Hello everyone, Tanudama here! We at Vocasphere were excited to hear about the newest Vocaloid-centered mobile app “Mikulogi”… and so most of us decided to invest in playing it! I’d like to present you with a full overview of the game, with help from our lovely editor (who is way better at this game than me, annoyingly enough).
The app does cost money to download initially, but after that there are no in-game purchases. Until March 31st 2020 there is also a 50%-off commemorative sale, making it ¥120 ($1 USD / £0.90 GBP) instead of ¥240 ($1.80 USD / £1.80 GBP).
Right, let’s begin!
The start page, with a super cute animated pixel-Miku!
The music is rather pleasant when you enter the game, and if you check the “credits” button on the start page, you’ll see that it was created by the producer SuketchP (すけっちP) and it’s called “Last Summer Memories”. The game only uses a fragment of the full song, so I’d definitely recommend listening to the original if you can. There are brief instructions to help you, but I found them pretty confusing, and was raging for a full 10 or so minutes before I figured out how the game works. You can check the instructions by clicking on the small [?] icon in the top right corner.
In the first box, it says that you need to fill in the grid using the hints (numbers) above each column and to the left of each row. I didn’t realise that when there is a gap between the numbers (e.g. “1 1”), it doesn’t mean eleven, it means there needs to be at least one “X” (blank) space between the first coloured box (1) and the second one (1), making “1 [space(s)] 1”.
The aim is to fill in the correct boxes without making any mistakes. As our lovely editor said, “it’s kinda like sudoku”.
By clicking on the cog icon, you get the game settings:
As you can imagine, the top button allows you to make the background music louder or quieter, or turn it off all together. The second one allows you to do the same with the sound effects. The “operation” buttons change the way you play, so if you click the button with the hand, you’re able to slide-select lines of blocks to colour. The grid button to the left of it means that you can choose individual squares more precisely, to avoid choosing the wrong ones. And lastly you can turn the vibrations on or off. By clicking on the “Miku Navi” banner, you’ll be redirected to your app store, where you can download the Miku Navi app – an app which has the lastest news from all of Crypton Future Media’s Vocaloid projects!
Beginning to play
When you enter the game, you’ll see this screen. The first four buttons show the four difficulties: level one has puzzles with images made up of 25 squares altogether, level 2 has 100 per puzzle, and level 3 has 225 (I’ll get onto explaining the joys of the “special levels” later).
Level 1: Stages 1 to 25
Level 1 and 2 have 25 stages each, while level 3 has a whopping 100 stages to clear. Even as I write this, I look at all of those future levels in dismay.
I’ll use Level 1 – Stage 1 as an example for how to play!
As you can see, there are numbers on the screen, which indicate how many squares need to be coloured. Make sure that you keep both horizontal and vertical lines in mind, since the puzzles can only be completed in one way (from what I’m aware).
Use the pen tool to colour squares (marks made with this tool can’t be erased), and use the grey “X” tool next to it to plot “X” marks around the puzzle where you think there definitely can’t be a coloured square. This second tool is really handy because it helps you narrow down where the coloured boxes will be. If you’re stuck, you can press the orange hints button on the bottom which fills in some squares for you (you can use this button up to 3 times per puzzle). However, if you use any hints, you won’t be able to get all three stars on that stage.
I’d recommend colouring any rows or columns which are definitely full. For example, because this grid is 5 x 5, if you see the number 5, just go ahead and fill in the whole column (see above).
If you complete a row or column successfully, the row/column will be locked in, and you can’t change it. Blank “X” marks are also filled in automatically once you colour the boxes correctly. If you make a mistake, it will be marked with a dark pink “X” mark. Your own plotted “X” marks can be removed by tapping them after they’ve been plotted, if you think you put it in the wrong place.
Once the puzzle is finished, you see a fully coloured rendition of what you made!
You can collect stars for each stage too. You get one just for clearing the stage, one for not using any hints, and a final one for not making any mistakes (mistakes being shown by those dark pink “X” marks).
You can also share your achievement via social media (the round turquoise icon), and then convey your incredulity as to HOW this is supposed to be a bottle to your friends:
…Or you can just press the pink arrow button to return to the stage selection page. Once you’ve completed a puzzle, you get an illustration in the “gallery” section.
There are so many illustrations! You might even recognise some of them~☆
Okay so now comes the most interesting part! Clicking on the “Special” level button will bring you to a page with 4 grey squares (stages). Clicking on one of these will bring you to… more stages WITHIN the stage.
As you can see, each stage (from one to four) in the “Special” category is made up of lots of smaller stages!
Complete all the sub-stages to get the final pixel image!
I’ll say that if you like doing puzzle games, this sort of app is definitely up your alley. The music can get a bit annoying after a while, especially since you can’t change it, and the overall concept of the game makes it pretty repetitive, since you’re doing the same thing continuously. It’s a nice app to have when you need to kill a bit of time, and it even works with no internet, so you can play it anywhere (although without internet, you can’t use the “share your achievements on social media” feature). It’s sad that they don’t give credit to the artists who created each illustration, but it’s also not terribly expensive, so if you’ve got a bit of money spare, I’d definitely suggest giving it a try!
Bottom left: art by KEI, used as the original illustration Hatsune Miku’s boxart.
Botrom right: art by iXima, used as the illustration for Kagamine Rin and Len V4x boxart.
That’s everything about the app “Mikulogi”! If you play it, I hope that you won’t get quite as angry as I do everytime I mess up! The game is now available on both Android and iOS supported devices, so check the bottom of the article for links to go and buy them!
