## Theme Music Review <audio controls src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megaman/images/c/c8/MM10-King_of_Blades-Blade_Man_Stage.ogg"></audio> > [!rank-1] Rank (M3R Rank:: 1) > [M3R Rating:: 5/5/5/5] > [M3R Grade:: M] **Akari Kaida** worked on _a lot_ of stuff before making it to the mainline Mega Man series - most notably the Battle Network series, but also some EXE and ZX stuff. Picking her up for a track on _Mega Man 10_ was definitely not a mistake. Blade Man has one of the most compositionally interesting tracks in the whole classic Mega Man series.  We start with a melancholy yet dramatic intro, and then we transition into a slow moody middle section that really fits the castle aesthetic. You don't often hear sections like these in Mega Man when it comes to Robot Master themes - this sort of slow moody stuff is usually in exposition or cutscenes, so it comes off very unique in this context. And then we transition from there into a high energy final section that extends upon the drama from the intro and lends itself to the loop nicely. It's not the complexity of the structure that is impressive, as much as the complexity of the melodies and the bold choices that were made for the idea. It really stands out in a sea of otherwise "staple" Mega Man themes. ![topright|180](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megaman/images/f/f2/MM10OldCastleStage.png/revision/latest?cb=20240414224839") The interesting thing is that I originally was not going to give it a perfect score in the intellect category, due to the fact that this theme doesn't necessarily conjure up any images of blades. But when you play the level, which I mentioned being set in a (medieval style) castle, it again really does fit the setting. Combine that with the fact that the intellect category is also where we gives flowers to composition and arrangement - this track is just doing so many interesting things. The section after the intro has this military-style marching percussion, with these sort of crashing sound effects in the background that give the impression that there is some sort of battle happening outside the castle walls. It's really quite creative. If it weren't for small things like this, it would be a much harder fight between the top three. Much like Star Man, Blade Man would not take the number one spot in a *personal* top ten list…but once I started applying metrics to the situation, this one is simply undeniable when you really sit down and listen to it. It's just kind of a fucking masterpiece. %% start banner %% > [!svc-HHH]- <span class="svcr pearl">⇧Aesthetics // ⇧Originality // ⇧Intellect</span> || “Masterful” [color:: HHH] %% end banner %% > [!info] Fun Facts > My personal top ten would look something like Gravity, Needle, Spark, Junk, Gyro. %% start m3rnext %%Continue: [[M3R Robot Master Ranking]] →%% end m3rnext %%