The Strangest Song in Taiko no Tatsujin

[@tzechi]

NOTES: * You could split the first era of taiko into 2, technically. So you'd have 4 in total. I covered only 3 because they're the ones with the most differences and also because... video length. * Nobody actually knows for sure how the kanji character for Ka came about. The scribble story *COULD* be correct, but that story isn't verified afaik. * I just realized I forgot to include the second conversation between don-chan and ka-chan for the second QR code (WHOOPS IM SORRY). It was almost the same as the first conversation, but here it is. Ka-chan: Another mysterious code?! Don-chan: It looks like it can be used all over the world from today onwards Don. Ka-chan: "Just hold it over the [code reader] on the game console, Kacchan!" Don-chan: “I’ll try using it right away, Don!” Don & Ka-chan "This is...!" After that, who saw the two of them? * The definition of polyrhythms in this video is simplified because... this isn't a music theory video. im not adam neely :( But for all intents and purposes that simplified definition will do for this video. Thank you guys for watching, put a lot of sweat and tears into trying to figure premiere out for this video. thank u guys for watching i need to go sleep i have a fever I LOVE YOU GUYS

[@chickenosaurus_rex]

how do you even edit this

[@TFD500Official]

personally apart from the taiko gens (i thought there was 4 of them...) you did a solid job!!

[@starpeep5769]

Omg theres a story for yuurei moji ka!?

[@Sakuya_Knifs]

Fun fact: the MV at the end has a hidden QR code too. By fixing the QR Code and scanning the Code it goes to the twitter website asking you to deactivate your account. Due to twitter changes though, it doesn't seem to work anymore.

[@Kirbyfan45]

WAIT WHAT. WHY!?

[@Galafador]

LeaF here be giving humanity a favor by making them leave twitter lol

[@huh0123]

@@Kirbyfan45technically they would be doing everyone a favor by killing off Twitter.

[@Kirbyfan45]

@@huh0123 TRULY THE COMEDIC MOVE

[@Sakuya_Knifs]

@@Kirbyfan45 My theory is that due to the fact that there is a very overwhelming amount of time signatures and noise in the Song, the Girl in the MV could very much trying to escape yet is unable to due to a broken exit being a corrupted QR Code essentially being stuck forever as corrupted data since QR Codes could be considered a door or a gate to another place.

[@RandmAnimal]

Seeing leaF alone already explains its difficulty

[@ZesTofthelemon]

aleph zero ptsd

[@tacollab0924]

@@ZesTofthelemon i knew i had seen that name before

[@gmdtungsten]

@@ZesTofthelemonlook at the level in gd, the song is always impossibly hard

[@gothicwvlff]

​@@ZesTofthelemon heavensdoor for me

[@janmagtoast]

Just want to point out that "ka" is also the german shortform for "Keine Ahnung" which gets translated to "no idea" or "no clue" which is pretty fitting for that ghost kanji

[@jordy9606]

i wish we had an english abbreviation for no idea that people wouldn't say "what does ni mean" to every time

[@janmagtoast]

@@jordy9606 "idk" exist

[@jordy9606]

@@janmagtoast UR RIGHT oh my god!

[@janmagtoast]

@@jordy9606 XD

[@Signify.]

And just like that, I am no longer a german failure to my father. :DDDDDD

[@ripleyandweeds1288]

"what if an entire song was a polyrhythm?" FEAR. TERROR EVEN.

[@ShiningSilvally]

Right?!

[@DaVince21]

This reminds me a lot of the crazy stunts the Muse Dash developers pull in their game. The crazy, weird and glitched charts are the ones I love the most by far.

[@RenShinomiya121]

I often think that Muse Dash and Taiko are the same kind of games, just read differently. I even think that Muse Dash is inspired by Taiko. > Taiko uses 2 type of notes, but shown on the same lane, meanwhile Muse Dash shows them on different lanes. > The charting also makes use of different notes appearing on different scroll speeds at the same time in higher difficulties as a gimmick. The only main difference in Muse Dash compared to Taiko, is that Muse Dash mostly treats it's gameplay as a platformer by having obstacles you need to avoid and things to collect. Meanwhile Taiko is basically a drumming rhythm game.

