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A Year In Mapping 2018

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VINXIS
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Joined April 2014
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VINXIS

osu!standard RI - VI



Riven written by UndeadCapulet
  • Despite only ranking 2 sets in 2018, Riven made a surprisingly large impact on the mapping scene, as one of those sets was the first ever R3 Music Box extended mp3. This created a trend of maps that partially led to the complete rework of mapset spread drain time rules that happened later in the year. We hope to see Riven continue to break boundaries in 2019 .. just preferably in map design and not in mp3 design.

Rizen written by Mordred
  • A familiar name to most in the mapping and modding community. After failing to get into the BNG countless times, he finally succeeded in mid 2018, making his long dream come true. Aside from that, he also ranked 2 sets, one 5 min collab and a 4 min spread.

Rizia written by StarrStyx
  • Sadly, this year has seen fewer of Rizia's maps, as he only ranked one set which was mapped last year and was only ranked much later.

Rolniczy written by Nao Tomori
  • Rolniczy began mapping in late 2017. His first ranked map, "crystallized" by Camellia, featured intricate 1/4 rhythm. In October, he ranked "Manten" by Kalafina, which earned a spot on the seasonal spotlights for its use of extended sliders and non-standard circle patterning. His music taste includes anime, DnB, and electronic songs; his uploaded maps display incredible diversity in both mapping and song style.

Rose Pacifica written by yaspo
  • Players better put on thick gloves before they come near Rose Pacifica's first ranked map if they don't want to hurt themselves on its thorns. With countless complex patterns and spaced 1/4 at 200bpm, Rose's "put' l'da" is deceptively difficult for its 6.37 stars. We can only wonder if the world is ready for their potential return this year.

rrtyui written by lcfc
  • A name in the community you've no doubt heard of already, either in the playing, mapping or storyboarding scene, rrtyui definitely started 2018 off with a bang with his map of Reality Distortion, a highly varied electronic track made by none other than Camellia, which is a collab with Sing that also includes a stellar storyboard made by rrtyui himself. Furthermore, he participated in a few collabs with other popular mappers, including another map you've surely heard of: ProfessionalBox's Exit This Earth's Atomosphere (this time "Camellia's ''PLANETARY//200STEP'' Remix", two years after mapping the original song himself). rrtyui also had several more maps added into the Loved section in 2018, showcasing versatility and mastery of map design in all of them. His currently pending maps hint to us that we may see more of him in the ranked section in 2019!

Rtyzen written by Stack
  • Ranking a map after a 3-year break, Rtyzen still shows he can map really well, taking this normal sounding opening and mapping the chorus in an alternator style which packs a big extra punch when you get to it. Apart from that they sadly haven't done much.

rui written by yaspo
  • The lack of rui maps in 2017 was quite worrying, but luckily they made a return in 2018. With a full 4 minute set on "Justitia of Life," they combine old ideas with new ones, reminding us of the fun style they've built up over the years. Having been reminded, we hope rui has enough weekends to spend on mapping another set this year!

Rukaru written by yaspo
  • Is this rukaru's rebirth? After not ranking anything in 2017, this Neptunia-loving mapper returns with a mapset for their favorite game series' OST! It's a nice mapset full of cute patterns that match the song's rhythm and intensity nicely; rukaru definitely hasn't lost their touch. I'm surely hoping rukaru will continue sharing the things they love with the community!

Rumia- written by yaspo
  • Rumia- is a mapper who, despite their history in mania mapping, has made a full conversion to standard. They're not afraid of providing players with a similar level of challenge in both modes however. Rumia's maps like "S.A.T.O.R.A.R.E" and their GD on "New World" are filled with complex and varied patterns that keep players on the tips of their toes. Players appreciate this mapping style as well, granting Rumia 2 loved maps on top of their ranked repertoire. Comparing Rumia's first standard maps to their latest work is a big difference, so they're definitely someone to keep an eye on this year!

RVMathew written by yaspo
  • RVMathew is a Touhou fan primarily known for hard difficulties that quite often defy generic trends. With good usage of patterning, they really establish a clean relation with the song. Unsurprisingly, these hards easily become a lot of fun with any mod combination you can think of. Their geometric mapping style culminates in "Summer time Heaven -after", a well done solo set utilizing ar8 on the highest difficulties. RVMathew's fun mapping style fills a nice niche in the ranked section, so we're glad to see them keep it up this year!

Ryuusei Aika written by Mirash
  • Ryuusei Aika spent this year ranking 6 mapsets by himself, and by joining the Beatmap Nominators group started helping others doing so as well! Ambitious projects with big spreads and a huge backlog of nominations make him the picture of a hard worker, and that is the truth about him! Non-conventional mapping decisions together with song choice make Ryuusei Aika stand out among others. Hope motivation doesn't leave him in 2019.

saggi written by Nao Tomori
  • saggi, previously known as DominiGG, ranked a cut version of Dreamcatcher's "Chase Me" at the start of 2018. Most of his maps are over 6*, so if you enjoy high intensity mapping on j- or k-rock songs, take a look at his graveyard as well.

sahuang written by StarrStyx
  • This year has seen a slight decline in the amount of maps sahuang has put out, but he has still managed to rank a couple of very decent maps; the most notable one, for example, would be his rendition of Meramipop's Gensou Roman Kikou (is the limit.)

Sakurauchi Riko written by yaspo
  • Formerly known as Phyloukz, Sakurauchi Riko changed their name to be even closer to their beloved idol. This is also reflected through their mapping, as Riko and Riko make a great combo to convey the feeling of the idol's voice. Especially notable in their maps is great usage of small circles, like on "Loveless World" and both versions of "Pianoforte Monologue". We hope Sakurauchi Riko can find what they're looking for in 2019, and we pray that love won't be so unforgiving.

samosita written by UndeadCapulet
  • samosita snuck in to the ranked section near the end of the year with their first ranked map, "FELT - Day after," a pleasant marathon map that shows off the song's nice piano melody and vocals. We hope to see this mapper keep up their strong start to the ranked section in the future.

samplefish written by yaspo
  • Skipping 2017, samplefish returns to the ranked section with more solid mapsets for players to enjoy. These maps can be heartwarming like the Undertale OST "An Ending", or full of bouncy fun on "winter tale". Samplefish definitely knows how to bring a song's vibe to the player, so we're hoping that they're not skipping this year!

Sandrew written by yaspo
  • One map away from being a rookie, Sandrew had a great year to start out his mapping career. It's clear that this mapper has high appreciation for lower difficulties, as even on their own sets, Sandrew keeps their focus on high quality Hards and Normals. It was actually quite surprising to see Sandrew GD a nice top difficulty on "nonfantasy". Whether Sandrew branches out to higher star rating in 2019 or not, their name will definitely be worth keeping around!

Satellite written by Mirash
  • Lord and Kami-sama of Youhei Satellite - better known by their singer's name, senya - Satellite (forgive my repetitiveness) ranked one mapset of a song by, once again, Youhei Satellite, "Utakata, Ai no Mahoroba." Besides that, he took part in some ambitious collaborations that remain hidden ... I hope to see them revealed in 2019!

Saten written by Niva
  • Ah, yes. Saten and Yousei Teikoku maps -- they are inseparable from one another. In line with his reputation as arguably one of the first mappers to master the double-BPM mapping meta, in the last year Saten managed to rank Oroka na Ketsumatsu, yet another singletap-heavy Yousei Teikoku map that features a lot of symmetry and polygonal star patterns which have been his trademark since time immemorial. Go give the map a try if you haven't though, it's really fun!

Saturnalize written by Niva
  • Saturnalize has actually been producing high quality maps over and over for years -- even to the point that he had a diff featured in last year's OWC mappool -- but since most of the time he didn't really intend to push his maps to Ranked or Loved, many of his true masterpieces (such as Euclid or Mirage) were left unknown to many. If by chance you stumbled upon Saturnalize's profile, make sure to check his graveyard in order to unearth yourself some great mapping gems!

scanter written by UndeadCapulet
  • scanter, also known as "Anais", made a bit of a splash in the mapping scene back in 2014. They returned to the ranked section this year with their set "Roselia - LOUDER", a nice clean set showing everyone they haven't lost their charm. We hope to see them continue ranking more sets in the future, hopefully before 2022.

schoolboy written by Mirash
  • schoolboy, also known as Komore, ranked a huge amount of 11 beatmapsets in 2018, joined the Mappers Guild and started contributing to the game even more by mapping officially licensed songs. Nice to see such persistence from him for a long period of time! The great style that he developed through the years has reached even higher standards. This guy slayed your boredom in 2018 and will continue to do so in 2019 hopefully.

ScubDomino written by Niva
  • A personal mentee of handsome himself, ScubDomino (previously known as anime girl) managed to take the mapping scene by storm through his seemingly endless mapping breakthroughs and innovations despite only being a rookie this year. From his slider node mechanic-breaking Pencilina to his insane keysounding in skyshifter vip, he's definitely an extremely rare case of a mapper whose maps are extremely unique and different (in a good way) over one another.

sdafsf written by Halfslashed
  • More often seen for his GDs than his mapsets, sdafsf is one of those talents that made themselves known last year. This year he ended up hosting a set with entries from Just Another Beatmap Contest #3, as well as making his own set of Racemization, which received praise from fanzhen himself. Skilled at mapping any genre of music well, it'd be nice to see him pop in again during 2019 to show us what else he's got in store.

Seikatu written by Mirash
  • A kinda old Russian mapper who is the definition of "underrated". Despite having a clean and simple style, he still manages to surprise you with how well everything is done in the end. Ranked two mapsets in 2018, both of which are full spreads mapped by himself, one of them is for a 4:30-long song. Shows exactly how passionate he is when there are both motivation and free time. Would like to see more of Seikatu in 2019 as he seems to have the time now!

Seni written by yaspo
  • Seni's name has become synonymous with the artist Foreground Eclipse. With 5 ranked sets all under this same artist, complete with a songs compilation, they're really building up quite the collection. Even so, Seni's work definitely doesn't lack variety. Maps like "Storytellers" and "In A Night When Her Sorrow Resounds Around" show that they can easily adapt different styles within a similar genre. For 2019 we can only wonder one thing: which will be longer, Seni's mapping career or these extensive song titles?

Serizawa Haruki written by Nao Tomori
  • Serizawa Haruki, formerly known as J a c k, spent most of 2018 mapping Honeyworks and other similarly pleasant j-pop tracks. He enjoys low diffs and joined the BNG after founding the Low Diff Assurance Team, a modding queue focused on low difficulties in all modes. If you like cute girls (or cute guys) singing cute things, be sure to check out his pending and ranked difficulties - he's mapped several male vocalists, like Galileo Galilei and mafumafu, as well as several prominent female j-pop singers.

seselis1 written by Mirash
  • By ranking a great set in which he mapped every difficulty by himself, seselis1 impressed with the ability to map so cleanly and consistently. He provided such a good difficulty progression that you could say that if a player was stranded on an uninhabited island, with no chance of escape, and only a PC with osu! installed to keep them company, and only this mapset to play, that player could still have the ability to improve to greatness even starting from zero. Wishing the best of luck in his mapping adventures in 2019!

Seto Kousuke written by Stack
  • Certainly not a no-name, Seto achieved a lot in 2018 not only ranking multiple maps but also getting bn in the summer. His positive attitude also makes him a great addition to every team. When talking about his mapping he sticks mostly to anime songs, but occasionally dabbles in the more exclusive songs like Pepsi Man. Here is my message to Seto for 2019 in which I hope to see more of him: "HAEOHOEAHOEUAHUEOAE".

Shad0w1and written by yaspo
  • "Good artists copy, great artists steal." An inspiring quote straight from Shad0w1and's userpage, though one can only wonder just how many aspiring mappers are stealing patterns from their maps these days. Even while closely sticking to Japanese music, Shadow has built up an impressively varied portfolio of mapping styles over the years. It's hardly a surprise that they've become a staple in the Chinese community. Shad0w1and hasn't hit the brakes on ranking maps ever since they started, so we hope they keep pushing forwards their colorful mapping!

Shadren written by Mirash
  • A Russian compositor and quite an old name that mostly became known for his maps of electronic songs. Shadren came back in 2018 and ranked a full spread set for a song called "Cry Baby", where every difficulty was made by himself! Great perseverance! Hoping for Shadren to map a Shadren song in 2019 maybe....

Shanipika written by Halfslashed
  • Few mappers dare to create maps as interesting as Shanipika's. Though he mainly sticks to more popular song genres like anime and vocaloid, his style consistently makes use of obscure yet fitting techniques to represent the songs and does so well enough that I didn't even believe he was a rookie this year. Hope to see more of this mapper in the future!

Sharlo written by yaspo
  • Despite their rather inactive status "AFK for all", Sharlo still briefly peeks in. In 2018, she did so with one ranked map, a collab on "chrono diver -fragment-". It's easy to forget the time while playing this map: the way the patterns play and the beautiful storyboard make for a wholesome experience. Even if she doesn't return in 2019, we're sure the community won't forget her voice!

Sharu written by ScubDomino
  • Sharu's main strength is versatility. Looking through his few ranked maps, he seems to have made some really well done J-vocal and anime maps of various genres, but, as I've said, that's not to say he's not good at everything else. Quite the opposite, in fact, as he's also known in the mapping community for making high-quality and visually compelling maps of various maps in the wubs scene. This just goes to show that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, especially when talking about mappers!

Shiguma written by Halfslashed
  • If you really liked an anime in the past several years and wondered why no one had made a map of that particular opening, Shiguma is here to change that. What some consider to be an unpolished style upon cracking open their maps in the editor actually turns out to be a fitting and enjoyable map during play. Outside of contributing to the ranked section, Shiguma also participated as an organizer in the mentorship program towards the earlier half of the year. It will definitely be interesting to see what kinds of contributions, mapping or otherwise, he'll put forth in the future.

Shiirn written by Halfslashed
  • Recognizable to some as a pioneer of freestyle placements in mapping, Shiirn continued to push boundaries as he did the years before, primarily with his mapset "Forest of the Spirits". His style typically appeals to those who are looking for an interesting challenge, or perhaps even a meaningful experience from the strange electronic songs he typically maps. Though he disappeared early in the year, there will likely be something for everyone to remember him by: his vocal presence in pushing for changes in the community, his unique mapsets, his contributions towards deviating from unnecessary rigidity in mapping, or even his edgy poetry.

Shiratoi written by yaspo
  • Continuing what they started last year, Shiratoi established themselves in the scene. Teaming up with Nevo gives them plenty of ranked insane diffs, though their own maps on "Mirai" and "Deep in Abyss" really are a step ahead. They also deserve praise for their placement in the mentorship traditional contest, granting them the top expert difficulty on "confusion". With how much they've grown over the past year, there undoubtedly is a bright future ahead of them!

Shmiklak written by Mirash
  • Shmiklak went IRL this year, but osu! doesn't let you go 100% IRL, and he did rank a great amount of 8 beatmapsets! They were mostly Russian songs, bringing variety to the game's content; that's cool. Best of luck to him in 2019!

Shunao written by yaspo
  • Even though they're formerly known as ShogunMoon, at this point "Shunao's Hard" is a trademarked product. While they might seem inseparable from Sotarks' sets, Shunao has plenty of own work that is worth appreciating. Both "Hibiwareta Sekai" and "Panorama Blue" are excellent examples of their ability to stand their own ground. The amount of work Shunao is putting out is quite a feat, so we'll be excited when their ranked difficulty count finally reaches 100!

Shurelia written by ScubDomino
  • Despite having almost no experience in playing the Standard gamemode at all, Shurelia managed to break through and create very relaxing maps throughout 2018, showing through in his collaborative renditions of "Chata's Hoshizora no Memoria" and stellatram's "EXEC_with.METHOD_METAFALICA/. ~at A.D.3310~"! That being said, we are thrilled to see and relax to more maps from this guy in the future!

Side written by Mordred
  • After not ranking anything for 2 years, they return with a set of "USAO - Showdown", featuring not one, not two, but three different game modes, giving lots of players an enjoyable set of this song.

Sidetail written by yaspo
  • If you think girls with sidetails are adorable, then the extensive list of them on Sidetail's profile is just the place for you! Aside from the many anime girls, you'll also be able to find their equally charming ranked maps and GDs. There's no way you won't enjoy these, as Sidetail's gentle and simple mapping is a perfect fit for yaniginagi's smooth vocals. Here's hoping to seeing more of their work, or cute girl choice, in 2019!

Sieg written by Mordred
  • Despite not being very active in 2018, Sieg still managed to rank 3 maps, including EPICA's cover of the second Attack on Titan opening, a finger control challenging low bpm map. They also rejoined the Beatmap Nominators for a few months, helping others rank their own maps.

Sing written by StarrStyx
  • It'd be best to describe Sing in two styles. One would be his RLC-like style, which draws heavy inspiration in the form of cleanly structured patterns and shapes; the other would be around the fast-slider mapping meta, which involves quite distinctive slider velocity changes frequently throughout a map. Regardless of the style he chooses to go for, there should be no shortage of maps to cater to your tastes, whether it be the cursor flying around the screen or if you just fancy some nice looking patterns while playing.

Sinnoh written by Niva
  • If you're looking for a mapper who is extremely proficient at mapping all four game modes, look no further than Sinnoh! Although the last year arguably saw Sinnoh being active in the osu!catch mode the most, Sinnoh is still by any means a prolific mapper in the osu!standard gamemode whose dedication to the mapping scene in general is something to be admired.

Skidooskei written by Nao Tomori
  • Skidooskei started mapping in early 2017 and ranked his first map in late 2018, a marathon of a song by electronic artist mrsimon. His mapping style is oriented around interlocking slider patterns and blankets with moderate visual spacing rather than having massive jumps between everything. We hope to see more unique progression and development in the future!

Skite59 written by Niva
  • The name Skite59 may not be the one that stood out the most amongst many other rookie mappers on this list, but his first and only Ranked map so far -- a rendition of hyleo & sakuraburst - Galaxy Cutter -- is definitely an absolute banger of its own! Comprising a bit of everything from wub parts to alternating sections and even streams, it's truly an uncommon sight for a newcomer to mark their first appearance in the Ranked section with such a high display of versatility. Definitely an interesting name to keep your eye on!

Skystar written by Niva
  • Satellite, Urushi38, Pho, Enkrypton, Regou -- PandaHero, Reiji-RJ, Okoratu -- Mafiamaster, AngelHoney, P o M u T a, Patchouli, EvilElvisV2, Rue. Also he's still very much most likely to be your favorite mapper's favorite mapper.

Slips written by Hobbes2
  • Known more as a player, Slips entered the mapping scene with his first ranked map, a DnB set of Metrik - Freefall VIP. Featuring traditional DnB rhythms, it's a very solid map for someone's first ranked map. Hopefully Slips can continue to improve and show off more DnB maps for us in the future, picking up where some now retired mappers of the genre have left off.

smallboat written by Mirash
  • A big name in the osu!community who was a long-serving beatmap nominator and mapper, smallboat went to his rest in 2018 as he resigned from the BNG and only ranked one mapset (though not an uninteresting one) of a song called "Yoshifumi Ushima - FLYING IN THE SKY." Wish to see him ranking another map in 2019.

SMOKELIND written by Nao Tomori
  • SMOKELIND, perhaps dubiously known for arousing suspicions of being a Sotarks multiaccount, gained popularity throughout the year while ranking several anime GDs as well as a few sets of his own. He has a passion for Japanese rock, mapping My First Story and Oral Cigarettes extensively. We hope to see more from him in the coming years - hopefully without the 1-2s.

Smokeman written by yaspo
  • Even though he's informally known as (the) WOKEMAN, Smokeman might seem like just another low diff mapper at a first glance. No less is true, as he manages to provide deep and daring map designs to the lower brackets of players. Opting for the largely unexplored orchestral genre with songs like "Kyoumen no Nami" and "Shinsha", Smokeman really leaves an emotional impact for everyone to enjoy. I'm excited to see what other adventurous slidershapes he can come up with during 2019.

Smug Nanachi written by lcfc
  • Smug Nanachi ranked his first two maps this year, with the most notable one being a cut of Feryquitous' Central Nucleus, featuring interestingly designed difficulties that cater to many types of players.

SnowNiNo_ written by ScubDomino
  • SnowNiNo_ has really made a name for themselves in 2018 with the ranking of maps like Sidetracked Day and Shukusai no Elementalia. With a good understanding of visual composition derived from mappers such as Monstrata and Nathan, they are able to bring Insane additions to the ranked maps listing, and we hope to see more from them in 2019!

sodarose written by Mordred
  • sodarose sadly was not very active this year, however they still managed to rank a full size spread with all diffs made by themselves, something I will always consider impressive.

Sonnyc written by Mirash
  • A modder and mapper who was sent to us from the heavens, Sonnyc took part in the BNG for almost the whole year while mapping and ranking 8 mapsets in total, including several as part of the Mappers' Guild. His style has been developing to utilize modern fast sliders - shown in his mapset of Cranky's "Rave 2 Rave" - but he also occasionally maps "gimmicky" mapsets, for example his map of "Los! Los! Los!" where he used zero sliders. Let's hope his contribution to the game keeps being present in 2019 as well.

Sotarks written by Hobbes2
  • Just as he was in 2017, Sotarks has undoubtedly been one of 2018's most prolific mappers. Quite the controversial and infamous figure in the community, Sotarks continued his highly active ranking of maps. Sotarks can safely claim the title of "mapper with the most plays on their maps." Regardless of your opinion on him, it's hard to deny that being something of an achievement, for better or for worse.

SquareTude written by yaspo
  • They say "be there or be square", but Squaretude is a notable exception to the rule. As a rookie they quite literally dabbed their way into the ranked section, getting their first ranked map "More One Night" into top played. For All I Know, that was enough to keep Squaretude Glued to the ranked section. They really Rise to the occasion by adding another 5 ranked sets to the listing. Whatever he does, Squaretude has carved his name into the game, and he definitely won't be forgotten anytime soon with his most recent and upcoming works!

squirrelpascals written by Hobbes2
  • Perhaps best known for his circle size choices and song selection, squirrelpascals is a mapper and BN who made outstanding contributions to the game across 2018. He started the year off strong with a beautiful mapset of Shindig - Stutter, an artist he would continue to map for. Whenever you load up a squirrelpascals map, you can be certain of a couple things: 1 - the map will be unique, and 2 - the song will be a banger.

squishi written by Nao Tomori
  • squishi ranked "Mimikyu no Uta" by YUPPA at the start of 2018, an upbeat Pokemon song. He doesn't seem to map too much anymore, but make sure to check out his other uploaded maps, which are set to a mix of Pokemon and j-pop related songs.

SrSkyPlayer written by yaspo
  • Even though they weren't very active in 2017, SrSkyPlayer definitely showed their presence last year. Both sets and GDs they ranked are a testament of their ability to map clean and engaging insane diffs. Especially notable is their GD on "Kaen", proving that SrSkyPlayer can make any type of pattern work smoothly. Can't wait to see more of this Senhor in 2019!

Stack written by Nao Tomori
  • Stack truly lived up to his name, speedrunning the entire mapping system and ending up as a QAT after a few short months of high-activity BN work. He mostly maps utaite covers and anime songs, but also ranked a few songs by Touhou doujin circle Akatsuki Records. In addition to mapping, he maintains high nomination and QAT activity alongside reviewing BN apps and keeping the system running smoothly.

Starfy written by StarrStyx
  • Starfy, despite not being an exceptionally popular name, is still fairly well known within the mapping community for his very nicely executed mapping concepts in maps such as Little Little Wish and Six Trillion Years. Although this year he only ranked a version of X-encounter, he is still semi active in mapping, and we look forward to what this hell mapper will bring us in the following year.

StarrStyx written by lcfc
  • Even though StarrStyx's activity has dropped since, say, 2016 (having made the mapsets he's mostly known for, such as Paradisus-Paradoxum as well as the trio of seal songs), he still has made meaningful contributions to making the ranked section a better place, mapping many different genres. Whether you have liked or disliked his maps previously, his new ones are undoubtedly worth a look for they show his improvement throughout the years!

Stjpa written by Mordred
  • Despite having more or less quit mapping, Stjpa still ranked a set of Cream puff's "Mermaid girl" in early 2018. While he was aiming to get back into the BNG after leaving it in early 2017, it appears he lost motivation to do so. Lets hope he regains some of that in 2019!

Strategas written by Niva
  • One of a few mappers who are very closely associated with DnB song mapping, Strategas managed to get a single DnB ranked map this year (The Journey (feat. Veela)) despite becoming generally less active in the community now after stepping down from his BN role. If there's one thing that I would like to see him do personally in the future, it is for him to map a High Tea Music song (aside from No More) now that the label has become featured in osu! as that would be very interesting!

Sulfur written by ScubDomino
  • An avid follower of the "pathing" style developed by big mappers like kiddly and Kloyd, Sulfur's maps feature powerful rhythms and placements you can ever get bored of playing. Go play some of his recent maps like "Une mage blanche" and "FAFNIR" and you'll see what I'm talking about!

Sun Rainbow written by Niva
  • Sun Rainbow may have at first debuted in the Ranked section by mapping songs from popular anime series, but as of recently he has been shifting more towards exploring the exotic influences of oriental-sounding atmospheric tracks. His only Ranked map in 2018 -- Luan Feng Ming's All In The Past, a traditional ambient Chinese song -- may not be the most challenging in terms of difficulty, but it's definitely worth the download as it'll instead immerse your mind on a spiritual level through its storyboard and its general ambience.

Sure written by Sulfur
  • After roughly one year of a break from mapping, Sure ranked Believe -- their 55th ranked set, done in an old fashion with a clean, based around symmetry mapping style. Let's hope their contribution to the game keeps being present in 2019 as well.

Sylas written by yaspo
  • More recognizable as TheKoala. Sylas is a fellow Belgian mapper I 100% support. Even though there wasn't really any need for another version of "Granat", they made up for it by ranking one of Camellia's new bangers: "Quaoar". This map has literally everything you'd expect for a song like this, from exotic slidershapes to tricky stream patterns. An intense map paired with an insane difficulty that does a solid job at introducing it, TheKoala shows what he's made of to both mappers and players. Hoping to see them keep up the great work this year!

Syph written by yaspo
  • Syph had another great year in the ranked section with maps that can be both unsurprisingly or surprisingly difficult. The high bpm aim challenge "Sky of the Ocean" and the creeping build-up in "Marigold" are prime examples of this. 2019 shows no signs of pausing for Syph, though with their maps' difficulty we aren't sure if we are ... Ready For It?

SyraxAxoJaxco written by yaspo
  • Another pleasant year for the digidestined SyraxAxoJaxco. With a second ranked map on the Digimon Universe OP "DIVE", their love for lower difficulties only becomes more apparent. It's only a small thing, but many small things can make something great! We're hoping to see SyraxAxoJaxco continue just that this year.

Takekii written by Halfslashed
  • By temporarily name changing to "Hanasaka Yui", Takekii made sure to go above and beyond the call of 2017's most popular song, "Harumachi Clover," by becoming one with the singer herself, then mapping a difficulty on "Aozora Morning Glory (TV Size)". Aside from that, he did rank a mapset of his own, further cementing his tastes in anime/eroge songs. Fans of these songs will be delighted in 2019, i'm sure.

tasuke912 written by Niva
  • Contrary to popular belief, yes, tasuke912, the osu!taiko BN and Champion himself, does map osu!standard as well! Although we only saw two Ranked osu!standard sets coming out from him this year, it's obvious though that he developed a solid view of the osu!standard mapping scene especially looking at his yanaginagi - here and there map.

Tatan written by Nao Tomori
  • Tatan maps various genres of pop music - k-pop, j-pop, and even reggaeton. His uploaded maps show a unique blend of Love Live, Post Malone, and several other rarely mapped styles of music. Be sure to keep up with his mapping if you enjoy pop genres that are rarely mapped in osu!

tatemae written by Mirash
  • Formerly known as Anishina Kodoku, tatemae is a dreamer and a romantic who, some may not know, prevented the Russian community from stalling thanks to his useful content. He kept ranking his maps this year too and managed to move 4 of them to the Ranked section for the osu! audience. Clean and attractive maps, interesting and enjoyable patterns, inspiring and warming songs — all of that you can find in Anishina maps really quickly, just download any of them, it's all there, waiting for the strangers to click. 2019 will suffer without him.

Testo written by Mirash
  • Testo made a huge amount of 17 ranked mapsets in the year of 2018. You can see an early inspiration from "clean"-style mappers and a more "tech"-style later. He also has a pretty established view on how to hitsound his maps and you can see it across almost every mapset. Variety in song choice is also a thing that makes his player-audience bigger; good job and will see him making maps in 2019 too!

Theaceae written by Hobbes2
  • If you hadn't known that he changed his name, you may have downloaded Theaceae's "first" ranked map and been blown away at its quality. But make no mistake, Theaceae is a well experienced mapper and player who ranked a single mapset in 2018, a cool rock song called My Famed Disappearing Act by Thank You Scientist. The song's interesting rhythms are fully explored in what is quite the map. It can only be considered a disappointment that Theaceae wasn't more active (his other map was a GD); hopefully we can see great things from him in 2019.

TheKingHenry written by yaspo
  • TheKingHenry is a rather surprising name on this year's rookie listing. Where most upcoming mappers get told to start off with something that isn't 8 minutes of high bpm deathstreams, this metal fan went the complete opposite direction. He pushed out an insane total 45 minutes drain time across only 6 ranked maps, topped off by "Libera" which is over 12 minutes long. Players who wanted more maps in this niche couldn't have asked for more. That's not even mentioning that he also got into the BNG in January. Undoubtedly this is an incredible start for a mapper, so let's see if TheKingHenry can keep it up!

TheNexus written by Nao Tomori
  • TheNexus ranked their first set, a marathon map of "The Undertaker's Daughter" by steampianist, in November 2018. Their other maps feature various EDM artists like Aero Chord, Noisestorm and Panda Eyes. They don't seem to be very active recently, but take a look at their graveyard for a litany of other Insane and Extra difficulty maps.

thiev written by yaspo
  • 2018 is an exciting year for thiev, as he adds another entry to Hype feat. Such listing for players to enjoy. Being new to the ranked scene, this map shows that he's plenty capable of bundling a bunch of interesting patterns into one fun package. With their super groovy start of 2019, thiev undoubtedly is someone worth checking out.

Tigger written by Nao Tomori
  • Tigger, formerly known as Xoul and [Soul], ranked his first set in February 2018. While that set is a chill spread on a calm anime song, many of his uploaded maps are much more intense; he's mapped things like Unlucky Morpheus, Reol, ICDD and My First Story in addition to the calm piano songs.

Time Freeze written by Mirash
  • New to the ranked section, Time Freeze, also known as _Sh1ro, ranked a short mapset for a song called "Sassou Toujou!Neko-san" and then came to a halt. Other than that map, he occasionally uploaded some of his other creations; will see if he decides to push some of them in 2019!

timemon written by Mirash
  • Fellow VN-club buddy who ranked a total of 8 mapsets in 2018, most of which were spreads. Mainly focusing on, unexpectedly enough, eroge music, he also mapped tracks from some of his favorite singers in a style that doesn't go overboard and is pretty simple yet structured nicely, just enough for people to enjoy the music. Good luck in exploring the depth of Japanese language and seeing more maps from him in 2019!

Tofu1222 written by Niva
  • Tofu1222 may be best known for his plethora of contributions to the osu!mania sphere in and out, but beyond that he is actually someone who had done a lot of hybrid sets and has a firm grasp on other game modes as well! Despite on last year thoughout the osu!standard ranking scene he only contributed on a single Normal diff on his Datte Atashi no Hero mapset, Tofu1222 also has some other osu!standard maps on his graveyard to be sought out for the curious.

tokiko written by Mordred
  • Certainly not a new name to those familiar with the Touhou mapping scene, tokiko returns to the ranked section once again, bringing you 4 really cute simple maps, including their own take on Demetori's "Kourou ~ Eastern Dream", showcasing that you can make very nice experiences without the need of concepts. They seem to be staying for longer so I'm excited to see what 2019 will bring!

Tomadoi written by Mordred
  • Not many mappers can say they've completed over a 100 maps. Tomadoi is one of those. Having submitted 130 maps by the time of writing this comment, it is sure to say that he seems to enjoy what he's doing. And all that hard work paid off in the end resulting in him ranking his first map in october 2018, and another right at the end of the year. Now that he's set the cornerstone for his mapping career, only time can tell how far he'll go in 2019.

Toumei Dragon written by Niva
  • An up and coming potential star, Toumei Dragon has been no stranger to the editor despite only first appearing in the Ranked section this year with his rendition of Mizuki Nana's VIRGIN CODE. Prior to this map, he has however self-taught a great deal by getting his hands on a broad range of songs (he even attempted to chart osu!mania once) -- the result is an exceptionally clean mapset that is highly commendable for a mapper who only debuted this year's MCA in the Rookie category.

toybot written by Mirash
  • toybot has ranked 10 of his mapsets in 2018 and showed good activity throughout almost whole year, but eventually found himself as an osu! gamer. Now he clicks circles, not places them. Clean maps that catch song very well, accompanied with thoughtful movements provide a pleasant gameplay experience. He was a part of Mappers Guild and did some cool beatmaps for new featured artists too. Will see if 2019 will bring us more maps from toybot!

Toyosaki Aki written by yaspo
  • A pretty quiet year for Toyosaki Aki, just ranking one set in March. That set does not disappoint however. Matching DJ Totto's energetic "Illumina" with a very compatible map, Aki really shows that they shouldn't be underestimated. Even if they weren't very active in 2018, Toyosaki Aki's pending maps look promising for the year to come!

Troponoop written by yaspo
  • With a play history graph that flatlines in recent times, it's clear that Troponoop has Forsaken playing to dedicate himself to mapping and modding. In 2018 that dedication finally got rewarded with a first ranked map! Troponoop's mapping style is all about not holding back, perplexing the player with one unique slidershape after the other. I'm certain they'll make a return this year if they keep up the good work.

Trust written by Mordred
  • A rather old member of the community at this point, Trust once again decides to push something to ranked, the map being SMiLE.dk - Koko Soko. Featuring a simple style, it shows that maps can be enjoyable without any complexity.

Trynna written by Mirash
  • Fellow dorchadas crew buddy that came into 2018 and spent it ranking his lovely maps, with 11 in total as well as a bunch of guest difficulties too. Despite being a rookie, he also achieved beatmap nominator status on his first try and gave his heart to Sharlo; great job on that! Joined Mappers Guild and started helping the licensed side of osu! grow. Despite his retirement from BN at the end of the year, Trynna kept his activity at a good pace; he is still young and has a long journey of mapping ahead, if IRL stuff keeps being consistent. Hopefully will see him with a strong appearance throughout 2019.

TT Mouse written by Mordred
  • If you like Sawano Hiroyuki, you should take a look at TT Mouse's maps from this year. Coming back to the ranked section after taking a break for a few years, they continue to deliver quality nzk maps, one marathon and one shorter full spread.

tutuhaha written by Halfslashed
  • Known mainly for her presence in earlier years with some of the more interesting vocaloid and anime maps, tutuhaha has continued the trend this year with maps like "All I Need are Things I Like" and "Unknown Mother-Goose", the former of which was featured in spotlights. Her maps may provoke a positive response from those entranced by older mapping styles, as they are definitely designed to provide a fun challenge that doesn't really go overboard. Hoping to continue see more from her in the future.

