Miku obsession

OK. Today I've been wasting time on Youtube again. As some people out there know I've got this strange obsession with Hatsune Miku and all the other Vocaloids. I've liked the idea of a virtual idol since the first time I saw Macross Plus way back in the mid 90's. There was that OAV, then William Gibson's book Idoru, and some girl (can't remember her name right now...ARGH!) who tried to simulate one. She was a real person but only ever appeared in an animated form. [Edit: Kyoko Date was who I was thinking of...]

Last year Yamaha came out with the Vocaloid 2 software which is uses fully synthesized voices to make music. People went nuts over it. It got worse after they released Miku Miku Dance. MMD is a freeware 3D model program that has the Vocaloids pre-rendered. You just download it and start to make her pose and dance. I tried it out and it's super easy to use.

I'm not alone in this obsession either if the huge number of videos online are any indicator. Typing in "Vocaloid" on youtube gets 10,600 videos. 初音ミク on Nico Nico Douga gets 39,448 videos...Every now and then I do a search and check out all the strange things she is doing.

Here are a few of them. There are more popular/better ones out there but these are some that I watched today and found interesting. I'm only going to display a few on the main page so be sure to click through to hear her sing classical music. Sadly, no Toccata and Fugue in D Minor yet.

And, yes, I did get my cell phone in gray and blue because it matched Miku's color scheme. That said, if anyone wants to buy me a Miku figure for Christmas...

Tunak Tunak - Hatsune Miku version 初音ミク



Miku Hatsune sings ABC song with sign language (ASL) - take2





【MikuMikuDance】"I Wanna Love You Tender" MMD
(Not sung by Miku, but using Miku Miku Dance. A little freaky... BTW, the gray haired version is Haku who is normally portrayed as a drunk. It was made by fans to represent people who suck at using the software and can't get Miku to sing right. There are actually a number of alternate versions of Miku.)



"Take Me Home, Country Road", John Denver (Vocaloid2 ver)



She isn't all pop either...People have been having her do more classical stuff lately.

【MikuMikuDance】 ミクとハクが片手ずつ鍵盤を演奏
(surprised they got Haku to concentrate that long. haha)



初音ミク／魔笛：夜の女王のアリア２　［STEREO］



Beethoven Symphony No. 5 1st mov. Miku ver. 【初音ミク】 ベートーヴェン 「運命」第一楽章
(mikumikumikumikumikumikumikumikumikumikumikumimikukumiku)



初音ミク　バッハ　小フーガ　BACH FUGUE G-minor BWV 578
(look at her try to hit those high notes. haha)



BWV 244 No.1 初音ミク【バッハ】マタイ受難曲 BACH　Matthew Passion



【初音ミク】　天津祝詞　 【PV】　 AMATSU-NORITO　　JAPANESE ARIA



Now back to work!