#Composer: TAKU

[dappercritter]

Shin Kamen Rider's OST is godly but I'll be forever disappointed that SHOCKER's new theme is exclusive to a burger joint commercial.

[anpansidequest]

the banana song i rebloged a while ago is flerting and the apple song from the apple boy movie is harasment

[kryptonian-in-winterfell]

I got all excited thinking the s4/5 score had dropped. Its getting released on October 25 according to Wiki.

This is more a reminder for me: I’ve been looking forward to listening to this score since the end of s4.

A lot of the music for these two seasons has been so different from the past three, with the DoA themes being quite a lot darker than the more esoteric jazz from s1/2.

Anyways I’m just really into tv scores, so this is super exciting.

some happiness for me after yesterday's episode

[dancingontheblades]

When did Viktor choreograph Stammi Vicino and did he commission the music?

When it comes to Viktor’s last free programme, there are two questions that fans have been discussing since the beginning of time—err since Yuri!!! On Ice first aired: 1) the question of whether Viktor did commission the music, and 2) whether he created the programme because of his encounter with Yuuri at the Grand Prix Final of Sochi. In this post, I will examine the source material regarding these two questions and discuss possible answers in the context of storytelling and figure skating as well as their likelihoods.

1. Did Viktor commission the music for Stammi Vicino?

According to Mitsurou Kubo, the aria is a piece of music that exists in the world of YOI. It was written specifically for the anime and did not exist before like Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Lilac Fairy (Young Viktor’s SP) or Mozart’s Kleine Nachtmusik (Fujiwara Hikaru’s FS, ep. 5). However, it’s unclear whether the aria exists because Viktor wanted a special piece of music to surprise the audience it or whether it exists on his own. All we know is that Sayo Yamamoto instructed the composer of YOI, Matsushiba Taku, to compose the song in the style of an Italian opera from the 19th century, using some prepared plot for the piece—the story that is told through the lyrics. Unlike Shall We Skate, Destiny of Nights, or The Inferno, which are from movie soundtracks that indeed exist in YOI, Stammi Vicino has never explicitly been labelled as a song from an opera—neither in the anime nor in any interview.

Or in other words: The information the creators provided can be interpreted either way.

However, we have this shot of Viktor skating Stammi Vicino overlayed with Yuuri’s inner monologue:

That suggests as if Stammi Vicino is one of the pieces Viktor commissioned, doesn’t it?

Of course, it’s possible that the YOI creators used this shot because they lacked the time to animate Viktor skating to an entirely different routine. However, that would be misleading and confusing and would be discouraged from a storytelling viewpoint. Given that the creators had to condense to plot of YOI to ~50% of its initial size to fit it into 12 episodes, they had to be smart about it. Every scene and every image needed to be filled with meaning in order to convey as much of the story within the given constraints as possible, leaving no room for accidental misdirection. If conveying that Viktor had music written for his own programmes was their intention but Stammi Vicino was not one of those songs, a smart solution would have been a series of pictures showing Viktor in different costumes. To save time, they could have recycled the posters in Yuuri’s room for that purpose. The fact that they didn’t do that, suggests that Viktor had the music for Stammi Vicino written.

Combining Yuuri’s inner monologue of Viktor commissioning music for his programmes with footage of Viktor skating to such a programme is clever storytelling because it transports additional meaning through images, which is how visual media work. Being Viktor’s fan, Yuuri knows which songs Viktor commissioned because skaters love to talk about these things in interviews.

The abovementioned scene makes it seem as if Viktor has been commissioning music for his programmes for several seasons at least. While this doesn’t rule out the possibility that he occasionally picked an already existing song for whichever reason, Stammi Vicino applies to Viktor’s situation so neatly that the lyrics must have been tailored to him. The commentator’s words during Viktor’s performance furthermore suggest that this programme shows a new and personal side of him. An while this could work for a song that already exists, it is unlikely that such a song matches the vision of a perfectionist sufficiently. A genius like Viktor would rather think “Okay, that’s nice. But this verse and that verse don’t align with my idea at all. Nah, I’ll call my composer and ask them to write a song for me.”

