We're out from music-contest-related grounds, only to jump back into another one just as fast! Three days ago, all entries for the latest Taiko no Tatsujin music contest have been released on said contest's dedicated website section, for everyone to enjoy before the winners' announcement in next week's Taiko livestream. Remember, this year Donders everywhere are able to vote for some extras to enter the series after the judges' decisions, so you got one more reason to listen to the latest musical gladiators of yore!
Below, as usual, is a small primer of songs from both old and new faces, music-game-renowned and rising-meteors alike. My apologies for taking this long to compile a list this year, but it's rather hard to digest eleven pages of song's worth, all in one sitting!
- Something-a-mazing! by deli., fishing for a Taiko hat trick with the nicknamed Dadako (駄々子) who already joined hands for last contest's winning entry of his, Caramel Junkie. It's not even the only song from the duo, this year!
- T.D.K. from Tara (たら). No dice on social media nor former "modern-era" Taiko constests to date, so we're just left marveling at another -core piece trying to get a piece of Taiko action!
- Piano Concerto For Bass (ベース音楽のためのピアノ協奏曲), by Raimukun. This is a Korean composer who's made the rounds these past years for his works gracing mobile music gaming, most notably Nyarlathotep's Dreamland on both Lanota and Rotaeno.
- Yoki Ranbu (妖鬼乱舞) from takio, one of the few artists that has yet to miss one of the Nijiiro-era Taiko music contests (and with multiple tracks at hand every time, at that!) Joining the composer for this one is the nicknamed Salad Savior.
- Prisma, an energetic vocal piece from composer yumel and singer Shirosaki Aya (しろさきあや). The latter's vocal talent also found a place to call home in bemani's SOUND VOLTEX series, via a trio of contest-winning songs including Greedy Stars! (グリーディ・スターズ！).
- Narase Natsuiro (鳴らせ夏色) by kooridori, one of many Diverse System-affiliated talents to put themselves to the Taiko fore. Also a BMS contest attender with tracks such as Kirakirize World (which also got ported to Lanota), this artist also scored some commissioned works in TAPSONIC grounds (For Boyhood).
- Koto Mukeition feat. Rei Adachi (口頭無稽tion feat.足立レイ), an UTAU-boosted song from also-Diverse-System-affiliated U-Ruri. Sure, I could vouch for the composer's other music game outings in TAKUMI3, ChainbeeT and Milthm, but right now all this drum 'n' bass action is giving me the heaviest Soichi Terada flashbacks I've had in quite a while!
- EXRiXiS, from Yomii. One of the surprise defeats from last year's edition with his ◎nigashim∀ only achieving Silver and Bronze honorable mentions, the D's Adventure Note artist is back with a vengeance!
- Tryumphal!! from seatrus. He's another of the general-music-gaming-renowned big defeats from last year after presenting the double-Bronze-honorable-mention song Spooky Dance Party (スプーキィダンスパーティ), one of many former Taiko contest entries to eventually be removed by the author from the respective entires' listing post-contest in order to be made commercially available elsewhere (in its case, on Rotaeno).
- Gimme-Gimme Monster (ぎみぎみもんすたぁ), another vocal-powered piece from a new name in Taiko grounds: Tsubusare BOZZ, with vocal backing by the nicknamed madoka. In order to see if it's earworm-y enough to win the graces of either judges or Donders en masse, there's only one way to find out...
- Gehenna, eternal damnation by Shadan (遮断), one of this contest's earliest music submissions. I couldn't find any SNS intel on the composer, so I'm just left wondering if that early-year inclusion of a Blue Archive song arrangement has a play on some more 'Gehenna'-related parties to show their head. Do we have to expect some licky-licky foot fetishists, too?!
- MIRAGE RELIGHT from Yuki Nishijima, already on Taiko thanks to his contest-winning SAVAGE DELIGHT from last year. Former winners trying a sequel-of-sorts in the succeeding contest doesn't have the strongest of positive records, considering another former contest winner's tale in Mihile and his 4piece-Jazz Panic, which ultimately missed the bus during the CreoFUGA era. Will history repeat itself again?
- siren's eye, rounding up this small primer of contest entries from former contest winner Katagiri (かたぎり) of Tokeru fame. Joining hands for this one entry, however, is quite the powerful name in the BMS landscape: Frums, already strong of a Grand Winner seat in the music gaming sphere with Arcaea's Aegleseeker, co-composed with also-former-Taiko-contest-winner Silentroom.
