honkai star rail sparkle leaf
Image via HoYoVerse

LeaF Okays Honkai: Star Rail Marenol Homage

LeaF, the composer of “Marenol” and “Ka,” made a statement in regards to the Honkai: Star Rail Sparkle trailer. This is due to many similarities between the trailer and LeaF’s music videos.

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It seems that many people reached out to LeaF about the “Monodrama” trailer after HoYoVerse uploaded it. According to LeaF, they had no involvement at all with the trailer. Neither did Optie or Fiz, who were the designers of the original music video for Marenol. However, LeaF states that there’s absolutely no problem with HoYoVerse paying homage to it in the trailer. It seems that this is because it wasn’t a one-to-one recreation.

In the tweet, they even encourage more of this kind of content. However, they also stated that everyone, including HoYoVerse, should take the opportunity to advertise them, and added a link to their YouTube channel in the tweet.

In LeaF’s tweet, they posted a comparison video between the MV for “Marenol” and Sparkle’s “Monodrama” trailer. The scene in question takes place close to the end of the trailer. Psychedelic shots appear one after the other as if you’re going through doors. While this idea isn’t exactly new—Gekidan Inucurry used this method in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which is a work many netizens have compared the Honkai: Star Rail Sparkle trailer to—the eye, hands, flower, and such are clear references to “Marenol.”

“Marenol” is a song that you can play on Sound Voltex Vivid Wave. LeaF is the artist, with Optie and Fiz working on the music video. The music video itself has some rather disturbing scenes, and a viewer discretion warning even pops up before you can watch it.

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices.


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Stephanie Liu
Stephanie is a senior writer who has been writing for games journalism and translating since 2020. After graduating with a BA in English and a Certificate in Creative Writing, she spent a few years teaching English and history before fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a writer. In terms of games, she loves RPGs, action-adventure, and visual novels. Aside from writing for Siliconera and Crunchyroll, she translates light novels, manga, and video games.