First Video: God Ray

 God Ray (5/6/7/10; 777 notes on Oni)
After years of waiting, it turns out that recurrent NAMCO SOUNDS composer kyo's first 10-star Taiko Oni challenge has been spawn from the latest Synchronica crossover to the series! The feat is accomplished with a blend of repeated note patterns, long clusters and recurring 1/24 density-cluster spikes.

Namco Taiko Blog (June 29 2017) - Suave Surf Through the Rain and Heat: Yellow ver. Version 4.xx Update

We are given plenty of prenotice that this update is coming. Let's get straight to the meat then. New update to Taiko no Tatsujin Yellow ver. comes July 5 2017 with licensed picks galore to beat the heat!

[RANDOM] - In Case You Forgot, Taiko no Tatsujin Switch Is Still A Thing

Yup, we did not forget about this among all the PS4-1 antics.

Search for 太鼓の達人 on the official Bandai Namco Entertainment site, and in addition to PS4-1 already taking two slots within the merchandise listing, you can also find this blank slate of an entry for a "Taiko no Tatsujin Series" Nintendo Switch game. But with no image, no CERO rating and no release dates (even vague ones like "Year 2017" from next door), it is next to impossible to talk anything beyond this. Enjoy the reassurance... I guess?

Thanks crystalsuicune for the heads-up from the Taiko no Tatsujin Discord.

Namco Taiko Blog (27 June 2017) - Announcement of Future Announcements

Today's surprise Taiko Team blog entry is warning us about the very next Yellow Version upgrade, coming out on July 5th! ... too bad, however, that for the actual update specifics we'll have to wait for this Thursday's regular blog post to find out what's going to be here.

Expect, however, these generically-addressed features to be included:

• New songs!
• New Dojo Ranking Gaiden updates!
• New... Other Stuff! (including new Dojo Gaiden-exclusive titles)

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PS4-1 Teaser Promotion Video Reveals New Note

The first moving-picture teaser of the upcoming PS4 Taiko no Tatsujin game is out this Sunday, and we're up for a field trip to pick up loose ends!

• New Kozuchi (こづち/小槌) note is very obviously taken from Japanese folk tales including Issun-boushi. But mechanically it is similar if not exactly like a Fuusen balloon (it was a Fuusen at that location in Zen Zen Zense Futsuu, as seen on iOS)
• The Mission Bingo (ミッションビンゴ) gives you additional Don Kobans for clearing goals and completing lines.
• Listen to some hot drum beats at the back, from which is likely to be instrumentals and excerpts from Tsunagare! Hirogare! Uchi-agare!

Twitter Snippets (26 June 2017) - A GLAYmorous Taiko Collaboration

【お知らせ】GLAYのニューアルバム「SUMMERDELICS」の収録曲「シン・ゾンビ」が太鼓の達人タイアップソングに決定！アルバム特設サイトにどんちゃんも登場！https://t.co/T0FONW1gR8
アルバム特設サイト、めちゃくちゃ凝ってます。すごいドン！

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 26 giugno 2017

Last seen in public Taiko gaming with the Taiko 4 public porting of the song Mata Kokode Aimashou (alongside some cameos at 2013's Kanjani no Shiwake Eight variety), Japanese rock band GLAY is joining forces with the Taiko no Tatsujin franchise in occasion of the band's latest album, SUMMERDELICS.

To that extent, it has been revealed today that a Taiko tie-in song has been made, going under the title of Shin Zombie (シン・ゾンビ). While for now the time/game of the song's Taiko-playable debut is anyone's guess, we already know that the song is going to be the SUMMERDELICS album's opener. Head to the website mentioned by the tweet above for further informations about the album itself!

Across Japan (June 23 2017): Adds and Minuses on Schedule

The greater Asia are having a grand time keeping with the schedules with the Japanese counterparts with the June 30 surprise addition. We also have pictorial evidence that it is at least 6 stars on Oni! If only Wada Inu can excuse himself for a bit.

New Songs: June 30 2017
God Ray Same day as Japan
　　　「シンクロニカ」より Synchronica

And belatedly we also have official confirmation that the upcoming Yellow ver. song removals will be mirrored outside Japan too. ...that is the less-exciting part of keeping with the schedules.

