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{{For|redirect from=Miku||Miku (disambiguation)}}
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{{Infobox Hatsune Miku}}
  
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'''Hatsune Miku''' (初音ミク) is the first Japanese Vocaloid2 in the [[Crypton_Future_Media#Vocaloid2| Vocaloid2 Character Vocal Series]] created by Crypton Future Media. It is considered as the most popular and well known Vocaloid and the first to become a pop idol. 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 from 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.<ref>[http://www.artsvision.co.jp/data.php?id=1019] Fujita Saki's Official Profile</ref><ref>[http://yaplog.jp/saki-ohana/] Fujita Saki's Blog</ref>
  
   
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'''Hatsune Miku''' (初音ミク), codenamed CV01, was the first Japanese VOCALOID to be both developed and distributed by [[Crypton Future Media, Inc.]]. She was initially released in August 2007 for the ''[[VOCALOID2]]'' engine and was the first member of the [[Character Vocal Series]]. She was the seventh VOCALOID overall, as well as the second ''VOCALOID2'' vocal released to be released for the engine. Her voice is provided by the Japanese voice actress [[Saki Fujita]] (藤田咲, ''Fujita Saki'').<ref>[http://www.artsvision.co.jp/data.php?id=1019 Fujita Saki's Official Profile]{{Deadlink}}</ref><ref>[http://yaplog.jp/saki-ohana/ Fujita Saki's Blog]{{Deadlink}}</ref>
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==History==
  
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==='''Vocaloid Avatar'''===
  
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Crypton had the idea to release Miku as "an android diva in the near-future world where songs are lost."<ref>[http://www.p-tina.net/interview/98 Pratina Nov 9, 2007: KEI Interview]</ref><ref>[http://vocaloidotaku.net/index.php?/topic/3475-our-favorite-vocaloids-interview-with-kei/] VocaloidOtaku - Our Favorite VOCALOIDS: Interview with KEI</ref> When [[KEI]] illustrated Miku he was asked to Miku as an android and her colors (based on YAMAHA synthesizer's signature blue-green color). Also Crypton gave him her detailed concepts, however, Crypton says it was not easy to explain what "Vocaloid" is like to KEI and KEI says he could not have an image of "singing computer" at first as he did not even know what "synthesizer" was, and it took more than a month. <ref>[http://www.p-tina.net/interview/97] P-Tina - Interview(s) with Crypton and KEI</ref> The digital design on Miku's skirt and boots are based off synthesizer program colours and the bars represent the actual bars within the program, following Crypton's idea. Miku was originally intended to have a different hairstyle, but KEI stuck to pigtails after trying them out.
  
   
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There have since been numerous installments, such as additional voice libraries dubbed '[[Hatsune Miku Append|Append]]', as well as an upgrade for the ''[[VOCALOID3]]'' engine, which contained an [[Hatsune Miku V3 English|English vocal]] release. She received a ''[[VOCALOID4]]'' update to her Japanese and English voicebanks in August 2016, as well as a [[Hatsune Miku V4 Chinese|Mandarin Chinese voicebank]] in September 2017.
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When it comes to the Corolla Miku presented in 2011, her attire is a slightly different from KEI, instead of one skirt stripe and single floating ribbons she now has two as this was intended by the client.
  
   
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On August 31, 2019, Miku received her first voicebank outside of VOCALOID, that being ''{{IW|piapro-studio|Piapro Studio}}'' with her NT release. While Crypton is focusing on their own program, they are still in collaboration with YAMAHA and will continue to sell VOCALOID products in parallel to the Piapro Studio editions.<ref name="Mikuisleaving1">https://blog.crypton.co.jp/l/2019/08/n1908311/</ref><ref name="Mikuisleaving2">https://twitter.com/labopton/status/1167698329389551616?s=19</ref><ref>https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1912/25/news098.html</ref>
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==='''The First Vocaloid "Diva"'''===
  
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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 today. Soon after its release, 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 spring/Welsh onion, singing levan Polkka, presented multifarious possibilities of applying the software in multimedia content creation. As recognition and popularity 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.
  
   
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==Concept==
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The initial sales of Hatsune Miku were so high that Crypton could not keep up with the demand. In the first 12 days of sale, nearly 3,000 sales reservations were made. This was around one sale in 250 in the music software industry, quoted as "an impossible number" by Wataru Sasaki—the person in charge of the planning and production company 'surprise'. Amazon.co.jp stated on September 12, 2007 that they had sales of Hatsune Miku totaling 57,500,001 yen, making her the number one selling software of that time.<ref>[http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0709/12/news035.html] IT Media News - 異例の売れ行き「初音ミク」「ニコ動」で広がる音楽作りのすそ野 (Extraordinary sales for Hatsune Miku as Nico spreads the music)</ref> Later reports came that she had sold 60,000+ copies of her software, normally selling 1,000 copies of a synthesizing software was considered good business.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/virtual-star-to-be-unleashed-on-us-2291713.html link]</ref>
  
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Crypton had the idea to release Miku as "an android diva in the near-future world where songs are lost."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080501152250/http://www.p-tina.net/interview/98 Pratina Nov 9, 2007: KEI Interview] (archived)</ref><ref>[https://archive.vn/AnpFe VocaloidOtaku - Our Favorite VOCALOIDS: Interview with KEI](archive)</ref>
   
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===Etymology===
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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 re-listed on Yahoo on October 19.
  
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The name was chosen by combining ''hatsu'' ([[wiktionary:初|初]], "first"), ''ne'' ([[wiktionary:音|音]], "sound"), and ''Miku'' ([[wiktionary:未来|未来]], a personal name that shares its spelling with the word for "future"). It thus means "the first sound from the future." Her name was based on her concept of that when a sound is first spoken.<ref>https://blog.sonicwire.com/2009/01/post-95.html</ref>
   
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Her codename of "CV01" means "Character Voice 01".
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==='''Cultural Impact Spreads'''===
  
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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 [http://carafuru.web.fc2.com/ his webpage], as well as on third party sites. <ref>[http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=pool&s=show&id=10] Safebooru (site suitable for 13+)</ref><ref>[http://danbooru.donmai.us/pool/show/675] Danbooru (the site itself is 18+)</ref>
  
   
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Her name in Chinese is "Chūyīn Wèilái" (Simplified Chinese: 初音未来; Traditional Chinese: 初音未來).
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At CEATEC Japan 2009, Boffin, in joint with Yamaha had the robot model [[wikipedia:HRP-4C|HRP-4C]] react to the Vocaloid software for demonstrational purposes. She was dressed up to look like Hatsune Miku for the demo. Miku was one of 3 voicebanks HRP-4C was set up to react to, the other two were Gumi and Crypton's [[Wikipedia:CV-4C%CE%B2|CV-4Cβ]]. <ref>[http://robot.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20091006_319867.html] Robot Watch - CEATEC JAPAN 2009 - 「HRP-4C 未夢」が「初音ミク」姿で歌う、ヤマハと産総研がコラボ - ("HRP-4C Miyu" uses "Miku's" voice, a collaboration with Yamaha AIST) Oct 6, 2009]</ref><ref>[http://blog.crypton.co.jp/mp/2009/10/vocaloidcv4c.html] Crypton MEDIA phage - ［VOCALOID情報］CV-4Cβについて･･･ (VOCALOID Information On CV-4Cβ) Oct 8, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.japancorp.net/japan/Article.Asp?Art_ID=50029] Japan's Corporate News Network - Diginfoビデオレポート：歌声合成ソフト「VOCALOID」を使った 歌を歌うロボット (Report Diginfo Video: voice synthesis software "VOCALOID" sing with the robot) Oct 14, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0910/08/news107.html] IT Media News - IT Media News - 新VOCALOID「CV-4Cβ」、CEATECで歌う　声は中村繪里子さん (CV-4Cβ voicebank in use) Oct 9, 2008</ref><ref>[http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/series/dal/20100412_360797.html] AV watch 第412回:ヤマハのしゃべれる「VOCALOID-flex」とは? ～VOCALOIDの生みの親に聞く、開発の経緯と今後の展開 ～ (No. 412 times: Yamaha speak "VOCALOID-flex" What is it?
  
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Interview with creator of ~ VOCALOID, development history and the future -) April 12, 2010</ref>
  
   
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===Appearance===
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*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkuSGYPTcw HRP-4C as Miku]
  
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After an internet meme involving [[Hachune Miku]], Miku was associated with a spring onion (often mistaken for a leek due to the similar appearance). This, along with KAITO's association with ice cream, started a discussion called "the Item War" within the VOCALOID fandom, where it became traditional for new VOCALOIDs to have an item assigned to them and the items were debated upon until one stuck via an [[Internet Meme]]. This occurrence has since died out.
   
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<tabber>
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Miku's first appearance in an anime is in episode 5 and 13 of Zoku Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei in which she (and other Vocaloids) auditioned to dub Otonashi Meru's voice.
 
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V2=
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When [[KEI]] illustrated Miku, he was given a color scheme to work with (based on the YAMAHA synthesizers' signature blue-green colour) and was asked to draw Miku as an android. Crypton also provided KEI with Miku's detailed concepts, however, Crypton said it was not easy to explain what a "Vocaloid" was to him. KEI said he could not create an image of a "singing computer" at first, as he did not even know what a "synthesizer" was. It took him more than a month to complete the commission.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080512071404/http://www.p-tina.net/interview/97 P-Tina - Interview(s) with Crypton and KEI]</ref>
   
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Miku was originally intended to have a different hairstyle, but after trying out pigtails, KEI thought they were more suitable. Her pigtails have since become an iconic part of her design. On June 22, 2012, Hatsune Miku's twin tails even earned her the title of the Twin Tail which best represented the 2000s, marking her the best set of Twin Tails from the dawn of the 21st century. She now shares her twin tail distinction with other characters like Sailor Moon (who won best Twin Tails back in the 90s period).<ref>http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-entry-12152.html</ref>
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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, Hatsune Miku - Project Diva on the Playstation Portable (PSP) in Japan. In Tales of Graces (Wii), she is a downloadable costume for one of the characters. In Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP), her hairstyle is available for female characters, and her costume as well as multiple weapons themed after leeks are unlockable by inputting certain passwords.
  
   
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The digital design on Miku's skirt and boots are based on synthesizer program colours, and the bars represent actual bars within the program, following Crypton's ideas. Part of her design is based on some of YAMAHA's keyboard models, particularly the DX-100 and the DX-7.<ref>http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=327922480661644&set=a.232686870185206.50979.138697466250814&type=1</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180318030521/http://www.vocaloidotaku.net/index.php?/topic/28638-source-of-mikus-design/ VocaloidOtaku] - Source of Miku's design (archive)</ref> The thin squares around her pigtails are futuristic ribbons made of a special material that floats in place. As seen in KEI's art for Miku, they are able to hold Miku's pigtails in place without having to physically touch the hair itself. The ribbons are also reported by KEI to be the hardest item on the character's design for cosplayers to recreate. <!-- trying to find the source on this, sorry -->
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In late November 2009, a petition was launched in order to get a custom made Hatsune Miku aluminum plate (8&nbsp;cm x 12&nbsp;cm, 3.1" x 4.7") made that would be used as a balancing weight for the Japanese [[wikipedia:Venus|Venus]] spacecraft explorer [[wikipedia:Akatsuki (Planet-C)|Akatsuki]]<ref>[http://kanmisikou.net/lab/venus/ja/] Official Site "Project:Sign to Get Hatsune Miku Image on Board Venus Explorer Akatsuki" </ref>. Started by Hatsune Miku fan Sumio Morioka that goes by chodenzi-P, this project has received the backing of Dr. Seiichi Sakamoto of the [[wikipedia: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency|Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency]]. On December 22, 2009, the petition exceeded the needed 10,000 signatures necessary to have the plates made. An original deadline of December 20, 2009 had been set to send in the petition, but due to a couple of delays in the Akatsuki project, a new deadline of January 6, 2010 was set; by this deadline, over 14,000 signatures had been received. On May 21, 2010 at 06:58:22 ([[wikipedia: Japan Standard Time|JST]]), Akatsuki was launched, having three plates depicting Hatsune Miku.<ref>[http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1005/20/news083.html] IT Media News 初音ミク搭乗の「あかつき」、打ち上げに再チャレンジ (Miku boarding, "Akatsuki" Challenge to re-launch) May 20, 2010]</ref><ref>[http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1005/21/news046.html] IT Media News - 初音ミクついに宇宙へ！「あかつき」打ち上げ成功 (Miku finally in space! "Atatsuki" Successful launch) May 21, 2010</ref>
  
   
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====Append====
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Miku was also the subject of one of the most controversial uses of the legal agreements of any Vocaloid producing studio was from the [[wikipedia:Democratic Party of Japan|Democratic Party of Japan]], whose running candidate, [[wikipedia:Kenzo Fujisue|Kenzo Fujisue]], attempted to secure the use of Miku's image in the [[wikipedia:Japanese House of Councillors election, 2010|Japanese House of Councillors election of July 11, 2010]]. The hope was that the party could use her image to appeal to younger voters. Although Crypton Future Media rejected the party's use of her image or name for political purposes, Fujisue released the song "We Are the One" using her voice on Youtube, by only replacing her image with the party's character in the music video.<ref>[http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/4858322/] Livedoor News -「初音ミク」で選挙活動計画　「政治利用ダメ」で民主議員頓挫 June 30,2010 -- Election Activity Plan Standstill of a Democratic Diet member with "Don't Use Politics"</ref>
  
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Her VOCALOID2 Append design is often subjected to censorship. In the original design, there is a bare strip of flesh under the tie area. In many depictions, this bare strip of flesh is not shown and is covered. For example, while [[Max Factory]] models showing the uncensored version in their normal and Figma models, the [[Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- (series)|Project Diva]] game series shy away from showing any exposure.
   
