Hatsune Miku

Miku Hatsune (初音ミク Hatsune Miku) is the first installment in the Vocaloid2 Character Vocal Series created by Crypton Future Media. It is considered the most popular and well known Vocaloid, released on August 31, 2007. The name of the title and the character of the software was chosen by combining Hatsu (初, first), Ne (音, sound), and Miku (未来, future) thus meaning "the first sound to the future." The data for the voice was created by sampling the voice of Saki Fujita (藤田 咲, Fujita Saki), a Japanese voice actress. .

The First Vocaloid "Diva"
Before Miku was released, Vocaloid was not much more than an obscure program. Nico Nico Douga played a fundamental role in the recognition and popularity of the software. Soon after the release of the software, users of Nico Nico Douga started posting videos with songs created by the software. According to Crypton, a popular video with a comically-altered Miku holding a leek, singing Ievan Polkka, presented multifarious possibilities of applying the software in multimedia content creation. As the recognition and popularity of the software grew, Nico Nico Douga became a place for collaborate content creation. Popular original songs written by a user would generate illustrations, animation in 2D and 3D, and remixes by other users. Other creators would show their unfinished work and ask for ideas.

On October 18, 2007, an Internet BBS website reported that she was suspected to be victim of censorship by Google and Yahoo!, since images of Miku did not show up on the image searches. Google and Yahoo denied any censorship on their part, blaming the missing images on a bug that does not only affect "Hatsune Miku" and related keywords but other search keywords as well. Both companies expressed a willingness to fix the problem as soon as possible. Images of Hatsune Miku were relisted on Yahoo on October 19.

Cultural Impact Spreads
A manga called Maker Hikōshiki Hatsune Mix began serialization in the Japanese manga magazine Comic Rush on November 26, 2007, published by Jive. The manga is drawn by Kei, the original character designer for Miku. A second manga called Hachune Miku no Nichijō Roipara! drawn by Ontama began serialization in the manga magazine Comp Ace on December 26, 2007, published by Kadokawa Shoten. Miku sometimes wears glasses in the manga, and Rin and Len call her "onee-chan" (big sister). A yonkoma webcomic made by artist Minami called Chibi Miku-san can be found on his webpage, as well as on Danbooru(the site itself is 18+), but for a safe search of Danbooru, try Safebooru.

At CEATEC Japan 2009, Boffin, in joint with Yamaha had the robot model HRP-4C react to the Vocaloid software for demostrational purposes. She was dressed up to look like Hatsune Miku for the demo.

Miku's first appearance in an anime is in episode 13 of Zoku Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei in which she (and other Vocaloids) auditioned to dub Otonashi Meru's voice. For online multiplayer games, the Japanese version of PangYa started a campaign with Hatsune Miku on May 22, 2008 in which she is included as one of the characters. Her first appearance in a video game is in 13-sai no Hellowork DS (Job Placement for the Age of 13) for the Nintendo DS where she is included as one of the characters. Miku Hatsune also stars in a video game of her own, Miku Hatsune - Project Diva on the Playstation Portable (PSP) in Japan. In Tales of Graces (Wii), she is a downloadable costume for one of the characters.

Append - the Future of Miku
On April 30, 2010, Miku received an update that consisted of six new Miku voicebanks, all voiced by Saki Fujita: Soft, Sweet, Dark, Vivid, Solid, Light. They cost collectively slightly under the original Miku price, and are sold separately from the original product. Both the Miku product and the Append product exist separately, and make different voicebanks entirely. While they had been announced on Miku's second birthday, they were released over eight months later. The different appends are meant to capture the "moods".

The original appends planned had been "soft", "very small", "dark-prototype", "vivid", and "solid". However, "very small" was replaced with "sweet", "dark-prototype" became "dark", and "light" was added.

Prior to the release, demos had constantly been put on Crypton's website. These included productions by various Vocaloid producers from Nico Nico Douga. ryo's "Black Rock Shooter" 3M mix had also been done with one of the beta voicebanks. In December 2009, demo software versions of "soft" and "dark" were released. They did not allow VSQ saving, but did allow .wav rendering, which led to a stream of videos released on Nico Nico Douga.