Song Removals: June 28 2017
Punishment
　　　9mm Parabellum Bullet
Du-Du-Wa DO IT!!
　　　「アイカツ！」より Aikatsu!
SURPRISE-DRIVE
　　　「仮面ライダードライブ」より Kamen Rider Drive
マトリョシカ Matryoshka
　　　ハチ feat.初音ミク・GUMI Hachi feat. Hatsune Miku/GUMI
ぶぎ ぶぎ ふなっしー♪ Boogie Boogie Funassyi♪
　　　～ふなっしー公式テーマソング第二弾～ ~Funassyi Official Theme Song Vol.2~

Addendum (2017/06/26): We need to be more observant in the nooks and crannies in Asia ver. Facebook posts. Lower down the post it is mentioned that Katsu Medal picks including ≠MM are being considered to be made available in other ways than the Donder Hiroba for greater Asia audiences.

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Song of the Week! 24 June 2017

Summer is back once again, and we're here to honor once again (although a week later) a time-tested tradition for this Saturday corner: following up a new Taiko console game's reveal with one of its songs appearing under these lines.

It's also one of the few console debuts from the newly-revealed Taiko title for PS4, no less!

Session de Dodon ga Don Website Now Open!

One week after the teaser page's posting, the website has now officially opened its digital gates to Internet surfers from all corners of the Globe! There's nothing much to talk about it, however, as it mostly rehashes news bits we already reported in the past few days.

At this point, only the Song List and About pages are active, with the former showcasing all the song titles known thus far (with no additions of sorts) and the latter hosting sub-sessions dedicated to the game's signature modes: Guest Session (with mentions to the Doraemon-related content) and Ghost Session.

Click here to check out the website for yourselves!

Namco Taiko Blog (22 June 2017) - Behind the Notechart: Geki-un! Shichifuku Happy Crew

Notechart talk is back at the Taiko Team's official blog, but rather than making a new charter-focused feature post like in the past few instances of the previous months/years, a tangent of chart features is introduced instead, in which single songs' charting process is discussed by its own creator.

Today marks the beginning of this feature cycle, starting with the Yellow Version songs from the Summer Rewards Shop. Hear Marimo Institute talk about her work on the latest IOSYS original!

[RANDOM] - Not-Namco Idols with Namco Artists, Take 2

【6/22(木) #イロドリミドリ 新曲、WORLD'S END追加！】リーダー・明坂芹菜(CV:新田恵海)が歌う、梅雨も吹き飛ばす元気いっぱいの楽曲が登場！イロモノ揃いなWORLD'S ENDも見逃せないよ！ #チュウニズムAIR https://t.co/8JNUsllgPj pic.twitter.com/GXvBIuyDsZ

— チュウニズム公式@6/22新曲新マップ！ (@chunithm) 19 giugno 2017

It happened 2 months ago and it's happening again: yet another NAMCO SOUNDS-related artist has been spotted on foreign grounds, as one of the Irorimidori (イロドリミドリ) tracks' composer.

This time around, the CHUNITHM series' in-house idol unit has employed the talent of the nick-named Jesahm (自営山) for the latest solo-idol song: Spicy Swingy Style, which is coming to stateside arcades tomorrow. The scoop comes from this tweet, which also includes a Youtube link for the full in-game version of the song.

Here in Taiko, Jesahm is better known as the composer of old-time Namco Original classics like Taiko Session ～Live Version～ as well as a few choice Classic arrangements (most notably Nocturne Op. 9-2).

Twitter Snippets (19 June 2017) - A Godly Crossover

【お知らせ】先ほど公開された「シンクロニカTV」の中で発表された通り、6月30日より、シンクロニカから楽曲「God Ray」が太鼓の達人イエローVer.に登場します。https://t.co/XQwAPctc6k
お楽しみに！#taiko765 pic.twitter.com/sKZGqSXSPD

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 19 giugno 2017

One bit of news that has escaped our scope yesterday concerns the song-sharing relationship between the Taiko no Tatsujin and Synchronica series once more, this time around involving one of Synchronica's original boss songs coming to Taiko arcade grounds!

Previously announced in the latest Synchronica TV Youtube broadcast (link), kyo's God Ray will be appearing on Yellow Version at the end of this month, on June 30th. If you're curious to hear how the song sounds like, click here for a related Synchronica gameplay video.