[@DaVince21]

@@RenShinomiya121 Yeah, there's definitely an overlap in how they're played, aside from the long notes.

[@MasterYoshitaka]

Yeah there's a few charts in Muse dash that have polyrhythms. On top of that it's been double layered in one of the recent previous april fools songs where the lanes had notes of different scroll speeds and had different rhythms to the bottom and upper lanes.

[@DaVince21]

@@MasterYoshitaka Yeah, and there's a lot more that they do to keep the charts interesting. Rapidly flipping between visual themes, distorting the visuals, pausing and repeating the background scroll, replacing enemies, turning the screen black... Sometimes they even replace the gameplay mechanics themselves like with the secret Touhou danmaku mode. I've never seen so many surprises and Easter eggs in one rhythm game.

[@0trial]

Which chart is that you talking about?

[@lillieampurra]

man, if this was made for the original gen of cabinets, it would definitely be a creepypasta. the different difficulty switch animation, the erratic and overlapping beats, even the lack of a name.

[@polychrome2838]

Oh absolutely. I unironically love it when there's stuff in games that feel like irl creepypastas so this is more than up my alley.

[@elesqueleto2010]

but then don-chan appeared with hyper reallistic blood and then he chased me through the arcade to try and kill me.

[@jarednobrony2000]

KA's Ura really reminded me of Donkama 2000, where players had a hard time hitting the notes due to them being at different speeds, sometimes even flying off the screen. KA is really one of the hardest songs ever that can take Donkama 2000 a run for its arcade points. And great video!👍

[@BluBerry3]

It reminded me of waraeru 2000 a lot, really random and an April fools song, also the insane freaking chart

[@ugyuu]

Finally, now I can use this to explain to my friends why I'm so obsessed with this song. It's a perfectly healthy obsession, trust me :')

[@LeOwwAndRose]

That hidden demon effect is fucking terrifying to listen to

[@iloveyou3890]

Imagine if some unknowing person was like “oh yeah this seems like fun!” and jumps back out of fear because of the effect from switching and jumps even farther from fear from the charting

[@Khailaboo]

No wonder it was so popular. I dont play Taiko no that much but loved LeaF so when it came out i thought it was a normal LeaF song, (beside the QR code at the end). Cool to see this!

[@saturn6285]

the dons at the final drum hell part of the song is hella spot on. ear-piercing but rly satisfying

[@Dooty-Doot]

As someone who knew nearly nothing about Taiko no Tatsujin before watching this video, *what did I just witness and how is this even possible* I'm so confused on how skilled Taiko players are. If you handed me a Taiko drum I'd probably only be decent on some of the easy songs 😕

[@stuffwmily.x]

Same :(

[@adameightynineeightynine]

well that's Japan for you.

[@Dooty-Doot]

@@adameightynineeightynine Fair, I don't know what I expected

[@helloimakebadcontent]

The international ports in question:

[@AJtheprogrammer]

welcome to the world of rhythm games

[@Rezeee]

Man this is why I love LeaF, such an incredible artist. Also great video! super informative and entertaining.

[@supersayainasriel6745]

Charter: "Okay hidden demon, how much doom percussion do you want" Hidden demon: "YES"

[@SpaceCode10]

the editing is truly chefs kiss :D. I need to start looking into crazy rhythm game stuff like this, they are getting more and more interesting.

[@a-suolubeN]

5:48 complement It is said that this character was born from the lack of technology of printing newspapers I love your videos and TAIKO-no-TATSUJIN! from JAPAN

[@helloimakebadcontent]

Frums and LeaF could make good friends, and this proves it.

