The Esoteric Retina
The Esoteric Retina (秘密の網膜 lit. Secret Retina) is a Video CD released by Osamu Sato and OutSide Director's Company, published by Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 1994. It contains several animated music videos, accompanied by alternative mixes of Sato's music not heard anywhere else.
Release
There are five distinct music videos; one for each distinct track. After the intro, the original mixes (tracks 2, 4, 6, and 8) will play in a randomized order on the original Video CD. In between each video, a short segue plays. After this the other mixes (tracks 3, 5, 7, and 9) will play, also in a shuffled order. Once all these videos have been watched, Frozen Frogs will play.
Tracklist
- Intro
- The Earth is Round (VCD Edit)
- The Earth is Round (Chrome Dome Mix)
- Transmigration
- Transmigration (7th Heaven Mix)
- Face the Music
- Face the Music (Glue-Glue Mix)
- Xia-Che [ʃia-tʃe]
- Xia-Che (Motormouse Mix)
- Frozen Frogs
Former Lost Media Status
Its rarity was proven to be high, and for years the disc's contents had not surfaced online. Aside from the fact that it contained several music videos by Sato, little to no info about its contents was known, with the only evidence of its existence is a mention on the official Outside Directors Company website, a small, low-quality scan of the cover that looks to have been found in a catalog, and its price at the time (which would be around $45 in 2016, not adjusting for inflation).
In January 2018 a copy of The Esoteric Retina was auctioned on eBay, originating from an estate sale in New York. It was sold with a winning bid of $717.00 to Swazaaa. The disc's contents were ripped and made available online in late June 2018.