Usage
Miku has been used for a varity of songs, in very different areas. Her voice is higher pitched then her predessor Meiko and her voice allows for maniputlation in a varity of ways.

Although she has a wide varity of uses, fans often complained she she was used for music that often did not suit her voice and some opinions even went so far as to call her voice "annoying". This also led to other negative feed backs including the comment that she is "overused", especially when other vocaloids existed that could handle the range users attempted to make her sing in much better. However, with the release of the Append, many of these past complaints have now been resolved. The Append voicebanks allow Miku to sing in just about every form of music possible. Although this has increased her use, this has also decreased the complaints towards her "annoying" voice amongst the fandom as the append voicebanks can be used to find ther most suitable voice for a song, as well as cover each others weaknesses.

supercell ~ supercell feat.初音ミク



 * Release Date: August 27, 2008
 * Number of Discs: 1
 * Format: Limited Edition
 * Label: Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.


 * 恋は戦争 (Love is War)
 * ハートブレイカー (HeartBreaker)
 * ブラック★ロックシューター (Black★Rock Shooter)
 * くるくるマークのすごいやつ (Let's Spin Wildly!)
 * ライン (Line)
 * ワールドイズマイン (World is Mine)
 * 嘘つきのパレード (Parade of Liars)2mzdr9w.png
 * その一秒スローモーション (This Second in Slow Motion)
 * ひねくれ者 (The Rebel)
 * またね (Matane)


 * Track listing

First Sound Story~ 19’s Sound Factory (Sweets(lol)-P)

 * Release Date: August 20, 2008
 * Number of Discs: 1
 * Label: Independent Label
 * ASIN: B001CQCJ28


 * Birth
 * Voice
 * メランコリー (Melancholy)
 * Tears In Blue
 * Dear
 * Gratitude


 * Track listing

Re:package ~ livetune feat.初音ミク



 * Release Date: August 27, 2008
 * Number of Discs: 1
 * Format: Limited Edition
 * Label: Victor Entertainment Inc.
 * Length: 79 min. 26 sec.
 * ASIN: B001BOBYO0


 * 1) Anthem
 * 2) Packaged
 * 3) Over16bit!
 * 4) Shooting Star
 * 5) Nijiiro
 * 6) Momiji
 * 7) Light Song
 * 8) Lela-Horn
 * 9) Hibi no Yume Omoi
 * 10) Finder
 * 11) Dokidoki Heart Tune
 * 12) Strobe Nights
 * 13) Last Night, Good Night
 * 14) Packaged -piano ver.-
 * 15) Our Music

Re:MIKUS ~ livetune feat.初音ミク



 * Release Date: March 25, 2009
 * Number of Discs: 1
 * Label: Victor Entertainment Inc.


 * ファインダー (kz's DSLR remix)
 * Packaged (kisk baker's yogamix)
 * Light Song (Hiroyuki ODA (Hanasoumen-P) remix)
 * 椛 (The Standard Club PIANO DANCE REMIX)
 * 虹色 (Version by ryo from supercell)
 * ファインダー (imoutoid's "Finder Is Not Desktop Experience Remix")
 * Last Night, Good Night (みくすびとremix feat.らっぷびと)
 * リラホルン (kz's Drillhole In My Brain remix)
 * ストロボナイツ (RAM RIDER remix)
 * our music (kz's The Beginning of The End remix)
 * D.E.N.P.A. (クラブイベントタイトルソング)
 * Heart Beat
 * carol (original by kisk baker)
 * サイハテ (original by Kobayashi Onyx)


 * Track listing

Sakura no Ame (桜ノ雨) ~ absorb/absorb feat.初音ミク



 * Release Date: November 28, 2008
 * Number of Discs: 1
 * Format: Single, Enhanced, Maxi
 * Label: Nippon Crown = music =
 * Length: 41 minutes
 * ASIN: B001F10YTA


