Overview
raputa is a maimai original track born from a cross between two of rhythm-game music's most enigmatic figures: sasakure.UK, a long-time contributor to the maimai series with prior works like ガラテアの螺旋, the EmpErroR, and モ°ルモ°ル, and TJ.hangneil, a mysterious artist making their maimai debut. The song served as the grand finale of project_raputa, a hidden alternate-reality event that ran alongside maimai DX BUDDiES's sasakure.UK collaboration. To even attempt raputa, players had to solve elaborate ciphers and clear a punishing Perfect Challenge for Apollo on the Dark Side of the Moon Area (裏・月面ちほー), a gauntlet that nonetheless fell on day one. At 339 BPM, raputa ties Apollo for the fastest tempo in maimai history. The track reuses melodic material from sasakure.UK's earlier maimai composition 麒麟 (Kirin) and is notable for being an instrumental piece with no lyrics. The jacket art features Old Persian cuneiform that transliterates to "rapyuta," a deliberate nod to the fictional floating island Laputa. The in-game music video, credited to director Shun Yamaguchi with animation by Mise and Kana.J, differs in several cuts from the version later uploaded to YouTube.
Videos
Charts
DX
BASIC
7(7)
339 notesDesigner: -|Tap 277Hold 14Slide 12Touch 26Break 10
ADVANCED
8+(8.6)
424 notesDesigner: -|Tap 351Hold 30Slide 12Touch 30Break 1
EXPERT
13+(13.7)
888 notesDesigner: 佑|Tap 612Hold 89Slide 33Touch 91Break 63
MASTER
14+(14.9)
1316 notesDesigner: project_raputa|Tap 992Hold 116Slide 102Touch 29Break 77
Trivia
- The title raputa and the track Apollo hold the joint record for the highest BPM in maimai at 339.
- The Old Persian cuneiform script on the jacket (𐎼𐎠𐎱𐎹𐎢𐎫𐎠) reads 'rapyuta,' a spelling play on Laputa, the floating castle from the Studio Ghibli film.
- raputa was the final lock behind the project_raputa event, players first had to decode cryptic messages across social media and then clear Apollo's Perfect Challenge before the song would even appear.
- Despite the extreme unlock requirements, the first complete playthrough (full combo or all-perfect) was achieved on the very first day of availability.
- Throughout raputa, sasakure.UK reuses the melody from his earlier maimai song 麒麟 (Kirin), creating a subtle self-referential thread across the BUDDiES songlist.
- The in-game MV and the official YouTube upload have visible differences in cuts and editing, making the arcade version a distinct viewing experience.
- In the middle section of the DX chart, the Touch-note formations spell out 'raputa' in Braille, a hidden message from the chart designer.
- raputa's EXPERT chart was the third in maimai history to be rated level 13+, following PANDORA PARADOXXX and sølips.
- The MASTER chart (level 14+, constant 14.9) is built almost entirely out of dense difficulty zones, with no true recovery sections, players compare it to other 'human graduation exam' charts in the series.
- The sliding circles early in the MASTER chart use 7/4 time signature patterns reminiscent of Death Scythe, with the slide end-points shifting between the first pass (curved) and the second acceleration pass (straight).
- The final acceleration sequence features 16th-note streams across both lanes, right 4→four, left 4→four, right 4→five, left 4→five, followed by a concluding Each Slide that requires symmetrical precision.
- During BUDDiES PLUS (March 2024), raputa became available by default without the Perfect Challenge requirement.
- The preview clip on the song select screen starts from the very beginning of the song rather than the chorus, designer 佑 confirmed this was a deliberate choice to mirror the original project_raputa teaser video.
- The streaming and album version of raputa (featured on maimai でらっくす ベストアルバムちほー3) is slightly extended compared to the arcade version.
FAQ
- Who composed raputa in maimai?
- raputa is a collaboration between sasakure.UK and the mysterious artist TJ.hangneil, marking TJ.hangneil's first contribution to the maimai series.
- What version of maimai added raputa?
- raputa was added to maimai DX BUDDiES on December 9, 2023, as the final challenge song of the project_raputa event. It became unlockable by default in BUDDiES PLUS (March 2024).
- What is the BPM of raputa and is it the fastest in maimai?
- raputa has a BPM of 339, tying with Apollo for the highest BPM of any song in the maimai series.
- How difficult are the raputa charts?
- The DX charts range from Basic (level 7) and Advanced (level 8+) through Expert (level 13+, constant 13.7) to Master (level 14+, constant 14.9). The Master chart is among the hardest in the game, with dense difficulty zones throughout and no true rest sections.
- Who designed the raputa charts?
- The Expert chart was designed by 佑 (Yuu), and the Master chart was designed under the alias project_raputa.
- What does the writing on the raputa jacket mean?
- The Old Persian cuneiform text on the jacket (𐎼𐎠𐎱𐎹𐎢𐎫𐎠) transliterates to 'rapyuta,' a deliberate reference to the floating island Laputa from the Studio Ghibli film Castle in the Sky.
- How was raputa originally unlocked in maimai DX BUDDiES?
- Players had to reach 654 km total distance in the Dark Side of the Moon Area, clear Apollo's Perfect Challenge first, and then clear raputa's own Perfect Challenge. It was available from December 9, 2023 to March 20, 2024 through this method before becoming a default song in BUDDiES PLUS.
- Does raputa have lyrics?
- No, raputa is an instrumental track with no vocals or lyrics.
External Links
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