Hello, and welcome back to another post in Music Highlights, where I highlight songs that I particularly like.

For the past few weeks, I'm participating in a walrus online party game (where the participants have to send the host songs that they think the host will like). My selections here are to a certain extent influenced by the submissions I did to the event, but not by much.

Without further ado, let's go to the music!

#1: Nnna

First, we have a song from the illustrator-musician Kanzaki Hiro! You might know this particular artist for his designs in Oreimo. You might know him for being the designer of Hololive's Himemori Luna. What he's also talented in is music, as the Vocaloid trance producer Hanasoumen-P (HSP). There are certainly some favorites that I have from this musician, including another work featuring Himemori Luna. One of my favorite musicians, to be honest.

"Nnna", specifically though, is more towards House / Bounce, which is interesting. The inclusion of Himemori Luna's voice samples also adds quite a bit of flavor. Also, Luna cute.

#2: VIVID WORLD

Next is another entry from Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, this time it's Karin Asaka's VIVID WORLD. I previously covered Nijigasaki in Music Highlights #2 where Kanata's kawaii future bass is a surprise despite the track record of electronic songs in Love Live. This time, it's a more mainstream EDM choice, when they brought the musician-DJ TeddyLoid.

This choice of musician actually makes me more hopeful for Nijigasaki's music direction, because choices that don't disappoint. I generally don't really like Karin's songs previously, then there's this. Here, Karin's voice somehow complements the song very nicely to me. With the pretty futuristic stage in the anime, there can't be a better fit.

#3: ΩΩPARTS

The third song in this post is a new release from rhythm-game-song master Camellia! As the tiebreaker of the osu! World Cup 2020 Grand Final, putting a boss-song-maker seems approriate (congrats United States, by the way!)

The song itself is a full-flavor song, like some of the previous Camellia songs like Nacreous Snowmelt and M1LLI0N PP. For this song, Camellia opted for a song structure that starts from the slow genre to the fast genre, appropriate for the occassion, and absolutely wrecking players' hands in the process.

#4: Atarimae Dakara

After that is a pretty old song by Music Highlights' standard, DIALOGUE+'s Atarimae Dakara. This is actually one of my walrus submissions, for an emotional song. I think the lyrics are emotional enough, so I just submitted it. It's also very catchy, with UNISON SQUARE GARDEN's Tabuchi Tomoya credited as the composer, and MONACA's Hirokawa Keiichi as the arranger.

Some of the reasons it's very interesting to me is the use of rhymes and repetition for structure:

約束ちゃんと守ることだって
誰かを傷つけないことだって
前向いて生きていくことだって
当たり前だから
- Atarimae Dakara, DIALOGUE+

and the full utilization of stereo:

当たり前を数えよう
ひとつ ふたつ みっつ よっつ
いつつ むっつ ななつ やっつ
ほら 楽しくなった
- Atarimae Dakara, DIALOGUE+

With a more laid-back sound compared to early DIALOGUE+ like Hajimete no Kakumei!, Atarimae Dakara has a special place in my playlist.

#5: 十年越しのラストピース

For the final song in this post, let's reminisce 10 years before! This is another of my walrus submissions, for the song I think the host will like. "Hot" is what I came back with.

This is a collaboration between old friends, as marasy stated in the description:

Hi, it’s marasy.
I made a song with an old friend of mine
I feel like time has started ticking again after 10 years
It’s really nice that we can connect using a piano, or other instruments
(Translation courtesy of Magenetra)

With the lyrics reflecting a reunion situation, and the song's musical motif referencing both musicians' works like Haiboku no Shounen, Rokuchounen to Ichiya Monogatari, and Amatsukitsune, it truly feels like the two are communicating via the piano.

That concludes this Music Highlights post. See you on Music Highlights #5!