メーカー非公式 初音みっくす (Maker Hikōshiki Hatsune Mix)

Maker Unofficial: Hatsune Mix (メーカー非公式 初音みっくす, Mēkā Hikōshiki Hatsune Mikkusu), commonly shortened to Hatsune Mix, is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by the original Miku character designer Kei. The manga was originally based off of the Vocaloid2 character Miku Hatsune but came to feature other Vocaloid1 and 2 characters as the series progressed. The manga originally began serialization in the Japanese manga Comic Rush on November 26th 2007 published by Jive and continues to be printed at irregular intervals.

Plot
Each chapter in Maker Unofficial: Hatsune Mix is a self contained story and there is often little to connect two chapters together. Despite this, they still form a rough chronological order, taking into account the first appearences of the different characters. The series is set in the city of Sappo, Hokkaido, Japan.

Chapter 1 - Abandoned Mix
A young brown haired woman is walking home one evening somewhere in Hokkaido when she comes across a strange sight: a long turquoise-haired girl with pigtails sitting in a cardboard box. Feeling pity she takes her home where she realizes this is no ordinary girl. After giving her a bath and some new clothes Miku gives the woman a DVD-ROM of herself singing one of her most famous songs, Miku Miku ni shite ageru. During this time Miku changes back into her old clothes and proclaims she can sing. Turning her mic to full she begins to sing blasting out the windows of the house in the process.

Chapter 2 - Giant Mix
Miku, Rin and Len are on a set for a video shoot when suddenly the building begins to shake. Everyone runs as the roof collapses leaving a giant Miku Hachune peering down at the trio. Miku tells the twins to run but they refuse telling Miku (who they refer to as onee-chan) to get rid of the giant. Miku does not want to get involved at first but after being hit by falling rubble she grows in anger and size, rivaling Hachune. The two begin to fight but Hachune quickly overwhelms Miku. Rin calls to Miku and tells her to take a small seed. Miku is not impressed but that quickly turns to surprise as the seed begins to sprout into a giant negi (leek). Miku quickly beats Hachune into submission. Back at the woman's house (who is named only as Producer-san) Rin eats while Len plays with a game and Miku dozes off into her food. Producer-san is visibly overwhelmed by the two new arrivals.

Chapter 3 - Chocolate Mix
Len is reminiscing on a note he received from a 3rd grade Senpai (senior). He proclaims to Miku that tomorrow is valentines day and Senpai is going to give him chocolates. Rin butts in saying there is no way Len will get any chocolates. When Len protests Rin exclaims it would only be out of pity. Len storms off and Rin feels guilty about how she spoke to Len. Miku then tries to cheer her up by suggesting they make their own chocolates. The girls go into a frenzy of chocolate making, with Rin being particularly viscious.The next day at school Miku and Rin open a 'pity chocolate' stand which is soon swamped with students. Senpai approaches Len and gives him the promised chocolates. Overcome with affection, Len almost blurts out he loves her, but before he can she asks him to hold on for a moment. She then runs off to a tall, blue haired senior that looks like Kaito and gives him a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Len reopens the note from his Senpai which reads Happy Valentines my lovely, cute, brother-like Len. Len is inconsolable when Miku and Rin appear who offer him the chocolates they made saying they still love him as much as ever. As Len asks if he can eat them, Miku Hachune suddenly appears and wolfs down the lot.

Chapter 4 - Teacher Mix
Being encourage by Producer-san Miku enrolls at a local school as a music teacher and introduces herself to the class with a line from the song Miku Miku ni shite ageru. The next day Miku asks the class if they have requests for her to sing. Two students find a song not yet uploaded to the internet and ask her to play the 'Crypton Academy Anthem'. Miku searches her database for the song but is unable to locate it. Her electronic brain malfunctions and she powers down in front of a shocked class. Miku wakes up in a laboratory with Rin and Len at her bedside. A technician asks how she feels. Miku responds that she is fine and just got a little nervous. Rin notices on a computer the yet to be uploaded song Miku could not sing earlier. Miku then forces herself to sing the song, even though she doesn't have it in here database but no matter how hard she tries, she cannot. The next day at school, Miku is still feeling depressed when one of the students asks her to check her database where she finds the song has now been uploaded along with hundreds of other songs. Miku asks the class to sing with her the Crypton Academy Anthem. The chapter ends with Rin and Len peering into the classroom, smiling.