After the excitement of MIKUEXPO London last Saturday (January 11th 2020), a friend and I thought it would be fun to check out the Digital Colouring event being held at the Japan Centre Ichiba store in Westfield!
We were lucky, since because ours was the first city in the MIKUEXPO Europe lineup, also we were the first ones to experience the workshop! But first…
…merch buying time! London had fairly odd situation of having the workshop the Sunday AFTER the actual concert, meaning that pretty much most of the merchandise had already been sold, and more than a few people were left disappointed that we didn’t get quite enough glowsticks to go around. Despite this, there were a reasonable amount of hoodies and T-shirts available, as well as stickers, wristbands and glowstick inserts.
Not only was there the European tour merch available – there were plenty of regular Vocaloid goods there too, including framed prints, mugs and posters. We managed to nab the last one of the posters with art by kuroshishi, which I’ve wanted for a while, as well as a wristband each (one for Rin and one for Len). I was really happy to get the T-Shirt with the design from artist Tim Löchner, since not only was it my favourite piece of artwork out of all of the MIKUEXPO Europe 2020 goods, but unlike the other shirt and hoodie which had the rough, brittle texture of paint on them, this one is gorgeously smooth and comfortable.
After buying our wares, we went and had a look at the colouring event. Similar to with the concert, in order to guarantee an opportunity to join in with the fun, you had to queue up reasonably early. Because I decided to cosplay to the event, we ended up getting there by around 12PM (whoops…). By the time we got there, the line was already pretty long, and we decided that there was no chance that we were waiting in that queue for who-knows-how-long. Just as we were about to leave the store though, I spotted one of my friends that I met at the concert the day before! They were already participating in the event, but I was able to talk to them about what they were doing.
Each person received two white sheets of paper, one of which had an outline of the “My Miku” doll. The second sheet had instructions explaining how to do the digital colouring side of everything: all the magic happened courtesy of a QR code in the top left corner of the page! The organisers of the event were lovely, and after overhearing how sad we were about not getting to join in with the event properly, they gave us one of the tutorial sheets to use. So as soon as we left the store, we found some seats in the shopping centre and got to work!
After scanning the QR code, a 3D model base of Miku showed up, ready to be coloured. It’s actually very similar to the O-Miku figures we saw at Mikuexpo last year! (if the QR doesn’t work for you, just type the link: http://paint.mikuexpo.com)
My friend got off to a quick start, finding the controls in the teensy tiny web app easy enough. I, on the other hand, found the colour picker particularly awkward, since trying to get something as simple as a reasonable skin tone was… pretty darn tricky. The controls definitely need a little development, but for a small, time-limited app, it was pretty fun!
By clicking on the coloured square in the top left corner, you brought up the colour palette. From there, you could choose a colour, and with the vertical slider on the side, you could determine the saturation. By pressing “okay”, you get a horizontal slider in the top left, which dictates the size of your brush. If you want, you can start drawing on your Miku!
The eyedropper tool below it allows you to pick a colour that’s already on miku that you’d like to use, and the bucket tool will fill an entire area of her in block colour. Below that is the button to turn Miku around, so that you can draw on the back of her too! And if you wanna zoom in or move your perspective of Miku to get to those awkward angles (like around her arms), use the “move” tool at the bottom. One last handy tool is the “Mirror” tool, which meant that if you coloured, say, Miku’s left arm, it would automatically colour her right arm as a mirrored image of the first. This is really useful for creating patterns and whatnot.
Here is the final result of our hard work:
My Miku
My friend’s Miku!
Can you guess what inspired my Miku? You would think that making any complex details in this app is near impossible, but we tried to show that, with lots of patience and practice, you could make something pretty cool!
The iconic Vocaloid arm warmers!
Once you were finished with your drawing, you had to make sure to save it! Click on the three lines in the top left corner and you’d be able to save and load your design into the app. That definitely helped us when we accidentally pressed the “refresh” button instead of the “back step” button (which reversed one step you’d done for colouring your Miku, found in the bottom right corner).
Once happy with your Miku, you could click on the “Studio Mode” button to view a 3D representation of your very own Miku! In this section, you could play with the exposure, brightness, length and position of the shadow, the intensity of the reflection of Miku on the floor. You can also take a photo or use an existing photo and use is as a background for your Miku. I have to admit, I had wayyy too much fun with this part.
Miku was helping me while I wrote this article!
A photo from the concert
Oh dear….
Similar to the previous section, here you can view your Miku from all angles using the tools in the bottom left. Once you’d created a composition you liked, you could save it as a photo to your device! If you wanted to make any improvements, all you had to do was press the back button (top left).
All in all, the day was pretty successful! Participants in the event managed to get some free gifts, consisting of a “Local Miku” badge and small stylus pen! Unfortunately we didn’t get these, since we didn’t actually enter the designated area, but it was still nice to be able to join in somehow. Overall, it was a tiring but fun day, and I really enjoyed cosplaying to the event.
(Image courtesy of the official english Hatsune Miku Facebook page, since we couldn’t get these)
Did any of you manage to get to the Digital Colouring Event at Ichiba? Make sure to drop any photos you got in the comments section on the original Facebook post – we’d love to see them. And make sure to use the tags #MIKUEXPO2020 , #MYMIKU as well as tagging Ichiba with @Ichibalondon if you upload any photos to your own social media!
That’s all from me! I hope that anyone who went to MIKUEXPO had an awesome time, and now we can finally pass the baton over to France. The “MIKUEXPO Let’s Paint workshop 2.0” will be held today (Wednesday 15th January) and The MIKUEXPO France concert will be happening January 16th. We hope you all enjoy your time at MIKUEXPO Europe!
