SB19 'Mana' Reaction

I think Mana is wordplay on both of the manananggal and the food manna/mana from abarhamic/biblical text. Also the "a monster?" lines from the 3rd & 2nd to last stanza is translated from the Filipino word aswang which is a classification of mythical creatures. The manananggal falls under this classification under a subcategory of viscera suckers that consume the organs of people with her long tongue.

Mana is a fan favorite because the song has a catchy beat and the choreo is amazing.

mana has the song cover of an anime series of filipino

thank you, tim

mapa the best

whhhhaaaaa Mapa

Hello A’TIN here. Thank you

WYAT pls

Happy New Year 🙏🏼 Try deep diving into their solos 🫶🏻🥰 Stell: Room MV Felip: Criminal (Superior Session Live) Pablo: Butata (Wish107.5) Josh: 1999 (Wish107.5) Justin: Surreal MV

You're right that it's more aggressive and a clapback to doubters/haters in a sense. Especially the verses; as you said, the first part is essentially saying you didn't notice me while I was still on the ground, but now that I'm in the clouds you say I've changed? So they're pushing back against this perception, they're saying that they're still the same person, that these people just didn't recognize them before. And then the verse from Josh is essentially saying I can't hear you now because the airplane beside me is too loud, essentially saying they're flying too high to hear any negativity, lol. Josh does mention being grounded in a line, again calling back that concept of them still being connected to the ground. There's a whole monster element that the song plays into, the bridge part essentially asks Am I a monster, is that why you're afraid of me? And it then becomes more aggressive, as if they're embracing the monster as part of themselves, saying Just shut your mouth, don't test my patience. Then the last line is Don't fall asleep, because if not, Rah! Essentially a warning and imitating a monsters roar. So they do play into that whole monster imagery especially in the part where they do monster sound effects. And of course the use of the manananggal as a metaphor throughout the whole song. Duality is a common theme in Pablo's songwriting; in The Boy Who Cried Wolf he has both a boy and wolf persona and one of the themes is the struggle to reconcile both sides of himself. The song ends with acceptance, with the boy telling the wolf, I told you, we're together now. I think Mana is somewhat similar but from a different angle, with them embracing the monster part of themselves (monster here being the part that has gifts and powers which allows them to fly, which other people don't recognize or are afraid of) along with the human part. The chorus itself has the line "Heaven and Earth can unite when you believe". So I think that's the main allusion of how you can keep yourself grounded while being able to fly high at the same time. Too bad this song doesn't have an official live performance or video, the choreo for this is fun as well. It's a fan favorite because it's such a fun song but has multiple layers.

Happy new year!

Feet on the ground, eyes to the sky … dream high but keep grounded and humble …