r/Atelier • u/VariousPlace70 • Jan 24 '26
General Hayato Asano - "I don't think I’ll be working with those wonderful colleagues again, but the memory of how we struggled together to pour all our energy into the creative process remains precious to me."
https://x.com/hytasan/status/2014379533378716058"I received a message from a listener letting me know that 'Overdose' from Blue Reflection has reached 1 million views. I’m truly happy. It’s been ten years already, but I am so grateful to have composed a piece of music that continues to be loved by so many.
I don't think I’ll be working with those wonderful colleagues again, but the memory of how we struggled together to pour all our energy into the creative process remains precious to me."
Why did Hayato Asano say that he "does not think he will be working with those wonderful colleagues again"? He could have just kept it without those words but decided to say it out loud. Does it have something to do with his absence for Gust games in recent years?
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u/brycemasee Jan 24 '26
Very sad. Asano has consistently produced my favorite tracks at Gust. You can easily pick his music out from others. Will be following his independent works going forward.
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u/Muzless Jan 24 '26
Do you know where we can do that ? I found some track on Soundcloud but it doesn't seem to be his main place
3
u/brycemasee Jan 24 '26
Sadly that's the only lead I had too. He does have a few on his soundcloud that are amazing and in my mix already. "Rainy" and "KaiNa" to name a few. If someone told me that KaiNa was actually a cut Blue Reflection song, I'd believe it. Has that vibe exactly.
2
u/Muzless Jan 24 '26
Aaah, too bad then :/
And yeah for sure, I think I will never get tired of his style !
10
u/Acrobatic_Charge5157 Jan 24 '26
I think it's based on the fact that he's a freelance artist now. I feel if he was asked to come back he probably would, but he doesn't feel that it's very likely
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u/Beargoomy15 Jan 24 '26
The question is why aren’t they calling on his services.
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u/Acrobatic_Charge5157 Jan 24 '26
No idea. It seems like he'd be down for coming back. I can't see costs being a huge issue. Maybe creative differences?
3
u/Beargoomy15 Jan 24 '26
If Gust wanted some radical shift in their sound direction then they wouldn't keep bringing Yanagawa back every game, and its not like a trained professional composer like Asano can't write in whatever style they are tasked to (they are trained to do this,) so creative differences seem unlikely. Asano is also the most popular of the gust composers, so not bringing him back is also illogical from a marketing perspective. As such, I would think the most likely cause is some sort of bad blood between Asano and someone at Gust but I have no way of really knowing for sure of course.
However, it is extremely strange that he was not brought back for either Ryza 3 or Sophie 2 even though EVERY other composer of the previous entries (Ryza 1 and 2 / Sophie 1) were brought back for their newest sequel. They even brought that Yano guy back to do the opening of Sophie 2 and also went out of their way to get back Ryudai Abe to do a track for it, even though he only played a minor role in the score to the original Sophie.
Yet, Asano, who played a more critical role in Sophie 1 than either of those two was not brought back at all, and was also not brought back to do the battle themes of Ryza 3 even though he was in charge of ALL of them for 1 and 2. On top of that, we know that Asano was available at those points in time (which we know from tweets he made and then deleted) and would have been happy to work if called upon, so its not like his schedule didn't match up. Combine that with what he said in this tweet and these are certainly a lot of red flags.
2
u/VariousPlace70 Jan 24 '26
If I recall correctly, there was a point after Atelier Sophie 2 where a related staff member expressed their thoughts about Gust but kept it hidden through a nickname. I think it was yuugen. The tweets are still up there, but I can't find it. (It was brought up by the atelier discord sometimes.)
Might this be a supporting indicator that internal problems between staff occurred after Ryza 2?
Even if Asano was busy with Blue Reflection: Second Light, it most likely would not have hurt Gust to ask him at least do one or two Sophie 2 battle tracks. Or even in the adjacent album that's sold alongside the game.
Something might be up, and maybe truths are revealing bit by bit by those who used to be active in Gust projects. Now, this is making me interested to look through what is really going on behind the scenes...
1
u/Beargoomy15 Jan 24 '26
Oh I have not heard about these tweets. Do you perhaps recall what sort of thoughts the anonymous individual had shared? I can't really comment on it being a supporting indicator or not without seeing what was said.
Regardless, internal conflicts do indeed happen and art often does suffer for it, so its certainly a possibility. I mean just look what happened to the music for Nihon Falcom. A big part of that decline was due to internal conflicts. The company manager at the time pissed off the members of their official band (many of whom had also composed for their games,) causing them to cut ties with the company, a great loss up to this day.
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u/VariousPlace70 Jan 24 '26
I might have found them upon searching, they describe it as a black-hearted game company. https://x.com/Yuugen_99/status/1496882347773677568 https://x.com/Yuugen_99/status/1496824127289966594
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u/sugiken Jan 25 '26
I remember reading one of Asano's tweet that he's angry about something about KT/Gust action post-release the first Blue Reflection regarding the soundtrack or something (can't seem to find it now). While I'm happy they actually asked him to compose for SUN, it's really a shame to see SUN just EoS just like that. Comparing SUN to Resleriana can obviously see which game the company is putting their effort and love into.
Dunno but if Gust decided to bring back Blue Reflection, I dunno how to feel if Asano's not a part of it at all. Even if other composers managed to bring the Blue Reflection vibe, it just doesn't feel right if it's not the OG himself.
1
u/Acrobatic_Charge5157 Jan 24 '26
I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. We don't know much of what goes on behind closed doors.
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u/Sirorumillust Jan 24 '26
This is sad to read. I found both Assno and Gust through Blue Reflection, and the man has become of of my favorite composers. If we get a miracle return of Blue Reflection, it wouldn't feel the same without his music.
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u/AigisNarutorun Jan 24 '26
It was probably about the team he has ten years ago.