Talk:Merli (VOCALOID3)/@comment-99.184.252.213-20150107054707/@comment-53539-20150107101520

There is actually a cultural explanation for this, Merli fans might not like to hear this. Besides, technically, Merli isn't the first dark skinned vocaloid. She is the first to go to sale with it, but there is a reason it took so long. *puts up shields and inhales* Unfortunately this particular lecture will come with a little sensitive issues and a lesson in history/culture. Bare this in mind, I'm explaining a problem, not aiming to cause controversy.

In certain cultures having a tan is a signal of someone who spends all day outside. Why would they spend all day outside? Because they are from low class families like farmers, labourers, etc. Asain, African, middle eastern cultures, all tend to be like this.

Pale skin means you have a indoor job, which gives normally more pay then the outdoor job. Ergo, its considered better to have pale skin then dark in these cultures for this reason because its a sign of wealth

''In terms of those from african origins, paling down is because of the slave trade. Though throughout history slavery was held by many cultures, the white slave traders displaced entire villages and towns in countries far across the globe. Still to this day, there is a problem with acceptance, which is why its so much harder for black singers or stars to get acknowledgement and whyin countries like America, some of the poorest areas of the country still have very high black populations. :-/''

''Note; In contrast to western cultures, having a tanned skin is a sign of extreme wealth because you can afford to be away from the desk. Also, in terms of movie and pop stars, if your Caucasian and have particularly pale skin you tan up for more then just simple reasons. When a camera flash goes off, the light bounces of your skin and causes blurring, so a tan is essential if you want to be photographed a lot and have the results turn out well. And again... Pop and film stars represent "extreme wealth" in western cultures.''

Notice how Lapis has pale skin and Merli has Dark? Well, Lapis is the "protagonist" and Merli the "antagonist" of their company. I'm not saying they good and evil, but Lapis represents "light" which is normally associated with good and Merli "dark" which likewise is to evil is the same thing. One gives life, the other drains it... Basically, there is something I want to say here about Merli but its not going to be taken too likely, but the way its done your really meant to look down upon her and up to Lapis despite the fact they are sisters and of the same race (fairy). As I said on the AtH video about her, supporting Merli is kinda supporting the bad guy.

With this complexity out of the way, I'm glad producers have the freedom to ignore background stories. Merli has always been an awkward one to explain and honestly... Its a little problematic to explain this. For the Macne series, Macne Nana's elder twin sisters have a similair thing going on. Coco (white) is the pale one and Coco (black) the darker one to fit their personalities and voice and to make Coco (black) look a little less of the sister.

And honestly... I'm not comfortable with certain things, which is why I've stuck to Leon and Lola being black singers back before we had the source to prove it. White Leon always felt more like an insult towards a major racial contribution to music. I'm so glad we know now about his and Lola's singers. And as a very pale Caucasian myself, glad finally there is some acnowledgement that the first two vocaloids were black.

Unless the girls are based on the Ganguro culture, you have to really bare this in mind whenever you see manga/anime characters. From skin tone to hair colour, everything tended to be stereotyped and colour coded to let the viewer know the kind of character they are just from looks. This is no different in the west, but certain stereotypes these days make people uncomfortable because their either dated or racially unappealing.

Why am I explaining this? Well since her release, Merli's had a lot of praise but like a lot of vocaloid... Its like this... Just as I said recently with SeeU, that someone should like a vocaloid DESPITE the flaws and not IGNORE the flaws, this is the same problem here. For some reason, people following Merli are basically ignoring the backstory for her (what we know) to the point of ignorance.

Plus, I like epic good versus evil battles, especially when they go to song... Yet... Nobody ever seems to really do anything in song despite this. I know I like they ignore backstory, but at the same time... Sometimes I do wish more would go all out for something epic.