The other day I got the idea of making a list of all the alternate versions and remixes in BUTAOTOME’s track catalogue. From there, I decided to analyze each one of them and find a suitable category. Join me in this colorful journey!
– in blue, songs released in normally available albums in BUTAOTOME’s discography.
– in red, songs released in event/live-limited discs.
– in green, songs released in compilation albums or sources outside of BUTAOTOME.
The many faces of “acoustic”
There are a lot of acoustic versions in the track catalogue. Based on the instruments used or in the way they are made, I tried to create some “sub-categories”.
Type: livestream style
These are acoustic versions in the purest sense of the term: Comp plays the acoustic guitar (or the bass), Paprika plays the piano, Ranko sings, nothing else in between. You could easily imagine BUTAOTOME performing them in their studio, during a good old Utau Namahousou (side personal note: when I listen to them, I tend to imagine Ranko saying “arigatougozaimaaaaasu” at the end). A couple of these have just the guitar (namely, Machibito and Chigirizake), but I’m not going to make a separate category for them.
Where to find them: Both the Acoustic Gakkyokushuu albums, C78 omake, Utau Acoustic series
Songs with this remix: Mamorubeki Mono, Kyoai, Machibito wa Kozu., Mizu wa nagare kawa to natte yuku, The fear is oneself, Gensou no Satellite, Kyoushuu, Unmei no Wa, Ashita mo haremasu you ni, Higashi no Kuni no Waltz, Panorama Girl, Renge no Yume, Kioku no Fuchi, Jigoku Kakurenbo, Aware na Minashigo, Kakoinaki yo wa ichigo no tsukikage, Bero bero be, Yume ja nai Nanika, Chigirizake, An’ya kouro, Niji no Holograph, Anata to watashi, Deadman’s Lovely Life, Fuwari Kakusei, Sharekoube, Moonstone, Y, NAIMAZE, Circus, Hakanaki Mono Ningen, Koi no Yamai, Yakeru you na Aka de
Type: non-livestream style
(couldn’t find a better name for those…)
While most of these are labelled as “acoustic”, they use additional instruments other than bass/guitar/piano. Aishuu and Mihatenu on Kansha Kangeki were labelled as “re-arrangement”/“Kansha Kangeki ver”, but I’m putting them here due to being softer versions of the original songs.
Where to find them: Kansha Kangeki Amearare, Acoustic Gakkyokushuu 2, Jump Otome CD
Songs with this remix: Machibito wa Kozu., Aishuu, Mihatenu Yume no Tsudzuki wo, Choukahanka Shikisokuzekuu, Y, Ashita no Kako, Jump Otome CD songs
Type: acoustic piano version
Just Ranko singing and Paprika playing the piano. Not all these songs have been officially labelled as “acoustic”: a couple of these were made for the piano-based music game Nostalgia, a couple of others can be found in the main Touhou vocal albums with names like “chillax version” or “zesshou/superb version”. Haruka Tooi Sora no Koe has some strings in background, but I decided to put it here anyway.
Where to find them: C78 omake, Touhou Meikasai 7 disc, Acoustic Gakkyokushuu 1, FREAKS, CHILD HOOD’S END, Konami’s Nostalgia
Songs with this remix: Machibito wa Kozu., Gensou no Satellite, Haruka Tooi Sora no Koe, Aoi Miren Aoi Namida, Kyou En, Sora no aru Basho, Itsumo no Futari, Namida Tojikometa Sora
Type: piano & vocals version
These are not officially labelled as “acoustic” (piano & vocals is their actual name, based on the newly released albums), but they are similar to the above mentioned acoustic piano versions. The difference is that Ranko’s vocals have not been rerecorded and they are copypasted from the original songs.
Where to find them: Furubokkoru tour limited discs, Piano to Uta albums, Melonbooks’ Touhou PartyBox Hakurei 2
Songs with this remix: all songs from Tasogare Elegy, all songs from En, Hatenabito, Usotsuki, Rougetsu, Anata ni wa Miete Watashi ni wa Mienai Mono, Futari dake no Kotoba
Other types of remix
Piano instrumental versions
As the name says.
Where to find them: Touhou Nekokenban albums from 1 to 5 (+9), all the live exclusive discs with new songs (except the Jump Otome CD), BUTAOTOME Fanbook, Neko no Anmin DISC
Songs with this remix: Mamorubeki Mono, Kyoai, Machibito wa Kozu. (x2) Gensou no Satellite (x2), Haruka Tooi Sora no Koe (x2), Panorama Girl (x2), Aware na Minashigo, Kakoinaki yo wa ichigo no tsukikage (x2), Kyou En, Yurara Kamishibai, Chigirizake, Yumekikou, Koishi ni, Hoshi no Mukou ni, Makkuro na Yuki, Deadman’s Lovely Life, Revoleader Align, Futatsume no Kokyou, Moonstone, Y, Hajime no Ippo, all the live exclusive songs (except those in the Jump Otome CD), Kiraware
Instrumental rearrangements
As part of the evolution of the Nekokenban series, Paprika started to add other instruments to her piano re-arrangements of the vocal songs. As the series went on, her arrangements got barely anything in common with their counterparts, until she stopped completely to make them since the 11th album.
Where to find them: Touhou Nekokenban albums from 3 to 10
Songs with this remix: Aoi Miren Aoi Namida, Tou!, Yume ja nai Nanika, Kyou En, Yoi Kage, An’ya kouro, Sora no aru Basho, Choukahanka Shikisokuzekuu, Itsumo no Futari, Ondeko no Namida, Minna no, Omokakushi, Hakanaki Mono Ningen, Tsumi to Batsu, Soutaisei Kyoukaisen, Hito no Tame, Koi no Yamai, Gekokujoujou
Extra note: some of the tracks in the 6th Nekokenban are supposedly instrumental “mashups” of vocal songs, namely: Suisai no Kusa x Higashi no Kuni no Waltz, Touchuu aika x Kyoushuu, Ashita mo Haremasu you ni x Unmei no wa, An’ya Kouro x Haru ni Nareba Kanojo wa.
Remix with additional effects
Comp takes the original song and adds some effects, making it more electronic sounding. Deadman’s Lovely Life also features an additional rap part by the bear.
Where to find them: Lovely Life, Furubokkoru tour limited discs, Area-Zero’s Touhou Kuuenka SAI, Melonbooks’ Touhou PartyBox 3
Songs with this remix: Enishi no Hana, Ikiru, Deadman’s Lovely Life, Fuwari Kakusei, Shiawase, Chosha fumei wa tayasuku nusumareru, “Daruma-san ga Koronda”
Re-recorded version
The same song, just re-recorded and with little differences.
Where to find them: major albums
Songs with this remix: Sharekoube, Panorama
It should also be noted that the version of Radical Shoujo you can find on Gitadora is a different recording from the one on Furubokko.