About 2 years ago, after many years of service, my beloved PS2 DDR pad finally died on me, I couldn't find a good replacement, and so I reluctantly entered the world of Stepmania. About a week later I was making my own charts. I think I may have been subconsciously avoiding Stepmania because I knew that would happen. Anyway! I've been honing my skill since then, with the idea of putting out some pad packs, but haven't really published much. What I wanted to do was to take my time and put out a pack of 100 perfectly polished charts with 4 difficulties per song, when I was good and ready. And my plan since Cohost came along was to publish here first. Well, about that...

...without further ado I am proud to present my first pad pack, 83 mostly polished anime charts, with mostly the highest-quality videos available for the music, mostly correct song information, mostly lossless audio, mostly consistent volume...entirely hot shit if I do say so myself.

The charts in this pack are designed for DDR players of all skill levels, designed for no-bar play, and designed with ergonomic flow in mind. I want to encourage a style of play where you move ya body, y'know? Not trynna blow up knees or write impossible stuff - all of these charts have been extensively tested by yours truly.

Each song has 4 difficulties, and while not every song's beginner chart is going to be suitable for absolute beginners, there's plenty in here you can try on day 1. I have taken a cue from classic DDR, and limited crossovers and 180s to hard charts only. You'll see a number of songs where the step count in the normal chart is virtually identical to the hard chart - in those cases you can expect that the hard chart is much more technical. Some examples below (pardon the scuffed videos, I don't have time to edit them).

Anyway I am excited to share all of this with you! the denizens of Cohost! For a very limited time! After this is all good and ready I'll probably publish on zIv, some time around the end of the year I imagine. Any feedback on any aspect of this is welcome.

If I have the time, I'll write up some notes on the individual charts - It's a wide range of material ranging from the early 80s to 2024's summer season. I've included a fair amount of music that makes for "bad" charts - I think that sort of thing can be very interesting and love teasing out fun charts from songs that don't seem to lend themselves to the format.

Please do note that a few of the videos are risque - for full release I'll mark those ones so people can avoid them if they're streaming/don't want to see it/etc. No time to do that now, so just consider yourself warned.

Enjoy!

Each chart has 4 difficulties, but if I don't specify, I'm talking about the hard charts, which I always draft first. I don't ever want to be in the position of putting extra stuff in a chart just to make it harder, so I draft a chart that I think is ideal as the hard chart, then simplify the core idea in stages to create the other three.

All The Way: OP for the older Kino's Travels anime. Love this song so I figured I'd do a chart for it. It was a struggle for a couple reasons. In general I always wanna write charts where the steps bounce between following different lines; I enjoy the challenge of interpreting multiple parts in the singularly low-bandwidth format of "two feet, connected at the waist, hitting 4 positions in some sequence" and finding something that both reflects what's good and unique in the music and is also, y'know, fun to stomp around to? can be a challenge. Here, there's a piano line that has a lot of the rhythm that feels good to dance to, but it's buried underneath the vocals. It couldn't be heard as clearly as I'd initially written, so it took a lot of editing to find the proper balance between that and following the vocals. The second issue was with lower-difficulty charts, and this comes up a lot and you can't really solve it: it has sections with a bunch of notes in a row that are off the beat. Beginner charts you really want to avoid anything off the beat, and when you have a measure or two where nothing's on the beat it's a mess.

Anata ni Aitakute - Missing You (Millenium Dance Version): This is the second ED for Trouble Chocolate, which is one of those anime from very, very early in the transition to digital. I would not say it's good but it's a fascinating product of its times, like 3D games with tank controls. The song, on the other hand, is an all-timer. It's actually a remix of a sweet, sad ballad, totally transformed. Both versions are excellent. Anyway this is one of the tougher charts I wrote. My work process is: write the Hard chart first, figure out what the theme of the chart's gonna be, finish editing it, then write the Medium chart and make it one iteration simpler. So if I write a Hard chart that is on the difficult side, that generally carries over to the other difficulties. So to all the Trouble Chocolate fans getting into DDR in the year of our lord 2024: sorry.

p.s. I edited the video for this because I ended up wanting to use a longer version of the song than the actual ending credits (it's about 2:00 vs the ordinary 1:30). I'm a video editing chump, so it was quite an educational process, but I got the looping animations to work right and re-timed the cuts to match the music.

