Touhou Discussion Thread - Page 63

My thoughts on this: things are finally heating up to a broil. Now the power of balance is even more precarious with the introduction of the Taoists. Note that the Taoists crew (Miko and her treacherous underlings) are a direct foil to the Buddhist crew (Byakuren and her loyal followers). Indeed the Taoists exhibit the lingering power of human greed and regret, something that would remind Byakuren of how she herself cheated death while her own brother passed away.

Overall, is Touhou 13 the best Touhou I've played? I don't know, I think 11 still is my favorite. Is it a good game? I feel it's very solid, much less frustrating then 12, although to collect spirits/points you are rewarded for rushing behavior. How are the characters? I like them enough, possibly not as much as the Buddhist crew. Indeed, the motives of the Taoist crew stretches much further then we are all used to.

Everyone's complaining that the Extra Boss is weird. Well, in Gensokyo, I'd say she fits perfectly, a lighthearted youkai on a journey to help a friend. She's certainly not very colorful, but I think I found a new character I like XD.

Track Listing:

• 1) The Venerable Ancient Battlefield ~ Suwa Foughten Field
  
• 2) Shanghai Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea
  
• 3) Bloom Nobly, Cherry Blossoms of Sumizome ~ Border of Life
  
• 4) The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky
  
• 5) The Primal Scene of Japan the Girl Saw
  
• 6) Gensokyo Millennium ~ History of the Moon
  
• 7) Magus Night
  
• 8) Native Faith
  
• 9) Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke
  
• 10) Hiroari Shoots a Strange Bird ~ Till When?
  
• 11) Extend Ash ~ Hourai Victim
  
• 12) Stirring an Autumn Moon ~ Mooned Insect

NO. No, no, no. D: It pains me to say this, but in my opinion, this album was a letdown. It's beyond me how a circle like ENS, whose every song is a kiss of ecstasy in aural form, took the amazing lineup of tracks for this album, and managed to concoct such... mediocrity. Most of the song have at least one fatal flaw; some songs have literally no trace of the original melody in it, others would be great songs (if not for the singer chosen to perform it), and some are just subpar. And to top it all off, Nayuta makes no appearance at all! I'm really disappointed here. I expected a lot more, and I was let down. Well, perhaps I was spoiled by seven incredible albums before this one, but to be completely honest, I am not impressed.

The first track, Venerable Ancient Battlefield, has a really nice beat and background rhythms. The problem here is the singing. It's entirely too bland, and lacks the voice inflection needed to mesh well with the music. Unfortunately, despite this, it's one of the better songs on the album... which doesn't bode well for the next tracks.

Next is Shanghai Teahouse. This starts AMAZINGLY. The first 25 seconds are pure bliss, and I was thinking that this track would be the Fires of Hokkai for Solitude Blossom (as in, the best song by far on the disc). But my ears hit a brick wall at 26 seconds.

Because the rapping started. And it wasn't particularly good rap. The female vocals are restricted to the chorus and bridge, while the male rapper does the rest. I really feel that the song would have been infinitely better overall if the rapping was just cut out and replaced with singing. Even so, this is the best song on the album, easily... or it would've been, if not for Track 10.

Border of Life was the song I was looking forward to the most, because it's sung by Chata, the goddess who performed the Fires of Hokkai I adore so much. And yeah, she did a good job on this song... but it sounds nothing like Border of Life. Chata's soft-spoken vocals and slow manner of singing drag this song down more than should have been the case, making it sound bland. My hopes were being shot down at this point in the album.

Then they were revitalized with Capital City of Flowers in the Sky. I don't think that the synths were... I guess they weren't "vibrant" enough. They sounded too ethereal, lacking substance. The vocals were great, though, making this the second best track on the album.

And then Primal Scene. This was perhaps the most nondescript song ENS could make. No special cutesy tricks with the audio, generic vocals... but it sounds like ENS. Picture the song Primal Scene in your head. Now imagine what it would sound like if ENS produced it. That's what's on the album. But it's still a good song, if somewhat generic.

Gensokyo Millennium has a gorgeous main melody, but it's marred by the vocals. They're just too CUTESY. I'm pretty sure they got an 8 year old girl strung out on helium to sing it while having her nose held shut by a clothespin, which sucks. The instrumentals are beautiful, though, so this track will probably be the best on the instrumental version of the album.