Uberzolik written by lcfc
  • Even as a rookie, Uberzolik managed to deliver some very uniquely designed maps this year. From his own sets to his guest difficulties, his irregular object placement and movement make up for a very interesting experience. Should you be looking for something different than your typical map, Uberzolik's maps are bound to deliver. Only time will tell what else we can expect from him in the future!

Ultima Fox written by Icekalt
  • After ranking two sets in 2016 and 2017, Ultima Fox really started to get active in 2018 with 6 different mapsets in the ranked section. His rendition of "M2U - Stellar" in particular, showed their ability to create maps with exciting gameplay, without being too hard to play. Another great achievement or theirs was joining the BNG in early 2018. Let's hope that they will show his mapping skills as well this year.

Ulysses written by StarrStyx
  • You will most likely know Ulysses as nold_1702, well-known for multiple maps such as Ningen Shikkaku, Blu, and more. Sadly this year is probably the last year we would be seeing nold in the ranked section, with his last map Nostalgic getting ranked earlier this year, yet he and his maps will still be praised in the years to come.

UndeadCapulet written by Hobbes2
  • 2018 was a wild year for UndeadCapulet. Starting off with controversial projects such as Rendezvous and Deal with the devil left a sour taste in the mouths of many. Despite the negative reputation UC managed to bring himself, you’ll find many mappers and players saying that some of UC’s projects were among their favorites in 2018. It’s not often that you’ll find a mapper whose maps are this polarizing. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny his influence on the mapping sphere through his mapping or nominations.

Underdogs written by Mordred
  • The one and only updog. Being a fan of idol and especially Roselia, they ranked 4 maps this year, with 3 of them being Roselia songs. I am fairly certain that Underdogs contribution with these maps resulted in Roselia becoming a lot more popular later on in 2018.

Underforest written by yaspo
  • UnderForest was super active again this year, easily doubling their amount of ranked maps and gds. All of them them are crispy clean and better than the previous ones. Most notable is that each of Forest's own sets is a lot more fleshed out than in 2017, making them enjoyable by all imaginable audiences. It's great to see that UnderForest has turned over a new leaf, they certainly will be welcomed back after their mapping break!

UnitedWeSin written by UndeadCapulet
  • UnitedWeSin was a respected mapper during the 2013-2014 era, but went on a roughly 4 year hiatus from the ranked section. In 2018 they returned to rank their interpretation of "Fujijo Seitokai Shikkou-bu - Best FriendS". It's always cool to see older mappers returning, and always cool to see different interpretations of well-known osu! songs. We hope to see them rank more stuff before 2022.

Uta written by Niva
  • Having only discovered the game in very late 2016, it feels unreal to this day that Uta has achieved so much (including being accepted as a BN) in a very short time -- during his early osu! days he quickly discovered that the osu!editor is the wonderland he had been longing for, and what followed was a blazing hot trail of fire. Considering his significant improvement history, it will surely be very interesting to take note of what 2019 has to offer for Uta!

val0108 written by ScubDomino
  • val0108 is a great example of a mapper who's adapted their style to modern standards well! Bringing his signature style, with a few modern refinements, he's managed to rank his "Chiisana Koi no Uta" map and get to have a say to both the mapping and playing community that despite being an old mapper, he can, indeed, still keep up with the community's roaring expectations! With his recent upsurge in mapping activity in 2018, I'm hyped to see more from val this year also!

Vell written by VINXIS
  • Vell is a wonderful mapper who creates very unique and diverse types of maps. From mapping fleshbound in 2017 to MALFORMED BOX in 2018, Vell is an unstoppable force in creating beatmaps that have their own personality as well as being super enjoyable to play. Always excited to see a new Vell map in ranked! Can't wait to see what else he has in stock for the future!

Venix written by Mordred
  • After being absent from the ranked section for nearly 2 years, Venix decided to start ranking maps again, mostly really short sub 1 minute ones. Glad someone is trying to help people who easily get nervous to fc maps.

Veridian written by Mordred
  • A mapper who really likes animal crossing. After exclusively ranking songs from it, including the legendary 12 low diff set "Manaka Kataoka & Atsuko Asahi - Gozen 1-ji (Rain)", they decided it's time for a change of pace and made a very challenging map of "AAAA - carnation". If you've grown tired of animal crossing, you should definitely check this out!

Vert written by Mirash
  • Mentee of a yf_bmp, good and unconventional mapper from China, ranked a pretty straighforward mapset for a song called "nano - DREAMCATCHER" in 2018 with some guest difficulties, that are also not trying their best at being unconventional. Change in pace is good for maintaining fun in what you do sometimes. Hoping to see Vert coming back in 2019, as for the most part of previous from it year, he did nothing.

Vespirit written by yaspo
  • Hearing the opening of "My Life As A Teenage Robot" is a nostalgia trip I didn't expect to have while writing this. However, Vespirit is here to bring back memories of a joyful past. Nostalgia aside, Vesiprit definitely blasted into the ranked section last year with their own ranked set and a list of ranked gds. Even though HC likes to map shorter songs, that doesn't hold them back from filling every difficulty with a ton of fun patterns. With all the OSTs in their graveyard, I wouldn't be surprised if Vespirit triggers my nostalgia again this year!

victorfernando written by Mordred
  • victorfernando ranked their first set in mid 2018, a short version of nameless x toa - Patchwork Staccato. Lets see if they will continue ranking maps in 2019.

VINXIS written by Halfslashed
  • Previously known as Mishima Yurara, VINXIS aka Omar Kamal has continued to show the community that there is no limit to contribution. Omar is the primary organizer behind community events such as Corsace Open, Corsace Invitational, and the very MCA/AYIM that makes this comment possible. Additionally, he has even reached the ranks of a Featured Artist, providing tracks like "Sidetracked Day" to the community, in which all ranked mapsets combined total nearly 2 million plays. Somehow in his busy schedule, he also finds time to map and rank several interesting mapsets. Through all these efforts, his love for the game and the joy it brings to people is clear as day, to the point where it'd be hard to imagine osu! without these contributions.
VINXIS
Featured Artist
3,161 posts
Joined April 2014
Topic Starter
VINXIS

osu!standard VO - ZZ


Voli written by Hobbes2
  • Want to play some good pop songs? Look no further than Voli. You won't find much anime here; Voli's maps from 2018 were some pop, some rock, and some VGM; a far cry from the typical genre spread. His maps can be described as a modern twist on a classic style, something many will find themselves enjoying.

Wafu written by Stack
  • Only ranking one normal diff in 2018 and not really doing much aside from that, the good thing is that its an Aimer song and I will always welcome that. 2019 also hasn't showed any activity at all, maybe with a future Aimer song they'll come back to bring us more.

wajinshu written by Mirash
  • wajinshu wasn't that active as she used to be, but still ranked three mapsets for a variable songs of languages: Ukrainian, Korean and Japanese. Providing that content she spent 2018 well and will do so in 2019 as it seems.

Walshy written by Sulfur
  • After roughly 2 years of mapping Walshy finally managed to rank their own mapset -- walls, a lo-fi song to relax/study to.

wcx19911123 written by Mirash
  • Well known mapper, that wasn't too active for past few years, has ranked a mapset, full made by himself, on a song called "BAND JA NAIMON! - METAMORISER", shows his vibes in anime shows. Wasn't so active otherwise, definitely will be waiting for his appearance in 2019.

William K written by UndeadCapulet
  • William K ranked 2 mapsets in 2018, both on calmer, more relaxing songs than the usual ranked map. Their clean style is a good fit for these types of songs, making for a nice relaxing experience. They also supported other sets this year through lower difficulty gd's. These sorts of contributions to the ranked section are always appreciated.

wolf3211 written by yaspo
  • GD'ing for the similarly named friends Cris- and Crissa, Wolf3211 hits the ranked section for the first time in 2018. While they had a humble start, with strides of improvement they also ranked their own mapset for "Kowareyasuki". Contrary to their favorite mappers, Wolf's maps are simple but still heaps of fun. Here's to seeing more of them this year!

Wuab written by Nao Tomori
  • Wuab ranked his first map in May 2018. He then name changed to kuaib in order to get a BN check on what became his second ranked map in November. His maps are mostly j-pop, anime, and eroge songs, coming in around the Insane difficulty level. He recently began mapping more actively, so stay on the lookout for more of his stuff in the ranked section.

Xarr written by yaspo
  • Making his debut on the energetic dnb song "When Time Sleeps" by Helblinde, Xarr shows us he has a knack for mapping in a clean and enjoyable style. On top of that, it's clear that he can competently map every difficulty level. This set is no small feat for a newcomer to the ranked section, let's hope he keeps up the good work!

Xayler written by yaspo
  • Taking clearly after his inspirations and mentor, Xayler finally makes his first steps into the ranked section in 2018. Both "Slow Dive" and "Onward" feature insane difficulties that allow players to get absorbed into the song.Even though Xayler's style is simple, it's a solid foundation that makes me curious of how he will journey Onward in 2019.

Xenok written by yaspo
  • If you're looking for more Hatsuki Yura, then Xenok is your new go-to. This rookie's debut on "Fairlady:Reincarnation" is only the beginning of their love for strong vocals and intense instrumentals, as it's soon followed by impressive gds on "Amatsu Kitsune" and Mili's "Vulnerability". Sadly Xenok doesn't seem very active lately, though we hope they stick around to share more of this incredible song choice!

Xilver15 written by Halfslashed
  • Previously known as Xilver, Xilver15 continued to put out high quality mapsets of rhythm game songs this year, including "Once Upon a Time" and the infamous high CS HR pick in the OWC 2018 Grand Finals, "Izanami's wail". His style varies quite a bit from map to map, but the quality is always solid, as are the ideas he brings to the ranked section. Definitely a trend I'd like to see continue into 2019 and beyond.

xLolicore- written by StarrStyx
  • Ah, yes. A mapper that has the infamous Harumachi Clover as their first ranked difficulty. xLolicore- is mostly known for his GD's, especially on sets such as Realazy's Dropz -Line- and Grayed Out, but he still manages to rank a set of his own, a version of the the popular Lost Emotion hardcore remix. He certainly is a fast improving mapper, and we hope to see more of his stuff in 2019!

XVoIR written by yaspo
  • Not afraid of mapping a song in his native language, Xvoir makes his first entry in the ranked section with the polish "Tarzan JJayJoker". I wonder if this mysterious joker will make a return in 2019, but I'm certain he'll make progress as a high level player.

Yahuri written by Monstrata
  • I had the opportunity to nominate Yahuri's first ranked map, and immediately saw a lot of promise in her unique take on hex-grid mapping. Yahuri's mapping style incorporates a wonderful combination of equidistant patterns and spacing techniques, along with a looser mapping structure. This results in visually pleasing patterns while still giving a wealth of variety to her maps. If you like Bungo Stray Dogs, male vocals, BL, or just want to play some high quality and enjoyable maps, definitely look up Yahuri!

Yales written by Mirash
  • 2018 brought us a great comeback from a great mapper; it's nice to see such a cool person being very active on mapping fields again! Despite his sudden shift into the taiko game mode at the later half of 2018, Yales still managed to rank some standard maps too! His maps connect the vocals and intensity of the song to the mapping and often you'll forget you're even playing an osu! map; it's like looking at a piece of artwork in a museum. The songs he mapped were mostly from other rhythm games, but later on he joined Drum Circle and started mapping songs that are licensed for osu! to use, contributing to the community even more content to play. I can say for sure that 2019 will be a solid year for him and maybe we will see something mapped using circles and sliders too!

Yamicchi written by yaspo
  • Yamicchu? Yamichui? Yomochoi?? Yummycchi?! As a mapper with as many nicknames as maps, Yamicchi definitely was well received again this year. They stand out with engaging electronic maps which will easily catch you off guard, like "Tuy Am" and "Venom". Their tv size maps also are just a blast to play. We're happy to see Yamicchi continue what they're doing this year, as all the praises they've collected are definitely well deserved!

Yasaija 714 written by Mordred
  • Ranking 15 maps in a single year is no easy feat, yet Yasaija accomplished just that! Exclusively ranking songs with female japanese vocals, they are sure to have something to fit people's taste. It's also worth noting that they often give up the highest difficulty on their sets to let others take the spotlight or just have lots of guest difficulties above their own difficulties in general in order to have as many different takes on a song as possible.

yaspo written by Halfslashed
  • A rookie in 2017, yaspo has definitely taken the past year as chance to improve from being hopeful to accomplished. This year he became a member of the BNG, as well as ranked more concept based sets for both mappers and players to enjoy. He's also taken on a great amount of responsibility in the community mentorship program, both as an organizer and mentor. Really hope we'll continue to see more great things from him in years to come!

Yauxo written by yaspo
  • Yauxo shows their love for energetic rhythm game music once again, following up 2017's "We're so Happy" with "I'm so Happy". This even more rhythm-oriented map definitely is worth checking out! We can only wonder if there will come a part 3 this year on a track called "They're so Happy" ..Yauxo also briefly joined the BNG during 2018, but stepped out before the end of the year. Even though his stay was short, his efforts are highly appreciated!

yf_bmp written by ScubDomino
  • yf_bmp has never disappointed us, not even this year! With his mastery on visual-patterning coherence, he has made lots of very great maps, despite most of them being guest difficulties for other mappers. His renditions of sakuzyo's "Laplace" and Camellia and Akira Complex's "Railgun Roulette (VIP)" proves this, and all in all we can't wait to see more maps from this guy in 2019!

Yohanes written by Mirash
  • I'll try to avoid that word this time. Yohanes spent the year of 2018 not being very active and yet ranked 5 mapsets in his charming style, complex yet simple. His mapping provides an experience that you'll never forget, accompanied by fun songs and solid hitsounding that represent the song nicely. Will be waiting for 2019 maps by him!

Yonaka- written by Mirash
  • New mapper to the ranked section that did very well in mapping the Evangelion opening in a double-bpm style, which represents the intense moments of the song greatly. She has ideas for what to do in a map to tie it better with the song, like mapping for the video for example. See her in 2019 with a solid appearance.

YooA written by yaspo
  • Priorly known as "Revia", this newcomer adds another solid set to the "Re:Tryment" listing. With an overflow of guest difficulties, they ensure every player has something they'll love playing. YooA's difficulty absolutely doesn't fall short to some of the experienced mappers on the set. Sadly, they haven't been very active recently, but we're still hopeful for their return!

Yoshimaro written by Sulfur
  • New to the ranked scene, Yoshimaro managed to rank two fantastic beatmaps, and easily stands out from other rookies with DANCE ALL NIGHT -- their first ranked mapset with 10 difficulties, being a pleasant experience to everyone who appreciates variety in rhythm choices and challenging patterns. Hope to see more from them in 2019!

yShadowXOP_ written by Nao Tomori
  • yShadowXOP_ ranked two sets in 2018, the opening from Katanagatari and the opening from Pan de Peace. Both cap out around the Insane difficulty level. However, his maps are not exclusively of anime songs: he's also mapped Imperial Circus Dead Decadence as well as various other metal artists. We look forward to seeing him continue his fast improvement into the future.

Yudragen written by Nao Tomori
  • Yudragen, formerly known as ChaoticRed, entered the ranked section in April 2018 with a Sawano Hiroyuki songs compilation. He maps nearly exclusively anime, and most of his top difficulties reach around the 6* mark. He has a particular taste for Sawano, Kawada Mami and other female vocalists. Be sure to give his maps a try if you enjoy those artists.

Yugu written by yaspo
  • With how established Yugu has become, you'd almost forget they only barely weren't a rookie in 2018. No matter what gd or set, Yugu's CS4-avoidant style always has an interesting aim challenge to offer. Stand-out examples are the precise cs4.5 aim map "Towa ni Saku Hana" and surpising 1/4 patterns on both "Feel it" and "Jue". I'm interested in seeing Yugu's progress this year, will he push his circle sizes even further, or will he find even more inventive ways to use them? Only one way to find out!

Yukiyo written by Stack
  • Starting 2018 as a mapper known purely for supercell that has changed for sure. Branching out to other kinds of music and away from the pretty hexgrid style from before has opened up a lot of new ways of mapping which can very clearly be seen in all of his recent maps like kyuutie ladies. Not only that as he has also become a bn later in the year. All in all yukiyo has proven their capability in all different kinds of fields!

YukiZura- written by Nao Tomori
  • YukiZura- enjoys mapping anime and Kano. He entered the ranked section with a map of "Daisy Blue" by Kano, and followed it up with two TV sizes later in the year, along with two Easy GDs. His other uploaded maps include various other Kano and anime songs, so give YukiZura- a shot if you like clean Insane and Extras accompanied by cute j-pop vocals.

Yusomi written by lcfc
  • While previously known for several of his maps in the graveyard, Yusomi decided to step his game up and rank 3 maps this year, all of which showcase the mapping experience he's accumulated over the years very well! Should you be looking for irregular yet fun and well designed maps, look no further; Yusomi's creations might just be your cup of tea!

z1085684963 written by Mirash
  • He was active enough to rank three of his mapsets and generally mapped some various rhythm-game-like tracks in his, I'd say, unique style that uses anti-jumps and non conventional movements that are often much easier to play than they look. Great representation of music and solid hitsounding, what else would you want from a map? Hopefully z1085684963 or else known as [rasis] will be as active as possible in 2019!

Zallies written by Niva
  • Have you ever been -- or at least seen someone who has been -- trying to map something but quickly backed off due to the song being a timing hell? Now, how about if you were a rookie mapper who desired to map a particular song you really love but the song turned out to be in the need of 472 timing lines in order to be timed correctly? It might not sound plausible, but that's just what exactly struck Zallies in 2018 with his Sayonara Memories map. Yes, sometimes wonders do happen!

Zer0- written by Halfslashed
  • A mapper who made his debut last year, Zer0- both appealed to players and mappers alike with a ranked set and a loved set of popular songs. If you're into electronic songs, he's definitely someone to check out.

Zero__wind written by UndeadCapulet
  • Zero__wind has been a prolific mapper and active BN for many years now, as well as helping the community as a GMT. In 2018 they started to drift from the mapping community, and resigning from BN at the start of the year. They did still rank 2 mapsets this year, with their "Lynn - Fair wind" set made to show off a collab difficulty from two ancient mappers. We hope to see Zero__wind return to the ranked section or the BNG another day, but wish them the best in their life should they choose otherwise.

Zetera written by Niva
  • Being one of the only six certified Skylords in the game (at the time of writing), it is only fitting to describe Zetera's mapping as being very vivid with a high display of versatility. But what truly epitomizes Zetera as a proficient mapper is his capability to map with complex SV manipulations and multi-BPM songs without cluttering the general structure -- something he has very much mastered through his experience in being an active osu!taiko mapper as well. Cool and good!

zhu written by yaspo
  • Zhu had an insane start to their mapping carreer in 2018. A debut with a whopping 11 own ranked sets turns them into a mapper who's already known around the community. Even more impressive is the variety in their mapping, the alt styled "Ooedo Ranvu", slow "Ref:rain" and unique stream designs on their "5150" really show just how versatile Zhu can be. We've seen a lot of growth from Zhu throughout the year, so we're excited to see how much further they can take it this year!

ZinedineZidane written by Mordred
  • Not to be confused with the french football player, ZinedineZidane joins the ranked mappers club with their map of Waterflame's "Wingless". It is noteworthy that they made the entire set themselves, something you don't see that often for new mappers.

Zinreu written by Mirash
  • Zinreu had joy mapping meme Russian song and fun maps for a while, but he eventually decided to make something with a clear goal of ranking in mind and has succeeded with his "Liz Triangle - Who Killed U.N.Owen". It turned out to be a pretty solid ar8 map that keeps players attention attached to the song greatly. Let motivation not leave him in 2019 and ideas to come.

ZLOdeuka- written by Mirash
  • Glad to see such an old mapper coming back to rank two of their sets; you can never expect anyone to leave osu! forever. She gifted players a New Year's themed map and tried her hand at modern mapping techniques Will see what her contributions it be in 2019!

ZZHBOY written by Niva
  • The name ZZHBOY is perhaps most associated with the osu!mania mapping scene and other VSRGs in general (I even saw his name accidentally on Arcaea's leaderboard once) but beyond that, he's actually a very capable osu!standard mapper as well! Although he's not very active nowadays, in 2018 ZZHBOY managed to rank Yokuatsu Sakuran Girl -- a highly chaotic song in its nature which was very fittingly mapped with a lot of sharp linear angles and turns.
VINXIS
Featured Artist
3,161 posts
Joined April 2014
Topic Starter
VINXIS

osu!taiko _ - PO



_DUSK_ written by Raiden
  • I remember getting to know him waaay back in at least 2015 when I had just gotten into the BNG. His enthusiasm in the mode fascinated me quite a bit for a 13 year old. Now he's all grown up, having gained enough maturity as well as fantastic mapping and modding (and playing!) skills at taiko. Each and every one of his ranked mapsets were ranked this year, so I expect lots of things from this guy in the coming years!

-GN Junior written by Alwaysyukaz
  • A person who is also known as "The One Room Anime Series Maniac Mapper", -GN Junior marked the end of 2018 with a doublet of "Harumachi Clover" mapsets, and another anime mapset which is really interesting to see. His mapping skills improved substantially from October until December, which is proven with his streak of three ranked maps in three months! That's insanely fast for a person who's fairly new in the taiko community. Can't wait to see his progress in the next year, by the way!

-Kazu- written by Greenshell
  • Quite an unique mapper we've got here, -Kazu- made his way from your "regular" modder over to the BNG and now stands here as one of our three QAT members. That aside, after a long-lasting absence of ranking maps (and occasionally GDs) on his own, he came back big this year with a number of maps that are all masterpieces for themselves! If I had to name one or two of his maps coming right to my mind, I'd definitely pick "Figue Folle" and "Feline, the White...". The former is impeccably diverse and pinpoints everything in the rather chaotic song perfectly along with cleverly implemented extras, while the latter brings a one-of-a-kind approach to o!taiko with its SV concepts and sheer beautiful translation of a breakcore song into a map. I'm not gonna give away too much though, as all of his maps, both ranked and graveyarded, are worth playing through!

-Leafeon written by Nepuri
  • Primarily known as one of the best players in Germany today, Leaf is by no means an illiterate when it comes to mapping, due to the fact that he ranked his first mapset "Drop - Granat" in 2018, showing that he does have the brains to make a solid mapset and rank it as well. In him I see a lot of untapped potential as a mapper and a modder (more than he would like to admit), and I think he would be an excellent mapper if given the push in the right direction.

-Sh1n1- written by Raiden
  • An old friend of mine who finally managed to get into the BNG. He's fairly known for having a certain degree of multi-mode proficiency, and while he's not an osu!taiko BN, I would certainly not mind having him aboard. His knowledge of several modes (but most importantly, osu!taiko, obviously!) and his great capabilities at pushing solid mapsets to rank from various genres make him a great asset to the community. Keep it up!

-Tenshi- written by komasy
  • -Tenshi- is a French mapper that mainly makes maps with videogame tracks. He has ranked mapsets from many famous game tracks until recently, in particular he made a mapset that can be enjoyed even by beginners with "Snowdin Town", from the widely popular game UNDERTALE in 2018. We hope that from now on -Tenshi- will continue to make maps which players can feel the charm of videogame music!

[_Chichinya_] written by -Kazu-
  • Chichinya is the kind of guy who shines in positivism and cheers up everybody around him and I think most of us can agree on that and even admire him for it. He is also a really one of the most grindy mappers, as he has done a lot of maps throughout the year, even though he only managed to rank one. Parodia Sonatina is truly a beautiful map that I felt was worth pushing towards ranking (even though it costed everything to get ranked) and a quite exquisite experience from a mapper that is still trying to establish himself as one of the most known, truly a masterpiece and something you should really go ahead and play.

[R] written by Alwaysyukaz
  • Being known as a mapper with solid structure in each of his Guest Difficulties, [R] a.k.a Ron provides us with his interesting eroge and Japanese songs this year. Something different from the previous years is that he pushed songs that are the first time for him like Ryu* feat. moimoi - OOO into the Ranked Section. So he has proven to us that he also wants to tried something new this year.

[Zeth] written by Nepuri
  • I can hardly think of anyone else that has just appeared out of nowhere with a high difficulty marathon map and managed to pull through successfully without much trouble like he did. Seriously, others may not think of Zeth in such a way, but he has clearly shown he knows what he is doing with his harder difficulties, leaving us looking forward to what he would bring to us when he maps lower difficulties

Aisha written by Backfire
  • Former BN perhaps better known as "Frac" had a slightly inactive year (partially due to a restriction), but still managed to scrape by and rank 2 very nice maps. His mapping style is peculiar, focusing on more of almost you could say an "old" style of mapping, where the difficulty does not go much higher than 5 stars. He also seems to prefer even numbered patterns to odds, which is a very different choice than most mappers! Aisha is also well known for his tournaments, one of which this year was "DonKat 2.0" which was a very popular taiko tournament featuring 2v2 matches, before TWC started doing it!

Ak1o written by Greenshell
  • A new face to the ranked section and a cool dude, Ak1o, having been mentored by Chromoxx, applied the knowledge and passed it on to his maps, which turn out to be quite fun with beautiful flow, like his mapsets of BassTest, a pretty technical set across the board, and Ice Angel, a streamy consistency challenge. As someone who's been involved in the modding process of both maps, I'm looking forward to seeing more maps from him in the future!

Alchyr written by Backfire
  • The formless, speechless entity known only as "Alchyr". What can I say? They have employed a style of mapping and promise for their future that is nigh unmatched in the community. They only managed to rank a single map this year, "Hysteresis", but most know them for 2 things in particular. For one, they have made a great contribution to the community in the form of the new pp proposition, and for the other, they have also made a ton of impressive and challenging maps that have been appreciated by top Players and Mappers alike. I can't wait for them to rank more challenging maps in the future and help shape the meta in 2019. Look out for them!

Aloda written by Raiden
  • Our Australian QAT. His premature departure has certainly taken a toll on the team as he is, like Nardo, a very integral and reliable person. His impeccable attitude and outstanding modding capabilities are what made him a worthy addition for us. Lest we forget about his mapping in 2018, ho! This year, Aloda managed to push some maps to rank such as "SOSOSO - Try for Keeps", a very solid vocaloid mapset. I wish you luck in your future endeavours, and I also want to thank you dearly for the service you have provided to this mode. It will not be forgotten.

Alwaysyukaz written by Raiden
  • Yukaz is a fairly new community member, but that does not imply he is bad at what he does. On the contrary, the quick improvement of his mapping and modding skills goes to show how much one can progress in the community if they put a good amount of effort into their work. In this year of mapping, he's blessed the ranked section with maps like "High Free Spirits (nenpulse bootleg remix)" and "Daisy", a marathon and a set respectively, which demonstrates his proficiency in both these areas of mapping. Can't wait to see what he provides us in 2019.

ARGENTINE DREAM written by Raiden
  • I'd be lying if I said that she is not one of my closest osu! pals. DREAM (now _WWWWWW_WWWWWW_) has clearly shown her profound interest in the game mode, especially after the takedown on Ishukan Communication. Having so many years of music studies and TnT behind her back, it surely was not a big deal for her to quickly and firmly grasp the concepts of osu!taiko mapping, ensuring an astoundingly rapid ascension to the top tier of mappers and modders as well as her position among the Beatmap Nominators. By far, the map I like the most from her this year is, without any kind of a doubt, "An Elegy Of Icaros", a black metal song that is beautifully mapped (and is also spotlighted in last year's Autumn Spotlights, check it out!). All in all, one of the, if not the most promising individual in our community from my perspective.

Arrival written by hikiko-
  • Arrival has certainly been less active in 2018 than in previous years, only having ranked one mapset under his own name. He's known for high-energy mapping with an emphasis on gameplay flow and strategic SV usage, and his map of "YOLO ft. Numb'n'dub" is a perfect encapsulation of his style. While it is uncertain if his contributions to osu!taiko will continue into the future, his existing contributions will definitely last.

Ascendance written by hikiko-
  • Ascendance is well-known for his many contributions to the osu!catch community, but his ranked efforts have also at various points branched out to osu!taiko. His vast mapping experience in general allows him to pick up osu!taiko mapping fairly easily, so if he were to take on some larger endeavors, he would certainly do well.

ASPIRIN written by Greenshell
  • ASPIRIN has made their debut in late 2017 with Diao ye zong feat. Meramipop's Saifu "Kamiasobi no Uta", which I personally really liked, and kept going in 2018 with two maps easily keeping up to the first one, with Karakurenai being an amazing and tastefully designed set showing the mapper's effort across five difficulties, as well as Kourou ~ Eastern Dream, which is honestly a masterpiece in itself. If you haven't played the map already, I strongly recommend you to change that, as the map takes you on a journey through 10 minutes of a rather calm-natured, soothing yet progressive Demetori song, covering all of the song's ups and downs beautifully. ASPIRIN really has proven to me to be a mapper with great potential, and I'd love to see more from them. Keep it up!

Axer written by Greenshell
  • BOY♂NEXT♂DOOR. Axer made quite a name for himself among both players and mappers with his rendition of Cycle Hit, getting himself on the board of Community Choice 2018 in a close 10th place. What I want to focus on, however, is his other ranked map, "The Grimoire of Alice ~ Fushigi no Kuni no Alice", which is a pretty streamy and fun map to play through, lots of 1/6 where fit and a good bunch of finishers. If you like hard maps, you should also check out his catalogue of unranked maps, as he likes to map everything in the song without holding back, making a bunch of his works pretty challenging!

Backfire written by -Kazu-
  • Stranger to no one at this point, Backfire is one of the most well-known mappers and one of the most liked in the community. His improvisation-focused style and heavy SV creations have been a staple for most of us and all-time classics. This year we received only a map from his part, sadly, although a really popular one: Slash Dot has been in the mouths of everybody for a really long time due to it being both a catchy song and a really difficult map (being the most highly rated for a while, too). He does show why he is so popular on his creations and although he barely got maps ranked this year (mostly due to his services in the Loved community and running tournaments) you can always expect high quality maps from his part.

Blackener written by Alwaysyukaz
  • Blackener is a fairly new mapper in taiko. Even though he's still new in taiko he has proven to us that he's not a "Common Rookie". He got 3 GDs ranked and brought his mother language based song as his first ranked mapset to the ranked section this year. And I'd like to say he's the mapper that brings a good potential in both of taiko mapping and modding. Can't wait to see his progress in the next year!

butter0414 written by komasy
  • butter0414 is a Japanese mapper who came from TaikoJiro which can make from a stable map to a violent map! He has earned a solid record of successes in the TaikoJiro and TJBC contests! He only had two ranked maps in 2018, but numerous wonderful maps are sleeping in his Graveyard. We are looking forward to seeing you awake them...!

chaica written by komasy
  • chaica is one of the Japanese mappers who mainly makes maps with anime and eroge songs! He is good at making a simple map, and he made a mapset which everyone can enjoy with "crossing way" in 2018! He currently focuses on playing rather than mapping, so I don't know whether we can see more of his maps this year, but I hope I can see more!

Charlotte written by komasy
  • As you know Charlotte is a very famous and experienced Japanese mapper! He makes orthodox maps which anyone can enjoy, with a wide range of song genres from Anime to Electronic. Personally I like "Sarutobi Champion is Sessha" and "Omoide", especially "Sarutobi Champion is Sessha" was very creative and great. In 2019, too many players will be looking forward to your map!

Chromoxx written by hikiko-
  • Chromoxx is one of the more well-known osu!taiko mappers. Although he's become less involved with the community in the last year, having only ranked four sets in 2018 (a significant drop compared to 2017), the sets have certainly made a splash both in and out of the osu!taiko-specific community. While it's unlikely he will remain connected with the game in the future, his contributions will certainly have a lasting impact.

Coryn written by -Kazu-
  • One of if not the friendliest member of the Brazilian community as I can't even think of somebody that could not get along with this individual. This year they gave us only a map, LOrbSheddy - The Grand Trek, a simple and practical map that shows how they focus on giving a good playing experience rather than striving for becoming an unique mapper or getting glory for making difficult maps. I personally enjoy his mapping style a lot and his concepts are quite fun to play so I'm totally rooting for more Coryn maps this 2019.

D o t written by Nwolf
  • For a few years there hasn't been much activity from China's osu!taiko community, but as 2018 went on it seemed to have changed again and D o t is one of the reasons I'm saying that, debuting with his set to AAAA Chazuke's "Sayonara Cosmonaut". A great set, with the highest difficulty being incredibly well done despite its variety, and that being a first ranked map makes it even more amazing. Definitely a map worth playing if you haven't. I'm sure we will see more great things from D o t in 2019!

DakeDekaane written by Nwolf
  • DakeDekaane, a long-time member of the osu!taiko community and ex-QAT member, is mostly known for using ninja notes and mapping in a more authentic style. Neither of those are true for the maps he ranked in 2018, however what is true is that his set of "Heterochromia Iridis" is a LeaF song, and that's his third staple. I hope your fingers are ready for this piece of art, as you will have to go through many and long monocolor bursts before you even reach half of the song. Give the map a try, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

DarkVortex written by Greenshell
  • Don't let the number of his ranked maps fool you, because DarkVortex certainly carries more experience into his maps than you'd think! Not the most active mapper around, he still provided us with a masterpiece in the form of "Daedalus" by S.S.H., an amazing mapset to an amazing song making for a challenge of the different kind, which was even featured in the TWC 2018! I highly recommend to check out his catalogue of graveyarded maps as well, you might find a few gems in there. ;)

davidminh0111 written by Raiden
  • David joined taiko in 2017, but his efforts were not noticed until 2018, when he ranked all of his three ranked mapsets, two in January and one in April. One, "bells!", is from the Featured Artist cYsmix, and the other two are fairly simple anime mapsets. Unfortunately, this promising young mapper made the decision to leave the game not long ago. It would have been nice to see how he evolved in the mapping and modding scene. Let's hope he returns some day so he can progress further!

Dellvangel written by Alwaysyukaz
  • Dellvangel is more known as a Osu!Mania Beatmap Nominator than Taiko Mapper, but never judge a person from their cover! He marked this year with his anime mapset "Wagamama MIRROR HEART". So he has proven himself to us that he also has good knowledge in the Taiko gamemode and I'd like to see his progress in Taiko Mapping for the next year!.

duski written by Nwolf
  • Two of 2018's many Camellia songs were ranked by the debuting mapper duski, and he's done a quite nice job with them. Additionally, he's the one of very few - if not the only - Finnish osu!taiko mappers with ranked maps and I can already see in the ranked section that he will continue to represent Finland in 2019!

EdamaMe411 written by komasy
  • EdamaMe411 is one of Japan's most energetic mappers! The big news in 2018 are that he finally had a ranked map of Icicle Stinger! Many players were longing for it and pleased them a lot! This map could make both beginner players and advanced players enjoy. At the moment he doesn't have many ranked maps, but since he has potential, we are hoping to see more ranked maps in 2019!

eiri- written by Backfire
  • Though possibly known more these days for her standard sets recently, eiri-'s work ethic and contributions to the taiko mode have been gigantic and historically saturating. Her amount of maps ranked in this amount of time far outweighs any other mapper, and there are gems among her catalogue such as "Accept your fate now" and "Anoko no Jinta" that deserve to be truly respected among the best maps of the year! I have watched her grow as a mapper over the years and truly believe she is one of the most valuable mappers we have in the game today, setting a good standard to look up to for new mappers.