Uso-uso Doki Lyrics

Artist, Vocal: Bona Inoue (井上ぼな)

Namco Original Showcase: YMY RPG Songs

Mostly known by the YMY nickname, former Bandai Namco musician Yukiko Yamamoto (山本由貴子) has contributed to the creation of a wide variety of songs throughout the Taiko no Tatsujin series' existence. Among here creations, we can find a collection of pure-instrumental tracks that meld together melodies from air/stringed musical instruments and a peculiar geographical location being mentioned in its title, as to give magic properties from the mentioned landmarks to these songs. Yukiko Yamamoto is also the one figure in charge of all songs' notecharts, even after her departure from Bandai Namco in 2014 after getting married, pursuing a solo musician carreer.

The name for the series we take here is directly referencing the SongID root being shared among all of the following songs (starting with the titular ymyrpg), which is likely made in turn from the key contributor Yukiko Yamamoto's YMY alias. Note that here we consider Xastur no Madousho as only a direct sequel to Desert de Yakiniku (Sahara ver.) and not part of the YMY RPG Series unlike some sources. Once again, that is also noticeable from its SongID (niku2), diverging from anything ymyrpg-related.

Twitter Snippets 2 (15 June 2017) - Bandai Namco's New Arcade Music Game? [Addendum 2017/06/18]

レイ変完了！
テクニカ脇にナムコ再新作「テクノベェルク」を、ユビート列にripplesを1台ずつ設置予定です。（6/20-6/21稼動予定）
お楽しみに。 pic.twitter.com/8sr8XuPQod

— AMジャムジャムつくば店 (@jam2_tsukuba) 15 giugno 2017

As if the announcement of a new Taiko game headed to Sony shores wasn't enough, apparently there's a brand new Bandai Namco rhythm game in the works as well!

Coming from the AM Jam Jam Tsukuba arcade room's Twitter handle, the tweet above is eager on showcasing the many music game titles that will become operative this coming week, including -according to the same tweet- Bandai Namco's latest arcade game, going by the name of Technoberk (テクノベェルク). No official statements of sorts from the developing company have been made about said title's existence/play-testing or other specs but sure enough, it's planned to be put into the arcade store.

How is it played? Will it involve some Taiko no Tatsujin support? Are the two arcade lines collaborating? There's a good chance that some of these questions will be answered at the arcade center's opening, next Tuesday/Wednesday (June 20/21).

Addendum (2017/06/18): Receiving hint from this tweet, we may be able to finally shed some light onto this. Teknowerk is actually a piano-keyboard style music arcade game by Namco way back from 2000 (17 years ago!!), and this arcade room is only bringing back refurbished cabinets into their lineup. Note also that they used 再新作 (~ "refurbished title") instead of 最新作 (= "brand new title"). The next tweet of theirs also supports the conclusion, as it speaks of also bringing back some DANCE 86.4 (Dance Yaroyo) cabinets by Konami back in 2005.

Song of the Week! 17 June 2017

Away from the promised future console Taiko game for a day, I've appeared on our newly-joined Discord group about Taiko no Tatsujin (link here) in order to gather some suggestions about this week's Saturday song features.

First come, first served! Here's the first couple of suggestions I've gathered this way...

Taiko no Tatsujin: Session de Dodon ga Don! song list

Released in 2017, this is the first Taiko no Tatsujin game that is made for the PlayStation 4 console family, over 10 years since the last Sony-rooted home console game... which is also fitting, considering that its subtitle is a nod to the one of the very first Taiko console title! Unlike with Tatakon de Dodon ga Don, however, this game's flagship newcomer feature is the Session mode set that is also mentioned in the subtitle, be it with a CPU-controlled guest character (Guest Session Play) or with the 'ghost play' data coming from users' PlayStation Network friends (Friend Session Play).

Feature-wise, Session de Dodon ga Don constitutes a stark change from the in-game/menu layout standards set with the Taiko 0 arcade line, as the aesthetics have been completely re-worked for the PS4 debut title. Many customization elements from the aforementioned arcade line have made their debut through the game's unlock system, including customizable titles/greetings (outside of former Rank-related promotions) and Petit Chara figurines from the arcades' Kigurumi outfit model. This is also the first title of the series to be released in Asian countries in more than one additional language, with versions of the game in Traditional Chinese, Korean and English hitting both retail and digital markets.