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|-|
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====Good Smile Racing====
  
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V3=
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<gallery type="slideshow">
  
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====V3 English====
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RacingMiku2010.jpg|Racing Miku 2010 season
  
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INFORMATION PENDING
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RacingMiku2011.jpeg|Racing Miku 2011 season
  
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GTcar.jpg|Studie 2008
  
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GTcar2009.png|Studie 2009
  
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2010season.jpg|Porsche 2010
  
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season2011.jpg|GSR & Studie with TeamUKYO 2011
  
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GTprojectCD.jpg|"Hatsune Miku GT Project Theme song Collection" albumn cover
  
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</gallery>
  
   
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====V3 (Japanese)====
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Since the 2008 season, different teams in the Super GT racing received their sponsorship under Good Smile Racing, and turned their cars to Vocaloid-related artwork
  
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INFORMATION PENDING
   
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|-|
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*Studie, which participated in the 2008 with a BMW Z4 E86.
  
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V4=
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*Studie also used Miku's image in the 2009 seasons with BMW Z4 E86.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://as-web.jp/news/info.php?c_id=2&no=31846|title="4代目"ミク号はZ4 GT3!　谷口＆右京SDが新加入|trans_title="4th" Car of Hatsune Miku Is Z4 GT3! Taniguchi and Ukyō SD Newly Join the Team|publisher=Autosport|date=February 6, 2011|accessdate=February 7, 2011|language=Japanese}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww2.supergt.net/gtcgi/prg/NList02.dll/Code?No=NS010942&List=13|title=The Rumored No. 808 Hatsune Miku Studie Glad BMW Z4 Latest News|publisher=Super GT.net|date=August 18, 2008|accessdate=August 21, 2008|language=Japanese}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/187/187441/index-3.html|title=Itasha storm in Super GT. Report of Final Race at Mt. Fuji (Page 3)|publisher=[[ASCII (company)|ASCII]]|date=November 11, 2008|accessdate=November 16, 2008|language=Japanese}}</ref>
  
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====V4X & V4 English====
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*Team COX, participating in the 2010 season, which used a Porsche 996 GT3 RSR and a Porsche 997 GT3-R. Their car used Racing Miku (an official Hatsune Miku derivative, wearing an orange [[wikipedia:Race queen|race queen]] suit) as their image.
  
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INFORMATION PENDING
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*For the 2011 season GSR & Studie with TeamUKYO used Miku's image on their BMW E89 Z4 GT3 team car.
  
   
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====V4 Chinese====
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In 2011 a collab CD was released as "Hatsune Miku GT Project Theme song Collection".<ref>[http://www.vocaloidism.com/2011/08/04/hatsune-miku-gt-project-theme-song-collection/ link]</ref>
  
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INFORMATION PENDING
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</tabber>
   
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===Relations===
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{{clr}}
  
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{{relationship link}}
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*[[Kagamine Rin & Len]] - Fellow members of the [[Character Vocal Series]].
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*[[Megurine Luka]] - Fellow member of the Character Vocal series.
   
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==History==
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===='''Concerts'''====
  
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===Marketing===
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Miku and other Vocaloids began to appear in concerts in Japan 2009, since then she has made appearances outside of Japan. Hatsune Miku performed her first "live" concert like a virtual idol on a projection screen during Animelo Summer Live at the Saitama Super Arena on August 22, 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-08-23/hatsune-miku-virtual-idol-performs-live-before-25000|title=Hatsune Miku Virtual Idol Performs 'Live' Before 25,000|publisher=Anime News Network|date=August 23, 2009|accessdate=August 26, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/confidence/68248/|title=影山、堀江、初音ミクも！「アニサマ」出演者追加|trans_title=Also Kageyama, Horie and Hatsune Miku! Performers for "Anisama" Are Added|work=Oricon Style|publisher=Oricon|date=August 6, 2009|accessdate=July 15, 2010|language=Japanese}}</ref> At the "MikuFes '09 (Summer)" event on August 31, 2009, her image was screened by rear projection on a mostly-transparent screen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/456/456009/index-2.html|title=初音ミクが歌って踊る! ミクフェス '09（夏）レポート|trans_title=Hatsune Miku Sings and Dances! Report on MikuFes '09 (Summer)|publisher=ASCII Media Works|page=2|first=Minoru|last=Hirota|date=September 1, 2009|accessdate=October 29, 2010|language=Japanese}}</ref> Miku also performed her first overseas live concert on November 21, 2009, during Anime Festival Asia (AFA) in Singapore.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://afa09.com/i_love_miku.html|title=Virtual Idol “Hatsune Miku” to perform overseas at "I LOVE anisong" stage!|publisher=Anime Festival Asia|accessdate=November 24, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/f-et-tp0-20091121-568383.html|title=「電子の歌姫」初音ミクが海外初公演|trans_title="Electronic Diva" Hatsune Miku's First Oversea Concert Is Held|publisher=Nikkan Sports|date=November 21, 2009|accessdate=July 15, 2010|language=Japanese}}</ref> On March 9, 2010, Miku's first solo live performance titled "Miku no Hi Kanshasai 39's Giving Day"「ミクの日感謝祭 39's Giving Day Project DIVA presents 初音ミク・ソロコンサート～こんばんは、初音ミクです。～」 was opened at the Zepp Tokyo in Odaiba, Tokyo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-12-10/virtual-idol-hatsune-miku-to-hold-1st-solo-concert|title=Hatsune Miku Virtual Idol to Hold 1st Solo Concert|publisher=Anime News Network|date=December 10, 2009|accessdate=July 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/1232809_1124.html|title=初音ミクによるソロコンサートが開催、39個の秘密も明らかに|trans_title=Hatsune Miku Performs A Solo Concert, And 39 Secrets Are Revealed|publisher=Famitsu|date=March 10, 2010|accessdate=July 15, 2010|language=Japanese}}</ref> The tour was run as part of promotions for Sega's ''Hatsune Miku: Project Diva'' video game in March 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vocaloidism.com/2010/07/18/online-movement-hatsune-miku-world-tour/|title=Online Movement: Hatsune Miku World Tour|publisher=Vocaloidism|date=July 18, 2010|accessdate=October 6, 2010}}</ref> The success and possibility of these tours is owed to the popularity of Hatsune Miku and so far Crypton is the only studio to have established a world tour of their Vocaloids, which led to subsequent concerts to be premiered on March 9.
  
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[[File:HatsuneMikuguidebook.jpg|thumb|right|The first of several guidebooks released which Miku's vocal appeared in]]
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Miku's initial marketing was similar to past software synthesizers and ''VOCALOID'' voicebanks, and was standard marketing for the software at her time of release. For the most part a large proportion was centered on [[DTM MAGAZINE]], like [[MEIKO]] and [[KAITO]] before her since the readership of the magazine had greatly influenced those two past VOCALOIDs. The only pre-planned promotion was with DTM MAGAZINES November 2007 issue - due to the inclusion of a CD with the demo of Miku on it, this particular issue sold out. When Hatsune Miku was on pre-order it was noted MEIKO and KAITO had no prospect of receiving updates and that Miku would be taking over their roles going forward.<ref>https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/08/vocaloid2-8.html</ref>
   
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She was originally aimed only at professional producers; the amateur and Otaku market hadn't fully formed yet, and so it was not initially considered.<ref>https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/05/vocaloid2-3.html</ref><ref>https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/08/vocaloid2_8.html</ref> For a variety of reasons, Miku received unexpected commercial success. Due to Miku's popularity boom, Crypton had the chance to take advantage of early technical support for Miku and several guidebooks and magazine support were released solely focused on her vocals. This type of technical coverage was even possible long after Miku's initial release and methods of adapting her vocals are the most well documented among the ''VOCALOID2'' era vocals.
   
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Since the success of her voicebank led to an expansion of marketing possibilities, most of the mass marketing has come after her initial release as a response to her popularity. Even with the addition of other Character Vocals, Miku's name continues to be used as the primary source of marketing for Crypton Future Media. In March 2012, the Nomura Research Institute estimated that the sales of all "Hatsune Miku" brand goods added up into the region of ¥10,000,000,000 since her release in 2007.<ref>http://www.sankeibiz.jp/business/news/120327/bsg1203270754009-n3.htm</ref> Miku's name is now the easiest of all VOCALOIDs to market. Also owed to her popularity, many VOCALOID related products such as piano sheet music packs, books, and magazines carry her image on the front cover. Around January 28, 2013, a 3 day survey was run by {{wp|Tokyo Polytechnic University}}. During the survey (based on ages 12–38) 95% of those entering reported knowing who Hatsune Miku was, in comparison participants barely knew who [[Megpoid]], [[IA]], or [[Aoki Lapis]] were.<ref>http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-entry-14608.html</ref>
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Later, the CEO of Crypton Future Media appeared in San Francisco at the start of the San Francisco tour where the first Hatsune Miku concert was hosted in North America on September 18, 2010, featuring songs provided by the Miku software voice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newpeopleworld.com/films/films-9-2010/#miku|title=Hatsune Miku: Virtual Idol Film Concert|publisher=New People|date=September 18, 2010|accessdate=October 6, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-09-07/san-francisco-to-host-hatsune-miku-1st-u.s-concert|title=San Francisco to Host Hatsune Miku's 1st U.S. 'Concert'|publisher=Anime News Network|date=September 7, 2010|accessdate=October 6, 2010}}</ref> A second screening of the concert was on October 11, 2010 in the San Francisco Viz Cinema. A screening of the concert was also shown in New York City in the city's New York Anime Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-10-01/hatsune-miku-concert-creator-add-dates-in-sf-ny|title=Hatsune Miku 'Concert,' Creator Add Dates in SF, NY|publisher=Anime News Network|date=October 1, 2010|accessdate=October 6, 2010}}</ref> Hiroyuki Ito, and planner/producer, Wataru Sasaki, who were responsible for Miku's creation, attended an event on October 8, 2010 at the festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-09-09/ny-anime-fest-hosts-hatsune-miku-makers-an-cafe-bassist|title=NY Anime Fest Hosts Hatsune Miku Makers, An Café Bassist|publisher=Anime News Network|date=September 9, 2010|accessdate=October 8, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediumatlarge.net/2010/09/hatsune-miku-shamisen-pop-culture.html|title=Hatsune Miku! Shamisen! Pop Culture Diplomacy! All at NYAF through Japan Foundation!|publisher=Medium At Large|date=September 8, 2010|accessdate=October 8, 2010}}</ref> Videos of her performance are due to be released worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/music/844784-hatsune-miku-is-pops-biggest-draw-as-japanese-3d-cartoon-stage-sensation|title=Hatsune Miku is pop's biggest draw as Japanese 3D cartoon stage sensation|publisher=Metro|date=October 21, 2010|accessdate=October 23, 2010}}</ref>
  
   
  +
Corolla Miku, presented in 2011, wears slightly different attire compared to KEI's original design: instead of one skirt stripe and single floating ribbons, she now has two, as was intended by the client.
   
