isheika - Leta ne bylo by 222222222222222

this review feature is quite cool.
anyway i thought i'd say a few words about this map because i think it really resonated with me in a sense that i don't get with some other maps.

shoegaze is one of (if not) my favourite music genre, because of how chaotic & yet tranquil and calming it is. this map captures that emotion really well in my opinion! the structure and design of its rhythm, visuals, and patterns overall are really chaotic, just in line with the energy of the song, all that static and distortion. it's not trying to be a technical masterpiece, it's just... representing the song.

even if it does feel extremely chaotic, each design element makes perfect sense to me.
the long sliderarts 00:10:570 (1) - 00:14:427 (2) - 00:17:856 (1) - 00:23:427 (1,1) - etc. interrupt the otherwise dense rhythm and create "breaks", yet are also high-pressure in their own right, because of the high SV and difficulty in following their paths - i think that perfectly captures the chaotic / calm energy of the song to be honest.
and then theres the spaced 1/4s, that are throughout the map but most noticeable at 00:34:570 -
by normal mapping standards, these would be grossly over-exaggerated considering its a calm section of the song. and yet... when you play it, the snappy movements play really well. you hold your cursor along while you tap to the drum beats, and every time theres a 1/4 you have to snap halfway across the screen into immediately holding yourself in place again. it's a really high-pressure, even when you aren't moving your cursor - a really effective contrast to earlier with the long sliders, and capturing the song's intensity in its own way.
same with 01:01:999 (1,2,3) -, although the reverses have movement with how quick they are it's constant, back and forth until broken with the large 1/4 spacing on the drum beats. in the editor it seems silly (the map is skipping over so many sounds! the SV is too high for the section!) etc. but when you play it, it makes perfect sense honestly.
now, here we get to 01:56:856 - my favourite section. i really like seeing overly long combos, when they are fitting, they're a really unique touch. and this section does it perfectly. the section in the song is really repetitive with its melody, and there are no vocals, yet theres this ever-building sense of progression as the instruments get louder, and the drums get more frequent, leading all the way up until 02:24:284 -. this is the perfect place to have a really long combo, and fayew does that! he builds up pressure here so well with the patterns increasing in spacing & complexity, going from simple sliders and triples 01:56:856 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11) -, to chaotic 1/4 bursts 02:06:499 (46,47,48,49,50,51,52) -, to 1/4 jumps 02:09:070 (60,61,62) - 02:13:999 (83,84,85) -, to hardly using sliders at all and using purely circles 02:15:070 (88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104) - if we don't count kicksliders, because i find them to be akin to high-pressure hitcircles, and then at the end once the kicks start building up, section finishes with a few high SV cross-screen sliders into a slow one 02:22:570 (6,7,8,9,1,1,1,1) -.
this section likely broke a ridiculous amount of "rules" about mapping, to a degree that i wouldn't be shocked if the average player or average anime mapper took a look and said "wtf is this garbage?". all this, and yet..... it makes perfect sense, if you actually look at each pattern and the feeling you get from playing it.

that's what i like about this map.
it's unconventional, but then... shoegaze is an unconventional genre. it's noisy, grating to most, and convoluted, the instruments and vocals blending into each other that they can't always individually be heard or enjoyed.
feelings are even more complicated then that though. no one can really fully understand or explain feelings, or why certain things give us certain feelings, but the only thing we can do is to attempt to rationalise it.

this map gave me really positive feelings about how it represented the song, and i attempted to rationalise why i felt the way i did about it that i do. i don't expect most to agree with me or enjoy it in a simpler way, and i don't even feel the need to advocate for more of such unconventional ranked maps in the ranked section. that being said, i'm glad that this one exists. it makes me happy :)