Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 40! feat. Brain Rolling, Jewel Freezing, and More White than Ever

(+) Yeah! (+)

Katamari on the Dream
Shiva (Glacier Remix)
The Valkyrie

what a year we're living in that mili katamari is real

i love mario paint !!! but uhhhh shiva glacier remix is an absolutely gorgeous banger and i thought that before i realized it was an asano remix and yeah my thoughts haven't changed on it

i still can't get over final fantasy 7 remake having my (second) favorite ace combat song... really unfortunate placement here for oyasummi monochrome this is one of this year's anime songs i care about the most haha

12. [9.1] - Final Fantasy VII Remake - The Valkyrie
43. [8.0] - Heaven Burns Red - Shiva (Glacier Remix)
102. [7.5] - Dreamin' Her -Boku wa, Kanojo no Yume o Miru- - Oyasumi Monochrome
115. [7.4] - Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE - Katamari on the Dream
162. [7.2] - Within a Deep Forest - diamond meditation
223. [6.4] - Keylocker - Neural Divergence (Saturnian Version)

From Haste_2:

Katamari on the Dream
diamond meditation
The Valkyrie

Katamari on the Dream
Shiva (Glacier Remix)
The Valkyrie

I've been a huge fan of this year's Katamari outing, and this one is no exception. The song lends from Katamari on the Rocks so well, transforming the series' theme, but without making it the anthesis of the original. In fact it sounds like such a natural evolution. AND THAT HINT OF LONELY ROLLING STAR! My heart. Katamari continues to be one of the best series out there for music. Pure joy and happiness.

Every time I listen to this track I'm like "oh yeah that intro ROCKS." I wish this track was a bit lighter on the vocals, but I do like how spacy and even kind of eerie they can be at times. Pretty cool, but I don't know how well it sticks in the long run.

I think this song is meowing at me ....... The track doesn't like, it's pretty damn meditative and a bit crystal-like. I really enjoy floaty dream music like this quite a bit, that not even the little meows are ther distracting.

Unfortunately, Shiva (Glacier Mix) is a song I would have nominated myself if it had to come down to it. Might even have been the first song I ended supporting lol? I love the rhythm of this piece, down to the do or die (eng. translations) parts that feel very ... rousing, I guess? And God, Asano does so much lifting enhancing the track to new heights.

Anyone who knows me knows that ZERO is my favourite piece of video game music, so I'm pretty down for anything this man touches. The Valkyrie has a lot of the cornerstones of what I enjoy about his music - a sense of rhythm (again with the RHYTHM) and propulsion, accented by beautiful orchestration. (I'm not the biggest fan of the extended outro, I think it if it were any longer by more then 10 seconds I would have felt my patience tried tbh)

I was prepared to vote for The Valkyrie without a shred of guilt, but this is honestly one of the most enjoyable of the anime op genre songs we've got this year. Another win for songs that have a nice rhythm to them (love the bass!)

Wtf today is bonkers. But that's what happens when two of my supports show up I guess.

[9.5] Shiva (Glacier Remix)
[9.5] The Valkyrie
[8.5] Katamari on the Dream
[8] Oyasumi Monochrome
[8] diamond meditation
[7] Neural Divergence (Saturnian Version)

Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE - Katamari on the Dream
Heaven Burns Red - Shiva (Glacier Remix)
Dreamin' Her -Boku wa, Kanojo no Yume o Miru- - Oyasumi Monochrome

MATCH 1

Katamari on the Dream is really nice melodically. I like some of the modulation but also the individual melodies themselves that are in the new key. Like at 0:42-0:47 and 1:11-1:14. Cassie Wei is a great singer as always.

Neural Divergence is pretty neat melodically and with the vocals, especially towards the end like at 3:21. Though, I feel like I enjoy it less today than the other day when I was first listening to the songs for this match.

MATCH 2

Not exactly my favorite kind of chill song but I like it!

Jun Maeda and Hayato Asano are two composers I have a lot of love for, so it's really cool to see the two of them involved in a song together! Although To You in the Dying Season was more emblematic of my tastes, Shiva (Glacier Remix) is really good as well! I certainly can't get enough of Yanagi Nagi vocals. This has a really cool hype feeling to it, especially during the pre-chorus and chorus sections, which are also my favorite parts of the song. There's something about the "gamusha" repetition in the pre-chorus that feels satisfying in a way. That and the fast-paced vocals. Oyasumi Monochrome is my tentative Bracket D winner, but I'd take Shiva to the finals if Monochrome wasn't there, assuming no surprises from D4.

MATCH 3

The Valkyrie has some parts that stand out more than the others like at 2:07, but for the most part, it's not really all that remarkable to me.