Stammi Vicino holds unambiguous references to Plato’s Symposium, which the YOI creators have talked about repeatedly. And while this is neither an argument for or against the song already existing long before Viktor even thought about a new free programme, it seems too coincidental for a plausible narration.

Having an aria composed to surprise an audience that is becoming harder and harder to surprise sounds a lot like Viktor Nikiforov, right?

That Viktor commissioned the music for Stammi Vicino is more likely storytelling-wise and aligns better with his characterisation, than Viktor using an already existing song for such an intimate programme.

2. When did Viktor choreograph Stammi Vicino?

Viktor’s first appearance in his Stammi Vicino costume is during the medal ceremony of the Sochi GPF. As the avid figure skating fan that I am, I could let the line of argument end here. But since many fans of Yuri!!! On Ice aren’t familiar with the sport, I’m going to break down why it’s unlikely that Viktor wore the same costume for two difference performances.

Let’s assume for one moment that he indeed wore the purple costume with the golden tassels for two different performances.

While there is no rule against that, it rarely ever happens. Some skaters reuse one of their costumes from competition for a gala programme, but that a skater uses the same costume for another short or free programme is unusual. And there are some very good reasons why that is so.

Music, composition, choreography, and costume build the concept of a figure skating programme. The more perfectionist a skater is (and many of the top skaters are hardcore perfectionists), the more specific you can bet they are about the concept. Having full authority over his programmes, Viktor can be as particular about his programmes as he likes and have costumes tailored that match his vision 100%. And while costumes like Viktor’s are expensive, some figure skaters even get a new costume mid-season if it matches the concept of their programme better.

Figure skating is an expensive sport, but of all the skaters in YOI, Viktor has to worry about money the least. Not only does his clothing suggest that he’s loaded—skaters at his level often get money from doing ads or having sponsors—figure skating is state-funded in Russia, meaning that his skating federation pays for all his expenses.

But wait, what about Viktor changing his free programme to Stammi Vicino right after the Sochi GPF?

Asking that question would lead right to another question: Why would Viktor wear the same costume at the Sochi medal ceremony as he wears three months later at Worlds when the YOI creators gave Chris and JJ costumes that look different from those we seen them wear later for a shot that only lasts a few seconds?

Could it be that Viktor kept the free skating costume because he met Yuuri in Sochi?

To answer that question, we need to take a look at the parameters of the encounter that made Viktor fall for Yuuri head over heels: Being the closing event of a figure skating competition, the banquet happens on the last day when all programmes are skates, all medals have been awarded, and the gala is done. Yuuri and Viktor met there, wearing suits, not the costumes in which they competed. So if Stammi Vicino existed because of Yuuri, wearing a suit would make more sense to narrate the encounter. Unless Viktor wanted to be super abstract about it.

Some skaters change their programme mid-season because their current programme doesn’t work for some reason. Some switch back to an old programme, while others create an entirely new programme. If Viktor had indeed created Stammi Vicino because of his encounter with Yuuri, he would have needed to postpone his work on the routine until late December because his schedule leaves him one week after the GPF to prepare for Russian Nationals—just enough time to pitch the idea to his composer.

A top skater like Viktor could absolutely pull off practising a new free programme in the month between Russian Nationals and Europeans and winning with it. There are a couple of skaters who are reckless enough to do that like Stéphane Lambiel who switched his free programme right before Worlds 2005 and won. Surprising the audience with a new programme mid-season would sound like something Viktor would do—with a new costume.

However, Yuuri started practising Stammi Vicino when his disastrous skate at Nationals ended his season and not one month later (Japanese Nationals and Russian Nationals take place at the same time). And while this isn’t a completely unlikely scenario if one doesn’t take his words of starting right after Nationals literally, it still contradicts the plot and would leave Yuuri less time to produce a perfect copy while studying for his graduation.

To sum this up…

Whereas fan theories deserve to be awarded for their creativity, the likeliest explanation is always the one that aligns best with the facts. There is no valid reason for a figure skater to change their free programme mid-season and keep the costume, even more so if that skater is a notorious perfectionist like Viktor Nikiforov who loves to surprise the audience. The fact that Viktor wore the purple costume in Sochi already can be taken as proof that Stammi Vicino has been his programme all season long. If Viktor changed his programme because of Yuuri, it would have needed to be addressed within the story in some way, even as subtle as giving him a different costume.

