Akikoloid-chan (あきこロイドちゃん) is a Japanese VOCALOID licensed to Lawson, Inc., and as a "private" VOCALOID, she is not commercially distributed. Her date of debut was on September 13, 2011.[1]
YAMAHA Corporation officially lists Akikoloid-chan as the first VOCALOID3 vocal in their VOCALOID timeline.
Concept[]
She is based on Akiko-chan's character; much like how Ryuto (Gachapoid) is based on Gachapin, she is not Akiko-chan herself.
In 2011, the LAWSON convenience store chain's new mascot, "Akiko-chan" was announced to receive a synthesized VOCALOID voice makeover to become "Akikoloid-chan," who acts as a navigator for LAWSON's new Nico Nico Douga channel. On September 6, Akikoloid-chan videos were uploaded to Nico Nico. The vocal was from the VOCALOID3 engine and the voice provider was Arimoto (有本) from Koe-bu (こえ部), a voice-sharing site for amateur voice actors. A video showing her "production" was made, and she was revealed in an interview about VOCALOID with a YAMAHA representative. Songs were also shown using her vocals.[2]
She was owned only as a private-license that Lawson acquired from YAMAHA and will never be released for commercial use. A boxart for her has also since appeared. However, it was for display purposes only.[3]
Following a query submitted to LAWSON on July 23, 2014, it was revealed that her usage in music had been discontinued. Despite this, she will remain as a public character representing LAWSON.
Etymology[]
Her name is a combination of "Akiko"'s own name plus "-loid" from "VOCALOID".
Appearance[]
Akikoloid is said to have been built by Akiko's older brother in a university lab within a week. Her appearance is based off Akiko-chan's, only designed to look more like an android. She is said to be a university sophomore student who also works part time for Lawson.
History[]
Akiko-chan was originally introduced as a campaign character for Lawson under the profile "a university sophomore student and a part-time worker for Lawson".
VOCALOID2 Voicebank[]
During the VOCALOID3 Launch Party 53 Hours Live Stream/VONAMA, held from October 21 to 23, 2011, a cover song of "We Are The World" was played as the ending song for the live stream.[4] Akikoloid-chan can be heard singing with several other VOCALOIDs released at the time.
After the closing of the live stream, Noboru Murakami, president of Internet Co., Ltd. shared on Twitter a screenshot of the VOCALOID3 editor showcasing several VOCALOIDs in it, mentioning that those were used for the cover showcased previously.[5]Akikoloid-chan is seen in the screenshot named as "Akiko_loid_chan_alpha(V2)".[6]
Marketing[]
A new campaign related to the character was begun as "LAWSON x VOCALOID", titled "Vocalawson campaign"; this ran from September 13 to 26, 2011.[7] During the campaign, customers at Lawson stores were able to obtain an ID application upon purchase of the ten goods in the promotion, which allowed them entry into a lottery. Applicants entered via mobile phone or the LAWSON website. This was the first campaign where original YAMAHA VOCALOID goods were won.[8]
Included in this campaign was an Akikoloid-chan figurine and a MikuMikuDance model.[9] The model is available for downloaded from the company's site. This model was used in various official promotional videos for the Lawson channel on Nico Nico Douga. It has been converted for use in MikuMikuDance with the help of Piron. Its first appearance was September 27, 2011, with a public download on December 18, 2012.[10]
In January 2013, a campaign introduced Akikoloid-chan to Indonesia and other Asian countries.[11]
Events[]
Akikoloid-chan and GUMI appeared in a concert, dancing on stage. Though other concerts have been done for VOCALOID, this is the first official "3D" concert; previously, all concerts had been done with 2D technology.[12] Merchandise related to the concert was later produced such asa CD and DVD.[13] On November 2, 2011, a video clip about the 3D Concert "VOCALOID3 x LiveAR" was released; on November 26, GUMI, VY1, Tone Rion, Akikoloid-chan, and Aoki Lapis appeared in a 3D concert at Vocafarre 2011.
On January 21, 2012, Akikoloid appeared in a Live Jam Event.[14]
Video games[]
The outfit design for Akikoloid-chan is being used as a collaboration outfit for the character Wang Yuanji in Koei's latest installment in the long-running hack-and-slash adventure series Dynasty Warriors 8 (Shin Sangoku Musou 7 in Japan). Perched on her shoulder is the Lawson Chicken Nugget Mascot, Karaage-kun. She will also be receiving a unique skin for her throwing knives, which makes them look like musical notes.
This is the third Lawson collaboration outfit this character has been given in the Dynasty Warriors series, the first being the uniform of Akiko-chan, the second being a Lawson themed summer kimono.
Akikoloid-chan appears in the game "鬼武者Soul(ソウル)".[15]
Music featuring Akikoloid-chan[]
- There are listings for notable songs.
Product Information[]
Demonstrations[]
Original songs |
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Voicebank Libraries[]
Product Information | |
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Package details as noted: | |
The following information is based on known details of a unreleased voicebank. Please note the details of this voicebank are subject to change without notice. Her licensing was restricted to use only for Lawson's purposes and could only be used by Producers with special permission from Lawson., Ltd themselves. Therefore information on her vocals is limited. | |
Vocal traits as noted: | |
Her vocals have been used for both music and talking. Little is known on her except that she is using the VOCALOID3 engine. She is capable of speech on a more delicate level than most VOCALOID voicebanks, although appears to not be using VOICEROID and may be using a version of the VOCALOID-flex engine, although this cannot be confirmed. She was confirmed a VOCALOID3 at her time of introduction. | |
Software issues as noted: | |
Information unavailable, this section depended on the producers who had access to use Akikoloid-chan.
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Reputation[]
References[]
External links[]
Language | Description | Site |
---|---|---|
Japanese | Lawson Inc. official homepage | Link |
Japanese | VOCALOID3 あきこロイドちゃん The official webpage for VOCALOID Akikoloid-chan (no longer available) | Link |
Japanese | ローソンクルー♪あきこちゃん @akiko_lawson The official Twitter account for Akiko | Link |
Japanese | ローソンチャンネル (Lawson Channel) The official NicoVideo channel for Lawson Inc. ft VOCALOID Akikoloid-chan | Link |
Japanese | Akikoloid-chan Nico Nico Pedia entry | Link |
Japanese | Akiko-chan Nico Nico Pedia entry | Link |
English | deviantArt , art and media community | Link |
Japanese | Pixiv , art and media community | Link |