The Best Denpa Songs of 2010 (JPN and NA picks)

It's that time of the year again! Although late February might horribly unpunctual for a review of last year's best denpa offerings, keep in mind that a good 30-40% of the eligible material comes out during the Winter Comiket. Also, we're actually a month ahead of last year's Best of 2009 overview, which was published in March. Furthermore, the Japanese Top Denpa Songs of 2010 list was just published on February 15th 2011, with the following top 10 songs (all links point to youtube videos)

1. 寺ズッキュン！愛の了法寺！ (とろ美 + あゆ (IOSYS)) (257 votes, 21.9%)
2. 妹プリ～ズ！(竹達彩奈) (252 votes, 21.4%)
3. イチャイチャ☆りちゅある！！ (ave;new feat.佐倉紗織＆白沢理恵) (178 votes, 15.1%)
4. 恋愛満塁ホームラン～ほぼイキかけました～ (あゆ) IOSYS (70 votes, 6.0%)
5. はっぴぃ にゅう にゃあ (芹沢文乃(伊藤かな恵) + 梅ノ森千世(井口裕香) + 霧谷希(竹達彩奈)) (56 votes, 4.8%)
6. 超越↑↑恋してナイしょ☆メア！！ (あべにゅうぷろじぇくと feat.佐倉紗織＆井上みゆ) (44 votes, 3.7%)
7. 侵略ノススメ☆ (ULTRA-PRISM With イカ娘(金元寿子)) (43 votes, 3.7%)
8. 正解はひとつ!じゃない!! (三森すずこ，徳井青空，佐々木未来，橘田いずみ) (34 votes, 2.9%)
9. 愛妻家でりでりっく (Little Non) (32 votes, 2.7%)
10. キグルミ惑星 (高垣彩陽) (30 votes, 2.6%)

These are some great picks overall, with quite a few surprises. We're stunned that Ayu's "Baseball Song" ranked so high, given that her splendid 「*antipasto*」 CD seemed to be largely ignored this year. Plus, it's actually a 2009 song but we'll let that one slide. It's possible that her fans passed the word about voting her all the way up, not that she doesn't deserve a fourth place! Little Non also definitely earned that ninth place, sure wish they'd release more songs like that one... oh wait, RIP Little Non! Finally, the website ran a Best of 2000-2009 list, but the results seem a little unfair given the paltry ~400 total votes, so we'll let you dissect that one on your own.

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for... The Official Denpa no Sekai 2010 Sampler!
Please note that these songs are not ranked, and make sure to switch to 720p!!!

Title:	お節介な妹が毎朝起こしにきて生きるのがつらい
Singer:	ななひら
Composer:	azuma
Album:	ゴキゲン77ﾟ↑
Released:	C78
Comments:	denpanosekai: Nanahira's summer album came as a surprise and was chock-full of quality denpa gems. This pick represents all of her best features: relentless cadence, unequivocal passion and a heart-melting voice! mandichan: Could be Nanahira's best song yet? I love the grand storytelling feeling. It's a common story setup, but pulled off flawlessly. Although the song is from the sister's point of view, the title said from the grumpy brother's point of view is cute. The whole album was great, but this one was definitely my favorite.

Title:	イチャイチャ☆りちゅある！！
Singers:	ave;new projecto feat. 佐倉紗織 + 白沢理恵
Composer:	doreCHU
Comments:	denpanosekai: It's not a "Best of 20XX" sampler list without an ave;new projecto song! This song is doreCHU's current apex, but I am positively convinced he can reach for an even greater apogee in 2011. Long live the projecto!!! mandichan: One of ave;new's most addicting songs to date. Saori and Rie team test their speed and singing together in beautifully controlled chaos. ave;new are experts at keeping things fresh while sticking with their trademark sound.

Title:	ウォータープリンロワイヤルッ☆
Singer:	ココボク
Album:	ココボク MUSIC PARTY
Released:	C79
Comments:	denpanosekai: Been a fan of koko/boku for a long time. Her angelic-yet-infernal voice leaves no one indifferent, so it was with great pleasure that I found out about her first original album. This first song just happens to sum up her Music Party very well, but it could have been any other! mandichan: It's really hard to choose a favorite from this album. Koko's voice is one of the wildest out there, and this song showcases it in its natural habitat: having fun and being cute! Also, unlike most of Innocent Key's albums which only have a few denpa songs, this one is almost 100% saturated.