There’s an inherent beauty in Viktor having created Stammi Vicino before he met Yuuri because it gives him an agenda beyond his love interest. Well-crafted characters exist outside of their interactions and relationships with the rest of the cast. Viktor had a life, albeit a lonely one, before Yuuri and his (secret) longing for love was an inherent part of it. Especially in a show that is limited to 12 episodes and in which every image is filled with meaning, every little detail needs to be fitted into the narration just perfectly for solid storytelling.

If you enjoyed this analysis, please consider checking out my works on AO3 (link in bio)!

[catboymoments]

YEAH ITS FROM PERSONA TRINITY SOUL. The song itself is called Burning Men’s Soul by Taku Iwasaki who also composed Soul Eater, Gurren Lagann, and a bunch of other stuff!!!

GIRL I JUST KNEW IT FROM THE TOBY FOX VIDEO

[yuzurujenn]

[2024.05.01] GQ Japan x Yuzuru Hanyu - JUNE ISSUE

Yuzuru Hanyu’s Challenge

After winning two consecutive Olympic gold medals, Yuzuru Hanyu, who turned professional in 2022, is taking on a new form of expression: an ice show that the produced entirely on his own. The extraordinary figure skater danced in front of the cameras, dressed in items designed by Gucci’s new creative director, Sabato de Sarno.

Photographs by Taro Mizutani Styled by Tetsuro Nagase Hair styled by TAKU VOW-VOW FOR CUTTERS Makeup by COCO SEKIKAWA OFFICE Words by Kosuke Kawakami

The unique path that Yuzuru Hanyu walks After entering the studio and exchanging a few words with photographer Taro Mizutani, Yuzuru Hanyu operated his smartphone as if convinced of something. A gentle piano piece played from the speakers. It was ‘aqua’, a piece composed for his daughter by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who passed away last year. Moving his body flexibly, as if surrendering to the music, the studio had transformed into a beautiful, dignified and tense space that no one could step into.

“When I saw the lighting directly above me, I thought it looked like the sun, like light from heaven. Mr. Mizutani also said, ‘I want you to look up. I want you to look up and think about something’. I thought it feels like a prayer, so I chose ‘aqua’ because it fits the image".

As a figure skater, he was won all sorts of accolades, including two consecutive Olympic titles, two World Championships, and four consecutive Grand Prix Final titles. He has also received the People’s Honor Award. In 2022, he became a professional skater in order to ‘pursue the ideal of Yuzuru Hanyu’. Since then, he has held numerous self-produced ice shows and solo performances at Tokyo Dome, Saitama Super Arena, and other venues.

“Even though I turned professional, I don’t think my fundamentals have changed. The world I’ve always wanted to express, the artistic nature of figure skating and the athletic aspect of it has not changed. During competitions, there are always rules and there are times when I had to perform in a certain way. But in the world of shows, I have to satisfy the audience in 360-degree, I have to use my brain to create the videos that will be played at the venue and I have to think about the words that I want to convey. I am expanding and deepening my thoughts to areas that I have not considered before.”

Just as a musician plays music and an artist uses a paintbrush, Hanyu uses his body to express himself.

“What’s fun about it is that when everyone watches it, I get to see a lot of different opinions, people think about it in different ways and each person interprets it in their own way. What I'm doing, I believe that what I am creating is a ‘path’. The values, background, past, future, and so on become the path, and along the way, one may notice something or feel something. I want the audience to see it and share it. I’m really happy when people say that they enjoyed the journey and are glad that they walked the path. That makes me happy and that’s why I feel like I can continue on this path”.

When asked if he thinks it’s more fun now that he can express and create freely than in the competitive days when he was bound by rules and forced to compete, Hanyu thought for a while and then denied it.

