We're always eager to jump at what new content is delivered to the Taiko musical lore as a whole, but lest we forget how songs can still make their debut on home console videogames' launch, without the support of later-distributed additional contents of sorts!
Kappa no Sara wa Konna ni mo Mei Oosawa (BNSI) feat. Takayuki Ikezawa
河童の皿はこんなにも / 大澤めい(BNSI) feat. 池澤孝之
| Game | Genre |
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| NS2 RC |
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★4 145 |
★5 228 |
★6 361 |
★9 670 |
- |
180
kappa (Kappa no Sara wa Konna ni mo)Among the many creatures hailing from Japanese folklore, there's hardly one that is more amicable and adversarial to humans at the same time than the kappa genos. Novered as kami of water, these are humanoid/reptilian creatures that are said to live nearby river banks, with a liking to sumo wrestling and a good assortment of foods, among which we find cucmbers. When not reveered as kami, kappas have no qualms in drowning passerbys for either nourishment or collection of their most-prized possession from their rectum (no, really), but likewise they're eager to offer lifetime servitude to those helping them in life-or-death situations; one of such instances may occur by filling up a kappa's concave depression on their head -the Sara (皿は)- with waters from its river of origin, as the lack thereof is said to deprive a kappa of all its might. Being usually filled up with water (on top on being at a creature's top at all times), no one can peak at what's inside a Sara... so here's a song about it, as part of a children's music game of all places!
With a literal translation for it going "Kappas' Sara Are Like This", this song dons the same trend of pairing a newcomer BNSI composer with a returning Taiko-related contributor (as its singer, for this tune). The song's creation is owed to Mei Oosawa (大澤めい), working at Bandai Namco since 2020 and involved in recent memory in the more recent branches of the Idolm@ster franchise: the PROJECT IM@S vα-liv that last April has brought us a third way to play Angel Dream all over again and the smartphone game Gakuen Idolmaster (学園アイドルマスター), turning one year old just yesterday! Neophono LLC representative Takayuki Ikezawa (池澤孝之) was also on board for such kappa times, but instead of treating us with his renouned guitar performances from Yumeiro Coaster to Ignis Danse times, this is the first time we're getting to hear his singing voice in Taiko!
We've got at our hands one of those songs where the busier parts on Oni mode lie at the more-rhythm-experimental portions near the beginning and after the first bridge, but as long as one has enough energy to perform well in the second Go-Go Time portion, not even the low note amount (at least, as far as the modern 9* Oni standards go) can be a deciding factor for a failed performance. You can even rely on the support of a stable BPM metric throughout the whole play- just a few fancy barlines-based portions to add an extra bit of flavor as the kappa in the song ripples the surrounding water by metaphorically jumping out of it (and back in again)!
