It's that time of the month again! Another Ura song for the ever growing Anime genre. And it marks perfect timing to discuss one which has made its way into the internet as a phenomenon!
Hare Hare Yukai (ハレ晴レユカイ) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya| Version |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiko 9, Taiko PS2 7 | x4 (87) | x5 (130) | x7 (223) | x8 (366) |
| Taiko 10 to 14, Taiko 0 Taiko PSP DX, Taiko 3DS2 | x4 (87) | x5 (130) | x6 (223) | x8 (366) |
| Taiko 9, Taiko PS2 7 (2P) | x7 (197/170) | x8 (232/202) | ||
| Taiko 10 (2P) | x6 (197/170) | x8 (232/202) |
Taiko 9 to 14, Taiko 0 to S, Taiko PS2 7, Taiko PSP DX, Taiko 3DS2
172
none
yukaiThis fun, upbeat song would have been just your regular anime ending theme, but as with most popular things, they just don't stay that way. Hare Hare Yukai was one of the most requested-for songs to be in Taiko's songlists outside of Japan (according to my own observation from the various online communities around the Net), and for good reason. We'll discuss that in a little bit, but not before we check out the anime in question!
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya started out in 2003 as a light novel series and follows a male freshie named Kyon as he gets to know and experiences the antics by his fellow, crazier classmate, Haruhi Suzumiya (hence the title). Haruhi's interest is finding out about supernatural stuff, like ghosts and aliens and the like. You'd probably imagine what sort of personality this would ultimately entail, which sets the comedic mood for most of the storyline. Three other characters come into play forming a club investigating the unknown, called the SOS Brigade.
The original light novels were written by Nagaru Tanigawa (whose Suzumiya light novels are an entire series and still ongoing) and drawn out by Noizi Ito. A manga adaptation was made by Kadokawa Shoten, and the anime version was aired in mid 2006, with a second season produced in 2009 and mixed in with a rebroadcast of the first season. Originally it was aired at random; timeline was not followed, and the second season filled in the holes left by the first.
As mentioned, Hare Hare Yukai (lit. Sunny Sunny Happiness) is the ending theme of the anime, and its spread as a phenomenon is exactly the same as Caramelldansen ~Speedycake remix~; through its dance. The infectious tune and the goofy, memorable dance was used in many parody videos and with different characters used, exactly like Caramelldansen.
Namco swiped the song up in a trice (the original version and not a cover, no less), releasing it first for Taiko PS2 7 and Taiko no Tatsujin 9 arcade in December 2006, barely five months after the original airing of the first season ended. The song, being TV sized, is a little on the short side, but it makes things memorable with its high BPM and 5 note clusters, which gets especially busy near the end. Even now the chart remains as an 8* Oni. Particularly interesting is that in line with the dance, this is one of the few songs with a perfect duet notechart (note split between P1 and P2 almost exclusively, with very little overlap between the two). This chart is shown below.
Hare Hare Yukai (ハレ晴レユカイ) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya| Version | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All (2P) | x6 (197/170) | x8 (232/202) |
Taiko 11 to 14, Taiko 0 to S 172 none exyukaBefore the advent of Ura Oni, this great duet notechart was forced upon any two players who selected this song on Taiko 9, 10 and PS2 7. Since 11, two players could now play regular Hare Hare Yukai if they did not activate Ura Oni, effectively separating the two. The chart has many places where Player 1 would perform a cluster, then followed by Player 2 who would have to handle clusters on each backbeat of the song. It's a rare co-op chart that most songs don't have. Muzukashii also has a similar duet.
On Taiko 0, it is also the only song to have a Ura Muzukashii. 10 hits to the right of Oni on song selection flips both Oni and Muzukashii over, revealing two new charts, and the video used is from Taiko 0 to illustrate this. Though nothing has changed, it is still significant for the fact that other innovative Ura Muzukashii charts were not brought to Taiko 0 (Rotter Tarmination, for example). If either are played solo, the chart would be the duet version, except without a partner, and recorded in the Donder Hiroba as such.
