LogFAQs > #922183865

50. VM Japan - An Ill Omen (3.5) (for Murakumo)

vs.

45. Cytus II - Chocolate Missile (4.5) (for Precious Heart, over Murderswarm)

These are two songs that just don't do it for me. The elements are there for both of them to be real keepers, but they both fall short. An Ill Omen just feels empty - there isn't a compelling melody and the instrumentation, particularly around the three-minute mark, grates on me. It feels more like a collection of half-ideas than a song I can get behind. (Next year, can we nominate Narrative in the Moonlight instead?)

Chocolate Missile at least does some kind of neat things. I like the storybook-esque opening, and how layers keep building gradually on top to make an intriguing package. The chorus is my favorite part. It's not my kind of song, but I can appreciate what it tries - even if I never remember any of it once it ends.

Pretty easy matchup for me. Really wishing Murakumo was here.

and

2. Gurumin - Soaring Through the Sad Blue Sky (10) (over SUBLIMATION)

vs.

39. Touhou 8: Imperishable Night - Reach For The Moon, Immortal Smoke (5) (for Set Me Free, over Yomitsu Hirasaka Corruption)

Soaring Through the Melancholy Blue Azure Sky Sadness got third place in my ranking topic, only behind a song retired from VGMC and a song that would almost surely not break double digit votes in round 1. I love this song and I've waxed poetic about it in the ranking topic - it evokes so many emotions, this complex mixture of hope and trepidation and, well, sadness and melancholy. And it does all this while being as intense as any final boss song. It's remarkable.

Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke...it's no big secret that I don't like much Touhou music. I don't typically care for the composition or the instrumentation. The songs feel very basic and samey. Reach for the Moon is an example of a perfectly average Touhou to me. Some things are not quite bad, like the piano opening, but most of it is mediocre. I'm not clear why this song, above all others, seems to have such a storied contest history.

There is only one song left I'd take over Soaring - and it ain't Reach for the Moon.

Votes:
Chocolate Missile
Soaring Through the Sad Blue Sky