A gigantic track with 7+ minutes! It was needed though. It's the titular track, after all... or is it? I mean, this track didn't even come to my mind before deciding on the album's title... It actually came some time after I decided. The reasoning for title is also slightly distinct. In this one's case it's just about her reincarnation and the cycle she is stuck in.

Anyway, I used a lot of music and on this one, so I'll need to separate this part into segments:

1- The Poem

I decided to add this part thanks to its translation. It speaks volumes about the character of Kagura, what she represents, the shinobi and the series.

I love the fact that it sounds just like Kiriya is trying to explain to his students and to the Crimson Squad who Kagura actually is. Also it's just me or can I hear "Takaki-san" being said during this part? It could be possible. He loves using wordplay when he is writing the lyrics for the songs and his poems from the beginning of each game.

I mean I can't fully understand japanese but I can tell he is doing something like that after hearing a couple of times! I also recognize some words like "Shin'ei" and other stuff added in there...

Anyway this is the translation of the poem for those who can't speak Japanese (as it appears in the XSEED translation of Senran Kagura 2 - Deep Crimson):

"Kagura is the summit in this distance
Kagura is the trench in the ocean abyss
It is the height of all heights and the depth of all depths

Kagura is the god of war incarnate
Kagura is the messenger of peace
With terrible strength and no remorse

Kagura is...
Kagura is...
The ultimate bane of all yōma

All shinobi look up to Kagura
Because it stands upon the summit
Because it lies beneath the trench

Kagura is...
Kagura is...
A flower with a fleeting lifespan
And with the blood of yōma, it will bloom

Kagura is...
Kagura is...
A moment of light that flashes in battle
A Shining Revolution ready to grow

Kagura is...
Kagura is...

Now begins Kagura's story
Short lived, but beautiful
When Kagura and the Deep Crimson girls meet face to face
just what will happen?

No one knows yet."

Also why having end every starting chapter/game poem with that "No one knows yet" quote, Takaki? We know that nobody knows anything yet, man! The story didn't reveal itself yet! No need to talk about this everytime! You do that since the very first game and it's starting to get kinda old...

2- The Adult Form Kagura and Naraku battle theme

In that segment I put "Breaking the Habit" to emphasize an aspect of Kagura's character: The fact that she, deep down, wants to break her cycle of death and rebirth and just live a normal life with those close to her.

I also added the Daedalus theme from the first Megami Tensei, to make a small nod to the series that inspired this mashup.

3- True Kagura battle theme

The battle start with Kagura saying "Don't underestimate me! Feel the true power of Kagura!"

In that one I just decided to go full on with the medley aspect of the mashup, to show how chaotic and full of emotions her mind and the battle against her truly are.

In the start I purposely added the "Last Resort" part to reference how she is fully aware that she is about to commit "suicide", but she doesn't care anymore. I also added more references to the Megami Tensei series with that small 8bit sound (sampled from one of the game's musics) and the Ginza theme remix I made.

The part with "Crazy" and "Stricken" are references to how she was probably wondering if what she was doing pure madness or the people around her were the ones going insane and to Naraku's mashup and character respecitvely. Also "Bodies" referencing what she was going to do with the Yoma (and the colateral damage she was going to produce during that process and after it).

Lastly we have "Mouth For War" that I used more to symbolize her state of rage and her sheer power (I wasn't paying too much attention to the lyrics on this one) and "In the End" with the lyrics "I had to fall/To lose it all/But in the end/It doesn't even matter" to reference the moment in the story where this whole fight occurs and the reasons she gets triggered into her true form.

Lots of things to reference on this one, right? I tried my best to make something somewhat more cohesive than usual on this one.

Musics used:
• Memories and Memories - Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson OST
• Power of the Red Orb - Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson OST
• Breaking the Habit - Linkin Park
• Daedalus - Megami Tensei
• Future of Resolution - Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson OST
• Last Resort - Papa Roach
• Ginza Mandou Lembranças - [Vitz!]
• Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
• Stricken - Disturbed
• Bodies - Drowning Pool
• Mouth for War - Pantera
• In the End - Linkin Park