Title:	Honey I Scream!
Singer:	リズナ
Composer:	t+pazolite
Album:	Honey I Scream!
Released:	C78
Comments:	mandichan: We all know t+pazolite and Rizuna is a deadly combination, and this song is a great representative of their high energy and high contrast. I love the gentle and almost cartoony touches here and there in the arrangement. denpanosekai: Denpa purists and JCore snobs will both scoff at this pick, but to hell with the lot of them. This song is pure madness both vocally and musically; you'll notice our sample mixes both the beginning and ending of this glorious track. The best thing is that this album was announced just a couple of months after we  published our extensive t+pazolite feat. リズナ article... as if we called it...

Title:	Love Wars～愛の宣戦布告～
Singer:	akari (doubleeleven UpperCut)
Composer:	山下航生
Album:	Do you like Upper Cut???
Released:	M3 2010 Spring
Comments:	denpanosekai: This new unit released twelve new songs in 2010, at a brisk pace of one per month. That's dedication! Not to mention they already have three concerts under their belt in 2011 alone. They may not be pushing the genre's boundaries yet, but at this time next year, they'll be big! Mark my words... mandichan: doubleeleven UpperCut has some of the most energetic compositions out there. This song features great denpa staples like crazy fast talking and hyper chants. Take a listen whenever you need some energy!

Title:	リプルリプル☆Twinkle Show！
Singer:	のみこ
Album:	リプルリプル☆Twinkle Show！
Released:	2010/5/26
Comments:	mandichan: Probably the most overlooked album this year, 「Ripple☆RippleTwinkle Show!」 was a drama cd with のみこ in the lead role(s), but the real draw here is the music. Unfortunately, the drama tracks jacked up the price for a CD with just 2 real new nomico songs... but both of those songs were so good, it's worth it. The title track is everything you expect from nomico: cute, fun, and most of all addicting. She sings it with all the right sweetness, squeaks, and endearing "imperfections". 「 しすぎました。」, nomico's other new song, is even more denpa and hyper. It might catch you more on the first listen, but in the end I think 「リプル☆リプルTwinkle Show!」 is the better of the two, the urge to sing along while listening is almost impossible to overcome!

Title:	侵略ノススメ☆
Singer:	月宮うさぎ (ULTRA-PRISM)
Composer:	小池雅也
Released:	2010/10/27
Comments:	denpanosekai: As a proud owner of their (criminally underrated) debut album 「inspiration」, I was more than thrilled to see them grow so rapidly in 2010. When I visited Akihabara in late 2010, all the shops were playing this song on repeat. Too bad their new Rainbow Gate ending theme song seems to be ignored because it's associated to a mediocre anime. Regardless, let's hope for a second original album in 2011, you can do it aniki! mandichan: ULTRA-PRISM really lucked out by having their anime debut song being the anthem for followers of the invader who came from the bottom of the sea! The chants worked perfectly for riling up the already hypnotized fans of cute lil' ika-musume. Hopefully it's a turning point in the career of this great duo.

Title:	とってもヴィーナス!みこおねえさん
Singer:	miko+Resurrection (ALBATROSICKS)
Composer:	Dr. ARM
Album:	PARAMOUNT FEVER!!!!!!!!!!11111
Released:	C78
Comments:	mandichan: Listeners of mikoraji (miko's radio show) will get a kick out of all the inside jokes. Those unfamiliar will still be able to bask in the cuteness and perfection of the princess! Those who are moe for miko's "bad" singing (like me) will flip their lid over the version on the MERGE THE STRAWBERRY remix album too. denpanosekai: Bad ass guitar solo!

Title:	専属メイド☆宣言
Singers:	桃箱・愛原圭織 (ちぃむdmp☆)
Composer:	塚越雄一朗
Album:	電波っぽいのっ!
Released:	C79
Comments:	mandichan: Truly a blissful combo of voices, it's hard to go wrong with anything on their amazing debut album. The gentle sounding classical instruments mixed with the usual crazy denpa noise makes a sweet and dainty maid image. denpanosekai: We went with the "maid song" but yeah, any track was fair game! However, this one might just be the most debilitating moe song ever made. This enchanting duo knows exactly how to hit the sweet spot!