-Tanudama
(Oh by the way, here’s the Kagamine Rin cosplay I wore to the concert and event!)
Marumain here again! On November 30, 2019, I had the pleasure of attending not just my first, but also my second concert for IA and ONE on the same day! They were IA’s “PARTY A GO-GO” Super Edition and ARIA -IA Musical & Live Show Encore Performance. It was a day of near IA overload, but in the best way possible! Having never experienced either concert before, I was in a near euphoric state after it was all over, and came away feeling like I couldn’t love IA and ONE more than I possibly could at that moment.
For anyone who loves IA and ONE but has yet to see either show, I hope my report can give you an idea of what the experience is like, and encourage you to attend them for real someday!
Before the Concerts
As always is the case whenever I go to a new place in Japan, I was a nervous wreck as I wandered around the streets of Yokohama trying to find the DMM VR Theater. But once I saw the line of fans wearing IA attire waiting outside the gate to the theater, I knew I found the right place and the weight was lifted off my shoulders.
As soon as the gates opened, we were greeted to paintings of IA and ONE standing in front of what looked like mecha versions of themselves! I sure was curious as to why they chose this painting to display, and who the artist is!
That’s also when I lined up for the mini Hachimaki shop that was set up since I had requests from friends to pick up some merch for them, plus I myself desired a few items making their debut there such as the limited parka. It was pretty cold that morning, so the parka definitely helped!
I also took the time to pick up the T-shirt that was awarded to those who chose the appropriate plan to support in the muevo campaign to crowdfund these concerts. And right next to the muevo pickup spot was the acrylic plates that would be awarded to those who purchased an S seat ticket to the concerts! I resisted the urge to buy S seat tickets (they each cost about ￥3,000 JPY more than the A seat tickets), but after seeing the plates in person, I couldn’t help but feel the slight sting of regret. Curse my cheapness!
Once we were finally allowed inside the theater and took our seats, messages for IA and ONE written by contributors to the muevo campaign were rolling on the screen. I even saw the one that we at VocaSphere wrote for them!
After finding my seat, I took out a notepad and pen to take notes on the concerts in order to share the setlists and my thoughts with you here. So without further ado, on to the show!
IA’s PARTY A GO-GO Super Edition
After the lights dimmed, the first song that IA performed was オツキミリサイタル / Otsukimi Recital, a song instantly familiar to fans of Kagerou Project. Seeing IA projected live onstage for the first time, I couldn’t contain my excitement and got out my glowstick right away, even dropping my notepad in the process! I may have missed the first few seconds of the song while searching for it.
After the first song, IA appeared again and welcomed the audience to the special edition of PARTY A GO-GO. It has been a while since the last concert and IA has been rehearsing new songs for this edition quite a lot, and says that she looks forward to having fun with us!
Once the big welcome was over, IA reappeared in a stylish yellow outfit to sing Circuit DISCO for us! Dancers joined her this time too, and they really brought the live concert vibe to this familiar song! Keeping up with the race theme, next came SEE THE LIGHTS and IA changing into her racing outfit. Then staying in the same outfit, IA sang one of my absolute favorite songs, We gotta run!
After this trio of racing IA songs, I finally realized that my right wrist was hurting like crazy! These were the very songs that really got me loving IA, and I was so fired up and waving my glowstick so hard listening to her perform them live for the first time that I unaware of the pain I was causing my wrist. Between songs, I would repeatedly alternate which hand is holding the glowstick and which is holding the notepad, all out of concern for my poor wrists!
Next came a segment called GO BACK TO IA during which ONE appears, and everyone in the audience changes their glowsticks to orange! She introduced the segment as a review of IA’s popular songs and PVs over the years, and added that her own songs will be included in this Super Edition of the concert!
*These were songs that contributors to the muevo campaign most requested to be included in the Super Edition concert
Many of these songs were the first ever tunes that I heard IA sing, so it was like a rapid-fire nostalgia trip for me. And experiencing them all over again at a live concert venue was very surreal and reminded me of just how many memories I have with IA and her voice. That realization once again made me feel really happy to be there experiencing PARTY A GO-GO in person.
Then came one of the newest songs, 祭・祭・祭 / MA・TSU・RI! It was the first IA and ONE duet song of the performance, and thanks to practice videos that they released previously on ARIA Station, we in the audience knew exactly when and what to chant! They even had a live taiko drummer – Wadaiko Kaden from Wabunka Pro – performing on stage with them! When the dancers also came out waving towels, many people in the audience took their IA towels that they bought from the Hachimaki shop and waved them as well! These elements plus the audience participation made this the most enjoyable performance of the day for me so far!
After that exhilarating song, IA appeared again with a guitar in hand and started jamming to 延命治療 / Enmei Chiryou along with two other live guitarists, Gassy and May from Booost. Then without leaving the stage, they immediately transitioned into セツナドライブ / Setsuna Drive! Both performances were as electrifying as you can imagine. Seeing IA jam on her guitar, I couldn’t help but wonder how much of the guitar rifts were being played live by the human guitarists, and how much of it was pre-recorded for IA to play, or if IA’s guitar was just for show. Nevertheless, kudos to Booost for these high-octane performances!
IA then faded and reappeared without her guitar, but the Booost members stayed to perform アウターサイエンス / Outer Science, another song familiar to Kagerou Project fans. I really enjoyed the stage effects that were used for this performance where sparks would flash around IA fists whenever she punched the air. This is where you can really appreciate the types of performances made possible at the DMM VR Theater stage!
