Gorgeous Luka- themed Cards Await you in Mikucolle

Our next event -featuring the beautiful Megurine Luka- which follows on from Len’s debut in the “Dreaming of a Music Band” series is here! Let’s find out what amazing cards are available this time.

Opening screen, art by 黒獅子 (Kurojishi).

As always with these events, you get a free Mikucoin for logging in each day. Make sure to open the app and claim them until the 31st March 2020.

Megurine Luka gacha!

In the gacha here, there are three different ways to play! It’s pretty simple: The first button on the left gives you just a single pull, and it costs 3 Mikucoins. This part of the gacha can be used once a day. The middle button gives you a one pull gacha too, but you can play it as many times each day as you want. This middle one costs 5 Mikucoins per pull. As well as using Mikucoins, if you have a regular golden gacha ticket, you can use that for the middle button too (for one pull). Lastly, we have the third option, which gives you 10 cards plus one extra in one pull, so it’s the best value for money. You should get at least one SSR with this gacha, and it costs 50 Mikucoins. 

The main featured cards are as follows:

「夢見る音楽隊 ルカ」/ “Dreaming of a Music Band Luka” (Yume-miru Ongakutai Luka) – SSR+

Art by BUZZ

Skill: “Let’s make music together!”

Oh, and if you use this special Luka card as your leader card during Guild Battles (which I’ll cover in a moment), all other cards in your deck will get +100% in Singing Power!

「桃色の歌姫」/ “Peach- coloured Singing Songstress” (Momoiro no Uta-hime) – SSR+

Art by 黒獅子 (kurojishi)

Skill: “Peach coloured breath SP”

「巡音ルカさま」/ “Princess Megurine Luka” (Megurine Luka-sama) – SSR+

Art by ひま (hima)

Skill: “Light of affection LL”

「極星の女神」/ “Goddess of the Polar Star” -SSR+

Art by iXima

Skill: “Shooting Star”

As well as this gacha, the regular premium gacha has now been replaced with…

… the “super premium gacha”! This gacha works in exactly the same way as the Luka one I mentioned earlier, but here you’re 4 times more likely to get an SSR+ or SSR with each pull.

Now for info about the Guild Battles! During this time, you and your guild can fight against enemies together and earn Guild Medals to trade in for cool clothing items and accessories for your character, as well as building materials, Mikucoins and gacha tickets. I’d personally advise loading a deck full of Luka cards to go and try and beat the bosses, since all Luka cards will get a big power boost when used in these particular battles.

Anyone who joins in with the Guild Battles can get these event-exclusive items, plus a cute Guild-stamp too!

And finally, after you’ve had your fair share of gacha-ing for Luka cards, you can try your hand at venturing into the Tanuki Villiage Shrine (狸神社) to try and get this super cute Meiko card!

「星空の中で MEIKO」/ “Meiko in the Starry Sky” (Hoshizora no Naka de Meiko) – SSR

Art by Nardack

On the main page, if you click on the round button in the bottom right hand corner, you can do an exploration in one of various areas. Doing explorations will cost you stamina, but it’s definitely worthwhile if you manage to get hold of this super cute card! The longest explorations yield the most items, so I’d recommend doing those if you can afford them. You have plenty of time to get it, since this will run until April 23rd 2020.

This time there are no limited gacha- specific packs in the online store, but the old ones are still there, all of which allow you to purchase Mikucoins, gacha tickets and other items to help you during this event period. This Luka-themed event will be available until March 31st, so good luck with your gacha pulls and Guild battles!

That’s all I have in terms of Mikucolle updates, so thank you for reading!

~Tanudama

Official Crypton Future Media Blog

Official Mikucolle Twitter (JP) 

Snow Miku – Mikufest Event in Mikucolle!

In celebration of the recent Snow Miku event ongoing, Mikucolle has also decided to join in with fun things to do of its own. Here I’ll show you what’s in store for players!