Title:	寺ズッキュン!愛の了法寺!
Singers:	とろ美 + あゆ (IOSYS)
Composer:	ARM
Album:	寺ズッキュン!愛の了法寺!
Released:	C78
Comments:	mandichan: Lives up to the expectations of such a true dream team collaboration. Immediately addictive and a great sense of humor. I'm so glad the success of this song is helping Toromi get the recognition she deserves. denpanosekai: Same here! Toromi has been working her tiny butt off for years, it's great to see this sudden surge of interest in her songs and albums, not to mention the international coverage she's been getting since becoming Ryohoji's mascot. Her C79 album was splendid and features even more collaborations with ARM! Her IOSYS track would also have been a potential candidate for this list (check out this live performance!).

Honourable Mentions

denpanosekai's picks ※ 健康ランド (KuKuDoDo feat. 初音ミク) ※ 勉強したくない (ひなうち) ※ sweetCHU kiss (Stein Gar Coo) ※ ないしょのダンス (おでんぱ☆スタジオ) ※ はきゅん☆ご主人様ぁ!のいずれか (久猫あむ) ※ Do love me! (ACT) ※ ずっと、妹 (33.turbo) ※ De;Laytion of snow (DystopiaGround) ※ 陣取場取！まるたけえべす (MOSAIC.WAV) ※ スターソルジャー　-魂の16連射- (高橋名人)

mandichan's picks ※ the first, the last (U) ※ ケロ⑨destiny あうあうmix (silver forest) ※ ハッピー☆バレンタイン (melo9) ※ MEGARE! (M@STER VERSION) (下田 麻美) ※ 呪文はプリ☆まじ (榊原ゆい) ※ EXEC_HYMM_BATTLESPHERE/.#Saki extracting (片霧烈火) ※ 正解はひとつ!じゃない!! (ミルキィホームズ) ※ 雨上がりのミライ (ミルキィホームズ) ※ みっつ数えて大集合！ (みつば(高垣彩陽)、ふたば(明坂聡美)、ひとは(戸松遥)) ※ つよいするどいしょうがくせい (みつば(高垣彩陽)、ふたば(明坂聡美)、ひとは(戸松遥))

C78: おでんぱ☆スタジオ celebrating summer with new single

We here at denpanosekai.com are all about supporting the little guys, especially those can pump out 13 original songs in less than a year. That's right, おでんぱ☆スタジオ doesn't depend on ZUN and his (admittedly catchy) SHMUP anthems. As was discussed earlier this year, standalone compositions and their artists deserve much more than token lip service. Besides, if you mourn the recent passing of melo9, then Odenpa should provide some comfort as they feature at least one of the members from the dearly departed 萌え duo.

One day we'll have to take a deeper look at おでんぱ☆スタジオ and its members, perhaps even an interview, who knows. For now, suffice to say that they have a hell of a good name, as well as a C77 single and M3-2010 album under their belt. In fact, it wouldn't be premature to call their album one of the must-own denpa releases of 2010. The first single is probably out of print, but you can still get the album from Toranoana and Akibaoo.

But back to the news at hand. C78 saw the release of  「おでんぱ☆夏祭り」, a summer-themed single featuring four new tracks. You can use the but crossfade player on their website, but in case Flash crashes your browser routinely like the rest of us, here's a direct link to the MP3. Unfortunately it only seems to feature 2 of the four songs, so you'll just have to get your hands on the single to check out the rest. However this was likely a C78-only release, so you better hope these songs are featured on a second album. Hell... we should all hope for a second album, no matter what!

M3-2010春 電波ソング round-up (PART 2)

M3-2010春 has come and gone, leaving behind one of its most impressive sets of doujin/denpa offerings in recent memory. While the previous entry had a pretty complete round-up of the main releases, some interesting stuff escaped our vigilance and/or was completely unannounced. Yes, this post comes one week late... big whoop, wanna fight about it?



Good guy さつき が てんこもり (satsuki ga tenkomori) releases his own music through his studio皐 label but also takes care of side-project doujin circle ぐうのねサウンズ (GUUNONE sounds) which saw its third and four releases come out at M3.

