Nuedri:

I've begun an ambitious project to rewatch all currently rated great anime that hasn't been rewatched yet.  This includes series that are still currently airing like Utawarerumono S3.  And due to that, I noticed that the ending theme to the first episode of Uta 3 isn't the same as the other episodes.  It's actually a song for a different Utawarerumono game that they cleverly brought in as a relief pitcher because it better suited the mood of the first episode than the regular ending.  Like all Uta songs it's by Suara, going by the name of Nuedri.  I was floored by how good it was and quickly downloaded it and listened to it 100 times.  Then I gave it a 5-star rating and added it to the very top of my music hall of fame.

As a result 'holding on', a song from Lunar 2, had to be demoted to 4-star, and then a cascade of other songs had to be demoted to make room, as is the normal routine.  All the updates can be found at my music permapost for those concerned.

I also checked out some other Suara sung Utawarerumono songs, but none of them were remotely as good as Nuedri so I left it at that.  I bet there are other great Suara Uta songs but they're impossible to download because they're so unheralded.  I'm just glad I noticed Nuedri this time, unlike the first time I watched this show.

Rise up Dream and Nuedri have occupied my attention the last couple days, but that's nothing compared to my next project -- I've downloaded the soundtrack to Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (finally found a copy) -- and now I'm going to sort through the 126 tracks to find out which ones are worthy of my music hall of fame and what all of them are rated, 1-5, once their worthiness is established.  Listening to one song like Nuedri 100 times is easy, but 126 songs is another story.  This is going to occupy me for quite a while, but I can't think of any better way to spend time than with the beloved music of Yasunori Mitsuda's latest masterpiece.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is one of the best games ever made.  I don't think the music was among the best soundtracks ever, but it was still really good, and it has the advantage of nostalgia.  Songs that remind you of one of the best games ever tend to be viewed favorably, whether they're good or not.  I expect when all is said and done, a hefty change to my music hall of fame is in store.  The largest change since it was finalized last year.

I'd say around 70 songs have been added/subtracted to my hall of fame since the beginning of the year, half from the anime I've watched and half from the games I've played.  (Bravely Default II, Triangle Strategy, Fire Emblem: Three Houses)  I wouldn't be surprised if Xenoblade 3 has 70 songs of its own to offer.  Or at least 50.  Out of a 5500 song hall of fame, that would mean this year saw a 2-3% change overall.  That's pretty impressive.  It took my entire life to assemble those 5500 songs worthy of recognition, but in just one year I found new better songs equivalent to 2-3% of all my previous years combined.  Thanks to Xenoblade 3 this turned out to be quite the musically active year.  If I wanted I could bomb my hall of fame with the Tales of Arise soundtrack as well, I've already downloaded it, but I don't want to listen to that soundtrack until I've played the game, and I can't play the game until I get a PS5.  So I know there's more good music out there, but I can't touch it yet.  This year will have to be content with Xeno 3.

It would be nice if I could eliminate all 1100 of my initially 1-star rated songs by introducing a full 1100 new songs to my music hall of fame.  If I could manage that, then it would essentially mean I no longer had any 1-star songs, they'd all be 2-star or above in quality.  It would be like Lake Wobegon where no one is below average.  If I stay on this year's pace I could manage it in a decade -- but I probably won't be able to stay on this pace, there aren't usually games as amazing or musically prolific as Xeno 3 coming out.  But who knows, maybe someday?