First up, you get a rather exasperated greeting from Meropi:

After this greeting, you’ll get the alert that during the “Snow Miku Mikufest” (3rd February to 17th February 2020), you’ll get 3 Mikucoins every day just by logging in! But that’s certainly not all~!

Mikufest event

Participants in the event will have the chance to get exclusive items only available during this time

There will be two sets of missions released. From the beginning of the first half of missions, you’ll be able to get Snow Miku themed hairstyles and clothing for your character! 

These outfits you can earn while playing each mission multiple times.
This outfit you can get by completing specific missions once. Complete them, then go to the “Mission list (ミッションリスト), then “Events” (イベント) and collect your items!

Then, once the second missions are released, you’ll be able to get Miku’s rabbit-friend Yukine as a magical item! 

If you manage to clear the most difficult “boss-subjugation” mission from the first half, you’ll receive one adorable Yukine to add to your accessories inventory! 

Rainbow Rush gacha 

In this time’s Rainbow Rush gacha, the probability for SSRs and SSR+’s is TWICE as high as the regular Rainbow Rush ones. And in comparison to the normal Premium Gacha, SSR and SSR+ probability is 4 TIMES as high! 

There will also be special tickets for this gacha included in the packs you can buy (I’ll explain this later). 

Card list 

Here are the cards available in the special gacha this time:

Band of the Snow Dance Forest” (「雪舞う森の音楽隊」) – SSR+

Art by tokki 

Skill: “Together with the words turning into the wind” (風になる言葉と一緒に)

☆Snow Parade Luka – SSR+ 

Art by so品 / sohin

Skill: “Snow Flute” (スノーフルト)

Snow Parade Kaito SSR+

Art by so品 / sohin

Skill: “Snow Snare-drum” (スノースネアドラム)

Snow Parade Meiko – SSR+

Art by so品 / sohin

Skill: “Snow Sax” (スノーサックス”)

Snow Parade RM – SSR

Art by so品 / sohin

Skill: “Corps, Parade Rest” 

Gacha list

And here are the gacha: 

-First up we have one with three options: inside the gacha, the first button on the left is one pull only, and it costs 3 Miku coins. You can do this one once a day.

The next button also gives you a one pull gacha, but you can play it as many times a day as you like. This one costs 5 Miku coins per pull. 

And finally is the third button, which gives you 10 cards plus one extra, so it’s the best value for money. You should get at least one SSR with this gacha, and it costs 50 miku coins.

-Secondly is the free gacha! With this one, you’ll be able to do the equivalent of a 10 + 1 pulls gacha without paying anything. I must say, I got some nice cards out of this one. 

-With the next gacha down, you’ll need to use special gacha tickets instead of mikucoins. You only get one pull, but there’s a high probability for an SSR+

-The third Rainbow Rush gacha requires tickets too, but instead, the idea is that you’ll get no less than an SSR with your single pull. 

But how do you get these tickets….? 

Snow miku 2020 event only packs! 

You’ll have to buy some of these:

Pack type 1: Snow Miku 2020 Pack 

Option 1: ¥10000 ($91.82 USD/£70.16)

-200 miku coins (Buy 100, get 100 free!) 

– One SSR+ Gacha ticket. (A ticket for the “High probability for an SSR” gacha I mentioned)

Option 2: ¥4900 ($44.62 USD / £34.36)

-91 miku coins (Buy 49, get 42 free!)

-One “No less than SSR” gacha ticket (for the second gacha requiring tickets that I mentioned) 

Note: you can buy each of these packs a maximum of 10 times 

Pack type 2: Mikufest bonus pack 

Option 1: ¥3800 ($34.60 USD/ £26.65) 

-100 Mikucoins (Buy 38, get 62 free)

Option 2: ¥120 ($1.09  USD / £0.84)

-10 Mikucoins (buy 1, get 9 free) 

-3 King gold Jakushi 

-1 God metal Jakushi 


Note: you can buy each of these packs once

But wait! I just got word of a secret card floating around in the Tanuki Village! 