IA then spoke to us again stating how much she loves us and had a great time performing this special edition of PARTY A GO-GO. That’s when the dancers came back out for what she claimed would be the “last song.” I’ve been to enough VOCALOID concerts to know that whenever the performer announces that, then there will be an encore coming. Nonetheless, we all got to enjoy this “final” performance of America ~We are all right!~ with IA and the famous IA dancers, complete with audience involvement thanks to the online practice video!
But after the show ended, the lights stayed off, prompting the audience to chant “Encore!” over and over! There was even one particularly vocal person behind me who tried to change the chant to “IA!” by calling her name instead. He was unsuccessful, but I can appreciate him trying!
After a few minutes of this, IA reappeared in her angel outfit and performed one of her most beloved songs, Inner Arts! We were all glad to see her back on stage, and IA herself expressed her thanks for the encore, too. That’s when we heard the real last song of the day, Diamond Days. As a much slower-paced ballad compared to the rest of the setlist, it was a nice way to end the show with something more relaxed and beautiful.
And with a “Bye bye! Let’s meet again!” and a deep bow, IA concluded PARTY A GO-GO Super Edition. The endroll credits then played, signifying the real end to the show. And if one looked closely enough, they may notice a familiar name among the supporters!
ARIA -IA Musical & Live Show- Encore Performance
After a long two-hour wait between shows, I eagerly returned to the DMM VR Theater for the next treat of the night: my first ever ARIA – IA Musical & Live Show- performance!
Soon after I sat down, a whole of bunch of kids wearing street dance clothes also came in and occupied the row directly behind me as we waited for the show to start. I assumed that they must be the performers for Higher in this show. Ladies who looked like their moms also came in and sat in the same row as me. Then when it was about 5 minutes to showtime, they were all instructed to leave their seats and go backstage. That was my indicator that I didn’t have to wait much longer.
I’ve heard before that ARIA is a very different beast from PARTY A GO-GO, but I didn’t realize just how different until the opening movie started, taking us on a trip through space. The sound was so loud and thundering that I could actually feel it reverberating through my body. The narrator’s voice explained how we were at the Resonance World known as ARIA where all life co-exists in harmony. Then one day, two spirits – one rainbow-colored and the other orange-colored – came to the planet. The Mastermind of ARIA saw the rainbow-colored spirit as the one who will lead them to the future and gave her form, naming her IA. She continued to look over the orange-colored spirit until it, too, took on form and ONE was born. On ARIA, they were cared for by the Mastermind as the protector spirits of the planet.
This was my first time learning about IA and ONE’s official backstory, and it was quite a surprise! But while I was still jotting down notes on what I heard, the mood changed completeinto sly when IA and ONE appeared and starting performing Into Starlight, reminding me that this is not a movie, but a concert! So back into my pocket went my notebook and out came my glowstick!
Then after that familiar song came a completely new one to me, HAVE FUN! Featuring a dancer dressed as a bird and a projection of the character known as Cheetah who was introduced as IA and ONE’s dance teacher on ARIA Station, the song changed the mood completely!
In the ARIA Station video, ONE remarked that Cheetah sounds an awful lot like Lia when she sings, and the reason became apparent once Cheetah opened her mouth and began singing, indeed having her song parts provided by IA’s voice provider herself! The very jazz-like beat and party-like atmosphere on the stage made this performance totally fun, hence the song title!
The fun was short lived after the song ended, however. It mood got very serious as the next segment began with another movie showing what happened when IA and ONE receive a distress signal from Earth. In contrast to ARIA, there is much disharmony on our planet, filled with turmoil caused by wars, crime, suicide, and destruction of nature. That was when IA, possessing the power of the rainbow-colored lights, decides to journey to Earth. Worried for her sister, ONE opposed her leaving, but IA would not change her mind. And so IA comes to earth, but is overwhelmed by the turmoil she has to deal with while ONE watches helplessly from her monitor.
This sets the stage for the next song, One Heart, in which ONE sings to her beloved sister in order to give her the strength to carry on. This is where the “Musical” part of “Musical & Live Show” really shows, and the performance is every bit as gripping and emotional as any musical number in a Broadway play. I’m not ashamed to admit that I myself was moved to tears.
Then the story continues, saying how ONE decides to travel to Earth as well to help IA. The Mastermind on ARIA knew that with their combined power, they can truly bring change to our ailing planet, and entrusted its future to the ARIA sisters. It should be noted that during all these story segments and the One Heart performance, we the audience all were sitting down respectfully.
Then the first English song of the night played, LIFE LOVE PEACE, while we were shown a montage of all of IA and ONE’s performances up to now. This thus concluded the first act of ARIA, and then we were treated to PARTY A GO-GO II.
Immediately, the mood switched back to the PARTY A GO-GO vibe once IA appeared back on stage to perform another English song, Conqueror. We all stood up again with our glowsticks and enjoyed watching this more rough and tough side of IA shine on stage, reminding us that she’s not one to be beaten down!
Then came the third song in a row to contain English lyrics, 絶対領域 / Zettai Ryouiki. Already I can see that PARTY A GO-GO II is putting a lot emphasis on IA English C and songs used with her, making me wonder what a potential PARTY A GO-GO III could be like.