  +
In 2011, Crypton began to focus on marketing Miku to U.S. audiences. On May 7, USAmazon placed a preview of Supercell's hit song, "[[World is Mine]]", as a single. When the song finally went on sale, it came 7th in the top 10 World singles list on iTunes in its first week of sales.<ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/interest/2011-05-15/supercell/miku-song-in-u.s-itunes-world-top-10 ANN] - Supercell/Miku Song in U.S. iTunes' World Top 10</ref> The entry was presented as "The World is Mine Feat. Hatsune Miku". Crypton had to consider who they were aiming the advertisements of Miku at (mostly the web fanbase) and had to check the differences between the Japanese and English fan communities. Since Crypton had always sold Miku as a virtual ''instrument'' in Japan, they asked their Japanese fan base if it was acceptable for them to sell her as a virtual ''singer'' to the new market audience.<ref>[http://twitter.com/#!/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/68183188400381952 Tweet] - 11 May</ref> The main purpose of the Miku English version is to allow Japanese producers to break into the West and also expand their audiences.<ref><s>http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/radio/program/index.html</s>{{Deadlink}}</ref>
   
  +
Crypton Future Media do not approve of using Miku in politics. This is, so far, one of the biggest areas of marketing that Miku has avoided being used for.<ref>[http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/4858322/ Livedoor News] -「初音ミク」で選挙活動計画「政治利用ダメ」で民主議員頓挫 June 30, 2010 -- Election Activity Plan Standstill of a Democratic Diet member with "Don't Use Politics"</ref> However, Hatsune Miku sang the theme song for Japanese National Election candidate, Yoshikazu Tarui. Despite this, her mascot was not used; instead, a pink twin-tailed girl dubbed ''Android Rui'' replaced her.<ref>http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/07/22/video-hatsune-miku-sings-theme-song-for-a-japanese-national-election-candidate</ref>
−
On March 9, 2011, Miku's 2nd Performance(Hatsune Miku's Live Party 2011 39's Live in Tokyo)「初音ミク ライブパーティー 2011 -39’s LIVE IN TOKYO-」marked a new step in broadcasting concerts, Not only was the concert held at the same location Zepp Tokyo in Odaiba, Tokyo, it was also broadcasted into 15 others theatres within the vicinity of Japan, under the name (Hatsine Miku Live Party 2011 Live Viewing in Theater)「初音ミク ライブパーティ2011 ミクパ♪ 39's ライブビューイング イン シアター」. This particular concert did not use the traditional glass screen but a box screen to present Miku and the team.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://5pb.jp/mikupa/index_tokyo.html|title=初音ミク ライブパーティー 2011 -39’s LIVE IN TOKYO-}}</ref> The Same concert was to be repeated in Miku's Home, Sapporo Hokkaido at Zepp Sapporo under the name (Hatsune Miku's Live Party 2011 39's Live in Sapporo)「初音ミク ライブパーティー 2011 -39’s LIVE IN SAPPORO-」, but was postponed due to the Great Japan Earthquake that occurred 2 days after the Tokyo Concert. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://5pb.jp/mikupa/index_tokyo.html#a20|title=初音ミク ライブパーティー 2011 札幌公演延期のお知らせ}}</ref> It wasn't until April 27 where details of the postponed concert was given details. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://5pb.jp/mikupa/#a1|title=ミクパ♪札幌公演日時決定のお知らせ}}</ref>
  
   
  +
Crypton Future Media also applied for trademark on the 26th of June 2012.<ref>http://www.trademarkia.com/hatsune-miku-79106369.html</ref>
   
  +
When the tsunami hit Japan in 2011, Miku was chosen as a character who would help represent Japan. This was because of how common her image was appearing with many younger people knowing who she was. She was already in music based textbooks and her influence on music was heavily known by the Minister for Education for Japan.<ref>http://km4osm.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-375.html</ref>
   
  +
The fact that products with Miku can sell out quickly makes her attractive to even slow growing industries. Products with Miku on them can even sell out in public events within 30 minutes of events opening to the public. This helps fuel marketing in even handcrafted trades, as fans are attracted to these "one of a kind" products.<ref>https://mainichi.jp/articles/20190822/k00/00m/040/020000c</ref>
−
On July 2, 2011, Miku's first concert performance in the United States was held in NOKIA theatre in Los Angeles, California, during the Anime Expo 2011 event. The concert was based on the "Miku no Hi Kanshasai 39's Giving Day" Concert, with improvements and new songs. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://mikunopolis.com/post/en/24/Hatsune+Miku+3D+Live+in+Los+Angeles.html|title=Hatsune Miku 3D Live in Los Angeles|publisher=SEGA & Crypton Future Media, Inc.|date=May 5, 2011}}</ref>
  
   
  +
Starting on March 15, 2021, Crypton Future Media announced a collaboration with the "Hatsune Miku Chronicle" (初音ミク・クロニクル) art exhibition event titled "Hatsune Miku Chronicle × piapro "What If You Draw? "Hatsune Miku" Software Package Illustration Recruitment!" (もしもあなたが描いたら？「初音ミク」ソフトウェア パッケージイラスト募集！), a special recruitment for users to draw their own original character named "Hatsune Miku" while keeping the basic profile, image and color settings used for Hatsune Miku's initial artwork in 2007 with the winning illustration being made into a special software package based on the submitted work.<ref>[https://piapro.jp/pages/official_collabo/39chronicle/detail Recruitment Page Details]</ref> The award-winning works would be exhibited at the art exhibition "Hatsune Miku Chronicle" scheduled to be held in 2021. <ref>[https://twitter.com/cfm_miku/status/1371372355176472582?s=20 Recruitment Start Announcement]</ref><ref>[https://blog.piapro.net/2021/03/mon21031151.html March 15 Contest Start]</ref><ref>[https://piapro.jp/pages/official_collabo/39chronicle/ Recruitment Start Page]</ref> Over the course of four months users were able to submit artwork to Piapro using the "#クロニクル＿ミクｉｆ" tag.<ref>[https://piapro.jp/pages/official_collabo/39chronicle/list Recruitment Page Works List]</ref> Coinciding with the recruitment, [[Good Smile Company]] announced a new [[Merchandise/Gallery/Nendoroid|Nendoroid]] figurine based on Hatsune Miku's original concept design now known as ''Hatsune Miku if Ver.'' (初音ミク if Ver.).<ref>[https://twitter.com/cfm_miku/status/1387350650552422401?s=20 Recruitment Page Works List]</ref> A finalized illustration of the original design by [[KEI]] was also announced.<ref>[https://twitter.com/cfm_miku/status/1387350097361473539?s=20 Hatsune Miku If ver. KEI Illustration Announcement]</ref> On June 29, the contest concluded and three finalists were selected.<ref>[https://blog.piapro.net/2021/06/f2106291-1.html Contest Conclusion Results]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/cfm_miku/status/1409784462800392199?s=20 Contest Results Announcement]</ref> Three awards were given: the "Best Award" was awarded to [https://piapro.jp/chyoling 千代]<ref>[https://twitter.com/chyoling/status/1409796006238060546?s=20 千代, Best Award]</ref>, the "KEI Award" was awarded to [https://piapro.jp/usononami 梨伊荼]<ref>[https://twitter.com/YAMILUNA39/status/1409788874037989377?s=20 梨伊荼, KEI Award]</ref> AND the "Saki Fujita Award" was awarded to [https://piapro.jp/rokino ろきの].<ref>[https://twitter.com/rok1no/status/1386641272492806147?s=20 ろきの, Saki Fujita Award]</ref> Pre-release images of the Hatsune Miku if Ver. Nendoroid were revealed on July 14th and the illustration by KEI was revealed as well as the announcement of [[Kagamine Rin & Len]] if and [[Megurine Luka]] if proposals.<ref>[https://twitter.com/gsc_hama/status/1414867063483486208?s=20 Hatsune Miku if Ver. Nendoroid Miku Chronicle Event Pre-Sale Announcement & Pictures]</ref><ref>[https://piapro.net/39chronicle/ex.html Hatsune Miku Chronical Event Page]</ref> The Nendoroid was placed up for pre-order starting July 15th on the official Good Smile Company store and more pre-release photos were added.<ref>[https://twitter.com/gsc_goodsmile/status/1414857476839718916?s=20 Hatsune Miku if Ver. Nendoroid Pre-Order Announcement & Pictures]</ref><ref>[https://www.goodsmile.info/ja/product/11452/%E3%81%AD%E3%82%93%E3%81%A9%E3%82%8D%E3%81%84%E3%81%A9+%E5%88%9D%E9%9F%B3%E3%83%9F%E3%82%AF+if+Ver.html Hatsune Miku If ver. Nendoroid Product Page]</ref>
   
  +
===Voicebanks===
  +
The following covers the VOCALOID software, for future releases see [[w:c:piapro-studio:Hatsune_Miku#Voicebanks|Piapro Studio releases]].
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - Original
−
On August 16 to 17, the Postponed (Hatsune Miku's Live Party 2011 39's Live in Sapporo)「初音ミク ライブパーティー 2011 -39’s LIVE IN SAPPORO-」and was held for two days. It took place at the Sapporo Education and Culture Hall at Sapporo Hokkaido. This concert had been redone and the transparent glass screen was once again implemented. The concert was not broadcasted in NicoNicoDouga unlike previous concerts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.nicovideo.jp/niconews/2011/08/015308.html|title=ミクパ♪札幌公演のネットライブについて}}</ref> It was broadcasted in the same theaters that broadcasted the last concert, but it included 2 additional theaters, one from Hong Kong and Taiwan,. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://5pb.jp/mikupa/#a4|title=ミクパ♪札幌公演海外劇場中継決定！}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shochiku.co.jp/anime/mikupa/|title=初音ミク ライブパーティー2011 ミクパ♪ 39's LIVE VIEWING IN THEATER}}</ref>
  
  +
:Designed to be a cute, high pitched and young female Japanese singer, the vocal is of a non-professional vocalist and represents a voice-acted result. It has strong attack and is known for its fairly high adaptability and morphing ability. Due to its high usages among Japanese producers, the vocal was regarded as both "The VOCALOID" voicebank, as well as the "standard" vocal among VOCALOID usage, the vocal itself was meant to replace [[KAITO]] and [[MEIKO]] from [[VOCALOID]]. Miku was created to have standout vocal traits compared to MEIKO. This was also the first vocal for VOCALOID2 that was designed for VOCALOID2 itself.
   
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku (VOCALOID2)|Hatsune Miku]] (''[[VOCALOID2]]''), August 31, 2007
−
==='''Append - the Future of Miku'''===
  
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V3]] (''[[VOCALOID3]]'', ''[[VOCALOID NEO]]'', ''{{IW|piapro-studio|Piapro Studio (software)|Piapro Studio}}''), September 26, 2013
−
On April 30, 2010, Miku Append (初音ミク・アペンド), a data library which consisted of six new Miku voicebanks, was released. Both the Miku product and the Append product exist and are sold separately, and the voicebanks of Miku Append are different from the voicebank the original Miku has. All the new voicebanks were voiced by Saki Fujita: Soft, Sweet, Dark, Vivid, Solid, Light. Crypton announced that this is [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/アペンドディスク an append disk] (an addition which offers extension to computer softwares and is similar to [[wikipedia:Expansion_pack|expansion packs]] in English) and users need the original Miku to utilize Miku Append. It costs collectively slightly under the original Miku price<ref>[http://www.crypton.co.jp/cv01a] Crypton - Miku Append]</ref>. 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" and were described by Cypton Future Media as "like a rainbow of colour".
  
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V4X]] (''[[VOCALOID4]]'', ''{{IW|piapro-studio|Piapro Studio2|Piapro Studio2}}''), August 31, 2016
  +
* Hatsune Miku (''[[Mobile VOCALOID Editor]]'')
  +
* Hatsune Miku (''[[VOCALOID Keyboard]]'')
   
  +
;''Misc. versions''
−
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" 2M 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.
  
  +
:Her vocal was adapted to the ''[[eVocaloid]]'' chip and sold with the ''[[Pocket Miku]]'' piano.
   
  +
:Her vocal was also available, though restricted in "''[[Let's sing with Miku ♪]]''". The version of the voice is unknown. The voicebank itself was accessed via the [[NetVOCALOID]] database and was one of the few VOCALOIDs who allowed users to access the network.
−
Despite the success of Miku herself, her Append did not sell as many units. Following the Kagamine Append release, both the Kagamine and their Append software pushed Miku's Append software into 6th place on Crypton's sales page.<ref>[http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-date-20110209.html] Vocaloid Blog - クリプトン社発売のソフト音源についての2011年1月のトップセラー！ (Top of the January 2011 release of the software's sound on Crypton!)</ref>
  
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - Sweet
−
==='''English Voicebank'''===
  
  +
:Designed to be a sweeter sounding version of the "Original" vocal, this vocal is a voice acted result and designed to act very different from the "Original" vocal. The tone is cuter than the original and designed to make Miku sound smaller and is meant for more expressive songs.
−
On October 8, 2010, at the New York Comic-Con, Ito Hiroyuki (Crypton's CEO) announced that if Miku's [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hatsune-Miku/10150149727825637?v=wall facebook page] hits 39,390 "likes", an English bank will be developed. The project was termed "Project MIKUCASH".
  