「ミキューン！」 is a vocaloid compilation featuring satsuki and ラマーズP, a wildly popular Miku manipulator who got his very own full-length album on EXIT TUNES in 2009. All six songs are featured on this generous crossfade sampler, but you could also check out full versions of 「チョコレート」, 「ウインク・トランジ・スター」, 「STOMP THE ENEMY」 and probably the rest too if you look for them hard enough. All six tracks are extremely energetic and some of them were even tagged "denpa" by satsuki himself, so you know this is some good shit.

The second album is 「ACアダプターKICK-OFF！2」 which, as its title indicates, is the second entry in GUUNONE's "AC Adapter KICK-OFF!". Both this sequel and the original volume serve up wacky remixes of Nintendo classics such as Super Ghouls & Ghost, Mother 2 (Earthbound, motherfuckers!), Super Mario World and SimCity among others. Eight talented composers contributed a track, so this is a real treat for old-school gamers! Check out samplers for Volume 1 and Volume 2, but you should totally check out the full version of Satsuki's own track 「dead or die!」 which is a drum & bass remix of the first stage from one of the hardest games ever created!



There were a lot of great last-minute surprises at M3, but perhaps none greater than Birdtune's latest release: a new みりん☆ single CD!!! Don't let the fact that 「アタラセカイ」 was up against the clock fool you, its tracklist means serious business. We're talking brand new tracks from cosMo＠暴走P, studio皐, 未来派 and a KuKuDoDo remix, not to mention moemoe art from あじさ 飴, the underground idol's usual illustrator. This is not only her most varied collection of music to date, it's also her best. Check out the sampler below, or download the MP3 directly.

33.turbo did have something for sale, but it wasn't her first single like previously presumed (it actually sold out on the only day it was available, that is to say M3-2009-fall). This time around, she had a brand new K-On! arrange mini-album for sale! Whether you're a fan of the series or not, you can't deny the sweet arrangements 33.turbo have to offer. Some chiptune, some drum&bass, all badass. The production team is listed here; looks like we're dealing with a brand new bunch of artists here! She apparently sold out this new mini-album within an hour... it was a steal at 300 yen to be sure. Hopefully this success is not short-lived and mimi-turbo can cook up a first album in time for Comiket 78!



You thought the glasses fetish was dead? Not so, says programYMG. The IOSYS/InnocentKey/SoundOnline supergroup has a brand new 9-track mini-album (5 of them are dramas). The actual songs themselves range from standard JPop to straight-up denpa, with a twisted gothic-themed one right in the middle. Too bad they don't go for the picopico stuff more often than they do, because that's probably where they shine the most.

ココ is an up-and-coming moe/denpa vocalist who's mostly known for her incredibly cute Innocent Key contributions, but true hardcore fans will remember her sweet collaborations with Satsuki the most. That Persona Arrangement Album was pretty sweet too! For M3, she was featured on Senses Circuit's 7th CD, cleverly titled 「ココミク☆ミラクル」, which features 5 original tracks from hitoshi. The above PV will give you a pretty good idea, but you can download a much longer crossfade sampler for your enjoyment. Doubt this will be as popular as MOSAIC.WAV's miku album... a shame, because it's definitely a high quality release that deserves everyone's attention!

Rapid-fire post-M3 news

• Still no sampler from DystopiaGround's latest single, however you can check out some hilarious Engrish on nao's M3 booth. "This group of musicians is aiming at becoming the best A-POP artist in the universe"... or something like that? Wow, bold claim is bold!
  
• Denpa idol maria-tan had her new single for sale... entitled 「バスルームは浮かれビート☆」. LOL is all that needs to be said.
• Looks like Siestail delayed their Rizuna vocal album to C78.
  
• Melo9 were at M3 but only had a two-track drama CD for sale, as well as their Valentine Day's single. Note that melo9 and おでんぱ☆スタジオ share some staff members!!! More on that later.
• Twinkle Callion is another doujin circle that shares staff with melo9, one of the two singers this time. They're heavily on the moemoe tip, not so much denpa, but interesting stuff nonetheless. Their second single 「dream prayer box」 was up for grabs at M3.
  
