Unfortunately, I'll have to forgo the unwritten 'monthly Ura feature' just this once, just to have a themed feature around something that isn't as common to note on our grounds, across Japanese calendar-related scheduling...
Mugen no Sora
夢幻の蒼空／Silver Forest feat.SAYA
| Game | Genre |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC0 K PS4 iOS (Plus DLC) Plus/STH RC |  | ★3 97 | ★5 160 | ★6 282 | ★8 447 | - |
180
mugens (Mugen no Sora)Every year, a number of holidays in Japan are lined up in the middle of the Spring season, constituting what is colloquially known as the "Golden Week". A rarer occurrance can happen in the same way at Autumn's start, when the yearly Respect for the Aged Day (third Monday of September) and the Autumnal Equinox day (usually set on September 23rd) are bridged by a lone working day, which for that reason by Japanese standards is then elected as a national holiday for the year (the Kokumin no Kyujitsu -国民の祝日-, or "Citizen's Day"). This peculiar string of days doesn't happen with weekend days tacked nearby for every calendar year, but every time it does it's dubbed as the "Silver Week", a mirror to the yearly-occurring golden one voted to celebrate the elderly en large. Considering 2026 is the first year with a Silver Week inside since 2015 (and we'll have to wait a bit longer for the very next one), what better occasion for me to spotlight the final Namco Original song from an iconic 'Silver' ensemble?
This is one of two Namco Originals from the popular Touhou Project-oriented doujin circle starring circle founder NYO and guitar player Jupiter as composer and guitarists respectively and as arrangers/track down setters altogether, roughly a year before the release of their Yami no Mahou Shoujo on arcades. Just like the over-1k-notes Oni demon, this track comes to life thanks to its own guest singer: the nick-named SAYA, with lyrics benned by ShibaInuP (しばいぬＰ▽・×・▽). Unlike Yami no Mahou Shoujo, however, this "Dreamlike Azure Sky" was featured in some of the circle's later Comiket-pointing album releases, with the Taiko-playable cut heading for C86's Emotion Execution (感情エグゼキュージョン) and C91's Silver Forest 2006-2016 BESTIII and Silver Forest 2006-2016 BESTIV compilation albums. An extended cut also came to be for C93's Super Forest Beat VOL.2 slbum, by the title 'Mugen no Sora〜 Ichiko ver' (夢幻の蒼空 〜 いちこver); this one was sung by former cicle affiliate Ichiko Kanase (奏瀬いちこ), who was also the vocalist for Namco Original Chiheisen no Aeolia, from the 3rd generation arcade line's very beginning. A short version of this cover is also available on the circle's YT channel, too (link)!
It feels like an eternity when we look back of one arcade generation and are still able to see full 1/16-charting in action for the 8-star Namco Original Oni range, but sure enough here we stand! Despite the average-to-low notecount, most of the Kat-starting small clusters are preceeded by a small Kat note, making a necessity to be mindful of one's handswitching all the same. All to be expected, when talking about one of the songs charted by Etou, by all means!