AND THEN GODDAMN MAGUS NIGHT. I generally like the male vocals in past ENS songs (Sleeping Terror, Native Faith), but good lord, that man should not attempt high notes like he does in Magus Night. There was so much potential for an amazing arrangement of this song, but I feel the chance was squandered by the choice of vocals, and the instrumentals aren't exactly stellar. Well, at the chorus, they're fuckin' great, but as a whole, the song is meh. Perhaps the worst on the album.

Native Faith is another "generic ENS" song, but I think it's one of the best tracks. I think if Chata did this one, it'd have been the album highlight, but it seems she only does the songs that are matched to the character on the album cover. Because of that, the vocals aren't optimal. Regardless, it's a very good piece, and maybe tied for second place.

Immortal Smoke is, in a word, bland. It just seems the same, over and over. It also doesn't really sound like Immortal Smoke until the chorus; until then, it is just bland. I like the vocals, though.

Hiroari is AMAZING. Definitely the album highlight. The vocals, the instrumentals, the tempo... Everything just clicks here. My favorite track by far. Just go YouTube it and you'll see.

And then shit goes downhill with Extend Ash. It's basically Hiroari in reverse; nothing clicks. The version in Definite Energy is far better.

At least things end on a good note with Stirring an Autumn Moon. This is the best vocal version of the song I've yet heard, because of all the little vocal tricklets and such that make the song more varied. The helium-strung girl is back, but she kinda fits the song more than she did for Gensokyo Millennium.

Overall, I expected another masterpiece, and was let down. It's not a BAD album, but it's decidedly average. A few good songs, one or two great ones, and the rest are mediocre.

Track Listing:

• 1) Scarlet Beyond a Fleeting Eternity
  
• 2) Septette for the Dead Princess / U.N. Owen was Her?
  
• 3) Shanghai Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea
  
• 4) The Centennial Festival for Magical Girls / The Young Descendant of Tepes
  
• 5) Voile, the Magic Library
  
• 6) The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood
  
• 7) Septette for the Dead Princess

A little story for you guys: I was on 4chan yesterday, and I —

I can wait until you're done admonishing me, you know. Yeah, I'm not proud of it, but in my defense, I was checking out /jp/, not /b/ or some other monstrosity.

Anyway, I was checking the comments on the various C80 releases, and some people actually said they were disappointed with Cardinal Red! What the hell are they talking about?! The 9th Spell is an amazing album! A few hiccups here and there (which I'll discuss later), but a xi-on album dedicated to EoSD has both me and Yoshi Kirishima jumping for joy.

The first track is Scarlet Beyond a Fleeting Eternity, done in the style of the "introductory" track that xi-on seems fond of for opening up albums with. They're usually short tracks, starting off slowly with calm synths and then breaking out with the guitars later on, but the tempo remains paced; it's not a rushed song. This particular intro track is fairly generic in that style, but is by no means a bad one.

Then we jump right into Septette for the Dead U.N. Owen. I don't really like sounding like a fangirl, but there are like three "#1" tracks on this album (all in a row!), and this is the first. U.N. Owen and Septette are blended so marvelously, you'd think they were originally one song. Add in the brilliant prog style that xi-on favors, and you have an amazing song. One of the three album highlights.

Next is Chinese Tea, the second highlight. Electric and synth instruments are prominent in this song, but fuck that, the tempo is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for this song. This is my favorite Shanghai Teahouse yet. Just go and listen to it.

The last of the three highlights is Centennial Festival for the Young Descendant of Tepes. Just like Track 2, the two songs blend magnificently. The familiar Centennial chimes are present through the whole song, while Young Descendant (a song I don't usually care for) takes up the majority of the song time. Somehow, the instruments used just fit together.

A slight dropoff occurs with Voile, but it's still a good song. It seems just a bit too minimalistic for the first thirty seconds or so, just a keyboard and drums. It kicks up after that, but I think that Voile itself just isn't the best choice to arrange.

The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood disappointed me a bit. I don't think it was done optimally. If you listen to the song, you'll notice that the intro and bridges sound... off. The string portion in particular. I feel this one was the weakest track on the album, but even a weak xi-on track is above average.

The last is a piano solo for Septette. While the song is beautiful and well done, I think perhaps it would have been better if this one was substituted for another prog arrangement. I mean, Septette is already on the album. Locked Girl, Shanghai Alice, and A Soul as Red as a Ground Cherry would all have been great to see, but I guess Septette is too iconic to pass up. As for the arrange itself, it's fairly generic as far as piano tunes go. Supplemented by strings a tad, but otherwise not a standout track.

Harem, if you're reading this, I'm still on to you.