On November 2018, Session de Dodn ga Don got a Western localization for both North America and Europe, with the game going under the name of Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session!. This game's Western release is only available as a digital game for both geographical areas, starring the same base game version that was released in the Asian countries (minus the DLC contents).

Session de Dodon ga Don! boasts over 70 songs at launch.

PS4-1 Session de Dodon ga Don, the Initial Famitsu Round-up

 

We were right about "today's Taiko Team blog post being about the newly-revealed Taiko title". What we got wrong was how much today's Taiko Team blog post is about Taiko PS4-1 (not a lot). Instead we will have to find stuff ourselves to fill your curiosities. :(

So having procured the Famitsu scans for real, we are dissecting all the noticeable changes in a nice list:

• The J-POP genre is now named Pops (ポップス).
• The profile might be linked to PlayStation Network profiles, seeing the account names can be alphanumeric instead of hiragana only. (Taiko no Tatsujin releases have ever only allowed only hiragana if naming is done natively)
• Customization: obtain Don Kobans (ドン小判), use them on the Item Treasure Chest (アイテム玉手箱) for over 200 parts for your Don-chan including outfits, petit-charas (console debut!), titles and greetings.
• Setting Favorites on the song list? Yes please.
• What is that Bingo card anyway?

Source: this Plurk

Namco Taiko Blog (15 June 2017) - Taiko PS4 @ WHF '17 Summer

Continuing from today's official reveal rounds, Session de Dodon ga Don is already slated to a limited event in order to let people try the game in advance! Attenders of the World Hobby Fair '17 Summer (June 24-25) will be able to have an hands-on experience prior to its (still unspecified) release date for 2017's latter end.

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Twitter Snippets (15 June 2017) - Taiko PS4 Confirmed!

家庭用太鼓の達人最新作！PS4「太鼓の達人 セッションでドドンがドン！」2017年発売決定！友達！家族！あのキャラと！いっしょに太鼓 叩き放題！ #taiko765https://t.co/w308o36kdJ pic.twitter.com/Mx4pVDfDYh

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 15 giugno 2017

There's no room for doubts anymore: Session de Dodon ga Don is the real deal! Before delving into the weekly blog entry, the Taiko Team's Twitter account has hosted the first official remarks about the game's existence, including the one tweet above which addresses the game's official website (consisting of a single page with no new scoops as of now).

Expect today's Taiko Team blog post to be about the newly-revealed Taiko title, too!

Tutti! Leaving V Version DLC

Yes we missed this from way back in March. And yes you just imagined this first line.

While we're on PS4-1 duty, let's check back with Don-chan's last foray into Sony hardware. In particular, the free early-purchase bonus turned paid DLC of Tutti! from Hibike! Euphonium will be taking its next and final step a DLC song will take: removed from purchase.

The removal will happen on June 30 2017, and this is a non-re-downloadable removal. But those who already downloaded can still play it.

Vita1 main site

First Taiko PS4 Magazine Leaks

The foretold venture of the first PlayStation 4 Taiko no Tatsujin videogame is becoming more and more concrete by the day, as actual visual leaks are beginning to be shared across the Web. The first of these was posted earlier this day on the Taiko-themed wiki Wikihouse, from where it's also possible to view the scan above in full resolution (or through this link)

While no new songlist-related details and a more accurate release date (reported with a nebulous '2017') are supplied, we can already see that this Taiko no Tatsujin title is bound to have an aesthetic overhaul for both menus and in-game screens, the first since the ongoing Taiko 0 arcade line's coming. Mentioned up here are also some of the features that were included in yesterday's leaks, such as the custom controller and the newcomer Ghosted Session/Guest Session mode. It also appears that Doraemon will be one of the selectable guests, no less!

Always from the Wikihouse comment section, it's being reported that Session de Dodon ga Don! will launch with over 70 songs to boot, as found in three (still unnamed) different magazines.

