Rotlung

Can the info on Discord be moved to the main forum in any way? Why would anyone think that keeping it on the Discord channels is a good idea?

I didn't know about the relation to old traditional Japanese singing, but point taken. However, its rap-like nature, and it being combined with such a downtuned riffs (I'm guessing drop C?) brings nu-metal to mind, sorry. I stand corrected regarding 'Sword Of Doom II', since I just remember the composer's name when it comes to soundtracks. Actually I only recently found out that the vocalist who sang on 'Sword Of Doom II' is also the vocalist from Light Bringer which I remembered as a Japanese power metal band with very good, soaring vocals. And yes I do get that the track is ultimately about Terumi who is basically unhinged or something (I try not to read too much on Central Fiction for now to avoid spoilers), so thematically that might fit with the crazy (but still cringeworthy) vocals.

The comparisons of 'MUST DIE' with the Revelator Raven theme are inevitable... but goddamn the vocals here are really cringeworthy. This is especially so in the first half of the track, where we have the pitched 'singing' with pig squeals (used occasionally in death metal) overdubbed with it. The problem with the pitched parts is that they sound like angry, comical wailing. If comedy was what they're going for, they've aced it in the first half. The rest of the theme is pretty good - particularly the chorus sections with added strings and the harmonised vocals (not unlike some parts of the Raven theme), and the guitar solo (though I wish they extended the solo, they were on to something good here!). I really hope there's an instrumental version too. Vocals in Daisuke Ishiwatari's tracks have generally been good ('Sword Of Doom II' and the vocal version of 'Justice Sword' being the crowning examples of this in my honest opinion). The vocals in the Raven theme are, at the very least, carried with enough conviction to sound convincing. I'm not sure what led him to think having those vocals in 'MUST DIE' was a good idea. Edit: 'HAKAISHIN' sounds damn amazing. The sitar and the flute solos playing over the riffs is bliss. It heavily reminds me of 'Bloodline' (which is always a good thing).

When was the last time a boycott did anything in the video game industry?

Thanks for the detailed write-up. I'm quite curious about the "6A > jc delay j.A > j.B > j.C". I play on PC so I won't be able to try this out for quite a while. Is this something I can practise in CSE, since 6A floats there? Also that Ivy Blossom corner combo looks wicked!

They really need to do something about the text crossing over onto the character art in the victory screen. It gets difficult to read sometimes.

I like it. That weird synth sound used kind of threw me off, but the riff in which it's used is pretty fantastic (I guess it also works because Kokonoe's theme 'Science Fiction' also had lots of those synth elements). I'm also hearing a bit of the 'One Dawn' verse riff in this, which is pretty cool. Something about the theme makes it seem a little more depressing than say Bloodline (which is almost majestic/heroic in the chorus) - I swear you can almost hear some of the characters going "I don't really want to fight". It's definitely a battle theme, but I'd call this a battle theme with misgivings.

I found the entry on Amazon by googling, so I guess you could try that too. There's also someone selling it on ebay.

I no longer play Magic, but if I still were, I'd be pretty sure to invest in these for a blue-black control deck...

I get you. My point is that, I do agree that what ASW did (as in, failing to even communicate formally with the voice actors) is douche-y, and to be honest it would not have been very difficult/costly to formally contact the voice actors to tell them that they are not needed as opposed to having them hear about it on twitter or some other social media platform. This is especially so given the common knowledge that the voice actors love this project. But to my knowledge, ASW is under no contractual obligation to tell the voice actors that they are not needed. A proper formal advance notification is usually required in a regular 9-to-5 job (similarly employees are often required to give some advance notice, typically 1 month, if they intend to quit). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe dubbing one particular show/game counts as short-term project work (so work concludes with the project, the latest being BBCPE, after which no work is expected of them until a new project is announced). Equating the two circumstances is being unfair to the organization (in this case ASW) by imposing a heavier burden on them than it is in reality, even if the principles being discussed are similar. Anyway, I'm just being pedantic at this point.

I do agree that it's professional courtesy to inform the voice actors in some more formal manner. However, I think that the comparison to a regular 9-to-5 job is misleading, because the nature of the work is such that the voice actors aren't necessarily expecting to work as soon as a project is announced. They might hope to be called, but not in the same way you'd expect to go to work in a 9-to-5 job.

I can't say that that's the most flattering picture they can use to represent the fans.

So, Mai just got announced for BBCF. I'm actually quite curious about how her theme is going to be like. Since she doesn't have a spin-off game like Es from which something can be pulled, I guess Lord Ishiwatari will be composing her theme?

'Marionette' and 'One Dawn' are quite similar in the sense that they are both in the same key - 'Marionette' is mostly in D minor, whereas 'One Dawn' is in F major. D minor and F major are relative keys, so they basically use the same notes throughout. Both songs also run at a very similar tempo (though 'One Dawn' uses a lot more double-pedal drumming compared to 'Marionette', not unlike modern power metal. A comparison can be made in this regard with both versions of 'Condemnation Wings' (BlazBlue Tsubaki themes)). That's not forgetting that both songs, as other posters have brought up, start the chorus with the A-G-F notes (though the 'One Dawn' chorus goes right away for straightforward F major chord, whereas 'Marionette' starts with a more tense G minor in the chorus), with the instrumentation stopping and letting the A-G notes shine on their own. Pausing the instrumentation while starting the next section with just a couple of melodic notes seems to be something Daisuke likes to play around with. 'Diva Of Despair' and 'Bloodline' (BlazBlue Ragna/Jin vs Izanami theme) are some other examples of this.

A fair point about dropping from other starters. I personally found the double 6A > 4B really easy to do, but the combo with microdash 3C > 214C does look a lot cooler so I think it's still worth working on in the long run (until CF, at least). Yep I understand that the overall route will be quite different in CF, mainly because j.C with 5D doesn't float anymore. I really appreciate the quick comments and tips, thanks!