I love this singer's voice! It has this light and slightly breathy quality to it that feels really appealing to me. The chorus is I think where her voice shines the most because you can hear this really nice vibrato in her voice during that part too. Melodically, I really like the bright strings in this, and of course, the piano is great as well. This is the second time in this year's contest that I'm bringing this anime up lol, but something that popped in my head as a comparison regarding the strings is the first OP to The Pet Girl of Sakurasou (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcwzDxqzpo0) that also has this really bright violin melody in the intro that I really like. Back to Oyasumi Monochrome, the only other thing to note is that I really like the key change at the end too. It's a common thing to hear in jpop, but I'm typically a big fan of it regardless. This song was something I discovered a decent while ago after the end of last year's contest and I thought that this was really good and something worth considering nominating. But then I just forgot about it for some reason until like the day before this year's contest started when I found it again and realized, "wait, wasn't I thinking of nominating this?" So, it's a good thing I found it again haha! The composers for this song and the singer, Isui, actually went on to officially form a group together named tayori. I haven't had the chance to check out a lot of their music, but it seems pretty good! Some examples here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k_csTdypRQ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWff60PZytQ. But Oyasumi Monochrome has still been my favorite, so if anyone happens to know these musicians, please send some recommendations my way! I actually just saw the other day that this VN OP that I've listened to before was composed by Islet but with a different singer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5D4X_C22do. Honestly, I should've nominated this at some point because this is very much my thing. Possibly coming to a VGMC20 near you!

Oyasumi Monochrome > Shiva (Glacier Remix) > Katamari on the Dream > Neural Divergence (Saturnian Version) > diamond meditation > The Valkyrie

Katamari on the Dream
Shiva (Glacier Remix)
Oyasumi Monochrome

I'm sorry, WHAT? The Cassie Wei from Mili doing a Katamari song? And said song being a perfect blend on Lonely Rolling Star and Katamari on the Rocks? Also said song being all cool and soft and fluffy and funky and being all fun and weird like any good Katamari song is? I'm here for ALL of this.

Neural Divergence is some cool, TRON-like alt rock with some funky vocals. It feels kinda dripping with grief and misery, like you're trudging through a digital emotional swamp of sorts. I think I wanted to really come at me with a huge spike in energy, but I think I'm alright with it as is.

diamond meditation is mystical and mysterious-sounding thanks to that main synth and the xylophone echoing throughout. I do find it kinda pretty and mainly charming, it's simple but very effective in approach.

Shiva (Glacier) is by far my preferred version of the song. The icy synths, the piano all throughout, even the vocals feel nicer with what I think is a subtle layer of reverb! I guess this feels even more pop-heavy than the original version, where it feels more unrestrained...maybe THAT'S why it stands out so much to me.

...an Ace Combat composer did The Valkyrie. NOW the orchestral style makes sense.

...I should be tired of all the anime songs we've gotten this year at this point, but I actually don't mind Oyasumi Monochrome right now for some reason. Maybe it's the soft buildup that the very beginning provides? And the singer's voice is pretty soothing too! It feels pretty fun too with the pop angle it goes into after the first chorus, this was a delightful surprise.

Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE - Katamari on the Dream: Its cute and very much what Id expect from the series. 7/10

Keylocker - Neural Divergence (Saturnian Version): The melody and the way they are singing (albeit not the vocals themselves) remind me of NieR. 7/10

Within a Deep Forest - diamond meditation: Wow, never expected to see a song all the way back from the Best Song I Never Heard contest here. Anyways, it was pleasant but felt too short. 6.75/10

Heaven Burns Red - Shiva (Glacier Remix):
Ill start off by admitting Im not a big fan of this song. The vocals really dont do it for me.

With that being said, I really appreciate the songs message, and I wish more people knew a little more about what this song is about. According to dowolf, its about the character Megumi and her resolution to accept herself as she is - even if her powers often falter. Theres a lot more context to it than just that, but as someone with low self confidence myself, this kind of song thar serves as a reminder to be kinder to myself in spite of my failures, really speaks to me.

I really wish I could enjoy the song as much as I appreciate its message, but oh well. I do feel like its very slowly growing on me. 6.75/10 (originally a 6.2 back in the Supra contest, but I need to give it some credit for the context).

Final Fantasy VII Remake - The Valkyrie: Not my favorite song from this game or its original counterpart, but the castanets are really cool. 7.5/10

Dreamin' Her -Boku wa, Kanojo no Yume o Miru- - Oyasumi Monochrome:
Ohhhh my god the parts where she does the three breaths in a row annoys me so much. The rest is fine, but those parts drag any enjoyment I could find in the song into the ground. 4.75/10

match 1 very close.

VOTES:
Katamari on the Dream
abstain
The Valkyrie