sins are also found in each of us.
This is why the message of “Love Yourself” is so darn important. Learning to love yourself requires you to face your shadow and this results in a different chain of energy transformation.
Love leads to Fear. Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to hate. Facing your emotionally damaged self and realising why the world is what it is, or why someone is the way they are leads to self-healing. Self-healing leads to empathy, empathy to compassion… and maybe even love again.
Because even the greatest heroes like Superman and Anpanman need to heal themselves first before they can go back out and help others.
So my dear ARMY, when you feel fear, hate or anger…
Please remember to heal yourself first before helping others.
💜 G
Subscribe and connect:
Nothing makes me happier knowing that you’re enjoying my blog! Hence, if you enjoyed this post, please retweet, share, follow me on Twitter or subscribe down below!
If you would like to connect with like-minded readers, please join discord. Hope to see you there!
Lyric sources:
Doolset lyrics
Please note I made some minor updates where I thought things could be expressed better. These minor updates do not result in any substantial change in meaning.
Disclaimer:
As per my first author’s note, please, no hate!
I do not have a shipping or individual bias, I love all seven members equally and I do not write my blogs because of a particular personal desire for one of them. I reached my conclusion on Joon and Jin being together based on the lyrics, logic and patterns as I have discussed in all my posts (i.e. I did not ship Namjin first, and then started trying to find things to prove my point). I genuinely enjoy all ships because I enjoy watching the different chemistries between the boys.
It does not matter one bit to me if they are straight, gay, intersex, a skrull, a mutant or if they could lay eggs. I love them wholeheartedly (as a sister who would love her younger brothers) for their individual selves.
This theory of Anpanman is based on my interpretations of its lyrics. Please enjoy.