• As expected of とろ美, she had a new single just for M3. The second track 「キミに贈る言葉」 is new stuff, but the titular track 「センセイ布告」 can be downloaded from C:DRIVE as it's an ending theme for one of their recent eroge titles. Don't worry, she's more than likely to re-release this stuff at one of the coming comikets. The fantastic cover art though... that's bound to be a one-time deal only!
  

M3-2010春 電波ソング round-up

The spring edition of M3-2010 is just around the corner (May 5th), so here are some of the upcoming denpa-related albums worth checking out. Note that I've probably overlooked a bunch of them, so feel free to throw in your comments. As always, M3 runs a solid news page that gets pretty busy once the event approaches.

The first item on our shopping list is certainly the most curious one: it's a MOSAIC.WAV arrange album!!! At first I was like Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ but then I was like （￣へ￣）. See, 「もざいくりこーだーvol.1」 features 8 MOSAIC.WAV songs played... on recorders. In fact, various flutes were used and they're all described in the opening minute of this sampler video. Do you like what you hear? I may end up buying this to support my fellow fans, but I'm just not that enticed by the results. But whether or not flute is your thing, you can't deny that the folks in the とらふえ circle are extremely talented, as this is actually their fourth album. Furthermore, the jacket artwork by Candy5 is pretty damn cool and this thing is just 600 yen!


Remember unMOMENT? Yeah, I miss them too. They had a ton of potential, but just drifted off into nothingness after the release of their one and only album 「萌魂 ～moe spirit～」 in 2006. オカザキシュン (OKAZAKI Shun) and 新堂真弓 (SHINDOU Mayumi) were backed on guitar by none other than 小池雅也 (KOIKE Masaya, aka big brother) and collaborated with MOSAIC.WAV among others. Both songstresses are still active but Okazaki is pretty much dedicated to BGM composition with 4-EVER. This brings us to Shindou and her brand new compilation album 「新堂真弓 AKIBA SOUND BEST」. While available for public consumption on May 21st, 100 copies will be sold at M3 (presumably a limited edition). The CD features a whopping 17 tracks, with her most popular song 「SHE SEE LOVE」 appropriately starting it all. Samples and commentary available on Candypop's website. Denpa fans: this is a must-buy!


I love me some 桜ふみ (SAKURA Fumi) and so will you once you get acquainted with her music. As cute and innocent as she may seem, some of her songs have been used for hardcore R-18 OVA titles such as 「RAPE! RAPE! RAPE!」. So yah, raep is bad, but the song is great. Her M3 CD does not include that one song though, it features some far lighter material that definitely fits under the 萌え umbrella. The three tracks are 「booster」, 「LOVE MOTION+POTION」 and 「Kiss~Kiss~Kiss」; the full cover art can be seen here. I couldn't find samplers for the first two songs, however 「booster」 can be downloaded from C:DRIVE (note that Toromi also has an ED track up for grabs). You can also check out her latest song 「cherish」 to get a better idea of her style.

Toromi usually has something for M3, and this time is no different. Her own offering is still being worked on, However, Pneuma Records has recently confirmed that she will be contributing two songs to their latest compilation CD 「ましん・ぽっぷVol:2- We Are Pneuma -」. According to mandichan, the first one (track #2) was previously featured on another compilation, but the second one (track #5) may be a new song because I can't find any info. Not gonna comment on the lyrical contents, because it is a little odd from this cultural perspective. Then again I just wrote about a rape OVA. Either way, I'll update this paragraph later once Toromi published info on her new release, but I'm expecting a new single.


Ever heard of doubleeleven UpperCut before? That's OK, neither had I until today, but they started in November 2009 and this will be their first release. Prepare to be blown away, especially if you're a fan of SHORT CIRCUIT and ave;new projecto (and why wouldn't you be?) because this is clearly what they're going for. The unit proudly describes itself as "high speed denpa" and is actually a sub-division of the doubleeleven undercurrent circle. Its members are 山下航生 (producer) and akari (vocals), with seemingly no prior experience.

