Bad Apple!! Explained

Bad Apple!!
Cover:Lotus Land Story.jpg
Caption:Cover art of Lotus Land Story
Type:song
Artist:ZUN
Genre:Electronic, chiptune
Length:1:22
Label:ZUN Soft
Composer:ZUN

"Bad Apple!!" is the sixth track in the soundtrack of the 1998 bullet hell video game Lotus Land Story, the fourth entry in the Touhou Project series created by Team Shanghai Alice. The instrumental theme was originally designed to be played during the third stage of the game, as chiptune on the Japanese NEC PC-9800 computer platform, at 161 beats per minute using a frequency modulation synthesis chip.[1] The Lotus Land Story version that has more than 1.4 million views on YouTube is a remake of the song from an official Touhou album named Akyu's Untouched Score Volume 1 and was released on the 21st of May, 2006.

It is notable for leading to a much later cover by Alstroemeria Records and a subsequent accompanying black-and-white shadow puppet-video – commonly called Shadow-art. The video became a Japanese internet meme in the late 2000s, correlating with the peak of Touhous popularity, and experienced a resurgence in the mid-2010s when the black-and-white video was ported to esoteric media such as obsolete hardware, displays created within sandbox video games (e.g. Minecraft), and other unusual media (such as a mechanical television)[2] as a graphical test. As of August 2024, it has achieved more than 90 million views on YouTube.

Since then, Alstroemeria Records' version has been licensed to various other video game companies that acquired a Touhou licence, and has been guest featured in many rhythm games such as Dance Dance Revolution, Groove Coaster, Muse Dash, maimai and . It has even been used in officially licensed spin-offs such as Touhou Spell Bubble as the game's tutorial track and free play song.

Pop song

Bad Apple!! feat.nomico
Cover:Lovelight Alstroemeria Records.jpg
Type:song
Artist:Alstroemeria Records featuring nomico
Released: (Reitaisai 4)
Genre:J-pop, electronic
Length:5:17
3:39 (Music video edit)
Composer:ZUN
Lyricist:Haruka
Producer:Masayoshi Minoshima

On 20 May 2007, the day of the 4th Reitaisai convention, a longer cover version featuring the Japanese singer nomico was released on the album Lovelight by the doujin circle Alstroemeria Records, led by Masayoshi Minoshima.[3] It shared little similarity with the original soundtrack, borrowing only a little of melody samples, but nonetheless it was notable as being the only vocal song in the album, and for its lyrics dealing with depression and apathy.[4]

From May 2017 to August 2018, Alstroemeria Records released a series of 10th Anniversary Bad Apple!! albums consisting entirely of remixes and covers of their version of "Bad Apple!!".[5] [6] [7]

Music video

On June 8, 2008, a user from Nico Nico Douga uploaded a video of a crude storyboard based on Alstroemeria Records' version, asking for anyone to animate it.[8] Several animation videos started appearing, with relatively few successes.[9] [10]

Between October 2008 and October 2009, a collaborative group led by Anira (Japanese: あにら) created a shadow-art (black and white) animation video based on the storyboard, which was released on Nico Nico on 26 October 2009.[11] It quickly grew in popularity as an internet meme – as of September 2018, the original Nico Nico upload had been viewed more than 26 million times[12] [8] and a YouTube reupload more than 80 million.[13] The video itself shows many of the Windows-era Touhou Project characters up to Scarlet Weather Rhapsody as they transition between one another.

On May 21, 2020, the animation by the group Anira became the official music video and was released by Alstroemeria Records.[14]

Use as a graphical and audio test

The song saw a rise in popularity in the mid-2010s, when the shadow-art video was ported to several second-generation video game consoles and graphing calculators – presumed to be incapable of playing back full-motion video – for retrocomputing demoscene competitions. In this way, the video became a graphical equivalent to "Hello, World!" programs.[15]

