A Brief Reiteration of Miku Hatsune

IF= { lazy } THEN= { image taken from DarkMirage }

I’m a pretty big fan of the first of three VOCALOID2 creations, Miku Hatsune (初音ミク), in terms of her physical appearance and moé appeal. So much so that the other day, I started imagining creating my own fan site. However, this so-called fan-gushing was without much regard to her voice in general, as I was under the impression that they were one in the same. After researching some of her songs, however, I decided that I wanted to write something brief about Miku, as I had fallen in love with not just her adorable, post-future style, but with her voice as well.

I have to shamefully admit I was a bit confused about how so users were easily obtaining mixes and generating that content on Nico Nico Douga. It was only until I decided to write this entry that I discovered that Miku isn’t just a computer-generated synthesized voice only accessible by Yamaha, put to an anime-style character. For those in the West who don’t know, the VOCALOID2 series was indeed created by Yamaha and the third-party company, Crypton, but the marketed software, VOCALOID2, uses preset, tuned pitches capable of producing varying tones centered around a particular style given the type of voice. Miku Hatsune is the name given to the J-Pop-type voice used in the VOCALOID2 Character Vocaloid Series. The voice originally belongs to Saki Fujita.

I’m really impressed to find out that Nico Nico Douga was a big contributer to Miku Hatsune’s popularity, and the VOCALOID2 software in general. Without greater fans than me, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy such lovely user-generated mixes that use Miku’s sweet-sounding voice. I wish I had that kind of time and interest on my hands. I do adore the Miku’s character and the “magic” of her voice, so here are a few visual culture sources that I have come across that are all about Miku Hatsune.

Miku Clips

My current favorite song by Miku

NicoNico Vocaloid Animation

Lucky*Star OP w/ Vocaloid CG

Miku Links

• MikuFan.com: A Hatsune Miku Fansite
• YouTube: MikuFan
• http://www.mikumiku.info/
• DarkMirage – VOCALOID2’s Hatsune Miku
• More about VOCALOIDs

Do you like Miku Hatsune (or VOCALOIDs)? Tell us why or why not!

Gundam 00 OP1: DAYBREAK’S BELL (TV Size) Cover

Let me make one thing clear:

Gundam 00 is my favorite anime of the fall season. There are shortcomings in it, but they do not disarm the series from being something that I’ve fallen in love with even moreso than my affection for Gundam Wing. With the drama, the characters, the animation, and the underlying conflicts bringing form and meaning to the existence of Gundams in that universe, it is the series I covet after every week, as I’m sure we all have done with a series at one point or another.

I like this series so much that I recorded myself singing DAYBREAK’S BELL and posted it on my YouTube account. Think of this as a break from all the lines of text I usually produce for this blog. The description for this video is as follows:

This is the first time I have sung any anime-related song in the public eye. And quite frankly, this isn’t an easy song to master due to Hyde having incredible pitch & expression that I just can’t mimic completely.

In any case, I love this song and the Gundam 00 series very much. So this is really just FOR FUN, and to give a sample of my singing ability when pushed above and beyond. Any commentary is welcomed, though I don’t expect everyone’s words to be kind.

Song details are already in the video. Hope you enjoy!

NOTE #1: There were some audio sync errors that will make it seem as though I have bad timing on singing the lyrics with the music. That is not my doing. Please ignore it.

NOTE #2: There is no official TV size instrumental version of this song. I mixed it myself from the official full instrumental version.

Here’s the video!

Japan’s Singing Seiyuu: What happened?

After I had the last straw with Windows Media Player, I decided to make the gradual switch over to iTunes and properly organize my music the way I want to hear it. Of course, I began with my Japanese music collection which takes up about three-fourths of my pathetic 35GB HD I have yet to upgrade. Anyway, I started with music I had not listened to in a very long while, which included my The Best Slayers collection, with most of the songs on that album sung by the great classic Japanese seiyuu of the 90s, Megumi Hayashibara. I remember dancing and singing along to “Kujikenaikara!” (Slayers ED 1) in my kitchen while washing dishes. Man…those songs took me back.

When I first was exposed to subbed anime some six years ago, Slayers and Megumi Hayashibara as Lina Inverse were my firsts. Those were the days when the main character(s) also performed Opening and Ending themes to the anime they were cast in. I really must have caught the tailend of that era because since then, I cannot recall liking a seiyuu who also sang OP, ED, or even Image songs in the anime they were cast in. The only seiyuu and singer that rings a bell is the popular Nana Mizuki. What’s sad is that I only know her by name because I had an American friend while living in Osaka who went starry-eyed whenever he saw a DVD compilation by her. Has anyone else noticed this declining phenomenon?

With that in mind, and my otaku status no longer privy to the masses, I’d like to pose these questions to whomever will lend an ear:

Are there any singing seiyuu that you remember from your anime newbie days?

Do you still enjoy their songs today?

EDIT: I meant Nana Mizuki, not Nana Kitase. Sorry about the mix up!