[@gothicwvlff]

i think frums is the one that translated the marenol description when it came out

[@JustAGenericGoofyFool]

good lord the hidden demon chart though-

[@howdytherestranger2139]

why is it actually a banger tho. I'd unironically listen to this in my study playlist

[@AkaneSakurai]

Real, it slaps hard

[@RadeonVega64]

​@AkaneSakurai fr

[@SDTwirixx]

LeaF makes chaotic bangers. It's what she does. Mope Mope and Marenol are already mentioned and while they are nightmare fuel (Please do not watch Marenol's music video if you are at all sensitive to gore/graphic imagery. Like, there's plot reasons for the gore but it's also very graphic) but they also Slap Hard. Other Examples of LeaF's stuff that isn't as horrifying is Aleph 0, Doppelganger, and Calamity Fortune, though a lot of the music videos have fast, glitchy graphics that warrant a Flashing Lights warning)

[@Moox_0]

I love this type of informative content, great video

[@eris6676]

You don't have to apologize for corrections or what you feel is subpar narration or whatever else you think of. You're a great video essayist! Have confidence in your work!

[@BlueDragonGalaxy]

I know this is a Taiko no Tatsujin video but I wanted to thank you anyway for helping me play Patapon 2 better. I haven't played a lot of different rhythm games so I was struggling with the minigames in Patapon 2 that don't have a lot of visual cues to play off of but after watching your video I remembered the "Dissecting the Difficulty" part, where you explained how Taiko players see notes, and with that tip on how to break down notes I was finally able to start perfecting the minigames that gave me the most trouble. Unrelated game, but I couldn't have done it without your rhythm game insight so once again: I sincerely thank you!

[@SlyHikari03]

That demon effect is crazy. Also, the song kinda reminds me of something I’d hear on an oneohtrix point never album.

[@overtimechaos]

4:03 the moment he mention LeaF, I knew this is song will be up to no good

[@ZesTofthelemon]

I just love how Taiko no Tatsujin on the surface is a fun, cheerful kids' rhythm game but then you dive a little deeper and you find THIS.

[@elesqueleto2010]

the 2000s song lyrics are DARK.

[@kakashyx9166]

always love me rhythm game video essays like this

[@VuesTuves]

Man , that hidden demon Effect is so fucking Terrifying to listen to ☠️

[@LordEgilYGO]

God syncopation in a rhythm game like in that hidden demon chart is actually evil what the hell

[@Ibbys_space]

i've been looking for a video of this being played since I first heard about ka! i've never been into taiko so i had no idea about all of the little quirks, so this is super cool to see!!

[@reallaughing]

iirc the QR codes expired a while back and to unlock it now, you have to play with someone else who has already unlocked the song/chart

[@tzechi]

nah, you have to scan it before putting your banapass on the machine (for some strange reason)

[@PolaX3]

The April Fool’s 2021 QR Code is now expired (or at least it doesn’t work for me) but the April Fool’s 2022 QR Code still works. So to unlock it you need to scan the April Fool’s 2022 QR code which unlocks Ka in all difficulty including Ura Oni.

[@DashyDesu]

omg ka lets go??? (edit) latios lets go????? as a whole this video explained the song pretty well! good work as always

[@Maooooo422]

As someone who’s only Taiko talent is from pop tap beat and rhythmic adventure, I can confirm Donkama2000 is the hardest.song.ever

[@planetsaturn222]

If “Ka” doesn’t mean anything and also doesn’t have a proper reason to why it exists, then it technically means “unknown nothing”

[@CultureAppropriator]

i didnt know there were humans outside of japan talking about this song lol

[@nullbyt]

Fantastic analysis. Super interesting video.

[@yousefslimani99]

Thanks for making this video about explaining this mysterious and most weirdest song I ever played, I wouldn't know about this without you, Keep up the good work for making more taiko contents

[@AriScarlet]

I love this type of content. Thank you for your great video.!

