Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Megumi Hayashibara/Miku Hatsune -- Osorezan Revoir (恐山ル・ヴォワール)


Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ) may not be very active in recent years, but she’s still able to surprise her fans with golden gems when she wants to. That’s what she did in late 2011 after recording her own version of “Osorezan Revoir”, a song originally sung by the famous Vocaloid Miku Hatsune (初音ミク).

“Osorezan Revoir” is a poem from the famous Shaman King series (シャーマンキング). Megumi voiced the protagonist’s bride, Anna Kyouyama (恐山アンナ), and also sang the openings and endings to the anime series, with one of them, “Northern Lights” (2002), being the highest charting single of her career at a solid #3 position.

Back to “Osorezan Revoir”, one fan took the poem, created a gorgeous song and recorded it using Miku Hatsune. It soon became famous at Niconico (ニコニコ), and Megumi, after noticing it, recorded her own version of the song, which was also posted on Niconico. That was enough for making every Shaman King or Megumi Hayashibara fan crazy.

The song itself is great, thanks to the beautiful melody and the  traditional Japanese-styled arrangement. As for Megumi, being very honest, I don’t thing she was flawless in her rendition, but it’s surely one of the most emotional performances she ever gave. The high-pitched voice she chose to sing it may not be the best one out there, but I think it’s the pitch she is most confortable with.

To finish, here’s the original version sung by Miku Hatsune. Even though Megumi is not the greatest singer on earth, I still think she portrayed the emotions in a way that’s impossible for a Vocaloid. In the end, I’m always biased when it comes to Megumi.


“Osorezan Revoir” was uploaded on Niconico, but it was also released in very limited quantity on a rare CD that accompanied a magazine. As a fan, I hope she includes it in a future album. It’s difficult, but not impossible.

Lyrics, or words, as it’s originally a poem, were written by Shaman King’s creator Takei Hiroyuki (武井宏之), while music was composed by Vocaloid producer Capitaro.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for this entry. This week's episode on the new Shaman King anime made me realize I already knew the song, but I couldn't remember why. This refreshed my memory. Thanks again.

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