Elfin written by Raiden
  • Elfin is no newcomer to taiko; he's been in the scene for at least 3 years. While he may not have a super big presence in the mode, his contributions certainly do not go unnoticed. Being a prolific modder, he's helped many mappers improve their creations. This year, he gifted us "EOS (kamome sano rmx)" by ginkiha, a super chill song that you'll surely enjoy playing, so make sure to check it out!

Etsu written by -Kazu-
  • Although his participation in the ranked section was fleeting and has been barely active since then, I had the chance to meet Etsu and his struggle: He has been trying to become an active part of the modding/mapping community for quite a long time and has been wanting to become a BN for a while too. His "Yoko Shimomura - It's a Small World" set really brings back memories of those days where both of us were waiting for the BN results and although he never got the chance to help the community in a bigger way, I'm pretty sure he will reach his goal and help in the Beatmap Nomination once he gets back on track. Good luck ♥

Fallmorph written by Greenshell
  • Fallmorph already made their first appearance in 2017, and while not being present in the ranked section too much, his map of Enantiomorphs, being one of the Camellia songs finding their way into the ranked section, shows impressively well-constructed Slider Velocity usage in a rather gimmicky way, as well as tricky, tech-focused patterns that will make for a challenge even for the best accuracy players! To me they've established themselves as a damn proficient gimmicky-oriented mapper by usage of uncommon SV, and that makes me want to see more of this promising mapper!

Faputa written by Nepuri
  • Faputa has an amazingly diverse mapping history that he can talk of, having gotten mapping experience across multiple game modes: Standard, Taiko and Mania. The most notable of these is taiko, where he attained the BN status in early 2018. So far, I can only speak of his as one of the most polite people around and as a person that is respectable (you don't even have to mention his map quality to realize he's great!). Working with him has been a blast so far and I sure hope this can continue, with him bringing us new maps into the ranked section, both his and the ones he nominates.

Fleure De Lapin written by Alwaysyukaz
  • Fleure De Lapin a.k.a. Franklin_DeJavu is more known as a Guest Difficulty creator rather than as a mapper himself. But believe it or not, he pushed his 2 mapsets to the Ranked Section this year which means that he is actually "A Half Rookie" and only needs a little more polish to become a great mapper in the future!

frukoyurdakul written by Raiden
  • ♪ ♪ Another one bites the dust ♪ ♪. On a more serious note, his departure from the BNG was a great loss for the mode. Widely known for his famous dedication to metal songs (a shared trait with me, ho!), as well as high proficiency in the timing field, not to forget the incredibly useful mapping tool (https://osu.ppy.sh/community/forums/topics/673325) that made all of our lives easier, his contributions to the mode are in no way forgettable. He still managed to push forward to rank some outstanding maps such as "Angel Vivaldi - A Mercurian Summer" and "Rings of Saturn - The macrocosm", both of which show very characteristic patterns from his mapping style. Make sure to check them out if you'd like a high level challenge!

gaston_2199 written by Nwolf
  • I don't know how slick he is, how quick he is or how thick his neck is, but I know he's pretty damn good in mapping, with his map to Asterisk's "Rain" being quite complex in pattern usage, yet still fun and challenging to play. If the song is not your jam, he also has mapped some anime and rhythm game songs this year, so make sure to check them out.

GoldenWolf written by Greenshell
  • ☆DE★ME☆TO★RI☆. What else can I say except this? There's no way you could not possibly associate him with Demetori, and he clearly shows his passion for the artist as a mapper, ranking almost exclusively Demetori maps, like his "Kamisabita Kosenjou ~ Suwa Foughten Field". Even though he's mostly known amongst the osu!standard base, he did crank out this map for o!taiko, and as someone who's been testplaying a lot of his maps and generally overwatching his progress, I can confidently say that he's got quite the potential to be one of my personal favorite mappers amongst Taiko, if only he'd get back to it and actually rank stuff, which may partially come from bias towards his song choice, but also his understanding of emphasis and pattern consistency make him a special flake to me, being one of the few mappers to shine despite not actively playing the mode.

Greenshell written by Raiden
  • During my tenure as a QAT so far, there are certain people who have made me feel anything but indifferent. Most of them are incredible people who have shown very promising skills and attitude, and Greenshell is one of those people today. Not many people have dedicated this much time to improve themselves, not only on this game or mode, but also personally. While unfortunately he has not had the chance to join the BNG yet (he is now a BN, ha!), I'm sure he will be able to soon enough, as his modding and mapping skill, paired with his mostly impeccable attitude (and his love of red pandas, of course) make him a most suitable candidate. This year, he's managed to push to rank one of my favourite mapsets of the year, "Sayonara Planet Wars", which shows how a spread is actually supposed to be created as well as having an incredibly well built top difficulty which squeezes every last musical element from the song. All in all, Greenshell is a healthy and desirable presence in any kind of community, and we are lucky to have him. Keep it up, boy.

guro written by Nwolf
  • I don't know if guro has found the cheese yet, but he has found one of Lovecraft's Outer Gods in the form of a song by Nhato. This map features a variety of snaps, streams and mild slider velocity changes. Despite not having ranked much more than this set, guro has returned with some solid maps after being absent in 2017. Will he stay for 2019, or does he hate uneven years? We can only wait and see.

hikiko- written by Raiden
  • The one-handed osu!taiko player. That, by itself, should already tell you a lot. It's not that she's one handed, it's that she plays with only one hand! A former osu!taiko BN known for her outstanding musical ear on a variety of genres and impressively solid mapping skills; while having departed from the BNG, her contributions to the mode will certainly not be easily forgotten.

HiroK written by -Kazu-
  • Probably the biggest name in the Brazilian community right now, HiroK is either well known as an extremely skilled player or as a mapper that makes really fun maps. Whether it's his contributions to other people's sets like in Inverse World or XINOBIKILL, or his own maps GRiDGALAXY and specially Sulfide, he really is living proof that the Brazilian community has a lot of potential within their ranks and that he truly is a mapper we should all look forward to more of his creations.

Hitsu written by Alwaysyukaz
  • Hitsu is a fairly new member in the taiko community who got initiated with "nano - PARALAYZE:D" as his first ranked mapset in 2018. Even if he's still new, that doesn't mean that he is bad in the slightest. He tries very hard and never gives up in order to push his maps to rank and also never lets his mapping spirit falter. I can see his good effort through this map and of course, I can't wait to see his mapping spirit in 2019!

iceOC written by komasy
  • iceOC is a Japanese player and a mapper who played a big part in the 2018 competitive scene, making full use of his playing skills. The map he made for TJBC was a very avant-garde map where SV was heavily used, I felt it was very interesting. He has been mapping for three years, but in 2018 he finally had a ranked mapset! His ranked mapset "FEELING AROUND (TV Size)" is completed as a simple map that everyone can enjoy. Since iceOC has a very high playing skill, I'm looking forward to having a challenging ranked mapset that makes use of it!

igorsprite written by Alwaysyukaz
  • igorsprite is a fairly new mapper that has ranked 1 anime mapset "Silent Siren - LOVE no Shirushi" in early 2018. Both his modding and mapping skills are actually growing pretty rapidly, and for your information, he also began 2019 with a new ranked mapset! Hope I can see more from him ranked in 2019.

iloveyou4ever written by Nwolf
  • Despite True Blue being ranked for two years now, they're thankfully still around! Not only do they like long songs, or more precisely, extended rhythm game songs, they also really like streams. Know who I'm talking about? If not, don't worry, I'll tell you - it's iloveyou4ever! And with an introduction like this, it's only fair of me to specifically talk about their map to xi's "World Fragments", a song that's almost 11 minutes long and features short streams, 1/6, short streams, piano shenanigans, BPM changes and, I think I haven't mentioned them yet, short streams! This is not the streamiest map iloveyou4ever's done, but it still perfectly fits what you imagine an iloveyou4ever map to look like. They've done great work in 2018 and will probably continue to do so in 2019!

incandescence written by hikiko-
  • A notably hardworking member of the community, incandescence spent a bit over half of 2018 as a Beatmap Nominator. Although he ranked five sets of his own, many would agree that his work shines in the effort he put into modding. He also involves himself in the mapping circle in several other ways: running community servers, helping newer mappers through the mentorship program, and judging contests. Although he has scaled back his involvement in the game recently, any contributions from him to the gamemode will always be welcomed!

jacky10186 written by Alwaysyukaz
  • Jacky is a fairly new mapper that has ranked one anime mapset "Machico - Korekara" at the end of 2018 with the help of his Hong Kong friends (Faputa, Sing, and -GN Junior). Finally, he's proven that he can provide good mapsets to the ranked section. Can't wait to see his progression in 2019!

JarvisGaming written by BabySnakes
  • Possibly known for his many taiko maps/mods and/or dodge the beatmaps, JarvisGaming has yet to set a mark on the ranked scene. While their currently ranked maps are quite tame, they can handle from high bpm difficult maps to sv technical maps with perfection. JarvisGaming's skill truly shows, especially after their huge catalogue of mods and maps. It's a shame they've only started ranking maps in 2018. On the other hand, I'm quite hopeful as Jarvis has already ranked a map in 2019, where the high diff maps at tho? Like seriously, your graveyard is filled with so much effort it hurts.

JeirYagtama written by Nepuri
  • JeirYagtama, former osu!catch Beatmap Nominator, is now trying his skills out in another game mode, taiko! Having submitted his first taiko set in mid-2018, he managed to rank it just about 2 weeks later in August! While the map may be simple, it showcases his understanding about taiko-specific mapping concepts and makes me see potential in him as a full-fledged taiko mapper!

Jonawaga written by Raiden
  • Jona is an American taiko community member who also happened to be a very proficient beatmap nominator and a mapper. Unfortunately, he left us not a long ago due to real life issues. Before leaving, however, he pushed three maps to the ranked section in 2018. One of my favourites is "DEAN FUJIOKA - History Maker", the opening of a very popular anime (Yuri On Ice). We wish you the best on your future endeavors and appreciate your work for the community!

JUDYDANNY written by Nwolf
  • JUDYDANNY is an old, well-respected member of the community, having provided countless maps for the ranked section, to be used in tournaments, and also being a Beatmap Nominator for several years. He's currently inactive, but not done yet, but it looks like he has some maps in store for 2019 already, and I wouldn't be surprised if there will be more to come. Maybe, just maybe, he will return to beatmap nominating one more time, as well.

KamizonoShinobu written by -Kazu-
  • Even though he quit in late 2018 due to saddening circumstances, KamizonoShinobu (a.k.a Chocola_2287) is one of my favourite mappers and even though he only brought idol games/anime sets this year, he left a lot of half-baked projects in the oven, with absolute bangers like Valgus, DEADHEAT or TOXIC VIBRATION. His leaving is a huge loss for the community as he is easily one of the most talented mappers out there and a really good player too.

Karee Pan written by Alwaysyukaz
  • Karee Pan is a fairy new taiko mapper that has one anime mapset "Fillin - Mayoi ga Ongaku ni Awasete Araragi-san no Namae o Yobu Douga" in early 2018 and one Muzukashii Guest Difficulty in "Team Hanayamata - Hana wa Odore ya Irohaniho" in late 2018. Looking at his progression in 2018, I hope he can prove himself worthy with other good mapsets in 2019!

Kbludoh written by -Kazu-
  • Kbludoh might be one of the lesser known names from the Brazilian community. But this year, he gave us one of the most interesting maps of the year, Venetian Snares - She Runs. He has an interesting approach to mapping that shows in his works very prominently, either by his patterning choices or his musical taste. This year brought us many newcomers to the mapping scene and I certainly hope to see more of Kbludoh's work.

kei821 written by komasy
  • kei821 is a Japanese mapper and advanced player who grew rapidly in 2018. He had a ranked mapset with BlackY's "Paradission". He constantly makes maps with cool songs and there are a lot of challenging maps in his graveyard. Why don't you try challenging them? Anyway, I'm looking forward to his success for playing and mapping in 2019!

Kin written by Greenshell
  • Ah, yes, my gool ol' mentor Kin. What can I say about him? He's the one who got me into mentorship and the mapping community as a whole, really. A guy who isn't around on osu! a lot these days, one who does things slow and steady. Also a fun dude to talk to and share memes with :^). Kin has been around for quite a while, ranking a bunch of the so-called "pp maps" ever since 2017, as well as being a BN since then, but got unfortunately kicked in late 2018 due to inactivity. That aside, he only ranked a single map this year "Camellia feat. Nanahira - We Love Hardcore", but it sure has made a name for itself! "Chinese - simplified" was my first impression of it, but it does its job at emphasizing the song quite well in the end. I hope he gets back to the game someday, he's a good soul. Thank you for getting me into the mapping community and for more, Kin.

kitafuma written by komasy
  • kitafuma grew rapidly in 2018 and had two ranked maps! Every song he chooses is nice and has a sense. Cage (Mtell Remix) is a map with a story line, Slow Step is a map in which can enjoy a unique rhythm. It's obvious that he has certain potential. Thank you for giving us high quality maps. We are very hoping for your success in 2019!

komasy written by -Kazu-
  • As he is one of the most experienced mappers from Japan, you can easily find yourself not being able to find a single bad komasy map given that his style and execution truly are among the best added to the fact that he has really ranked a lot of guest diffs and mapsets of his own. I have personally enjoyed a lot his huge repertoire of maps, specially one of the last ranked maps of 2018, Touhou Youyoumu ULTIMATE MEDLEY. If you're looking for some really fun maps to have a good time, komasy is very likely one of your best bets.

Kqrth written by -Kazu-
  • Even though he often times ends up being pointed out as the most controversial member of the Brazilian taiko community and one of those who always steps into drama, he has shown his worth in the ranked section this year with his two gems, Myoujin Henka and #sawg, two maps with a lot of personality into them that truly came to tell us all that we don't need to lose an eye to have all the games and fun we want!

Kuron-kun written by Raiden
  • Kuron is no stranger to taiko. At least, not any longer, as he managed to push two maps forward this year: "Placa no Chao" and "Natsuiro Egao de 1,2, Jump!" One of the most renown names in the Brazilian community, and also an osu!standard QAT member, he has taken some of his time to properly learn how taiko works, and that is certainly admirable. I wish to see more from him in the future. P.S.: He's CUTE. AS. HELL.

KyouRekii87 written by Greenshell
  • I did not know about this mapper at all before his first map popped up in the mapfeed, which surprisingly was a song both composed and mapped all on their own, as well as featuring one of the highest star ratings amongst ranked maps of 2018. That's right, I'm talking about "Bostonian Life!", which might look like your usual pp map at first glance, but due to his experience as a player the map had a few unusual things in it while still being quite nice to play. What else can I say? I deeply respect the effort of mappers also being composers, and I see some potential blooming up in this guy, both as a composer and as a mapper!

Lasse written by Raiden
  • Yet another German QAT. When will the dictatorship end? Oh wait... While Lasse is not too widely known amongst osu!taiko community members, he has managed to push some maps to rank, most of them being solid anime sets with a decent spread. I'm sure he could improve very fast and get into the osu!taiko BNG if he tried hard enough.

lazyboy007 written by Nwolf
  • First a little geography lesson: Luxembourg is, indeed, an European country. That being said, lazyboy007 is the only Luxembourgish osu!taiko mapper, and his most notable map is Piccadilly, which you might remember from the 2018 osu!taiko World Cup Finals. This map is especially noteworthy, because not only is it very well mapped, even ignoring that it's lazyboy's first ranked map, it is also a song with swing rhythm which is something you basically never see in osu!taiko, ranked or unranked. This, together with him being from an otherwise unknown country for osu!taiko, makes lazyboy007 a more special newcomer of 2018.

Lno written by Greenshell
  • When I hear the name Lno, I think of a mappool selector, but more importantly of a mapper who hasn't been around in the ranked section too much, but provided players who like to search for gems among the graveyard with insanely fun maps, be it due to fancy slider velocities, unusual concepts or just challenging maps in general. His addition to the ranked section in the form of "Beat Saber", while not aimed towards these extremes, is still a nice 'n enjoyable set and shows that they're proficient at mapping all difficulty levels, not just the highest ones. With that said, if you haven't already, go give their catalogue of graved maps a try, as there certainly are aforementioned gems among them, but also their ranked mapset, of course!

Loctav written by Nwolf
  • Loctav, a long time Community Manager and one of the most noteworthy members of the osu! history, contributing to many improvements of the game and the annual world cups, returned to the ranked section this year with a new rendition of the well-known song "furioso melodia" by gmtn. (witch's slave), featuring tricky rhythms, tricky slider velocity changes and - how else could it be - big notes. A lot of them. And seeing as his 10th osu! anniversary is coming soon (yes the game is THAT old), who knows, maybe we will see another classic Loctav map again this year!

Lost The Lights written by Nwolf
  • He has been missing in 2017, but Lost The Lights returned to the living in 2018, and I think it's safe to say it would've been a disappointment if he had done it with anything but Demetori. Luckily, he has done exactly that. "Warabe Matsuri ~ Innocent Treasaures" feels like a very classic Demetori beatmap, featuring lots of syncopated rhythms, occasional bursts and the obligatory guitar stream in the beginning of the last third of the song. Lost The Lights has proven that even with a break, he is still in top form.

mancuso_JM_ written by -Kazu-
  • One of the oldest mappers in the community, mancuso_JM_ has been there for most of us for a really long time, being an admirable and friendly BN (BAT, back in the day) while also doing nice creations by himself. In 2018 we only got a single map from him, Owl City - Kiss Me Babe, It's Christmas Time (although it got ranked in March...), a map that shows his minimalistic view in mapping and that follows the music beautifully. In late 2018 he quit BNG and hasn't been around in a long time, so wherever he is now I truly wish him the best on his future endeavors.

Marm written by Greenshell
  • Another member of o!taiko BR, Marm has also shown their presence in the Ranked section; starting off with a complex marathon in 2017, in 2018 they continued with two sweet mapsets, one of them being "Sweet Requiem", the other being "Inverse World". Personally, I think both are enjoyable pieces to play through, with Sweet Requiem being a set holding patterns that feel pleasant to play to the song, and with Inverse World being one of the more complex kind gain, going all-out on everything the song has to offer with lots of variable snappings, making it quite a challenge! Sadly they aren't around actively, if they get back to rank maps actively though, I'm gonna be looking forward to that!

Mew104 written by Raiden
  • Mew is fairly known among the community for being an incredibly good player and mapper, but also for being Weegee-eyed Mr. Krabs. His avatar is obviously his most well-known aspect. Jokes aside, this year he managed to push forward a map to rank ("The Rift"), and let me assure you that this is nothing short of a multi-rhythm masterpiece. Despite having only two ranked maps, he certainly is no stranger to the ranking process, and the amazing quality of his works do pay off in the end. Not only is it a fantastic set difficulty-wise, but the highest difficulty shows how perceptive his ears are as well as his capability of interpreting a plethora of various rhythms and smashing them together to create pieces of art. He ranked one map in 2017 and one in 2018. Can't wait for the 2019 one. P.S.: I only need 45 more for the Maw.

Midnaait written by hikiko-
  • Midnaait is a very long-standing member of the osu!taiko Argentinan community, known historically for maps of meme songs. This year marked an eventful year for him, winning the osu!taiko Argentina Mapping Contest with his set of "Nexta" and capping the gold in Summer Spotlights with "Bison Charge". As a member of the osu!taiko Drum Circle, his contributions to the mode will certainly continue, so it should be exciting to see what he does next!

Nao Tomori written by Nepuri
  • Nao got most of his recognition in Taiko via mapping Taiko guest difficulties in hybrid sets, making him probably one of the most commonly recognized taiko mappers around. He has, like many others, come from the osu!standard mapping scene and managed to learn taiko quite quickly. If I were to suggest a map of his: I can't. There are just too many and you would lose track of how much he has contributed to the ranked section. Whenever you feel like having a more relaxed and standard approach to taiko mapping, I recommend you look up one of his difficulties.

Nardoxyribonucleic written by Raiden
  • What else needs to be said about this madman? The one and only Nardo. Having had the chance to work alongside him for more than a year now, I can safely say that he is one of if not the most integral people I have ever met in this game. His profound work ethic and impressive discipline is something to be reckoned with. He has, this year, almost single handedly managed Quality Assurance on his own, checking almost if not every single map that went on to be qualified. Not many people can do that consistently while simultaneously pushing a handful of their own maps to rank and managing a real life job at the same time. But Nardo can, and I certainly am grateful that he exists. I look forward to continue working with him for as long as possible, and would certainly not mind meeting him in real life at all! One of my favourite maps from him this year is "EPICA - Universal Death Squad", which is a symphonic metal masterpiece. You should definitely check it out!

neonat written by Raiden
  • Though he's more known in the standard community, neonat hopped onto the taiko train and really showed off his proficiency by becoming a beatmap nominator for the mode. This year, he has managed to push "Nightwish - Storytime" for rank, a beautiful symphonic metal marathon which is a collab with known taiko mappers cdhsausageboy and Jerry. Make sure to check it out!

Nepuri written by Greenshell
  • The 200% MAD guy around and one of the people that helped me grow as a mapper, modder and as a person the most. Nepuri has come and brought many maps to us into the ranked section, not only as a mapper, as which he excels especially at spread management, but also as a hard-working nominator! Aside of the infamous "New Game Plus", pushing human limits to the extreme, there are also very neatly arranged maps like "ESCAPE" and "Aimless Voyage", which may not be the hardest maps, but just enjoyable pieces to play through. Go try them!

Ney written by Raiden
  • Ney, previously known as n1doking, is one of our top players who also happens to provide us maps to the ranked section. He made his debut in 2016 with two guest difficulties on "Cory in the House", and he has surely stepped up to meet today's standards, making his way into the ranked section this year with maps such as "Harmonize Clover" and a fantastic guest difficulty on the Pendulum track "Showdown", which makes use of potentially controversial yet interesting 1/8 patterning choices. Definitely check his Loved map "minefield surfing", since it's one of the most interesting Loved maps I've seen in a long time.

Nifty written by Nepuri
  • If there is anything that screams "Nifty", it is his contributions to the meta, as well as to the BNG in recent times. Whether it was him being heavily creative in SV usage or him being unarguably the most active BN in his time, his efforts left a major footprint in the osu!taiko mapping community either way. Although he is not a BN anymore, we can all be sure his name will not be forgotten that easily.

Nishizumi written by Backfire
  • The King of the Meta, Nishizumi didn't make any groundbreaking maps compared to previous years which had him shaping our mapping meta as it currently has continued to be, but he provided us with at least one extreme challenge once again with "Destroyer". I would consider Nishizumi to be a prime example of a mapper who continues to keep his name in the air and proving himself to not be a one-trick pony in terms of content and style!

Noffy written by Nepuri
  • Though probably better known for her tenure in the Quality Assurance Team for the osu!standard gamemode or her Storyboards, she has also proven her proficiency in taiko mapping (and in a relatively short time at that!). Despite standard being her main mode of mapping, I gladly look forward to any future mapsets or difficulties from her in the taiko game mode! I highly recommend checking out her Oni in the "Kasane Teto" set she ranked recently, as it contains quite fun finisher patterns and is enjoyable overall.

Nofool written by hikiko-
  • For a long time now, Nofool has been known to push the boundaries of mapping with his SV-wild creations. Although he ranked only three mapsets of his own this year, his name is nevertheless very prominent within the osu!taiko community. Four of his sets were also promoted to Loved, ones which display his knack for combining visual effects and gameplay flow into a fun, engaging experience for the player.

Nwolf written by Raiden
  • What's there to say about Nwolf that hasn't been said already? Our good ol' German pal and ex-Beatmap Nominator (possibly returning soon™), he's both a good community member and a good person. He may have his occasional rants, but we still love him nonetheless. This year, he ranked one of the maps he had featured in the osu!taiko World Cup 2018: "onoken - Viden", which is a complex rhythm piece that uses a lot of off-beat patterns. Don't let the lack of mixed snaps fool you! The rhythm is already complex by itself!

nyanmi-1828 written by komasy
  • nyanmi-1828 was revived from a restriction in 2018, and was active as a member of Loved. It would be appropriate to say that it's been a turbulent year. We show you respect for your work! His map is very rich in groove, everyone can enjoy playing. Especially when you play his "Exit This Earth's Atomosphere" and "Feelin Sky", you will be able to "feel the wind"...

Okoratu written by Raiden
  • It is Wednesday, my dudes. Nothing defines Okoratu/Okorin/Okoyue/Okowhatever better than this catchphrase. I'm writing this comment on a Wednesday, too. Now for the serious part: Okoratu is... strange. There is no adjective that I can actually think of to fully define him, but this only makes him more interesting as a person and as a community member. His presence in taiko has mostly been via sporadic appearances to either rank something (he can nominate taiko, yes) or to get something ranked himself, but this does not mean he has not spent much time in this mode. He has actually contributed greatly to the discussion on the initial rework of the RC as well as the continued updates. This year, he's pushed to rank a huge hybrid set "Gabriel Drop Kick", which features a total of 20 difficulties, 5 of which are for taiko. You seriously need some patience for that. I hope these comments come out also on a Wednesday.

Oui written by Greenshell
  • Oui, being one of the many mappers making their debut in the ranked section this year, may be one of those that went by rather unnoticed, but should definitely not be overlooked because of that! His mapset of Renard - Feel Better is a damn nice short mapset clocking in at a pretty high BPM and shows that he certainly is no slouch at mapping. As with many other rookies, I can't wait to see what our Swiss rookie can bring to us in the future!

Pachiru written by Greenshell
  • Though possibly more well-known among the osu!standard community, Pachiru spent a fair share of time to get into Taiko mapping, and brought two solid sets to the ranked section. "Jpop Drop" is a cute, solid little mapset; while the other map, "Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui", though not the most difficult or extraordinary, is still damn good, and probably my favorite set among anime songs on Taiko. These two maps prove to me that he has a good grasp on how to manage all levels of difficulty ranging from Kantan to Inner Oni, and his overall super friendly and positive attitude makes him a healthy member in the community. Keep it up my man, you've got a lot more potential than you'd probably like to admit!

pishifat written by Nepuri
  • Hello there! Although pishifat is widely known in the osu!standard gamemode, he has shown me with his map "Kiritorisen" that taiko mapping is extremely accessible even to mappers of other game modes. This especially is clear considering that it is his first taiko-specific mapset, as well as having decent quality on top of that. I would highly recommend also watching his video about his detour into taiko mapping!

Poii written by BabySnakes
  • Poii is a fairly new member of the mapping community. After only ranking one map in 2017, they showed determination in improving and mapping more, gaining a lot of experience through mapping and participating in the community mentorship program. Poii focuses mainly on the Kantan-Oni range, delivering entertaining maps to beginners and intermediate players while occasionally mapping some quality Inner Oni difficulties. This year Poii ranked a lot of new maps, most of them being slow anime/jpop songs. 2019 will be a big year to either leave a big footprint on easier maps or explore harder difficulties and letting their name be known by more experienced players.
Last edited by VINXIS , edited 2 times in total.
VINXIS
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VINXIS

osu!taiko PO - ZI



Prophecy written by Raiden
  • I remember getting to know Prophecy way back in 2015. Back then, he constantly struggled to get a map ranked. Nowadays, his skills have improved so much that he finds little trouble when he wishes to rank something. This year he has gifted us with the map "Hitomi ni Kakusareta Omoi," a normal senya track. While he ranked only one map this year, I look forward to see what he brings to the ranked section in 2019!

qoot8123 written by Raiden
  • A true veteran of osu!taiko, qoot returned to the BNG this year and proved to be up to nowadays' standards. This year he has provided us with three ranked maps, "Bittersweet", "Sincerely" and "ZERO!!", all of which are Japanese songs. Let's see what he does in 2019.

Raiden written by Greenshell
  • Along with fruko, one of the mappers I immediately associate with metal when I hear his name, Raiden still holds a big role in the game, even if not as active as other members due to studies. A really chill guy, great mapper and fellow red panda lover (seriously red pandas are so cute). On a different note, despite his real life duties he's still working hard behind the scenes, partaking in the o!taiko Ranking Criteria, managing things in the Spotlights Team and obviously doing the QAT work. When it comes to ranking maps this year, he went a little outside of his known metal zone and ranked quite technical maps with "Transport -Extended Mix-" and "Passage D", of which the latter has made a name for itself in the TWC Finals. Anyway, both of these maps are absolute masterpieces and definitely two of my favorite maps of 2018, and I'm looking forward to whatever else he's providing to the ranked section in the future!

Raphalge written by Raiden
  • A kind and trustworthy Swedish dude who is also a godlike HR player. I have to admit that I was honestly shocked the first time I saw him mapping. This guy quickly adapted to how mapping works and showed it in his first ranked map (I ranked it myself) in 2017. This year he showed his proficiency again with a fantastic song "Astral Dogma" from Yousei Teikoku. While both of these maps are marathons, I'm sure he could map a full spread as well as mod one. I wouldn't mind at all to see him become more invested in mapping and modding and trying to join the Beatmap Nominators.

Realazy written by Nepuri
  • And here comes yet another mainly osu!Standard proficient mapper into the ranks of taiko mappers! While Realazy is probably more known as a Beatmap Nominator for osu!Standard, he still has shown his proficiency in taiko in recent times, mainly collaborating with eiri-! I would highly suggest you check out his difficulties on "Oriental Blossom"!

realy0_ written by Alwaysyukaz
  • realy0_ is a mapper that is known for making lots of calm or slow anime beatmaps, especially for the standard mode. However, I'm suprised that an electronic song was the first choice to get a ranked map in taiko. Whenever I see his modding profile, I reach the conclusion that both his mapping and modding skills are growing quite rapidly this year. Fun fact is, he got his first ranked beatmap at the end of 2018. Can't wait to see his mapping progress in 2019!

Remus written by Greenshell
  • Probably not the most well-known mapper, Remus has been around actively for the first half of the year, and even despite the drama about a certain map, his "Ascension to Heaven" map is still a noteworthy addition to the ranked section, offering a challenge to people through techy, as well as streamy difficulty. Sad to see him not being around to push maps to rank anymore, since he held quite some potential as an already solid mapper.

rew0825 written by Alwaysyukaz
  • rew is actually more active in osu!catch, but he's not a new face in taiko since he got his first ranked Guest Dfficulty in 2015. And he's been more active than previous years to make a bunch of Guest Difficulties in taiko. His most outstanding mapset is "PUNCH*MIND*HAPPINESS", in which he proves himself to us that he's a more than capable mapper, and marks this year as the beginning of his taiko career!

Rhytoly written by Nepuri
  • While just having gotten his first ranked set in 2018, he is by no means an inexperienced mapper in any way, even though he is a very young mapper (both as a mapper and as a person!). He was able to learn quickly and become a pretty solid mapper in a span of just a few months! Proving both his proficiency in higher difficulties as well as managing a spread, he is very much someone who knows what they are doing.

salchow written by Nwolf
  • salchow is a Norwegian osu!taiko mapper, who joined the ranked section as rookie now in 2018. Map-wise there is not much to say about them yet, except that they seem to like FELT, and having their first set ranked after almost exactly one year after it was submitted. Also, their avatar on discord is a wolf (and I'm sure it used to be in osu! as well but it's a girl now, ewwww), so they are clearly a good person. Nevertheless, their ranked maps so far bring a nice amount of slider velocity changes with them, and some of their unranked maps as well so I'm hoping that some of them get ranked in 2019!

Sansheng written by Backfire
  • Sansheng is a pretty underrated, and overlooked mapper. Their single map ranked this year is "epimerization" is a map which is flawless in the SV execution, and is one of the most impressively emotive and life-filled maps I have played in the year. I would say I hope this blurb gets some of you to try it, and hopefully to encourage Sansheng to rank more maps because he surely has potential to be one of our bests!

sing216 written by hikiko-
  • Having already been a well-established top Hong Kong player, sing216 made his debut in the ranked section this year with several guest difficults, along with his map of "Stay Alive (Jun Kuroda Bootleg Remix)". His first ranked set is incredibly well-made, which is a reflection of all the mapping experience he accumulated beforehand. Looking forward to seeing all the progress he makes as both a mapper and player in the future!

Skull Kid written by -Kazu-
  • Having previously proven his worth as a mapper in the later years with maps like Fast Paced Society and Reality Check Through The Skull, this year he made his return in full force with his set Whatever I Do and one of the most liked maps of the last quarter of 2018, XINOBIKILL. He really is quite good at making enjoyable maps and definitely holds one of my favourite maps of the entire year.

Skylish written by Nwolf
  • Skylish has showed up in the ranked section in 2017, and has continued to be present throughout 2018. Most of his ranked maps are calm Japanese anime or anime-style songs, but on the very last day of 2018 a more unusual map has made its way into Skylish's list of ranked guest difficulties, featuring some tricky patterns and, more noticeably, quite experimental slider velocity usage. They are hard to predict on the first playthrough, and I'm a big fan of such SV. Let's see if Skylish continues to expand his range of different map types in 2019!

Smallwu written by Alwaysyukaz
  • Smallwu is a mapper known due to his love of cute songs. However, in 2018 he pushed himself to get a full beamapset to rank with "Ray - Kimi to Ita Sora" which is a 4-minute song, which is rare to see for rookie mapper. So, that's an impressive achievement for his first step in 2018. I'd like to see his progression in 2019

Stefan written by -Kazu-
  • You can truly see how good of an artist Stefan is by how he structures his maps. He is definitely one of the most helpful members of the community too and I'm extremely glad to have shared some time with him as he really is a cool guy, which he often also shows through his mapping and his rather peculiar song choice, ranging from the most happy, memeish songs to rather serious or even dark songs. I hope we get to see more of his works this 2019 and that he finally reaches the glory as a mapper that I whole-heartedly believe he deserves.

Stingy written by Raiden
  • Stingy is an American mapper who made his debut in the ranked section in 2017. Since then, he has ranked two t+pazolite maps "seedy try" and "Oshama Scramble!" in 2018, which are fantastic songs with a very good mapset spread to accompany them. Even if he is a little more active in osu!standard, let's see if he can keep up in 2019 for osu!taiko!

strickluke written by BabySnakes
  • strickluke is a fairly unknown mapper. They map standard and mainly taiko, having ranked 3 mapsets in total: one tech and two low BPM (one of which was ranked in 2018). It's sad strickluke hasn't dedicated more time to improve his mapping and push more things to ranked since he has some fun experimental maps and excellent collabs sitting in his graveyard. All their ranked mapsets have great ratings and if they managed to pump out more quality maps into the public's eyes, they'd definitely be more well known amongst the community.

Surono written by Nwolf
  • Surono never disappoints when it comes to which maps he ranks every year. You've got your Wrestling Festival song, a Demetori song, Infected Mushroom, and an Indonesian song, just to name the maps you simply expect when you hear the name "Surono", but there's of course more than just that. Song-wise ,my personal favorite was Chata's "Yuune Zekka, Ryouran no Sai", something I wanted to see ranked in taiko for a long time. Like many of his maps, you will notice that each section of the song has its own SV, which is one of the many reasons Surono maps continue to be fun in 2018, and in the future!

tasuke912 written by hikiko-
  • A long-beloved member of the osu!taiko community, tasuke912 continued to impact the mapping scene in 2018, notably with his groundbreaking set of t+pazolite's "Ultrasonic Anthem (Kobaryo's FTN-Remix)". Since he is a top Japanese player and Beatmap Nominator as well, you would be hard-pressed to find a member of the osu!taiko community who isn't aware of him. tasuke912 has consistently contributed to the osu!taiko mapping community for years, so it will be interesting to see what he does next.

tatatat written by Nepuri
  • What is there to say about tatatat? He's well-known around the community for both being one of the most talkative people around, as well as being one of the few mappers that are left who focus on mapping exclusively lower difficulties in their mapsets! Though they are not crazy fast or challenging, they are quite enjoyable. Please do check out his "Another Moon" or "Stolen Dreams, Lost Light" Mapsets, as they are both enjoyable and feature solid mapping.