 * 桜ノ雨 -standard edit-(absorb)
 * 桜ノ雨(absorb)
 * 桜ノ雨 -less vocal-(absorb)
 * 桜ノ雨 -合唱ピアノ伴奏ー(absorb)
 * 桜ノ雨 -standard edit-(absorb feat.初音ミク)
 * 桜ノ雨 (absorb feat.初音ミク)
 * 桜ノ雨 -less vocal-(absorb feat.初音ミク)


 * Track listing

Miku no Kanzume (みくのかんづめ)~ OSTER-project feat.初音ミク



 * Release Date: December 3, 2008
 * Number of Discs: 1
 * Label: Indies Label -music-
 * ASIN: B001HRRW9C


 * Intro
 * 恋スルVOC@LOID (VOC@LOID in Love)
 * フリートーク#1 (Free Talk #1)
 * フキゲンワルツ
 * おやすみのうた (Good Night Song)
 * フリートーク#2 (Free Talk #2)
 * Dreaming Leaf-ユメミルコトノハ-
 * 片想イ VOC@LOID (VOC@LOID in One-sided Love)
 * つきうさぎ (Moon Rabbit)
 * フリートーク#3 (Free Talk #3)
 * RING×RING×RING
 * ちょこまじ☆ろんぐ
 * デジネコポップヌコミックス
 * フリートーク#4 (Free Talk #4)
 * 8月の花嫁 (October Bride)
 * ミラクルポイント (Miracle Paint)
 * フリートーク#5 (Free Talk #5)
 * 恋スル大合唱


 * Track listing

Jewel Colors ~ ave;new feat.初音ミク



 * Release Date: February 14, 2008
 * Number of Discs: 1


 * Jewel Colors
 * true my heart -HATSUNE mix-
 * snow of love -HATSUNE mix-


 * Track listing

Up in the Higher Skies



 * Release Date: 2008


 * Stratosphere (ストラトスフィア) (2008 remix)
 * Dragoon (feat. Yamai)
 * Space rocket delivery service (ロケット宅宙便)
 * Song of Pixie (Bossa study)
 * Electropneumatic girls (電空少女) (Caramel-ICE version)
 * Soar (UHS version)
 * Stratosphere (ストラトスフィア) (Exaggerate mix)
 * Space rocket delivery service -cool- (ロケット宅宙便 クール) (Flights rocket version)
 * Stratosphere (ストラトスフィア) (Fine weather mix)
 * Song of pixie
 * Electropneumatic girls (電空少女) (Azuki-ICE version)
 * Dragoon
 * Soar (Uta-balla remix)
 * To your original (キミノモトヘ)


 * Track listing

Hatsune Miku 1st Song Album



 * Number of Discs: 1


 * Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru
 * Heki i Usagi
 * Tori no Uta
 * Tsuki no Shizuku
 * Mirai no Eve
 * Platina
 * Futari no Mojipittan
 * Uninstall
 * Ano Subarashi Ai wo Mou ichido
 * Angel Voice
 * Ievan Polkka
 * True my Heart -Vocaloid2 Special Edit-
 * Melodies of Life
 * You
 * Anata no Utahime
 * True my Heart -Short Version- Sakura Saori with Hatsune Miku
 * Lost my Music
 * Lemonade Ice-cream
 * Ne ni ge de reset!
 * Cruel angel thesis


 * Track listing

Vocarhythm



 * Release Date: March 4, 2009
 * Number of Discs: 1


 * Hatsune Miku no Shoushitsu
 * Koisuru Voc@loid
 * Packaged
 * Yuuhizaka
 * Miracle Paint
 * Anata no Utahime
 * Electric Angel
 * Koneko no Paya Paya
 * Gekka no Himeuta
 * Kono Omoi Tsutae Takute
 * Eikyuu ni Tsuduku Gosenfu
 * Time Limit
 * Monochroact
 * Celluloid
 * Infinity


 * Track listing

Aria
Song by Toku-P

Video by Refeia
 * Nicovideo Broadcast
 * Youtube Broadcast (with english subtitles)
 * Aria is a relatively new video from well known Vocaloid producer Toku. Very beautiful PV produced by Refeia and co-produced by Toku. This is a must see for all fans of Miku. Do note that the character depicted in the PV is not Miku, but rather a stand-in for her.