“I don’t think it’s good enough just to feel fun. Ever since my competitive days, I’ve always believed that competitions aren’t about having fun, and I’ve never wavered from that philosophy of mine. There are some people who say you can only perform well if you enjoy it, and I understand why people think that’s the right answer. But for me, if I have fun, I feel like I’m not being serious enough. There is a certain kind of performance that comes out because of the tension, and that is what allows me to train hard every day. Even in the creative field, when it comes to creating something, it is not good just to have fun. Of course, it’s possible because there’s also fun in it, and I’m able to create because someone sees it and enjoys it, which brings me joy and happiness. But if I continue to only feel fun, I may end up with just empty words and a false worldview with no depth.

Hanyu says that he feels he lacks ‘vocabulary’ as an artist.

“Vocabulary is also necessary for physical expression. If I want to show a scene just by moving my hands a little, I need to know the techniques to do so. I have to learn how to move my hands in such a way that it looks beautiful, and engrave it in my body. Let my nerves learn it, let my brain study it, and eventually I will be able to do it. It’s not like I can dance like a professional dancer or ballerina, but I’ve been figure skating for more than 20 years. Because of this, I have the potential to create new expressions by learning their techniques. I believe that if I study hard and able to do it on the ice, I will become a unique presence”.

There is no goal, no rivals to compete with. Yet, without hesitation, he continues on his own path.

“Being on the ice is like my ‘native language’ (laughs), so if I move away from it, I am no longer Yuzuru Hanyu. The knowledge, experience and soul I’ve cultivated since I was four years old are there, a place where I can express myself from the bottom of my heart. Of course, I’ll probably start to decline as I age, but if I continue to use the language of figure skating for another 30 years, there may be a form of expression that can only be created at that particular time and age. I believe there is such a possibility, and I think I must continue to strive for that possibility”.

Yuzuru Hanyu, as the one and only Yuzuru Hanyu, continues to move forward focusing on expression on the ice.

GQ Japan - June 2024 issue, released on 2024.05.01

More: 1 https://twitter.com/GQJAPAN/status/1782938296944857402 2 https://twitter.com/GQJAPAN/status/1785448080340337135 3 https://twitter.com/GQJAPAN/status/1783692480782704746

Full article published online on 8th May 2024: https://www.gqjapan.jp/article/20240508-yuzuru-hanyu-cover-story

[pinkeatom29]

true

Little Jumbo (1977)

[mahoromouse]

The complete Bucchigiri?! article from Animage April 2024

Spreads are read from right to left and include interviews with Arajin and Matakara's VA's (Genki Okawa and Yusuke Hoshino), an interview with director Hiroko Utsumi, an interview with head writer Taku Kishimoto, and an interview with music composer Michiru Oshima.

[rikeijo]

Today's translation #641

Go Yuri!!! Go official fanbook, Tominaga Keisuke's comment

Serenade for two

In case of this song, we purposefully made it 'doesn't it actually cross a line if it's about brother and sister?!' risky, by making the music Michele uses for his program a sweet and stylish love song in a style of standards from bygone days or old musicals. The man x woman couple from the lyrics is basically 'normal' though, so it's not that the song itself is in any way doing something that is forbidden (laugh). This song is so high-level and lavish, that it takes first or second place among all Yuri!!! on ICE music, when it comes to technique, time and effort, as well as financial cost it took us to create it. ...but in the show, we only hear it once (laugh). You should definitely give it a one more listen.

(+ Umebayashi Taro's comment) The call out line [I'm sure he means 'You mean the world to me, my lady~'] in the middle part of the song, and the interlude with a change of melody after that, is a part of the song that I'm particularly fond of. We eliminated repeats of melody, and made the rhythm less pronounced to compose a really dazzling song.

(+ Matsushiba Taku's comment) It's one of the best three compositions in the soundtrack, that I'm really proud of.