BaBang to Suizan! Bang Bravern: Actually posted this one on Reddit like half a year ago. This is the kind of song DDR exists for imo. When Bravern's like "Bravern...ZAN!" who doesn't want to land a big jump on that? Shit rules.

Back in Love: The English version of the ending credits for the first El-Hazard OVA (the Japanese version is titled Boys be Free). So in the 90s dub era, Pioneer had a habit of localizing songs like this. Some of them are a lot of fun! This one in particular really captures the spirit of the original, or so it seems to me. I love writing swing charts, love playing 'em, they get you loose, it's great. So I've written a lot of swing in this collection. This one...well I don't think it's my strongest chart - the fun stuff is all outside the vocals, but the fun stuff is also on the fast side for swing, so the effect doesn't end up being as good as in other charts, I feel.

Be a Flower: First OP for Apothecary Diaries. This song rules, that show rules, and this chart rules. I don't have a lot to say about it - it's the kind of chart that just leaped unbidden from my head to the page. In a formal sense, the chart is too right-facing, and I've considered fixing it, but whenever I play it it feels great, so I am thinking I'll just leave it as-is.

Bling-Bang-Bang-Born: This song's a little twee, but I enjoy Mashle so whatev. This is one where the vocals are so fast that the hard stepchart can basically only follow along with it. I think it turned out really good, tho, even if it's not a style I usually go for.

By Yourself: One of the Dirty Pair OVA OPs, with a Bond-inspired video. Truthfully, I did this chart only because I like the video - the song was...a challenge. So something you'll see in older anime there will be mistakes in the music that they just let slide. Here, there's an extra quarter of a beat between the intro and when the vocals come in. Not a big deal in real life but since DDR tracks quarternotes, it's a hassle. Macross' OP (which I'm working on but isn't done cooking yet) has a mistake near the end where the trumpet comes in a beat early and everyone else just rolls with it. It's the trumpet, whaddya gonna do? Kudos to everyone else for covering it up!

Chocolat ni Muchuu: I wonder if I should be attempting to localize these song titles. Anyway: OP for early 2000s Majokko anime Sugar Sugar Rune. Fun chart, very rhythmic, very easy to write. Would not sound out of place in a 50s TV show, which is why I wanted to do it, and is a reminder that Bewitched is quite directly the ancestor of the entire mahou shoujo genre.

Choose Bright!!: I was on the fence about whether to include this one since the song and the anime it's from are both on the let's say dubious side, even for late-night anime. Since I wasn't planning on sharing it around, I absolutely cooked on the chart, and it turned out too good and too unique not to share. All that said this one's maybe not gonna make the cut when I publish on zIv.

Crack-Crack-Crackle: OP for Undead Murder Farce. This was one of the first charts I wrote, and if I did it now, I think it'd come out pretty differently. I try pretty hard to craft charts that are as smooth as possible in terms of alternating feet, and if I write a part where you repeat on a single foot, it's with a lot of intentionality. This chart is a lot looser on that score, especially between phrases. Well, if anyone plays it they can let me know how they like it.

Cure: OP for The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic, a mediocre anime based on a fun manga. I'm a little annoyed I didn't get more rock into this collection, but at least I have this. It was an interesting challenge writing for something with that kind of electric guitar haze.

Dai Dai Dai Dai Daisuki na Kimi e: OP for 100 Girlfriends. Another one of those charts that writes itself. Lots of fun - a joyful chart for a joyful show. For the key change in the middle I did a 4-beat hold with one foot and had the other foot hitting steps on each beat, then resolve with a double. One of the best things about playing DDR without holding onto a crossbar is that your body naturally creates tension when you're forced to twist it certain ways and you really want to release that tension, so finding places to make that happen is really rewarding. I end a lot of charts with a sharp move that transitions you into walking off the pad - so in this chart it's an eighth note pattern that ends left down left right up right down, so you end bringing your right leg from the up to down arrow by pivoting your left leg on the left arrow. it's a spin move that lets you walk away Cool-Guys-Don't-Look-At-Explosions style.

