CUL (カル; Karu) is a Japanese VOCALOID developed and distributed by Internet Co., Ltd., and was created in collaboration with VOCALO Revolution. CUL is a VOCALO Revolution mascot character and she was released as a VOCALOID in December 2011 for the VOCALOID3 engine. Her voice is provided by Japanese voice actress and singer, Eri Kitamura (喜多村英梨; Kitamura Eri). She is a "Character Voice" type vocal.
Concept[]
Originally, CUL was released without background information. However, the information was posted for her in 2013 when she was featured in a special event.[2]
CUL was first introduced as the mascot for the show "VOCALO Revolution", and like Lily before her, CUL was not part of Internet Co.'s "poid" series. Several music videos were uploaded featuring a 3D model of CUL created by Lat, utilizing vocals from VY1 prior to CUL's release as a VOCALOID.
In 2011, a male counterpart for CUL named REV was revealed and confirmed to be designed by CUL's creator, Hiroto-P. Like CUL, REV was given a 3D model by MikuMikuDance modeler Kio and was intended to use VY2's vocals. In September 2020, it was revealed by Hiroto-P on Twitter that REV was planned to become a VOCALOID like CUL, however, progress on the project fell through.[3]
In the same Tweet, Hiroto-P revealed that CUL was to have siblings whom she grew up with in the Shinobi no Sato Ninja Village (忍びの里), which was under constant threat by hostile forces.[4] CUL was revealed to be the youngest of the four sisters of Fuusetsugekka (風雪月花), with each character being based on a different color (from oldest to youngest): blue, white, yellow, and red. A twin version of CUL, "黒CUL" or BLACKCUL, was also conceptualized. A 3D model for MikuMikuDance of BLACKCUL was released in 2011 by Lat. However, it is unknown if this was part of that concept.[3]
In March 2021, Hiroto-P confirmed that ROSA, CUL's younger 15-year-old sister with a pink theme, was in production for a new AI singing and talk synthesizer developed by ZAN-SHIN Co., Ltd.,[5] seeming to suggest that VOCALO Revolution would no longer be producing any vocals for the VOCALOID software. According to ROSA's background, she was separated from CUL & her older sisters for a long period of time when one day CUL appeared to her and told her that she was her older sister.[6] ROSA was released as a Talk Voice for CeVIO AI on December 17, 2021 with a singing voice database announced for Synthesizer V AI to be produced in 2022.
On March 27, 2022, Hiroto-P announced the RE:CUL Project, a project revolving around CUL's original sisters.[7] The first of whom, WhiteCUL, was announced at the "Software Talk Video Posting Festival Supporting Festival (ソフトウェアトーク動画投稿祭応援しまくる祭)" from the VOICECONNECT 2 doujinshi convention to be receiving a speech library for VOICEVOX.[8]
Etymology[]
The name "CUL" has double meanings, short for "culture" and "Culnoza", a collaborative group organized by Hiroto-P. In a tweet posted by CUL's official Twitter account, CUL was given the name RE:CUL (リカル; Rikaru) to distinguish her from her older sisters (as well as from her twin BLACKCUL).[9] Another subsequent official Tweet offers REDCUL as another alternative name for her.[10]
Appearance[]
Her initial design was conceptualized by Hiroto and modeled by LAT for an MMD PV. Another PV, "白の季節 (Shiro no Kisetsu)", features artwork by vient. The design is that of a young woman with a red and black theme. Her hair is in a ponytail and she wears a sleeved dress with striped stockings and boots.[11]
Her V3 design is by an unknown artist, the initial theme is kept with the addition of white and gold. She now wears a corset, black shorts under garter, and a long jacket with an armband. The jacket design incorporates a golden alto clef symbol separating the red shoulder section from the black chest section.
Relations[]
For more on VOCALOID relationships, see the FAQ.
- REV - The male counterpart to CUL and mascot for VOCALO Revolution. He was designed by Hiroto-P and 3D modeled by Kio.[12]
- Lucia - A brown toy poodle that lives in CUL's neighborhood. The character was designed by Mion (みおん) of VOCALO revolution.[13][14]
- WINDCUL (青姉; Aonee, "Blue Sister") - older blue and wind-themed sister[3] (originally conceptualized as 19 years old;[9] later updated to 22 years old)[1]
- WhiteCUL (雪さん; Yukisan) - older white and snow-themed sister[15] (originally 18,[9] later 20)[16][1]
- MOONCUL (つき; Tsuki) - older yellow and moon-themed sister (conceptually 17,[9] now 18)[1]
- BLACKCUL (黒CUL; Kuro CUL, a.k.a. 濡鴉 Nuregarasu "Wet Crow") - twin black-themed sister (conceptually 16,[9] now 17)[1][17]
- ROSA (ロサ) - younger pink and rose-themed sister (15)[18][9][1]
History[]
Marketing[]
She was introduced in "CUL makes Revolution!". CUL was featured in the show's introduction, the PV "白の季節" and the closing credits of the show. CUL was also the mascot of "CUL project: official", a website designed to promote making her official. Stickers featuring her were also released on sale.[19] The MMD model used in her PVs, such as "CUL makes Revolution!", was later released. She also appeared alongside 秋元結衣 in a music video that later made it to DVD.