Source (Wikihouse comment section)

Twitter Snippets (June 13 2017): Tenkaichi Otogesai 4 Expected

本日の総会で予算の承認もいただきましたので、正式に

第4回　天下一音ゲ祭　開催決定です！

今年は、去年よりパワーアップして開催しますので、皆様のご参加をお待ちしております！#音ゲ祭

https://t.co/N68HSYZ0vH

— AOU 天下一音ゲ祭 (公式) (@AOU_Tenkatui) June 13, 2017

The folks at the helm for the Tenkaichi Otogesai events at the All Nippon Amusement Machine Operators' Union (AOU) confirms that, with the budget approved in the annual general meeting today, a fourth Tenkaichi Otogesai is to be officially put on schedule!

One of the first things to be revealed about this is the scale: the fourth Otogesai will be the biggest ever in terms of participating games with a total of six. What will be the two additional games? What antics will the AOU whip up with all the makers? Stay tuned to the official Twitter feed of @AOU_Tenkatui (and us too, duh).

開催決定の調子にのって、今年の情報を少しだけリーク！

今年の音ゲ祭は、過去最多、6機種で行います！

去年より2機種増えてパワーアップ！#音ゲ祭

https://t.co/vfVWFllBH4

— AOU 天下一音ゲ祭 (公式) (@AOU_Tenkatui) June 13, 2017

[RUMOR] Taiko no Tatsujin Session de Dodon ga Don! (PS4-1)

Switch it up, as we have a rumored brand new console Taiko no Tatsujin release on... the PS4?

In case you don't know, the term session (セッション) in music means musicians gathering and playing their music together. And in Taiko no Tatsujin it implies multiplayer gameplay. Would that mean this new port will be emphasizing on powering up the current console's multiplayer setups? Only time will tell (or the next Famitsu issue, coming June 29).

Check out our rumor roundup after the jump. But be warned: because our only sources are just textual, and has no supporting images or whatever from more reputable sources like Famitsu, we are putting these solidly behind the RUMOR line.

Across Japan: We Can Do That? June 2017 Facebook Tournament

No really, can the Taiko Asia Team keep track of score out of Ranking Dojo Gaiden for the tournament? Yes? Alright, whatever you say.

By the wording they use (最大3曲通してのスコア total score from at most 3 songs), it might suggest that you do not have to clear the actual goals for the result to be counted into the tourney. Yet not being able to get to all three songs would have significantly affect the highest score you would get, so do remember to pace yourselves.

Facebook Tournament: June 10~18 2017
段位道場外伝：挑戦！世界大会2016エリア①

　　　Ranking Dojo Gaiden: Challenge! World Championships 2016 Area (1)

　　 凛 Rin (Oni ★9)
　　　　　a_hisa
　　 おにぎりはどこかしら♪ Onigiri wa Doko Kashira♪ (Oni ★9)
　　　　　よみぃ feat.初音ミク Yomii feat. Hatsune Miku
　　 食らいむ！まうんとぱふぇ Climb! Mount Parfait (Oni ★9)
　　　　　unatra
 conflict (Muzukashii ★7)
　　　siromaru+cranky

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Namco Original Showcase: Seafood Songs

Bandai Namco composer Akitaka 'AJURIKA' Toyama (遠山明孝) joined the ranks of the Taiko no Tatsujin-related artists late into the 2nd arcade generation, mostly due to some of his songs from other games being ported into Taiko titles. Like for many other artists before him, however, his Namco Original-related production is mostly tied in by a main theme, whose growing impact made it so to become an actual song series years later.

The series takes its roots from the first song, The Carnivorous Carnival, being affectionately shortened to KaniKani (蟹蟹, crab-crab) thanks to Japanese approximate-readings of the title. It only begins to develop starting from Taiko no Tatsujin Kimidori ver., when sequel songs are released with titles that are more obviously intentional in coining the gimmicky shortened forms. The name of the series takes from the "Seafood Seeker" title, obtainable since Yellow ver. that involves only Full Combo-ing songs from this series in the same credit.

Note that while Taiko Time is also frequently shortened as Taitai (鯛鯛, sea bream-sea bream), it is not considered as part of this series due to significant differences, including its katakana spelling and not being created by AJURIKA (but Denji Sano).

Song of the Week! 10 June 2017

Last year, we've been asked to handle an event-exclusive Game Music track whose later-released, limited Oni mode went completely undocumented on the Internet.