Black★Rock Shooter
Song by ryo (A member of supercell)

Video by huke (A member of supercell)
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast
 * Black★Rock Shooter tells of the narrator's despair and hopelessness as they wander aimlessly, searching for something important to them that they presumably lost. Eventually the narrator gains new hope and decides to move on into the future with courage. The video for the song became massively popular, featuring Black★Rock Shooter traveling through a bleak city and countryside, riding a motorbike and wielding weapons. Black★Rock Shooter is an original character design by Huke, and happens to resemble Miku.


 * A famous 3DPV by Anomaro-P gave Black★Rock Shooter a plotline and backstory, which involves her sister betraying her and turning evil and Black★Rock Shooter being forced to kill her sister to stop the destruction. This plot eventually became the inspiration for the upcoming 2010 OAV.

Ievan Polkka
Voice,　Character design, Video by Otomania
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast

"Song originally from Loituma. Argueably Miku's most famous song, this version is a parody of the infamous video showing Orihime Inoue from Bleach twirling a leek to an infinite loop of the Ievan Polkka's 5th stanza. Miku's version stars Miku Hachune (はちゅねミク), who is a blank-eyed doll-like chibi version of Miku with a gaping mouth that waves a leek in time to the music.:Main article and detailed information: Ievan Polkka"

Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru (I'll Make You Miku-Miku-ed)
Song by ika
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast (with subtitles)
 * One of the most iconic Miku songs, often operating as an "anthem" for Miku and VOCALOID. The lyrics are Miku announcing herself to the world. This song is often covered and rewritten for other VOCALOIDs, especially when the VOCALOID is a newcomer.

Koisuru VOC@LOID (VOC@LOID in Love)
Music and lyrics by OSTER-project
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast (with subtitles)
 * Another early work that personified Miku by OSTER-project. Miku sings a small love to her owner. This song, Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru and Packaged are the three pillars that set the model of the personification of Vocaloids, which inspired many succeeding composers.

Packaged

 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * YouTube broadcast (with subtitles)
 * One of the early leading works of Miku by kz. Miku sings the gratitude of being "unpacked" and receiving the singing ability. This song also spread the name of Miku along with Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru and Koisuru VOC@LOID.

Kurutto, Odotte, Hatsune Miku (Turn, Dance, Hatsune Miku)

 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast (without subtitles)
 * This 3DCGvideo was made by gragra. It features Nendoroid-like Miku Hatsune, Rin & Len Kagamine, Kaito, Meiko, Yowane Haku, and Akita Neru dancing to the 9th ending theme of the anime Sgt. Frog. At the end, all of them dance the Caramelldansen.

Love is War
Song by ryo (A member of supercell)
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast (With English Subtitles)


 * This song tells of how she is willing to fight for who she loves. Miku declares that "love is war" and that in the end, she will make her love only see her. Love is War has been a very popular song and has covers by almost every official vocaloid including Rin/Len Kagamine, Luka Megurine, MEIKO, KAITO, Leon, etc. Due to the songs popularity, it has been translated many times in English by different translators and although the lyrics may slightly change, the overall meaning is the same.

Melody
Song by mikuru396

PV by ussy-P (motion and editing) /(modeling data by kio)
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast (With English Subtitles)
 * A song accompanied with an early 3D PV, portraying Miku standing among a landscape of turning gears. The song is about Miku's gratefulness to VOCALOID users for giving her a song to sing, and how she wants to move people with her song. The song is very famous and both the song and the PV are instantly recognizable to most VOCALOID fans.

Melt
Song by ryo
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast
 * This song is about a shy girl who's in love. She gets her bangs cut, and hopes he will notice, all the while encouraging herself to look cute. Her love is pure; she says that she loves him because it is he she likes, and not because she's in love with being in love, but it would melt her to confess. Then, it rains. She has an collapsible umbrella in her bag, which she thought was too small, but the boy joins her under the umbrella of his own will. Heart pounding, she is so happy she could cry, because in Japan sharing an umbrella is a sign of shared feelings and associated with couples. When they reach the station, she almost tells him to hold her because she doesn't want to leave him, and can't believe herself.