   
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku Append]] (''VOCALOID2''), April 30, 2010
−
Miku's page has reached more than 39,390 "likes" on her Facebook page (run by Crypton staff). It has been confirmed that there will be more released on this soon. Samples have already been made and demos are said to be in the process of preparations. A Tweet from Crypton on Twitter confirms that they are not sure if English Miku will be [[Vocaloid2]] or [[Vocaloid3]].
  
  +
* Hatsune Miku V3 (''VOCALOID3''), September 26, 2013
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V3]] (''VOCALOID3'', ''VOCALOID NEO'', ''Piapro Studio''), September 26, 2013
  +
* Hatsune Miku V4X (''VOCALOID4'', ''Piapro Studio2''), August 31, 2016
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - Dark
−
The alpha stage of development went under review the weekend of the 19th of March 2011. By then it was still far from the beta stage, Crypton reported they would keep their fans up to date with its development and were aiming for a good qualified English voicebank. Crypton also report that they would like to do Miku English Appends in the future, however they have no specific plans right now.<ref>[http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/Vocaloid_on_Twitter#Potential_English_bank_of_Hatsune_Miku.27s] Tweet - Potential English bank of Hatsune Miku's - 11:06 PM Mar 17th</ref>
  
  +
:Designed to be a darker tone version of the "Original" vocal, this vocal is a voice acted result and designed to act very different from the "Original" vocal. This vocal is designed to make Miku sound moodier and is meant for more expressive songs.
   
  +
* Hatsune Miku Append (''VOCALOID2''), April 30, 2010
−
On the 28 of May 2011, demos of Kaito Append Whisper and Power along with Miku English were [http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm14584548 posted on Nico Nico Douga]. This voicebank was only 40% complete and there is more developement left to do, as noted by a number of native English fans her smoothness was lacking, but improvements had already been made from Luka's voicebank.<ref>[http://www.vocaloidism.com/2011/05/28/kaito-append-and-english-miku-samples-revealed/ link]</ref>
  
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V3]] (''VOCALOID3'', ''VOCALOID NEO'', ''Piapro Studio''), September 26, 2013
  +
* Hatsune Miku V4X (''VOCALOID4'', ''Piapro Studio2''), August 31, 2016
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - Soft
−
==='''US Debut'''===
  
  +
:Designed to be a softer tone version of the "Original" vocal, this vocal is a voice acted result and designed to act very differently from the "Original" vocal. This vocal is designed to make Miku sound gentle and is meant for more expressive songs.
−
<gallery type="slideshow" widths="300" position="right">
  
−
Illu AlvinLee Vocaloid Hatsune Miku-Toyota.jpg|Hatsune Miku illustrated by Alvin Lee - Toyota Corolla mainpage (May)
  
−
Illu_Zain_Vocaloid_Hatsune_Miku-Toyota.jpg|Hatsune Miku illustrated, '''UNKNOWN ARTIST July 25 Notice''' information on Zain is possibly incorrect - Toyota Corolla mainpage (June)
  
−
Illu AlvinLee Vocaloid Hatsune Miku-Toyota-img2.jpg|Hatsune Miku illustrated by Alvin Lee - Toyota Corolla poster (May issue of Koream, Hyphen)
  
−
Hatsune Miku Toyota Corolla poster by zain7.jpg|Hatsune Miku illustrated by zain7- Toyota Corolla poster (June issue of Koream, Hyphen)
  
−
Illu_AlvinLee_Vocaloid_HatsuneMiku-img3.jpg|Hatsune Miku illustrated monochrome by Alvin Lee - Toyota Corolla mainpage
  
−
</gallery>
  
   
  +
* Hatsune Miku Append (''VOCALOID2''), April 30, 2010
−
In May 2011, Toyota used Hatsune Miku for two online adverts to promote the 2011 Toyota Corolla. She is also displayed on the official Toyota page. Toyota had been the ones who had approached Crypton for use of Miku.<ref>[http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2011/07/21/crn-interview-the-creators-of-hatsune-miku link]</ref> On May 7, USAmazon placed a preview of Supercell's hit song "World is Mine" as a single. When the song finally went on sale, it came 7th in the top 10 World singles list on iTunes in its first week of sales.<ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/interest/2011-05-15/supercell/miku-song-in-u.s-itunes-world-top-10] ANN - Supercell/Miku Song in U.S. iTunes' World Top 10</ref> The entry was presented as "The World is Mine Feat. Hatsune Miku". Crypton had to consider who they were aiming the advertisements of Miku at, mostly at the web base and had to check the differences between the nationalities of Japan and the United States. Since Crypton always sold Miku as a virtual ''instrument'' in Japan, they asked their Japanese fanbase if it was acceptable for them to sell her as a virtual ''singer'' to the new market audience.<ref>[http://twitter.com/#!/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/68183188400381952] Tweet - 11 May</ref>
 
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V3]] (''VOCALOID3'', ''VOCALOID NEO'', ''Piapro Studio''), September 26, 2013
  +
* Hatsune Miku V4X (''VOCALOID4'', ''Piapro Studio2''), August 31, 2016
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - Light
−
Miku's Los Angeles concert sold out on the 26th of May 2011. Not only was she the first singer to sell out but this was the only time AX, the company in charge of selling her tickets, had ever sold out. This also caused a huge fan out roar on the AX forums, as usually AX tickets did not sell out and because of the numerous spare tickets it had been possible to enter a concert for free if you turned up 10 minutes before the show. Because there were no tickets left, regulars who had expected to be able to get in for free on the day had not expected to be able to not get into the concert at all.<ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1194058] ANN Forum - AX sells out of Miku concert tickets.</ref> Because demand was so high AX are currently looking to book more seats. Previously, only the first floor seats were booked as those were the seats where viewing the Vocaloid concert's hologram-like visual was most optimal. However, they had been trying to ascertain if the balcony seats would suffice and if more tickets could be sold. <ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/news/2011-06-13/hatsune-miku-anime-expo-concert-books-3500-seats] ANN - Hatsune Miku's Anime Expo Concert Books 3,500 Seats</ref>
  
  +
:Light is a higher pitched vocal with a different tone to "original". Designed to be more operatic and angelic than the "Original" vocal with a light but the bold style of voice-acted vocal.
   
  +
* Hatsune Miku Append (''VOCALOID2''), April 30, 2010
−
{{clr}}
  
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V3 - Light and Vivid|Hatsune Miku V3 Light]] (''VOCALOID3'', ''Piapro Studio''), September 26, 2013
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - Vivid
−
==Usage==
  
  +
:VIVID is a high but strong pitched vocal with a different tone to "original", being lower in pitch than "Light". Designed to be more strong and powerful voice acted vocal.
−
The Vocal Character series were designed to be a set of vocals with particular characteristics about them; her voice allows for manipulation in a variety of ways while maintaining a cute sounding voice as a result of this approach. There was 22,000 original works reported in July 2010 on Karen-T alone, several times more than any other Vocaloid, with songs in just about every genre.
  
   
  +
* Hatsune Miku Append (''VOCALOID2''), April 30, 2010
−
*''Comparison between the Vocaloid and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R-zf7HfuHM voice provider]''
  
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V3 - Light and Vivid|Hatsune Miku V3 Vivid]] (''VOCALOID3'', ''Piapro Studio''), September 26, 2013
−
*''Hatsune Miku has songs in the Nico Nico Douga [[Hall of Fame]]''
  
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - Solid
−
Because she is sold by Crypton, permission is also granted to add her works to [[Karen-T]].
  
  +
:Solid is a voicebank similar to "Original", but with firmer sounds and louder results and is designed for clarity.
   
  +
* Hatsune Miku Append (''VOCALOID2''), April 30, 2010
−
Crypton Future Media have no plans to update their ''Vocaloid 2'' engine Vocaloids to [[Vocaloid3]], however allowance will be given for the converting of these vocals to the newer engine free of charge.<ref>[http://www.vocaloidism.com/2011/06/14/vocaloid3-new-features-and-voicebanks/#more-11905 link]</ref>
  
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V3]] (''VOCALOID3'', ''VOCALOID NEO'', ''Piapro Studio''), September 26, 2013
  +
* Hatsune Miku V4X (''VOCALOID4'', ''Piapro Studio2''), August 31, 2016
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - English
−
===Japanese===
  
  +
:The English version of the Hatsune Miku vocal was also planned for Miku's original V2 vocal, though that project became [[Megurine Luka]] instead. Despite the fact this is the English version, it does not always match the tone of the "Original" voicebank. Results have varied per release due to improvements between versions with consequential versions being very different in tone and pronunciation.
−
Miku's Japanese voicebank is considered one of the easiest voicebanks to use and is the most common voicebank bought by new Japanese users wanting to learn how to use Vocaloid as well as the most used overall. Users who could not use Miku, often did not buy another Vocaloid. Miku has a great amount of help within the Vocaloid fandom to make improve her usage as well as a vast array of different songs made by other ''Vocaloid 2'' users as examples. Some songs have undergone a large amount of voice editing to be able to make Miku fit the genre style she was being used for. Even though she is amongst the easiest to use, Miku is also one of the more dated voicebanks for ''Vocaloid 2'' and is not as smooth as later Vocaloids that followed, being either choppy or slurry on many of her vowel sounds, although she is still held in high standard over several newer Vocaloids released after her despite this.<ref>[http://vocaloidotaku.net/index.php?/topic/17103-japanese-vocaloids-comparative-charts-and-tips/page__pid__363939__st__0&#entry363939] VocaloidOtaku - Japanese Vocaloids Comparative Charts and Tips</ref>
  
   
  +
* Hatsune Miku English (''VOCALOID2''), Unreleased
−
Some users say that Miku, comparatively with other other Vocaloids, has strong attack and marked consonants <!-- Information from the currently deleted Giussepe's tutorial "Miku canta en Español" -->
  
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V3 English]] (''VOCALOID3'', ''VOCALOID NEO'', ''Piapro Studio''), August 31, 2013
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V4 English]] (''VOCALOID4'', ''Piapro Studio2''), August 31, 2016
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - Chinese
−
Hatsune Miku's software may occasionally have an installation error when installed, this is related to her engine version and may show up when installing her over a more updated Vocaloid 2 like Gachapoid or Lily. Help can be found within the fandom on fixing this. This can be fixed very easily, however, if a newer Vocaloid installed after her installation, otherwise re-installation in release order is another solution.
  
  +
:The Chinese version of the Hatsune Miku vocal. Despite the fact this is the Chinese version, it does not always match the tone of the "Original" voicebank.
   