IA then comes to the stage to thank us for attending and watching ARIA, and asks how we’re doing and saying how happy she is to see us all, fully back to her PARTY A GO-GO demeanor. Once she leaves, ONE appears for her first song of PARTY A GO-GO II, ホロンボット / Holon Bot! This is one of those songs that I’ve always wanted to see performed live, and was really happy to see it happen here! Granted, it ended before Cyber Diva’s parts could begin, but I wasn’t realistically expecting VY3 to make an appearance at ARIA anyway. Still, there was that bit of hope in the back of my mind…
Then IA and ONE reappeared in their ninja outfits and right away I knew which song would be coming next: Reload! Before that, IA and ONE introduce themselves once again. ONE says she has been on Earth for close to 5 years and aims to be pro gamer now! Next was IA who has been on Earth for 7 years and 10 months so far. In that time, she has grown close to her fans on this planet thanks to all these songs and dances that she performs for us, and looks forward to seeing what the future holds.
Then the performance for Reload begins. This song and performance has always been a crowd pleaser, especially when IA and ONE brandish their knives and dance with them in hand while a pair of performers do combat choreography in the background. The drummer from the 祭・祭・祭 / MA・TSU・RI performance even returned!
For the next performance, I heard the lady sitting next to me excitedly say “huh!?” And when the stage lit up with IA now in her Euphoria outfit, I immediately realized why: the dance kids I saw earlier were now standing on stage ready to perform 夜咄ディセイブ / Yobanashi Deceive with IA! And what a talented group of kids they were! If there were any human performers that came somewhat close to upstaging IA during the show, it was definitely this group of youngsters. I found myself focusing my attention on them much of the time!
After the kids left, IA reappeared with her guitar and the members of Booost for ロスタイムメモリー / Lost Time Memory. They made for another high-octane performance trio. Then we see IA put her guitar down, and with no break in between, they immediately transition into チルドレンレコード / Children Record! The presentation even included still images of the Kagerou Project characters, giving fans of the series a lot to cheer about!
Next, IA changed back into her Euphoria outfit for an actual performance of Euphoria! Since these were short versions of the songs, it really felt like we were in the middle of a じん / Jin medley, which is certainly not a bad thing!
Then we took a break from じん / Jin songs for another crowd pleaser, てるみい / Tell Me! We in the audience all already knew when to say “Tell me!” during the song, making for the most audience-involved performance yet! Towards the end, the dance kids even returned and danced for those in the front row!
IA then appears on stage asking us how PARTY A GO-GO II was, signifying that it has concluded. She goes on to say how in these past seven years on Earth, she has seen how beautiful and full of life our planet is. Back on ARIA, she could not see those facets of Earth, thinking that we were on the verge of destruction. IA describes ARIA as a place where the energies of music and light harmonize together, and where all life co-exists peacefully, adding how she believes that someday, Earth can be like this as well.
Then the background switches back to ARIA and IA changes to a beautiful white gown to sing Resonance World. As she sung this beautifully melodic song, flowers would slowly bloom on her dress and hair until she was garbed in the flowery ARIA dress that we see in concert promotions. Once again, hats off to the DMM VR Theater for having the tech to hold such performances!
Next, we were treated to another song that was new to me, The Eternity and More. Singing in amazingly clear and understandable English, IA was wearing what looks like a business dress, and dancing with other ladies clothed in similar office-wear. This performance was one of the biggest surprises for me, and I absolutely loved witnessing it!
Then IA appeared on stage with different dancers (not the dance kids whom I thought earlier) for Higher! Once again, her English is absolutely remarkable in this song, and the DMM VR Theater gave us some more virtual reality theatrics with graffiti effect overlaying the solo dance number performers. And whenever IA would sing “higher” in the lyrics, we would lift our glowsticks higher as well!
Final Song and IA’s Message
And finally, we come to the very last performance of the night: ARIA ON THE PLANETES ~Best Wishes for You~. At different moments in the song, IA would talk to us about how all life on Earth is connected together, all sharing the same planet and the same future. She sees the people on Earth as having infinite potential to make their dreams come true, and remarked how important it is to love oneself, for that leads to loving others. Whenever we feel that we are limited in some way, or just can’t let go of sad feelings, IA reminds us that those feelings come from within us, and we have the power to change that. She also reminds us that each of us has a unique existence on this planet, and each one of us is irreplaceable. It all starts with understanding that and loving oneself, then loving others and working together for a peaceful future. And if we can all remember that, then the Earth can become a place filled with Life, Love, and Peace…
Now, if all that sounded really corny to you, let me explain why you had to be in the moment to really take in what she was saying, this virtual artist named IA. At the climax of the song when ONE and all the performers appeared, IA asked us to join hands with the person next to us and raise them together, which I indeed did with the lady sitting next to me. With her hand in my left hand and a glowstick in my right, we waved our arms in unison with IA all the way until the end of the performance.
After the Concerts
As the end credits rolled, the lady and I struck up a nice conversation about IA and ourselves. It was also her first time watching IA perform, and we both expressed how her performances well surpassed anything that we imagined they would be like. The shows left us both in utter awe.
And as I thought, the lady is indeed the mother of two of the dance kids. I told her what an amazing job they did up on stage and how she should be really proud of them, and of herself for encouraging their passion. She was very happy to hear that, and when she asked me where I’m from, she was surprised when I told her how I’m a fan from the States who now lives in Tokyo. She responded by praising my Japanese ability, and also noticed how I was stopping to take notes all the time during the concert. I explained how I help run an English VOCALOID blog and wanted to write a report about my experience there, and explain the story of ARIA, the setlists and more for VocaSphere readers. She once again praised me for that effort, and I her, and we ended up exchanging contact information since she is from Tokyo as well.
