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Genre：Video
Author：あにら, Masayoshi Minoshima
Size：8.1MB
Date Published：10/26/2009
Game Description:
"Bad Apple!!", one of the most famous pieces of Touhou music, was originally composed by ZUN as the Stage 3 theme for the fourth game, Touhou Gensokyo ~ Lotus Land Story., released on August 14, 1998. According to ZUN, he aimed for a song that sounded "as old-fashioned as possible". It was later included in the soundtrack collection Akyu's Untouched Score vol.1, released at the third Hakurei Shrine Reitaisai in 2006.
The song saw a massive surge in popularity following a 2007 arrangement by the dōjin circle Alstroemeria Records titled "Bad Apple!! feat. nomico". Arranged by Masayoshi Minoshima with vocals by the singer nomico, this version was released on the album Lovelight on May 20, 2007, at the 4th Hakurei Shrine Reitaisai. The lyrics, written by Haruka, utilize the English idiom "bad apple" (referring to a rotten apple that spoils the barrel) to depict a protagonist struggling with apathy, introspection, and a desire to completely "change to white" or "turn to black." The single reportedly reached #1 on the Japanese iTunes Store dance charts. Between May 2017 and August 2018, Alstroemeria Records released three commemorative albums—10th Anniversary Bad Apple!!, PHASE 2, and PHASE 3—featuring various remixes and covers of the track.
The visual component that cemented the song's internet fame began on June 8, 2008, when a user named Μμ uploaded a crude storyboard video to Niconico based on a shortened version of the song, asking for someone to animate it. On October 27, 2009, a Niconico user named Anira (Japanese: あにら) published a completed black-and-white shadow play animation based on the storyboard. The video, which features characters such as Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame transitioning fluidly while dancing, quickly gained popularity, reaching #1 on the Niconico daily rankings on November 15, 2009. Alstroemeria Records themselves praised the video, describing the motion as beautiful. By March 2023, Anira's shadow art video had achieved over 30 million views on Niconico alone, making it the most-viewed Touhou-related video on the site. In January 2025, a YouTube upload of the shadow art video surpassed 100 million views; however, as the video was an unauthorized reprint, the community encouraged viewers to support the official version uploaded by Alstroemeria Records to assert ownership. The video's global impact has been significant enough to warrant coverage by major international media such as CNN.
Following the success of the shadow art video, "Bad Apple!! feat. nomico" was integrated into various official rhythm games and karaoke services. A limited version of Taiko no Tatsujin featuring the song was exhibited at Niconico Chokaigi 2 in 2013. In 2019, DAM began distributing the song for karaoke, followed by JOYSOUND in 2020, which included the music video. In 2020, the mobile game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! added a cover version by the in-game band Roselia (vocals by Aina Aiba). The song was also added to Muse Dash in September 2021 as part of a collaboration pack. In 2022, the rhythm game Touhou Danmaku Kagura included both the standard arrangement and a "Tetsuya Komuro Remix". In May 2024, the game Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku released a cover by the unit "25-ji, Nightcord de." accompanied by a 2D music video paying homage to the original shadow art.
The song and its shadow art video also became a staple in the demoscene and retrocomputing communities, often used to demonstrate the capabilities of hardware presumed incapable of playing back full-motion video. Peter Dell, a programmer who contributed to a port, described the video as having become a graphical equivalent to "Hello, World!" programs for retro platforms.
1998年8月，ZUN推出了東方Project PC-98平台的第四作《東方幻想郷 ～ Lotus Land Story.》，其中Bad apple!!是第3關的道中曲。
後來該曲收錄於第三回博麗神社例大祭（2006年）所發售的《么樂團的歷史1 ～ Akyu's Untouched Score vol.1》專輯中
2007年，同人音樂社團Alstroemeria Records根據原曲的其中一段主旋律重編了本曲，名為Bad Apple!!feat.nomico，由nomico主唱，收錄於專輯《Lovelight》，發布於第四回博麗神社例大祭，並於2008年01月首次出現在niconico上。
於2008年6月，一名名為Μμ的niconico用戶表示「想要看到Bad Apple!!feat.nomico 的MAD」，但由於UP主本人並不會製作PV，於是上傳了一部類似分鏡描述的草稿片至niconico[1]，希望有其他用戶能製作出來，於是開始了該影片的大量MAD製作比拼[2]。
比拼在2008年10月左右基本平息，最後有一個東方全員果體為特徵的PV取得了最高的好評。
在風波平息後1年的2009年10月，由あにら上傳的“【東方】Bad Apple!! ＰＶ【影絵】”影片[3]的無徵兆的出現再度激起了這個話題的討論，其出色的演繹效果被人們所認同並視為最能體現該改編曲的版本。現已獲得3134.35萬再生數，為niconico上最高總再生量的視頻(註)。 此外，與Bad Apple有關的二次同人創作視頻，包括MAD、手書、音MAD、樂器演奏、舞蹈等視頻的稿件數量也因為影繪版的出現而連續暴漲，至今關聯視頻數量已突破1萬件，綜合再生量達到1.6億以上，超過現今日本的人口總數，成為niconico動畫上相關再生量總數最多的歌曲。
TV動畫版《人渣的本願》以Bad apple!!為第4話標題，而劇情確實符合其歌詞。
2017年正值本曲發布十周年，Alstroemeria Records先後於第十四回博麗神社例大祭、C93及C94上發布了三張十周年紀念專輯，收錄了本曲的各種remix及翻唱版本
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