  +
* [[Hatsune Miku V4 Chinese]] (''VOCALOID4'', ''{{IW|piapro-studio|Piapro Studio standalone|Piapro Studio Standalone}}''), August 24, 2017 (Preorder); September 5, 2017 (Estimated release)
−
==='''Append'''===
  
   
  +
;Hatsune Miku - Falsetto
−
The Append voicebanks exist side by side with the original voicebank, giving Miku a total of 7 possible voicebanks to choose from for users with both plug-ins.<br />
  
  +
:A known vocal experimental voicebank related to Miku that has never been released.<ref>https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/420865420938067968</ref>
−
*[http://sekiseblog.blog51.fc2.com/blog-entry-361.html Comparative verification of 7 Append voicebanks]
  
−
*[http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1008/31/news057.html Comparing VY1(β version), Miku Append (Soft), Gumi, Lily]
  
   
  +
{{clr}}
−
The Appends are as follows;
  
−
* MIKU Append SWEET : French Pop, Ballad, Electronica
  
−
* MIKU Append DARK : Ballad, Jazz, Folk, Ambient
  
−
* MIKU Append SOFT : Soft Rock, Ballad, Folk, Ambient
  
−
* MIKU Append LIGHT : Pop, Rock, Dance, Techno Pop
  
−
* MIKU Append VIVID : Pop, Techno Pop, Trad
  
−
* MIKU Append SOLID : Pop, Rock, Dance, Electro
  
   
  +
==Music featuring Hatsune Miku==
−
There is some debate as to if Appends are really needed. While they make it easier to find the right tone for a song, it is possible to recreate similar results to the Append tones without actually buying the software with just the basic voicebank. However, pronunciations between the voicebanks do vary per sample because each Append has its own set of vocal samples. For less experienced or skilled users, the Appends are a useful tool to add tone to a song; for experienced users they act as a method of extending the vocals of one voice even further than it can already go.<ref>[http://vocaloidotaku.net/index.php?/topic/15794-i-cant-believe-its-not-append/] VocaloidOtaku - Feedback please! (Miku Append voicebanks)</ref>
  
  +
{{Music featuring}}
  +
{{/Examples of usage}}
  +
{{external search box |color=hatsune miku |search for=
  +
* {{external search listing|all|Hatsune Miku}}
  +
* {{external search listing|all|初音ミク}}
  +
* {{external search listing|all|初音未来}}
  +
* {{external search listing|all|初音未來}}
  +
}}
   
  +
==Reputation==
−
The Append release also gave older Miku users the chance to update the ''Vocaloid2'' engine to a newer version, as the Append had the latest engine version. Users must also own the original Hatsune Miku voicebank to be able to install and use the Append voicebanks. The Appends themselves were also overall much smoother and of a higher quality than the original voicebank. However, not all of the Append voicebanks share the same pronunciation quality overall as each other with some of the voicebanks being smoother and/or clearer than others.
  
  +
{{Reputation
  +
|GoogleTrends = Hatsune+Miku,初音ミク
  +
|-
  +
|Sales =
  +
The initial sales of Hatsune Miku were so high that Crypton could not keep up with the demand. In the first 12 days of sale, nearly 3,000 sales reservations were made. This was around one sale in 250 in the music software industry, quoted as "an impossible number" by [[Wataru Sasaki]] — the person in charge of the planning and production. Amazon.co.jp stated on September 12, 2007 that they had sales of Hatsune Miku totaling 57,500,001 yen, making her the number one selling software at that time.<ref>[http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0709/12/news035.html IT Media News] - 異例の売れ行き「初音ミク」「ニコ動」で広がる音楽作りのすそ野 (Extraordinary sales for Hatsune Miku as Nico spreads the music)</ref> It was confirmed in her first year alone, Miku sold 40,000+ units, on an average of 300 units per week.<ref>http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0807/23/news046.html</ref> Later reports came that she had sold 60,000+ copies of her software. To add perspective, normally selling 1,000 copies of a synthesizing software was considered good business.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20121114235741/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/virtual-star-to-be-unleashed-on-us-2291713.html (archive)</ref>
   
  +
Miku's Append was not as well received as her original voicebank, though it managed to stay in the top ten products from Crypton Future Media. However, it disappeared from the list entirely from time to time. Despite this, it has been known to have reached the top 3 products on occasion, as well as to knock other CV vocals further down the charts.<ref>http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-date-20120609.html</ref> Miku was ranked as the no.1 VOCALOID™ product they sold, and despite drifting between ranks on their product list, her Append managed to grab 2nd place.<ref>https://blog.sonicwire.com/2010/12/2010-vocaloid-1.html</ref>{{Deadlink}}
−
==='''English'''===
  
−
As she is a Japanese Vocaloid and is not predicated on singing in English as well as any other Japanese only Vocaloids, she does not have voicebanks for English pronunciations. This is why she often has a very strong Japanese accent when she is singing in English. Although it is not impossible to make Miku sing in English but using Japanese pronunciation rules, even an experienced "Japanese to English" user may take many hours to use her for an English song, especially if quality is required. <ref>[http://www.chomkoubou.com/d_doc/vocaloid_ph.html] Chomkoubo - VOCALOID Phoneme List</ref><ref>[http://gihyo.jp/lifestyle/serial/01/vocaloid/0005] OSTER project’s Blog "VOCALOID（初音ミク，鏡音リン・レン）の上手な歌わせ方教えます！"</ref>
  
   
  +
Hatsune Miku V3 English was reported as the top selling "Virtual Instrument" on Big Fish Audio's blog in August 2013.<ref name ="BigfishAug2913">[https://web.archive.org/web/20170613102754/http://blog.bigfishaudio.com/archives/3195 August sales Big Fish] (archive)</ref> In September, it came in 2nd place and went back up to 1st in October.<ref name ="Bigfishsept2013">[https://web.archive.org/web/20170705212123/http://blog.bigfishaudio.com/archives/4157 September sales Big Fish] (archive)</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170618062053/http://blog.bigfishaudio.com/archives/4233 October sales Big Fish] (archive)</ref> The English package continued throughout 2014 to remain in the 10 Top 10 products, though drifted in ranks each month. For example, in August 2014 it was in 10th place, the following month it went up to 6th place.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170615043544/http://blog.bigfishaudio.com/archives/4862 (archive)</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170704060118/http://blog.bigfishaudio.com/archives/4869 (archive)</ref> In addition it also appeared in its top 10 products in 2015, even after the release of [[Megurine Luka V4X]]
−
{{Main|Phoneme List}}
  
−
*Example of her singing in English using her default Japanese voicebank
  
−
:[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HATpOha7DFg Youtube -] [Hatsune Miku English] Heaven Is A Place On Earth / Belinda Carlisle
  
   
  +
Hatsune Miku V3 was reported to have over saturated Yamaha's servers with requests for activation upon release.<ref><s>http://www.vocaloid.cl/2013/09/usuarios-sobrecargan-servidores-de-yamaha/</s> {{Deadlink}}</ref> In October 2013, [[Hatsune Miku V3]] and its bundle package disrupted the Crypton Future Media product charts, taking both the 1st and 2nd place spots between them. Other VOCALOID products sold by Cryton Future Media ended up being misplaced from their normal ranking spots. This was the first time the VOCALOID products had been impacted drastically since their charts began.<ref name="Lukadisappear">http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-entry-17165.html</ref>
−
The English voicebank will add a 8th voicebank to her list of possible voicebanks. According to the official reports from Crypton Future Media, her voice will be "cute". The extent of the English capabilities are largely unknown. The English voicebank for Miku is aiming to be of a good standard, since she is being aimed at a wider consumer market, though it is unknown if she will have better pronunciations than Luka who had previously not been aimed at a more global release. There are currently no plans for a English version of the Appends, however, Crypton reported they are considering it for the future.
  
   
  +
On October 15th, Wat reported that there were 10,000+ orders of the Hatsune Miku V3 package on backlog.<ref name="Mikubacklog">[https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/390338458956206081 Twitter: Backlog of Miku orders]</ref>
−
Even though the early demo song "Let it be" had still much room for improvements at the time of its release, unlike Luka her lyrics were clear to hear and understand. A vast improvement in clarity from Luka had been noted and the vocals were much stronger in comparison, lacking the quietness related issues that plagued Luka's two voicebanks, especially the English one. A slight change of tone is present in Miku's voicebank and she sounds more vivid than her Japanese version.
  
   
  +
For most of 2014, Hatsune Miku's V3 and Hatsune Miku V3 complete packages held the 1st and 2nd spot of the product rankings. Even after the release of [[MEIKO V3]], the two packages soon retook their positions and MEIKO V3 managed to only hold the top spot for a month and a half.
−
==Reception==
  
−
{{Vocaloid Reception}}
  
   
  +
In both 2014 and 2015, a number of Miku products took the top 10 sales rankings of VOCALOID packages sold on Crypton's Sonicwire download store. In 2014, the Hatsune Miku English package held 7th place, while the Hatsune Miku V3 package held 2nd and the English bundle version 1st.<ref name="sonicwire-2015-4">http://blog.sonicwire.com/2015/12/sonicwire-2015-4.html</ref> In 2015, Hatsune Miku V3 "Light" held the 10th position, the English vocal 8th, the Hatsune Miku V3 English bundle held 3rd and the Hastune Miku V3 package itself held 2nd position.<ref name="sonicwire-2015-4"/>
−
Miku has remained the fan favourite amongst the Japanese fandom, having the strongest following and usage even after the release of much better Vocaloids for her era. Her popularity was so high that when GazettE’s Aoi made a negative comment on her through twitter, he was imediately met with outraged fans and was forced to retract some of his comments after trying out the software for himself. Indeed most of the more popular songs for Vocaloid are sung by Miku and she has more hit songs on Nico Nico Douga than any other Vocaloid. Merchandise of Miku is plenty and often sells well due to her popularity. As she is the most popular Vocaloid and the most commonly used, she is the most assoicated with the software and is regarded as the first true "Vocaloid Diva Star".
 
   
  +
However, not everything produced for Miku was highly successful. Aside from the original Hatsune Miku tone of voice, her "Dark" tone voicebank, Miku's vocals have had far less popularity with "Vivid" and "Light" being later dropped in her V4X release altogether. The voice itself had become become a "standard" vocal for the engine by her V4X release, with Miku becoming "The VOCALOID".<ref name = "Japanese blogger">http://km4osm.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-151.html</ref> The total sales of [[Hatsune Miku V4X]] for the bundled version with [[Hatsune Miku V4 English]] and [[Megurine Luka V4X]] in 2019 was x2.5. The bundle claimed 1st place while Megurine Luka V4X held 3rd place.<ref name="sonicwire-2018">https://blog.sonicwire.com/2018/12/sonicwire-2018-vocaloid.html</ref>
−
In the western fandom, Miku remains mostly the most popular Vocaloid amongst western anime fans, only beaten in overall terms of popularity if one combines the fan following of both Kagamine vocals together. She is also responsible for introducing many to the Vocaloid craze. However, within western Vocaloid communities, she may not have the same fan following due to the varied tastes of the Vocaloid fans present. The more negative comments of non-vocaloid fans are that she "sounds like a [[wikipedia:Alvin and the Chipmunks|chipmunk]]", in the Vocaloid fandoms this is also added with other comments that note that Miku is so popular that she often overshadows the other Vocaloids, even higher quality Vocaloids like [[VY1]]. Some also go so far as to label her as "Crypton's cash cow" for the amount of attention that is given to her even against other Crypton Vocaloids. In more positive notes, Miku is praised for bringing Vocaloid to the attention of the masses, for the amount of songs she offers and the varity of usage within the fandom with many Vocaloid fans admitting that they have many of her more popular songs in their MP3 collections. Also, the fans have defended Miku from time to time.<ref>[http://www.vocaloid-creativity.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50:french-tv-show-insults-miku link]</ref>
  
   
  +
<gallery position=center hideaddbutton=true>
−
===Append===
  
  +
Productlist.png|Crypton's top ten list showing Miku at the top: taken 12/10/2011
−
Miku's Append was not as well received as her original voicebank, although despite the inital negativity it has been considered an improvement overall. While Miku's original box mascot design was cute and innocent, the Append was not. The strip of material that made up her tie was noted to be able to come loose to float (as seen in the box art), leaving bare skin that went all the way down to the groin area, this was considered far too sexualized/perverted. The design was awkward and regather strange with parts that made little sense to some as to why they existed on the design, others hated the design overall. Some users argued if there was a point in the existence of the Appends when it was possible to mimick the same tones with editing. In the Japanese fandom some were reported to not accept Miku and the Append as one and the same character. Even though a number of producers bought the Append, very few original songs have been made with it with some producers admitting that they don't use the Append voicebanks because to them they do not sound like Miku anymore.
  
  +
10thplace.png|Crypton's top ten list 12/10/2011, showing the Miku Append in 6th place
  +
Rankings august2014.png|Hatsune Miku's packages holding the 1st and 2nd spot in August, 2014
  +
</gallery>
   
  +
{{clr}}
−
In the Western Vocaloid fandoms, some saw the introduction of the Append as a method of exploiting the Vocaloids Crypton already had, rather then focusing on new Vocaloids with better vocals. However, some also noted that it was now possible to easily find the right tone of voice for a song using Miku's Appends and the Appends to a degree improved many of Miku's songs. The downside was that users now expected the same song to appear in 7 different versions; a concept that annoyed and bored users to various degrees. Another report from fans in the Western fandom, is that due to the popularity of some of the Appends over others, there is a high demand for voicebanks like Miku Append Dark, to the point those who accept requests have noted that they are asked constantly for songs in that voicebank. The over popularity of one or two voicebanks results in much fewer songs for the less popular ones, despite the fact they may be suited better for certain styles of songs. Even with the negativity, some Vocaloid fans have expressed desiring other Vocaloids with append-like additions on top of their original vocals.
  