Still, deUC (that's how they want to be abbreviated) already has 6 songs and judging by the streaming sampler, this is some high quality stuff that is a cut above the rest. Their artwork is highly professional, which leads me to believe that they are in fact associated to softhouse-seal, the eroge company which ordered all 6 of these theme songs in the first place. If you wanna see some kooky English lyrics, head over to the latest game's homepage for a few laughs. Isn't one game a month quite the turnover? Not that I'm complaining! Keep your eyes on doubleeleven UpperCut, the latest denpa sensation!

vivid'sB is another "new" circle, in the sense that I've only found out about them recently. But it's not like their main singer and apparent head honcho 西沢はぐみ has been around forever either as she released her very first album in late 2009. The album can be sampled in full on their website (no direct link, sorry), but you can also check out some of her previous work. Now the above song 「combination somebody！」, in all of its Dragon Quest lookalike glory, will obviously not be up for sale at M3 as it was just made public on April 22nd 2010. However, they will most likely repress some copies of the first CD and now's the chance to get your hands on it. Oh wouldn't you know, 柏木るざりん (Loser Kashiwagi) was a guest composer on track #7 「しゅこしゅこぼーん」, no wonder it's ultra-funky! Don't know the man??? And you call yourselves denpa fans... for shame.


And now for the BEST NEW CIRCLE NAME OF THE YEAR DECADE, introducing...... ODENPA STUDIO!!!! Yes, not joking one bit. First DenpaGumi, now おでんぱ☆スタジオ. They have so many good things going on that I don't know where to begin. Well, the awesome name, that's out of the way. Now if you head on over to their website, you'll notice that the illustrations they use are very sharp. They have their own domain name too, this says a lot. But the best aspect and not the least, is the quality of their music. The sampler MP3 for their M3 album is sort of tucked away on the main page. Then if you scroll down a bit, you'll notice there's another sampler for a C77 album that was "rejected" but was still sold at the graphic artist's own booth with an appropriate cover art.

Anyway, the name says it all, but the music ain't lying either. In their own words, this is "360 degree radiation moe-denpa" music. Too bad the website is very low on information, as most of the sections are incomplete. I can't even tell you who does what, other than this sounds too professional to be the work of a newly-formed circle. They do appear to feature two distinct vocalists. The fact that they have nearly a dozen tracks is also very suspicious... in a good way! Look forward to more details as I acquire this album.


33.turbo (pronounced mimi turbo) is yet another new denpa circle! Right now they have an M3-2010 booth, but their blog hasn't been updated since last year, so we can only assume that they're gonna have their first CD up for sale once again. 5 crazy tracks for 400 yen, I'm not complaining! Sample them for yourself, personally I'm slightly reminded of Melo9 and Toromi, so this is great! Their most recent post does mention something about the next release featuring multiple collaborations, we'll have to wait and see if they update the blog in time for May 5th.

Rapid-fire M3 news

• IOSYS has a Touhou brass band arrange album (produced by ARM) and a programYMG drama CD.
  
• Melo9 said they would have a new album for M3, but so far no news on their blog. At the very least they should have copies of their Valentine's Day CD.
  
• GWAVE have uploaded the second MP3 from Team Love Bullets' upcoming single. They also have a Chuable Soft compilation up for grabs.
• Siestail are not promising anything, but they are working on a full vocal album featuring Rizuna! If this is anything like their KERO album, this could be huge!!!!
  
• DystopiaGround (Nao's doujin circle) will have a new 2-track single, no samplers or credits yet.
• 夢月まりあ (aka maria-tan) will be selling her first mini-album 「CRAY04」 which includes four tracks listed here. No samples, but she has a million YouTube videos where you can check out her many guerrilla lives. This self-declared otaku has been known to bust out some crazy denpa songs, so this could be an interesting CD.
  
• ひげいち。うぇぶ sounds like an interesting circle in theory, but sound samples are nowhere to be found. The two main members are apparently totally crazy about denpa. They already have two albums and will release a third at M3-2010春. The fact that they have album themes and track topics seems to indicate that these are in fact drama CDs.
• Although they have an M3 booth, nothing new from Birdtune. They're probably still pushing 「すいーつぱれっと」, as they should. In related news, みりん☆ seems pleased to be featured on the 電波の世界 ~ 2009 sampler. She is working on a third album and will be playing some new songs at her upcoming concert this weekend.
  