[@floppa-films.coolguy]

「the language that 彊 or apparently ‘ka’ is in is either not on Apple devices or Apple doesnt even let you type ghost characters」

[@Doodles1265]

the music video gives me strong madoka magica witch labyrinth vibes, especially stacey’s labyrinth

[@Kerroppiesens_cookies12]

I saw you💅

[@TheRealSuperKirby]

It really felt like this was building up to something really creepy, or a really cool, like it had a story to tell, and the it just... doesn't. And that makes it even more of an enigma to me.

[@itryen7632]

Thanks for reminding me yet again that arcades don't exist in my home country, as they were illegal until 2003 and nobody here wants to go outside and meet other people who enjoy skill-based videogames as well as music.

[@CoffeeBnuuy]

Why were arcades illegal???????

[@itryen7632]

@@CoffeeBnuuy I have no clue. Why did the ministry of transport decide to turn the nationalized railway agency into a profit-driven company with assets 100% owned by the state and no competition? This place is full of mysteries.

[@steveluvscows2490]

The TRUE nightmare of every rhythm game player, even japanese ones.

[@Bigmanriv]

Wait… this guy made a taiko song AND a song used in one of the most if not the most infamous horror level in all of geometry dash? HOLY SHIT IM INTERESTED

[@A91nrehtuoS]

Level?

[@PriffyViole]

You mean Muse Dash?

[@A91nrehtuoS]

@@PriffyViole no

[@Bigmanriv]

​@@PriffyViole no dude wtf is muse dash

[@ValuableBlueberry]

​@@PriffyViole You meant preaty much all Rythm games?

[@fihess]

i dont know much of anything about taiko but these vids r a fun watch lol

[@scarecrow5848]

"upgraded" CRT's are better than every LCD screen and are comparable to modern OLEDS while still having HIGH refresh rates just due to the analog display. For example 60hz on a CRT looks like 80hz and you can easily overclock the displays with no extra ghosting.

[@atomicdemon]

one chart that gives me nightmares cause of polyrhythms from a rhythm game is Chronostasis from Phigros. (istg that short section single handedly stopped me from getting rrhar'il IN for like 6 months)

[@RadeonVega64]

same

[@superboi_Gaming]

13:07 my friend trying to sing something Me with the drums

[@soulsearch13]

I adore this song and all of LeaF’s songs, great video

[@_iamsam]

literally have never played this game but my jaw DROPPED when i saw the chart....

[@J0012-u4o]

8:12 hits hard!

[@-throat-]

3:26 "I don't know how to find voice a-" I mean I could try, uh

[@bubbus8821]

6:33 Jumpscare warning. 👻👻

[@foxans1919]

This is one of the most bizarre things ive ever seen, with nonsensical notions of rhythm, a chaotic, fragmented and disjointed song seemingly made by an ai that has no idea what music theory is, let alone structure

[@ValuableBlueberry]

well its LeaF and hes well known of chaotic songs i think

[@wtf-why-do-we-have-handles-now]

its not ai, its experimental

[@RadeonVega64]

​@@wtf-why-do-we-have-handles-nowyep

[@pryn.darkstorm]

To put it in the simplest way, you're a one man band but you have to read all your notes on a single staff.

[@nooblangpoo]

I know jack shit about taiko no tatsujin but the song fits in the experimental form and how the drums are structured can fit into drum jazz like Caravan and The Century Project.

[@shueeryap6792]

I SAW THIS AT A ARCADE PLACE YESTERDAY-

[@Wack910]

did the guy do good

[@ValuableBlueberry]

​@@Wack910 i think he broke the drumbs lol

[@coelacanth1343]

For some reason, whenever I put 彁 into Google Translate, it pronounces it as "ge".

[@tzechi]

im not 100% sure either, but that might be the chinese pronunciation of 彁 (possibly. either that or google translate is being dum) 哥 in chinese is gē, so it might be related... maybe

[@NEKOplaysgamez]

​@@tzechiyup, 彁 is pronounced gē in simplified Chinese

[@levi9922]

nice vid! but just for future notes, please pay attention to the sound levels between your voice and the song itself. i found myself having to adjust the volume multiple times throughout the video. i think your vocal isnt loud enough? but the vid itself is nice! ❤

[@FPSUS]

These taiko vids are so interesting. Best taiko channel out there

[@bagon1374]

finally someone talking about this song

[@faereman]

This song is fascinating, and really fun to listen to in a weird way.