What I describe above may have been a very small thing, but the fact that it happened was very, very meaningful to me on a personal level. I’ve been living in Japan for only two months and am already feeling the pangs of homesickness, and also hold a lot of doubt about whether I really can make a life for myself here. But whenever I make a local friend, especially one who reminds me that I should have confidence in and love myself more, all that sadness and self doubt fades away. I’m reminded that my life and gifts are unique, that any sad feeling can be overcome, and that by accepting and loving myself more, I can then have the confidence to make friends and a life for myself here in Japan as I expand my circles…. in short, everything that IA tells us.
I know, she may be a synthesized voice on a 3D projected image, and all her lines may have been written by other people. But think of all the VOCALOID fans who have been moved by these virtual singers, and even proclaimed that they’ve had their lives saved by them. I think at that moment during ARIA, I’ve experienced some of that connection that people make through IA and other virtual singers, a connection that has helped improve my new life in this new place, however minor it may seem.
At the merch shop, we could also leave a thank-you message for IA and ONE, which I course did while carrying all these feelings of gratitude for tonight.
Conclusion
I hope everyone has enjoyed reading my report about IA’s PARTY A GO-GO Super Edition and ARIA -IA Musical & Live Show-. However, let me say how a written report like this does not do nearly enough justice to the shows. Only by being present at them can one fully feel the love that IA and ONE can bring to fans.
Believe me, I’ve attended PARTY A GO-GO screenings at my home in Chicago before, and the reaction from everyone was always very lukewarm, if they even stayed for the whole thing. But the atmosphere here was completely different. People were cheering, jumping for joy, laughing and crying together, and even making connections with new people. That, my friends, is what IA and VOCALOID fandom is all about, the passion and love that brings people from all over the world together.
It’s my sincere hope that everyone who reads this will someday be able to experience the euphoria of being at an IA and VOCALOID concert for themselves, and making lifelong connections and bonds in the process. Thank you to all who have read this far, and look forward to future event reports!
PARTY A GO-GO ARIA 2日で4公演、無事に終わりました！ 観に来ていただいた皆様本当にありがとうございました！ 皆さんの応援や、関わってきた全ての方の熱意がビシビシと伝わってきました。 そしてこの素晴らしいイベントに携われた事、本当にありがたく思います！ お疲れ様でした！#PAGG#ARIA#IApic.twitter.com/S2N3F4JESQ
11月30日、12月1日の2日間に渡り、ヴァーチャルアーティストのIA、ONEのライブ、PARTY A GO-GO、ARIAの2公演に和太鼓奏者として小林が出演させて頂きました。今回の公演を通して、演者としても、人としても成長することが出来ました。今回お世話になった皆様方、本当にお疲れ様でした。 pic.twitter.com/cXkrl9xw3r
Hi VocaSphere readers! This is Marumain, and I’m going to be trying something completely different from the norm. Rather than write and report objectively on voice synth news, I’ll be sharing my thoughts and impressions on an event that I recently had the pleasure of attending: ~Fleur rouge~! Celebrating MEIKO’s recent 15th anniversary, I knew that I couldn’t miss this event during my stay in Tokyo.
Our initial coverage revealed how the voice providers for MEIKO, KAITO, and Megurine Luka would all be there in the flesh, so I knew that it would be quite a different beast compared to previous VOCALOID events that I attended. That being said, I came away from the event with a greater appreciation for VOCALOID voice providers, a greater love for MEIKO, and an all around a greater sense of closeness and understanding of this hobby that I’ve devoted so much of my life to. Read on to see what I experienced there!
Arriving at ~Fleur rouge~
Before leaving for the event, I made sure to dress appropriately in the wares that I bought at the MEIKO 15th Anniversary store event held at the Shinjuku Marui Annex.
Following directions that I was given after coming out of Kamiyacho Station, I walked up a tall hill leading up to Star Rise Tower where ~Fleur rouge~ would be held, which happened to be situated right across from the famed Tokyo Tower. I used the iconic tower that I’ve seen so much of in dramas, anime, and movies as a landmark.
For a while, I wasn’t sure if I got the right place, but then my doubts were cleared when I got to the very top of the hill and saw this sight for sore eyes at the building entrance.
Since I arrived pretty early for the 7:00 PM performance, I actually entertained the idea of killing time in the Tokyo Tower. But knowing my tendency to lose track of time and be late for events, I resisted that urge, remembering that I was there for one purpose and one purpose only: to celebrate MEIKO with fellow fans.
About an hour before the doors opened, attendees from the afternoon session starting pouring out of the building, all with smiles a mile wide on their faces. I caught glimpses of the merchandise that they bought and were clutching, including the exclusive CD making its debut at this event. Seeing and hearing them recap what they just experienced caused my own excitement to almost reach a breaking point!
Once attendees for the evening event were finally allowed to line up in the building, an attendant walked by to pass out glowstick sleeves. I accepted one and immediately fell in love with the beautiful Grateful Ruby MEIKO illustration by 間久ざむち. I reached for my MIKU EXPO 2019 glowstick and replaced the sleeve right away!
After handing in my ticket and entering the stage room where ~Fleur rouge~ would be held, I was immediately given a small white box, and I knew right away what the contents were!
With great excitement, I opened the box up and took pictures of the breath-taking glass cup inside. Seeing pictures of it online did no justice to how lovely it looks up close! I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I found my new favorite drinking utensil!
Just as I took my last picture, the merch table was set up and people could start lining up to purchase the exclusive event goods. I got in line right away to make sure I could get what I want before anything sells out. After waiting in line for a few minutes, I suddenly heard a lot of shouting and cheering from across the room, and I recall the person behind me saying “メイコのモンスターだ！(It’s the MEIKO MONSTER!).” I turned around and saw none other than MEIKOdayo enter the room!