[Note: Why they put so much effort into a song that's supposed to be played once for quite a minor side character...? ✨✨✨]

[a-forbidden-detective]

No, I am not going to change this blog to Calcaldan, but I am seeing the VA crew that composed of the voices of RonToto, Spitz and Dr. Hirsch (Azakami, Enojun, Taku, Kenjiro) and it pains me that RKDD is not part of the Anime Japan 2025! 😭

[toshio]

Soul Eater OST - Camellia (composed by 岩崎 琢)

[teoft]

Falling Velocity

Composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi Sound Produced & Arranged by Taku Iwasaki Lyrics by Lotus Juice

You wanna know how I do it, You wanna flow like how I did, God knows why he provided it, The Heat, The Pain, The Heart

[gu6chan]

not even into black butler anymore beyond the nostalgia of it all but this question has always been on my mind so please any current black butler fans who see this

being so fr i never even HEARD the last guys stuff but ig they got a new one for the most recent season(s)???? my personal opinion below so ppl who dont want to hear my abysmal black butler takes do not have to see it

being so fr i DID enjoy the book of murder ost by a lot specifically because of how much it reminded me of season 1-2's ost but i didn't jive with season 3/the movie's ost like. at all. it was GOOD but iwasaki taku just had so much sauce that it just felt so basic in comparison 😭 the least i can tell is that yasunori DID try!!! it's really not bad, there are a few tracks beyond the original anime's run I DO like by a lot but iwasaki just had banger after banger and this is 1000% just nostalgia speaking im pretty sure but like. he just got the vibe of the thing down so GOOD and until they have the balls to bring back triphop into black butler i really can't justify the other stuff im afraid.... 😔 i remember the days si deus me relinquit was iconic.... Anyways i was so curious if my diehard "Iwasaki Taku is THE black butler composer and the face of it and everything thats good and amazing and kind about the world and everyone else can try but they'll never be him" take actually was something not universally despised upon by the fanbase for once or if it is just me being delusional again, many thanks!!!!! :)))

[thereasonsimbroke]

For #Pokémon Day, February 27, the official Japanese X account announced a new #Anime titled Kairyū to Yūbinya-san (Dragonite and the Mailman) will debut on the #Pokemon YouTube channel.

Produced by CoMix Wave Films, it's directed by Taku Kimura, with Kentarō Nana writing the script. Asuka Dokai and Maho Aoki, the animation directors, designed the characters. Tasuku Watanabe is the art director, and Evan Call composed the music and theme song, "Kami Hikōki," featuring vocals by suis.

The series follows Hana, a girl who admires a postal worker named #Dragonite. She embarks on an adventure with her Fuecoco after receiving a letter from a boy named Rio, whose father, who is working abroad in Kanto, may not receive it in time.

[whattheheckisatazelwurm]

Carpet Theory (I'm serious)

Hear me out.

So we've all seen the shitposts Toby's made on his Bluesky sampling Burning Men's Soul from the Persona Trinity Soul anime, right? You know, the "Check it out, I'm in the house like carpet" one. Well, I think there's a nonzero chance this sample could show up in Deltarune.

Why do I think this could happen? Well, for one thing... he totally could. If you don't know, those vocals actually DIDN'T originate from the Persona Trinity Soul song they're often attributed to. Composer Taku Iwasaki simply grabbed some vocals from a sample CD. Because the isolated vocals came from a sample CD, that obviously means they're free to sample. Toby could absolutely just slap those vocals into his game and would be completely within his rights to do so.

A quirk of Toby's sound design is that sometimes he'll use voice samples, usually to seemingly indicate that a particular character is unusual or off-putting. Flowey has voice clips, Jevil has voice clips, Spamton has voice clips in his music. Flowey's clips were taken from Ronald McDonald of all places, so it's not like he's a stranger to taking clips from goofy sources, either. There seems to be a pattern of paring voice samples with intimidating boss fights, also. Either way, it's effective. When a game is largely made up of simplistic sound effects, hearing what is recognizably a human voice is attention-grabbing. If it does get sampled, it probably won't be straight, like how it is in the Persona song. It'll probably be chopped up and sentence mixed.

As for whether the shitposts are intentional foreshadowing or not, that's kind of a chicken or the egg situation. It's possible that he only made those videos because he was already messing with that vocal track. It's equally possible that he could've decided to include them after messing with them for fun. He's included real life dev references and altered minor aspects for fun late in development before, like chapter 2 having cheeky references to the long dev time, or turning what was meant to just be a shopkeeper in Cyber World into three different characters because he just liked the concept art so much. It's not that much of a stretch to think he would include a nod to a meme he obviously really likes, especially when considering the sample is free to use. This isn't a situation like You've Got a Friend in Me where there would be issues with him using the song commercially.