Denpa no Sekai 2009 Sampler

Aaaaah 2009, year or the intergalactic denpa revolution. How I miss those simple days. But thanks to the power of the internets, the past is forevermore preserved in the form of tube-traveling bits and bytes which will transcend time and space, even as we return to the ashes from which we were born. Thus... I present to you the official Denpa no Sekai 2009 sampler!

Yes, I realize 720p HD is overkill for what is essentially a glorified mixtape, but that's just how I roll. Note that I purposely imposed a limit of one song per circle/singer. If you're a regular 'round these parts, you shouldn't be a stranger to any of those songs. Otherwise, if you're new to the genre or you're trying to "explain" it to one of 'em outsiders, then why not let the music work its magic?

Oh and we're not done with 2009, oh no we're not. While the above video was definitely NOT a top 10 chart, the following list certainly is. On 「電波ソング大賞」, Japanese internet users voted on the best denpa songs of the year and the tally came in on February 1st 2010. Of course these poll results are largely unscientific, but nearly 700 internet users can't be wrong (although over 9000 votes would be preferable).

1. 「Princess Party」 by IOSYS
   
2. 「だっこしてぎゅっ！～汝、隣の枕(よめ)を愛せ」 by 民安ともえ
3. 「ネガティブゼロ・パラダイス」 by 有栖川みや美
4. 「妄想網　Ж　Superluminal」 by MOSAIC.WAV
   
5. 「弟は白骨化していた」 by 本多真梨子
   
6. 「カメリア！ ～Dangerous Camellia Vacation～」 by IOSYS
   
7. 「おとこの娘のトビラ」 by MOSAIC.WAV
   
8. 「生意気☆いちごミルクDAYO！！」 by ave;new projecto
   
9. 「†メタウサ姫～黒ゆかり王国ミサ～†」 by ゆかり姫
10. 「fickle」 by KOTOKO
    

Pretty solid list! Although I can't pick favourites between my children, I'd say mine would look similar, minus the (*OPINION ALERT!*) needlessly metal ones. We end today's entry with the last ARM/momiji collaboration song of 2009, 「えぐりて☆」 from the C77 album "ROKKENJIMA in LOVE". Don't let ARM's quirky composition and Momiji's totally cute voice fool you, this song might as well be the spiritual successor to the Dokuro-chan OP.

Melo9 wishes you a happy (belated) Valentine's Day

The melo9 girls were sadly absent from C77, but that's probably because they were busy planning a strong 2010 year. Their first release of the year (third overall) came out on February 14th 2010, just in time for Valentine's Day and Tokyo's Comitia 91. To commemorate the event, melo9 rolled out their first Niconico video. For many Japanese denpaphiles, this will actually be an introduction to Rizu and Mero, but faithful Denpa no Sekai readers were exposed to the budding duo as early as August 2009.

Solid hyper-moe-denpa stuff, no? You might want to download the sampler MP3 as well. There's a marked improvement between this latest single and their first two releases (a mini-album and a C76 single). Either way, it's always nice to hear some original compositions from smaller circles every once in a while. Better still, this circle is very open to its non-Japanese fanbase, so feel free to get in touch with them via their blog! They have already promised international mail order in the near future. Ask and ye shall receive!

Currently, they are promoting this new single as well as their past releases, but an M3-25 release is already confirmed (May 5th 2010). It is very refreshing to get advance notice of upcoming denpa releases, compared to the usual last-minute announcements. On the other hand, this also gives Melo9 a strict deadline to work with, so let's wish them great success!

C76: E-penis embiggeningation, MOSAIC.WAV photobook impressions

Click photos for much larger versions. From Left to Right, Top to Bottom:

1. melo9 「めろめろ☆さま～ちゅ～ん」, melo9 「めろめろ☆きゅ〜と」, みりん 「ピコピコ電波予報」
2. Birdtune 「れいん ＩＯＳＹＳリミックスＣＤ」, ave;new projecto 「あらら、ど～も☆CHUぅ」, みりん 「プルプルおもちゃ箱」
3. 紅魔城伝説　緋色の交響曲 AKA Touhouvania, Albatrosicks 「STAR CRACKER」, Impetuth
4. とろ美 「SECRETORO×MEROCONCERT」, とろ美 「エトロジィ」, Holic Service 「エネルギー冷麺　もうこはんっ！」

Missing from this picture is Veil's 「Veil ∞ DENPA!!!」 CD because... well it was sold out. But it shall be mine one day, yes it will. On the other hand, I got my hockey gloves on an elusive copy of MOSAIC.WAV's JapanExpo "photobook". Yes, "book", because while it's still an extremely cool collector's item, it's still nothing more than a glorified brochure (18 pages). It seems quite a few of the pictures were taken directly from mi~ko's blog and from a few professional sources that you've all seen by now.

