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The scene outside of the Magical Mirai event was a spectacle all its own.
Hundreds of Vocaloid fans waited around the colossal Yokohama Arena, many in detailed cosplay of their favorite characters. Cars painted with the likeness of the aqua-haired Hatsune Miku cruised nearby streets, while the ramp of a nearby convenience store became an impromptu catwalk for those dressed as the famous character. More than one person lugged a giant Miku plush doll around.
This environment confirmed that lots of people love Vocaloid – and Miku-chan – but Magical Mirai also showed just how greatly this culture spawned from a singing-synthesizer software has grown over the past decade. Centering around two live performances by Miku and an assortment of other characters, Magical Mirai also hosted an exhibition hall and small museum dedicated to Vocaloid. It was a good chance to remember just how wrapped up in J-pop culture Vocaloid has become.
The main draw of Magical Mirai, though, were the shows, two in all. The first, a “priority under 18” set at 1:30 p.m., followed by a general audience performance at 7:30 p.m. The latter lasted 30 minutes longer and featured a few different songs, and attracted a slightly older crowd, while the afternoon show was swarmed by kids savoring one of the last days of their summer vacation. Both, though, were high-energy affairs.
A live band joined Miku and company, playing above the main stage. Even though the show featured a handful of Vocaloid characters, Miku dominated the majority of the setlist. She materialized on stage to loud cheers and much green-glowstick thrusting, launching into Hachioji-P’s aggressive “Sweet Devil.” The majority of the Magical Mirai show leaned towards rock, given the presence of a band, with most songs being up-tempo numbers or what could be described as “Vocaloid power ballads.” Some of the best visual moments came when the pair of human guitarists flanked Miku, ripping off guitar solos while the virtual singer performed.
The entire show looked stunning. The amount of detail put into the digital character’s looks was great, so good that those sitting further back in the arena probably missed a lot of the smaller ones. Miku’s hair and black dress swayed in time with her motions on the bubble-filled ballad “Deep Sea Girl,” while she later used a microphone stand as a prop for some numbers.
During most of her songs, videos played above the band, many of them taken straight from original versions of tracks posted to the Japanese video site Nico Nico Douga. The crowd itself was utterly hypnotized, waving glowsticks along to every song as if choreographed. Most impressively, fans came prepared – whenever a new Vocaloid character took the spotlight, they pulled out a different colored lightstick to match them.
And they had plenty of chances to show off their colors. Miku dominated the night, but other popular Vocaloid characters were given the chance to perform too. Megurine Luka came out first, to loud applause, to perform the song “Hello Worker.” Whereas Miku’s voice was high-pitched and cutesy, Luka sang in a much huskier tone. Further highlighting the range Vocaloid software carries was Meiko, the original Vocaloid character. She was introduced in 2004 and, unlike future models which often sound more digital and crackly, sounded like a human. She sang one song, offering a chance to show how the technology has evolved over the last few years.
Male Vocaloids Len and Kaito teamed up for a duet, performing the track “Erase Or Zero,” while Len would later perform with his virtual partner Rin (who would also bust out a virtual guitar for the solo song “Tokyo Teddy Bear” later on). The pair joined Miku for her song “Shake It!,” with Len shining thanks to his impressive breakdancing skills.
Still, Magical Mirai was about Miku. She blazed through an assortment of songs, from mid-tempo rockers such as “Doubutsu Uranai” to the frantic “39,” which was accompanied by a timer that stopped at three minutes and 39 seconds. People got really excited when the opening notes to kz’s “Tell Your World” played – but they popped the loudest for the finale, “Odds And Ends” from Ryo of Supercell. She ran off stage for a few minutes after that, coming out shortly after in a T-shirt to introduce the band and play a few more songs. Then she vanished for good – for now.
It wasn’t hard to find Miku’s image throughout Yokohama Arena, though. Magical Mirai also had an entire floor of the arena dedicated to booths from various companies associated with Vocaloid. Fans could line up for upwards of an hour to play a new video game featuring Miku and friends, or they could wait a bit to try to win a special Vocaloid toy from a capsule machine. Some of the outfits setting up shop at Magical Mirai sold goods like animation software or actual Vocaloid programs, the sort of tools creators could use. Other entities, such as convenience store Family Mart, sold special one-time-only items to the Vocaloid set. The Red Cross even set up a blood donation center near the food area.
The best part of the festivities, apart from the shows, was a small museum set up in a basement area of the arena. This display featured a brief history of Vocaloid (and Hatsune Miku), while also displaying various pieces of Vocaloid merchandise collected over the years. The scene above – from the digital pop star performance to the corporate ties to the hardcore fans – could at times seem surreal, but this exhibit put it all in perspective. Seeing the technology’s humble beginnings made the giant show above all the more impressive.
Source: MTV81
Source article written by Patrick St. Michel
