Shadow Academy - Once And Never More (Official Video)

so i guess my interpretation is: "the memory of a lost love can give you the strength to get that happiness back".
The girl in the video might be a late loved one, or maybe just a personification of anything youve loved and lost. Near the end, her hand wasnt really there, he was just remembering her. But it did make contact with his, so that's why using his hand symbolized using the strength that the memory gave him. And my last reason for this interpretation is; in the very end of the video, you'll notice that the girl wasnt there. Sometimes a loved one or thing cant be regained, and for people that unfortunate, they'd deserve a song with a helpful message like this too. Afterall, he may not have gotten what he loved back, but the memory did give him the strength to get back to the place he was then.
The final frame showing he suddenly has irises might mean that he atleast got himself back.

Thank you, Dan and everyone. Even if this gets lost in the sea of voices, thank you.

So a lot of people are talking about depression here. Im at a point in my life where i cant tell anymore if it was really depression or a bad situation. Im in a better place now and im feeling better about things but it makes me wonder if it ever was depression. Maybe other people experience that on the road to recovery but it almost feels like some kind of stolen valor at this point

More!!

This gets me every time I play it
I love this song so much

This video always gets me.

I still absolutely love the animations in the Shadow Academy videos. They truly are perfect, well made and feel right with the beutiful music.

Growing more and more certain with time that this is the best song across all of Dan's various projects. From the lyrics, to the production, to the buildup and catharsis, just astoundingly beautiful all-around.

This is beautiful, Amazing work guys so proud

sad/happy kinda but still rip and was that his friend/lover? did he findd them at end i wonder.

This was so fucking beautiful guys thank you so much for making music and art 😭😭❤❤

This is legitimately one of my favorite songs of all time it is at the top of my Alexa playlist❤

goodness i cry every time I watch this video

I don't wanna be weird (Which I am) but, this protagonist has a resemblance with the "Starlight Brigade" protagonist called Strive, would this be the third part right after the "Black Swang" part? Sorry, just mixing Shadow Academy with TWRP just because of Dan. Love this band, sounds so cool

Dan singing an original song is magical to me. I discovered this man years ago through NSP, and I never could've imagined that he'd become my absolute favourite music artist of all time. This song is absolutely amazing. Thank you.

every single time i watch this video i cry really hard

I resonate so much with this video. I’m married with 2 children and 2 nights ago my husband was arrested for 2nd degree assault against me. The illustration in shows exactly what’s going on inside of me (right down to the imagery of them as kids- we’ve known and loved each other since we were 10 years old). It feels like my whole world is gone and over with and just totally messed up. I feel so low. He was my HUSBAND. I was his WIFE. How could he do this?? But all these memories of the good times keep popping up and they’re just so beautiful because when things were good, it was like a fairy tale. We were so connected, it felt like no one in the world was as meant for each other as we were. And then for a second I feel happy again.. then I’m hit with the darkness all over again. I’m not sure how to proceed. I don’t even know who I am without him. He totally took away my light and I don’t know how to find it again. But the ending is amazing and I’m so damn ready to paint my world with color again.

Don't think I've ever found a masterpiece quite like this that both legitimizes that we all sometimes feel pain. But also shows what working through it can feel like and end as. Danny's lyrics and voice from this and the animation carries every aspect. Thank you.

I've listened to this song a good 50 times this week alone...Still get goosebumps.

Its too early to be crying this hard thanks Dan, Such a beautiful song

How have I only just now heard about this?????

damn you pointy ear leaf lover!!

A year later and this still gets me tearing up.

This is the most powerful piece of music I've heard in a long time; I'm so moved and it's so beautiful. Great stuff❤

That, my friends, is depression, and how to fight it.

I am not exaggerating then I when I say I listen to this song at least once a day. It's just my favorite and I have yet to tire of it.

so idk something about loving yourself and not expecting others to bring you your happiness? pretty based tbh

What a magical piece of art. Simply beautiful. Thank you to everyone involved with bringing this into the world. Y'all really did capture lightning in a bottle with this one.