Until February 24th, if you explore the Tanuki Village…you might find one of these beauties:

Puchi Yuki Miku (ぷち雪ミク) -SSR

Art by はねこと

That’s all for now! For info about the second half of the game event, read my follow-up article here.

Bye bye!

~Tanudama 

Official Crypton Future Media Blog

Official Mikucolle Twitter (JP) 

POPPRO 2020 New Year’s Music Video Now Available for Viewing

On Hatsune Miku’s official Bilibili channel, you can now watch the special New Year’s video from POPPRO! It features a new Spring Festival-themed design for Miku by 千夜QYS3 as well as background music provided by 米库喵 / Mikunya.

The video can be watched here!
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av84721845

In the video, there are also eight works of gorgeous fan art that were uploaded on POPPRO, where they were then selected to be included in the video. And the best thing is, it’s not only Miku who’s there, but the whole gang of Piapro characters are there to greet us!

Arty by FXyeely

Art by 无限不循环_ / Wúxiàn bù xúnhuán

Art by 风眠 / Fēng Mián

Art by 阿马umapoii

Art by 祈末 / Qímò

Art by 诗奈 / shiina

Art by 嘘嘘kuma

Art by 米饭mikufan

All pics from here:
https://www.weibo.com/6201676755/IqGnR2oOy

But there’s way more! About halfway through the video, a POPPRO gift box is revealed for the first time! Here’s what’s inside:

Hatsune Miku Red Envelops bearing 千夜QYS3’s design.

Hatsune Miku Cheers Cups

Hatsune Miku Coasters

It’s been mentioned in this post on the official POPPRO Weibo that this gift box will soon be released on Miku’s TMALL page. Stay tuned for more info on this!

And as for the rest of the video, we’re treated to the sight of fans expressing their love for Miku through their comments and hopes for the new year! We hope everyone enjoys watching!

Links

POPPRO official site and Weibo account

Hatsune Miku’s official Bilibili channel and Weibo account

Project SEKAI Colorful Radio Series and Autograph Giveaway Campaign

SEGA and Colorful Palette have launched the Project SEKAI Colorful Radio series on the official SEGA feat. HATSUNE MIKU Project YouTube channel and Onsen!

Give it a listen to learn more about the cast, game info, and more for Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku, expected for release sometime in 2020!

This episode’s guest is Kento Itoh, voice actor for Toya Aoyagi!

Commentary from Itoh:

“It feels awesome to be the first up to bat for this radio series!
I wonder if I was able to properly convey my excitement for the game, and my love of VOCALOID.
I hope this series will really take off from here on out.
Please enjoy!”

Autograph Campaign

To celebrate the launch of Project SEKAI Colorful Radio, there is now a Twitter campaign being held where 3 entrants will be chosen at random to win an autograph from Itoh himself!

To enter, simply follow Project SEKAI’s official Twitter account and retweet the below Tweet by 11:59 PM on January 14 (JST)!

Winners will be contacted by direct message, so make sure that your Twitter account is able to receive them. The autographs will be sent to the winners sometime in March, 2020. Best of luck to all!

**UPDATE ON JANUARY 15, 2020**

Episode 2 of Colorful Radio has now been uploaded online! This episode features Hinata Satou, voice actress for Mizuki Akiyama, who talks about her audition experience!

Comments from Satou:

“This is Hinata Satou, the speaker for this week’s Project SEKAI Colorful Radio! I voice Mizuki Akiyama-chan! I’ll be talking about what makes the game so appealing in this episode, so please give it a listen!”

There is also now an autograph campaign for Satou as well!

Like before, simply follow Project SEKAI’s official Twitter account and retweet the below Tweet by 11:59 PM on January 21 (JST) to enter for the chance to win one of three autographs from the voice actress!