Tofu1222 written by -Kazu-
  • Tofu1222 is, while known as a prominent mapper and BN from the mania scene, a name we have seen in the taiko ranked section more than a just a few times. His mapping is very clean and has a considerable variety of genres, ranging from the most cheerful anime songs to the wobbly Camellia songs. Although he mostly does Inner Oni or Oni diffs, he has also shown capable of mapping good lower diffs and that is always something you have to thank a mapper for, specially one as friendly as Tofu1222.

Tomoka Rin written by komasy
  • Tomoka Rin is a Taiwanese mapper with two ranked mapsets in 2018. Tomoka Rin is good at making maps that everyone can enjoy, and demonstrates it in maps such as "Signal Graph (TV Size)" and "Tenka Toitsu A to Z *" in 2018. Especially my favorite is "Tenka Toitsu A to Z *", this mapset is designed to be easy to beat even for beginners, Oni captures the rhythm of the song exactly, and it is very complete as a whole mapset. If you have not played it yet, how about playing?

Tyistiana written by Raiden
  • While this sentiment may not be shared with many, I do have to recognize his potential. I remember seeing his mods for the BNG application, and all I could think was "he needs a little push in the right direction!". I highly value applicants like that, and especially if they keep trying very hard (he is now a BN, yes!). This guy certainly has an acute sense of what modding actually means, and I am fairly sure we will see him working as a nominator soon enough. We shouldn't forget the mapping part, too! Tyistiana has pushed to rank 2 solid mapsets, which means he is very aware of how ranking works. I look forward to working with him.

Ulqui written by -Kazu-
  • Talking about Ulqui here is a rather odd exercise for me to do. Starting by his mapping, he has done TONS of good maps I enjoy playing everyday and that I always end up playing as warmups or simply because I wanna beat them, but then you see he barely has any ranked maps... I mean, yeah, #sawg is one of those maps most people will mention in their top 10 and is truly a cool experience, so in this regard I truly hope to see more of this rising star mapper. He's most known for being a beast of a player, being insanely accurate and great at reading, with Hidden being his main modifier and truly a force to be reckoned with but he is also one of the friendliest members of this community and I definitely see him getting along with anybody that wishes to talk with him.

Ulysses written by Nwolf
  • While he is more known in osu!standard, Ulysses, who you might know as "nold_1702", has been a part of osu!taiko for years. Mostly providing a solid ground for other mappers to build on, by making the easier taiko difficulties of a set, he has given us timeless maps like "Terminal". This year, he has done it again for his final set to S3RL's "Nostalgic". He has since then retired from the osu! community, and I think he deserves to rest now. Thanks for your contributions to osu!, and enjoy your time outside!

uone written by komasy
  • uone is one of the Japanese mappers who can make various types of maps. Having acquired 1st place in TJBC #5 in 2018 proves that he has reliable mapping skills. He can make a wide range of maps, from simple to technical maps. Especially his "Igomoyos - Omul no Thema ni yoru Buyobuyo Sketch no Kokoromi" map has been completed with diversity and technical difficulty so it made a lot of players have fun! He mainly makes maps for fun, but all of them capture the characteristics of songs and have very high quality, so we are certainly looking forward to seeing you have a ranked map in 2019!

Volta written by Nepuri
  • While probably not known for anything blisteringly fast or challenging, Volta deserves my #1 award in terms of flawless and nicely executed lower difficulties across all his recent mapsets. Beside low difficulties, he is also excellent at mapping higher difficulty maps, most notably "HONESTY", which is an absolute blast to try and play; give it a shot!

vrnl written by -Kazu-
  • This mapper right here has grown exponentially this year and has really shown a lot of potential. Even though he has tripped onto a few obstacles in his mapping career, he has truly learned from his past mistakes and made a great mapper out of himself, not to mention that he has mapped something which happens to be my favourite map of 2018: Loctek - Oldskool. Keep a close eye on him, as he is probably one of the most promising mappers of the year.

xtrem3x written by Raiden
  • xtrem3x is truly an osu!taiko veteran. With nearly 10 years of tenure in this game, he most likely has seen everything pass in front of his eyes. His presence in the ranked section this year consists of a relatively simple set, "Jingle Bells ga Tomaranai", ranked in January. He already ranked his first map of 2019, also in January. Is he the Jan-man?

Yales written by hikiko-
  • In retrospect, it's mildly surprising that Yales is a rookie given all that he has accomplished in 2018. He's been a fast learner, with his own maps improving noticeably quickly since the start. Furthermore, since joining the BNG last October, he has consistently remained an active nominator and as such continues to have a significant impact on the ranked section. Looking forward to what he accomplishes in 2019!

yassu- written by komasy
  • yassu- is one of the experienced mappers in Japan and always gets a good result in the TJBC! He makes very high quality and enjoyable maps, it is very difficult to find bad points. Especially I love "Endless Tears", which gives us a natural playing experience. We are looking forward to your maps in 2019 too!

yea written by Nepuri
  • yea has definitely proven to me and to a lot of other mappers that a map's SV can be crucial to how it's enjoyed and received. Of course, I'm talking about his absolute banger of a map "Sound Chimera" by Laur! In 2018, yea has not ceased in his efforts to bring maps to the ranked section, which clearly shows in the aforementioned map. I can only describe it as an absolute joy to play, as well as the pinnacle of SV manipulation. I really do hope that whatever 2019 brings for us, it is more enjoyable maps like these. Best of luck, yea!

yuki_momoiro722 written by Alwaysyukaz
  • The "One Room Anime Series Maniac Mapper" this year, Yuki momoiro provided us with his 3 mapsets of the One Room Anime Series. But not only that, he also provided us with his 1 Filipino Language based song's GDs and 2 other Anime mapsets. Even though he's still in young age, it's a great achievment for him this year that he got 6 Ranked Mapset in total. I Hope he can improve himself with other great mapsets in the next year!

Yumyum- written by -Kazu-
  • Yumyum- is one of the many mappers that went unnoticed this year with only one ranked map. You can see how she is very positive and hard working on learning the gamemode and rest assured we will always welcome new mappers trying to dive into the taiko world. Keep a close eye on her as she will for sure keep becoming better and better.

yuzu__rinrin written by komasy
  • yuzu__rinrin provided this year simple and catchy maps with eroge song and Anime songs! Palpitation in his graveyard is one of my favorite map and I'm looking forward to it being ranked! Activity was not very high in the second half of 2018, but people will be waiting for your maps!

Zedther written by Nepuri
  • A very new face to taiko mapping scene, with barely 3 months of mapping experience, he has improved quite quickly and even managed to rank his first mapset "Cold Green Eyes" before 2018 came to an end! It's a nicely arranged mapset with solid lower difficulties, and it makes me look forward to future maps of his.

Zetera written by Greenshell
  • Hallo lieber Wirt, mach mir den Bierkrug voll, ganz randvoll, so ist's toll! Even if Wirtshaus Gaudi is the only Taiko map Zetera ranked this year, he still has a whole load of difficult maps in his graveyard just waiting to be played! His signature Majin Oni series consists of both aforementioned difficult and/or gimmicky (and sometimes just meme) maps, lots of them being mapped to a variety songs one would consider unusual on this game, but also more common rhythm game songs. If you're looking for different kinds of maps, Zetera is your man! PS: Shoutouts to SimpleFlips

zigizigiefe written by Backfire
  • The "other" Turkish taiko mapper, ranking this year the sequel "Monosugoi Satori Gear" to his popular 2017 map "Monosugoi Space Shuttle", zigi also shows a surprising amount of appreciation for Spanish music as well from his Mago de Oz maps! His mapping style has grown more and more over the last couple years and he has aquired a respectable name for himself.
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osu!catch



-Hex- written by JeirYagtama
  • -Hex- is a mapper that brings simplicity and user-friendliness to his recently Ranked maps, which whilst not the most complex or technical, still provides great satisfaction through his patterns which accurately expresses the music well. Without being the most experienced mapper, he still attempts to provide quite the creative stance on turning slow songs into interesting maps for players of all skill levels to enjoy. Let us hope in 2019 that he delivers more quality content for everyone to play!

-Luminate written by Nelly
  • -Luminate is another newcomer to the ranking process despite starting his mapping career in early 2017. His first appearance in a Ranked mapset was in June with a guest difficulty for rew0825's "nao - Towa naru Kizuna to Omoi no Kiseki", with his own first Ranked set being "*namirin - Koi no Hime Hime Pettanko" later in the same month. However, he received the most attention in October when he joined the Beatmap Nominations, where he has since worked to improve the speed and quality of the beatmap Ranking process steadily whilst continuing to grow in experience and confidence. During this time he also ranked a second beatmap, "Marie - Clover Day's", as well as a guest difficulty on "Suzuyu - Euphorium" by AJamez. He has improved tremendously over these past months, and though he has only just started to make major contributions to osu!catch, we will be looking forward to his progress in 2019!

-Nicotine written by JBHyperion
  • -Nicotine has been actively mapping for almost three years now, but 2018 marked their first arrival in the Ranked section with the promotion of three Cup guest difficulties. Whilst this may not seem like much, it is clear for all to see that -Nictonie is a rapidly improving mapper, winning the second edition of the community-organised" Ultimate osu!catch Mapping Contest" in June. Whilst there has been no real indication of their spread-constructing ability as yet, expect to see a few more guest contributions from -Nicotine at both extreme ends of the difficulty scale over the following year.

-Plus- written by Sanyi
  • -Plus- (previously well known as Chara) is known for mapping extremely difficult unranked "challenge" beatmaps, which she continued in 2018. However, not content to leave all her creations in the graveyard, she managed to push some very unique beatmaps in 2018 at completely opposite ends of the skill spectrum. Starting off with "AAAA - Dreamer.", a mapset with astonishing hitsounding and very nice and fitting flow on both difficulties. She also managed to rank "RoughSketch feat. DD "Nakata" Metal - Booths of Fighters (Camellia's "Barrage of Flurries" Remix)", a collaborative marathon-length beatmap with Ascendance, which is a real challenge for even the best players, providing different kinds of harsh yet well-fitting patterns in every section of the entire difficulty. I hope to see more from her in 2019, may it be Ranked or unranked, because her creations are always something special.

-Sh1n1- written by alienflybot
  • -Sh1n1- was slightly quiet last year in the osu!catch mapping field, having only two mapsets and a single guest difficulty achieving Ranked status. Despite the small amount of Ranked difficulties, both of his sets command interest and respect. Partnered with Ascendance and Spectator, -Sh1n1- successfully Ranked “fhana – Kimi to Iu Tokuiten [singular you]”, which is a marathon showcasing coherent mapping style and structure among the three mappers. With toil and sweat, -Sh1n1- also pushed “Shiena Nishizawa – Meaning” to the Ranked section. Despite the significant drain time, -Sh1n1- did not reduce the size of the spread, but instead decided on extending the size to the fullest. As -Sh1n1- started to produce more new maps (and revive old ones) lately, 2019 may be another year for him to showcase his talents.

Absolute Zero written by JBHyperion
  • Absolute Zero doubled his count of Ranked difficulties this year, with a pair of guest contributions (one Salad and one Platter) in the first quarter of the year. Whilst this may seem strange for such an experienced member of the community, it's worth remembering that Absolute Zero has always provided much more through modding contributions rather than mapping in the past. However, with two completed mapsets of his own that have been steadily improved and reworked over the course of the past year, 2019 may be AZ's opportunity to leave a more significant mark on the osu!catch Ranked section as a mapper in his own right.

AJamez written by Ascendance
  • A complete newcomer to osu!catch mapping for 2018, it was quite a shock when AJamez made it into the Beatmap Nominators earlier this year. However, after some initial struggles, AJamez has made an explosive entry into the modding and mapping world. Boasting some impressive numbers for his rookie year, alongside his numerous contributions to the Beatmap Nominators, AJamez has become a face that you can consistently see across mapsets, whether it be as a set owner, guest contributor or Nominatior. With a beginning like this, we're hoping to see an incredibly impressive 2019 from him!

alienflybot written by Spectator
  • Despite having a few Ranked sets in 2018, it was the inspirational beatmap for "Yooh - salvation" by alienflybot that broadened the field of mapping, highlighting the potential of hyperdashes within sliders and many other gimmicks, will be remembered for a long time as an historical achivement. Not only trying to keep patterns unorthodox, he knows how to retain his sense of aesthetics and make patterns that correspond well with the song. It is still too early, however, to end the talk of his achievements. As a prominent member of Beatmap Nominators, he accepted the challenge of nominating highly challenging maps as possibly the most skilled player within the team, which has definitely been beneficial to the community. Astonished with his upswing in mapping skills and activity as a Nominator, we have no choice but to expect more great things from AFB in 2019.

Ascendance written by Sanyi
  • Do you remember when Ascendance absolutely dominated the osu!catch mapping scene in 2017? Well, In 2018, he outperformed not just all other mappers but even eclipsed his own performance from last year with such ease that it seems almost unbelievable. His achievements are almost endless: over 100 Ranked difficulties alone in 2018, the Ranked mapset with the most difficulties ("League of Legends - Hanami ON THE RIFT (PV ver.)") and many more. In 2018 he became a true mapping connoisseur; the variety of beatmaps he created is incredible. When you look at beatmaps like "Akiyama Uni - Kanpan Tasogare Shinbun", "Black Hole - Pluto", "RoughSketch feat. DD "Nakata" Metal - Booths of Fighters (Camellia's "Barrage of Flurries" Remix)", "Culprate & Au5 - Impulse" and "Function Phantom - Euclid", how can you not be envious of his skills and achievements after seeing these beatmaps? Additionally, his contribution in 2018 extends even beyond his mapping, rejoining the Beatmap Nominators to check and nominate an incredible number of mapsets. He established the "Ultimate Catch Mapping Contest", which has run three iterations, featuring a number of participants putting forth many very interesting entries. He set up and maintained a Discord server for osu!catch mappers and modders that has already grown to over two hundred members, allowing mappers to meet new community members and to receive assistance with their many mapping and modding related questions. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that despite everything just mentioned, Ascendance has already showed that there is still much he wants to accomplish, so I am very excited to see what he can achieve in 2019.

Benita written by alienflybot
  • Widely recognized as Benny- (or BennyBananas), Benita greatly contributed to the osu!catch mapping field last year. In 2018, Benita managed to rank seven mapsets and numerous guest difficulties. A great fan of Touhou doujin circles (most notably FELT), Benita paired up with other enthusiasts such as JBHyperion and Spectator to compose and push many of these impressive beatmaps to Ranked status. It is recommended to check out “FELT – Songs Compilation”, a collaboration between Benita and Spectator, as their effort of mapping a ten-minute long medley should be highly appreciated. Benita’s renditions always demonstrate solid mapping structure, with patterns being used expertly to emphasize different sections of the music. Two sets of hers which showcase this conclusively are “Lindsey Stirling – Senbonzakura” and “fhana – Genzaichi”. Expect more great work from Benita in the near future!

BoberOfDarkness written by wonjae
  • Being both a long time player and mapper, in 2018 BoberOfDarkness finally managed to rank his beatmapset for “Halozy - Snow Changes to a Beat Again” after a period of inactivity seen in the previous year. Mapping the Overdose, Salad and Platter in that mapset, Bober showcased his proficiency in mapping across all skill levels. The beatmap itself is both easily accessible and fun for any player, regardless of skill and is expertly structured in accordance with the song. The [Blizzard] difficulty in particular is filled with tons of slow sliders that will challenge any seasoned rain player, creating a short yet unique experience that I would love to to see more of in 2019.

celerih written by Ascendance
  • celerih truly lived up to the hype as the "Most Promising" mapper for 2018 in last year's edition of the Mapper's Choice Awards. While not ranking the most maps, those he put out were far above the quality you'd expect from someone who'd just started mapping a year prior, but if you truly knew celerih's potential as a mapper, it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Among some of my personal favorites was his set of "Eisyo-kobu - Oriental Blossom", which most people thought would be overshadowed by Spectator's larger set of it earlier in the year. However, upon playing it, you could really tell that celerih had not only lived up to expectations, but surpassed them. While celerih unfortunately retired from the osu!catch Beatmap Nominators and from osu!catch mapping and modding in general late last year, I think a large majority of people would be happy to see a guest difficulty or two from him reach Ranked status in the upcoming year.

chickenbible written by JBHyperion
  • Despite being well-known as a world-class fruit catcher to almost anyone, it may come as a surprise to know that chickenbible has experimented on the periphery of the mapping scene for almost three years now. After slowly but steadily gaining experience and confidence, 2018 was the year chickenbible rose to find his first success as a Ranked osu!catch mapper, achieving an impressive medley of two Ranked guest difficulties, a Ranked spread and an Approval-length beatmap in the last quarter of the year. As someone who is highly motivated and leans more towards less-conventional mapping styles and techniques, with a little patience and further growth, 2019 may bring some rather interesting offerings to the Ranked section with chickenbible's name on them.

Cowboy written by wonjae
  • It was quite the quiet year in the osu!catch mapping scene for Cowboy (formerly known as Jusenkyo). A skillful mapper in all aspects, Cowboy followed up his 2017 year by quietly ranking two guest diffuculties in 2018. Although considerably less in terms of quantity, Cowboy still proved his varied skill pallete in mapping with a Cup for BoberOfDarkness' "Halozy - Snow Changes to a Bear Again" mapset, and an Overdose for Ponchiwi's mapset of "TRONIC - Supervelocidad", covering two distinctly different songs at opposite ends of the diffuculty spectrum. Someone who is equally skilled in both playing and mapping, I would very much like for Cowboy to make a return to the Ranked section in the coming year.

Crowley written by JeirYagtama
  • Despite the difficulties new mappers usually face when learning their game mode, Crowley is a mapper that forgoes the easy routes and frequently prefers to tackle challenging marathon or approval-length songs, as shown in his Ranked beatmaps of "DragonForce - Seasons", which leans more on challenging long stream patterns, as well as "IV OF SPADES - Mundo", which focuses more on low approach rate readability. Overall, Crowley has made a name for himself in the osu!catch mapping community as someone not afraid to tackle even the toughest challenges, and surely has blooming potential for this 2019 with more great works to come!

cursedcookies written by JBHyperion
  • An individual who has flown almost entirely under the radar in 2018 for the obvious reason that their only contribution to the osu!catch Ranked section was a collaborative effort on the Cup difficulty for MBomb's "Yura Hatsuki - TRICK or TREAT". At just over 30 seconds long and reaching Ranked status on the second day of the year there really isn't much to remember cursedcookies by, or to indicate when (or even if, since there haven't been any further submissions from cursedcookies to date) a return may occur. If nothing else, the aforementioned mapset has some amazing difficulty names, so check those out if nothing else!

cyanine written by wonjae
  • From a single Rain collaboration on Ascendance's "Vanic - Samurai (Spirix Remix)" beatmapset in 2017, to having four diffuculties in the Ranked section in 2018, cyanine (previously Californian) proved to be knowledgable in mapping across all diffuculties from Cups to Rains last year. Having worked with him personally on sets such as "Chito (CV: Minase Inori), Yuuri (CV: Kubo Yurika) - Ugoku, Ugoku (TV Size)", cyanine is always a pleasure to collaborate with and always manages to teach me new and intresting ways to work the osu!catch editor. It may not be the most apparent, but cyanine is a mapper who is able to showcase a myriad of different skillsets regarding both map structure and patterns, and I wish to see some more Ranked guest difficulties or even hosted mapsets coming from him in 2019.

Daletto written by Sanyi
  • Daletto produced some interesting beatmaps in 2018 after joining the Mapping and Modding Mentorship program this year to improve his skills and understanding. With this knowledge gained he was able to Rank his first guest difficulties, one being a collaborative Cup difficulty with -Nicotine on "M2U - Wicked Fate" and the second being a solo Cup difficulty on "Yuigahama Yui (CV: Touyama Nao) - Hello Alone -Yui Ballade- (TV Size)". However, he can map far more than just Cups! Whilst not yet reaching Ranked status, I have been especially impressed by his Overdose difficulties, with "USAO - BroGamer" being my favorite one so far - it is a hidden gem in my eyes. I'd like to see more from him in 2019!

Dapuluous written by Sanyi
  • First appearing in 2017, Dapuluous (previously known as Skycreeper-) improved a lot in 2018. Mainly mapping Salad and Platter difficulties initially, he steadily expanded his mapping abilities over the course of the year and is now a solid mapper for all difficulties. As the result of his improvements, he was able to Rank his first two beatmapsets this year - "Kola Kid - press start" and "Yamamoto Mineko - Falling, The Star Light" - as well as 2 Salad guest difficulties ("Yuigahama Yui (CV: Touyama Nao) - Hello Alone -Yui Ballade- (TV Size)" and "Mami Kawada - L'Oiseau bleu"), in which his flow execution in lower BPM songs really stands out. His newest maps, "Poppin'Party - Tokimeki Experience! (TV Size)" and "Roselia - LOUDER", are really promising, so I am sure that he can achieve even more in 2019. I am looking forward to it!

Deif written by MBomb
  • Once again, Deif has not failed to impress us with his amazing performance in ranking beatmaps this year, matching and possibly even surpassing his previous levels with challenging creations of outstanding quality. He started off the year strong with "Memme - Force of Ra", a full spread fully mapped by himself, which had his unique style mixed with the intense song choice to make for a challenging top difficulty, as well as consistently well mapped lower difficulties, showcasing his mastery of the game mode. Throughout the year, he continued to repeatedly match this quality through his extraordinary talent for adapting songs not only to fit his style, but accompany it with incredible levels of accuracy to the song. To me, his final map ranked this year, another spread solely mapped by him for "LeaF - Alice in Misanthrope -Ensei Alice-", fully displays what is so breathtakingly beautiful about his style, through very unique use of symmetry combined with surprisingly difficult yet fun patterns, which makes me very excited to see what maps he will make next, going into 2019.

eiri- written by MBomb
  • As someone who had previously had a Ranked map in osu!, osu!taiko and osu!mania, it was only natural that eiri- would inevitably choose to map the final (and best!) game mode eventually. Her first contribution came this year in the form of a Platter difficulty for the cut version of "Sporty-O - Let Me Hit It (Audiostalkers Original Mix)", which relied on interesting stream patterns combined with consistent hyperdash usage, and a noticeable increase in difficulty as the song repeats. Whilst it may appear only as a small addition to the game mode, having managed to reach Ranked status is still a small step in the larger scale of improving as an osu!catch mapper. Whilst she has yet to push much else in terms of osu!catch beatmaps for Ranked status, next year has more possibilities for her to attempt to continue this journey.

Error- written by JBHyperion
  • A reasonably established osu! mapper, Error- decided to throw their hat into the osu!catch ring during the second half of 2018 in submitting a modest offering of guest difficulties. Of these, one reached Ranked status, this being a Cup difficulty on "Ling Yuan yousa - Hoshi to Kimi ga Kieta Hi". This doesn't seem to be a simple fleeting interest however, as additional osu!catch guest difficulties and an (almost) completed spread have recently been uploaded also. Whilst still inexperienced, Error- has been very receptive of advice and criticism, and should see further improvements and returns in 2019 regardless of how they balance their focus between osu! and osu!catch.

F D Flourite written by alienflybot
  • F D Flourite is a mapper full of gimmicks and new ideas. Devoting herself to the 2018 osu!catch World Cup as part of the map selection team, F D Flourite constantly offers HD reading challenges, typically consisting of cruel difficulty settings, tricky patterns and complex flows, such as “kanonxkanon – Calendula Requiem”. As F D Flourite focused on promoting tournament-styled maps, she was slightly less active in the Ranked section of osu!catch in 2018, pushing only “Mamoru Miyano – Canon” to Ranked status. Despite this less "Rank-oriented" approach, innovative maps from F D Flourite are definitely a great addition to our collections and am looking forward to seeing more of her groundbreaking mapping projects very soon.

Fii written by Ascendance
  • Considered to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing mappers in osu!catch, Fii came off of a hot 2017 year looking to continue just that in 2018. Early in the year, Fii promoted two of her own sets, which included "t=NODE - Four Seasons, an eight minute map that had no lapse in quality at all and a beautiful storyboard made by herself as well. Her impressive contributions towards the first half of the year paired with her entry into the Beatmap Nominators, but sadly both came to a halt after her activity began to wane and she moved away from osu! to focus on out-of-game matters. While she no longer maintains the activity that brought her to popularity in previous years, her mapsets and difficulties are still looked on as incredibly high quality, and there are definitely people looking to the future for a prospective return.

Hareimu written by Sanyi
  • With 21 difficulties in total, Hareimu contributed significantly to the Ranked section in 2018. He showed us once more that he can map difficulties of any kind - from very relaxing and easy maps (like "Jijjin - pi" and "Nishiki Yasunori - Stolen Dreams, Lost Light") to intensely challenging ones such as (like "Camellia - ill intelligence"). Hareimu maps with such a clear and straightforward style that it blows my mind, making him one of my role models for emphasis. On top of that, his patterning is easy-to-grasp, yet varying enough to make his maps always fun to play. He was also a Beatmap Nominator in early 2018, providing mappers with reliable checks on their mapsets and also helped out fellow mappers with his guest difficulties, timing workshop and much more, making him a huge gain for the community. I love his beatmaps (especially his harder ones), so I hope to see more maps from him in 2019!

IDu5t written by Sanyi
  • IDu5t is fairly new to the mapping community - when I saw his "ryo (supercell) feat.chelly - Great Distance" beatmap in the Pending section back in September 2018, he had no notable connections to speak of and was almost completely unknown. Seeing potential in his mapping, I introduced him to the community, and since then he has impressed me even more than I expected! Though he struggled with lower difficulties in the beginning, he kept improving at an exponential rate and by the end of the year he had already Ranked a full-spread solo mapset ("Ling tosite sigure - abnormalize (TV Size)") and two guest difficulties (a Platter on "Itou Kanako - Hacking to the Gate (TV Size)" and an Overdose on "Memme - Blessing Snow"), in which he combined good emphasis with easy-to-grasp yet interesting patterning. He is also an incredibly active modder who always has useful suggestions, and these efforts have recently been rewarded with a rapid promotion to the Beatmap Nominators. With his Pending section and beatmap Graveyard overflowing with great maps, at his current rate of improvement, he can become something huge in 2019.

JBHyperion written by Nelly
  • JBHyperion is a mapper who needs no introduction. A winner of Mapper's Choice 2017, a former QAT leader, a commentator for osu!catch World Cup for 2 years now, and a "Professional Chair Thrower". This guy is simply amazing. He often tends to experiment with various styles like "No Hyperdashes" or "Antimeta," bringing an additional challenge for a player, on maps such as Akitan - Prayer and hsi guest difficulty for Akiyama Uni - Kanpan Tasogare Shinbun. However, he also has other projects which blew up the osu!catch scene like Halozy - 143 (extended mix), a 7 minute marathon with a full mapset spread featuring very few additional contributors to the set. Not to mention he also won the Ultimate Catch Mapping Contest II by Ascendance for his map of lapix - Good Time ft. Mayumi Morinaga, an extreme map with dozens of patterns to play. I personally can't wait for a serious comeback to see his full potential in all spheres of the mapping scene in 2019, and I believe that he can showcase even more than he has.

JeirYagtama written by Spectator
  • Despite only Ranking his first beatmap this year, JeirYagtama accomplished a great deal both as a mapper and Beatmap Nominator in 2018. His variation as a mapper, in particular, is amongst the best in the game mode, and shows how fast he has achieved growth and experience with a variety of styles. Not only producing a clean maps like "Hoshii Miki (CV: Hasegawa Akiko) - GO MY WAY!!", he also managed to create gimmicky and more unique projects such as "Mili - Gertrauda", which adopted the idea of using low slider tick rates to make droplets more exciting, bucking the trend of most osu!catch maps that employ tick rate 2. Members of the community are frequently appreciative of his ardour and dedication as both a modder and mapper, and we will also looking forward to his continued growth in 2019.

Kin written by JBHyperion
  • Kin, rather impressively, achieved multiple Ranked difficulties in three different modes in 2018. His two offerings in osu!catch came in the form of a pair of Overdose guest difficulties in March and April, which brought a greatly appreciated variety to the Ranked section. Perhaps even more impressive however, was Kin's return to the Ranked category for osu!catch for the first time in over four years! First appearing in the Ranked category in late-2013, Kin is one of the few mappers from those early times who have managed to successfully adapt to the significant meta evolution and expectation of quality over such a long period of time, but has thankfully managed to retain much of the old-school charm.

Kyuare written by Nelly
  • Kyuare's mapping activity was only slightly increased compared to 2017, but he nonetheless provided some astonishing maps to the Ranked section like "Zektbach - Turii ~Panta rhei~" and his rendition of "Imperial Circus Dead Decadence - Uta". On top of those, he appeared as a valued guest contributor in mapsets like "League of Legends - Hanami ON THE RIFT" and a collaboration difficulty on "a_hisa - Tokei no Heya to Seishin Sekai", showcasing his wide range of skills and interests. Although Kyuare certainly prioritises quality over quantity in his mapping, hopefully he can be more active in 2019 and deliver both!

lulu lemon written by MBomb
  • lulu lemon is a mapper who has been heavily involved in the modding and mapping scene for multiple years now, also known under his previous name of klonoa; however never managed to finish fully pushing a map to get it to Ranked status. However, that all changed in 2018 with a map of "Erik "Jit" Scheele - Negastrife", an interesting and unique marathon collaboration with Elite Mapper Ascendance that flew under the radar in terms of popularity, but was definitely high in terms of quality. This map was something which to me stood out as very unorthodox, yet still fundamentally enjoyable and well fitting to the song. The intensity of the piano track is matched with some quite difficult edge dash patterns, as well as a variety of buildups and wind-downs to match the changing pace of the song. I hope to see lulu lemon continue across this path, and maybe push another beatmap or two towards the Ranked section in 2019!

MBomb written by Sanyi
  • Despite being rather inactive for the majority of the year, MBomb delivered quite a few maps in 2018. He showed once more that he can map all kinds of difficulties, for all kinds of songs, leading to a unqiue and varied portfolio of Ranked beatmaps. Outstanding is his contribution of top quality Salad and Platter difficulties to the Ranked section, in which he combines clear emphasis and easy-to-grasp, yet varying patterning, proving once more that he is one of the best low difficulty mappers around. Since he has become considerably more active since late 2018, we can expect to see more great maps from MBomb in 2019. I am looking forward to it!

Minato Yukina written by Spectator
  • A famed mapper who burst onto the osu!catch stage in 2015, Minato Yukina (formerly known as CLSW), has made a resurgent comeback in 2018, once again showing his still outstanding mapping skills and even more clean structures, with the creations such as "orangentle / Yu_Asahina - HAELEQUIN (Extended ver.)" and "KASAI HARCORES - Cycle Hit" reaching Ranked status last year. Having earned a reputation for mapping uniquely challenging beatmaps that test even the most experienced players to their very limits, he has continued expanding his field of mapping with some more technological advancements in his recent maps. As a mapper who is always loved for his own unique style, I hope that he will revitalize the community through continuous and conspicuous activities in 2019.

murutattack written by Ascendance
  • After a quiet 2017 for murutattack, he returned in 2018 with a single Ranked beatmap. This map, which introduced a new Ranked mapper in YukaRei, provided two unique difficulties featuring challenging reading, funky stream shapes and smaller circles. Even though there were no other offerings from murutattack, considering the beatmap brings a unique and satisfying experience each time, we’ll be glad to see more in the future!

Myle written by Nelly
  • Myle didn't let anyone down this year, bringing to us more of his perfectly balanced beatmaps after Ranking his first in 2017. Though he was not that active in the ranking process in 2018, during his improvement upon the previous year he managed to produce some outstanding offerings such as "yanaginagi - Haru Modoki" and "xi - Happy End of the World", as well as guest difficultiess on "Mili - Vulnerability" and "DJ TOTTO feat. Enako - Precious * Star". Both of these difficulties have expertly-organised flow and play very well in general. Hopefully he'll be able to balance his real life responsibilities and his mapping career in the upcoming year!

Nanachii written by Sanyi
  • Nanachii (formerly known as "kotnana3131") showed us this year that hard work and perserverance indeed pays off. He joined the Mapping and Modding Mentorship Program as a complete newbie. Always asking for help and feedback, never too lazy to apply huge mods or even to entirely remap the his creations when not happy with them. As a result, he became quite a competent mapper within just a year. His Rain difficulties stand out the most, which can be seen in his Ranked beatmaps - a marathon Rain difficulty for "Rezonate - The Phoenix", which provides an interesting structure and very fitting usage of sliders, as well as 2 Rain guest difficulties ( a collaborative effort with JeirYagtama on "M2U - Wicked Fate" and a solo offering on "Lindsey Stirling - Senbonzakura"). If he maintains his hard-working attitude, he will surely become a very good mapper for all difficulties and pump out some cool maps in 2019!

Nelly written by Sanyi
  • With only 1 Ranked difficulty at the beginning of the year, Nelly surprised many of us with his huge improvements in 2018. Through hard work and perserverance, he became an accomplished mapper for every kind of difficulty, which resulted in an impressive haul of 23 Ranked difficulties by the end of the year. He was able to finally push some of his passion projects ("ensou ft. GUMI - Coma" and "Hanatan - If") and gained a lot of recognition in the mapping community, making 2018 a hugely successful year for him. What stands out the most in his maps for me is his flow usage - it matches the expected intensity almost perfectly, making his maps very enjoyable to play. I'd really like to see a solo mapset for a long song from him, as well as potentially a marathon Deluge difficulty - maybe he can surprise me with one (or even both) of those in 2019!

Ollapeu written by JeirYagtama
  • Whilst not being the most active mapper in osu!catch, Ollapeu gave me a new perspective on Rain difficulties in 2018, with his mapset of "JUN. K - love letter remix", helping to show that combining unusual patterns with good rhythm selection and interesting aesthetics creates a significant positive impact for people playing it. Additionally, his work allowed me to appreciate different song choices and made me more open-minded about what I feel able to and comfortable with mapping. I hope that he can continue to maintain that for all of us in 2019.

P i k u written by Sanyi
  • Piku is a mapper well known for his impressive Rain difficulties, and despite his rather low activity throughout 2018, he managed to push quite a few such difficulties on beatmapsets including "Halozy - 143 (extended mix)", "Mili - Vulnerability" and others. His beatmaps are so consistent and accessible that they impress me every time! However, Piku's biggest success in 2018 was Ranked his mapset for "Helblinde - Above the Clouds", this being not only his first Ranked mapset, but also his firstRanked Cup and Platter difficulties as well. It is unknown how active he will be in 2019, but I'll be glad to see more beatmaps from him!

Ponchiwi written by Sanyi
  • Ponchiwi expanded his ranked song genres this year - mainly known for his refreshing Spanish rock songs such as "TRONIC - Supervelocidad", he also reached Ranked status with some anime themes including "ULTRA TOWER - Kibou no Uta (TV Size)" and his guest difficulty on "Aqours - Yuuki wa Doko ni? Kimi no Mune ni! (TV Size)". This came in addition to his guest difficulty for Ascendance's monster set of "League of Legends - Hanami ON THE RIFT (PV ver.)", showcasing his expanse into the videogame genre. He uses many different angles and curves not found in other mapping styles, as well as quite a large number of vertical sliders - this makes his flow usage different from many other mappers, leading to a unique and refreshing gameplay experience. I hope to see more maps from him with uncommon song genres in 2019!