Toby seems to be a pretty big Megami Tensei fan. Hell, the entire system of talking to monsters instead of fighting them that Undertale is founded on was inspired by them SMT negotiation system. While the games have featured musical references to other big inspirations, like Mother and Touhou, I don't think there's ever been any direct musical nods to Megaten. The sample might not originate from Persona, but that's definitely how it's most known, and how it got discovered more or less.

Lastly, this one's crazy, but, if the sample WAS gonna be used in Deltarune... there's pretty much already a perfect place for it to go! After all, what was that first, most iconic line again? "Check it out, I'm in the house like carpet" And where is chapter 3 most likely going to have it's Dark World take place again? In Kris' house. Like Carpet.

Yeah, that's dumb, let's not think too hard about that.

TL;DR, there's a weirdly high chance we're gonna hear the funny Houselike Carpet sample in Deltarune, and I'm not sure how to feel about that.

[foreigndistance]

Jubilee, Rank #72 (a post-event reflection)

“Why would you post this on Nocturne’s 7th anniversary of its addition to Starlight Stage?” Because one, I like the song—especially the original duet. And two, screw it, we roll.

It has been a few weeks since the event ended, but I’ve been trying to write this reflection for weeks without trying to lose my mind over actually writing out several thoughts (both good and bad) over a collaboration event in a mobile rhythm/gacha game. Forgive me for the raw honest thoughts I’m about to say in there.

The Prologue

Hoshimachi Suisei is a virtual YouTuber (VTuber) affiliated with Hololive Production, one of the biggest virtual agencies for such talents. She is one of the earliest talents recruited by the agency, alongside other soloist VTubers like Tokino Sora, Roboco, Sakura Miko, and AZKi—together referred to as “Generation 0”. She is also someone striving to become an idol herself. Prior to becoming affiliated with her current agency, she had tried entering IRL idol agencies, to no avail. She tried joining Hololive Production, but got rejected. She got into INoNaKa Music, but would eventually get transferred into Hololive’s main JP branch in December 2019.

To briefly describe her activities: Suisei is a forever 18, multi-talented idol who has done (and sung) a lot of accomplishments over the years. She has interest in 2D idols as well, with her having interest in Ensemble Stars!! and THE IDOLM@STER, the latter of which being an inspiration that led her into her own idol journey. She would do covers alongside other Hololive talents with songs from those two series. “Honeycomb Summer”, “Melty♡Kitchen”, “Alive Factor”, “Hanamuke no Tori”… to name a few. There were also times where she would often be pulling in the respective games’ gacha, often spending a lot of money on them. Her favorite idols from Enstars!! and IM@S include Ritsu Sakuma, Natsume Sakasaki, Hayate Hisakawa, and Kaede Takagaki.

Six years after her debut, she would perform with her own tantou.

At Suisei’s 6th Anniversary 3D live, appropriately titled “SheenderellaDay”, a certain someone would perform with one of her fans.

The song? It was “Koi Kaze”.

Suisei shared the same stage with no one other than Kaede Takagaki, who was in her 1st SSR outfit. This was followed up by a small MC corner. Kaede switched into her 4th SSR outfit, and then a new song written by Suisei’s recurring composer, lyricist, and fellow Midnight Grand Orchestra member TAKU INOUE started playing on stage. As the concert was happening, I was merely saying “congrats” in my mind.

And thus, the grand “Jubilee” started.

The Event (and My Mixed Feelings)

It’s easy for me to say that among the people who wanted a Hololive collab with THE IDOLM@STER in-game, Suisei probably won the hardest. She got her own in-game event, original song, a commu, and even an SSR in the series she loves—ignoring the behind-the-scenes shenanigans we will probably never fully know about. There were previous Hololive collab events in other gacha games, with Tokyo 7th Sisters and Granblue Fantasy getting their collabs in the past few years, but when it came to Starlight Stage’s collaborations, this was the game’s most intense collab yet.