  +
|-
  +
|Reaction =
  +
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 today. Soon after its release, users of Nico Nico Douga started posting videos with songs created using the software. According to Crypton, a popular video with a comically-altered Miku holding a spring/Welsh onion, singing Ievan Polkka, presented multifarious possibilities of using the software in multimedia content creation. Miku gained her first 1,000,000+ song on 15th October 2007 with the song [[みくみくにしてあげる♪ (Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru♪)]], in addition it also became the first VOCALOID song to reach 1,000,000 views. It achieved 1,000,000+ views in less than 26 days.<ref>http://dic.nicovideo.jp/a/vocaloid伝説入り#2007</ref>
   
  +
Miku has remained the fan favorite among the Japanese fandom, having the strongest following and usage even after the release of much better ''VOCALOID2'' vocals. Her popularity was so high that when GazettE’s Aoi made a negative comment about her through twitter, he was immediately met with outraged fans and was forced to retract some of his statements after trying out the software for himself.<ref>https://www.tokyohive.com/article/2010/11/the-gazettes-aoi-stirs-up-debate-about-vocaloid-artists-through-controversial-tweets/</ref> Indeed, most of the more popular songs of VOCALOID are sung by Miku, having more hit songs on Nico Nico Douga than any other VOCALOID vocal.
−
==Trivia==
  
−
*[http://soundhorizon.com Sound Horizon], a popular band that uses music to tell stories, used Miku Hatsune in their third single "Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido" and its corresponding album, "Marchen". Saki Fujita, the seiyuu that provided her voice, also does narrations.
  
   
  +
It was stated in 2013, that videos tagged with Miku's name reached between 1,000 and 1,500 videos each month. This was by far the most videos of any VOCALOID on Nico nico Douga.<ref>[http://ch.nicovideo.jp/kadotanimitsuru/blomaga/ar428894 Popularity charts 2013]</ref>
−
*In Sega's game "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcFxLhdACL0 Vocaloid Project Diva: Dreamy Theater]", for the Playstation 3, Miku Hatsune can gain access to a costume based off Sega's very own [http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Ulala Ulala] from Space Channel 5, an older dancing game from Sega. She gains Ulala's trademark white Space Channel 5 Uniform, and her hair and eyes change to Ulala's hair and eye colors. In addition, her outfit and trademark negi make an appearance as obtainable and equippable items in Sega's RPG series Phantasy Star Zero, Phantasy Star Portable 2 and it's update Phantasy Star Portable 2: Infinity contains the same items and more, as well as items for Crypton's other Vocaloids.
  
   
  +
According to [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=Hatsune%20Miku,初音ミク google trends], Miku has had fairly stable popularity since April 2008. While interest in her under the name of "初音ミク" has fallen dramatically, increase of her as "Hatsune Miku" has risen, likely due to the increase interest overseas. Oddly, despite the reported amount of registrations for Miku in the month of her release, Miku has lost much of her stable popularity using the name "初音ミク".
−
*Miku is often mistaken as the very first Vocaloid ever produced by those new or unfamiliar to the software's history, or the first ''Vocaloid 2'' released. While she was the first Vocaloid 2 to be released for the Japanese market, it was PowerFX's [[Sweet Ann]] who claimed the place as the first ''Vocaloid 2'' to be released, she was released 2 months prior to Miku. When Miku became more known in 2010, the media also incorrectly labelled her as this as well. On more than one occasion Crypton Future Media have labelled her as the first, though this is likely an error as they usually introduce her as "the first of the character vocal series".
 
   
  +
Despite her popularity as a VOCALOID vocal, both Hatsune Miku and VOCALOID itself were both reportedly struggling to make an impact in the west by December 2015. Though SEGA had imported games like [[Project Diva X]] into the west, the target audience was still considered a "niche audience".<ref>https://kotaku.com/youtube-copyright-nonsense-hitting-yet-another-communit-1745318795</ref>
−
*Miku also made a cameo appearance in a Weekly Jump strip.<ref>[http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-date-20110228.html] Vocaloid Blog - 日本のミュージシャンを紹介するブラジルの番組に「初音ミク」もいる件</ref>
  
   
  +
One area Miku struggled in to maintain her reputation was the initial release of her Append. Some complaints stated it "no longer sounded like Miku was the one singing" for a few voicebanks. There was a divided opinion on the Appends at the time of their release, with some producers refusing to purchase it and fans boycotting songs with usage of the vocals. Videos also did not always label "Append" for much the same reasons. This was a minor setback that did not last long, as the number of VOCALOIDs with multiple voicebanks grew greatly in VOCALOID3. By VOCALOID4 it was common for multi-voicebank releases to see sales due to the introduction of the VOCALOID4 exclusive [[XSY]]. In addition, the updated Miku Append vocals were included with the main vocals of [[Hatsune Miku V3]], and [[Hatsune Miku V4X]] with the exceptions of "Light" and "Vivid", which were released individually as download-only vocals for Hatsune Miku V3 after the package's release.
−
*Since the trial version had enough vocal capabilities to function as a normal Vocaloid, hackers were reported to have found out how to turned off the limit of 30 days for her 30 day trial versions.<!--This was not a general public release -->
  
   
  +
There is no doubt that Miku overall is the most popular of the Crypton Future Media VOCALOID vocals, as the gap between her popularity and all other VOCALOID vocals is much extremely large currently, and has been since 2008.
−
*Like the English use, creative usage of Miku can result in another language, Indonesian is one of them, it is known that Miku has sang the national anthem of Indonesia, "Indonesia Raya"
  
   
  +
In 2017, she was reported as the most popular cosplay character, while the song "[[Miku/Anamanaguchi|Miku]]" also made it into the book for most viewed original {{Wp|Chiptune}} song on YouTube, putting her in the Guinness World Records twice.<ref>http://km4osm.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-374.html</ref>
−
*The thin squares around her pigtails are futuristic ribbons made of a special material that float in place. As seen in Kei's art for Miku, they are able to hold Miku's pigtails in place without having to physically touch the hair itself. The ribbons are also reported by Kei to be the hardest item on the character's design for cosplayers to recreate.<!-- trying to find the source on this, sorry -->
  
   
  +
However, reactions towards her have not always been good.
−
*Since 2010, Miku has won the classification of "[[wikipedia:Japanese idol|Virtual Diva]]" and has become a pop star in her own right. However, some reports mislabel her as "the first virtual star" when other "virtual stars" have been released prior to her existence as early as the mid-1990s, although these "stars" never rose to the level of popularity Miku has reached.
  
   
  +
Her strong association with VOCALOID has lead to the view she must be included in all things related to VOCALOID. This view itself has led to criticism. For example, critics at the [[VOCALOID:AI]] performance made notes towards and against Hatsune Miku. For a brief moment she appeared on screen during explanation on the technology. The criticism was related to the fact she had nothing to do with the VOCALOID technology demo. This performance was in regards to a beloved real-life singer, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibari_Misora#124 Hibari Misora], and that Miku was a fictitious singer fans did not come to see and did not like. The general criticism was fans were there for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibari_Misora#124 Hibari Misora's] render of voice and image. Miku's inclusion felt out of place and included for the sake of inclusion because VOCALOID was mentioned.<ref>http://www.mikumiku2ch.jp/article/470582074.html</ref>
−
*Miku is also not the first Vocaloid to debut in America as Zero-G's Vocaloids were already on sale before her.
  
   
  +
Criticisms towards Miku have been known to be met with harsh fan reactions, especially in Japan. GazettE's Aoi stirred up a debate in 2010 about the legitimacy of Hatsune Miku and VOCALOID music in general. He went onto explain it was crazy to think people thought of machines being equal to actual singers. This caused a backlash from VOCALOID fans. Despite deleting the tweet wherein he criticized VOCALOID and Hatsune Miku, he was told it was too late, for fans would react. He noted that he considered the synthesizers as no different to that of a Drum kit sample set, he defended his previous tweet by noting people will have different expressions toward it.<ref>https://www.tokyohive.com/article/2010/11/the-gazettes-aoi-stirs-up-debate-about-vocaloid-artists-through-controversial-tweets/</ref>
−
*The singer [[wikipedia:Kerli|Kerli]] has made several references to Miku in her videos. In the most direct reference, Miku's music was used as the background music in a video for the making of a prop for [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh7TK6FmrnE one of her videos]. In "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY58uPtAM68 Tea Party]", a twin pigtailed doll is seen. In "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhgvWLs2rsM Army of Love]", a microphone is used by the singer, a reference to "Love is War". In 2011, the singer also dyed her hair the same color as Miku's hair and even wore it in long pigtails.
  
  +
|-
  +
|Trivia =
  +
*Because she is the first VOCALOID vocal many got to know and the first to draw a large amount of attention, there are a number of common misconceptions about her:
  +
**Miku is often mistaken as the very first vocal released for VOCALOID by those new or unfamiliar with the software's history, or the first ''VOCALOID2'' released.
  +
***While she was the first VOCALOID2 to be released for the Japanese market, it was PowerFX's [[Sweet ANN]] who claimed the place as the first ''VOCALOID2'', released 2 months prior to Miku.
  +
***When Miku became more well-known in 2010, the media also followed this misconception. On more than one occasion Crypton Future Media have labelled her as the ''first'', though this is likely an error as they usually introduce her as "the first of the character vocal series".
  +
***However, Miku was the first VOCALOID vocal developed specifically for ''VOCALOID2'' as Sweet ANN, codenamed "JODIE" was originally developed for the ''VOCALOID'' engine, not ''VOCALOID2''.
  +
**Since 2010, Miku has won the classification of "{{wp|Japanese idol|Virtual Diva}}" and has become a pop star in her own right. However, some reports mislabel her as "the first virtual star" when other "virtual stars" have been released prior to her existence as early as the mid-1990s, although these "stars" never rose to the level of popularity Miku has reached.<ref>http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1229-a-brief-history-of-virtual-pop-stars/</ref> An example of a group of virtual singers from 2002 would be the [[wikipedia:VBirds|VBirds]].
  +
**Miku is also not the first VOCALOID vocal to debut in America, as Zero-G's VOCALOIDs were already on sale prior to her arrival. However, all previous VOCALOID vocals failed to make an impact in the US.
  +
**Miku is also not the first ''VOCALOID2'' to have an avatar; the first was Sweet ANN, who was based on a "Bride of Frankenstein" theme. However, Miku was the first to have a profile that expanded on the concept of an avatar. LEON and LOLA did not feature a character on their boxart, MIRIAM had a blurred photo of Miriam Stockley, and though KAITO and MEIKO had characters on their boxart, they were not originally meant to represent their vocals.
  +
**She was also not the first to feature in a concert; MIRIAM was the first, in 2004. However, Miku was the first to actually be featured "live" in the concert whereas MIRIAM's concert featured just her vocal.
  +
**It is also very common to see her listed as the "3rd Crypton Future Media" VOCALOID vocal. However, like the previous examples this is also an error. She was their first VOCALOID, with many not realizing MEIKO and KAITO were originally developed by YAMAHA and merely sold by Crypton Future Media.
  +
*[http://soundhorizon.com Sound Horizon], a popular band that uses music to tell stories, used Hatsune Miku in their third single "Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido" and its corresponding album, "Marchen". Saki Fujita, Miku's voice actor, also does narrations.
  +
*With a total of 15 voicebanks released, Miku has the third highest number of vocals developed for the VOCALOID™ engine, second being [[GUMI]].
  +
*When taking into account other engine releases, Miku has the third highest number of voicebanks released for a commercial vocal-synthesizer product, with a total of 18. GUMI has the second highest with 24 voicebanks, and [[Shiki Rowen]] has the highest with 32.
  +
|-
  +
|Impact =
  +
Hatsune Miku's popularity had a major impact on the development of other Crypton Future Media voicebanks. Due to the huge market for her voicebank and character image, Crypton have sometimes been overwhelmed by demand. This caused delays to other ''VOCALOID2'' projects, including the release of an additional character, CV04. How much impact her popularity has had on other VOCALOID™ voicebanks is unknown, but Crypton Future Media has many delayed voicebanks that were originally set for a ''VOCALOID2'' release.
   