Links

Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku official site

Project SEKAI Colorful Radio webpage

Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku official Twitter

Highlights from the October 23, 2019 livestream

Character Profiles

Virtual Singers
Leo/need
MORE MORE JUMP!
Vivid BAD SQUAD
Wonderlands x Showtime
25 o’clock by Night Code

Snow Miku 2020 Updates: Planet Traveler feat. Hatsune Miku Crossfade, Tracklist

The crossfade trailer for Planet Traveler feat. Hatsune Miku is now available for general viewing on YouTube!

Album Details

Release date: January 22, 2019

Price: ¥2,000 JPY + tax

Up for limited production: Digi pack

Tracklist

The full list of song names and artists has been revealed as well!

※All translated and transliterated song names below are unofficial

01 ぽかぽかの星 / Pokapoke no Hoshi (Cozy Planet) by はるまきごはん / Harumaki Gohan feat. Hatsune Miku, Snow Miku 2020 theme song

02 ホワイトナイトパレード / White Night Parade by 蜂屋ななし / Hachiya Nanashi feat. Hatsune Miku

03 Abusolute Zero by regulus feat. Hatsune Miku

04 ファースト・ステップ / Fast Step by millstones feat.Hatsune Miku、Kagamine Rin

05 月のない街 / Tsuki ga Nai Machi (Moonless Town) by Guiano feat. Hatsune Miku

06 銀と花 / Gin to Hana (Silver and Flowers) by effe feat. Hatsune Miku

07 溶けない109号室 / Tokenai 109-goushitsu (Unmelting room number 109) by TaKU.K feat. Hatsune Miku

08 Snow Mile by Aqu3ra feat. Hatsune Miku

09 リッカとイヴと懐古の灯り / Rikka to Eve to Kaiko no Akari (Snow, Eve, and Nostalgic Glow) coha feat. Hatsune Miku

10 メルティランドナイトメア /Melty Land Nightmere remixed by ZLMS, Bonus Track 

Links

KARENT presents Planet Traveler feat. Hatsune Miku on VocaDB

KARENT presents Planet Traveler feat. Hatsune Miku official site

Crypton Future Media Presentation on Their New Voice Synth Engine

At about 2:30 PM on August 31, 2019 during Magical Mirai 2019 – and during Miku’s 12th anniversary – Wataru Sasaki and Hiroyuki Itoh of Crypton Future Media, and Masataka Goto of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (hereafter “AIST”) held a panel to discuss their future plans, and the future of the Cryptonloids in general.

Alongside announcements like their ongoing collaboration with K!!te and Songle Sync, and a free update to Hatune Miku V4 Chinese sometime this year, the two companies also announce the new engine and software that they are developing for Miku and the rest of their character voice banks. The below information is gleaned from tweets posted by NAT and Cyross on Twitter, who were present at and shared photos and information from the presentation.

New Voice Databases

In one of the first slides of the presentation, Sasaki describes Crypton’s aim, which is to create new voice databases. What they want is for each of their virtual singers to be able to sound great no matter which pitch they sing in, and no matter what syllable they are pronouncing. This means being able to maintain sound balance during syllable transition, keeping the consonant part of each note clear and concise, and resonating each vowel sound.

To meet this aim, Crypton has begun the process of adjusting Miku’s entire voice database. Once Miku’s new database is complete, it will serve as a reference for creating the new and improved databases for the rest of their virtual singers.

New Voice Technology in Development

Sasaki then moved on to the new voice effectors that Crypton has been developing for about two years. They plan to implement them in piapro studio for use with each of their virtual singers’ voice. These new effectors include VocalDrive and CherryPie, which were introduced earlier this year as a project by Crypton’s technology research lab, Labopton.

In fact, we have recently heard one application of VocalDrive with Mitchie M‘s Seraphim On The Ring, which uses the effector for KAITO’s spoken parts. Through this, we can get an idea of how VocalDrive and the other effectors in development can make a character voice bank sound.