While we turned down this inquiry due to the lack of information concerning its hardest difficulty setting, there's no denial that it's highly unlikely for us to be given extra data with the song never being featured anywhere else after its last outing, so we might as well fill in the time with what it's currently known, in the hopes for completing the picture in the future...

Namco Taiko Blog (8 June 2017) - Taiko x Touhou Project Phone Straps Out Today

They're cute, aren't they?

...and yes, that's about it, for the weekly Taiko Team blog entry...

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[SITE] - June 2017 Housekeeping Plans

It's again that time of the year for us (...well... one of the two instances); as the Summer tide is approaching, we're putting an heavier focus on blog content maintenance, as well as announcing some projects to be released in the near future.

Here's what we got hold for this time:

• Our primary focus will be on controlling the modern Taiko arcade pages, primarily updating the links leading to removed song gameplay videos due to either videos getting or major events, including unfortunate cases of channel removals due to real-life issues. On this course of action, we're also updating all the pages that are related to the most recent software updates such as Unlocks, Rewards Shop and Dojo Ranking for Taiko Yellow Version.
• As a reminder, this month will also see the publishing of the last lyrics translations that are related to our Lyrics Request Poll format on Twitter. While we're forced to shut down the poll-voting method due to heavier real-life commitments, that doesn't mean we won't be doing them at all afterwards! Feel free to punch in your requests to us through one of our usual contact methods.
• We've almost done the making of new song series showcase features! Two Namco Original-rooted series, no less. (Perhaps some other feature is in the air, too?)

On top of these three main topics, it's time to officially announce an additional media-related method to chat, not only with us of the Taiko Time staff but also other Taiko enthusiasts as well...

Taiko Time is on Discord! (...kinda)

While we've not opened a dedicated server on the emerging gaming-related VoIP brand, we're inviting you to join a Taiko no Tatsujin-related group where getting in touch with other English-reading Taiko players is made easier than before! We also got our own channel is said group (#taikotime_updates) where either ngitrox or me will be forwarding the links to our latest posts here on Taiko Time.

This Taiko-themed channel can be joined on the address http://discord.me/taiko. For the time being, we've also put this link in our Links main bar on the left, simply labeled as Taiko no Tatsujin (Discord). Be it for simple lurking, chit-chatting with other Taiko fans or random shitposting like for myself, feel free to barge in!

-Lokamp

Song of the Week! 3 June 2017

Not every song that makes its way into Taiko gaming is already up-to-go in its more common form in order to be receiving its notechart set; some tracks, in fact, have to be reworked with minor tweaks beforehand.

Some of these song adaptations also come with title remarks to their altered status! Meet another couple of those tracks in today's feature.

Taiko Plus/STH - Early June GTH Additions

Have you been distracted by the new arcade song load of the past days to the point of not noticing that six new tracks have been added to the smartphone Taiko titles' subscription service?...

...well, so do we! Let's correct the record today.

Gakkyoku Tori Houdai Adds: June 1

 Tomo Yo~Kono Saki mo Zutto… (友よ ～この先もずっと…)
 Kimi ni 100 Percent (キミに100パーセント)
 Hikari Are (ヒカリアレ)
 Doctor X no Theme (ドクターXのテーマ)
 Boku wa Synth (ボクハシンセ)
 Tokyo Tokkyo Kyo Kyokakyoku Kyokucho!! (東京特許キョ許可局局長!!)

First Video: Summer '17 Rewards Shop Songs

From the differently-classified 'black sheep' of genre placement to the newest Namco Original, here's what the first Don Medal Rewards Shop has to offer!

Namco Taiko Blog (1 June 2017) - Spring-to-Summer '17 Rewards Shop Changes

Shortest recap ever: today the Don Medal Rewards Shop's lineup has been changed, in line with what has been announced two weeks ago (link), with the Katsu Medal Rewards Shop receiving a 2-parter update between yesterday and today.

Since May 31st, the newcomer Namco Original 8OROCHI became a purchasable item together with Ramen de Yo-Men!! and the previously-limited Petit Chara Yoga-Don (ヨガドン), while today the permanent Rewards Shop has received all the Spring '17 Don Medal Rewards Shop items (songs, outfit parts and Taiko sound); if you play with the Japanese arcade line of Taiko gaming, here's another way to fetch the content you may have missed.

Tune back soon for what the first DM Rewards Shop renewal is bringing up to the table!

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