Razor Sharp written by alienflybot
  • Being one of the top-tier fruit catchers, Razor Sharp is keen on creating truly challenging maps that offer eye-opening and thrilling game experience to hardcore players. In 2018, three marathons from Razor Sharp were introduced to the Loved section. Among these renditions, I particularly enjoyed “Ata – Euphoria”, which comprises various stream patterns and beat snap usage. Daredevils may find “Spawn Of Possession – Apparition” interesting too, as it pushes beyond the limits and provides finger-breaking challenge to players at the very highest echelons of skill. As Razor Sharp is competent to craft hard maps, his difficulties are also found in several Ranked beatmapsets, notably “Black Hole – Pluto” and “U1 High-Speed – EGOISM 440”. Seeing newly submitted maps that showcase a wide range of gimmicks, a breakthrough in osu!catch mapping is expected from him in the future.

rew0825 written by JBHyperion
  • After making their debut in the Ranked category in 2017, rew0825 made significant strides last year to build on that initial success. 2018 brought us two guest difficulties and two full spread mapsets, including "nao - Towa naru Kizuna to Omoi no Kiseki" - a past feature from the 2017 osu!catch World Cup Grand Finals that we're pleased to see finally get the wider recognition it deserves. Whilst they typically prefer to shy away from the spotlight and quietly produce great content, rew0825 has been steadily growing both in experience and popularity, and we hope that continues into 2019 and beyond!

Rocma written by JeirYagtama
  • Rocma is well known as a top-tier player, and despite having struggles with mapping for the Ranked section in the past, he has always managed to produce unique content for the upper reaches of the player base that give many good impressions of his polished mapping. While having no Ranked sets of his own last year, his Ranked guest difficulty from Ascendance's "Memme - Blessing Snow" that he has the full potential to be a great mapper of his own with his understanding of aesthetics and flow. 2019 already looks like a breakout year for Rocma, and I look forward to seeing him reach further in giving his best to create more interesting content over the rest of the year.

RoseusJaeger written by wonjae
  • Despite not being the most skilled player, RoseusJaeger (now known as Wei Wuxian) proved to be quite the force when it comes to mapping Overdose difficulties in 2018. From their "Rib - Akaito" marathon difficulty, to their collaborative mapset of "OLDCODEX - Dried Up Youthful Fame (TV Size)", Roseus showed strength in mapping a wide variety of songs and styles, challenging both endurance and reaction speed. Already being an accomplished mapper at other diffuculty levels, I am excited to see Wei Wuxian grow and produce more great content within the osu!catch mapping scene in 2019!

Sakary written by Nelly
  • Previously known as Hi_Hello, Sakary had a breakout year in 2018 after steadily building in experience and confidence for many years. Right now he's well-known for mapping under-represented Filipino (Tagalog) and Thai songs for rank such as "Sam Concepcion - 1SANG Daan", "Inigo Pascual - Dahil Sa'Yo", and "Lipta - Ok Tua". All of these maps are playable and enjoyable for players of all skill levels, so anyone can experience clean, familiar patterning and structure through his maps. He's also featured on two collabartive difficulties, these being for "ensou ft. GUMI - COMA" and "M2U - Wicked Fate". All of this that I've mentioned is only the beginning for him in the osu!catch Ranked section and we should expect to see his full potential in the upcoming year.

Sanyi written by alienflybot
  • Sanyi has been incredibly supportive of fellow mappers in the osu!catch community, contributing many guest difficulties to fill beatmap spreads, as well as providing substantial assistance to improve others’ work. Ten guest difficulties from Sanyi were Ranked just in the past year, earning him recognition as the mapper with the most Ranked guest difficulties without any Ranked sets. Sanyi has vast experience in creating various difficulties, ranging from Cups featured in sets like “Black Hole – Pluto” to Rains such as “u’s – Angelic Angel (Movie Edit)”. Sanyi tends to follow vocals and instruments closely and applies easily-recognizable rhythms in the making of his difficulties. He also puts gameplay into consideration, ensuring that the flow and patterns are clear, lenient and most importantly, fun to play. Will Sanyi achieve his first Ranked set in the coming year? This question certainly provides food for thought.

Sc4v4ng3r written by JBHyperion
  • Sc4v4ng3r was one of 2017's fastest improving mappers, but was sadly unable to realise his full potential in 2018 following a lengthy break from osu! to focus on his career. Thankfully, he's managed to find some time to return towards the end of the past year and doesn't sem to have missed a step, adding a Ranked Rain guest difficulty in December to his collection. Even in a near total absence from the game however, Sc4v4ng3r's work has found a way to reach the spotlight, with a further Rain guest difficult collaboration, and amazingly, even a full spread of difficulties on "Tomita Miyu, Onishi Saori, Ohzora Naomi, Hanazawa Kana - Gabriel Drop Kick" hitting Ranked in the late Spring thanks to help from the community. This show of goodwill is a testament to both the lasting quality of Sc4v4ng3r's maps, as well as his extremely likeable nature. Here's hoping that 2019 has enough free time for a resurgence from the former Beatmap Nominator.

Seija written by wonjae
  • Sejia has made quite the entrance into the Ranked section this year through their “Nekomata Master feat. Shimotsuki Haruka - Element of SPADA” marathon difficulty. Although new to the nomination process, it’s obvious that Seija is no novice mapper, having crafted plenty of challenging and technical Overdose difficulties, as his experience is showcased brilliantly throughout the beatmap. The difficulty itself is well-structured and carefully considered, able to provide a challenge for even the most seasoned of players by encompassing a wide range of patterns and rhythms. Seija has proven that they can map Overdose difficulties at a high level, and I hope to see more such maps and perhaps even sets remain out of the graveyard and find their way into the Ranked section this year.

Shad0w1and written by Nelly
  • Most people would recognise Shad0w1and as an osu! mode mapper and from his significant contributions to video encoding, but I believe that the majority of people don't know about his mapping scene in osu!catch. Indeed, he made a few fruity difficulties that reached Ranked status last year - one of them is from 2016, which is "Yoshino Nanjo - Kimi o Sagashi ni", and the most recent of his career is "Miku Sawai - Colorful. (AnimeVer.)" in collaboration with Ascendance. Whilst not the most innovative, technical or complex creations, Shad0w1and is a mapper who has a reputation for making high quality beatmaps, and to see him translate this ability into osu!catch demonstrates his skill and understanding. Hopefully he'll remain involved in the osu!catch scene and can provide a few more beatmaps for this game mode in the upcoming year!

Sinnoh written by JBHyperion
  • Following on from an impressive debut year in 2017, Sinnoh was statistically one of the most active osu!catch mappers of 2018, contributing 48 Ranked difficulties across a wide spectrum of genres and mapping styles. Possessing a taste for the less conventional, Sinnoh has made a concerted effort to push the boundaries of osu!catch mapping over the past year, as both a mapper and Beatmap Nominator, and has been mostly successful in doing so. With a highly motivated work ethic and a good deal of experience, Sinnoh has become somewhat of a "jack-of-all-trades" in the osu!catch mapping scene, so rarely does anything with his name attatched to it fail to make a positive impact.

Sorcerer written by JBHyperion
  • Despite taking a significant period of time away from osu! in 2018, Sorcerer bookended the year with a Ranked beatmap in both the first and last months, as well as a trio of guest difficulties to match his quantity of contributions from 2017. Despite departing from the Beatmap Nominators in June, the experiences gained seem to have had a significant positive impact on Sorcerer's work ethic and quality, as it is now extremely rare to see a beatmap submission from him that has not already undergone substantial self-scrutiny and polish before reaching the public eye. Regardless of whether he continues with this careful and meticulous mapping nature, or decides to spread his wings, 2019 should be a very successful year for Sorcerer.

Spectator written by alienflybot
  • 2018 was undoubtedly a fruitful year for Spectator, the most prolific of his now seven year mapping career. Twelve ranked sets, more than twenty Ranked guest difficulties, and even the coveted “Elite Mapper: Aspirant” title emphasizes the incredible accomplishments of Spectator in the previous year. Despite his lasting reputation and popularity, Spectator always tries to step out of his comfort zone and expand his expertise. Aside from the difficulties with conventional style of mapping such as “LiSA – EGOiSTiC SHOOTER”, Spectator headed on to craft state-of-the-art maps, each of them emphasizing creative gimmicks: “M2U – Stellar” for example does not include any hyperdashes, whereas “Culprate & Au5 – Impulse”, a collaboration project with Ascendance features quick movements and burst streams. Also Ranked in the past year, “OISHII – ONIGIRI FREEWAY” is another golden offering that you won’t want to miss out on, as it is the winning entry of the Aspire 2017: osu!catch! contest. Whilst Spectator is unfortunately expected to be absent for most of 2019 due to his service as part of the national Air Force, his inevitable comeback in June 2020 will be long-awaited!

tasuke912 written by alienflybot
  • As an osu!taiko mapping veteran and long-standing tournament champion, tasuke912 has a firm understanding of what a good map should be. In light of this, he is also able to design high-quality fruit-catching maps on par with high modern mapping standards. tasuke912 often gain insights from other experienced mappers such as Spectator and Minato Yukina, and will likely soon develop a unique mapping style of his own characterized by smooth flow and great visuals. Renditions such as "Suzuki Konomi – Redo" and "yanaginagi – here and there" are just too good to be missed! Watchful eyes should be on him in the upcoming osu!catch mapping field.

Tenshichan written by chickenbible
  • Tenshichan is one of those old names that you see and you remember as a veteran presence in the osu!catch scene. Starting his journey out in 2013, Tenshichan still continues to provide quality offerings to the osu!catch mapping scene with works such as his iconic marathon "Nekomata Master feat. Shimotsuki Haruka - Element of SPADA" as previously featured as a TieBreaker in the 2017 osu!catch World Cup. With his beatmaps, Tenshichan brings an unrivaled amount of flow and smooth gameplay for all skill levels of play. Regardless of difficulty, you can be assured that when you see a Tenshichan beatmap, you know that you're bound for a high quality, enjoyable experience .

Tyrell written by wonjae
  • Although considered an older mapper whose activity is very much inconsistent nowadays, Tyrell remained on the periphery of the Ranked section in 2018 by participating on the Rain difficulty for "Chito (CV: Minase Inori), Yuuri (CV: Kubo Yurika) - Ugoku, Ugoku (TV Size)" alongside cyanine and myself. Known for being a remarkably consistent and well-structured mapper of lower diffuculties, it is only natural that his contributions to the mapset would follow suit. With a slight resurgence in activity and some minor adaptations to a much more modern mapping style, I can totally see Tyrell becoming the renowned mapper he can be. Hopefully this wasn't the last we'll see from him in the osu!catch ranking section over the coming months.

Vincs written by JeirYagtama
  • As a veteran player but relatively inexperienced mapper, Vincs has given a breath of fresh air regarding new patterns and gimmicks with his first Ranked map "PUSHER - Feel U". As the winner of a 2017 Mapping and Modding Mentorship contest, Vincs' entry managed to impress the vast majority with his unique take on rhythm and patterning. Not only does Vincs draw out unorthodox and anti-meta patterns, but he also retains the eye candy aesthetics that anyone will look for and delivers the satisfying punch of achievement when playing. With that being said, let's hope he will deliver more impressive content in 2019!

WildOne94 written by JBHyperion
  • WildOne has never been a mapper of quantity, but makes up for this by pouring everything into one or two mapsets to create high-quality spreads for longer songs in less well-represented genres that everyone can enjoy. 2018 was no exception, as we kick-started the year with his stream-centric rendition of "WRLD - By Design". For the remainder of the year, WildOne has been crafting two further mapsets that we will likely be talking about next year: "Muzzy - Crescendo (feat. MYLK)", a labour of love that featured in the 2017 osu!catch World Cup, and the much newer (and funk-tastic) "Glacier - Neos".

Withered Lotus written by MBomb
  • Withered Lotus is a mapper that manages to consistently find an innovative method to express songs, but in a way that still follows the song. His maps, as few and far between as they are in the ranked section, continuously impress me, and both of the difficulties he ranked this year were no exception. His challenging rain for When It Falls was a smooth difficulty, yet filled with antiflow patterns to match the intensity of the song, as well as very interesting stream usage and consistent HDash placements. His second difficulty on the other hand, an overdose for Secret Energy, showed a very strong level of understanding for the usage of antiflow and how to make it extremely enjoyable to play, as well as a nice incorporation of some tight movements. Hopefully we will see more of his difficulties reach the Ranked section next year, and see more of what he has to offer.

wonjae written by chickenbible
  • After several years of trying to break through in the osu!catch mapping and modding scene, wonjae turned a new leaf this year. Following his name change from Paranoid Grapes, and after finally ranking his mapset for "Chito (CV: Minase Inori), Yuuri (CV: Kubo Yurika) - Ugoku, Ugoku (TV Size)" after countless months of patience, he quickly pushed onwards to make a name for himself, joining the Beatmap Nominators soon after. There, wonjae has taken on new levels of activity in both mapping and modding, ranking another one of his sets "Nekomata Master feat. *spiLa* - Clumsy thoughts", as well as several guest difficulties in a short span of time. Looking towards the future, wonjae could become a great representative for the next generation of mapping and modding within the United States.

Xetopia written by Nelly
  • A newcomer to osu!catch's Ranked section, Xetopia made his name known in 2018 by showing a great deal of potential! Most of his Ranked beatmaps were of songs originating from mobile rhythm games such as Love Live and Bandori, such as "u's - Angelic Angel" or "Poppin'Party - Romeo to Cinderella". With an incredibly pleasing modern mapping style and wonderful aesthetics, he also managed to sneak onto a few famous mappers' sets like Spectator's "BUTAOTOME - Gensou no Satellite" and Ascendance's "Memme - Blessing Snow". Thanks to his rapid advancement and understanding of osu!catch mapping, Xetopia can definitely create some awesome maps in the next year, and we're looking forward to it!

YukaRei written by Sanyi
  • After having been a somehwat experienced beatmapper for a couple of years now, YukaRei (also known as "breathless") finally achieved his first Ranked difficulty in 2018! In his Rain difficulty for “Akiyama Uni - Kaoru Juyouka”, he combined good structure and emphasis with fitting wiggling patterns, which lead to a very well executed difficulty. I am also a big fan of his Loved beatmap for "Halozy - Three Magic (DiGiTAL WiNG TRANCE Remix)", since it provides challenging patterns that are really fun to play! If he makes some more connections in the mapping community, he will have a good chance to achieve the success he truly deserves in 2019.

Yumeno Himiko written by JBHyperion
  • If the expression "New Year, New You" could apply to anyone in osu!catch, it would be Yumeno Himiko. Taking on a new name at the end of 2017, the mapper formerly known as examination had their most successful and consistently productive year yet in 2018, with four Ranked mapsets, two guest difficulties and three storyboards, all produced to an impressively high standard. Yumeno's rapid growth earned them a position in the Beatmap Nominators in June, and they have since continued to improve (and help others to do the same) with each passing month. With a recent activity featuring nothing but beatmap submissions and updates, 2019 could be an even more impressive year for China's most successful osu!catch mapper.

ZiRoX written by Ascendance
  • While ZiRoX brought forward only one of his own sets to the Ranked section in "S-C-U - heron" this year, he again contributed to a wide variety of Ranked beatmapsets of multiple genres with some of the most flawless guest difficulties. "S-C-U - heron" provides an exquisite take on an incredibly hard technique to get right in high CS mapping. This, coupled with his continuous contribution to the osu!catch Ranking Criteria and his promotion to the Quality Assurance Team made 2018 a massive step up for one of the community’s oldest and most respected members.
Last edited by JBHyperion , edited 2 times in total.
VINXIS
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VINXIS

osu!mania _ - JA



_Asha written by -MysticEyes
  • _Asha is a new mapper who only started mapping in April 2018, but has shown an impressive dedication towards learning by ranking his first set only 5 months later! His hard work is clearly paying off, as he is developing a talent for making comfortable yet fun patterns based off flow as well as well-executed LN usage. We can't wait to see more of his growing talent!

_Stan written by -MysticEyes
  • With a positve attitude and an increasing mapping skillset, _Stan has been making waves through the mapping world. Though 2017 was quiet for _Stan, 2018 has been quite an exciting year. Besides his impressive BN work and his amazing modding talent, he has ranked 2 mapsets this year as well as one GD, allowing him to show his ability to juxtapose cozy patterning and comfy LNs with ambitious SV usage in order to create visually exciting and challenging mapsets for players of all levels. His dedication to the mania community is incredibly admirable and we'll greatly appreciate his work in the coming year.

_underjoy written by Maxus
  • _Underjoy comes back stronger each year with ranking some of the hardest maps in the mania community. His Volcanic and Deublithick pushes musical layering to the upmost limit as well as bringing high level content that is quite scarce to be seen in the ranked section nowadays. He focused on bringing dense chordstream and slipped some bracketstream in-between to enhance the technicality and the difficulty level of the map to fit more with the star rating expectation from the players. Overall a really intriguing mapper that constantly brings a different style focus each year.

_VianK_ written by Hydria
  • A mapper for a couple years now, _VianK_ pops his head into the ranked section this year on K a b i -'s citrus set. Whilst being a low star difficulty, the map focuses more on comfortable patterning than anything else, being an enriching experience for newer players, and hopefully we can see more maps from them in the future!

- Aries - written by qqqant
  • A talented mapper in both unranked and ranked, - Aries - ranked the Bang Dream cover of Guren no Yumiya this year in a period around June when it was quite popular to rank Bang Dream maps. With a simple and enjoyable approach to the song, people from a wide variety of skill levels have been able to enjoy the map. The map's popularity partly has to do with its source was well, and - Aries - is continuing to map more Bang Dream songs, potentially for rank.

- Ly0572 - written by Hydria
  • A pretty established mapper at this point, - Ly0572 - brings a number of sets into the ranked section this year alongside a number of GDs, mainly Torikago and Kotoba no Iranai Yakusoku. Torikago features heavy LN usage in it's highest diff collab with Ibrahim as well as featuring hand biased LN-based patterning in the HD diff below, each diff containing a unique aspect to it, making it stand out from the usual TV Size maps out there. Meanwhile, Kotoba no Iranai Yakusoku tries to keep it simple, with repetitive comfortable patterning for users, making it a good map for acc players overall. A generally nice sight to see in the ranked section, hopefully we can see more from them in the future!

-H i k a r i- written by Lusty Platypus
  • Known as Das-[Hikari]- when they ranked their first beatmap this year: Magical Musical Masterpiece by Sakuyzo garnered quite a lot of attention from players of all different skill levels due to its accessible and somewhat traditional patterning, the easier charts featuring good PR usage as well as the occasional minijack, whilst the harder charts featured general comfortable chord patterning but with daring jumpstream-designed bursts and a beautifully crafted LN solo in the middle. Being -H i k a r i-'s first ranked beatmap we can hope to see more coming from them in the future.

-MysticEyes written by Maxus
  • Even with -MysticEyes only just appearing in the mapping scene as of 2018, the influence and contribution he has brought to the community is arguably one of the topmost within mania history, especially in the modding department where he managed to become mania BN as of October. His mapping features LN based layering that differs in style in both currently ranked beatmaps. While his Xperanza has a hefty usage of stacked 1/4 LN to emphasize certain hard instruments which adapt each sound to a specific length, his Quaoar brings it to an entirely new dimension when it emphasizes the inverse LN layering with irregular releases and abnormal hold length variation that looks intimidating at first to read, but in actual gameplay can be executed flawlessly for players at this level. This is proof of his mapping prowess and level of mastery towards pattern understanding that not a lot of people have. With him keep being a prominent member of the community, it's not surprising that he will bring a new wind to the mapping meta and it's best to be promoting his style to be an inspiration towards other mappers.

[ A v a l o n ] written by Maxus
  • [ A v a l o n ] returns to the mania mapping scene once again after being in hiatus for quite some time. He still retains his comfortable and conventional approach of mapping with his latest ranked beatmap that focused more on casual players. The map deserves the respect it has because of how the majority of the community prefer his mapping style. Alongside that, his maps have a generally high playcount, favourite count, and overall positive reception which makes him a clear idol in the community.

[Shana Lesus] written by Hydria
  • A mapper truly known by all at this point, Shana works from beyond the wall to bring us another two GDs for the ranked section this year, breaking away from the normality of 4K and extending their skills into the realm of 8K. Whilst none of his maps feature the complexity the community has come to know, they still stand out well in their own right, focusing mostly on comfortness and enjoyability whilst still keeping density and pitch relevancy in check, leading to the skills of an experienced mapper. Hopefully we can see more GDs from them in the future!

Abraxos written by qqqant
  • A well-known mapper with a unique approach in mapping, Abraxos snuck back in this year to the ranked section with one guest difficulty on riunosk's Heaven's Fall. His difficulty, being an Insane on the set, included fast jumpstreams, structured with fine use of repetition and vocal layering. Of course, this difficulty alone does not give anywhere near the credit that Abraxos deserves, what with two of his spectacular maps getting into the Loved section this year. Abraxos is a very expressive and detailed mapper, as can be seen in his maps in Loved, but most especially in his Rhuzerv, an underplayed chart with a unique LN release style. We hope that Abraxos will be back to the ranked section with more of his amazing maps!

AchsanLovers written by Maxus
  • AchsanLovers, being notable in mania community as the Qrispy Joybox mapper, keeps bringing content that expresses himself the best to the players. Starting his first ranked beatmap of the year back in January 2018, AchsanLovers didn't stop trying something new as proven by his latest ranked beatmap in October 2018, where he did a piano-based keysound map, which is uncommon within the mania ranked section, alongside giving an extremely beautiful interpretation of the song. To add even more to how astounding the map is, the patterns themselves also feature complex snapping such as 1/6, 1/8 or even 1/12 slipped in-between, making it quite a challenge to read properly but, at the same time, enhancing the intricate layering to the fullest.

Agayers written by Hydria
  • A relatively new mapper to the scene, Agayers grants the ranked section an extra map this year with the full marathon Isuzu no TRACK. This full 5:40 track and map give the feel of old-style DJ SHARPNEL maps, though you have to be careful as the SVs inside can catch you out if you're not paying attention! Definitely a wonderful sight to see in the ranked section and we hope we can see more from this mapper in the near future.

AJIekceu written by -MysticEyes
  • Though 2018 was a quiet year for him, AJIekceu, a mapper known for his Pump it Up sets, had his first 7k difficulty featured in the ranked section in Nysrogh's Mama ft. William Singe set, bringing out the calm pop song to the fullest using comfortable yet slightly challenging patterns for intermediate players.

AlisceaSparku written by Maxus
  • AlisceaSparku is one of the earliest members of the modding community, making quite a noticeable presence in the old times and certainly still not forgotten now. His layering approach in his GD, Kotoba no Iranai Yakusoku, consists of the solid and rigid patterning and structured that are focused on the usage of more advanced type of LN that are consistently been applied throughout the chart as the main foundation of the map.

Alsty- written by Hydria
  • A pretty old mapper by today's standards, Alsty- takes another shot at the ranked section this year with his normal GD on Mama Minta Pulsa. With it's focus on melody, it takes a daring trip into 1/4 notes for a normal, though still focusing on comfortable patterning throughout, something a user can definitely find enjoyment in playing. Hopefully we can see more ranked sets for them in the future!

AYAYAA written by Unpredictable
  • Better known as Alternater, AYAYAA is a high ranked, well skilled, and extremely talented player and mapper that seems to improve not only in playing mania, but his mapping proficiency too, making him a well-versed mapper within the mapping scene. When it comes to mapping, he preferably makes 4K based maps, but with interesting concepts to follow up with them. Last year, he was able to put some of his maps into the ranked section which really showcased some of his SV and jumpstream mapping capabilities which really shed some light on interesting, conceptual ideas through his in which many players seem to enjoy. With the amount of dedication and passion he has for the game, we hope to see more him and his maps in the future.

Amiichii written by Hydria
  • Amiichii blows away the ranked mania collection this year, ranking 4 sets of their own whilst also GDing in 5 of them. Focusing mainly on anime-related tunes, their distinct LN-mixed chord based style mixed with the occasional anchor-based jumpstream is definitely one to stand out and catch the eye of the community. We hope to see more wonderful maps from them in the future!

AncuL written by Hydria
  • AncuL, a name nearly as old as mania itself, finally treats the ranked section with one of his own mapsets, and what a first map to start with! Given the title for mania's longest map this year at a whopping 9 minutes, it features a wonderful flowing mixture of LNs accompanied by an inspiring and uplifting folk song, a map easily bringing tears to the eyes of many. We hope he can keep this top tier quality throughout the rest of his career and can be treated to more wonderous ranked maps in the very near future.

arcwinolivirus written by Maxus
  • Being a top player and well-known figure in the community, arcwinolivirus consistently ranked beatmaps each year starting from 2014 and is still doing so even in 2018 which is a respectable achievement to have. His mapping style moved from mostly challenging high level beatmaps that focused on top players to more casual friendly beatmaps which have relatively easy chording patterns along with pure-rice patterning. With his chart designs being for both 4 key and 7 key player, it expands the playerbase even more considering the scarcity for other keymodes.

arpia97 written by -MysticEyes
  • arpia97, a well known top-level vibro player, had his first appearance in the ranked section with his GD for Lude's I mapset. His focus on trill/stacked based jumpstreams and jack based handstreams made for a unique interpretation of the fast-paced chiptune track. Make sure to check out his vibro maps if you're interested in vibro, and watch out for his future ranked maps/GDs!

Arzenvald written by Maxus
  • Arzenvald is already a long-standing figure and has developed a mapping experience that only a few other community members have due to him being a mapper, a modder and also a BN simultaneously. He always put an emphasis on the fact that maps need to have a decent amount of variation and layering in a way that it reflects the song to its fullest instead of only mapping the percussion that doesn't give the song justice. His mapping style isn't afraid to go overboard and even sometimes receives community controversy due to implementing something new and creative. However it's worth the effort when in the end, his mapping idea and techniques becoming more refined and better as time goes. Although Arzenvald only can contribute to the GD in 2018 due to in real life issues, we sure hope that he will mapping and ranking his own charts in 2019!

Asherz007 written by Maxus
  • Usually we see Asherz007's mapping style being rice-oriented that focuses on either jumpstream and handstream in most of his notable charts, but, specifically for 2018, he crafted an uncommon LN based map that is completely unusual given what he's known for. His S.O.S chart mostly substitutes the 1/8 jumpstream burst from 4 key to a pure 1/8 single LN stream for 6 key. This shows that Asherz007 is starting to develop an understanding towards incorporating other pattern styles that still retain his identity. With his tangible improvement that shows in his latest ranked chart, next year there will be a high expectation for him to bring something different to the scene once again.

Aste- written by -MysticEyes
  • Aste-, a mapper who first appeared in the ranked section in 2016, is an occasional GDer who has made a significant contribution to quite a few well-known ranked mappers' sets. This year he appeared in an Intermediate difficulty in Rivals_7's cyanine mapset, introducing upper-normal level players to 1/3 rhythms and simple 1/4 bursts. Though his appearances in the ranked section are spread out, Aste- always makes sure to make an interesting impression in the difficulties he makes!

atian540 written by Hydria
  • atian540 brings himself into the limelight this year with not one but two ranked mapsets. A fairly new mapper, his maps offer simplistic yet enjoyable patterns for every user to play, and with the slight play with LN patterning, it'll be nice to see what the future can hold for this aspiring mapper!

Benzopirene written by Unpredictable
  • Benzopirene has been one of the longer lasting members within the osu!mania community, and has generally promoted various anti-keymodes through their maps, whether in ranked or in graveyard. For the most part, they map mostly 7K maps and through the ranked section of last year, they were able to show how capable they are when it comes to mapping. Through this, they were able to showcase a well-crafted jack heavy map and one that spotlights every keymode for everyone to enjoy. On top of this, they also make a lot of 7K maps that go to the graveyard, but their maps really display some interesting and well thought out concepts that many 7K players will enjoy. A very knowledge and highly experienced mapper that has proven their worth through their maps over the years and we hope to see more of them in the future.

biemote written by Hydria
  • biemote, an old but not forgotten name in this community, has another go at the ranked section this year with two hard GDs on Koi and YUKARI. Featuring really dense jumpstream-style patterns alongside anchors and hand-bias bursts, the complexity in each difficulty truly shows that their years here have definitely paid off, and hopefully we can see more from them in the near future!

Blocko written by qqqant
  • ET Blocko made a single appearance in the ranked section this year on _underjoy's set of Deublithick. This year was a good year for highly difficult 7K sets, and Deublithick was no exception. In his guest difficulty, ET Blocko uses challenging chordstreams to test the player's finger independence. Now, ET Blocko is pushing his set of goreshit - o'er the flood, a large 7K set with a variety of expertly crafted difficulties. We hope that ET Blocko can come back to the ranked section in 2019!

booty written by -MysticEyes
  • Though he mostly makes 4k mapsets, booty's first ranked GD wasn't only in a famous mapset, specifically Insp1r3's Mazare Party, he also stepped outside of his norms to create an exciting insane-level 6k mapset that provides a good introduction to faster light chordstreams for 6k players. We're excited to see both 4k and 6k difficulties and sets from him in the future, so definitely stay tuned for his future maps.

ByeForNow written by qqqant
  • ByeForNow appeared in the ranked section with two guest difficulties this year, both on riunosk's set of Heaven's Fall, one being geared towards longer LN lengths, the other being a bit more speed-oriented. With this unique contrast in difficulty, we hope to see ByeForNow return in 2019 with more of his maps in the ranked section. Be it LN or speed, we know that ByeForNow can get any of it covered.

Calcyon written by -MysticEyes
  • Calcyon's progression from 2017 to 2018 was nothing short of astonishing, stunning the mania community with his latest ranked map, envidia. He showcased his prowess in creating unorthodox maps by perfectly matching daring patterns such as long 1/8 trills and ambitious jack/LN usage to the lush guitar-heavy melody in order to maximize musicality and to create an incredibly unique playing experience arguably never seen before in the ranked seciton. We are incredibly excited to see how he will showcase his sheer mapping talent and versatility in the future since his contributions to the ranked section have been absolutely amazing so far.

capsafangirl written by Hydria
  • A relatively old mapper by today's standards, capsafangirl finally breaks into the ranked section this year with their insane diff on underjoy's Deublithick. Diving into 7K, the patterns used throughout resemble similar to easier BMS-style charts, which, at 228bpm, makes the map feel more enjoyable instead of being a ridiculous speed race. With some tricky 1/4 streams trickled in as well, the map feels fitting and pleasant for users that are not quite used to the harsher patterns of 7K at this fast speed. Hopefully we can see more maps from them in the future!

Carol written by -MysticEyes
  • Coming back into the ranked scene in September of this year, Carol's ranked (as well as unranked) mapsets have shown their talent for mapping out challenging jacks, chordjacks, and even exciting SVs in their unranked mapsets. Though Carol's new ranked set is short, it's interpreted in an interestingly unique way as they continue to create sets that simultaneously provide fun content for new players and provide accuracy challenges for experienced ones. Their enthusiam for mapping clearly shines through and we can't wait to see the new content they have to offer next year.

Chilly- written by -MysticEyes
  • Though he is a relatively new mapper, Chilly- has pleasantly surprised many through his rapid improvement in mapping, ranking his first mapset in November this year. With his first ranked set, he utilized a song with complicated time signatures in a well-polished and fun way by using excellently patterned 1/4 bursts and classy long LN usage that combined into a suitable and accessible mapset that any player can enjoy, a quality that is always appreciated and a sure sign of his future success as a mapper!

chouyaa written by -MysticEyes
  • chouyaa is a new GDer to the ranked section, but he showcased his style very appropriately in riunosk's Sweet Dreams (11t dnb mix). His normal difficulty provides a comfortable playing experience for novices through cozy 1/2 melodies, challenging 1/2 stacks of doubles and single notes, as well as friendly LN patterning. His unranked sets prove that he can map a variety of songs as well with his style, and we hope to see more of his work soon.

Civilization written by qqqant
  • Civilization has been known to create SV maps that appear simplistic in nature, but are rather quite difficult to hit accurately. This is demonstrated quite well in her ranked map, Interlude, a short but challenging map. Though this was Civilization's only contribution to the ranked section this year, she has been seen in the mapping scene outside of unranked quite frequently. Civilization hosted SBFB, an SV sightreading tournament, and also mapped for it along with Couil, Hydria, Evening, and me. In addition, Civilization's KAMISORI was featured in the semi-finals pool of 4K MWC 2018, with difficult anchor jack and technical patterns.

Cokiiplay written by -MysticEyes
  • Cokiiplay is an extremely prolific unranked mapper with quite a bit of experience behind him, especially in mapping unorthodox song choices. Therefore it wasn't a surprise when he came out with a well-made 4k hard GD for Insp1r3's Mazare Party mapset that focused on a variety of patterning including introductory LNs and simple yet elegant jumpstreams

Couil written by -MysticEyes
  • A mapper made famous for his absolute showstopper of a first ranked map, Couil started off 2018 with a bang. He displayed his incredible mapping talent by utilizing intense bursts and beautifully executed SVs in fuego (sakuraburst remix). While he is most famous for his first ranked map, Couil displays a remarkable versatility sought after in the mania community. His second ranked map, Harumachi Clover, proved his talent in making accessible mapsets and, to the delight of many players and mappers, he has continued to improve even more in creating experimental maps such as his loved SV mapset Epollo. Alongside that, he also has a variety of well-made unranked mapsets that show off his ability to make amazing jumpstream, technical, dump, and LN oriented sets along with his aforementioned SV talent. In addition to all of this, he also had an impact on the tournament scene as a mapper in SBFB, a sightreading SV tournament. Definitely a mapper who will continue to impress and excite us in the future!

Critical_Star written by Maxus
  • Being one of the senior and veteran charter of the community, Critical_Star constantly proves himself that his technique and high level of prowess and execution for both 4 and 7 keymodes are one to be sought for, especially considering the difficulty of his charts being mostly an X icon to begin with. Starting from his first ranked map of the year, he utilizes a lot of chordjacks combined with short bursts that makes it really difficult for the map to be nailed properly even for top level players. Not to mention the amount of long trills combined with the stream, followed up with extremely harsh bump SV section that gives even more of a fervor for the player with how the chart emphasizes the instrument, which heightens musicality to the max. As for his 7K chart, he uses a lot of intricate bracketstream along with some advanced LN patterning that cannot be breezed through easily. Especially on his Destr0yer ranked chart, he did an additional gimmick that centered around his back and forth 1/16 burst that required high finger independency but at the same time fast finger reaction to properly hit the pattern. With a huge amount of variation, he consistantly brings his best to the ranking section for both keymodes; it's not an exaggeration to say that the amount of anticipation and the excitement that the community expect from him is getting higher and higher each year.

CrumpetFiddler written by Maxus
  • Through his latest ranked beatmap, CrumpetFiddler shows that he willing to branch into another genres of music that have different styles from his usual Dragon Ball maps. Although his map still mostly comprises of simple jumpstream type of pattern, he also incorporated new types of patterning within his chart such as a long minijack section and a small LN gimmick that shows his versality to keep improving throughout the year.

