Kalafina 21st single "Hyakka Ryouran" (Katsugeki Touken Ranbu ED)

Yassss full version!
I'm typing thoughts while plugged in.
Sorry in advance for the text wall.

Man I can see this song being really powerful live and good song for all three girls to show off their voices.

Extended instrumental open YES! I had a feeling from the TV size that it would be longer and I'm glad I was right.

Hmm the anticipated Japanese flavour is lying predominantly in the intro and the heavy percussion. That opening flue melody takes me instantly to a samurai movie set.

STRONG MINOR KEY VERSES I have missed The way Kajiura uses minor keys to set up her songs. It's ominous. It's someone-will-die-in-this-story. People are going/have gone to war. What Keiko does on default when in minor key.

I love how as soon as Hikaru takes the next verse, it turns to a major key even though Hikaru's opening notes are the same. I feel it plays on Hikaru's transparency. While Keiko set up the death flags, Hikaru is kind of like the ray of hope that's like maybe we can all survive.

Hmm by this time the Japanese flavour is now Kajiuran OST flavour bahahaha. I think anticipating a Hoshi no Utai X Kouya Ruten love child was a bit TOO hopeful of people (eg. Me).

Wakana chorus. The omen and hope is gone. People have died. We're reminiscing about them now. There's nothing we can do anymore. It's in the lyrics and in the melody. It's prohesized on Japanese Touran twitter fanbase. The Wakana chorus is us thinking about someone gone and we can't ever get back now. Goodbye forever.

I don't mind it being being Parallel Hearts Chorus 2. The direction is different and counter melody lines are grand!

Enter instrumental and Kajiuran bridge. YES MINOR INTERVALS. Hello Remi/Hanae. Enter complete Kajiuran OST flavour. I feel nostalgic. Like NOIR OST nostalgic.
But I do wish this Kajiuran bridge was the chanty or aggressive type like the ones in Rekishi Hiwa Historia tracks.

Kajiurago + Kalafina jamming bridge...yes. Layers. Hikaru being epic.
The three of them singing at each other. We're at the battle scene now.

Keiko's verse round 2. Her tone is different! It almost sound like she's smiling through these lines.

Oh. Spontaneous bridge 2. I'm unsure about how I feel about this. I kind of like it because Keiko gets to slay, and FINISH her very own chorus. In the other hand this second instrumental bridge is a bit... filler? If it was cut in half it would've been perfect.

Return to Wakana Chorus. Like Keiko, she sounds different second time round! Its stronger and more desperate! It's like Wakana is here to collect all the death flags planted by Keiko at the beginning.

I like how everyone's lines in the second time around is not just copy and paste with different lyrics. Be it vocal tone or minor additions to the melody. It kept the track interesting to me until the end.

The structure is quite fresh. I guess it is quite Kajiuran to have bridges come and go as if it has a scene to or a story to tell. Especially in this track where they were talking about progression. It's like I'm listening to BGM rather than a single single(?). Feels almost REVO/Sound Horizon in its whimsy?

Back in the day Parallel Hearts was my jam. Even if it's a very strange genre of anime to do it at, it sounds like a reinvention of an old school Kajiuran favorite melody.
Now delete Parallel Hearts and listen to this instead lol.

Sorry for the long post.
I hope you guys enjoyed my scattered thoughts.
 
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When the PV started, my first thought was, "Wait, why am I watching Inuyasha...?" It reminds me a lot of it.
I wasn't expecting much, but I mostly liked it... except the scenery during the refrain. I'm not fond of Hikaru's hair length, and I think Keiko's dress is too short. Wakana looks absolutely beautiful.
As for the song itself, the way it seems rather equally divided between all the Kalafina girls is nice, and I like its structure. I think the very best part of the song is the beginning, with Keiko singing lead while Hikaru does the low harmonies and Wakana the high ones, as it sounds great. In the middle part, Hikaru singing solo sounds very good too (when taking over from Keiko earlier she didn't do that well), while Keiko's solo part seems off to me, especially when holding the long note. Wakana sounds fine, some moments very good, but doesn't go into epic territory.

Now looking forward to watching the full PV... hoping for the best.
 
Ok the MV looks like it can become my fav up to date. It's still the basic kalafina stule but the colours and the effects are great. I'm not sure about the song tbh, the verse sounds great (I was so shook when Keiko took the lead first) but the chorus sounds like a mix of stuff Kajiura did in the past and it bothers me a lot. Also it's kinda weak compared to the verse.
 
Urgh what a foulplay Kajiura...I was preparing to put the song in my ok-tier while I was downloading then you went Remi on this one...

