Camui Gackpo

Kamui Gakupo (神威がくぽ) is the official mascot character of Gackpoid (がくっぽいど / Gakuppoido), a piece of singing synthesizer application software powered by Yamaha's Vocaloid2 and published by INTERNET Co.,Ltd. The avatar character of the software was drawn by the illustrator Kentaro Miura (三浦健太郎 Miura Kentaro).

Appearance
A note from Crypton Future Media's Vocaloids was that they were using cyber-style clothes which can "melt into" our everyday lives as much as possible. Internet co., Ltd drew up their own ideas from this on what makes Vocaloid popular. Gackupo's look was picked from several possible designs.

Gakupo has a samurai aesthetic: the Vocaloid is clad in a Jinbaori, a kind of kimono which was used as a battle surcoat, with parts of Japanese armor, and carries a katana which is named “Music katana, Miburi” (楽刀・美振 / Gakutou Miburi). The patterns on its blade make musical sounds when it is swung down. The sword existed because producers wanted a link to a musical instrument, there were no objections to the use of a weapon.

When considering the features of Gakupo, the producers informed them they wanted the eyes to look like Gackt's, and for what he wore to include a combination of cyber and traditional Japanese-styled clothing. The colours were picked to make him stand out from the other Vocaloids.

The symbol on the back of both Gakupo's fan and shirt/jacket is a stylized version of the kanji for "music" which is "楽". In romaji format, this is literally spoken and read as "gaku", which is most likely a pun on both the avatar's naming and the literal form of "楽" which can stand for "musician" after being changed into "楽人".

Gakupo is one of the few Vocaloids to see his most popular Meme make it into merchandise form. The "eggplant", or rather the version with stick-legs, is an additional item included with his Nendoroid figurine.

Etymology
"Gakupo" is based on the pronunciation of the name "Gackt". The software name of "Gackpoid" also takes its name from Gackt's own. The "poid" on the end of the name is short for "like Vocaloid". Consequently, the full implied name of this product is "Gackt-like Vocaloid".

However, the spelling of his name can at times vary. For example, the Karen-T website his name is often also seen written as "Camui Gackpo". Other spellings of his name have also been witnessed from other sources.

Vocaloid Releases

 * Kamui Gakupo has songs in the Nico Nico Douga Hall of Fame
 * Comparison between the Vocaloid and voice provider
 * Gackpoid; Vocaloid 2 and Vocaloid 3

Examples of Usage

 * -|Gackpoid=
 * -|V3 Gackpoid=

Marketing
The Gackpoid software was marketed as part of the bid to introduce professional singers to Vocaloid, allowing users access to the vocal of a famous professional singer. He was also marketed with a guide book on his usage, which could be purchased optionally with his software. He was promoted as 'the first male (masculine) vocaloid' for Vocaloid2.

Originally, Gakupo songs were not allowed to be sold on Karen-T; however, this was later allowed in 2009.

Song Contest
In 2009, Gackt also challenged users of Vocaloid to compete in a competition using Gakupo. The best song not only won 10 million yen, but if Gackt liked it enough he would sing the song and include it on one of his next albums. In 2011, the winning song "Episode 0" by mathru/KanimisoP and runner up "Paranoid Doll" by natsuP (SCL Project) were sung by Gackt in his 39th single, released July 13th. The producer of the runner up song also received 300,000 yen while the producers of the other 8 top ten songs received 100,000 yen each.

The short preview for the original version of the song "Episode.0" (Gackt's version) was released during the month of May 2011 Gackt-Episode.0 (Short PV During the early days of June an official video of the complete version of the song was uploaded to Nico Nico Douga Gackt-Episode.0 (Unofficial PV)

V3 JOYSOUND Contest
In order to celebrate the release of Vocaloid3 Gackpoid, INTERNET is holding a contest where winners can get their songs added to JOYSOUND’s karaoke song database. Entries need to be uploaded before the end of September to Nico Nico Douga with the tag “JOYSOUNDがくっぽいど” locked. There will be separate awards for the Gackpoid, Gackpoid POWER and Gackpoid WHISPER categories. Furthermore, from now until 6PM JST on September 14th, the trial version of VOCALOID Gackpoid POWER can also be downloaded from INTERNET Co.

Maker Hikōshiki Hatsune Mix
He has made a guest appearance in Maker Hikōshiki Hatsune Mix, so far he has been the only non-Crypton official Vocaloid to appear in the unofficial manga.

Figurines
Gakupo is due a Nendoroid figurine produced by the Good Smile company.

Taiwan release
On Dec 11th, 2010, the president of INTERNET Co. announced that Gakupo, Gumi and Lily will be distributed in Taiwan.

King Run Anison Red and White Concert
Gumi and Gakupo made special appearances in the 2010 new year celebration event known as King Run Anison Red and White.

The songs they covered were;
 * アニソン紅白2010 M-32[Love Letter]神威がくぽ(がくっぽいど) "Love Letter" covered by Gackupo originally from "Mobile Suit Z Gundam", which had originally been sung by Gackt
 * アニソン紅白2010 M-33[星間飛行]GUMI(メグッポイド) "Interstellar Flight" covered by Gumi from "Macross Frontier", which had originally been sung by Megumi Nakajima.

Their appearance was strictly a one off event.

Phone Haiku
INTERNET Co. Ltd has released a service that offers Gakupo's voice for use with telephones, first announced in April of 2009. The service is greatly limited compared to what the Vocaloid software allows normally but offers a chance for users to play with a limited version of Gakupo's voice for creating Haiku. The service was later updated for use with the PC in 2011. There is no fee for use of it and the service is open to fans across the world. However, the software application can only be used in Japanese hiragana and will take what is written as literal text, so for more complex patterns a great deal of thought may have to go into writing words. INTERNET Co., Ltd commented they intend to work with Twitter to open the service up more so others can share their works around the world. Users can download their creations for free as MP3's an unlimited amount of times.

Popularity

 * Google Trends "Gackpoid"

Trivia

 * If you change the symbol on his fan and back further, the literal word "gaku" can be changed into hiragana, which will be "がく", a commonly known name given to males.
 * Because Gackt was a major singer, Gakupo was originally sold as the most expensive Japanese Vocaloid2 release, out of all the Vocaloid 2 voicebanks his release price overall was only beaten by Prima's.
 * Less experienced overseas fans mis-labled Gakupo as a "Gackpoid" rather than a "Vocaloid" and sometimes dismissed that he is a Vocaloid altogether. This is owed to the confusion over the name.
 * Gackpoid could be considered another contender for the inside joke "Big Al's syndrome" that overseas fans sometimes use to describe late Vocaloids. He was delayed for a month, however at the time the term had yet to be invented.
 * The Internet Item Meme craze envisions him with an eggplant. This probably comes from the purple color of his hair and parts of his clothing.
 * Gakupo was also the most expensive Vocaloid 2 vocal, beaten at his time of release in price only by Zero-G's Prima, in Japan he was the most expensive of the Japanese Vocaloids.

Notable for...

 * First Vocaloid to be voiced by a major singer in Japan
 * First INTERNET Co., Ltd Vocaloid
 * First male Vocaloid released as a single package since Kaito's release
 * First of INTERNET Co., Ltd's "Vocaloid Artist" series
 * First male INTERNET Co., Ltd Vocaloid