Cryolien written by Maxus
  • A well-seasoned and experienced player that was a runner up of OMWC 2018, Cryolien doesn't usually join the mapping scene which changed at the beginning of 2018 where he mapped more than 30 beatmaps throughout the year, to which one got ranked in April, making it his first ever mania ranked beatmap. The first section of the map mostly contained simple 1/2 chord patterning mixed with simple LN layering that reached the climax when the song arrived at the bridge section. For being relatively new in the mapping scene, he managed to create a decent chart worthy for ranked which is a great achievement.

Crystal written by Hydria
  • A famous quad-mode player and CTB champion, Crystal takes another shot this year into the mania ranked section with his collab on LiFE Garden. With free-flowing patterns and column-based placements which show expertise in the field, we hope to see Crystal aim higher and higher in the future!

Curiossity written by Raveille
  • As a follow-up to his previous ranked map Airborne Robots, Curiossity added Feelin Sky to the ranked section, as well as his guest difficulty on Ethnik Khemikal Teknologi, both maps having met great reception, with his very interesting and equally as unique designs and patterns. He has also been very active in mapping in 2018, notably mapping various Camellia songs, and with his interesting blend of LN and SV, he is a mapper to definitely look out for in the following year.

DarckoSeth written by -MysticEyes
  • DarckoSeth, a new mapper to the ranked section, made an impressive effort over the span of five months to create an effective handstream oriented map from a beautiful piano-oriented instrumental track. His excellent work ethic helped him learn essensial mapping concepts and have greatly fueled his growth as a mapper, and will surely help him grow even more in the coming year.

DE-CADE written by Unpredictable
  • As someone who started mapping mania as early as 2014, DE-CADE as really stands out in the mania community as an outstanding mapper, pushing multiple 4K and 7K sets and GDs into the ranked section throughout his career. He typically chooses rhythm game based songs that's to his liking and always makes something enjoyable for everyone. He was also an excellent modder which helped him regain being a Beatmap Nominator during 2018 for a short period of time, helping people within the community by pushing mania maps into the ranked section. DE-CADE has done a great deal with helping the mania section grow, whether its making ranked or unranked or help push maps to the ranked section, we hope to see more of him in the near future.

Dellvangel written by Maxus
  • After being in hiatus for some time from the mapping and modding scene, Dellvangel came back strong in both departments by ranking his Axium Crisis map, along with being a mania BN once again. While in the past he was completely focused on providing a balancedand clean chart that was comfortable to read due to high visual readability, in 2018 he evolves his style to focusing on stacked 1/4 LN that accents the small essence of sound along with a combination of basic and advanced LN pattern that spreaded across the chart. His chart indirectly gives the hidden message to other charters that variation changes throughout the map are indeed an important aspect, avoiding only doing one same unique concept for the entire map.

Div written by -MysticEyes
  • With an eye for consistent patterning and a superb sense of structuring (as well as a hilarious sense of humor), Div made his way into the ranked section with Mou Ii kai?, a set with jumpstreams and chordjacks that provide an excellent introduction to players getting used to playing denser patterns and a fun accuracy challenge for advanced players. The preparation he put into his work was impressive since it was obvious that he had a clear vision of how he wanted his set to play and how to execute it. We will definitely expect more expertly crafted maps in ranked from Div in the future!

DoNotMess written by Maxus
  • With a strong start that he showed back in 2017, he makes himself even more notable within the community by ranking total of 4 charts as of 2018. The highlight of his 2018 ranked list comes mainly from 2 beatmaps. The first one being Disperagioia, which focuses on high amount of dense chordjack and minijack that requires high amount of stamina to be nailed properly, combined with some intricate bursts that occur in the middle of chord patterning, combined with advanced long note patterns as well as some SVs to spice things up furthermore. The second map is Inverse World, which incorporates tricky LN releases and an Inverse wall LN that gets trickier when the song gets more intense, while the last kiai part arguably utilizes the hardest inverse releases in the difficulty. The amount of advanced patterning that DoNotMess is capable of executing flawlessly is astounding to the point where he manages to be a front runner mapper of this community.

dosyeru written by Maxus
  • dosyeru is an old face that is known for mapping 7K+1, ranking his charts and GDs as early as 2014. Although he already retired from the mania mapping scene, the amount of anti-meta charts that already made are specifically good for newcomers that want to learn the modes, because his patterning mostly features a more basic approach to the scratching column that makes it more accessible. The example would be in his GD in Pocket-Gao's chart which he delivers light and convenient patterning by using a lot of linear stairs as one of the map's, and his own distinguishable feature.

Dr_Marc written by -MysticEyes
  • Featured in TheNewBungping's Iwai kedo ne. set, Dr_Marc's GD debut in the ranked section was an interesting departure from other normal level difficulties, utilizing creative 1/4 rhythms as well as 1/6 grace notes that allowed players to learn new rhythms in a safe, low-BPM enviornment. An accessible yet slightly unusual GD like this is quite interesting to have in the ranked section and definitely reflects the work he put into it.

Draftnell written by -MysticEyes
  • Combining density with accessibility, Draftnell continued his long and well-known career in the ranked section in 2018 with 2 mapsets: Jounetsu Utopia and Mama Minta Pulsa (Speed Up Ver.). Both sets are quite effective in introducing advanced players to insane-level mapsets via smooth SVs, frequent quad usage to emphasize stronger sounds, and longer jumptrill/ 1/8 sections in his upper level difficulties. His commitment to creating player-friendly maps and unique song choices have allowed him to create sets that appeal to a wide audience: from casual players looking to enjoy the song to higher-level players looking for a fun accuracy challenge. As such we're excited for him to continue making more fun beatmaps that anyone can enjoy!

Dreamwalker written by Unpredictable
  • Formerly known as Otakujanai, Dreamwalker is definitely one of the most talented and noteworthy mappers we have seen this year. Although he's one of the newer faces of the ranked section, he's been actively mapping and modding for past two years and since then, he has really found creative and expressive ways in mapping distinctive song choices through SV usage and unique patterns that will definitely leave you on the edge of your seat. On top of that, he was incredibily active within the modding scene earlier of 2018, making his own modding team which specifically focused on mania maps in hopes of helping mappers get their maps into the ranked section. Truly, one of most influential mappers that has really left a mark on the mapping and modding scene and we hope to see more of his maps in the near future.

dudehacker written by Maxus
  • A renowned member of the community for his hitsounding capability and flexibility to adapt his hitsounds to any instrument present within various type of songs, dudehacker surely doesn't fall short when it comes to charting prowess that extends to any keymode. Although most of his ranked charts are quite simple for lower skilled players and are more focused towards accuracy, he is still capable of mapping even anti-keymodes which is rare in today's ranking which deserves quite a recognition on its own. With the astounding 4 new beatmaps that he ranked in 2018, we can expect an even greater product for him to produce in the future.

DustMoon written by Unpredictable
  • Although they only has 2 guest difficulties in the ranked section, Dustmoon was one of the most active modders between 2017-2018 and continues to map every so often till this day. They often pick japanese based songs or rhythm game based songs to his liking and expresses these songs through interesting and unique maps that they create. He was also an active modder from previous years, making his modding and mapping experience grow with him as a whole. Overall, a mapper and modder we would like to see more of in the upcoming future.

Eedow written by Unpredictable
  • Although they only have a single guest difficulty in ranked, Eedow has been mapping for at least 3 years now and has been continuing to map every so often with their maps in the graveyard or as guest difficulties for other people. They preferably pick rhythm-game based songs or electronic music from japanese artists to convey their mapping through SVs and difficult patterning, making their maps enjoyable, but also challenging. They are always willing to try something new when it comes to mapping and they aren’t afraid of stepping over what they’re comfortable with. Overall, a mapper and player who is well-experienced in the osu!mania community in general and we hope to see of more of them soon.

eiri- written by Unpredictable
  • Although she might be a new face to the mania section during 2018, she’s not a new face to the ranked section as eiri- has dedicated her work to over 150+ beatmaps in the ranked section and is currently still going strong through her many taiko and standard maps. Many people recognize her by her previous alias being Ayyri and before her account change, she was putting maps into the ranked section since mid-2016 and since last year, she was able to push 2 mania maps that showed how capable she is when it comes to mapping other modes she’s not too familiar with. Although both sets showed she wasn’t too experienced with mapping anything with high SR, both showcased some interesting concepts and ideas through her maps with things such as interesting snapping arrangement and LN usage that her made her maps a bit hard than something you might typically expect, but it was also enjoyable as well. With how active she is in the osu! community, we plan to see her produce more content for the ranked section and hopefully for mania as well.

Eldergleam written by Hydria
  • A well known though hidden talent in the community, Eldergleam finally shines through to the ranked section this year with his GD on MEGAtive's Minus 2. Despite it only being of easy difficulty, the repetitive patterning to follow the music alongside the technicality of the continuous column usage shows that this mapper definitely has a lot of potential if they want to try something more daring this year!

Envory written by -MysticEyes
  • 2018 proved to be a very successful year for Envory! He made his first foray into the ranked section with his first ranked set, &Z (TV Size), and his first GD in DoNotMess' Inverse World mapset. &Z focused on dense yet comfortable layering, moving between light LN sections that brought out the song's emotional vocal parts with dense regular note layering for the more intense parts of the song. On the other hand his normal difficulty in Inverse World showed his prowess at creating introductory LN patterns that help players prepare themselves for later difficulties, alternating between standard normal-level sections and fun LN sections that utilized 1/1 and 1/2 LNs. Surely a promising career is ahead for this new ranked mapper.

error_exe777 written by Unpredictable
  • While he may have a low rank for mania standards, don’t let that distract you from what he’s really capable of when it comes to mapping as error_exe777 had showcased in 2018 some of the most unique and interesting maps we’ve seen yet in the ranked section. Not only is he extremely well adept in mapping, he is also really experienced in modding as well which also led him to be a Beatmap Nominator last year and promoted maps into the ranked section. To add onto that, he is very knowledgeable when it comes to SVs and experiments with songs from artists that he enjoys such as sakuraburst and KOAN Sound that will leave you stunned once you get a chance to play them. A very talented mapper indeed from his unique song choices and his eccentric mapping style to follow up with it, he’s definitely someone we really hope to see more of in the near future.

ExNeko written by Hydria
  • A relatively well known name in the community, ExNeko managed to rank 2 more sets this year, Horangpungnyuga and Crystal World ~Fracture~. Horangpungnyuga is quite heavily broken JS based, with dense chords filling the gaps in-between, whilst Crystal World ~Fracture~ follows similar structure but goes more into the full on JS aspect of the map, including a few triples in there as well, a sight that will excite most common players to date. With this, we hope to see more from this mapper in the near future!

ExPew written by Maxus
  • A former mania QAT that holds the elite mapper title for his award in winning 2014 mania mapping contest, Expew leans towards patterns that generally are uncommon to be seen, even outside the mapping ranking scene which means that he already has a hold on his own style and his own understanding on what kind of chart he wants to be known for. The layering that he normally uses requires players to learn the muscle memory and reading comprehesiveness that are rarely / never encountered in their previous practice, which makes it even more difficult because it's pretty much the same as re-learning patterns from beginning again. Despite that, his patterns in Glorious Crown flow really well with the instrument and he did a nice job incorporating note density that also following the music intensity, which means that from musical relevance standpoint, his chart does have a high mark and also great amount of creativity to even think of the idea in the first place.

eyes written by Unpredictable
  • Being such a memorable member within the mania community with a name like “eyes”, eyes in 2018 had shed some light on anti-keymode maps, especially with his 8K and 9K map they ranked and even made quite a feat with some maps that had impressive and remarkable SVs usage for ranked and graveyard. eyes typically has a distinct and unique set of song choices to showcase their mapping abilities to the world whether it be through anti-keymodes or SVs or even both, all these show that they have proven themselves as a well-skilled mapper and continue to make something interesting each time through each of their maps. Their song choices usually vary, but the maps that come with it really show interesting, conceptual designs that really showcase eyes’ full capability in what their able to produce. Truly, a distinguishable mapper that has a passion for making mania maps with their SV concepts or anti-keymode mapping, we hope to see more of them and their maps in the future.

FadillSan written by -MysticEyes
  • FadillSan's easy level GD for atian540's MONSTER mapset provides a challenge for beginners by introducing them to consistent 2/1 double usage and simple 1/2 streams. However he has contributed quite a bit more to the mapping world than just one GD. He is an accomplished storyboarder as well, creating the storyboard for the aforementioned MONSTER mapset, Virtue-'s Stray Star map, and 2 more mapsets as well. His storyboards are quite well made with gorgeous particle effects alongside amazing backgrounds with well placed song lyrics. Whether he creates maps or crafts storyboards, his work will continue to be greatly appreciated!

Falcon written by -MysticEyes
  • A new face to the ranked section, Falcon's first GD was featured in DoNotMess' Inverse World mapset. As a prelude to later difficulties, Falcon helped introduce new players to excellently patterned LNs appropriate to the difficulty level. His balanced approach to this easy diff (and some nicely executed instances of repetition and stack usage) definitely shine through, providing a nice experience for beginners overall.

FAMoss written by K a b i -
  • Widely known as the hitsound god, FAMoss has made himself known throughout the community for his skill and passion on doing hitsounds. There are already over 70 maps that are hitsounded by him by request, while also ranking 3 of his maps this year. One of his maps, Tsukidokei ~ Luna Dial, was even featured in Seasonal Spotlights: Summer 2018 too! The outstanding usage of the positioning of the notes, and the spectacular hitsounds in this map have definitely earned him the spot in the Seasonal Spotlight. He's not done just yet though. We can totally see what's coming next for our hitsound god; obviously, ranking more maps with awesome hitsounds!

Feerum written by Raveille
  • Despite retiring from all BN and QAT activities in early January 2018, he returned shortly in late March 2018 and has gone full force in the QAT once again! His 2 ranked maps in 2018, EARPHONES - Arakajime Ushinawareta Bokura no Ballad and Jason Hayes - War has shown that he has not ran out of fuel in his mapping career, despite having busy schedules. 2019 will be a big year of Feerum as he continues his QAT role and we hope that he serves his role well!

Fontes written by -MysticEyes
  • Fontes had a small yet noticable impact on the ranked section in 2018 with 2 ranked GDs. One was in Dreamwalker's Lost mapset and featured streamlined patterning along with visually stunning SVs to back it up, providing an exciting yet accessible experience for players interested in more complicated yet approachable SVs. He also provided an extremely approachable GD for [A v a l o n]'s M1917 mapset, which maximized playability to create a fun introductory insane difficulty for intermediate level players

Fresh Chicken written by Maxus
  • Undoubtedly, Fresh Chicken is one of the most popular charters in the mania community, with his reputation already spread and resided with all the mania players. Although he had to go hiatus from both mapping and BN works because of real life issues, he still managed to rank at least one beatmap in 2018 that still follow his SDVX roots. The highlight of the chart that still follows his previous gimmicks is undoubtedly the coarse SV bumps and 10x teleport which gives his map a memorization and reading challenge for players to figure out in conjunction with lot of other dense handstream and complex LN patterning. Although with his hiatus, he can still provide high quality chart that the community love, and we definitely wish for this expert mapper to be able to return and rank even more challenging and fun beatmaps!

Garalulu written by Maxus
  • Garalulu is, without question, always bring a distinct gimmick which is very special on its own considering that his layering approach often tries to break music boundaries by using excessive amount of patterning that doesn't hold high musical relevancy in general. That being said though, in his "The Everlasting Guilty Crown" chart, he is still capable of bringing a combination of layering that uphold good musical layering albeit not as high as other ranked chart in general, which is compensated by the inverse LN releases gimmick that is impossible to get through without experience and expertise in said field due to a very high HP drain. His other ranked chart, GO! GO! MANIAC, has generally decent musical layering to follow, however, due to very high BPM and irregular 1/3 patterning being condensed into a mainly advanced bracket pattern mixing with hefty LN layering, this one is very challenging to even get a pass. With how Garalulu is always bringing interesting concepts to the mania ranked section, it's expected that he will always bring creativity and inspiration for other members of the community as a notable figure.

Hanss written by Lusty Platypus
  • Hanss, previously known as Noxus (and six other names), gave us two beatmaps for the ranked section this year and both of them did not fail to deliver interesting and quality patterning and design. Intro + Dualive by Quarks, a collaboration between Camellia and Kradness is especially interesting of the two being a marathon length beatmap with a lot of tricky SV and LN patterning making it no cakewalk for even the best of the best. We look forward to seeing what comes from Hanss in the future as the innovative and unique mapping style brings with it interesting and high quality maps which we can never have too much of.

Hilmi Ghazian written by -MysticEyes
  • Hilmi Ghazian had a pretty nice start to his ranking career in 2018, GDing in 2 ranked mapsets. In Syadow's Zutto set he ran the highest hard difficulty. Here he focused on combining denser 1/2 patterning with simple LNs to follow the beautiful violin parts. However in atian540's The Party We Have Never Seen mapset, his main focus for his hard difficulty was on lighter patterning and mixing in light LN sections with faster 1/4 sections as well as hybrid sections mixing the two styles. We wish him luck in his mapping career and hope to see him next year!

Hlimak written by Hydria
  • Hlimak, a relatively new mapper to the scene, brings forward a cheerful and perfectly balanced lapfox mapset for ranked, containing exactly 300 long notes and 700 normal notes. Despite being relatively new, his minijack usage and LN length usage show promising signs for this mapper's future career, hoping to see more wonderful sets from them in the future!

HXJ_Crafter written by -MysticEyes
  • HXJ_Crafter's clean style has proven quite successful this year as he has been featured in 3 ranked mapsets, a strong start for a new mapper. He had 1 hyper GD in Tofu1222's ENERGY SYNERGY MATRIX and NINJA IS DEAD IIDX ver. sets as well as 1 normal GD in _Stan's Dream to Nightmare set. With simple yet logical pattern, his GDs have proven to be quite accessible to players. One GD that stands out in particular is his ESM GD, where he helps introduce players to 1/4 jumpstreams in a flowing, comfortable way. New, accessible works will absolutely be seen in the future from this mapper!

Hydria written by Raveille
  • The man who maps too many, Hydria has been ranking maps consistently since 2016, and added 2 more to his collection in 2018 with olli - i want to tell you i love you but i can't (ft. tomppabeats) and M2U - A Bella! (feat. Lucy), the former having interesting SV usage and the latter having intriguing LN vocal mapping. It will be exciting to see where Hydria takes his mapping style to next!

Ibrahim written by Maxus
  • Trying to rank charts as early as 2016, Ibrahim started to climb his way up with HoneyWorks as his artist preference as showed by first 4 maps he ranked, and he still continued, even in 2018. He started to rank his charts again around late june where he successfully ranked 2 beatmaps which comes from movie and anime. The patterning is mostly simplistic and yet have some uncomfortable sections that might seem like a challenge for accuracy players. However, his success mainly comes from his song choices that are quite straightforward with mapper intentions of having the target audience mainly be casual players that play beatmaps for the song they like and play together in multiplayer.

Ichigaki written by Maxus
  • Ichigaki is a former mania BN that has a ton of experience mapping instrumental music and has developed a huge understanding in using deliberate rythm choices that captivate players the most in the upper level difficulty. His charts truly shine when he mapped something around insane level which many also consider it as his main forte. Other than simply mapping on his own, he also works well in collaborating with people in a way where the chart transition flows well without feeling forced, which means that he also shows a compassion and humbleness to adapt his style according to other charter as shown in his collab GD in Glorious Crown. Truly an inspirational mapper that deserves his spotlight more often.

Ilham written by Maxus
  • Ilham is a well known o2i3 mapper that is still active charting songs from his favourite artist, consistently gaining quite a high amount of exposure from the community overall. Especially in 2018, Ilham still inherit his previous charting style with a little bit of a twist, which is an addition of couple SV that's quite soft and readable to made it more engaging and fun to play for the players but, also at the same time, to enhance the musical relevancy furthermore. The amount of anticipation that community waits from him is obvious based on the amount of favourites his maps get alone, already proof that he is becoming one of the more upstanding community members in mania.

infilect written by qqqant
  • Early in the year, infilect ranked Lifetheory's Daisy, a fairly well-known song in the mania community. infilect managed to capture the simplicity and beauty of the song in their set, which makes the map adored by many, from those first starting the game to top accuracy players looking for another map to SS.

Insp1r3 written by qqqant
  • Insp1r3 hit the mapping scene with a daring first set of Mazare Party, containing both 4K and 6K sets that go up to beyond 5 stars. With guest difficulties by Chilly-, Cokiiplay, Asherz007, booty, and jakads, the entire set definitely did not disappoint, gaining an insane amount of popularity among beginner players all the way up to 6K 7* players. In November, with a guest difficulty by Jesuren, Insp1r3 came back with another set, Black Lotus, a 4K set that many have also enjoyed. We hope that Insp1r3 will be back with more daring mapsets in the future.

Jakads written by K a b i -
  • Who wouldn't know this beast of a man? It is none other than the Mr.NumberOne himself. He came back into the ranked scene early this year by giving us a couple of mapsets, with one of them being an anti-meta keymode. Jakads is known for his outstanding skill in high level maps, as well as an unconventional approach to mapping. His maps usually features different style of creative patterning. From streams, jacks, LNs, bursts, which complements the music itself nicely. Also, his obsession to PP has led him into making maps that what people would call as "PP map". That being said, the maps themselves are not exactly easy as it seems, as only fairly experienced players can nail down his maps. We will be looking forward as to what surprises that he will give us in the near future.
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Jakads written by K a b i -
  • Who wouldn't know this beast of a man? It is none other than the Mr.NumberOne himself. He came back into the ranked scene early this year by giving us a couple of mapsets, with one of them being an anti-meta keymode. Jakads is known for his outstanding skill in high level maps, as well as an unconventional approach to mapping. His maps usually features different style of creative patterning. From streams, jacks, LNs, bursts, which complements the music itself nicely. Also, his obsession to PP has led him into making maps that what people would call as "PP map". That being said, the maps themselves are not exactly easy as it seems, as only fairly experienced players can nail down his maps. We will be looking forward as to what surprises that he will give us in the near future.

Janko written by Unpredictable
  • Janko, being one of the older members of the osu!mania community, has generally been producing 4K maps over the course of their mania career and last year had really showcased their mapping capabilities through the ranked section with a 5K guest difficulty and a jumpstream-based 4K map that had caught everyone’s attention. Since mid-2015, Janko has been producing multiple mapsets, showing how not only how he’s grown as a player, but as a mapper as well and how his concepts on different maps really has taken shape over time. They generally pick different genres of music to convey multiple concepts, whether it be pattern-based or SV-based, they always create something new and innovating through their maps for everyone to enjoy. From his active presence in the mapping community, we hope to see more of them and their maps soon.

Jesuren written by Hydria
  • Jesuren showed promise this year with his ranked maps, mainly with the aptly named YUKINOFUNK, a map with a sick beat and an amazing map to follow, containing a mix of broken jumpstream along with a flurry of LNs and the occasional minijack, showing great promise for this mapper's future works, hopefully to which we can see in GDs relatively soon!

K a b i - written by -MysticEyes
  • A new prodigy of LN musicality, K a b i -, aka the "kamome sano mapper", had a strong first year as a ranked mapper with two fantastic LN-oriented mapsets: one for the beautifully flowing and aptly named </emotional>, and one for the upbeat yet slightly bittersweet citrus. Both maps rely on fluidly patterned, excellently emphasized LNs that perfectly represent the intensity of each section he maps. His ability to maximize quieter sections cannot be ignored, as his talent to use addictive patterns to draw out the full potential of simpler melodies makes his maps even more enjoyable. His proficiency has only increased over time as his 4k maps are getting more and more polished, and his lesser-known talent for making incredibly complicated yet gorgeous 7k LN oriented maps is being honed over time. Truely a mapper that any LN enthusiast can enjoy!

Kaito-kun written by Maxus
  • Being well known for his handstream ranked map, aldnoah zero, Kaito-kun is a long time mania modding member that already established himself since the early days of mania. Preferring the style that makes the most out of player's enjoyment and being generous with it, his humbleness shows not only from the way he charts but from the way he mods, forming a more throughout conversation with the mapper in regards of respecting others style. Most of his GDs, including the one that ranked this year, more focused on lower difficulties because of his intention to give a softer introduction chart for beginners whilst still featuring more prominent mapping ideas such as pitch relevancy.

Kamikaze written by qqqant
  • In September, Kamikaze ranked Theme of Miki Sayaka (best girl by the way), a heavily emotional throwback to his first map ranked in 2015, titled Theme of Puella Magi. One of the most well-established 8K mappers in the community, Kamikaze has never ceased to impress players and mappers alike with his mapping in many keymodes.

Kawawa written by Maxus
  • Being one of the longest mania BN in history and also one of the most influential charter in the 7K department, Kawawa consistantly brings fresh high level content that keeps top players on their toes whenever they play it. His capability extends from charting songs with the hefty amount of timing like Ongaku Resolve, to making full LN chordstream beatmaps such as smiling. Both charts have a different style that separately defines the maps entity in general, however, the solid and profounding structure with clean concepts that gradually make the chart harder the longer it goes are still giving a distinct mapper's identity with its own persona, which in turn gives a noticeably different vibe that is immediately noticed by either fellow mappers or players. The quality charts that Kawawa brings into the ranked section have never been dissapointing and always hold a certain high standard with a high expectation for other charters to take example of, and we certainly hope that he keeps carrying his content for mania community!

kaythen written by Maxus
  • Kaythen is a relatively new mapper in the mania ranked section and yet actually experienced enough to hold his own by ranking the most rare anti meta keymodes in mania history, 9K. In 2017, Kaythen partook in the ranking section by joining hannanos' mapset with a GD, however, his 2018 map is the first time he actually ranked a map on his own and a nonetheless full version of the song which is 4+ minutes, featuring some piano keysound as an additional touch. The effort put into the set is extremely phenomenal and ranking 9K is a very courageous thing to attempt, considering the fact that it's his very first ranked chart and the song itself features complex instruments that needs to be mapped comprehensively. Yet, after all of his valiant effort, it finally reached it's goal while still upholding the high standard that the community expected from it. Truly an outstanding accomplishment that deserves even more attention from the entire community.

KeppSado written by K a b i -
  • Early in the year, rapid improvement is not an exaggerated way to describe the TV size maniac as KeppSado has finally made his debut into the ranked scene after going through hardships in mapping, of course with the guidance from experienced mappers around him. His maps mostly featuring light layering and structure to make it widely accessible to all kinds of players with different skill level. Newcomers would definitely find themselves enjoying his maps. Lately, he has been trying to integrate more Long Notes into his maps to express the music itself in a different way. We hope to see the TV Size maniac ranking more maps in the future!

keziah written by -MysticEyes
  • Keziah might be new to the ranked section with his 2 mania GDs for Sakary's Dahil Sa'Yo mapset, but he already had a skillset that allowed his difficulties to shine. Besides being beginner-friendly and featuring fitting patterns for the upbeat song, his difficulties utilized gorgeous percussion-based hitsounds and beautiful keysounds that made things even more enjoyable for players wanting a calming experience

Kuo Kyoka written by Maxus
  • Kuo Kyoka is one of the oldest mania mapping and modding members of the community, with having one of the largest GD count spread across the ranked section, along with a huge amount of mapsets he ranked on his own. He is probably one of the most versalite and adapting type of charters which reflects the amount of experience and knowledge he accumulated for the time he spent in the editor. From the list of charts that he ranked in 2018 alone, each one of them has its own theme that distinctly separates it from another. For example, "Reason of being", a chart that implements a lot of jacks in the middle of streams mixed with bursts as the main theme of the map, and later, "Mach Sigma", a 7K map with tricky LN holds along with simple brackets to accomodate the map even further. The third one, "Stasis", implements SV which is inspired from the original Lanota game, having a lot of harsh bumps but calculated in a way that the next pattern are predictable to read, and the last one, Glorious Crown, having both a 4K and 7K spread, a massive mapset that Kuo Kyoka had already been working on for a long time until he finally ranked it at December. With the amount of diversity he promotes in the mania ranking scene, we sure hope that Kuo Kyoka will bring even more masterpieces in 2019!

Lastopia written by Unpredictable
  • Lastopia is currently an active mapper who is constantly looking to improve in both Standard and Mania by testing new concepts that come to mind. Being more experienced with mania in general, he's known for aiming to make something unique and creative. He’s very persistent at improving his mapping capabilities and isn’t afraid to try something new, whether it be SVs or pattern-based maps, he’s always making a difference with his motivation when it comes to mapping. WIth this being said, we hope to see more of Lastopia and his maps in the near future.

laughingcomet written by -MysticEyes
  • In contrast to his intense SV mapset in 2017, laughingcomet returned in 2018 with a beautifully slower-paced yet intense hard GD for Mat's Yume Tourou set. He proves his versatile skillset by mapping out complex LNs to fully express the flowing guitar melody, and fluidly transitions into tougher 1/2 and 1/4 patterns to capture the powerful percussion. laughingcomet's ability to adapt to the songs he maps will definitely be appreciated in the future!

Lenfried- written by Maxus
  • Back in the last couple years, Lenfried- often focused more on ranking 7K charts, being relatively difficult and dense for expert players. However, specifically for this year, he brings to the game a completely different style by mapping a simple 2 E icon chart with an added twist that is simple and yet very effective at the same time in the last difficulty, and that is a teleport SV which completely relies on player memorization based on the vocal cue and hints that essentially teach the player how to hit the keys. It's something that the community has never seen before in the ranked section and yet got a completely positive reception based on the fact that it's not daunting at all, even for relatively novice players, once they understand the correlation of the song with the incorporated concept. With the relatively vast experience that Lenfried- already accumulated over quite a long period of mapping, it's certainly exciting to see his potential map concepts that he will show in the future!

liaoxingyao written by Hydria
  • liaoxingyao, a mapper ranging from the start of mania, presents us with another ranked chart this year to add to their collection despite it being a sparse year for them. Their mapset, YUKARI, features adventurous jacks as well as some solid LN usage and some daring anchor based patterning, making for a relatively challenging but still overall enjoyable experience for the players. We hope to carry this mapper's career on another year and see another set hit ranked very soon!

Lude written by Maxus
  • Lude is one of the mappers with the most rapid improvement in the community, starting from ranking anime maps back in 2016 to now being able to show prowess and versality to whatever type of song he charts, along with the types of patterning he puts into it. In 2018 he managed to rank 3 beatmaps that all have different personas and distinct gimmicks compared to each other. The first one is "Hoshi o Kakeru Adventure", a map where he creates a gradually harder section that optimally captures the song's nature and hidden message while slipping some stacking 1/4 LNs that are relatively difficult given the song's high BPM to begin with. His second chart is Chroma - I, which implements a similar concept but happens in a much earlier part of the song, where it features a lot of short LN streams along with the burst and dense chords accompanying it before the chorus. As for kiai part, the section uses a full 1/3 inverse LN along with the outro part using complex chordjack mixed with the 1/6 mixed-in with 1/12 burst that have stutter SV as the final touch. His final ranked map of the year is "Bassline! Yatteru? w" where the chart focuses more on comfortable SV bump and teleports alongside with hefty LN usage that's relatively comfortable given the low BPM of the song, showing mapper awareness to actually make use of the song's nature to his advantage. The amount of creativity and desire to keep trying something new is really respectful and deserves complete anticipation for each of his future charts.

MadBricktree written by Raveille
  • A mapper and modder for the past 4 years, MadBricktree, formerly known as Minseo2000, finally got his first ranked mapset in late 2018 with AXION, a map that is very LN heavy and focused, sprinkled with a couple of SVs and difficult jack patterning. With his deep experience of modding and experimental mapping, he will definitely want to start to make a name for himself as a ranked mapper.

Madoka2574 written by Hydria
  • Whilst Madoka isn't a new mapper by far, it is their first successful attempt at ranking a map, and whilst Taketori Hishou has a simplistic tone to it, it's an enjoyable experience for all, focusing on what players are most comfortable with as the map includes broken dense jumpstream with the occasional easy LN to hit, definitely one for players to grind out in the future!

Mage written by Lusty Platypus
  • Mage is quite well known in the community for their tendency towards LN style mapping which can be seen quite well in their recent loved addition, Hommarju's Rock It, a highly energetic and accessible LN themed beatmap. On the ranked side, however, Mage showcased their prowess in the uncommon realm of 6K with ParagonX9's Chaoz Japan, featuring a lot of stream based patterning and also packing guest difficulties from semyon422 and Myle on the Normal and Hard difficulties respectively.

MapleSyrup- written by Maxus
  • MapleSyrup- is a new face in the mapping & ranking community, and yet that fact doesn't really show from the decent quality charts that he made which shows his long time experience in the VSRG field. His latest ranked beatmap features a high-tech style that is relatively out of meta given the usual sequential chord stairs that is more popular in the realm of 7K charters. The chart makes the full use the technicality of minijack patterning at the beginning along with abnormal amount of LN lengths that requires full preparation and readiness from the player to be able to discern and anticipate to be able to nail the section. Overall, a really intriguing concept that is polished enough to bring a unqiue challenge to the scene.

Mat written by Lusty Platypus
  • Perhaps best known for the dynamic duo of Kurokotei's Galaxy Collapse and DJ Myosuke & Noizenecio's Architecture, Mat's latest ranked set takes a different approach from the realm of somebody screaming in Yume Tourou by RADWIMPS. Showcasing some interesting 1/6 snapped flams in the starfall difficulty that distinguishes and adds character to the beatmap, quite a refreshing patterning that doesn't impact the structure in a major way while still adding quality to the map. Definitely much more accessible to a beginner compared to Mat's more infamous submissions, and the guest difficulties from snexe and LaughingComet definitely showcase interesting structure and allow for everyone to experience this beautiful song.

Maxus written by Raveille
  • Occupied with his QAT work, Maxus unfortunately was not able to rank a set in 2018, but has contributed to 2 mapsets with his guest difficulties. Maxus has been working non-stop as a recently promoted QAT member, and despite all that, he was still able to help his peers in their mapsets on O2i3 - Capitalism Cannon and HoneyWorks meets TrySail - Senpai. [MOVIE Ver.]. 2019 looks to be an even bigger year for Maxus, and we look forward to see if, this time round, he would be able to rank a new mapset!

MEGAtive written by Maxus
  • MEGAtive is a senior charter that has a lot of experience in the editor with a great understanding of the skill required to incorporate complex patterns in the exact right moment and it shows in his recent ranked mania map. His odin chart, at first glance, looks like an usual handstream chart. However, there are a lot of pattern twists that cause it to not be a walk in the park to play. For instance, the usage of one hand trills being slipped in with the jumpstreams, testing finger versatility to keep it steady and consistent. Moreover, there are also the implementation of short burst along with a longer burst that cannot be spammed or jumptrilled to be approximated, making it a lot more difficult, especially considering that this is a marathon map to begin with. There are also the additional usage of continuous minijack patterns along with some LN section that spice things off even further. The notorious knowledge and the flawless execution to understand this really makes him the charter to watch for and a good example for a novice mapper.

Mentholzzz written by Raveille
  • Hard work, determination and dedication was what Mentholzzz showed in 2018, with his first ever ranked map ONIGIRI FREEWAY, which was selected to be part of the March & April Beatmap Spotlights, coupled with his first Loved map Parodia Sonatina -Grande-. He may have gone inactive throughout the 2nd half of 2018, but his efforts are definitely noted by his peers, and maybe that might influence other new mappers too!