Chapter 5 - Sakura Mix
Miku is enthralled in a flashback, lavished in pink sakura petals with an unknown man speaking of sakura and his 'kid' who he has not yet finished. The story returns to the present with Miku, Rin and Len in a recording studio. It soon become clear that the mention of sakura in lyrics is what triggered Miku's flashback. Rin and Len are inquisitive about what a sakura is as they were only born in winter that year and had not yet seen the cherry blossom trees. Miku realizes she was born in summer and so could also not have seen sakura before, and begins to question her flashback. She goes back to producer-san (which quickly becomes apparent in this scene that she is actually Meiko) and asks her about the sakura, She tells Miku that Sakura is about happiness and lots of sake drinking. A man with blue hair dressed in a lab coat and blue scarf suddenly appears out of nowhere, saying that sakura is not just about drinking. The two then get into an argument about about what sakura are about. Eventually, Meiko offers to take them all to see the sakura blossoming in the south. Upon seeing the sakura, Miku has another flashback to a lab where a voice is deciding on what to call his child, and that his child will not be complete by spring but he will name her now all the same. Miku comes back to the present finally realizing she was in fact created back in the spring and this is where her memories come from. During this time she has attracted a crowd of admirers who want her to sing. At the jest of Meiko, Miku decides to sing Sakura no Ame.

Chapter 6 - Wandering Mix
In the vocaloids house Miku and Kaito are arguing about their computer which can't play or record songs. Kaito says it cannot be helped because the family is so poor. Miku offers to sell Rin and Len for money, much to the dismay of the twins. Kaito will not budge and still refuses. Angry, Miku decides to leave and steps through the computer into the internet. She goes between several computers looking for a home and soon becomes frantic and deranged at finding one. Back the the Vocaloids' house, Len and Kaito have become terrified at a monstrous figure which has appeared on the computer screen. They jump in fright as the image on the computer comes out to grab them, but Rin quickly realizes her onee-chan has returned. The next day there is a surprise - a brand new computer for the kids. Len asks where the money for it came from and quickly realizes Kaito has sold all of their electronic vocaloid gadgets. Len is dismayed while Miku and Rin dance around with excitement at having a new computer.

Chapter 7 - Work Mix
The vocaloid house has now been reduced to a tent and Miku is desperate to do a live show but Meiko exclaims they have no money again because Kaito spent it all on Ice-cream and a freezer to put it in. She tells her if she wants to do a live concert, 'you three' should go out and earn some money. Before Rin and Len can protest the 3 of them are unceremoniously booted out the door. The Trio try several jobs including subway announcer, auctioneer, telemarketer and voice actor with limited success. Eventually they earn enough money to stage a concert, but to their dismay it is Kaito and Meiko that go on stage to sing while the kids are left to deal with the punters.

Chapter 8 - Future Mix
The story opens with Miku singing in concert but as she is about to sing her final number she faints and falls to the ground. Kaito is by her bedside at Crypton Hospital. Miku still wants to sing, but it is clear she is dying. Kaito attempts to comfort her but she soon passes away. He is angry at having lost her since she was 'the only family I ever had'. Many people attend Miku's funeral and Kaito vows that her songs will live on forever. Several years later a boy resembling Len is browsing the internet when he stumbles upon a new Miku Hatsune song. The word soon spreads of Miku's return. It then shows Kaito returning to his lab and computer to reveal Miku's demo DVD as Miku once again takes stage in concert to the world.

Chapter 9 - Mermaid Mix
A map shows the East sea near Hokkaido and the narration begins in a similar way to a fairy tale only to be interrupted by a horoscope playing on Mikus TV claiming those born in August will come across an encounter of fate that day. Rin is annoyed with Miku at always wearing clothes that cover her fat belly and sends her out to do 100 round trips to the oceans surface. While at the surface Miku encounters a ship and spots a man fall overboard. She rescues him and confident this is her encounter of fate, takes him to shore where she sings to him. However, Meiko interrupts her and takes away the man to her castle. Miku returns home to confide in Rin and Len who say she should ask a witch to grant her legs, which she does at the cost of losing her voice. In the castle Kaito is in the dungeon chained up with Meiko attempting to interrogate him. Miku lays siege to the castle but is quickly captured by Meiko's henchmen. The walls suddenly crack open and in burst Rin and Len sprouting legs and carrying weapons. Rin, Len and Meiko begin to fight and during this time Kaito and Miku slip away. Just as Miku is about to proclaim her love to Kaito her weight increases dramatically and Kaito runs off in fright.

Chapter 10 - Chibi Mix
A special celebrating the 1st anniversary of Miku Hatsune follows the adventures of a Chibi Miku (not to be confused with Miku Hachune) suddenly flung into the local park. Eventually Rin, Len and Meiko find her and adopt her though she is soon off on another adventure, but not before leaving a message thanking them for their kindness.

Chapter 12 - Celeb Mix
Miku, Rin, and Len comment on the random, scattered nature of the manga and try to envision the manga if it was in a different style or if it portrayed Miku in a different way.