[@RalseiGaming]

2:08 correction march 2020 to april 2027

[@GabeZambrano]

Fun fact: if you play hidden demon on “ka” your hands and wrists will absolutly get destroyed

[@Wack910]

6:34 Holy Shit.

[@lanceraltria]

4:3 polyrhythm (4 dons vs 3 kas) is actually a pretty dominant part of Donkama 2000, if you can play that polyrhythm you basically can clear Donkama 2000 on Hard.

[@blazinlmao]

ahhh i love this style of video you do! 🩵

[@puddingcake3002]

I play freaking the ensemble stars rhythm game on expert difficulty and i think i have like seven different panic attacks watching that gameplay

[@Lasagnamuncher61]

I finally found your channel again 😭😭😭😭

[@kenricktheaviator5704]

6:19 This is the conversation. Kacchan: “Another mysterious code!?” Don-chan: “From today onwards, Don can be used all over the world forever. …And it looks like this year is a little different, Don.” Kacchan: “I’ll try holding it over the game console’s [code reader] right away!” Don & Katsu: “T-This is...!” After that, who saw the two of them together? uh i used google translate so

[@さらみ-g9r]

私は彁が大好きなので彁について細かく解説してもらえてとても嬉しいです！

[@abarette_]

1K likes!! well deserved, very complete vid

[@luceius_cmj6540]

i see tzechi post i click

[@janmagtoast]

Don't you first plug your taiko drums, bind drum to click and then drum on the video like any normal tzechi viewer?

[@luceius_cmj6540]

im broke

[@dankweaboo1105]

new tzechi video i wake

[@Ilysmpookie_yah]

Too much crazy songs in taiko no tatsujin 😰

[@poppy_null]

YAAAAY VIDEO ESSAY ON KA

[@Shdwoa]

yay taiko

[@acooldudeman2431]

mannn i dont know what ka is this but. good video

[@TheobaldLeonhart]

Oh, you're the guy Tokaku talks about Cool

[@professorpikaeeveerockruff6868]

My eyes can't keep up 9:06

[@YaboiTombuto]

zechi da god with another banger

[@赤垢-x6e]

ぼつでーた feels more like "scrapped/bad data" than "hidden data"

[@MidoriShibuya]

That hidden demon chart is absolutely insanely unsightreadable

[@yorimitu]

2:19 that's the girl from koushin koinu idk the rest of the manga title, right? I really like this manga

[@poppip10]

not gonna lie i needed a taiko video rn

[@LegendaryHedgieMii]

1:38 YOU CAN MAKE REIMU IN TAIKO NO TATSUJIN?! :)

[@Sarabandam]

came here from Honkai Star Rail

[@cuberman5948]

NOW IMAGINE WAVETAPPER BY FRUMS IN TAIKO

[@madwomansinsight]

very cool video

[@berdstep]

You should make a video about the 2023 visual novel prank

[@QWERTYPhone843]

12:09 a sik beat

[@starrywisp]

how is this even humanly possible to PLAY at that speed

[@retrojupiterr]

i love this video 🤩

[@Scrolte6174]

The MV is pretty cursed, not gonna lie

[@Nekomipuffs]

If you see a tailo player with two hard objects, Run. Someone full combo’d this song on their first day.

[@manimdead485]

11:26 Holy f(ドン)king s(カッ)t.

[@tangie1412]

the maplestory bgm 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@soda_fox1]

I don't know if anyone kind of understands this but I think some rhythm games know LeaF because of particular songs. Project Sekai knows LeaF by MopeMope and Taiko knows LeaF by Ka lol

[@Kerroppiesens_cookies12]

Yea I’m pretty sure that project sekai leaF by mopemope

[@user-Wqir29482]

Nice

[@ToDCreal]

JToH reference