The booklet describes their trip to Paris in a chronological order, with the actual concert occupying the middle pages. It's interesting to see their reaction to the armed soldiers patrolling the airport. As could be expected, they hit a bunch of so-called Japanese restaurants to see how different the food would taste. There are a few sections dedicated to their exchanges with the French fans. Another interesting blurb is about how she was surprised to sign an Amusement Pack CD, even though they didn't have any for sale. Then they spent some time visiting landmarks such as La Tour Spirou Eiffantasio and L'Arc de Trimeuf. Since I'm such a huge fan of his, I would have liked Kayapi to share his own account of the concert and event, but overall I'm satisfied with this photobook.

Good luck getting yours! SUCKERS.

Extra-special thanks to an extra-awesome someone!

C76 / Under the Scope: New melo9 maxi-single 「めろめろ☆さま～ちゅ～ん」

Although this is the first time melo9 are being proper mentioned on this blog, eagle-eyed readers will have noticed their presence in the "Link Banner" section for the past couple of months. Indeed, yours truly became aware of the up-and-coming denpa/moe circle when they released their first full-length album back at May 2009's M3 event. Although rough around the edges (delightfully so), 「めろめろ☆きゅ〜と」 was a great indication of things to come. Check out some samples at their debut album's homepage. Now feel free to accuse me of total laziness, but this post will double as this month's "Under the Scope" feature, given the introductory nature of the following paragraphs (and the fact that I haven't done shit for an actual standalone article).

Unlike their contemporaries Holic Service and IOSYS, melo9 don't depend on the latest ZUN game to compose their songs. So far they've cranked out tunes that are more in line with UNDER17's cutest creations, with heavy emphasis on the cute side of things. But the debut album also showcased their rougher side with "Phantom", a song that is more akin to a SHMUP soundtrack than an eroge opener. So videogame influences are also heavily palpable, and to this writer's greatest pleasure, the circle also openly describes itself as denpa.

So who's melo9 anyway? This biography page would be a great starting point, but let's cover the basics. Two singers (Rizu and Mero) alternate between songs, with Mero taking on a slightly more affable role than Rizu, but this isn't cast in stone. Sometimes they'll also appear together on the same track. With the exception of the first album's opening song 「恋してチュ」, they seem to want to break free from the "Hai Hai Chu Chu" standards (not that there's anything wrong with that) and move into their own sort of territory. They also don't seem to use any sort of voice "enhancing" tricks here, we're getting exactly what the girls can deliver, which makes for a more one-on-one experience.

That biography page points out a number of composers and collaborators, but the man in charge appears to be ひろて～. He seems to be a particularly shy fellow, so he would probably make for a pretty bare-bones interviewee. He does mention Mr. Children as one of his favourite bands, however that doesn't exactly show up through his compositions. Speaking of which, melo9 are open for business in terms of game & anime OP/ED, but haven't been commissioned with official requests yet. Hopefully their presence at C76 will open some new doors for them. In an ironic twist, their booth is located right next to Holic Service's, so perhaps we'll see some collaborations between the two groups in the near future?

OTAKU BANZAI! ODENPA BANZAI!!!
Notice the mountain of unsold CDs. Self-deprecating humour is ALWAYS funny.

Which brings us to the actual news portion of this post. Their second release, a maxi-single this time, is set to come out on August 15th for the low low price of 300円 (it's a CD-R after all). Regardless, it contains 2 new songs, a remix from the first album, a "radio track" and uhmmm... 2 sheep-counting tracks from both singers?!? Hilarious. You can (and should) check out a 1:40-long crossfade sampler from the first three tracks to get a decent idea of what they're shooting for. Can't help but be reminded of UNDER17, although an actual electric guitar instead of pure synthpop would improve their sound tenfold. I can imagine them being pretty lonely at booth SA-24b, so make sure you drop by for a visit if you can!