Usages in meme culture

Besides the above, "Bad Apple!!" has also been re-created through unconventional methods as an internet meme, including through stop motion cutout animation, mods within the video game Minecraft, and laser light shows. In 2023, users of the Touhou Project, Osu! and Hatsune Miku subreddits collaborated to recreate "Bad Apple!!" on Reddit's r/place canvas, during its 2023 event.[28] [29]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 東方幻想郷 . Bad Apple!! . 21 September 2019 . Toho Music database . ja . BPM: 160.73 (TimerB：202); 拍子: 4/4拍子; 再生時間: 1:22; 調性: 【0:04～】変ホ短調(E♭m), 【0:58～】ト短調(Gm); 使用楽器: 矩形波、@54、@74、@99、@101、@181、ドラム音.
  2. Web site: 26 February 2023 . Touhou - Bad Apple! on 18-line Arduino Mechanical TV (30 FPS) . www.youtube.com.
  3. Web site: Bad Apple!! . 21 September 2019 . Know Your Meme. 14 August 2010 .
  4. 20 July 2020 . Bad Apple Explained: History and Analysis . Megapig9001 . . 4 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210731221654/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QY4ekac1_Q . 31 July 2021 . live.
  5. Web site: 10th Anniversary Bad Apple!! . Touhou Wiki . Released: 2017-05-07 (Reitaisai 14); Tracks: 11.
  6. Web site: 10th Anniversary Bad Apple!! PHASE 2 . Touhou Wiki . Released: 2017-12-29 (Comiket 93); Tracks: 11.
  7. Web site: 10th Anniversary Bad Apple!! PHASE 3 . Touhou Wiki . Released: 2018-08-10 (Comiket 94); Tracks: 23.
  8. Web site: 8 June 2008. 【Uploader want to watch】Bad Apple!! PV【Please someone picturize it】. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20080827083653/http://www.nicovideo.jp:80/watch/nm3601701 . 27 August 2008 . 1 January 2021. Nico Nico Douga.
  9. Web site: 21 September 2008. 【東方】Bad Apple!! PV を描いてみた。ver.1.1【線画だけ】. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20081001144843/http://www.nicovideo.jp:80/watch/sm4693242 . 1 October 2008 . Nico Nico Douga. ja.
  10. Web site: yange. 8 November 2008. 【東方】Bad Apple!! ~ver.short~ PV【完成版】. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210228115030/https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm5178867 . 28 February 2021 . 1 January 2021. Nico Nico Douga. ja.
  11. Web site: あにら. 27 October 2009. 【Touhou Project】"Bad Apple!! feat. nomico" – Silhouette PV. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20091030041158/http://www.nicovideo.jp:80/watch/sm8628149 . 30 October 2009 . ja. Niconico.
  12. Web site: これは便利！ 霊夢・魔理沙etc…『Bad Apple!!』PVに影絵で登場する東方幻想郷メンバーをまとめてみた. 21 November 2021. 14 September 2018. Japanese. As of the time of writing [2018], it has been viewed more than 26 million times..
  13. Web site: 【東方】Bad Apple!! ＰＶ【影絵】. . 3 November 2022. 27 October 2009.
  14. Web site: [Alstroemeria Records]Bad Apple!! feat.nomico(Shadow Animation Version)[ACVS.008_Tr.00]]. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106180535/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i41KoE0iMYU. January 6, 2024. en. Youtube. January 6, 2024. 21 May 2020.
  15. Web site: Dell . Peter . 2018 . Bad Apple HD . 21 December 2019 . WUDSN . Bad Apple advanced to the modern "Hello World" for the retro computing demoscene. It has been converted to even the most obscure platforms including Atari VCS and Vectrex..
  16. Pardo . Lisandro . 23 June 2014 . 8088 Domination: Vídeo full motion en una IBM PC . 8088 Domination: Full motion video on an IBM PC . Neoteo . es . 21 September 2019.
  17. Web site: Benchoff. Brian. 21 June 2014. (Better) Full Motion Video on the First PC. 22 December 2019. Hackaday. display video at 640×200 resolution at 30 frames per second on a 30-year-old computer. … playing the 'Bad Apple' animation on an 8088..
  18. Web site: 30 June 2014 . Bad Apple 64 – A mighty impressive C64 demo! . 4 December 2020 . over 2000 frames packed to a single disk, with each frame packed to around 70 bytes and running at 12fps streaming fully from disk.
  19. Web site: Fabio . Theodora . 24 April 2015 . Extreme Vectrex Multicart Plays Bad Apple . 19 September 2019 . . audio was possible by having the Vectrex's 8-bit DA-converter perform double duty both for the video circuit and the audio. … volume must be turned to the max … DAC can only output audio in this scenario when vectors are not being drawn,.
  20. Williams . Carl . 16 July 2015 . Bad Apple Ported to the Vectrex, Something that Should Technically not be Possible . Retro Gaming Magazine . Bad Apple has also hit the Sega Genesis … Bad Apple hitting the Atari 2600? The Nintendo Entertainment System? Texas Instruments 84+? … Bad Apple has been ported to all of those platforms . 21 September 2019 . 8 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210108203352/http://retrogamingmagazine.com/2015/07/16/bad-apple-ported-to-the-vectrex-something-that-should-technically-not-be-possible/ . dead .
  21. Web site: TELETEXT BAD APPLE . 4 May 2024.
  22. Web site: Gray . Richard . Bad Apple!! . demozoo.org . 11 February 2022 . en.
  23. Web site: Gray . Richard . Bad Apple!! by Fenarinarsa . pouët.net . 11 February 2022 . en.
  24. Web site: Day . Lewin . 8 January 2019 . Bad Apple!! Via The Arduino Mega . 19 September 2019 . Hackaday.
  25. Web site: Champailler . Stéphane . 19 April 2019 . Bad Apple. 10 March 2024 . Demozoo.
  26. Web site: 5 June 2020 . You Mad, Apple? Demozoo.org .
  27. Web site: 22 June 2024 . NES Super Mario Bros. "arbitrary code execution" by OnehundredthCoin in 04:52.65 .
  28. Web site: Glaze . Virginia . r/place recreates iconic Bad Apple music video with jaw-dropping timelapse . 11 November 2023 . Dexerto. 24 July 2023 .
  29. Web site: Maik. 27 July 2023. In r/place 2023 wurde ein komplettes Musikvideo mit Pixeln animiert. Langweiledich. de. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20230727165741/https://www.langweiledich.net/in-r-place-2023-wurde-ein-komplettes-musikvideo-mit-pixeln-animiert/. 27 July 2023.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bad Apple!!".

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