New Voice Software Series

In the next slide, Crypton reveals that it’s not just new voice effectors, but an entire new sound system that they will be using for their virtual singers. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that it is not with VOCALOID5, but with an entire new software series that they are developing with AIST. Both Itoh and Goto join the panel at this point.

The flow of the new sound system would be to take the base phonemes from the CVVC databases, run them through piapro studio editor where they can be read, then have them further processed and tuned in the voice effectors before being put out.

The development goal of the new sound system is to preserve what makes each character voice sound unique while giving the users more control over their individual nuances. Their aim is to develop a next generation E.V.E.C. and new voice expression technology with various voice manipulation capabilities.

Continuing talks on their technology in development, the panelists went on to describe the next generation piapro studio. The slide mentions that it will come with many improved functions and features such as:

– Wave display
– Pitch display
– Semi-automatic parameter control
– Pronunciation nuance control
– Detailed character sound customization
– Multiband formant shifter
– Voice tension (“harmonic pattern”) adjuster
– Vocal drive

Crypton and AIST plan for a release of the currently nameless voice software series sometime during the first half of 2020. Even after the final product is complete and released, they plan to continue developing and updating it as time goes on.

Remarks from the Panelists

According to NAT and Cyross, Itoh explained that the decision to develop the new sound system, engine, and software series for the future of their character voice banks is one that was made after talks with YAMAHA, creators of the VOCALOID engine. Their top priority is to support the existing users of their products, and will market the new software in a way that will make the transition easy for customers. Itoh adds that they will be working with individuals like Akira Nakamura of AIST to meet their company goals, but also wishes to continue working with YAMAHA in some way.

This means that the piapro characters will not be VOCALOID products going forward. Itoh explains that Crypton Future Media is a sound company whose singular goal is to use the power of technology to bring new sound experiences to the future of virtual music and its fans. Using VOCALOID up to now for their character voices was an extension of that goal, and development of Hatsune Miku no doubt played a big part in the growth of the VOCALOID community and culture, a culture that Itoh respects and loves greatly.

In the end, though, they are still a sound company that is ever changing and looking for more ways to support creators and producers; their collaboration with K!!te and development of their own engine are examples of this.

Sasaki then takes the mic to sum up the main points of the presentation, and assures listeners that Miku will still sound like Miku even on a different engine. He also explains that the main reason for not going with VOCALOID5 for Miku was because of problems they discovered when running Saki Fujita‘s voice in the engine; it was not because of some kind of dispute with YAMAHA. Crypton will in fact proceed in the most appropriate fashion possible so that their departure from using the VOCALOID engine does not jeopardize their relationship with YAMAHA, and will continue to work with them.

Based on Cyross’s observation, Sasaki may have even shed a tear at one point during the presentation.

In conclusion, Itoh remarks that he very much likes the vibe of the new deal that they have with AIST and the technology that they are developing, and looks forward to a long working relationship with them.

Other VOCALOID-Using Companies

As for how Crypton Future Media’s departure from VOCALOID will influence other companies who still use VOCALOID for their voice banks, we will have to wait and see how things play out. There has been one interesting tweet from Tohoku Zunko’s official Twitter account that suggests Crypton may not be alone in researching and developing new engines for future releases of their character voice banks.

In the tweet, she brings up how the Tohoku Sisters have software that are compatible with not only VOCALOID, but also UTAU, VOICEROID, and even voidol, and they may not be stopping there. They are currently preparing the reveal of heir own new singing voice synth engine data for Tohoku Kiritan with the help of Masanori Morise, an engineering doctorate at Meiji University.

It is probably safe to say that the tweet was prompted by the news from Crypton Future Media. An important distinction to note is how they, too, seem to be developing their own patented singing voice synth engine as opposed to changing over to an existing engine (such at 1st Place to CeVIO Creative Studio, or Quadimension to Synthesizer V).

What the future holds for the VOCALOID community – or even if it will continue to be called that – we will keep a close eye on and will always continue to report.

We thank NAT and Cyross for their tweets and information sharing!

