Friday, September 18, 2026

Chirping Crumbles (September 14th/16th/18th, 2026) - Ranking Dojo 2026's Tatsujin Contenders Unmasked!



All throughout this week, the same artist-comments treatment was suplied for the three surprise debuts from Nijiiro Version's final Ranking Dojo main trial for this year, each also seeing their song uploaded in the official Bandai Namco YT channel to boot!

Starting thing up, we've got Nivalis*Anima, the surprise debutant from the nicknamed CHUBAY (already in Ranking Dojo with his Vixtory) and the MisoilePunch♪ duo consisting of Ponchi♪ and MisoMyl, already fresh of Tatsujin waters with their vs.VIGVANGS from last year (look forward to the official MV!). To better reresent the two facets of the cold's beauty, the MisoilePunch duo inked the base with CHYBAY's input steering in the direction of expressing the fear of "swallowing up everything". MisoMyl in particular further inches on the concept of something as delicate as snow being the biggest of physical hurdles in nature, specifically on how the slow rise of a snowstorm can not only deprive mounaineers of their physical prowess, but also their sight!



Next in line is Mayoidzuki ('Night Moon' in English), the labor of love of former Tatsujin-tune-crafting musicians: former band members Azu♪ and Masahiro "Godspeed" Aoki, joined by the INSPION guitar player who first managed to have a Tatsujin course seat twice... with the same song!

Azu♪ was given the task of a draft piece with the Moon as the theme, ought by the Taiko Team to tackled it in a trick way to give out the moon's phase transitions (he mentioned the Waxing and Waning ones, in particular). Godspeed focused on giving the base an 'orderly appearance', pushed by his own internal inquiry to what could he add to the song as a musical instrument performer while still leaving a catchy stay. The balance between the two views was molded by Daisuke Kurosawa by chasing the idea of 'Tomorrow' in many a facet: a brand new day, a brand new way to express himself and top-tier challenges by shooting for a more complex rhythm that his first submitted draft, fond by the "metamorphosis" crafted by Godspeed for the final portion of the song. You can tell he's very earnest about it, with choice terms for his impression slide like 'kinky' and 'HenTai' as a portmanteau for Azu♪ and the Taiko Team at the end!




The final of the trio goes by the flowery title of Gin no Reimei Ka, Kuro no Akira Ka Ka. (The Dawn of Silver, or the Crystalline Flower of Black.), brought us by Camellia and t+pazolite.

Both artists were asked to make "a bad song to serve as a threat" and a buncha other menacing terms, all turning mush to t+pazolite's ears as non-appropriate for his part on song-making, as a testament to reflect the Taiko no Tatsujin series' uniqueness. Camellia, on the other hand, interpreted the tall order as something that "has to be destroyed at all costs", something that would make people not only see its end, but also the seeping light dawning beyond it.

...while we're at it, if you forgot from the last livestream, we're having a couple of returning Weekend Warriors tomorrow! You can even hear the official audio rips for them on YouTube...

Saturday, September 12, 2026

Song of the Week! 12 September 2026


It's Ranking Dojo update day and while we're cooking up the First Fideo Portal with today's fiends, here's what lied at the end of this year's 10-Dan course. Can't talk about one of those without the other, after all!

Friday, September 11, 2026

Livestream Recap: 2026/09/11 Taiko no Tatsujin Official Livestream



The latest livestream antics of Etou and Kimizu have dropped a bit earlier than the usual weekend gateaway window, but nevertheless we got your back on the recap action! See you after the jump for the image-based recap, with the full stream on toe above these lines.

Taiko no Tatsujin Music Recruitment 2026 - A Small Musical Primer

太鼓の達人 楽曲募集だドン!2026

A customary habit for us (although a little bit later on my part, this time around...), let's have a listen to a small selection of contest entries from the latest Columbia Makes music primer, between newcomers and familiar names. It's quite a way for us to prime ourselves for today's Taiko Team livestream, isn't it?
  • UP(lift × set × grade), the latest attempt for Mihile to jump back at the music contests' winning chariot after his Overblaze from 2024, which -while not winning- was still worth to be one of the most-voted songs by online users. It's been backed by someone else this time, too- the comedian Paamataisa (パーマ大佐)!
  • Chroma no Sora Shite, Shukufuku (クロマの空にて、祝福) by Ammobie, delivering a chiptune/drum'n'bass after a lucky music selection for an upcoming release on Dynamix Universe, C4Cat's first rhythm game sequel to a game of theirs.
  • METEOR RiDER, by Shiena. Don't let that not-capitalized 'i' ut you in a ruse, there's no YOFUKASHi Sound Team around for this one's making!
  • Yoi no Xiao Akari (宵の硝灯), coming from the hands of another not-winning General Public Voting composer from the 2024 edition who still made it to the top-voted picks, with their EUPHORiC ENERZY -XD-. Much like with Mihile, Reku Mochizuki didn't come alone this time, with extra guitar backing from Sho Yoshida (吉田翔).
  • Takiyasha-hime (滝夜叉姫), by the nicknamed G4zan. Worth noting, the composer's online presence via personal YouTube channel is distinguished in rhythm gaming talk with a series of videos devoted to break down beatmania IIDX songs to locate each voice samples inside them, with music editor on toe. Is this skills translatable to judge-worthy music submission, too?
  • Say Zay GunBullet!!!, from MYUKKE. The OCCHOCO-REST-LESS artist with many a prized original tune made for Muse Dash is giving it all once more, for another of the Nijiiro-era contests' more steady appliers. Not to mention he was another General User Voting finalist, two years back!
  • NEXUS, a track posted in the last submission days by a DJ and rhythm games streamer on Twitch. It's all fine and dandy, but I gotta say- with an art name like 'DJ Enter', these past few years of me being exposed to Project Moon brainrot on all sorts sure aren't helping in picturing nothing but the flashy stand of a one-winged fixer...
  • END IN TRAGEDY, a way for us to end in a bang instead of tragedy! What we have, in fact, is a (one of two) contest track from Yasuhiro 'TAG' Taguchi (田口康裕), famously a former in-house bemani composer for a whopping fifteen years of tenure, between DanceDanceRevolution charting and original music creation. Ever since he has went freelancer in 2021, his works have appeared in more than a dozen other external music game series (not to mention SOUND VOLTEX 's GERBERA, who got into Taiko arcades thanks to the Tenkaichi Otogesai tournaments). Are we going to witness the first original debut on his, with this contest?