Modren written by -MysticEyes
  • Starring in 2 9k difficulties in Janko's In my room mapset, Modren unleashed the short song's potential to the fullest, creating 2 beautiful difficulties that bring out the instrumental piece's gorgeous held violin notes and echoey synths. He also created a massive set that was Loved in 2018, mapping out every single piece in the Kickmaster soundtrack, providing a nostalgic experience for fans of the game and something for just about every 9k player. However his talents cannot be fully explained by one GD and one set alone. Anti-meta mappers are few and far between these days and Modren has proven to be one of the most dedicated 9k mappers in osu!mania's history, producing a multitude of high quality 9k sets inside and outside of the ranked section for all difficulty levels. The content he contributes to the community is exceptionally unique and his passion for 9k is incredibly admirable.

Moskas written by -MysticEyes
  • Moskas, a talented 4k player and frequent mapper, made his first appearance in the ranked section in Janko's Equinox set, providing a well-made lower-level difficulty that allows players to have a fun introduction to the intense psytrance track. Featuring simple 1/1 patterning that transitions into 1/1 bursts, the difficulty eventually shows off challenging 1/1 LN usage before ending on tough 1/2 bursts and frequent doubles, providing newer players interesting in moving from easy to normal difficulties a wikedly interesting trial. Make sure to check out his other maps as well, as he makes content that is enjoyable for 4k players of all skill levels!

MrDorian written by Hydria
  • MrDorian shows his face once more in the ranked section this year, after his success with furioso melodia, he goes for a more relaxing pop tune this time around, in an unorthodox 5K keymode. Whilst unknown to most due to it's keymode, the map features a enjoyable variable density jumpstream technique which I personally believe makes this map one of the most underrated for this year. We hope to see more spicy sets from Dorian this year!

Muu-chan written by Maxus
  • Muu-chan is one of the older members of the mania ranking community that is quite famous for some of his insane MX GDs scattered across various number of mappers, quite popular amongst players, as well as being played in multiplayer a lot in its era. He likes to do conventional pattern that are quite underlayered but being effective in its own way, which is the source of his popularity. We can see from his GD in the hybrid std sets where the patterns he uses are simple but he has altered it in a way that it's not that easy to breeze through for accuracy player. He did open modding queue in the past and being part of community that helps each other in improving together in building more effective knowledge and targeting a high quality enough map for ranked.

my angel yayoi written by -MysticEyes
  • Formerly known as nika mika, my angel yayoi is a standard and taiko player who was able to rank their first mania GD in Tofu1222's STEP by STEP UP set, creating a normal difficulty that turned out quite clean and polished for a newer mania mapper. The difficulty represents the upbeat song well, using comfortable patterning to give players a relaxing experience playing the map. A good first start like this can only be a good thing for the aspiring mania mapper, and there's no doubt that they will create more cozy content in the future!

Myle written by -MysticEyes
  • Myle is an extremely proficient CTB player who was not only able to rank 2 CTB maps in 2018, but also a hard-level 6k mania difficulty for Mage's Chaoz Japan mapset. The difficulty itself features fast-paced 1/4 streams, complex 1/3 patterns with doubles and triples as well as exciting 1/4 triplets later on, showing his innate talent for mapping an anti-meta keymode even though most of his mapping experience comes from another game mode. We can't wait to see more of this excellent multi-mode mapper's content!

Nixeria-sama written by -MysticEyes
  • Though he only contributed one ranked GD in 2018 for DoNotMess' Ouka Ryouran set, Nixeria-sama definitely made it count. The normal level GD helps prepare players for later difficulties since it quickly propels players into intense 1/2 streams and ends with a slightly LN based section for the kiai. A well crafted-difficulty from a well-rounded mapper!

Nysrogh written by Hydria
  • Someone I've had personal enjoyment working with in the past, and someone mostly known for their classic english pop tunes, Nysrogh finally makes a full showing in the ranked section this year with Mama, a hybrid 4K/7K set containing 5 GDs in classic Nysrogh style. His own maps in this set are enjoyable to play, keeping it simplistic with note placements with the occasional splash of LNs, aiming for player enjoyment than most. Hopefully we can see more of their sets ranked in the near future!

Ochasan written by Hydria
  • A very new mapper to this scene, Ochasan begins their ranked journey with a simple but enjoyable easy GD on Draftnell's Jounetsu Utopia. With a strong focus on melody and vocals, the map uses mostly 1/1 notes in a variety of patterns with the occasional 1/2 burst (including doubles) to add a bit of spice to the mix. On top of that, the chart has good anchor usage alongside perfect LN+note combos, making this a wonderful experience for a new mapper, hoping to see a lot more from them in the future!

Oktawia written by Hydria
  • A fairly rare sight to see, Oktawia manages to enter the ranked section this year, regarding all norms by having an 8K GD on Janko's "In my room". Despite it being an easy, it features wonderful broken stair patterns, similar to easy BMS charting, making it a good start for new players to branch out to other keymodes as they get used to the higher number of buttons. Along with some regular stair patterns, the map has a decent pitch following, giving it all the more reason to deserve being ranked. We hope to see a lot more from this mapper in the future!

pocket-Gao written by Maxus
  • Being quite notorious for his 7K+1 chart that he previously ranked, Pocket-Gao comes back with fighting force, trying to rank the same keymode. Usually having the scratch button being combined with another type of chord to hit is a lot more difficult than just hitting ordinary chords in 7K even for more experienced players. However, his map doesn't felt awkward to play despite being a relatively high difficulty map and is suitable for 7K players to be given a basic learning curve on how to press the scratch button correctly, consistently. The smoothness and pattern flow that he executed even earned him a spot in loved section, although he finally still tried to push it for rank, which is an even more deserved place for his chart after all his effort.

pporse written by Maxus
  • pporse ranked one of his GDs in 2018 which is Hoshi ga Furanai Machi. The GD is considered one of the primary maps for many top players to DT due to its simplistic nature that is intended to build up the patterning from easy early on to being much more difficult later on, being based on the amount of LN layering that gets harsher and denser the longer the song goes on. Although he isn't that famous in the mania community, his charting quality and build-up primary style are one to be respected even outside of the mania community, especially seeing his previous ranked works, some of which have reached loved.

Protastic101 written by Maxus
  • A QAT member that is well known for her past contribution and dilligentness of modding and ranking a lot of charts before, Protastic101 decides to go back to her roots and the anti-meta keymodes that she already mapped since her beginning. Her Sonder chart features an extremely harsh SV bump with a bit of stutter to accomodate it even further. To make the map more accessible for a broader range of players, she decided to make the overall pattern more simplistic to hit so that the gimmick completely focused on the SV. The amount of calculation she put into making the SVs work comfortably is worthy of recognizition.

puxtu written by Unpredictable
  • A name we’re all too familiar with, puxtu has been producing content for osu!mania since 2014 and is still doing so with maps that specifically focused on genres that pertain to japanese rock, american rock, and extremely well-known vocaloid maps that they have stuck with the osu!mania community for quite some time now. Last year, puxtu was a on a big push on hybrid sets, whether it be taiko or standard, they are always bringing something new to the ranked section through their maps whilst providing something new for other modes as well. They are also known for making lots of guest difficulties that include interesting, well-thought out concepts that will leave people on the edge of their seat with their challenging, yet enjoyable maps. Knowing how long puxtu has been with the osu!mania community, we expect to see more of them and their maps in the near future.

pwhk written by Maxus
  • Known for his tendency to chart something that is complex and out of the usual meta for the 7K playerbase, pwhk broadened his ideas even more this year by charting 7K+1 instead which brings his technicality to a whole other level compared to his previous map. The amount of dense 1/3 chordjack combined with scratch jacks made it an extreme challenge even for top players to hit properly. Moreover, there are a lot of sections which have unorthodox snap stream changes along with some bursts that ultimately need a lot of training to Full Combo the map. The map's nature being unpredictable along with pwhk's style of making maps complex brings a new incentive for top players to replay the chart multiple times for the sake of top score.

qqqant written by Unpredictable
  • Famous for some of his early works, qqqant is a prominent player and mapper in the osu!mania community that strives to to make a difference through his presence and mapping. He’s always looking to constantly improve and learn from other mappers that may influence him and apply their concepts through his own and doing so, created some of his most aspired and creative maps that really shows how well-versed and talented he really is. He’s also always willing to help improve other maps and provide feedback on maps going for rank which shows how much of a difference he’s really trying to make for the ranked section. Knowing him, we expect his presence in the mania community to grow even more so than it already has and we expect to see more maps of his in the near future.

Raveille written by qqqant
  • A prominent figure in the tournament mapping community, Raveille has been generally known for his difficult release maps in tournaments such as MWC. 2018 was a great year for Raveille in terms of ranking maps, as he got one marathon ranked in April 2018, two GDs in riunosk's sets, and one mania set in a hybrid by -Aqua. Raveille had been trying to rank Aitakatta Sora for almost a year, and his persistence for ranking the map with its complex snapping and other issues should inspire other mappers not to stop trying because of a few problems. Similarly, the hybrid set, This game by Roselia, was known as the map that was disqualified multiple times (five to be exact), but that did not stop the mappers in the set, including Raveille, to push it forward continuously.

Reba written by Maxus
  • Constantly refining his mapping technique and diversity to open up more possibility in charting difficult maps, Reba managed to rank a map that's considered his most difficult map to date. The map's difficulty mostly comes from the usage of dense chordstream with a couple long bursts that mostly appear in the first half of the song, while the second half part of the song features a lot more bracket chordstream mixed with some of the more elaborate LN patterning. The difficulty spread this map has is also very linear and provides an extremely good learning curve for beginner to expert players, which is quite rare, definitely in extremely difficult map spreads. Overall, the insight and mapping style that Reba contributes within the community is an eye-opening and a good experience for most charters to learn from.

richardfeder written by Maxus
  • Already ranking his maps as early as 2013, richardfeder is one of the oldest members that helped shape the community until the way it is now. Mapping songs that mostly come from VN and doing it within the pace that he prefer is the proof that he mostly charting for fun and doesn't really aim for popularity in the first place. He is considered a respected mapping member that primarily focused around 2014, developing a style that is tricky and challenging due to the amount of bracket that he puts within the chordstream and some other patterns that require intense amount of muscle memory to perfect. For example, in his GD in Glorious Crown this year, richardfeder utilizes a numerous number of patterns that isn't easy even for more skilled players, and yet it's actually done with the intention of putting maximum output on musical emphasis and structural patterning instead of playability, a truly inspirational senior member with a name truly not forgotten!

rinaldi28 written by Unpredictable
  • A pretty rare sight in the mapping community, rinaldi28 has been making maps for over 3 years now and last year they were finally able to rank one of their maps into the ranked section. Although he might be new to the ranked section, their first ranked map proves their mapping capabilities otherwise and really shows how much they knows through interesting, and intricate layering techniques. On top of this, they have also shown that their well-capable of mapping anti-keymodes as well, showing how knowledge and how flexible they are when it comes to mapping into an unfamiliar keymode for them. With this being said though, we hope to see more of them and their work in the future.

Rinzler written by Hydria
  • An old name in this community these days, Rinzler decides to revive one of their old maps for 2018's ranked section. The marathon, Nirvana(Camellia's "BinaryHeaven" Remix), features comfortable broken JS patterning with LN chords throughout, though does contain a few spicy uncommon bursts inside as well to catch the weary off-guard. We hope to see more maps from Rinzler in the ranked section pretty soon!

riunosk written by Raveille
  • As an active mapper and modder, riunosk has definitely not stopped ranking maps after the end of 2017. His perseverence has led him to 2 new ranked maps, Heaven's Fall and Sweet Dreams (11t dnb mix), and he is looking to add another to his collection with United (L.A.O.S Remix). Placing 3rd in the Most Promising category in MCA 2017, he is definitely showing why he was placed that high up, and all eyes will be on his next map!

Rivals_7 written by Hydria
  • A very known mapper in the community and long standing BN, Rivals_7 hits up the ranked section with another map this year. Souzetsu Gekkou features a little mix of everything, from small LN pattering, to light JS, to chords, to anchors, hand-based patterns and even a little bit of SV, this map truly encompases all that is possible in just the space of 100 seconds. We hope to see more wonderful sets from this mapper in the future!

Rizqy written by Maxus
  • Rizqy is one of the former mania BNs that started his mapping career by mapping fhana's songs, which was considered his favourite artist at that time. From there, he started to move to mapping more instrumental songs to build a better understanding on incorporating more complicated layering choices. As shown in his collab GD in Glorious Crown, Rizqy put up a decent chart with pattern designs that take into consideration his collab partner, leading the entire difficulty to be played naturally without an awkwardness cause of differing styles. His style can be considered one of the smoothest in terms of pattern flow and musical relevance due to his strict mapping conduct, focusing within the song's realm and never trying to force the amount of layering to be denser than necessary, a style which is appreciated and should be taken as example for many other charters.

Salty Mermaid written by qqqant
  • The ultimate legend Salty Mermaid entered the ranking section with Dream Catcher. With enjoyable trilly patterns, occasional jacks, and SVs that complement the song fairly well, the map has become quite well known and loved by many players. Despite the nomination history, Salty Mermaid did not hesitate once, finally ranking it in October, calling an end to the wild ride of ranking his first map. We can all learn from Salty Mermaid, in that we should never give up, even when all odds are against you.

Sandalphon written by Maxus
  • Sandalphon (alias YaHao) managed to rank a mind-blowing 6 ranked mania maps in 2018, which is the second highest ranked collection of the year just right after Tofu1222. One of the notable traits from the maps that he ranked is the fact that it's varied in terms of keymodes. They contain the entire keymode range from 4 key until 7 key which is respectable considering most mappers usually only focus on the keymodes that they feel comfortable with. Essentially, Sandalphon isn't afraid to do something new and even controversial at one point, and keeps moving forward mapping passionately. The amount of contributions he's made from the mapping and modding side are delightful to look at.

semyon422 written by Hydria
  • A decently old mapper at this point, semyon422 finally reaches the ranked section this year with anti-meta keymodes, scoring a GD on Mage's 6K "Chaoz Japan" as well as eyes' 8K "Yume Tourou". Mapping everything as pitch perfect as can be, semyon shows with their burst stream patterning mixed in between their normal 1/2 notes that they have the skills and experience to make good quality charts and to stand out above the rest, even if both of these are just normals. We hope to see more of their charts (and hopefully harder ones) in the near future!

Shad0w1and written by Hydria
  • Shad0w1and, mostly known for being a std mapper, dips into the mania ranked section this year with Colourful., a simplistic yet enjoyable chart, a good place to start for any newcomer, and we hope to see more charts from them in the future!

Shoegazer written by Maxus
  • As one of the most influential figures, not only in mania community but also in terms of 4K VSRG in general, Shoegazer has made a lot of articles that he wrote by himself, expressing the sheer amount of knowledge that he accumulated for the amount of time he plays the genre. The subjects that he's brought up covers a wide area of subjects that teaches people from various kinds of aspect, mostly talking about charting tutorials, charting layering and assesment of what makes a chart good quality in the first place. There were also other kind of topics as well that had been brought up as well that are focusing more from a player's aspect such as pattern mindblock, skillset improvement, and also how mental health affects the performance, which gives more insight on how to combat the obstacle that commonly occurs in the middle of a player's learning curve. The contribution that he brought to the community also carries a weight for the better good of the community, such as his mentorship to some of other charters out there, the constant participation in the mania RC updating, and also in the mania tournament scene which he happened to be the main coordinator of 4K MWC, writing up the article analysis regarding each country level of skillset and the possible rank place for each of them. In addition to that, there are also the fact that he managed the loved project as the captain not that long ago, which he coordinated everything there. Regarding his charting style, Shoegazer usually took an approach which he able to encapsulate the rythm nuance to its utmost, mainly have a lighter density with a rigid structure but patterned in a way that it requires a specific skillset that players don't usually get from their usual chart, which is why his charts are, most of the time, tricky and uncomfortable to play, but are perfect training regiment to boost player's skill rapidly and more efficient from a time management aspect. He is also known for utilising and pioneering chord allocation, where charters would use different kinds of chords to distinguish different sounds in the music, to which a lot of people have copied into their own style. In his current 2018 ranked charts, the patterning is generally on the comfortable side to play as a whole, but still retain the solid pattern structure characteristics that he put as his main focus. He has ended up with a decent amount of charts in loved, which is proof of the amount of support that he has gotten from the community. The various amount of things that he's already contributed to the community deserves massive respect and gratitude for the efforts that he already worked on for such a long time.

Side written by Hydria
  • Side, a name not completely unknown in the mania scene, takes another shot at mania charting this year with the gritty sounding Showdown. Whilst his difficulty is aimed at newer players, it flows well and has all the characteristics for a potential shining mania star in the future. Hopefully we can see him trying more daring things in the upcoming future!

Sinnoh written by Raveille
  • A mapper, modder, and BN of both osu!catch and osu!mania, Sinnoh had a much more impressive start to his 2018 ranked map collection with forest of the spirits, an incredible combination of LN, SV, storyboarding and interesting hitsounding, completing the package. As the new year approaches, he looks more interested in mapping than ever before.

SitekX written by Hydria
  • A fairly old mapper by today's standards, SitekX gives the ranked section a shot this year with GDs on both "In my room" and "Fascination MAXX". His 9K Insane on "In my room" features a mix of slow 1/2 doublestreams alongside some nice flowing 1/4 single streams, the intro definitely proving to be the hardest section of the song. His 7K "Standard" diff on "Fascination MAXX" however features a lot more LNs to really emphasise the synths in the track, patterning similar to beginner BMS charts though still managing to squeeze in those same slow 1/2 doublestreams as are present in "In my room". As a mapper that definitely focuses on hand balance the most in these higher key charts, we hope to see more from them in the future!

snexe written by qqqant
  • This year, snexe ranked a single Normal guest difficulty on Mat's set of Yume Tourou, a song from popular Japanese film Kimi no Na wa. A known unranked mapper, snexe has mapped many tournament-geared maps in the past year. It is a nice surprise that snexe ranked a guest difficulty, and we hope that he will rank more in the future.

SolaceXCIX written by Hydria
  • An apparently new mapper entering the ranked scene, SolaceXCIX manages to get their foot into the door with an Easy diff on "The Distance", taking on the world of 9K despite this being their first map. The map focuses on general doubles with occasional singles to spice up the snapping, a tight focus on PR, as well as patterns similar to easy BMS charts. Overall this is an enjoyable experience for newcomers to the world of 9K and we hope to see more from them in the future!

Soul Evans written by Hydria
  • Elite Mapper Soul Evans takes a break this year with only pushing GDs for ranked, namely a hyper in Sandalphon's Dotabata Animation. This mid-range diff contains speed-oriented broken streams, a few LNs here and there, alongside a dangerous light jumpstream pattern in the first climax of the song. We hope to possibly see more ranked maps from them in the future!

SpectorDG written by Maxus
  • With ranked sets as far back as 2015, SpectorDG is a long standing figure in the mania mapping community. They continue their tendency towards difficult beatmaps this year, ranking Yooh's "Road To The LegenD", a marathon length song showcasing a plethora of tricky minijacks, chords alongside LN layering to top it off, proving difficult for many. SpectorDG also made an appearance as a guest difficulty in Tofu1222's set, "ENERGY SYNERGY MATRIX" by Tanchiky, as well as creating SV for Tofu1222's set "Wowie Zowie!" by Hommarju

Spy written by Hydria
  • Despite being absent for most of the year, Spy still left their mark on the ranked section once more with GDs on invoker. Invoker uses technical light JS patterning along with precise chord placements to create an experience which is challenging to users, but still fair in it's difficulty overall, very reminisicent of old-style mapping. Hopefully we can see some more from them in the future!

SurfChu85 written by Raveille
  • A prominent figure in the osu!mania tournament scene, SurfChu85 finally had his first stepping stone into the Ranked section with his 7K map Kikoemasu ka feat. Haruki <Youshouki> (CV: Koinu), which was used in the osu!mania 7K World Cup 2018 Group Stage Mappool. A mapper of different types, he will take that confidence into 2019 proudly and hopefully dish out some more great mapsets!

Surono written by Maxus
  • Surono, being originally a taiko BN and mapper, ventures to the keymodes he's unfamiliar with, rapidly improving over the course of a couple years. Although his approach to his recent ranked mania maps are taking a more convential pattern, he did justice to the song by having synths layered with a more LN-based patterning which is common in his previously older ranked beatmaps. With the amount of potential he has in both modes, we sure hope that he will give more shots to mania and rank more of his charts!

Syadow- written by -MysticEyes
  • Syadow-'s 2018 was quite busy in mania with 6 ranked GDs and 2 ranked sets. At this point Syadow-'s experience in making lower level difficulties is quite well known and surely has an impact on beginners getting into the game, since quality in low-level difficulties is essensial in order to retain players. He's also started to branch out this year into making higher level maps, especially in his unranked sets. Since Syadow- is continuing to perfect his lower level difficulties and is progressing in his ability to create higher level difficuities, 2019 should prove to be another great year for him. (also sya o/)

tailsdk written by Raveille
  • tailsdk was a very quiet and absent figure in 2017, but 2 new ranked maps, Tze-Chiang and Finixe, saw him spring into the mapping scene gracefully this year. With his many collaborations with countless mappers and his ability to map different styles, his open-mindedness is a strong asset to help him push further this year, and he will take as many chances as he can for the new year.

tatatat written by qqqant
  • tatatat, a known member of the taiko community, ranked three mania-related mapsets this year. Though there have been an amount of concern shown for these Easy-only mapsets, tatatat is likely not going to stop anytime soon, which makes him technically one of the most powerful people in the community.

TheNewBungping written by Hydria
  • A popular name in the mania scene, TheNewBungPing manages to push one of his sets for ranked this year. Iwanai kedo ne. is an interesting mapset with constantly changing snaps which they have made work with their comfortable-style patterning, making this an enjoyable experience for most. We hope to see more daring and challenging this from this mapper in the future!

Tidek written by Hydria
  • Mostly known for his outrageous SV charts, Tidek decides to hit the ranked section this year with a couple of GDs in Janko's "In my room". The higher of the two 6K diffs features quite dense brackets layered throughout, LNs braking up the monotony as well as adding another layer of difficulty to the map. The lower diff contains broken 1/2 streams mixed in with a few lighter brackets and hand-based doubles throughout. A clear signs of a BMS player who we hope to see more of in the near future!

Toaph Daddy written by qqqant
  • Better known as TheToaphster, he’s an extremely talented, high-ranked, and a seasoned veteran as a player and mapper in the osu!mania community and he continues to show his strong presence through tournaments, the ranked section, and even the loved section. Last year, he was able to show off some of his maps in the ranked section that include intricate layering and SVs that are incredibly well-made, making him one of the most versatile, yet complex mappers we have seen yet in a very long time. With that being said, he’s also very active within the Loved section with him being a captain which allows him to help push creative and extremely well-made mania maps into a brighter spotlight, making him one of the most active people pushing for quality content still today. With all of this being said, we plan to see more of him through tournaments, his maps, and the Loved section.

Tofu1222 written by -MysticEyes
  • Tofu1222's impact on the 2018 mapping scene was overwhelming to say the least, with a whopping 9 ranked mania mapsets! All of them come with unique and interesting styles ranging from beginner-friendly TV Size sets to fast-paced jumpstreams and challenging jack-oriented maps suitable for higher-level play. His experience in making taiko mapsets as well as his increasing mastery in creating mania mapsets have allowed him to cement himself as an impressive mapping force in multiple communities.

Trainer- written by qqqant
  • In 2018, Trainer- has had one ranked guest difficulty, a 7K Easy on SurfChu85's set of Kikoemasu ka, which has a diverse set of difficulties. Trainer's difficulty in particular uses LNs to clearly emphasize important rhythms in the song. It well represents the song and also introduces long notes to beginner players very well. We hope to see more maps from them in the future.

Turrim written by Maxus
  • Turrim is another newcomer that hits the mapping ranked section with an already refined concept and splendid work that shows his experience in the gamemode. He has noticeable traits of layering the map with an LN based style, and his current ranked maps always seem structured in a way where the first half kiai is a lot easier and easy to breeze through compared with the second kiai where the difficulty curve is much higher, and is usually the main show of the map. His style is tech based, where he mostly uses chord bracketstream that get extended not only in the regular stream, but even in the 1/4 LN stream at the final part as well. Although Turrim has to on hiatus for now because of his korean military duty, we sure hope that he will come back bringing more spectacular charts to ranked soon.

Umo- written by -MysticEyes
  • With his hard GD in atian540's MONSTER set, Umo- created a fun and accessible experience for players looking to start out with denser patterns in a hard diff. His talents extend beyond 4k though since he has experience mapping a variety of different types of 7k maps for a variety of different difficulty levels. He even has the rare talent of mapping 9k difficulties! He is a mapper who can appeal to any kind of player, and absolutely is a mapper to watch out for next year.

Unpredictable written by Maxus
  • Appearing in the mapping scene as of early 2018, Unpredictable shows a big passion and enthusiasm in the mania scene by having multiple mapping projects on his own and joining some other projects as part of the staff. The amount of potential and sheer improvement that he shows over the course of a year is the one to watch for considering the fact that he managed to immediately become BN as of June 2018, after only participating in the modding scene for a couple months which is a huge achievement on its own. The contributions that he shows in 2018 is only the beginning of massive things that we can expect to see in the future, and we're gonna see a lot more to come!

Verniy_Chan written by Maxus
  • Being one of the notable mappers in his era, Verniy_Chan is well known for their tendency to map LiSA songs, which boost his popularity and the amount of people that plays his map to the point where he even won the 2nd place for Community Choice 2016. He was also a notable diverse modder that opened his own queue that also accepting other kind of request such as Background editing, video and mp3 encoding, HS request, etc. He ranked one of his GD this year in Skyreach map, which utilizes his well known convenient style that having simple and yet effective layering.

Virtue- written by K a b i -
  • Virtue- is undoubtedly one of the most notable mappers and modders throughout the past few years. The man himself has given a lot of contributions to the mapping community by actively modding and mapping at the same time. He also did numerous GDs for other mapsets, and several ranked maps of his own. Marathons are definitely his preferred choice of mapping, as 5 out of his 6 maps are exactly that. The maps themselves are also well structured, with various patterning and mixed note / pattern usage, what we would call an all-rounded map, which is most definitely enjoyed by those who love diversities in maps. After ranking two maps in this year, Virtue- had go on a hiatus, but hopefully he will be returning to here again soon!

Wadu written by qqqant
  • Wadu, previously known as CHARGE, charged into 2018 with Cycle Hit and trappola bewitching. Both maps were met with generally well reception, both having specialist approaches to their respective songs and unique SVs. Wadu displayed persistence and hard work while ranking these sets, as they were certainly not easy to rank. Somewhere, somehow, we hope he will come back to show the community more of his mapsets.

Wilben_Chan written by -MysticEyes
  • Wilben_Chan, an incredibly talented multi-key player, made his first appearance in ranked in a hard diff for ExNeko's Horangpungnyuga mapset. His difficulty starts out with simple LN patterning and comfortable 1/4 grace notes, and then transitions to aesthetically pleasing 1/4 streams and triplets before finally ending with his effective LN layering scheme. Hopefully we will see more of his maps in 2019!
VINXIS
Featured Artist
3,161 posts
Joined April 2014
Topic Starter
VINXIS

osu!mania WONKI



Wonki written by Maxus
  • Wonki, being a former winner of MCA 2017, once again participates in the mania rank scene by specifically ranking marathon maps as of 2018. Usually we know him from his tendency to rank SV based charts that boost his popularity due to comfortable patterning and a high amount of enjoyment that rarely appear from the usual gimmick maps. This time he comes out trying to do something a bit more different by ranking 7K charts instead, which is something that we never heard from him. Despite him rarely mapping this keymode before, the result that he produced in the end is quite impressive, looking at the amount of variation and solid structure that he put within the map. The possibility of him ranking even more mindblowing charts is endless and we are surely hoping for even more from him in the future.
VINXIS
Featured Artist
3,161 posts
Joined April 2014
Topic Starter
VINXIS

osu!storyboard



_xyliac written by Noffy
  • In the event their original storyboarder was not around to fix issues found on their Sunglow map's storyboard, _xyliac was willing to dip their toes in and make fixes themselves, even going so far as to ask fellow storyboarders for help and advice. The final results added a very nice touch to their marathon, and maybe this will be the first of other storyboarding projects they'll take part in? We'll see!

- Frontier - written by yaspo
  • Sometimes beauty is found in the details, and -Frontier- brings us a great example of that through their collab storyboard on namirin's "Kanade". Gentle shifts in hue and background do a wonderful job at matching the gradual rise of the song. Combined with a soothing font, it's hard to not get drawn into the experience. -Frontier- showcases they have a nice touch that we'd love to see more of in the future.

-[Koinuri] written by yaspo
  • While there are many ways to approach storytelling, -[Koinuri]'s storyboard for Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku's opening "Sakebe" has a particularly unique approach. With adorable chat figurines, varied battle effects and a legacy of experience with complex design, we get a cute and dynamic way of showing the story's progress. Hoping to see -[Koinuri] use more of their storyboarding magic this year!

-Aerith- written by yaspo
  • Sometimes you need a reminder of your favorite show's best moments, and -Aerith- does just that. With a simple storyboard for their own map on "Moshi Kono Kabe no Naka ga Ikken no Ie dato Shitara" they effectively showcase how epic the giant battles in Attack on Titan are. We're curious about how they will expand on their storyboarding approach this year!

-Mo- written by TheDuckMask
  • You may recognize him from his video about storyboarding, or perhaps his videos in general, on mapping and the oddities, but who knew he would be such a competent storyboarder? For his set "CHiCO with HoneyWorks - Nostalgic Rainfall", he's done a faithful recreation of the music video, in such grace that it feels like I'm watching it in the comfort of a YouTube video player. Although his main focus is on mapping, he certainly knows his stuff to be able to put together a storyboard on his own.

-Tochi written by Coppertine
  • The pionier of elequint storyboards made through osu!'s Design Editor has made improvements through Storybrew with the creation of byfar's Paradox utilising the famous tunnel effect from Exile-'s Nova sb's and using animated sprites to create a geometric visualisation throughout the song.

[ Kuro Usagi ] written by Noffy
  • "If you want a storyboard, let me make it" in this kind of way, [ Kuro Usagi ] has been putting themselves out there in offering storyboards to various mappers, and it shows in how they have made storyboards for 12 whole ranked maps in 2018! They have a certain style to their storyboards that often makes playing experiences all the more intense, and their improvement over the past year certainly shows too.

[R] written by scub
  • With such a simple yet enjoyable style, [R], or more known as Ron, has definitely made good storyboards for the year, especially looking at his most recent stuff! If you're a fan of these simple lyric-picture storyboards, check his stuff out! I promise you'll enjoy them too!

a_point written by yaspo
  • Although they're only making their debut, with a storyboard for "HEROES" a_point shows that they have the fundamentals down. With well-placed fades and particle effects, every section of the song has a visual counterpart. Lyrics and a spectrum on top of that make something that can be a solid base for making their future storyboards perfect to a point!

ailv written by TheDuckMask
  • Sweeping the ranked section with their plethora of Diao Ye Zong sets, there are a few SBs to be found from the hands of ailv himself. The storyboards are nothing short of wonderful, as whether simple or beyond, they do an excellent job capturing the feel of the music. (Best showcased in his "Secret Liqueur" SB or "Immortal Flame" SB.) Definitely hoping to see more from ailv were he to continue well SBing into 2019.

Ametrin written by scub
  • Despite only starting in mid-2017, Ametrin definitely has the skills the likes of the bigger and more competent storyboarders! Looking at their better storyboards such as what they've put in Fantastic Magic, it definitely shows! With such complex effect paired with their excellence in visual design, this storyboarder is definitely the definition of underrated, and what I would recommend y'all to look forward to in 2019, as they're making a gigantic project this year that you should NOT ever miss!

arviejhay written by TheDuckMask
  • A storyboarder who's been around since as early as late-2014, they're definitely someone who deserves more recognition for their efforts as they graciously provide their SBs for the lesser known gamemodes, amongst other reasons. With many, if not all of their SBs listed on their userpage, it's certainly a trip to see how much they've improved over the years, with "Colorful Pastel" and "Dahil Sa'Yo" being the best examples of their overall skills. While they are currently not active in storyboarding because of college, I certainly hope they will come back to it when time allows! Salamat po~

Asonate written by scub
  • Although Asonate only started ranking their storyboards in 2018, they've already shown great progress in creating simple yet gorgeous storyboards! One of the storyboards they helped develop, "Nhato - Magic" originally created by DJNightmare, went from an already great storyboard to one of 2018's best simple storyboards, all with their magical touches! Aside from that, Asonate also has a couple of great storyboards currently in the works, and we can't wait to see what they will being to the table this year!

b00 written by TheDuckMask
  • A brand new face to storyboarding, and already having 2 ranked SBs of his own, b00 is certainly starting out strong, and his SBs only reinforce that statement. Providing the SBs to Nevo's "Sakura no Uta" set and his very own first ranked map "Nanahira - Petals", b00 has accomplished plenty for someone just starting out, with storyboards that show only a mere glimpse of what he could do were he to continue down this path. Can't wait to see more from him in the future!

Beren written by scub
  • Beren hasn't really been active on osu! since they ranked their last map back in 2014. Despite that, they have occassionally done some storyboards until 2017, and people have brought their works back from the grave. One of them being their work on Yuki no Hana, a cute and compelling storyboard of a minute-long song! With such cutesy and vibeful aura, we can only hope that Beren makes a comeback for storyboarding, or better yet, to mapping sometime in the future!

Bergy written by TheDuckMask
  • Started storyboarding in late 2016, and has 3 ranked storyboards in 2018. Each with their own flare that reflects a unique style, and truly demonstrates his level of understanding in technical and visual aspects through the various effects shown throughout each piece. Also willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in the storyboarding community, Bergy is certainly a cool storyboarder, who has plenty to provide and while he may not be so active with SBing as a whole anymore, the matter of him being a skillful storyboarder will always ring true.

Blizs written by scub
  • Despite him being rather inactive in recent memory, Blizs has served his time to make a storyboard for one of my maps this year, Matsuri Hate no Hana! With a traditional design, usage of handwritten fonts and a gradative layout behind it, this looked like something people would consider bad. But in my eyes, it was everything I could have wished for, as it reflected the traditional-Eastern style the song gave very well! All in all, I was quite satisfied with it and hoped that he could come back to create more stuff soon!

bossandy written by Noffy
  • A valued member of the "୧( ಠ o ಠ )୨ Chill Map Assurance Team ୧( ಠ o ಠ )୨", bossandy's storyboards reflect the same philosophy! Bossandys' storyboards are sweet and simple, especially "Mo Tian Lun De Yan Lei" and "Ni Guang", two songs from produce 101 where bossandy used images and silhouettes to show you the faces of the girls who were currently singing, alongside other cute effects! Bossandy has been in the community since at least 2012 when he ranked his first map and storyboard, and he shows no signs of slowing doing both in coolness and kindness. Bossandy, keep being awesome!

Card N'FoRcE written by Noffy
  • In addition to mapping the easy difficulty for "I Love Egg" (hosted by Nitroz), Card N'FoRcE also supplied a storyboarded speed-up warning in the top difficulty. It's really. Extremely cute. The Cutest Warning I've Ever seen. It also fits really well with the nostalgia the set overall aims for. You're really missing out if you don't see it!

celerih written by Noffy
  • For the sake of his "With Triangle" marathon project, celerih learned storyboarding to be able to add another special something to the experience of playing the map. While it's nothing mindblowing, it's super cool to see him try out storyboarding for the sake of making an awesome marathon that much better :D !