I… didn’t initially plan on running this event much. While I was initially excited by the intensity of the collab event upon its official announcement, there were lingering feelings of “what if this were to be my tantou idol’s last event” and a slight hint of disappointment. The “end” of Starlight Stage had become a recurring topic among English-speaking Ps ever since the so-called “content reduction” announcement was released before the end of 2023. The collaboration itself was teased in that same announcement, but I presumed that the things around the collab were already in production as the whole “content reduction” stuff was being decided. The thought of losing IM@S’ most profitable mobile game because of whatever Bandai Namco is up to is kinda scary. It’s a silly sentiment towards a live service mobile game that will shut down eventually, but the thought is also real.

Then, there’s Kaede herself. Her last token event (and unit from the original mobile game) in Deresute, “Pretty Liar”, was held back in 2018. There’s… things I could say about her content released after that, both things I liked, things I felt odd towards, and things I didn’t really like all that much. In a nutshell: I want to see Kaede as “herself” and not just as the “final boss” Cinderella Girl that she is. It’s complicated.

And yet, this event’s timing couldn’t have been even more perfect. Lately I’ve been finding March and April to have moments involving my tantous. The event’s duration overlapped with March 30 (one year since Cinderella FES Mizuki’s release and eventually sparking FES Kaede in that same banner) and April 2 (10th Anniversary Tour Final, aka the live that changed the trajectory of my producing life forever). And the whole thing took place during Holy Week break, no less. The only real issues I would’ve had were potential connection issues that may arise in a then-upcoming 3-day road trip.

Why did this event have to be 11 days long?

The Actual Grind

Day 1 of the event started with me messing around with all my early intense grinding. I managed to get around the top 20 within the first 30 minutes of the event. Trying to maintain a top 100 spot was hard during the first few days, but eventually things stabilized as the days went on.

For a short break during the first day, I pulled on the collab gacha. My Suisei gacha tickets didn’t give me too much and got me an off-rate SSR (Miyo1), so I resorted to using jewels. Here came Kaede’s collab limited SSR, fully animated. My jewel count went from 55k at the start of the event to 36k—which would eventually be thrown into event ranking hell instead of being saved for the Kaede7 reruns (which was its own story).

During day 2, I kept playing (actually sending my auto Grand team through EVERLASTING FORTE hell and back) while I was at a local convention for the whole afternoon. Not pictured: me showing fellow artists there that I was playing the event! I may have fallen out from my goal for a while, dammit, but I kept farming for tokens anyway.

In addition, I drank some coffee especially during the last few days, although sometimes I find myself feeling a bit sleepy…

Throughout days 6-8, I was stuck on the annual provincial road trip during Holy Week. I brought two phones through the whole thing: my main phone whose mobile data has been mostly spent on event grinding, and a side phone where I would often chat on Discord or play videos and music during the trip. During the second night, I did get to stay in the hotel room by myself (we had two hotel rooms) and took that opportunity to try staying awake.

On day 9, I hit the 99,999,999 money cap for the first time. Nothing too significant about it other than me having to spend a lot on stuff from the limited money shop. (That’s why gold bars exist in-game!)

The final two nights had me trying my damn best to stay up for as much as possible past 1 or 2 AM. If you really value your sleep and sanity over a dumb number for a popular idol’s event, I do not recommend this.

The last day of the event was quite a stressful trip. Within the final 24 hours, I wanted to try reaching the maximum amount of tokens you could hold (99,999 tokens) but I feared that there would not be enough time for me to reach the target. I ended up stopping the EVERLASTING FORTE grind as soon as I got to 90k.

I wanted to park at certain numbers related to my tantous (Ray Distance’s Mobamas debut date, the day CG 4th LIVE’s performance of Nocturne happened, etc.) but I wouldn’t have enough time and/nor tokens to actually reach those numbers. Near the end I tried getting 1,591,715 (Mizuki and Kaede’s respective heights) but in the end, I only managed to reach the 1.59 million point mark with the last tokens I grinded and spent.

The hardest part of the event was actually trying to keep that high amount of uptime, and it was more apparent when I would get knocked out as I was trying to stay awake. I have a terrible sleep schedule (or lack thereof) but my sleepy butt wouldn’t keep me awake for too long. The loop of pressing buttons every 2 minutes felt monotonous for 11 days straight, minus the part where I actually played the event song for either jewels or to get a high score.