Delicate ni Sukishite: I've always liked this song and video. First encountered it in the FTP days shortly before BitTorrent took off, I think, or maybe right after. It was a revelation seeing shoujo stuff at the time, as my American impression of anime/manga was Manga Entertainment versions of 80s and 90s movies and OVAs. I'd read a few (American comic book format) issues of Cardcaptor Sakura by then, I think, and had some awareness of CLAMP at least, but that was about it. Encountering stuff like this, Fruits Basket, Angelic Layer, really opened my eyes. Songs like this can be really tough to chart, I feel. It's jaunty and relaxed, but on the pad, slow swing screws up my natural assumptions for the kinds of movement that feel good to do. I like how the chart ended up, but I don't want to think about the number of times I had to edit it to get there.

Down Town Game: Another song that was tough to chart, though I am happy with the result. I love the energy of the intro, and it's great to chart, but when the vocals come in, they're a lot simpler and following them doesn't allow for anywhere near the speed or complexity of the earlier stuff. And the vocals are loud enough that it's tough to follow the more complex rhythms underneath.

Eternal Flower: Ai Yori Aoshi's first OP. I tried to write the hard chart for this as smoothly as possible. This shouldn't be a difficult chart; it's just not that kind of song. So I used the simplest patterns I could in the fast sections, really milking the patterns you can use to express repeated lines in DDR, all that stuff.

Flying in the Sky: G Gundam's OP. I don't think anyone has ever done a chart for this, which is wild to me. I think this one maybe needs a little more editing, oh well. This is the kind of song you hear certain parts of it in your head and are like "this will be super easy to chart and it will come out great" because you're not thinking of the inbetween parts, which in this case are a bit of a mess.

Gimmmee: Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle ED. I feel good about this one. The song just has a wealth of fun rhythms in it and I feel like the chart I wrote successfully expresses the interplay between the vocals and instruments. That's the core experience I'm aiming for with my charts.

Gomen ne Watashi: Fairy Tail's 3rd ED. I watched Fairy Tail at a very low point in my life, about a month into depression-fueled insomnia, and this song really helped me find the strength to forgive myself for my past failures, real and imagined. It's got a strange energy to me; when I see the video, hear the song, I'm back in my dorm room as the sun comes up after yet another sleepless night. Anyway, uh, enjoy!

Happy Flower: The second opening for excellent shoujo comedy anime Daa! Daa! Daa! I really like this chart, it's swing and kinda at the perfect tempo to get a lot out of that. Cohost I am disappointed in you that I am just now making the Daa! Daa! Daa! tag. That show rules yo!

Haru no Passage: OP for Idol Angel Yokoso Yoko. I grew up with 90s anime, and yet somehow I ended up doing more charts for obscure 80s shows than obscure 90s shows. Making these charts has been an exercise in listening to a metric ton of anime music, and often just kinda playing things time and again to see what sticks in my head, which is exactly what happened here. I like the drum at the beginning and the way it transitions into the vocals.

HEATS: Getter Robo Armageddon OP. Anime music is a medium not a genre, but it's also a genre, and the most sacred convention of that genre is to pound out powerful melodies in repeating 3/3/2 patterns, and HEATS is the king of that.

Hikari to Kage wo Dakishimeta Mama: Rayearth's final OP. I...probably need to edit this chart somewhat, but I wanted to leave it in because someone's gonna pick this up and find some joy in having this. Well, maybe. I love the bold simplicity of the chord progressions in this.

Himegoto Cry Sisters: Ending theme to the Discourse magnet Onimai. I cooked with this one. good luck!

Imawa no Shinigami: Rakugo season 2's OP. Far and away the least "appropriate" song for DDR in this collection, which is of course why I charted it, sicko that I am. I am as surprised as you are that it came out in a form that can be considered playable.

like a whole damn week ago I said I'd post some stuff I'd been working on, and here's some stuff! First a bit about me: I play DDR on a pad with no bar, and create charts that are designed for big movements that pull your whole body around. So my charts are gonna have a classic DDR feel, but with an emphasis on ergonomic movement. I try to be very clear in terms of guiding the player, and only rarely do patterns where you don't alternate feet, but on my heavy charts I use crossovers a fair bit. When I publish charts (soon!) I will include lower difficulties as well, and crossovers will only be present in heavy (actually a lot of what I've written, the normal and heavy charts have similar numbers of steps and are mainly differentiated by the complexity of the patterns). For now though, I'll just be posting videos of the hard versions. (poorly-lighted, sorry!) footcam included with videos in case anyone is interested in how I envision these charts being played.