I really wanted to snap photos of her right away, but I didn’t want to loose my place in line. So as soon as I purchased my merchandise, I made a beeline to the corner of the room where she was posing for pictures!
I could have sat there and taken pictures and videos of MEIKOdayo all night long, but then everyone was told to take their seats as the show was about to begin!
Talk Event
Please note that photography was strictly forbidden once the talk portion began, so I took no pictures of the moments described below. Furthermore, I’m recapping the experience completely from memory (for the next event, I’ll remember to bring a notebook with me!), so please forgive me for not being able to provide a comprehensive step-by-step of what went on at ~Fleur rouge~. But what I am able to do is share is a general overview, and the thoughts and impressions that I hold from the experience.
It all began when the lights dimmed and we could hear Yuu Asakawa‘s voice firing us up! That’s when she, Naoto Fuuga, and the lady of the hour herself, Meiko Haigou all took to the stage at once! Asakawa served as the MC for much of this segment, introducing Haigou, Fuuga, and finally herself, and we the audience would change our glowsticks from red, to blue, and to pink in that order with each introduction. Asakawa even remarked how it felt odd to not see any green glowsticks at this show, causing us all to have a good laugh!
Asakawa then called in the other esteemed guests, and in came Hiroyuki Itoh, Wataru Sasaki, and Hideki Kenmochi from a room that was behind the audience. It was then that I was really glad I got a seat on the edge of the row that they were walking through, because they actually walked right by me as they went to the stage!
When all six speakers were seated, the representatives from Crypton Future Media talked first. As the company president, Itoh spoke about his job and all the different projects that they had underway recently. Then Sasaki spoke about his own job, which is making sure that said projects get done. Some specific tasks mentioned include helping with video game development and preparing kigurumi for various events (it was then that I noticed that MEIKOdayo was nowhere to be seen, and wondered when she snuck out). Sasaki was even asked if the workload ever got difficult and if he ever got scolded by his boss before, a question that I thought awkward considering how Itoh was sitting right next to him!
After them, Haigou was front and center of the talk. She spoke in length about what the past 15 years have meant for her to be MEIKO’s voice provider. Back then, she could never have imagined how loved MEIKO would become or how much VOCALOID would grow, sentiments that Fuuga and Asakawa could share. She expressed her amazement at the VOCALOID music community and the passion that creators and fans feel for their favorites characters, which at times extends to how they get characterized. Haigou mentioned not being much of a drinker, but knows that MEIKO is characterized by her fans as a sake lover despite that, which goes to show how much life each of the VOCALOID characters themselves hold.
Towards the end of the talk, the speakers expressed how special it is that they, the voice providers of famous Crypton Future Media VOCALOID characters, could be the ones to gather like this, celebrate together, and even perform together. These kinds of events are truly a rarity, and they stated how they hope that there will be more chances for them during future anniversaries, a statement that got the audience cheering in wholehearted agreement.
Live Performances
Then came the main attraction of the night: the live concert performances of the voice providers! It was a remarkable experience listening to the voice providers – and not the VOCALOIDs – sing for us. It was my first time listening to any of them perform, and doing so caused my appreciation and admiration of them to grow a hundredfold.
Asakawa was first up. Once all the band members took to the stage and were introduced, she remained after the other five speakers took their leave. Her first performance was her own rendition of a Luka song, 星屑ユートピア / Hoshikuzu Utopia (Stardust Utopia) by otetsu! Asakawa’s singing voice sounds quite different from Luka’s, and hearing her perform this familiar song live made it feel fresh and new again.
Next came another Luka song, Blackjack by ゆちゃP / YuchaP. One way that Asakawa does a great job of firing up the audience is fist pumping while shouting “Hey!” during the instrumental parts and getting the audience doing the same with their fists and glowsticks, which were naturally all pink during these first two songs.
Before the next song, Asakawa announced that this would be the last piece for her portion, which caused us all to go “Eh!?” at once! But our sadness dissipated immediately when Asakawa mentioned that she wouldn’t be alone, that she would have “MEIKO” up on stage performing too! So on the count of three, she had us all in the audience call “MEIKO-SAN!” and Haigou (the “MEIKO” whom she mentioned) came out from backstage! Once again, she used the row that I was sitting on the edge of, and let me tell you, I don’t think I ever cheered or waved my glowstick harder at someone than the moment when Haigou walked right next to me! That’s how excited I was to hear MEIKO’s voice provider perform live for the first time.
And what a performance it was! Haigou and Asakawa sang a duet of *Luna‘s マニック / Manic together, a spectacle that I swear can compete with even the most thrilling Miku concert performances! We in the audience also respectfully changed our glowstick colors to a mix of pink and red; some audience members even had the forethought to bring two glowsticks and displayed both colors!
As Asakawa said, this was the final performance of her portion, but she again helped usher in the next performer by having us all call “KAITO-SAN!” on the count of three. Once we did, in came Fuuga, now wearing what could almost be described as a stylish and cozy-looking serape cloak.
In stark contrast to Asakawa, Fuuga was really funny and adorable on stage, intentionally (?) fumbling around with and dropping his sheet music all over the place. Of course, when it came time to sing, he got serious and began his rendition of 空想ホリデイ / Kuusou Holiday (Fancy Holiday) by ごーぶす / GoBS.