My complicated feelings towards Kaede’s latest event song being a collab with a popular VTuber was stuck in my mind, and I first thought I would try to settle for Top 500 early on; but previous sentiments and “final event” anxiety, combined with some encouragement from friends and other Producers (who ranked with me) kept telling me to keep going.

I ultimately finished the event at rank #72, which is… certainly a number associated with ChihayaPs. With a total of 1,590,435 points. I saw the numbers on Haruka’s birthday (April 3), send help.

I also made it to SSS rankings for the first time. It’s something I never really cared for, usually, but apparently ranking very high in a token event would let you in the top 1000. I never saw my actual SSS rank at the end of March (since I was too busy grinding), but I probably made it in the top 500 in the 91st SSS ranking that month.

The Tantou Unit Revenge

There’s one last thing I want to talk about, something I’ve been preparing for almost a year by that point. Long story short: I wanted to tier for the units I produce, and for the idols that are closest to me. I wanted to do that with S.E.M (my first tantou unit), but over the last few years my chances kept fading with each SideM game that got killed. By the time Growing Stars leaked announced its shutdown, I ended up starting to ask for a Kaede and Mizuki event (as Ray Distance) for me to tier in for me to have some form of “revenge” and (hopefully) closure on that front.

Of course that dream event didn’t happen (yet), knowing how much Bandai Namco and Cygames likes putting that After20 duo (who also have some of the busiest VAs in the series) together sometimes.

Over 2023, I did get some top 2000s here and there, in both token and groove events. The last event with my actual tantous in it happened over a year ago (Heartboiled Wars with Tomoe). Every event I’ve tiered in has had an idol I like: Aki, Sanae, Airi, Kanade, and Koharu.

And yet, I didn’t tier in this event because I like Suisei… I tiered in this event because I like Kaede. So much that I ended up producing her.

As weird as I feel about the collaboration as a whole, giving up on this chance would’ve left me with intense regret for several reasons. Future me would be really disappointed if this is to be Kaede’s final Starlight Stage event. (So I hope she gets one more event after this…)

The possibility of me failing a chance of tiering one of my closest tantou’s events again scared me. I lost my chances more than once, and it would probably hurt if I give up that chance. It wasn’t the ideal event I wanted to try in, but the timing was too perfect not to ignore either. There were many thoughts swirling in my head throughout the whole thing, but then again… it’s a tantou event in the end.

I’m awaiting Mizuki’s next event (especially since she hasn’t gotten a new song for nearly 3 years now), but I need to recover first.

Despite everything…

In the end, I do not regret being Kaede’s producer.

The Stats

PLv: 347 → 501. The 2x fan campaign combined with a bit of the EXP Produce perk boosts may have helped a lot.

Jewel count: 55k (pre-gacha) → 36k (post-gacha) → 7k. Thank goodness I didn’t have to spark Kaede in that limited banner.

Idols made past 15 million fans: Uzuki, Takumi, Nanami, and Tomoe. Three of my tantous & an excessive use of Nanami’s FES SSR.

Idols made past 10 million fans: Seira, Yui, and Koharu. Sanae, Miku, Nana, Ranko, and Karen also got a significant boost in fans due to all of this.

SSS songs cleared: Gaze and Gaze. Been wanting to save getting that clear for a special event.

Stamina drinks spent: everything.

Total no of EVERLASTING FORTE plays at the end: 2,947.

SSRs obtained from collab gacha: 5 (two Kaedes, one Rin4, a Makino1 dupe, and a Miyo1.) I’d eventually gain another 2 SSRs after the event (neither of them were Suisei though. I had to resist pulling further because a Kaede7 rerun was coming…)

The Special Thanks

The KaigaiPs that ranked with me in the top 100 (Zhu and Shiina especially—those two are on a different league of their own) for helping me survive this tiresome first Deresute T100 attempt.

My fellow online friends from the various Discord servers and on Twitter, for supporting me. I’ve been keeping that whole thing under wraps from my main account out of embarrassment, but yeah.

The Hololive Fan Wiki, Virtual YouTuber Wiki, and the JP Hololive Unofficial Wiki for Suisei research.

As a final note… when’s Passion Jewelries? Or the next Kaede/Mizuki event?