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Saturday, March 21, 2015

Song of the Week! 21 March 2015


A bit late than usual, but we're back! Let's welcome a new Spring season's beginning with the first Variety pick of the year.

 Tarako Tarako Tarako (たらこ・たらこ・たらこ) Kewpie Pasta Sauce CM Official Song
Version
All arcadex2 (69)x1 (101) x4 (213/194/171)x7 (435)
All consolex2 (69)x2 (101) x5 (213/194/171)x7 (435)
 Taiko 10 to 12.5, Taiko DS 1
 156
 none
 taraku


Taiko games have a strong tradition of cross-platform releases of popular commercial songs, and today's cutesy jingle is no exception! Being simultaneously introduced by Taiko 10 and the first Nintendo DS videogame, this is the original version of the tune used for the Kewpie Pasta Sauce commercials in Japan.

Believe it or not, the Tarako Tarako Tarako song has been the first step for the birth of J-pop band Kigurumi (キグルミ), so called after the Japanese art of cosplay and the influence that their songs can have on the costumes used to perform them. The act started in 2006 as a commercial-only band, due to the Kewpie industry auctioning for a couple of young singers to perform their newly-made CM jingle. The auction was won by Rena Shimura and Haruka, whose voices have earned them instant fame and popularity, with Tarako Tarako Tarako peaking Oricon charts' Top 10 in a few weeks. After the release of the CM song's Chrismas version (simply called 'Tarako Tarako Christmas') in the same year, Kigurumi began to become an independent act the year after, with the introduction of two new team members -Miki and Kei- and the former founders leaving the act in order to begin an acting career.

This CM song on Taiko games is one of the few Variety Oni challenges devoid of any note different than the regular Dons/Kats, where the short length and upbeat speed makes for a tense 7* challenge. It's not very often that consecutive, mono-color cluster formations of 5, 7 and 3 appear on this difficulty tier, making it a good starting point for rookie players for stamina practice.