Cheesecake written by WildOne94
  • The main highlight of Cheesecake's storyboard for "o!IMC#2 Compilation" is the introduction. The storyboard is designed well and the animations present are well synced to the song. I feel happy that the SB didn't go overboard and is more about showing the hard work of peoples maps, which really takes the cake. Would love to see more of what Cheesecake has to offer in the future as everything felt clean.

Cloudchaser written by WildOne94
  • Whilst Cloudchaser has ranked storyboards of collaboration names only in 2018 we still get very nice designs and smooth transitions within those beatmaps such as "TWICE - What is Love?" mapped by iYiyo. The main part of this storyboarder is the storyboards in which they're working on right now such as the lovely "Powapowa-P - Strobe Light" which I am SO excited to see ranked! The lyrics and colour changes all fit very well (and I loved that little smile transition detail hehe). After the final kiai your heart will absolutely melt with lovely message to PowaPowa-P. Don't worry Cloudchaser, I think they would be very proud of you for making this beautiful tribute <3. We have yet to see Cloudchaser's bigger works in ranked, but they're showing themselves to be a good storyboarder!

cococolaco written by Noffy
  • 2018 is cococolaco's first foray into storyboarding, and the resulting learning process resulted in their first storyboard for their mapset "Endorfin." Let's hope to see more from them in the future and how they grow if they decide to continue storyboarding!

ComfyWolf written by WildOne94
  • ComfyWolf's storyboard on "*namirin - Kanade" is very fitting to it's music material, giving off a wonderfully light-hearted vibe and also it's emotions conveyed. I specifically love the use of the 3 facial expressed backgrounds ranging from nervous to happy depending on the intensity of the song. The lyircs transition very smoothly and calmy to match the vibes. The kiai's are made interesting with the use of particles and different coloured backgrounds. A nice touch in which I would like to see in other storyboards is a timer as this one has to let people know how long they have been playing for. Finally we get a very lovely ending background which can make you feel very.... Comfy! Can't wait to see what warm and heartfelt storyboards ComfyWolf will have in the future!

Coppertine written by Hokichi
  • Despite being a new face, Coppertine showed us what he's capable of with 2 of his ranked storyboards. While skyshifter vip gives up the feeling of a fancy storyboard, Beggars gives us the rush of a hardcore song. Even though his 2 ranked storyboards did not show us much of his ability, I myself have seen many amazing work from him. Not just stopping at making storyboad, he's also a very helpful member of the storyboarding community by giving lots of help to other member in need. To me, Coppertine is a very good storyboarder with a lot to provide. I'm really looking forward to see what he'll offer us in 2019!

Cosmolade written by TheDuckMask
  • Though their storyboards aren't going around guns blazing, they surely get the job done, from their Undertale SBs and otherwise. Clean visuals, and aesthetics that match the song choice, any Cosmolade SB is a welcome addition to spicing up a map. Hope to see more!

CSLM written by WildOne94
  • Oh my! What a pretty storyboard "fhana - Kimi to Iu Tokuiten [singular you]" is! From the beautiful sunlight rays to the interesting particles that keep changing throughout to show interest to the watcher with it's very colourful elements like the rainbow shown. The lyrics use a nice clean and big font in which transition so smoothly. The key feature in this storyboard is the details that change over time as well as adding new elements to the mix, making it interesting to watch throughout. CLSM has made one of the prettiest storyboards I have ever seen and I can't wait to see what's next from this awesome creator!

Damnae written by WildOne94
  • Damnae is no stranger to storyboards as you can see in some beamaps like "Nekomata Master - Far east nightbird (kors k Remix)". He has shown in "BUTAOTOME - Waizatsu Ideology" that the simpler SBs are also effective, via excellent use of simple swaying lyrics and background brightness depending on intensity. Also providing beautifully done light particles and an ending well in time with the music. Damnae also is the creator of Storybrew, a program used by many storyboarders today in creating their works. Damnae is "Da man" and I highly suggest looking at his other SBs created. He's Damn(ae) good!

Damnjelly written by Noffy
  • Damnjelly's one ranked SB in 2018 was a feat of patience and pure determination, in "Iwashi ga Tsuchi kara Haete Kurunda" also known as "Sardine map" among its fans, Damnjelly went above and beyond. Instead of just including a video with the mapset, they recreated the entire video using over 2000 image files total from the different animation sprite folders. It's one of those storyboards you'll just see and be amazed isn't a video, especially when it is their first ranked mapset and storyboard.

Darky1 written by WildOne94
  • Darky1's dedication and top quality Storyboards have shone in 2018 with five ranked storyboards! (One being a collaboration). Time and time again we see mind boggling masterpieces that can only come from an Darky1. Take for example the mapset "Eleharmonica remixed by kors k - Der Wald (kors k Remix)" by Cheesecake and see how extraordinary every single element is in the storyboard, especially after the first kiai with it's insane coloured shapes dancing in time with the music. The hours of work gone into every polished storyboard is too much to explain in one paragraph! If you haven't seen or heard of Darky1's storyboards then go watch one right now! Seriously!

Diasios written by yaspo
  • Storyboards don't have to be flashy to stand out .. or do they? While simple, with a few handily crafted flash effects Diasios manages to bring out the most intense moments of any song. If they keep it up and expand their ideas, I'm sure there's a bright future ahead of Diasios!

DJNightmare written by Coppertine
  • The first thing that comes to mind when you think about DJNightmare is the accurate recreations and amazing storyboards back in the days that made it fell like it came from an offical music video. Nowadays, he is still out there helping other storyboarders along their journeys and to follow his footsteps for leading storyboarders to make the best out of their designs.

Doj written by Noffy
  • Simple yet effective, Doj's storyboard for "Masshira na Yuki" is sparkly in a way not commonly seen, but really fitting to the feeling and content of the song. This is further added by the sparkling speeding up in the second chorus, which works super well!

Down written by scub
  • Down is most infamous for his storyboard work on Arcana Force (legendary storyboard by the way, 10/10 would recommend), but aside from that, Down has certainly made serious storyboards in 2018, one of them being Passacaglia. Passacaglia has such a simple premise and concept, yet Down is able to bring such an idea to a degree where it's actually entertaining to watch! Great stuff from a competent mapper, too! Waiting for 2019 to see more of Down's storyboards!

Enkrypton written by Coppertine
  • Working up the ladder to Mappers Guild Storyboarder, he has made himself a promonent figure within the community from the Simple yet exquisite projects to the complex and breathtaking feats such as Libera me. and Gacho - His first "Mappers Guild" Storyboard (Libera me is first Featured Artist, before Cranky became one). We hope for the amazing work during the comming year or two!

Enon written by yaspo
  • Scratching guitars play underneath a black screen, building suspense until the words "Image Material" start of the experience. Enon matches this intense classic by giving you a pair of wings to accelerate into the most intense sections of the song. Making players' hearts race with storyboard, song and map makes us excited to see Enon's next works!

Erasome written by Darky1
  • We have seen two ranked Storyboards by Erasome this year that showed, that Erasome isn't just good with flashy particle effects, but also showed that subtle minimalistic effects still have a place in storyboarding, and that they are able to use them! M2U - PandorA shows the flashy side of things, while 7 Minutes Dead - The Follower shows us that subtlety can improve a map's gameplay quality just as good. Definitly someone to look out for at the top this year!

FadillSan written by yaspo
  • Even though Fadillsan mostly focuses on lyrics in their storyboards, all the extra details like broken glass effects and dropping particles definitely add a level of detail! Fadillsan has already storyboarded their way into 2019, so we don't doubt they'll continue polishing their work!

fanzhen0019 written by yaspo
  • Never had I thought to be able to associate playing the flute with such an intense experience. Fanzhen's storyboard for "KAEDE" surprisingly pulls it of, making this map more eventful with just a few resources. Won't be surprised to see more creative twists from Fanzhen, but they're most definitely welcome!

Faputa written by Noffy
  • Taiko storyboards are unfortunately not very common, but Faputa in his map for "Love Song" does one to good effect. Faputa does well in keeping in mind the taiko playfield to put the lyrics above and the background below, and it's a really nice way of working around how taiko gameplay looks while still having an effective storyboard. And with their recent "dragonlands" storyboard, it's easy to see they're already improving a lot! I'm looking forward to see what Faputa does next.

Firis Mistlud written by yaspo
  • For a first storyboard First Mistlud really put in everything you could offer. Like, everything. Spectrums, background changes, animated cursor, gd name animations, sparkle particles and more! You definitely won't get bored as there's always something new to see, so hopefully Firis has something new for us to see this year as well!

Fursum written by scub
  • On the side along with mapping, Fursum also makes simple yet modern-looking and aesthetically compelling storyboards. Looking at his storyboard for Raccoon City should make it clear too! His knowledge in modern font choices and layouts in his storyboards is enough to carry him high in the design section, and we can't wait to see what he'll bring this year!

Fushimi Rio written by scub
  • Fushimi Rio has been known for creating great content for the ranked section, buuuuuut that isn't what we're supposed to talk about here. Instead, we're supposed to talk about his simple yet legible and authentic designs within his storyboard work in 2018. While they are not truly eye-candy or visually stimulating in any way, Fushimi Rio's storyboards aren't supposed to be like such. He tries to provide a closely authentic experience you get from reading a visual novel by incorporating the plot itself, mainly put through the games' art and graphics. Go play a map along with the storyboards of his, as they are definitely worth your time!

Garven written by Noffy
  • Garven's storyboard for "Irus - Jue" which was ranked in 2018 is actually from early 2015. His storyboard and mapset were then adopted by eiri- and ranked after over 3 years. Although the storyboard is actually pretty old, it's still really neat and effective! It has three basic scenes, clouds, Kokoro, then another Kokoro with the original clouds. There's lots of neat details such as the transition from clouds to Kokoro which feature ominous smileys and an animated Kokoro sprite that work really well to add to the experience, this storyboard is worth checking out and definitely stood the test of time!

Gero written by Noffy
  • Gero has ranked two super cute storyboards this year! One is "Til Death" (hosted by Andrea) which revisits Andrea's set of the same song from 2013, and the storyboard makes use of many of the same ideas from XinCrin's 2013 storyboard while ultimately producing something new. Gero's other storyboard for his own mapset "Jump Up, Super Star!" features a lyrics storyboard with a twist! Many words are replaced with images that say the same thing, and it's really super neat. Gero is super cool beans in both mapping and storyboarding!

GoldenWolf written by Noffy
  • GoldenWolf is an epic dude who will stop at nothing in his quest of mapping as much Demotori as possible. Several of his Demetori maps also include fairly simple yet effective SBs. The moral of this story: Demetori will one day rule the world if GoldenWolf has his way. Stay on the look out!

Gordon123 written by yaspo
  • For calm songs you need calm effects. Gordon123 shows this cleanly with storyboards that have their own take on hueshifting, representing day and night by smoothly using the colorful transitions of a sunset. Simple does it, and we hope Gordon123 does it more this year!

Half written by scub
  • Half is a Korean storyboarder who, despite only ranking their first storyboard in 2018, feels like they've been doing it for much longer! With their modern and highly legible design choices, they definitely give the maps they storyboard a whole new feel to it, no matter how simple they may be. With prodigies like them, 2019 is definitely looking bright!

HaruHong written by yaspo
  • Finally Haruhong gets their storyboards to the ranked section, a well deserved feat! Through clever use of framing on "ONLYWONDER" they do a great job at presenting the lyrics in a unique fashion. With a start this great, we can only wonder how far Haruhong will go this year!

Hokichi written by TheDuckMask
  • What is there to be said about Hokichi that hasn't been said already? Genuinely one of the greats in the storyboarding community, and someone whom I've looked up to since the beginning. Seeing from his impressive list of storyboards, they have a distinct, unmatched visual style that could rival that of anime openings, something that almost feels trademarked to Hokichi now. Unfortunately he is bogged down by university and work, so he doesn't have much time to work on SBs currently, but there is no doubt in my mind that he'll come back with storyboards that'll go beyond expectations!

Hollow Wings written by Darky1
  • Hollow Wings made Storyboards?!? Yes! While Ishida Yoko - Negai's Storyboard isn't groundbreaking, it still shows that Hollow Wings isn't afraid of getting their hands dirty! And who knows? Maybe 2019 will see Hollow Wings reinvent modern Storyboarding!

Hoshinomori written by TheDuckMask
  • New face, new storyboard, and for none other than man himself, Sotarks and his set "GALNERYUS - RAISE MY SWORD". A faily simplistic lyrics SB, but has what it takes that could mark the start of the next big named storyboarder, were they to keep pursuing SBing. Rooting for ya!

Irohas written by Hokichi
  • Irohas isn't strange to any of us when talking about mapping. He has contributed many good maps and guess difficulties, as well as his positive attitude towards other member of the community. However, I'm pretty sure not many of us in the community would expect a storyboard from him! Even though it's just a simple storyboard with flashing and color changing, it has showed that he knows what basic things he would need to progress further, which is very important for new storyboarders. I'm really hoping to see more storyboard work from Irohas in 2019!

Left written by scub
  • The master of quit mapping himself, Left, has made a good storyboard of a great song in 2018, being Towa ni Saku Hana! With a vibe that screams memories and reminiscence while still having cutesy visuals, Left has brought to us something that fits the song well while still looking good!

IsomirDiAngelo written by scub
  • Bringing something new to the ranked section is IsomirDiAngelo is his map of a seemingly cute and calm song. The star rating is about 7* but that shouldn't be a red flag, right? lmao of course not have some 200bpm+ metal for you to kill your fingers on. While that's a thing, we can't really forget the storyboard showing some of the wokest moments of the map. Storyboards like these are pretty much mandatory anyways, because how else would you convert to such a surprising part of the song without having major contrast through changing pictures in the storyboard? And on an unrelated note, I can't stop thinking of the WOKE meme looking at the middle chorus section. All that being said, good stuff like these are what we're looking forward to in 2019!

Jakomo73 written by Hokichi
  • Do not, I repeat, DO NOT underestimate this guys for his storyboard works. They are extremely amazing, and will definitely bring pleasure to whoever watching it. Not too complicated, yet not simple either, Jakomo's works are "the best of both worlds"

JarvisGaming written by yaspo
  • For a moment I thought their first storyboard was glitched .. but that means it's working just as intended! With a varied range of effects, JarvisGaming manages to give each section of "Colorful" its own colorful flavour. Hoping to see more from this gamer in 2019!

JBHyperion written by Noffy
  • It's already impressive to make and rank a spread of a song 7 minutes long where he did ~4 difficulties worth of mapping, but on top of that, JBH's "Halozy - 143" catch mapset features a storyboard by him too! Primarily a lyrics SB, it has a lot of small details and variations in how lyrics are presented that definitely took additional time and effort just to make the experience of playing the maps that much better.

Jonawaga written by Noffy
  • He may have quit osu! now, but the works Jonawaga left behind are still pretty nice. He has often made an interesting use of color, such as in his first ranked map from 2016 "Alone In Kyoto". This reappears this year in his storyboard on Xayler's "Slow Dive" mapset as well as his own mapset "What Child Is This". In both cases, the use of colors fiits well and work with Jonawaga's own simple but effective storyboard style. Hopefully Jonawaga does well in his future life endeavors!

KaedekaShizuru written by scub
  • Kaedeka is known for his guest difficulties in a lot of eroge maps involving PinkHeart and Fushimi Rio, but aside from that, he's also a great storyboarder who's made simple, yet vibey and impactful storyboards like Euphorium. Only with simple transitions and lyrics, yet he's apparently able to give huge impact through his design choices! If one can create such impact with such a simple design, I would be terrified in what happens when Kaedeka puts his efforts into creating complex storyboards. Perhaps in 2019!

Kanari written by scub
  • Out of all the underrated names in the storyboarding community, Kanari comes up as one of the most underrated of them all. Despite her capability of making visually stimulating storyboards with stood-out effects specialized to her own style, she is, somehow, still not very well known yet! For that, I'd like to take this moment to say something real quick. That is, you'll have to check at least one of her newer stuff, such as her collab part on "A Sugar Business", or her 2018 published storyboard for "YUKARI". I'm 100% sure that her stuff will have your eyes stuck to the screen, just as it did with mine!

Kawa written by yaspo
  • If I had to describe Kawa's storyboarding in one word, it would be "atmosphere". Especially their version of "Irony" flawlessly expresses the floaty demeanor of the song by combining a continuous stream of particles, wings and gently dispersing lyrics. Refreshing to see storyboards be used to express the song's feeling, so I'm hoping to see more of Kawa's work in the future!

Kencho written by WildOne94
  • Kencho's collaboration with yf_bmp on "Dear Jane - Lost" provides beautiful high quality images from the original music video which tells it's own story in a shorter manner. A striking moment for me was the start of this storyboard, which shows a lovely and well timed series of pictures lighting a match fitting perfectly in time with the opening of the song. Each transition is smooth and well fitted to the song throughout. All we really need to say now is... Ken Cho make more storyboards ? (sorry that was a bad pun).

Kuey written by yaspo
  • With a sweet storyboard that will make your heart light up, Kuey accompanies the gentle Undertale OST "An Ending". Despite Kuey not making storyboards often, they always have a kindred touch that goes a long way. I really hope this wasn't an ending to their work!

Kuo Kyoka written by Hokichi
  • Ah, who could possibly forget this famous mania guy, and his ANiMA storyboard. Kuo has left us with amazing storyboarding works. His works aren't anything complicated or technical, but extremely visual pleasing. Plus, all of his works are manually coded by editing the .osb file! Unlike -Tochi (who used to make storyboard the same way of him), he aims for a more simplistic way. It seems like he's not a very active member anymore, but who knows. I bet most of us is expecting a big comeback from him

LowAccuracySS written by TheDuckMask
  • New to the scene, and was once mentored under PoNo himself, LASS makes waves as he brings in 4 new ranked SBs in 2018 alone! Even though being amongst that of a simplistic nature, in no way does it take away from what they aim to accomplish. Clean, thematically appropiate and straight to the point are what these SBs excel at. Seems to be continuing SBing well into 2019, so can't wait to see more from him!

m980 written by scub
  • Do you remember that one storyboard that got on lots of gaming news sites? That one Ace Attorney storyboard made for a Queen map back in like, 2009? Well here we go again ladies and gentlemen, a blast from the past, as m980 made another storyboard in the same fashion! With a cutely designed EBA style storyboard, this is sure to relive your 2009 self!

Megapcmx written by Coppertine
  • The promonent storyboard that came to this year is the League of Ledgends music video for the Worlds 2018 campain. The music video itself was a hard to work with size, but with powerfull animations and promonent moments from the journey to the summit, his storyboard truly did stand out as one of the masterpieces of the time.

Milan- written by Noffy
  • Milan-'s storyboard "Aurora" is one of the top tier ones of 2018. It is a really remarkable work, using a very strong visual style and excellent technical effects that complement the mysterious yet elegant tone of the music incredibly well. Additionally, a large amount of it is based off of object placement in a way different from usual hit-object lights, and it helps to make each difficulty a more immersive experience with the storyboard on. It's straight up beautiful!

Mykaterasu written by Noffy
  • Mykaterasu's first ranked storyboard on "Myosotis" (mapset hosted by Akareh) is certainly a sight for sore eyes. They make use of a mix of excellent aesthetic sense and technical ability to create a truly beautiful storyboard that fits the contrasting sections of the song extremely well. I can't say in words just how amazing it is, so be sure to go check their work out! Additionally if you want to see their other storyboards, they presently have an easy to access list of them on their userpage too.

Nerova Riuz GX written by Hokichi
  • Skilled mapper? Skilled storyboarder? Nerova has them both. Don't believe me? Check out his "Quaoar" set and be amazed. The storyboard (and the map) really showcased his skills. But this ain't his first work. All of his work are just as amazing as this one. Though he's not really active, I'm hoping he would keep us entertained in 2019!

Noffy written by scub
  • This commentary has been blessed by the :blobcat: Noffy told me in DM once that she isn't particularly well versed in programming, yet here she is, creating storyboards everyone can enjoy! She's mostly known for her storyboards for the Mappers' Guild project, and despite her limitations, she is still able to make visually interesting patterns both simple and complex! All that being said, we absolutely can't wait for more of her new stuff to come out!

Nokris written by scub
  • Not only is he able to make visually attractive maps such as his rendition of Luminous Rage, but Nokris definitely has the skills needed to make storyboards just as visually interesting! Looking at storyboards such as one within the map mentioned before, Nokris tackled rather niche storyboard elements such as frame-by-frame animations, then completely pushes those elements to the absolute cutting edge, while still programming it in a way that's well-optimized too! Definitely looking forward for more stuff from him in 2019!

nold_1702 written by Noffy
  • nold_1702 (now known as Ulysses) is multi-skilled, creating in their mapset "Nostalgic (Nightcore Mix)" multiple awesome difficulties as well as an incredible storyboard that really show the wide variety of what is possible in the medium. In their storyboard they make use of multiple animations, different scenes for each part of the song, and a super wide variety of effects to make an experience that is very much a full music video that can stand on its own. If the storyboard is too intense to run for you in-game, check out the youtube showcase of it here: https://youtu.be/S3kDebcTmKI
    Ohwow written by WildOne94
    • Ohwow has provided a unique taste on lyric storyboards as seen in Gaia’s map "Takagi-san (CV: Rie Takahashi) - AM11:00". First and foremost, it was a great experience seeing the many variety of ways its lyrics were shown with special little details that add beautiful finishing touches like the bubbles. Ohwow also hits us with sudden changes in his storyboard such as a scene transition into falling cherry blossoms and seeing the thoughts of Takagi adding a WHAM! to the mix. I very much look forward to seeing what Ohwow makes next as this project was handled very well and much care was put into it. The future for this storyboarder will surely make us all go “Oh wow!”.

    Peter written by yaspo
    • While Peter has built a fairly safe and consistent style for their storyboarding, details like unique font choices go a long way to make them fit the song. Curious to see if Peter will expand to using more effects, or if he'll stick with what he knows best.

    PoNo written by Coppertine
    • Short for Ponoyoshi, PoNo has been the face of Sotarks' storyboarded maps; as well as taking multiple top awards from the MCA. Starting the year off with SkyshifterVIP (which I appreciated the help along side with both him and Darky1); He went to making Small but elequent storyboards that still capture the eyes of each person playing the map.

    Realazy written by Noffy
    • Realazy collaborated with me in making the standard storyboard for "Party in the HOLLOWood feat. Nanahira", which is first and only finished work (!!!FOR NOW!!!). His parts display well that he's gotten a hang of the basics, as well as having a good taste! It was super neato for me to work together with him on that project :>. He hopes to do more in the near-ish future and I'm excited to see how it goes, he just needs to stop being real lazy and make more stuff.

    Regou written by TheDuckMask
    • Though better known as a mapper, Regou has also dabbled in storyboarding, particularly for their own sets. Despite their simplistic nature, Regou is able to represent a song through storyboard in a concise visual manner that is seemlessly integrated into the mapset as a whole. Although done through using effects that one has seen a dime a dozen, they've been used in a way that only enhances the BG provided. Whether they decide to take storyboarding further on their own accord or not, Regou shows great potential to make something truly outstanding, apparent from the aesthetics of their existing storyboards.

    Rekkursion written by yaspo
    • Despite this being their firs storyboard, Rekkursion shows plenty of potential. With well-placed fades and lyrics impactfully droppping at the key moments of "Arcadia", they defintely have the right mindset. Hoping to see them grow and polish their work this year!

    rrtyui written by Darky1
    • Most seasoned osu! players first got to know rrtyui as one of the best players of their time, but rrtyui doesn't just exceed in playing the game, rrtyui also made some of the better known maps to date! So it shouldn't come to a surprise that rrtyui follows this trend in 2018 with one storyboard that stands out from the rest. Reality Distortion shows us that rrtyui doesn't just know what plays well, but also knows what looks good and how to go around the limits of storyboards!

    ShallICompareThee written by scub
    • ShallICompareThee, or SICT/Shalli for short, is a storyboarder famous for helping out with the storyboards of most of Hollow Wings's more famous maps, but they definitely have more knowledge than just particles following the objects. I've been told by someone that While SICT is not the best at creating general eye candy, they are able to recreate a lot of advanced effects when told to. Looking at their storyboards, especially ones in collaborative form, that seems to be true as well! That said, we definitely wish for more stuff from them in the coming year!

    Sharlo written by Noffy
    • A mapper, singer, and storyboarder too, Sharlo's skills are widespread and she is certainly great at all of these. Her ranked storyboard this year for "chrono driver -fragment-" is elegant and fitting to the context of the song by using a variety of clock related imagery, while not ever being too distracting from the experience of playing her and Chaoslitz' collab marathon.

    Shmiklak written by Hokichi
    • Looking at Shmiklak's works, I can't help but amazed by them. Because those are actually decent ones! Shmiklak is not new to storyboarding, with his lyrics storyboards. But his Red Lips storyboard blew me away. His use of particles and lighting are just, perfect. Please keep us entertained in 2019 as well!

    Sinnoh written by TheDuckMask
    • Were I to describe Sinnoh's storyboards in one word, it would be complimentary. Many of his storyboards compliment the sets they accompany through and through. By its simple demeanour, they faithfully reflect the vibe each song gives off respectively, from the cool, Wintery settings of his Wisp X sets, to his glitch riddled effects in his "forest of the spirits" set. Whether making SBs for himself or others, I can't help but smile over their uncomplicated charm.

    smau5 written by Coppertine
    • smau5 (I think it's pronounced Samus) is mostly known for being storyboarder of the top favorated map ILY. However, his storyboards are not exactly what you expect. With one of his main Storyboards "Suki Suki Zetchucho" has shown the tallents have gone sky high with how much effort has gone into both the sb and the minor details for a 270bpm alternate map that gives nodds to Okanainesai.

    Smokeman written by Darky1
    • How do you have a big impact with without fancy effects? Ask Smokeman! His kensuke ushio - lit(var) shows just how well you can emphasise the mood and feel with one single transition! We can only hope to see plenty more of it in 2019!

    Spectator written by scub
    • Aside from being an amazing CtB mapper, Spectator has also made his way to becoming a storyboarder who's shown their skills in making simple yet effective storyboard works! Looking at maps such as "Marigold" and "EGOiSTiC SHOOTER" showcases great usage of simple particles and effects, and it's no doubt that his works accompanied the maps he's created very well.

    Spkz written by Noffy
    • Spkz's Storyboard for "Itsuwaranai Kimi e" (hosted by Shurelia) is simple, cute, and makes effective use of CGs from the game Rewrite to add a little extra touch to the map. They even positioned particles in the kiai to come from the field instead of the entire screen, which helps them to fit well into the scenery. With attention to detail, it's pretty nice as their first ranked storyboard!

    Starset written by yaspo
    • A little bit of waiting, but when "Fractures" by Illenium finally drops, Starset's storyboard does too. Formerly known as HB24, Starset shows that they have no trouble going from 0 to 100 by combining a lot of effects without it feeling overdone or out of place. With clever introductios they really put their experience to good use, so we're hoping Starset continues doing so in the future!

    Storyboarder written by scub
    • Storyboarder is known for their collaborative work with other mappers towards designing very well made storyboards on electronic songs. While most of their storyboards consist of a formulaically consistent combination of character renders and particles, they have also made storyboards which are nearly fully animated, such as his work on Sweet Dreams (11t remix). Either way, both of these types are really well executed and visually stimulating, and we would definitely look forward to what they do in 2019!

    Sun Rainbow written by yaspo
    • With years of experience, the polish Sun Rainbow brings into their works is a sight to behold. While clean lyrics and nice particle effects are a given, their storyboards are full of small details. Subtly moving backgrounds, cute storytelling and small animation changes to represent the change in a character's mood bring a level of depth that makes each work come to life. Even with the leaving note on Sun Rainbow's profile, the works they leave behind are definitely worth a recommendation.

    Sytarno written by Hokichi
    • Although his storyboards are fairly simple ones, it shows perfection in each and every single effect he implements. Everything from simple things such as lyrics, particles,... to complicated stuff such as particle lyrics, animation,... are done with total perfection. You can tell no flaws in his effects. Even though he hasn't been making anymore storyboards, I hope to see more of his works in the future, because I can't get enough of those!

    Tatan written by yaspo
    • ~Un, dos, tres, calypso~ Tatan brings us the summer vibes with their exciting map and storyboard for Louis Fonsi's calypso. With a colorful spectrum to match the song it's impossible to not groove out while playing along the beat! Curious to see what other tunes they'll make a storyboard for this year.

    TheDuckMask written by scub
    • TheDuckMask has definitely made lots of lo-fi hip hop maps a lot more enjoyable since 2017, and it doesn't take a lot to know that she's still creating good content to this day! Through storyboards like "rain jacket over a puddle (ft. salami rose)", DuckMask expresses the calmness yet modern feel of the song quite well through her simple yet mesmerizing execution. That being said, we look forward for more content from this storyboarder in the coming year!

    tokiko written by TheDuckMask
    • Now, while tokiko's mapping is the star of the show for their sets, the storyboards they make introduce concepts not seen in many other maps/storyboards. Even though they are simple, their storyboards for "moro - Pain Room" and "Diao ye zong - Owaranu Matsuri" (especially old feast) bring in slight horror elements that induce an uneasy feeling, and what I feel, could lead into truly memorable experiences were the concepts developed further. Great job for taking the first steps into such a territory, and hope to see if they'll do more with storyboarding!

    Ultima Fox written by Noffy
    • Ultima Fox really, really, really, really, REALLY, likes the Ancient Magus Bride, and his passion shows in the storyboard for "Tsuki no Mou Hanbun", a theme song from the series, which contains an elegance and detail which is well-balanced with making it not too distracting from the difficulties he also made. It really shows how much they care for making the best experience possible and is an awesome display of how skilled he has become at storyboarding.

    Xenok written by Noffy
    • Xenok's storyboard for "Yuki no Hana (GoldenWolf -METAL MIX-)" is just as woke as the song and map. A true work of art. As well as their storyboard for "Yumemigachi na Cream Puffle [Crossfade]" which is suuuper duuuper cute, this storyboarder definitely has taste in what they make and have graced us with. Be sure to check them out!

    Yahuri written by Noffy
    • When it comes to Yahuri, her storyboarded mapsets can really be described as "full experiences". Both of her storyboards ranked in 2018 year employ not just the storyboard but also skinning and combo color usage to tie a mapset together and create one aesthetic that makes the map really feel like it's own isolated level in a game. While the individual effects are simple, they're really effective in making an experience more immersive and enjoyable overall. Also, she makes cute art that will hopefully be showing up in her future storyboards too. Count me a massive fan!

    yf_bmp written by scub
    • This guy makes me jealous. Not only is yf_bmp an amazing mapper who's able some of the best visually thematic maps, but as an experienced programmer himself, he's also really good at creating complex storyboards. With his latest ranked map, Benibotan, yf_bmp has basically flexed his skills in recreating entire rhythm game BGAs to us. And best part is that it's probably not even his best storyboard yet. He's created lots of great storyboards over the past few years that you should download to enjoy as well!

    Yumeno Himiko written by TheDuckMask
    • An extremely talented programmer, an extremely talented CTB mapper, and most importantly, an extremely talented storyboarder. Started out back in 2014 and has since, accumulated quite the portfolio. Not the most active of the community, but when Yumeno Himiko drops a new storyboard, they're surely to blow me away, with "Eisyo-kobu - Oriental Blossom" being their best one to date. Was even made on their very own storyboard engine (in collaboration with yf_bmp & [Mahua])! Storyboards that flourish through their technical standpoints, it's always a joy to see a new SB from them.

    Zer0- written by TheDuckMask
    • Though primarily a mapper, they've had a couple or so attempts at storyboarding at some points in time. Their newest SB for Benny-'s "FELT - Songs Compilation" set is only a taste of what they could be capable of, as they have made much more complex storyboards in the past. I hope to see if they could take storyboarding much further, as I believe they can do it!

    Zerss written by Hokichi
    • A used-to-be very dedicated storyboarder, Zerss has given us some amazing works with his talent. Simplistic as they are, they never dissapoint us. Though he isn't as hard-working in 2018 as he used to be, his collab with Gordon123 and Down certainly did not let us down! I'm sure to look forward to his grand comeback in 2019 and give us more of his talent to us.


Ok done
Last edited by VINXIS , edited 3 times in total.
anna apple
1,245 posts
Joined March 2014
anna apple
1
Uberzolik
osu! Alumni
291 posts
Joined January 2012
Uberzolik
hey
Kaine
367 posts
Joined July 2012
Kaine
https://open.spotify.com/track/12Nldqycv511dJm5Shs2sc?si=eXxH0wlyQcyBLmanhAaetg
Kyuukai
1,511 posts
Joined December 2014
Kyuukai
whack
Enkrypton
217 posts
Joined November 2014
Enkrypton

Kyuukai wrote:

whack

whack
wiken
216 posts
Joined April 2015
wiken
im 1
celerih
617 posts
Joined July 2014
celerih
woo im here again
-Keitaro
1,013 posts
Joined October 2013
-Keitaro
whack
Mizunashi Akari
176 posts
Joined August 2018
Mizunashi Akari
whack
Myers
5 posts
Joined December 2014
Myers
Good post also i want Fii back
Yugu
Elite Mapper
1,006 posts
Joined August 2013
Yugu
i'm late
Mayflower
246 posts
Joined June 2017
Mayflower
thx for ur efforts in making this yall, this is a really good read
-mint-
647 posts
Joined September 2016
-mint-
who is qqqant
Senko-san
824 posts
Joined November 2012
Senko-san
uwu
greenhue
383 posts
Joined September 2014
greenhue
guy above me has 727 posts hahahha its the number
Renumi
Beatmap Nominator
904 posts
Joined July 2012
Renumi
epic
Izzywing
osu! Alumni
2,248 posts
Joined March 2016
Izzywing
cool
Joe Castle
802 posts
Joined September 2014
Joe Castle
Dab
Kibbleru
osu! Alumni
5,844 posts
Joined August 2013
Kibbleru
uwu
shardex
69 posts
Joined March 2016
shardex
where's my na.. oh yes no ranked maps till 2019 :pepelaugh:
kanpakyin
Global Moderator
4,231 posts
Joined June 2010
kanpakyin
Respect!
realy0_
1,731 posts
Joined August 2016
realy0_
epic combo
Mica45
3 posts
Joined April 2016
Mica45
Sotarks
Sotarks
Sotarks
hypercyte
Elite Mapper
741 posts
Joined October 2016
hypercyte
i sure did exceed my expectations since last time thats for sure 👀

thanks for doing this again for 2018 <3
AchsanLovers
987 posts
Joined April 2015
AchsanLovers
whoa
autofanboy
Elite Mapper / osu!trivium Champion
1,578 posts
Joined January 2011
autofanboy
2020 soon
Shmiklak
Elite Storyboarder
3,218 posts
Joined January 2015
Shmiklak
hello from 2013
Pachiru
osu! Alumni
2,957 posts
Joined June 2013
Pachiru
Very nice job from the organizers and the helpers of this project
Nakano Itsuki
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Joined July 2014
Nakano Itsuki
whack
Shadren
Featured Artist
531 posts
Joined March 2011
Shadren
Winx!!!!! только вместе мы сильны
Чудеса творить вольны
И всегда устремлены
К ПОБЕДЕ!
Cris-
Beatmap Nominator
551 posts
Joined March 2015
Cris-
Really cool, good job y'all~!
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