What I found striking and also very appealing about Fuuga’s voice is how he sounds just like KAITO! Whether he’s talking or singing, he’s unmistakably the voice provider for everyone’s favorite blue Cryptonloid. Given his age, Fuuga’s songs of the night were naturally much slower paced compared to Asakawa and Haigou’s songs, but hearing his voice sing them got me just as excited and enjoying myself.
Fuuga’s next song was あなたを救う花こそあれ / Anata wo Sukuu Hana Koso Are (Though This Flower Will Save You) by 傘村トータ / Kasamura Touta. Kind of like how Asakawa can pump her fists to get the audience doing the same, Fuuga likes to slowly wave his arms in the air back and forth to the melody of the song, and the audience would follow with their arms and glowsticks.
Before the next song, Fuuga announced that it would be the final one for his portion, then paused to listen to our reaction, which was noticeably quiet. He remarked how loudly every said “Eh!?” in unison when Asakawa announced her last song. So he said one more time that this is his final song, and that’s when we all exclaimed “EH!?” as loudly as we could, greatly pleasing Fuuga! He then performed one of Haigou’s own songs called ヒカリ / Hikari (Light) for us.
Then came the segment that everyone was waiting for: Haigou’s solo performances! In addition to singing, she would even bust out her guitar for some songs and play it! Her first song was ココノコエ / Koko no Koe (Newly Born Voice) by 斜め上P / NanameueP, followed by ラムネイドブルーの憧憬 / Ramnade Blue no Shoukei (Ramnade Blue Longing), giving an electrifying performance both times.
But before her third song called 引力 / Inryoku (Gravity), Haigou told us a story of someone whom she once loved but moved away, and how she still thinks about them, setting the tone for this more solemn song. While she was singing, we in the audience were sitting down instead of standing, and raised our glowsticks in a slow loop pattern instead of shaking them in the air.
After this beautiful change of pace, Haigou says that she’ll be singing with “otousan (dad)” for the next piece, causing us to again go “Eh?” but this time in wonderment. So on the count of three, we all called “OTOUSAN!” and then the mystery was solved when Fuuga returned to the stage. After everyone turned their glowsticks into a mix of blue and red much to Fuuga’s delight, he and Haigou sang on the rocks by OSTER Project together. Haigou prompted the audience to clap from the beginning which we gladly did, even when Fuuga would start waving his arms, possibly causing some of us to feel torn about what to do with our hands!
After that came the final, final song of the night, and our final “EH!?” reaction. All good things must come to an end after all, but they can always end on a bang, which this night certainly did! After being prompted to call in “LUKA-SAN!” and getting Asakawa to return to the stage, all three performers busted out light wands of their own corresponding to their respective VOCALOID’s color! And that’s when they all performed ハッピーアワー / Happy Hour, an original song by OSTER Project and Haigou! This jazz-like ballad is very characteristic of the producer’s work, and is the perfect song for Haigou and Asakawa to be able to sing with Fuuga. The mix of red, blue, and pink lights all over the room was also a sight rarely seen elsewhere in other concerts. Everyone, performers and audience alike, got super into the performance, and after only a minute in, I knew that this song would be one that I would listen to a ton on the CD that I got at the event!
By the way, if anyone is wondering how I could recall all this from memory… well, I didn’t. KARENT very kindly published the setlist of the night, which helped jog my memory of the night tremendously!
After one last talk among the performing voice providers, and the promise that they’ll all meet again someday to put on another show like this – possibly at MEIKO’s 20th anniversary – the performers, guests, and musicians all declared the event concluded.
Leaving ~Fleur rouge~
On the way out, I stopped by the table where flower bouquets were left for the performers after the afternoon show, snapping the best pictures that I could to remember this moment.
Once back at home, I even took out the merch that I purchased – a clear file folder set, a giant can badge, and the ハッピーアワー / Happy Hour CD – in order to just admire them. I’ll truly treasure them forever, and will always remember this night whenever I use them!.
While I love VOCALOID concerts as much as the next fan and can get drawn in to the illusion that they are physically there on stage and actually singing non-prerecorded music, reality is always sitting there at the back of my mind somewhere, even though I won’t let it spoil my enjoyment of the show. But that was something that did not have to make effort to suppress when attending this show. These were real people in the flesh who could hold an entire talk session, share personal anecdotes, speak to us between performances, and even react to us accordingly if we don’t respond in the manner that they hope for.
And yet, it was still different from the everyday non-VOCALOID concert. This was still very much an event celebrating VOCALOID fandom, but without any actual VOCALOIDs present. We were instead celebrating voice providers and what they have done and continue to do for the fans. For me personally, it was a reminder that behind the voice synths whom we all known and love, there are very real people who were a big part of their creation, people who have worked hard to bring us so much joy and deserve to be celebrated as well.
Getting to hear Haigou, Fuuga, and Asakawa sing VOCALOID songs for us was like them reminding us that they should not be upstaged by their virtual counterparts. Indeed, one has to appreciate the effort that Crypton Future Media must have taken to make this event possible; after all, it’s a lot easier to get a projector machine to display three different VOCALOIDs than it is to get three different voice providers under one roof for the same performance.
It is my sincere hope that they really will be able to hold more events like this. I wholeheartedly believe that they are necessary to serve as reminders for VOCALOID fans about how much we should appreciate and celebrate the hard work and talents of the voice providers. This is especially true for the “veteran” VOCALOID characters like MEIKO and KAITO, making me all the more glad that I got to experience this event.
Thanks for reading my report on ~Fleur rouge~! I hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to the report on my next VOCALOID adventure in Tokyo!
VocaSphere 