  +
[[Project If...]] was largely impacted also by Hatsune Miku's popularity, even in the early planning stages. Wat also felt this was a nightmare and that the relationship between VOCALOID and humans had gone wrong.<ref>https://twitter.com/project_if_cfm/status/7506315468</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/project_if_cfm</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/project_if_cfm/status/7401025579</ref>
−
*Miku's popularity has expanded enough to have her appearance make cameos in various anime and manga, such as in [[wikipedia:Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei|Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei]], Miku is seen in the auditions of the role of Meru Meru.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPUvTDPA3mI] YouTube - 俗・さよなら絶望先生13話に初音ミク出演 (Miku appeared Zoku Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei 13)</ref> In the OVA of [[Wikipedia:Lucky_Star_(manga)|Lucky Star]], Hiiragi Kagami is forced to cosplay as Miku by the power of Konata's wand. <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk39WPXV3p0] YouTube - Hatsune Miku in Lucky Star </ref>.She and Rin are in a choir featured in Maria†Holic episode 12. <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fh1r-jlefA] YouTube - Miku Hatsune & Rin Kagamine en Maria†Holic</ref> Miku is also seen episode 11 of the anime Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu, in the B class. <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AB8dCLG4zY] YouTube - Miku Hatsune in Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu</ref>. A recolored Miku is also seen in episode 9 of MM! at the school festival holding a stick in the shape of a leek.
  
   
  +
Her design has also influenced the VOCALOID™ mascot designs of other companies, creating [[Miku formula|common design influence]] that divides fans opinions on character design. Her design has also spawned many producer based [[derivative]]s. She is the most common VOCALOID™ vocal to receive derivatives due to the popularity of her voicebank and heavy promotions by Crypton Future Media.
−
*Due to her iconic long twintails, her close physical similarities and her specialization of music, [[w:c:leagueoflegends:Sona_the_Maven_of_the_Strings|Sona]] from [[w:c:League of Legends|League of Legends]] is seen as a tribute to Hatsune Miku. This is not the only time the game made tribute characters; [[w:c:leagueoflegends:Lux|Lux]] was also seen as a tribute to Touhou heroine Marisa Kirisame, down to her magical abilities and even catchphrase.
  
   
  +
Because of Miku's success, Crypton Future Media were able to open up services to allow more support for their VOCALOID vocals, including websites such as Piapro and [[KARENT]], concerts, and an expanded range of merchandise. This expansion into merchandise included collaborations with various notable brands, such as kaomoji.co, a Dutch anime streetwear brand, for Hatsune Miku-themed apparel;<ref>[https://www.kaomoji.co/collections/kaomoji-x-hatsune-miku kaomoji.co - kaomoji x Hatsune Miku collection]</ref> SuperGroupies for a fashion line including watches and bags;<ref>https://twitter.com/SuperGroupiesUS/status/1699261374269120600</ref> the Hatsune Miku x Pusheen collection featuring unique merchandise and LINE stickers;<ref>[https://pusheen.com/hatsune-miku-x-pusheen-collaboration-announced/ Hatsune Miku x Pusheen collaboration announcement]</ref> and a memorable campaign with Domino's Pizza,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140714114825/http://miku.dominos.jp/ Domino's App feat. 初音ミク 特設サイト] (defunct, archived)</ref><ref>[https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/03/06/hatsune-miku-helps-you-order-dominos-pizza-with-new-app CrunchyRoll - Hatsune Miku Helps You Order Domino's Pizza with New App]</ref> highlighting Miku's diverse appeal across different sectors. By 2009, Miku was being referred to as VOCALOID™'s first 'Diva'. In 2010, Crypton Future Media produced a ranking of the VOCALOID vocals they sold on their website; since then, Miku has consistently led or been close to leading.
−
==Notable for...==
  
−
*First Japanese ''Vocaloid 2'' to be released
  
−
*First of Crypton Future Media's Character Vocal series
  
−
*First specialised vocal of ''Vocaloid 2''
  
−
*Most merchandise to date
  
−
*Most songs created to date
  
−
*First Vocaloid to have a "true" avatar given
  
−
*First Vocaloid to have a bio
  
−
*First Vocaloid to earn the status of "Diva"
  
−
*First Vocaloid to be Appended
  
−
*Holds the highest sales figures of all Vocaloids
  
−
*Highest amount of pre-orders of a software synthesizer
 
−
*Most common/popular Vocaloid
  
−
*One of 3 voicebanks used by the robot HRP-4C
  
−
*A number of the Internet Memes linked to Vocaloid
  
   
  +
In 2014, an increase of 19.2% on the sale of VOCALOID related goods (equal to ¥8,700,000,000 or $73,800,000) was mostly credited to Hatsune Miku V3's release.<ref>https://soranews24.com/2014/12/11/state-of-the-otaku-union-survey-reveals-vocaloids-up-adult-games-down-in-2014/</ref>
−
==Gallery==
  
  +
|-
−
{{Gallery Notice}}
  
  +
|Misc =
  +
In 2012, a poll was held for the London Olympic Games 2012 which asked people which singer or group they would like to see at the Olympics. Miku reached the no.1 spot, beating famous singers such as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. The poll was not official and was done simply for popularity reasons.<ref>http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-date-20120123.html</ref>
   
  +
An independent search on Nico Nico Douga revealed that most VOCALOID vocals had less than 1,000 videos uploaded on Nico Nico Douga between July 1 and December 15, 2011. Miku, however, had managed to gain 9,904 uploads to the site during this period, making her number one in video submissions for VOCALOID related videos. She also had the highest number of total views during this period with 23,847,081 views and 1,943,303 mylists. However, Miku was put in 3rd place on average number of views per video with 2407.82 views per video (and 196.21 mylists). However, a comment led by the report noted that due to the popularity of the most famous producers, it was much harder to assess. When the mean number was conducted, which was a more accurate report of the VOCALOIDs during this period, Miku did not make it into the top 6 VOCALOID vocals despite having consistent no.1s throughout this period.<ref>https://www.vocaloidism.com/2012/01/04/the-harsh-realities-of-vocaloid-on-nico/</ref>
−
{{Gallery|width=120|height=160|position=center|captionsize=0.9em
  
  +
−
|Ofclboxart cfm Hatsune Miku-illu.jpg|Hatsune Miku's first boxart illustration
  
  +
In 2014, a poll was run to find the top things that made people think of "Cool Japan". 1000 people took part in the vote. In the poll, Miku came 8th, gaining 35.8% of all votes (total 358 voters).<ref>http://39mikustream.blogspot.jp/2014/02/8.html</ref>
−
|Ofclboxart cfm Hatsune Miku Append-illu.png|Hatsune Miku's Append boxart illustration
  
  +
−
|illu KEI Vocaloid Hatsune Miku-img2.jpg|Hatsune Miku (concept) illustration by KEI - artbook VOCALOIDs Unofficial (pg 17-18)
  
  +
A poll released in 2015 showed that Miku was the most popular VOCALOID vocal in 2014 on Nico Video, maintaining a popularity between 3 and 4 times greater than her closest rival, [[GUMI]].<ref>https://ch.nicovideo.jp/kadotanimitsuru/blomaga/ar699704</ref>
−
|illu KEI Vocaloid Hatsune Miku-img3.jpg|Standard Miku illustrated by KEI
  
  +
|-
−
|illu KEI Vocaloid Hatsune Miku-img4.jpg|Chibi type Miku illustrated by KEI
  
  +
|Achievements =
−
|Project_Diva_Append.jpg|Miku Append as appear in Project Diva
  
  +
* First Japanese ''VOCALOID2'' to be released
−
|MMDmodel HatsuneMiku_Animasa2.jpg|MMD model by Animasa
  
  +
* First of Crypton Future Media's Character Vocal series
−
|MMDmodel_HatsuneMiku_Soro&Animasa.png|MMD Append model by Soro
  
  +
* First VOCALOID vocal to be developed by Crypton Future Media
−
|MMDmodel_HatsuneMiku_Lat.jpg|MMD model by Lat, a popular model served as the base in the Studio DEEN and GWave PV
  
  +
* First specialized vocal of ''VOCALOID2''
−
|MMDmodel_Project_Diva_Miku.jpg|MMD model based in Project Diva Miku
  
  +
* First VOCALOID vocal to have a "true" avatar given
−
|illu_KEI_Vocaloid_Hatsune_Miku-mixcover.jpg|Cover of the unofficial manga Hatsune Mix
  
  +
* First VOCALOID vocal to have a bio
−
|illu Vocaloid Hatsune Miku Append-DTM.png|DTM magazine - Miku Append
  
  +
* Highest amount of pre-orders of a software synthesizer
−
|Photo Playboy Vocaloid Hatsune Miku.jpg|Miku's photoshoot from ''Weekly Playboy'' magazine Japan
  
  +
* Holds the highest sales figures of all VOCALOID vocals
−
|Photo_HRP-4C_Miku.jpg|HRP-4C as Miku
  
  +
* First VOCALOID vocal to earn the status of "Diva"
−
|SZS cameo Miku1.jpg|Hatsune Miku in Zoku Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei episode 13
  
  +
* Most awarded VOCALOID vocal software released
−
|BTTTS_cameo_Miku.jpg|Hatsune Miku in Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu episode 11, in the B class
  
  +
* First VOCALOID vocal to receive an ''Append''
  +
* Most common/popular VOCALOID vocal
  +
* Most songs created to date
  +
* Most merchandise to date
  +
* First VOCALOID vocal to have a video game
  +
* First VOCALOID vocal to be on stage
  +
* One of 3 voicebanks used by the robot {{wp|HRP-4C}}
  +
* First to have a song with a million views
  +
* First and only ''VOCALOID2'' by Crypton to be updated to ''VOCALOID3''
  +
* First Chinese vocal from Crypton Future Media
  +
* First non-native Chinese VOCALOID vocal
  +
* First Japanese VOCALOID vocal to have a Chinese voicebank
  +
* First Trilingual VOCALOID vocal (Japanese, English, Chinese)
  +
* First VOCALOID vocal to perform at Coachella.
  +
|-
  +
|color = hatsune miku
 
}}
  
}}
   
−
==See also==
 +
==References==
  +
{{scroll box|content=<references/>}}
−
*[[Fanmade_Vocaloids|Fanmade Vocaloids based from Miku Hatsune]]
  
   
  +
==External links==
  +
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:11px; width:100%;"
  +
!Language!!Description!!Site
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Crypton Future Media Inc.|official homepage|http://ec.crypton.co.jp/}}
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|VOCALOID2 Hatsune Miku|product page for CV01|https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid/cv01}}
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Miku Append|product page for CV01a|https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid/cv01a}}
  +
{{Website cell row|English|Hatsune Miku V3 English|product page for MV3e {{Deadlink}}|http://piapro.net/vocaloid/mikuv3e.html }}
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Hatsune Miku V3|product page for MV3|https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid/mikuv3}}
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Hatsune Miku V3|product page for MV3 Bundle|https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid/mikuv3_bundle}}
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Hatsune Miku V4|product page for MV4X|https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid/mikuv4x}}
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Hatsune Miku V4 English|product page for MV4e|https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid/mikuv4e}}
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Hatsune Miku V4|product page for MV4X Bundle|https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid/mikuv4xb}}
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Hatsune Miku V4 Chinese|product page for MV4c|https://ec.crypton.co.jp/product/detail/39830}}
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese/English|Hatsune Miku|The official Facebook page for VOCALOID Hatsune Miku|http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hatsune-Miku/10150149727825637}}
  +
{{Website cell row|Global|HatsuneMiku |The official YouTube channel for VOCALOID Hatsune Miku|https://www.youtube.com/user/HatsuneMiku}}
   
  +
{{Website cell row|English|deviantArt|, art and media community|http://www.deviantart.com/browse/all/?order&#61;9&q&#61;Vocaloid+Hatsune+Miku}}
−
== External links ==
  
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Pixiv|, art and media community|http://www.pixiv.net/search.php?s_mode&#61;s_tag&word&#61;初音ミク}}
−
* Hatsune Miku fanart [http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=hatsune DeviantArt] / [http://www.pixiv.net/search.php?s_mode=s_tag&word=hatsune Pixiv] [http://www.pixiv.net/search.php?s_mode=s_tag&word=初音ミク Pixiv2] / [http://piapro.jp/content_list/?view=image&class_id=1&keyword=hatsune Piapro] [http://piapro.jp/content_list/?view=image&class_id=1&keyword=%8F%89%89%B9%83%7E%83N&x=15&y=11 Piapro2]
  
  +
{{Website cell row|Japanese|Piapro|, art and media community|https://piapro.jp/#61;image&keyword&#61;初音ミク}}
−
*[http://www.crypton.co.jp/download/pdf/info_miku_e.pdf About Miku Hatsune (English)]
  
  +
|}
−
*[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hatsune-Miku/10150149727825637 Facebook (English)]
  