An official Twitter account was started for CUL on June 6th, 2021.[20]
On June 8th, 2021, ROSA's official Twitter debuted two plush dolls as GREENFUNDING backer rewards for her CeVIO AI crowdfunder, one of ROSA and one of CUL, to be distributed pending its success.[21]
Voicebanks[]
- CUL
- Cul is a female Japanese vocal known for its solid tones and is known from its ability to climb from low notes to high with ease.
- CUL (VOCALOID3), December 22, 2011
- CUL (VOCALOID NEO),
Music featuring CUL[]
![[nn]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/vocaloid/images/1/16/Favicon-nn.png/revision/latest?cb=20131115031623){kind=small}
| Featuring | CUL
|
|---|---|
| Producers | |
| Categories | Original song |
| Description | "Everyone has a good time. But, I have the experience only you specially painful. I theme song darkness of girl you've felt minority that it is (Minority)."
|
![[yt]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/vocaloid/images/1/16/Favicon-yt.png/revision/latest?cb=20221005233455){kind=small}
| Featuring | CUL
|
|---|---|
| Producers | HaruVampire
|
| Categories | Cover song |
| Translation | FREYJA.sys ～システム・フレイヤ～ (FREYJA.sys ~System·Freyja~) |
|---|---|
| Featuring | CUL, GUMI
|
| Producers | |
| Categories | Original song |
| Description | One of Kaoling's most notable songs.
|
"VOCALOID CUL" on Niconico Video- "VOCALOID CUL" on YouTube
- "VOCALOID CUL" on bilibili
- "VOCALOID CUL" on SoundCloud
- "VOCALOID カル" on Niconico Video
- "VOCALOID カル" on YouTube
- "VOCALOID カル" on bilibili
- "VOCALOID カル" on SoundCloud
Reputation[]
Status
| Google Trends |
| Reaction |
|
Since CUL's existence as a VOCALOID is owed to her fans, she already had an established fandom prior to becoming a VOCALOID. CUL has had a lot of support and publicity within the Japanese fandom, which has resulted in her overall positive reception. This made her one of the more popular releases for VOCALOID3 at the time. CUL's popularity kept increasing after her release. According to Google Trends, it peaked in July 2012. Afterwards, she gradually lost popularity in the closing months of the VOCALOID3 era. She was overall less popular than before her release. |
| Achievements |
|
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://x.com/deecloud/status/1710508838707937711
- ↑ http://www.fukushima-fes-2013.com/special/ (Archived)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://x.com/deecloud/status/1307180043827777536
- ↑ https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1494325832730681344
- ↑ https://x.com/deecloud/status/1373222840133021700
- ↑ https://x.com/deecloud/status/1379269804926754816
- ↑ https://x.com/deecloud/status/1504098529324974081
- ↑ https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1508457033892507650
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1495293535096291332
- ↑ https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1508457033892507650
- ↑ https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/15684317
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20190715225036/http://vocarevo.com/aboutvr.html#07
- ↑ https://x.com/lucia8culture
- ↑ http://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=5450712
- ↑ https://x.com/nat0468/status/1508039216835416064
- ↑ https://x.com/deecloud/status/1572238849396592642
- ↑ When BLACKCUL's age was updated to 17, CUL's age was also updated to 17 and she was now given the nicknames RE:CUL and RedCUL.
- ↑ https://x.com/deecloud/status/1373222840133021700
- ↑ http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-date-20110222.html (Archived)
- ↑ https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1401562830793441282
- ↑ https://x.com/ROSA_ROSA_15/status/1402155751393566743
External links[]
| Language | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | SingerSongWriter Jp official homepage | Link |
| Japanese | VOCALOID3 CUL SSW product page | Link |
| Japanese | CULNOZA official about page (Archive) | Link |
| Japanese | @CUL1224 Official Twitter | Link |
| Japanese | CUL Project The official website for VOCALOID CUL (Archive) | Link |
| Japanese | SingerSongWriter Jp The official YouTube channel | Link |
| English | deviantArt , art and media community | Link |
| Japanese | Pixiv , art and media community | Link |
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