 * Multiple PVs for "Melt" exist; most of them feature Miku as the protagonist, acting out the events described by the song. The "boyfriend" character is often represented by a man whose face isn't seen (a technique often used to represent "Master", or the Vocaloid user), or at times by Kaito.


 * "Melt" and its PV videos are so popular on Nico Nico Douga and Youtube that it has been featured in some Nico Nico Medleys, and has many covers and parodies both by live musicians and other Vocaloids.

Saihate (The Furthest Place)
Song by Kobayashi Onyx
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast
 * An introspective, slightly romantic song about a person trying to accept the loss of someone they were close to. The song is often most-recognized by the imagery it is accompanied by in videos: Miku, dressed in a black dress suit, wandering a whimsical, monochrome fantasy land decorated by yin-yangs, spirals, butterflies and zebras. This song received multiple versions, including graffiti art, a karaoke medley, and many different covers.

Hatsune Miku no Shoushitsu -DEAD END- (The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku -DEAD END-)
Song by cosMo(Bousou-P)
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast
 * A song about Miku's uninstallation. She realizes that she is not equal to a human being, still her wish is to keep on singing. The lyrics are narrated with the upper limit tempo 240 BPM. This kind of strange, irrational song is known as "dempa song" (meaning "obsessive song") in Japan. It's also been covered by most of the official Vocaloids as well.

World is Mine
Song by ryo (A member of supercell)
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * Youtube Broadcast
 * The song is about a spoiled girl who believes herself to be a "princess" that the world revolves around, and her struggles with falling in love with a standoffish boy. There are many PV variations for this song, but the narrator is almost always portrayed as a short-tempered and fickle Miku (interesting because of the meek and sweet-tempered manner that Miku is often portrayed with) but with a "tsundere" side.


 * In addition to the Miku version of World Is Mine, called the "Women's Side", there is a "Men's Side" performed by Kaito telling the story from the "prince's" point of view. There is also a version that mixes both the Men's and Women's Sides, making a complete story. Also, there are famous covers by other vocaloids including Rin/Len Kagamine and Meiko. The lyrics in these covers are changed so that they match up with each characters perspective.

"World is Mine" is very popular among female singers on Nico Nico Douga and Youtube, and has received multiple covers.

PoPiPo
Song by Lamaze-P
 * NicoVideo Broadcast
 * YouTube Broadcast
 * PoPiPo is a catchy, almost non-sensical song in which Miku sings about vegetable juice and how wonderful it is. She eventually picks a certain type of juice ("the green juice") for the listener.


 * PoPiPo has proven to be an infectious song, spawning countless covers by both other Vocaloids and human singers in various languages, as well as several MADs and parodies.


 * Many, many of the other Vocaloids have covered the song; Luka has done a "bilingual" version. The lyrics remain the same except for the color of the juice, which depends on the singing Vocaloid (Rin and Len's is yellow, Teto's is pink, Sonika's is yellow-green). One particularly infamous cover was done by Tako Luka.

Romeo & Cinderella
Music & Lyric by doriko

Illustration by nezuki
 * NicoVideo Broadcast
 * Youtube broadcast
 * Miku is a girl who wants to be with the boy she loves, but her parents don't want her to be with him. She at first compares the boy to Romeo and herself to Juliet, but then remembers the sad fate of Juliet and desires to be as fortunate as Cinderella in order to achieve her goal.

Innocence
Music & Lyric by Kazu-P
 * NicoVideo Broadcast
 * YouTube Broadcast (with subtitles)


 * A song created in the midst of "the copyright trouble." The lyrics won the sympathy of many and became another signature song of Miku.

裏表ラバーズ / Ura-Omote Lovers (Two-Faced Lovers)
Music by Genjitsutouhi-P
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * YouTube broadcast (with subtitles)


 * A song that has been in the Weekly Vocaloid Ranking for 13 consecutive weeks (#1 for one of those weeks). It is also covered by many Nicovideo singers.

