Background:

I'm a Porter Robinson fan, but not so much for Madeon (although "No Fear No More" is certainly on my playlist)

I was expecting Porter to expand on his EDM career with how much it impacted me and many others (with his "Worlds" and remixed album)
(Side note i think Nurture is a peak album)

When I learned that A-1 was the ones animating this, and all of the interviews and announcements relating to the music video itself, i was HOOKED.

I'm glad i did, after 27 relistens/rewatches.

Let's talk about the song itself since its presence alone makes a lot of impact to the music video.

Instrumental:

REALLY REALLY catchy, it has been one of my most listened songs because of this, the way all of the instruments and drums flow together make it a very resonating experience, and you will ALWAYS find something to enjoy when listening to the instrumental parts of the songs.

Even though it's not very complicated in terms of how the instruments are formed (same chords, and same drums), it makes up for it with the atmosphere of the entire short film.

THE ENDING PIANO. peak indeed, 'nuff said.

Lyrics:

It's really clear that Porter Robinson and Madeon (and Amy Millan) deserved every single bit of compliment because of the meaning behind the lyrics are super deep despite the quite short runtime (of the song).

This song first talks about themselves, with 2 years of no music and this song is mostly an ending point to the drought. It's a really creative way of telling the audience of how much they've gone through in these 2 years (2014 to 2016).

Then it is all about family (confirmed by the artists themselves), and it's about how really hard it is to move on after childhood, as many families have to leave their children as they have to move on with their jobs in the future, and how a child's behavior changes between ages, this is evident in this part of the song:

_When I'm older, I'll be silent beside you
I know words won't be enough_

Another thing worth noting is the Pre-chorus part of the song is REALLY REALLY good.

_Mm, it's a long way forward, so trust in me
I'll give them shelter, like you've done for me
And I know I'm not alone, you'll be watching over us
Until you're gone_

"Shelter" is a triple meaning this time around, It could mean differently in the music video, or the song itself, or even when talking about the artists behind it.

Now onto the short film's content itself, and how, in 6 minutes, it managed to get so many people invested in the entire runtime.

Animation:

The atmosphere, environment, flashbacks, the EVERYTHING is immaculately well designed.

I'm still confused as to why A-1 hasn't utilized CGI all that much (or maybe i don't watch much A-1), they did an EXCELLENT job at making the CGI fluid in some of the scenes.

Every time Rin changes the atmosphere of the world, it's a thing of beauty.

Story:

The song and the music video itself have a lot of connections, and even NEW meanings created by the music video

Rin in general is an amazingly written character, and she invokes the "nostalgic feeling" of family before the earth got destroyed, and she leaves a great message for teenagers and especially those who are beginning to go to college.

Like the aforementioned "Shelter" in the pre-chorus, it has a new meaning, with Rin's new shelter (which is apparently a spaceship) is composed of every single nostalgic part of her family and her memories, and she is optimistic about her future.

Even though she's isolated, she doesn't feel lonely because of how those memories really affected her as a person.
Her "Thank You" at the end of the song really makes the entire ending piano sequence so heartbreaking, I haven't teared up so much for a character since forever.

It made me feel like I was the Father of Rin, as I always hope her the best during this entire film.

Overall thoughts

You don't need 24 episodes to introduce a medium to someone, you can show them this MV and they will be super impressed by what the medium has to offer, and they will find a good reason to look for more stories similar to Shelter.

It's a must-watch/listen. It's the Magnum Opus of the AMV space and especially for Porter and Madeon.