Anyway here's a chart for Demons and the Dead that I put together probably about a year ago. Video from Project Diva F 2nd. Edited the chart down a bit, which I think is often necessary trying to make decent DDR charts from vocaloid songs, but it still runs long at 2:47. I love charting swing music, and this has been one of my favorites for it, since it's a rather sinister song, which feels like it gives me permission to be a little mean with the steps. So steps alternate 1-2-1-2 in places, and gallop in other places, and put you through your paces. I am particularly proud of the nasty little bit at 2:05. Enjoy!

At some point probably later this year i intend to put out a pack of fighting game music. Well, probably just Guilty Gear and Under-Night/Melty. Hasn't been a priority but the music is irresistable so I keep pecking away at it. I charted this last week, and it's not necessarily in its final form but it's pretty close.

Raito's music has a really luxurious quality to it, like all the big chords have a couple extra notes on top out of sheer joy for excess, all the lines overlap longer and more fluidly than one could hope for, and here we have a musical climax in the countermelody(? my musical theory ain't that hot so i don't always have the vocabulary to talk about this stuff) at 1:21, repeating the line from 1:00 and just modulating it into the stratosphere. Can't get enough of it. I find that music that has a very strong call-and-response element makes for the best DDR charts, too, and trying to synthesize the coolest bits in both into a pattern you can appreciate in the very limited format of putting two feet on four arrows, dance to and feel in your body is the greatest challenge and reward writing this stuff.

This chart has a driving straight-eighths baseline and a lot of punctuating accents in the vocal line, so I opted for a lot of (fairly) straightforward eighths patterns that lead into a space and then a double. Since I write for no-bar pad play I try to limit any patterns that have an eighth directly into a double as it's very hard on the knees, so it's great to find a song here that easily justifies that by creating natural spaces before every natural spot where you'd use a double. (There's just one pattern where it's an eighth into a double with no space, at 0:51, but I mean c'mon what else are you gonna do there?)

The part I'm still working through is t 1:18. This is a repeat of the line at 0:57, and initially I was doing a similar pattern on the quarternotes alternating single and double steps. But the 1:18 line leads into that cool bit at 1:21, where I definitely want doubles on the beat. it didn't feel dramatic enough so I switched the 1:18 line to a tricky eighth note section. I think this was the right move? Currently considering making it more complex like so: the eighth note line ends with your feet crossed over, ending RDL the double at 1:20 is a Down-Left instead of being Left-Right, so that the next line can consist of you untwisting your body through doubles til you land on a triumphant Left-Right double at 1:23. We'll see. Seems good on paper but I think there's maybe one note too many in the pattern to keep that untwisting going and land a satisfying Left-Right. Either way, very happy with this one.

Patlabor's opening is a bop but also as rigid a song as you'll find rhythmically, with a strong straight eights beat that demands constant recognition. I charted this when I was just figuring out what I was doing and it was a great experience, and I'd recommend this or a song like it to anyone trying to learn this stuff. You could justifiably turn a song like this into an (almost) uninterrupted stream of eighths, which very quickly presents the problem "how do i actually make this engaging and interesting and reflective of the music" and forces you to really think about how to shape long lines of steps, how to properly acknowledge a repeated line, what sorts of shapes can feel like they bring out the melody's rhythm, to what extent should rests be inserted in the stepchart when there's stuff going on in the music? All good questions.

I've been soliciting suggestions for anime music to put in my upcoming pad pack and a friend suggested this to me, a wild song for a triumphant, dramatic show. And of course completely lacking in the qualities that make DDR charts conventionally good. I took it as a challenge and after a lot of hammering it out - both in terms of getting the steps right and in finding BPM adjustments that work (there are 10 or so in the chart) - this is what I came up with. Live music can be a challenge to chart, but not always. Even a song with a BMP that varies pretty widely won't be noticed that much in practice as long as all the lines speed up and slow down together. This one mostly does, but as responsibility for the rhythm gets passed around, that doesn't always hold up - the transition out of that violin section at 0:37 was particularly messy, and I'm not sure I got it "right" or I just played the chart enough times that I internalized the rhythm of the steps as written.