Palette World Breakdown
Illustration by Tsukimido

Music & Lyric by CYTOKINE
 * Nicovideo Broadcast
 * YouTube broadcast
 * This near professional-quality MAD of an original song by Hatsune Miku paired with some especially lovely visuals from a doujinshi circle has risen to #4 on the Nico Anime Rankings. The MAD came into being as a joint Comiket 76 production from Cytokine (Music) and circle Tsukimodo (Artwork), who released this video as part of this Miku DVD for the event.

Nebula
Music, Lyric and Illustration by Tripshots

Guitar by Yusuke
 * Nicovideo Broadcast
 * Youtube Broadcast
 * A superb 3D CG PV that entered the top Nico charts during the height of Miku Hatsune and Megurine Luka's rivalry in the Nico Nico charts.

炉心融解 / Roshin Yuukai (Miku Hatsune remix)
Music, Lyric and Illustration by Nitamago
 * Nicovideo Broadcast
 * Youtube Broadcast
 * A remix of Kagamine Rin's classic Meltdown, now sung by Hatsune Miku in this creative remix by Nitamago, the video was able to climb all the way up to No.2 in the Nico Nico Daily charts and was able to receive 44,000 views in a very short period of time.

闇色アリス / Yamiiro Alice (Dark Alice)
Music and Lyrics by samfree


 * Nico Video Broadcast
 * Youtube Broadcast
 * A rather unique MAD presenting Miku in gothic lolita-esque fashion, this song was able to secure a spot on the Nico Nico daily charts at No.2 at 56,000 views during the height of competition between Megurine Luka and Hatsune Miku.

No More Heroes 2: Desprate Struggle's Bizzare Jelly 5 Stage Theme
Composed & Arranged by: MARU and Nobutaka Ichiki

Originally Composed by: Jun Fukada
 * Youtube Broadcast
 * This song proves that No More Heroes is the test of Otaku Knowledge. The game uses words like "Otaku", "Cosplay",and "Moe". But the TRUE test comes from this song from the sequel. There are two kinds of people in this world that played the sequel: The people who just think that the track is usual generic Japanese techno, or the people who realize that Miku sings starting from 2:03. This song is notable as its possibly the first Miku song to make it into a retail game released in America.

Joker

 * Youtube Broadcast (with subtitles)
 * Nicovideo broadcast


 * The song tells the story of a "Joker" (played by Miku) who lures a girl (also played by Miku) into a castle. She agrees that she would play a card game with the Joker, and she loses - so Joker steals her heart. The Joker leads her out into the forest, and she says nothing. This enrages the Joker, who leads her back to the castle and gives her soul back. The Joker is about to kill her, when she yells out his name. The Joker calms down and falls next to her. At the end the two run off into the forest together.

ローリンガール / Rollin' Girl
Music by Genjitsutouhi-P
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * YouTube broadcast (with subtitles)


 * This song hit #2 on the Weekly Vocaloid Ranking the week after it debuted in the Rankings. The lyrics are very vague, but the general idea is that a girl with far-off dreams and a history of constantly "failing" takes to "rolling", even though her goal is still too far away and she would rather "stop her breathing". In the end, she is comforted by an unknown person/people.

結ンデ開イテ羅刹ト骸 / Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro (Hold, Release; Rakshasa and Carcasses)
Music and lyrics by Hachi
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * YouTube broadcast (with english subtitles)

初めての恋が終わる時 / Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki (When the First Love Ends)
Song by ryo (A member of supercell)
 * YouTube broadcast (with english subtitles)
 * Nicovideo broadcast

歌に形はないけれど / Uta ni Katachi wa Nai Keredo (Even Though My Song Has No Form)
Music and lyrics by doriko

Illustration by nezuki
 * Nicovideo broadcast
 * YouTube broadcast

Trivia

 * Miku is often mistaken as the very first Vocaloid ever produced by those new or unfamilair to the softwares history, or the first Vocaloid 2 released in the Vocaloid era.