Anyway...Based Keiko and Remi. I still don't like the refrain but the rest is love :love:
 
KEIKO's second set of verses reminds me so much of Evanescence, and I'm in love! That electric paired with her unprocessed voice and then the percussion... mmph!

I do appreciate how the structure of the entire song is like a story being told. The HIKARU bridge was highly suspenseful, as if thunder were roaring over the scene of a deadly battle and WAKANA sounds like some merciful angel soaring over lost souls...

I still hate the WAKANA prechorus to no end. I will say her second refrain was sung with more passion and energy (although her voice is so undeniably nasal and forceful at this point, but that's the new WAKANA amirite).
 
the whole song just sounds too messy for my taste, especially the bridges. would normally love moar Keiko but i find her delivery (and Hikaru's) to be really choppy throughout the song. another track that sounds like they recorded the song in only one take. the chorus sounds uninspired since it's another Parallel hearts but at the same time it stuck in my head because it's another Parallel Hearts, which I happen to like (quite a lot, actually). as a whole the track makes me feel unnecessary dilemma -- lots of Keiko but i don't like it, unoriginal chorus but it stuck in my head since it reminds me of the other track that i liked. i would cut the hikaruwakana bridge/bridge02.

waiting for bsides.
 
@AKWirru You have the nerve! How dare you take my obligation to write a full review completely based on aesthetic pleasure, and even worse, steal the words from my own brain!

I definitely love that I empathize with the song as the action suggested from the anime, but in a different way -- here, I completely see war, though not the war of the anime. The last time I felt this with a single was Magia, where I saw witchcraft and conflict, realized it certainly fit with the later angst of PMMM, but wasn't all of what I would envision.

I agree that at one point the vision became that the girls were "singing at each other" and am also glad that many of us hear everyone's tone slightly change/intensify the mood in the second section.

I would not cut the bridges because then it would turn into a Destiny's Child-style situation and that honestly is not attractive for all the talent that all of these women have. The bridge is also aesthetically pleasing against this instrumental, unlike Blaze's.

Although I agree about starting to think the edited refrain has become frustratingly likeable, I have no clue as to how Keiko's parts and/or transitions sound choppy and sometimes think certain criticisms are being overly fished-for.
 
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@Westkana No, I liked it and will mention again that the reasons were that the countermelody makes HR less basic legato; that the countermelody came from Keiko which made the tone of the refrain more interesting; and that the ending was changed which built up a sense of impending future -- rather than PH's ending, which sounds like it should end exactly there. Also, I like the way the full version of HR ends, because it sounds like worry toward the future of a story, instead of the story ending.
 
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It's the weakest part of the song, but I don't have any issues with it.
 
can't help but hear the L.O.R.D song at 3:26 :D

I like the strings in the beginning. probably like hikaru best, then keiko then wakana. the song holds nothing special as per usual. I thought the chorus was awful.
 
Hyakka Ryouran would have fit quite nicely on the Consolation album instead of Consolation itself. I like it better than that song and TTB. So that's something I guess hehe.
 
The song feels like it has a similar structure to Believe, except I find this to be a lot more dramatic than Believe, and I enjoy this song a lot... it feels like it showcases Keiko Hikaru and Wakana more equally compared to their other recent singles, which is nice. I have a feeling they might sing this instead of some other common songs in their lives because it does a good job at showing each kalamember instead of other songs such as Believe (which is mostly a Wakana song)
 
^I get MedChemist. Although I like Consolation (the song), it took me until just this year to actually enjoy it -- primarily because Al Fine beautifully set up what I thought
Consolation was going to be, then was given a surprise I never liked, not because the song is bad.
 
Thanks a lot for sharing the short MV! I love the special effects at the beginning of the video, and just like how others mentioned the music in the beginning is different from the one that was used in the ED, I might like this one better.

Keiko's first verse really gives me the chill (great description) and it still does eveytime I listen to it <3 I first heard the chorus and I was pretty let down but when I heard the beginning of the song including Keiko's verse when it came out after that, I was pretty surprised and loved it! Keiko's singing with the heavy drums were very intense and exciting, especially when it's Hikaru who's harmonizing with her, I love it when she sings lower than her it's always great.

I love connecting their songs to eachother like I do with the rest of Kajiura's projects and as much as I love Parallel Hearts very much, I get...pretty disappointed when I hear the chorus, then again, I disliked Into the World when I heard the first samples of it but completely changed my mind when I heard the full song, so I can't base my opinion on the short version currently (and who am I kidding again, I'll still listen to it nonstop like I always do with the rest of their songs)

As always, I'm very excited and remaining hopeful for the B-Sides the most. :plot:.
 
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