IA To Perform at the J-Wave Innovation World Festa

The J-Wave Innovation World Festa 2019 will take place on September 28 through 29, and IA will be performing on the latter day alongside DJ DANTZ!

Both performers are known to be global artists originating from Japan, and the event is one that combines technology with musical creativity, making it the perfect collaboration. A new song has even been announced to be performed!

IA’s Performance Information

Date: September 29, 2019

Time: 11:00 am ~ 8:00 pm (JST)

Cost: ¥2,800 JPY
Students can get a ¥500 discount

Location: Roppongi Hills

**UPDATE ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2019**

It’s been reported by PR Times that the show will be streamed live on the J-WAVE YouTube channel! Be sure to tune in at exactly 6:10 PM (JST) on Sunday, September 29 to watch IA’s performance!

Links

J-Wave Innovation World Festa 2019 Official Site
IA’s page on the official site

Hatsune Miku x Crossing Void Collaboration Announced

On the official Weibo page for the mobile game 電擊文庫: 零境交錯 / Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void, a post was made showing an upcoming collaboration with Hatsune Miku!

The post can be found here.

Those who follow the official Crossing Void Weibo page and share the post can be among the following winners chosen as random:

1 winner will receive an S-rank Hatsune Miku, S-rank Megurine Luka, and S-rank Kagamine Rin & Len unit

5 winners will receive an exclusive Miku collaboration keychain

10 winners will receive a random character stand

The new characters will be implemented in the game sometime at the end of June, so players should look forward to more information!

New Magical Mirai 2019 Visuals Revealed

The official Magical Mirai Twitter page has been revealing a lot of new sub-visuals for the upcoming Hatsune Miku-centered event, likely to be used as merchandise material. Check them all out below!

First came a new chibi illustration of the Crypton Future Media VOCALOID family, drawn by the main visual artist themselves, ni02!

Next came a new take on Miku’s circus design for Magical Mirai 2019, making her look more cool than cute. This new take comes from ざいん / Zain!

The next day brought us another chibi design of the Crypton Future Media VOCALOID family by 千助 / Chisuke. This one is a great deal more stylized, and very characteristic of the artist’s work!

Since 2019 marks Megurine Luka’s 10th anniversary, it made sense to create a new visual all about her, and here we have none other than iXima drawing their take on Luka’s Magical Mirai 2019 outfit! Their illustration brings her dancer outfit to life even greater proportions than before!

Finally, today brings us to the final sub-visual for Magical Mirai 2019, bringing together the whole Crypton Future Media VOCALOID family together in a brilliant and highly detailed piece by 姐川 / Sogawa!

**UPDATE ON JULY 4, 2019**
The sub visual reveals continue on today. Next, we are shown the Magical Mirai 2019 Miku by KEI!

**UPDATE ON JULY 11, 2019**
And now we have the final, final visual for Magical Mirai 2019 Miku designed by しゅがお / Shugao!

Do you have a favorite among the sub-visuals that you can’t wait to get goods for? If so, then share your thoughts on your favorites!

Voicemith Reveals LanCee in a Short Preview Video

Fan who have been following our Facebook page may recall us reporting on a new character from Voicemith – creator of Xia Yu Yao – named 蘭希 / LanCee! Her existence was revealed through a series of games that could be played on Voicemith’s Facebook page, and through which you could win wallpapers and ringtones! See a recap below:

By completing these reveal games, we learned that her name is LanCee. Her design, however, has remained a mystery for months.

But now a short teaser preview on Voicemith’s Facebook page has finally revealed a bit of her outfit, 3D model, and even her voice!

Be sure to check back as more of LanCee gets revealed!

**UPDATE ON MAY 9, 2019**
The full introduction video for LanCee has now been uploaded! In the video post, we are also given links to LanCee’s other social media platforms. Be sure to follow each of them!

LanCee’s Twitter
LanCee’s Facebook
LanCee’s Instagram
LanCee’s YouTube channel