Chapter 13 - Snow Mix
Even though she is a robot, Miku desires to wear a coat for winter. A mysterious girl approaches Miku and asks if she wants a coat, and offers to give her a coat if she sings a song for her. Miku sings a song for her, and while the girl finds it funny, she gives her a strange, plain-looking blanket for a coat and states that it reflects her singing. Miku is at first insulted, but then she finds that it is made so that when the snow falls, it will fall over her new coat and create a unique style to it.

Chapter 14 - Kagamine Mix
Miku, Rin, and Len are planning a trip to the local shrine. Miku reminisces on the twins' birth - when they were created, there was originally supposed to be one but the company decided to make two. However, the company debated which one to rid themselves of in order to keep only one. While Meiko begs to allow both of them to live, Miku sees the two (named "R" and "L") and enters the chamber where they are kept. She finds that they cannot sing unless they are together, and invites them to sing a trio together. This convinces the company to let both of the twins live. In the present, the three arrive at the shrine and find that Meiko has taken all the sake (for Miku wanted to drink some as it would be her first time).

Chapter 15 - Love Mix
Kaito and Meiko film a commercial in which Kaito and Meiko fall into a relationship. Len and Miku are set up to do the same thing, and Rin feels jealous of Miku but tries to get over it. When she sees Miku trying to make sure Len stays around when they're not busy, Rin begins to think that the two are starting a relationship - until Rin finds a box of chocolate Miku had prepared for Rin to give to Len, along with a marking on the board telling Rin to put her feelings for Len there. The twins share the chocolate while Miku decides that "it's hard playing Cupid". Eventually it is revealed that the whole thing was a set-up in order to get material for another commercial.

Characters
An intersting observation of the manga is that Kei has been strongly influenced by the community of vocaloid fans in her work. The vocaloids show many personality traits that have now become such icons of the vocaloids themselves. From Rin's almost animilistic ferocity, to Mikus gentle and caring nature, all are evident in the manga. Items and foodstuffs associated with the vocaloids can also be found dotted around the pages. For instance Len is eating a banana in one scene while Kaito is licking an ice cream in another.

Miku Hatsune loves nothing more than to sing at every opportunity but is down to earth in her view on the world and often acts as the voice of reason in the presence of the Kagamine twins. She does her best to be mature and kind but sometimes slips into childish tendencies. She is headstrong and often will go to stubborn means to get what she wants done (such as getting a new computer or finding out who ruined her music sheets), which can occasionally lead to violence.

Rin Kagamine could be described in 2 words perfectly: upbeat and vicious. She looks up to Miku as an older sister but is more than capable of looking after herself. She likes to fool around with her brother, but is never malicious, and is unable to sing without him. She also can hold her feelings well inside her and knows when is the right time to be in a certain manner.

Len Kagamine is portrayed as being quiet but ambitious. He tends to take the submissive role in the twins relationship despite all the bickering they do, although he cannot sing without his sister. He can be timid and apologetic, but most of the time he can drive his ideas down to the letter.

Luka Megurine is the calm but caring member of the Vocaloids who joins in chapter 16 (although she makes a blank-eyed appearance in chapter 15). She is a kind person and gentle to people, although Meiko is jealous of her because of her potential sex appeal and ability to outshine Meiko. Luka has the ability to sing in English, unlike the other Vocaloids. She does, however, have insecurities about her singing once in a while.

Meiko is the mother figure of the group and although she does well to look after the younger Vocaloids she can sometimes have a twisted, sake-induced view of how things should work. Her obsession is with being the "idol" of the family and the one with the most sex appeal drives her to obsession. She is a big opportunist. Because she was not originally illustrated by KEI, she is never named.

Kaito is the father figure of the group, though not always the greatest role model. He looks after the group's overall interests which has sometimes caused conflict with Meiko. He does not like the fact that Meiko overly drinks and is upset about his role in the family. He has an obsession with ice cream, causing him at one point to spend all the family's money in the idea of using the ice cream for "business". He considers Miku the closest family he has. Because he was not originally illustrated by KEI, he is never named.

Miku Hachune often appears out of nowhere making cameos, upsetting the main characters and generally getting herself into trouble.

Gakupo appears as a motorcyclist/gangster in chapter 11. Because he was not originally illustrated by KEI, he is never named.

Neru Akita cameos as a music teacher in chapter 6 and as a subway announcer in chapter 7. She also works in a fish market in chapter 7.

Teto Kasane cameos on a sake bottle in chapter 6 and appears once in chapter 14.

Haku Yowane cameos in chapter 7 and chapter 14. In Chapter 16 she is revealed to be Meiko's drinking buddy.

Releases
The series currently comprises the original 28 chapters serialized in Comic Rush and a collection of the first 10 chapters all together in a single volume.

Links
Maker Unofficial: Hatsune Mix on amazon.co.jp

Maker Unofficial: Hatsune Mix on mangahelpers

Maker Unofficial: Hatsune Mix on mangafox