On April 21, a memorial CD box celebrating 15 years since KOTOKO’s major debut is being released—one that covers almost everything she’s done in the bishoujo game-song world. And the track count is insane: 100+ songs.
KOTOKO’s GAME SONG COMPLETE BOX “The Bible” (Limited First Edition / 10 CDs + Blu-ray)
When you say KOTOKO, you’re basically talking about someone who’s had an overwhelming impact on the bishoujo game scene—so much so that she’d be crowned “the greatest bishoujo game singer of all time” in some imaginary Rolling Stone-style ranking without anyone even arguing.
But that’s exactly the problem: if she’s got 100+ songs, picking a personal “best of” becomes a cruel, cruel decision.
By the way, according to a “KOTOKO Popular Songs Ranking BEST100 (2020 edition, fan-voted),” the top 3 are:
#1 agony #2 Face of Fact #3 Re-sublimity
Kannazuki no Miko is way too strong. And the BALDR-series songs still have ridiculous staying power.
Also—this is purely my own preference—but when it comes to the BALDR series, my favorite isn’t KOTOKO’s track… it’s Haruko Momoi’s “LOVE.EXE.”
That song is basically a guaranteed “the crowd explodes” moment at Momoi live shows.
And Momoi’s ability to predict exactly how fans will react and write lyrics that poke that nerve on purpose is honestly genius.
Anyway.
Since this is a perfect excuse, I’ll try to decide my own KOTOKO best list while reminiscing along the way.
…As if I can decide.
No way in hell I can decide～～～～～～～～.
Still, I’ll force myself to narrow it down and list a handful.
・Change my Style ~Anata-gonomi no Watashi ni~
Opening theme for “Kosutte! My Honey.”
Bright, dumb, cheerful—perfect early-2000s bishoujo game energy.
What I especially love is the little comedy skit in the middle. It’s basically a goofy “police stop” bit that plays out like:
yes, you over there! can you show me your license? ...what?! that face, you must be... the man wanted for stealing hearts?! y-you are under arrest!!
Even twenty years ago, “the man wanted for stealing hearts?!” already sounded retro and corny.
But that’s the point. That fully committed old-man joke vibe is exactly why it’s good.
And speaking of that… in Lucky Star character songs, there’s a track titled “Kosutte! Oh My Honey,” which is obviously riffing on “Kosutte! My Honey.”
But then you remember “Kosutte! My Honey” itself is riffing on “Bug tte Honey,” so—
If you track the lineage long enough, it’s like history itself slowly mutated Takahashi Meijin into a cute-girl-anime concept.
And somehow that feels weirdly profound.
・Onegai☆Teacher / Onegai☆Twins
If I look back, the first time I felt like my emotions got fully hijacked—like, all-in on emo—was the Onegai☆Twins OP. Back when “emo” wasn’t even a word people used like that, it still nailed that vague otaku sensation of summer + girls + nostalgia… and then KOTOKO comes in with lyrics that feel too accurate for the mood and just steamrolls you. — にゃるら (@nyalra) September 9, 2019
※from nyalra X(twitter)
I’m bundling the whole group of related songs here because I love them too much to separate properly.
But if I have to pick one: “Second Flight” (Onegai☆Twins OP). The lyrics are great, but the visuals are also incredible. And since it’s Twins, it’s not just KOTOKO—it’s a duet with Hiromi Satou.
Also, KOTOKO’s first single “Shooting Star”—yeah, obviously a classic.
And if we’re talking about “my favorite in terms of a single phrase,” there’s a line in this whole Onegai cluster that basically goes:
Even if it’s the entire universe, as long as there’s a place where we can be happy… that’s enough.
The scale is cosmic, which is exactly why the romance hits.
Oh, and: I wrote “ED” in that old tweet, but “LOVE A RIDDLE” is actually the final-episode ED.
It’s a song that’s basically pure “beautiful girl anime” boy-meets-girl heartbreak distilled into language. And because it’s like six and a half minutes, it lands with this huge, epic weight.
There’s also the 10th anniversary event CD “summer wind” with an event song—especially “Natsukaze Nostalgia,” which is packed with Twins-flavored phrases. Absolutely required listening.
The core feeling is basically:
I won’t forget It won’t end. Those summer days. We were swaying, we were lost, and we lived anyway.
Not a “mature adult romance,” but a messy youth romance—and a three-person love story, which is why that “swaying and lost” feeling is the whole point.
Onegai series is the best～～～～～！
Dark-side KOTOKO.
Theme song for “Last Order” (released by 13cm in 2003). Lyrics by Masaki Motonaga—yes, that Motonaga. (And if you bring up this combo, you also have to mention “Neko Nade Distortion,” but I’m skipping it this time.)
This one is built on lyrics that lean into an erotic/violent atmosphere, and she sings it with this painfully emotional intensity like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
It got so notorious that someone even posted a Yahoo! Chiebukuro-style question like:
“Recommend songs with lyrics as ‘erotic’ as KOTOKO’s ‘Abyss’.”
Please recommend songs whose lyrics are as erotic as KOTOKO’s ‘Abyss’. For reference, here’s the erotic part of the lyrics from KOTOKO’s ‘Abyss’. Pain and comforting Cracks and hatred Shouts and neglect Toward the place where it joins and tears Move those fingers forward Please me, make me wet Pierce through this wall, this lining Shower me with human souls Drown me more with your dirty water Until I choke, until I can't breathe
Another dark KOTOKO track.
