As we have seen several times,when a song comes back into Taiko after a long time in hiatus, it brings a new notechart or better audio quality. Let's see what happens when an anime song is given this treatment!
A Cruel Angel's Thesis (残酷な天使のテーゼ) Neon Genesis Evangelion --- Old ---| Version |  |  |  | 
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x3 (163) | x3 (278) | x6 (278) |
Taiko 3
80~129
none
eva A Cruel Angel's Thesis (残酷な天使のテーゼ) Neon Genesis Evangelion --- New ---
| Version | | | |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiko 9, 10, Taiko Anime 2, Taiko PSP 2 | x3 (103) | x3 (125) | x6 (267) | x7 (345/345/337) |
| Taiko 11 to 14, Taiko PSP 2, DX, DS 2, iOS | x3 (103) | x4 (125) | x6 (267) | x7 (345/345/337) |
| Taiko Wii 2 | x3 (103) | x4 (128) | x6 (267) | x7 (345/345/337) |
| Taiko 0, Taiko Wii 5 | x4 (103) | x4 (125) | x6 (267) | x7 (345/345/337) |
Taiko 9 to 14, Taiko 0, Taiko Anime 2, Taiko PSP 2, DX, Taiko DS 2, Taiko Wii 2, 5, Taiko Wii U, Taiko PS Vita, Taiko + 80~129 none evaAdvanced Notes / Normal Notes
As most anime fans know, A Cruel Angel's Thesis is the theme song of the popular anime Neon Genesis Evangelion (know in Japan as Shin Seiki Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン)). The song is performed by Yoko Takahashi (高橋洋子), who has also made two instrumental versions of it for the final episode, named "The Heady Feeling of Freedom" and "Good, or Don't Be", for violin, piano, and guitar. He is also the singer of Nijiro Yumeiro Taikoiro, the first ever console Taiko theme song.
The popular anime series was produced by Gainax, written and directed by Hideaki Anno, and co-produced by TV Tokyo and Nihon Ad Systems, where it began airing in October 1995. Evangelion is an apocalyptic mecha action series which revolves around the efforts by the paramilitary organization Nerv to fight monstrous beings called Angels, primarily using giant mecha called Evangelions which are piloted by select teenagers, and one of whom is Shinji Hikari, the 14 year old primary protagonist.
Later episodes deconstruct the themes and motifs of the mecha genre and shift focus to psychoanalysis of the main characters, who display various emotional problems and mental illnesses; The anime is an early example of the genre/concept "sekai-kei", anime/manga/light novels which mirror their protagonists' lives with the end of the world. This was in line with the chronic depression suffered by Anno before making the anime series- in other words, the director's illness inspired the creation of the psychological aspect of the anime. Plus, several references to the Judeo-Christian religion scatter throughout the story's main events; for example, the cross-shaped explosions from a blowing Angel.
The 3rd Taiko arcade was where this song started its long history featuring Evangelion's famous opening theme as a 6* Donderful challenge. After a slow beginning, the rest of the song is pretty much normal fare with no special places save for some 1/16 clusters here and there. AC3 was the only place you could find the old notechart.
Four years later, A Cruel Angel's Thesis came back with a new notechart, starting fresh from Taiko Anime Special onwards; this time with forked paths added and Go-Go Time too. The number of notes was bumped up to above 300 and featured more intense clusters than the old version, bringing the new notechart to 7* on Oni. The only point where the forked paths come into play is during the chorus of the song and the beginning of the Go-Go Time, depending on how well you did before then (It only has Normal notes on iOS as of initial inclusion, because it doesn't support forked paths until a later update). The audio's quality had also been increased a lot, and persuaded both rookie and skilled players to discover the Neon Genesis Evangelion saga once again. It was included again on AC9, never left the arcade scene, and at least once on every other console minus the 3DS.
A Cruel Angel's Thesis (残酷な天使のテーゼ) Neon Genesis Evangelion| Version | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | x8 (423/386/346) |
Taiko 12.5 to 14, Taiko 0, Taiko Wii 5, Taiko Wii U 80~130 none ex_evaAdvanced Notes / Normal Notes
After its revival, A Cruel Angel's Thesis was met with success and popularity from its players, and naturally became the first of a handful of Anime songs to have a Ura version. Instead of using the full version of the song, the notes were reworked once more in the TV size song and the difficulty raised yet again to 8*. Contributing to its difficulty in particular is the large number of offbeat clusters, especially if you're moved to Master Notes at the beginning of Go-Go Time. Quite interestingly, the Normal notes were taken directly from the chorus part of another anime song, Sousei no Aquarion (released Taiko 11 and stayed all the way to 14).