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Namco Taiko Blog (2026/09/03): Nijiiro ver. September Update and Ranking Dojo 2026 Finale Dated


hi we almost forgot this blog post again :3

After the August update only implementing the font change, Taiko no Tatsujin Nijiiro ver. is back with actual new playable content with the September update (2026/09/09 in Japan, 2026/09/10 worldwide except mainland China).

Also revealed is the date of introduction of the Ranking Dojo 2026 finale being 2026/09/12. We will let your speculative mind run wild on that front before the 2026/09/11 official livestream.

Official Links
Nijiiro ver. Track Updates

Title
2026/09/09 (Japan), 2026/09/10 (worldwide except mainland China)
Yoru no Odoriko
夜の踊り子
★3 ★4 ★5 ★7
Ebi Chili, Hajimemashita Shiritsu Ebisu Chuugaku
えびチリ、はじめました/私立恵比寿中学
★3 ★4 ★5 ★6
ルミナス-Luminous One Piece
  「ワンピース」より
★2 ★4 ★4 ★6
Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 6RR PLUS Medley Vol.2
湾岸ミッドナイト マキシマムチューン6RR PLUSメドレー Vol.2
★3 ★5 ★5 ★8
Key: red = series debut; blue = arcade debut

Taiko no Tatsujin Donderful Festival September 2026 Updates

August 2026
This post will be periodically updated across the month as announcements are revealed.
October 2026 ▶
Taiko Music Pass Track Additions

Title
2026/09/03 (source)
Fuwa Ride-on hiyama & Yasunori Matsuya feat. Rika Morinaga
付和ライドオン/hiyama & 松谷康德 feat. 森永理科
★3 ★5 ★7 ★9
2026/09/10 (source)
Kyou'iku Bangumi no Theme
きょういくばんぐみのテーマ
★2 ★4 ★5 ★7 ★9
2026/09/17 (source)
Don-chan Shitai! Takenoko Shounen feat. Hatsune Miku
どんちゃんしたい!/タケノコ少年 feat. 初音ミク
★4 ★6 ★8 ★8
Next reveal: ???
?? ??? ★? ★? ★? ★?
Key: red = series debut; green = subscription/freemium debut

DLC Additions

Title
2026/09/03: 1990s Pops Pack (source)
Timing ~タイミング~ ★2 ★4 ★6 ★8
Apollo
アポロ
★2 ★4 ★4 ★2 ★8
Robinson
ロビンソン
★3 ★3 ★4 ★7
Sore ga Daiji
それが大事
★3 ★4 ★6 ★7
HOT LIMIT ★3 ★4 ★6 ★7 ★8
Key: red = series debut; blue = console debut

Taiko Music Pass Featured Playlist

Title
Title
2026/09/03: 2020s Hit Pops (source)
Honmayade☆Nandeyanen☆Shirankedo
ほんまやで☆なんでやねん☆しらんけど
Blue Jeans
Kawaii Dake Ja Dame Desuka?
かわいいだけじゃだめですか?
Usseewa
うっせぇわ
Hai Yorokonde
はいよろこんで
Bibbidiba
ビビデバ
Bansanka
晩餐歌
Dance Hall
ダンスホール
Kawaikute Gomen
可愛くてごめん
S'il Vous President
シル・ヴ・プレジデント
Otonablue
オトナブルー

...and more!

Farewell Tracks

Title
2026/09/23 (source)
Kagerou Gintama.
カゲロウ/「銀魂.」より
★2 ★4 ★4 ★7
Countdown Detective Conan
カウントダウン/「名探偵コナン」より
Other availability Nijiiro, NS1 (DLC)
★2 ★4 ★5 ★8
Ashita no Hikari World Trigger
アシタノヒカリ/「ワールドトリガー」より
Other availability Wii U3, 3DS3 (DLC EOS)
★2 ★3 ★6 ★8
Touch off The Promised Neverland
  「約束のネバーランド」より
Other availability PS4 (DLC), NS1 (DLC)
★4 ★6 ★7 ★9
Key: orange = Mythical (no other means to play); yellow = Endangered (only playable with EOS DLC)
Additional Notes for Farewell Tracks
  • Farewell Tracks will not be playable in all modes
  • Scores and crowns achieved will be removed from view
  • Farewell Tracks will disappear from playlist(s) if previously set
  • If a Farewell Track is set as My Battle Track in online modes, the slot will be reverted to the default (Natsu Matsuri)
  • Titles obtained from playing Farewell Tracks (e.g. "(track) Lover" from playing the track 30 times) will still be usable even after removal.