It’s a fan favorite because it’s cool as hell, but the game it was used for has… a title that’s kind of “you should probably look it up yourself” territory.
Because we do not fear at all, when it can return at that time when it touches the hand which is extended quietly although and it can cry, It believes to agonizing of distant day oblivion,
Whether in this night which at all is not visible, bosom extent clean it can call the memory which forces and the wind quietly it holds it is not,
What I love is how it paints a girl’s inner pain and struggle without blunt, direct wording.
Especially the vibe of: “bosom extent clean it can call the memory”
That kind of line is just… perfect.
This. This is the “YES, THIS IS A BISHOUJO GAME SONG” track.
Fast, bright, aggressively “bishoujo game”—I can put it on the table and say it with my chest.
And again, KOTOKO + Hiromi Satou together is just unfair.
If I had to explain it using Dragon Ball logic: this duo is basically the strongest fusion.
The Gogeta of bishoujo game songs. Please listen with that image in your head.
The lyrics are peak “youthful VN romance” energy:
I want to know… but I’m scared. Little by little, you crack the door open, and in an instant you wake up—then ribbon comes loose in the wind. And because these days will never come back, maybe it’s fine to go a little overboard. I’ll scribble all over your blank notebook for you.
I’ve been going through a streak of darker tracks, but of course Professor KOTOKO can do the ultra-classic, straight-down-the-middle bishoujo game vibe too.
That feeling of living your once-only youth as loudly and flamboyantly as you can, because it’ll never return—that’s the everyday heartbeat of bishoujo games.
If I could go back to those breezy days, I’d never let go. Even now I’m still standing here, and you’re the only one who’s stayed the same —like you’re still back then.
This was originally the opening theme for the loop game Natsuiro no Sunadokei, first released on PS2 and later ported to PC.
When people think “KOTOKO summer songs,” they tend to picture brighter stuff like “Floating up” or “Achichi na Natsu no Monogatari.” But a heavier, weightier summer song like “Went away” is good in its own way—really good.
There are countless loop-scenario bishoujo games out there, but the way this track squeezes every last drop out of the “summer setting + loop story” advantage is just superb.
Even the second big hook is perfect: it carries that sense of a summer that will never reach you again, your hair no longer swaying in the wind, and an album that keeps fading—while your smile stays unchanged inside it. It weaves summer and the past together in a way that’s almost unfairly clean.
And speaking of loop games: the novelization of that masterpiece Haru made, Kururu. came out three years ago. A bishoujo game novelization in this day and age—that rules.
The cover looks ridiculously cute, but the contents are proper sci-fi. It also works beautifully as a standalone, with a crisp, refreshing aftertaste—an easy, no-complaints recommendation.
The sadness that stretches the whole sky melts in the clear water And is spread around carrying with them dreams wherever they go As if traveling along an invisible road, aiming for the coveted sea I keep flowing through
I love the vibe of this jacket art.
(The game itself doesn’t look like this, though.)
Theme song for “Suiso ~1/2 no Kiseki~.”
The lyrics have that transparent, water-like atmosphere—just pulling a few phrases already reads like a finished poem.
(That said: I don’t particularly like the main game.)
At this point, even after listing all of these, I could still name dozens more.
So I’m sorry, but I’ll stop around here…
There’s the fluffy, cute “magical sweetie,”
the once-everywhere “Princess Bride!”,
the brutally straightforwardly-titled “SAVE YOUR HEART” (yes, that title),
for Hayate it’s “Shichiten Hakki☆Shijou Shugi!”,
for sheer coolness “WeSurviVe” and “Genzai no Requiem,”
from Giga “leaf ticket,” “Unite+Reaction,” “Fatally,”
classic stuff like “Imaginary affair,” “Onaji Sora no Shita de,” “Namida no Chikai,” and so on…
Too many.
So I decided: fine. I’ll let numbers decide.
I checked my iTunes play counts and picked whatever was at the very top.
And unbelievably…
・“Sakuranbo Kiss ~Bakuhatsu da mo~n~”
From “Colorful Kiss ~12-ko no Mune-kyun!~”—both OP and ED theme.
And it was #1 by a mile.
I could have forced myself into some twisted “look at me, I’m a real connoisseur” pick…
but ears don’t lie, and numbers don’t lie.
If you say “denpa song,” this is one of the first tracks people think of. It’s that iconic.
Also, about that famous PV… apparently KOTOKO herself has treated it like a failed-history moment in recent years.
(U~~~~ Kiss!) Oh my, my? How strange, this fast heart beat, It's overflowing inside your arms. These tears falling down are like cherries. Always hug me harder!
And the writing is legendary. Even after thousands of listens, the chorus still makes my body move on its own.
(And yes, the Baki MADs Movie stuff definitely boosted that imprint.)
In the end, after wandering across every kind of song… the place you come back to is “Sakuranbo Kiss.”
The moment you go “ah—!” your lips are already touching. That’s how it is.
So yeah: once again, I can only be grateful that KOTOKO’s GAME SONG COMPLETE BOX exists at all.
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