Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

Quake Trance Best 20 ~Anniversary~
Release Date: 2/18/09
Price: 1905 yen

Someone must really like DJ Gollum, as he’s on no less than 1/4 of the album. Otherwise, the usual suspects apply. The only notable absentee is Cascada. Although, really, what’s the difference between Cascada, Liz Kay, Dyce, etc.?

For those wondering, “I Turn to You” and “All the Things She Said” are indeed covers. However, “Surrender” is not a cover of the Lasgo song. That’s probably for the best, as needless trance covers of songs that were trance to begin with annoy the heck out of me. Remember when Manian and about a dozen other DJs kept covering “Heaven”? The worst part was that they all somehow appeared on Quake/Exit Trance!

As always, Quake Trance Best 20 will be mixed by DJ Uto.

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Exit Trance presents Dramatic Trance #01 ~Memorial~
Release Date: 2/18/08
Price: 1905 yen

More Ouendan goodness! Dramatic Trance Episode 1 features Oendan 2’s end song, “Sekai wa Sore o Ai to Yobundaze.” I wonder how long before they cover all of the songs that ever appeared in the Ouendan series?

For J-pop fans, I also spot the Hikaru Utada song, “Prisoner of Love.”

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Exit Trance presents CM Trance 2
Release Date: 2/18/09
Price: 1905 yen

Ooh, there are a few noteworthy covers on this one. The one that should be of most interest is “Romance no Kamisama,” better known to Dancemania and DDR fans as “God of Romance.” Also of note are “Kibun Jojo” and “Zenyroku Shounen,” both of which made appearances on Ouendan 2.

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Exit Tunes presents pixiv no Dendou
Release Date: 3/4/09
Price: 2500 yen

Quake’s first DVD release. pixiv is the Japanese equivalent of DeviantArt, where users can upload their illustrations for other users to view and critique. pixiv no Dendou will collect the best illustrations out of the 2 million already uploaded, and will present them with songs from Exit Tunes as background music. Yeah, I don’t get it either. DVD is hardly the best way to showcase high-resolution artwork.

On a side note, months ago Quake were actually planning a Caramelldansen DVD with official videos, interviews, and even the best fan-made videos from Nico Nico. It never came out for some reason.

Pre-order at CDJapan.

Hime Trance Anime*Mix!
Release Date: 1/21/09
Price: 2171 yen

The good news is that Anime*Mix is selling better than Tsukasa Mix. The bad news is that the sales still haven’t all that great. In its first week out it moved about 6,000 units, and during week two it sold an additional 4,000. Hime Trance Speed, by comparison, sold 9,000 copies in its first week out, then 12,000 more the second week. I think Anime*Mix’s sales are enough to continue the series for a while, but if things don’t pick up Hime Trance could go the way of Dancemania. 🙁

Anime*Dance presents Anican Hit Chart
Release Date: 2/25/09
Price: 2190 yen

These covers are getting progressively more disturbing.

Anyway, the final track list features the third remix of “Ponyo” from FARM. Still, FARM and Anican deserve credit for choosing some anime songs that haven’t been done to death yet. “Hatena de Wasshoi” in particular should be interesting since it was written by Tatsh, who is primarily famous for his Bemani work.

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Exit Tunes presents Vocarhythm
Release Date: 3/4/09
Price: 1905 yen

Quake have a message on their website stating that Vocarhythm will be delayed a month to March 4. No reason is given for the delay.

For more info on the release, including links to Nico Nico videos of the songs, check out the Vocarhythm Blog.

Pre-order at CDJapan.

Buchiage Parance #9
Release Date: 3/25/09
Price: 2848 yen

The 9th release in Victor’s ongoing Buchiage Trance/Parance series. Not too many details yet, though hopefully Victor are out of old Euro Panic! songs to repeat.

Pre-order at CDJapan. Alternatively, Amazon Japan has it for only 2,452 yen.