Kaiki na Ningyoshi - 怪奇な人形師 - Arihel van Yura Debut Single (Illustrated Song) - (Full Project)

🕯️"A j-symphonic metal ballad about walking through the night hand in hand with hope. The light of memory and joyful recollections guides us through the shadows, helping us overcome and finally step out of the blue room."
— Fragments from the Creepy Dollmaker’s Diary. 📖

On October 31st 2025, I released on YouTube the music video for my first single as a songwriter, Arihel van Yura, titled “Kaiki na Ningyōshi – 怪奇な人形師 (The Creepy Dollmaker).” The song is available on all digital platforms. I spent an entire year drawing the illustrations for the video, shaping the atmosphere of a gothic fairy tale to accompany the music.
The song was born from deeply personal experiences: the journey of overcoming a dark period thanks to the love and support of the people dear to me. Another key inspiration came from a real event — the rediscovery of the little doll my beloved grandfather gave me when I was a child. I named her Marlen, after the nickname he used for me.
In the music video, I portray as a singer:
- the Dollmaker, the unnamed protagonist who serves as a universal archetype;
- the eerie dolls, represented by the choral parts, embodying her worldview and emotions;
- the little doll Marlen, the co‑protagonist and guide.
The genre is Symphonic J‑Metal, sung in Japanese. The full Italian lyrics are available in the video description, while the adapted Japanese verses appear within the video itself.
The story uses dark‑fantasy metaphors: the Dollmaker, a half‑vampire (vrykolakas) creature, is trapped inside the “blue room,” a symbol of intense melancholy (from the English expression “feeling blue”). She infused her creations with emotions, desperately trying to preserve the humanity she felt slipping away. She is not a real ghost; it is her profound sadness that makes her see herself as one. She finds the enchanted doll Marlen — the gift from her late grandfather — who, through memories and encouragement, helps her regain her inner strength and escape the darkness. The “eerie” aura she perceives in herself is only the distorted self‑image created by her suffering.
Ultimately, the song speaks about the power of memories, love, and the presence of those who care for us — the forces that help us rediscover who we truly are. Her departure from the blue room — together with all her dolls and the little doll — represents her full return to life, the moment she finds light again after the darkness. The resemblance between the Dollmaker’s human form and the little doll (Marlen) symbolizes how they are, in essence, counterparts of one another. The doll represents — and has awakened and healed — the Dollmaker’s inner child.
The Dollmaker is a creator who is saved by her own creatures. Her ‘curse,’ which turned her into a vampire, symbolizes the hardships she has faced in her life and the years of darkness that consumed her. Missing her beloved grandfather, she finds the dear little doll he once gave her — a figure that represents the people she loves and her most precious memories.
From that moment on, she begins a journey through memory and creativity that leads her back to herself. With the help of the little doll, she manages to leave the Blue Room — a space that symbolizes the dark period she is finally able to overcome. Her escape also symbolizes the courage to reach out and ask for help.
I intend to expand this project, and I also plan to revisit its storytelling and develop it into a new illustrated narrative music video.
I originally wrote the piece in Italian, and with it I reached the national semifinals of the Tour Music Fest – The European Music Contest 2023, Author category. Later, I had the song translated and composed in Japanese, while preserving the narrative strength of the original lyrics.

💚 Credits:
‪arihelvanyura‬ (Arihel van Yura, me Mariangela Matarrese): main artist; original italian lyricist, singer, chorus, backing vocals, songwriter, graphic designer and illustrator (I was the videomaker for several of the short videos: three countdown videos, the ‘Kaiki na Ningyoshi is out!’ video, the doll-name reveal video, and finally the trailer for the music video titled: ‘Kaiki na Ningyoshi 怪奇な人形師 – Arihel van Yura | Lyric Music Video (MV) Trailer’)
‪ALLMIGHTSTUDIO‬ (Haru): producer, arranger, composer, sound technician, mastering engineer
‪OTOMAYUMI‬ (Oto Mayumi): japanese translation and lyrical adaptation
​‪MykiDiBono‬( Myki Di Bono): electric guitar, guitar
CremisiaRot (Cremisia Rot): videomaker for the Official MV Lyrics Video and for the "Kaiki na Ningyoshi - Debut Single [Teaser Trailer]"