I just... I don't really know how to put this, or if you'll see this, but... I can't overstate how much this lands. I've struggled with depression for about 11 years now, and autism/FASD since my childhood. I don't feel like I fit with humans, that I don't fit the world people have built... thank you for letting me know I'm not alone in building my own world. From a Danielle to a Dan. Thank you.

Reminds me of the Little Match Girl, but with a happier ending. Good Job.

This is the most gorgeous and heart wrenching music video I've ever seen

Snow on the stones
In the darkening door
Almost
Silent as ghosts
Once and never more
A glittering light
On the unlived life
We'd share
Carried away
On the moonlit air
Lost in the streetlights
Glowing more faintly every night
Where nowhere meets sometimes
I never seem to start right
Til it's over
I'm falling down like starlight
On your shoulders
What did I mean to say?
Through myth and memory
What was it that I fought for
Weathering this long war
Once and never more
The moment is gone
In the gray blue dawn
Almost
Tides on a coast
Called and never drawn
With glimmering eyes
Under open skies
Allies
Wandering souls
Only fantasize
With all of the roadways
Closed in a castle we didn't climb
All of the answers we won't find
I never seem to start right
Til it's over
I'm falling down like starlight
On your shoulders
What did I need to say?
Through endless memory
What was it that I hoped for
Weathering this long storm
Once and never more
Once and never more
Once and never more

As someone who lives with depression, it feels like this video is saying that so long as you push through the trauma and weather the storm you can find a way to live with your "scars" (literally or figuratively). The protagonist lost the ability to be with their lover in that beautiful world, but through several trials, they were able to become something close to the person they once were and see the beauty around them again. It may not have been all the protagonist wanted (to be with their lover) but it's something to live for.

why do i keep watching this even though it makes me cry???? Stop making art, I'm running out of tissues.

Is anyone else reminded of Ocarina of Time Link watching this animation?

BREATHTAKING AND BEAUTIFUL. Good work Dan and band!

ive gone through several desparetate times in life, where things seemed impossible and i accepted what they were, butt danny and how he opens up to these problems to give others answers who cant really find one themselves really saved me, i hate my job and most things in life but with this video and song i thing i can walk forward a bit stronger with how i viewthings and hopefully learn to enjoy what i have even if its so minimal

Beautiful

I love this so much, Shoocharu is spot on everytime

I hope you win the Danish film thingy!♡ LOVE YOU!♡

The ending just made me cry my eyes out, the realization that he was always in the forest, but that he lost his light after losing her just hit me

So Beautiful.

My wife left me over a year ago, and took our 1 year old son. I never gave up trying. The moments of pure despair and darkness came so strong. Losing the love of my life, and the boy i always wanted was too much some times. But i never gave up. Trying to figure out what to do. Eventually i had tried everything. And so the only thing i could do was to improve my own self. Improve my home, my job. Improve my inner turmoil and start healing so i could be there for my son. Once i had, my wife and i came back together, and im happy to say we're still married and still very much in love.

This song and video illustrated my journey so closely. Even in the end when hes full of darkness. I still carry the hurt inside. Its my hope it goes away with more time. That i can be the stronger me ive become without the scars.

I rewatch this video and listen to this song whenever I'm feeling particularly down. It's my comfort song. I've lost count at how many times I've shared it with friends.

I think this is my favorite music video of all time.

Villain backstory

This is so beautiful. I hope shooch is extremely proud bc he made me cry. In a good way. God.

This is me at times. I feel a glimmer of happiness and then I fall back into that pit of despair. Dan, your voice lifts me up again. ❤❤❤❤

For me this song is about anxiety and depression, you wear a mask to look approachable so people don't pity you, but it's fucking exhausting, and then you find something that gives a glimpse of real happiness, for the first time a smile shows on your face and it wasn't a mask. Until you realize the moment was fake or simply passes. Eventually he learns to lose the mask and through actual support he can finally smile (I think the moment was love of some sort, platonic, maternal, paternal, etc)