−
*'''MMD model'''
  
−
''links and passwords are provided publicly by model producer(s), within video summaries''
  
−
:[http://cdn.3dcustom.net/MMDuploader/all.html 3dcustom.net (Soro) -] ([http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm11511540 sm11511540]) 【モデル】初音ミクアペンドのモデルです。(MMD00114/pass=mmd)
 
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:[http://loda.jp/lat/?id=13 Loda.jp (Lat) -] ([http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm11205201 sm11205201]) Lat式ミクVer
  
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:[http://bytatsu.net/uploader/mikumikudance/all.html bytatsu.net (Mamama) -] ([http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm9387058 sm9387058]) DIVAっぽいミクさんです。ver.1.01(up1313/pass=3939)
  
   
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==References==
 +
==Navigation==
  +
{{Crypton Future Media, Inc. navbox}}{{Vocaloid Software navbox}}
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{{scroll box
  
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{{Interlang|de=Hatsune Miku|es=Hatsune Miku|fr=Hatsune Miku|it=Hatsune Miku|pl=Hatsune Miku|ru=Hatsune Miku|vi=Hatsune Miku}}
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|content=
  
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[[Category:Hatsune Miku]]
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<references/>
  
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[[Category:Crypton Future Media, Inc.]]
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}}
  
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[[Category:SEGA]]
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{{Wikipedia|Vocaloid}}
  
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[[Category:E-capsule Co. Ltd]]
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{{Nav Vocaloid}}
  
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[[Category:Vocaloid]]
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[[Category:Big Fish Audio, Inc.]]
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[[Category:Vocaloid2]]
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[[Category:VOCALOID]]
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[[Category:Vocaloid Append]]
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[[Category:VOCALOID2]]
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[[Category:VOCALOID3]]
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[[Category:VOCALOID4]]
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[[Category:VOCALOID NEO]]
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[[Category:Character Vocal Series]]
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[[Category:Feminine vocals]]
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[[Category:Multilingual vocals]]
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[[Category:Japanese vocals]]
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[[Category:English vocals]]
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[[Category:Chinese vocals]]
  +
[[Category:VOCALOIDs with updated voicebanks]]

Latest revision as of 12:00, 13 April 2024

"Miku" redirects here. For other uses, see Miku (disambiguation).

Hatsune Miku VOCALOID2 Append English VOCALOID3 Light Vivid eVocaloid VOCALOID4 V4 English V4 Chinese | Piapro Studio | Songs Albums Notable Originals

Hatsune Miku (初音ミク), codenamed CV01, was the first Japanese VOCALOID to be both developed and distributed by Crypton Future Media, Inc.. She was initially released in August 2007 for the VOCALOID2 engine and was the first member of the Character Vocal Series. She was the seventh VOCALOID overall, as well as the second VOCALOID2 vocal released to be released for the engine. Her voice is provided by the Japanese voice actress Saki Fujita (藤田咲, Fujita Saki).[2][3]

There have since been numerous installments, such as additional voice libraries dubbed 'Append', as well as an upgrade for the VOCALOID3 engine, which contained an English vocal release. She received a VOCALOID4 update to her Japanese and English voicebanks in August 2016, as well as a Mandarin Chinese voicebank in September 2017.

On August 31, 2019, Miku received her first voicebank outside of VOCALOID, that being Piapro Studio with her NT release. While Crypton is focusing on their own program, they are still in collaboration with YAMAHA and will continue to sell VOCALOID products in parallel to the Piapro Studio editions.[4][5][6]

Concept

Crypton had the idea to release Miku as "an android diva in the near-future world where songs are lost."[7][8]

Etymology

The name was chosen by combining hatsu (初, "first"), ne (音, "sound"), and Miku (未来, a personal name that shares its spelling with the word for "future"). It thus means "the first sound from the future." Her name was based on her concept of that when a sound is first spoken.[9]

Her codename of "CV01" means "Character Voice 01".

Her name in Chinese is "Chūyīn Wèilái" (Simplified Chinese: 初音未来; Traditional Chinese: 初音未來).

Appearance

After an internet meme involving Hachune Miku, Miku was associated with a spring onion (often mistaken for a leek due to the similar appearance). This, along with KAITO's association with ice cream, started a discussion called "the Item War" within the VOCALOID fandom, where it became traditional for new VOCALOIDs to have an item assigned to them and the items were debated upon until one stuck via an Internet Meme. This occurrence has since died out.

When KEI illustrated Miku, he was given a color scheme to work with (based on the YAMAHA synthesizers' signature blue-green colour) and was asked to draw Miku as an android. Crypton also provided KEI with Miku's detailed concepts, however, Crypton said it was not easy to explain what a "Vocaloid" was to him. KEI said he could not create an image of a "singing computer" at first, as he did not even know what a "synthesizer" was. It took him more than a month to complete the commission.[10]

Miku was originally intended to have a different hairstyle, but after trying out pigtails, KEI thought they were more suitable. Her pigtails have since become an iconic part of her design. On June 22, 2012, Hatsune Miku's twin tails even earned her the title of the Twin Tail which best represented the 2000s, marking her the best set of Twin Tails from the dawn of the 21st century. She now shares her twin tail distinction with other characters like Sailor Moon (who won best Twin Tails back in the 90s period).[11]

The digital design on Miku's skirt and boots are based on synthesizer program colours, and the bars represent actual bars within the program, following Crypton's ideas. Part of her design is based on some of YAMAHA's keyboard models, particularly the DX-100 and the DX-7.[12][13] The thin squares around her pigtails are futuristic ribbons made of a special material that floats in place. As seen in KEI's art for Miku, they are able to hold Miku's pigtails in place without having to physically touch the hair itself. The ribbons are also reported by KEI to be the hardest item on the character's design for cosplayers to recreate.

Append

Her VOCALOID2 Append design is often subjected to censorship. In the original design, there is a bare strip of flesh under the tie area. In many depictions, this bare strip of flesh is not shown and is covered. For example, while Max Factory models showing the uncensored version in their normal and Figma models, the Project Diva game series shy away from showing any exposure.

V3 English

INFORMATION PENDING

V3 (Japanese)

INFORMATION PENDING

V4X & V4 English

INFORMATION PENDING

V4 Chinese

INFORMATION PENDING

Relations

For more on VOCALOID relationships, see the FAQ.

History

Marketing

HatsuneMikuguidebook

The first of several guidebooks released which Miku's vocal appeared in

Miku's initial marketing was similar to past software synthesizers and VOCALOID voicebanks, and was standard marketing for the software at her time of release. For the most part a large proportion was centered on DTM MAGAZINE, like MEIKO and KAITO before her since the readership of the magazine had greatly influenced those two past VOCALOIDs. The only pre-planned promotion was with DTM MAGAZINES November 2007 issue - due to the inclusion of a CD with the demo of Miku on it, this particular issue sold out. When Hatsune Miku was on pre-order it was noted MEIKO and KAITO had no prospect of receiving updates and that Miku would be taking over their roles going forward.[14]

She was originally aimed only at professional producers; the amateur and Otaku market hadn't fully formed yet, and so it was not initially considered.[15][16] For a variety of reasons, Miku received unexpected commercial success. Due to Miku's popularity boom, Crypton had the chance to take advantage of early technical support for Miku and several guidebooks and magazine support were released solely focused on her vocals. This type of technical coverage was even possible long after Miku's initial release and methods of adapting her vocals are the most well documented among the VOCALOID2 era vocals.

Since the success of her voicebank led to an expansion of marketing possibilities, most of the mass marketing has come after her initial release as a response to her popularity. Even with the addition of other Character Vocals, Miku's name continues to be used as the primary source of marketing for Crypton Future Media. In March 2012, the Nomura Research Institute estimated that the sales of all "Hatsune Miku" brand goods added up into the region of ¥10,000,000,000 since her release in 2007.[17] Miku's name is now the easiest of all VOCALOIDs to market. Also owed to her popularity, many VOCALOID related products such as piano sheet music packs, books, and magazines carry her image on the front cover. Around January 28, 2013, a 3 day survey was run by Tokyo Polytechnic University. During the survey (based on ages 12–38) 95% of those entering reported knowing who Hatsune Miku was, in comparison participants barely knew who Megpoid, IA, or Aoki Lapis were.[18]

Corolla Miku, presented in 2011, wears slightly different attire compared to KEI's original design: instead of one skirt stripe and single floating ribbons, she now has two, as was intended by the client.

In 2011, Crypton began to focus on marketing Miku to U.S. audiences. On May 7, USAmazon placed a preview of Supercell's hit song, "World is Mine", as a single. When the song finally went on sale, it came 7th in the top 10 World singles list on iTunes in its first week of sales.[19] The entry was presented as "The World is Mine Feat. Hatsune Miku". Crypton had to consider who they were aiming the advertisements of Miku at (mostly the web fanbase) and had to check the differences between the Japanese and English fan communities. Since Crypton had always sold Miku as a virtual instrument in Japan, they asked their Japanese fan base if it was acceptable for them to sell her as a virtual singer to the new market audience.[20] The main purpose of the Miku English version is to allow Japanese producers to break into the West and also expand their audiences.[21]

Crypton Future Media do not approve of using Miku in politics. This is, so far, one of the biggest areas of marketing that Miku has avoided being used for.[22] However, Hatsune Miku sang the theme song for Japanese National Election candidate, Yoshikazu Tarui. Despite this, her mascot was not used; instead, a pink twin-tailed girl dubbed Android Rui replaced her.[23]

Crypton Future Media also applied for trademark on the 26th of June 2012.[24]

When the tsunami hit Japan in 2011, Miku was chosen as a character who would help represent Japan. This was because of how common her image was appearing with many younger people knowing who she was. She was already in music based textbooks and her influence on music was heavily known by the Minister for Education for Japan.[25]

The fact that products with Miku can sell out quickly makes her attractive to even slow growing industries. Products with Miku on them can even sell out in public events within 30 minutes of events opening to the public. This helps fuel marketing in even handcrafted trades, as fans are attracted to these "one of a kind" products.[26]

Starting on March 15, 2021, Crypton Future Media announced a collaboration with the "Hatsune Miku Chronicle" (初音ミク・クロニクル) art exhibition event titled "Hatsune Miku Chronicle × piapro "What If You Draw? "Hatsune Miku" Software Package Illustration Recruitment!" (もしもあなたが描いたら？「初音ミク」ソフトウェア パッケージイラスト募集！), a special recruitment for users to draw their own original character named "Hatsune Miku" while keeping the basic profile, image and color settings used for Hatsune Miku's initial artwork in 2007 with the winning illustration being made into a special software package based on the submitted work.[27] The award-winning works would be exhibited at the art exhibition "Hatsune Miku Chronicle" scheduled to be held in 2021. [28][29][30] Over the course of four months users were able to submit artwork to Piapro using the "#クロニクル＿ミクｉｆ" tag.[31] Coinciding with the recruitment, Good Smile Company announced a new Nendoroid figurine based on Hatsune Miku's original concept design now known as Hatsune Miku if Ver. (初音ミク if Ver.).[32] A finalized illustration of the original design by KEI was also announced.[33] On June 29, the contest concluded and three finalists were selected.[34][35] Three awards were given: the "Best Award" was awarded to 千代[36], the "KEI Award" was awarded to 梨伊荼[37] AND the "Saki Fujita Award" was awarded to ろきの.[38] Pre-release images of the Hatsune Miku if Ver. Nendoroid were revealed on July 14th and the illustration by KEI was revealed as well as the announcement of Kagamine Rin & Len if and Megurine Luka if proposals.[39][40] The Nendoroid was placed up for pre-order starting July 15th on the official Good Smile Company store and more pre-release photos were added.[41][42]

Voicebanks

The following covers the VOCALOID software, for future releases see Piapro Studio releases.

Hatsune Miku - Original
Designed to be a cute, high pitched and young female Japanese singer, the vocal is of a non-professional vocalist and represents a voice-acted result. It has strong attack and is known for its fairly high adaptability and morphing ability. Due to its high usages among Japanese producers, the vocal was regarded as both "The VOCALOID" voicebank, as well as the "standard" vocal among VOCALOID usage, the vocal itself was meant to replace KAITO and MEIKO from VOCALOID. Miku was created to have standout vocal traits compared to MEIKO. This was also the first vocal for VOCALOID2 that was designed for VOCALOID2 itself.
Misc. versions
Her vocal was adapted to the eVocaloid chip and sold with the Pocket Miku piano.
Her vocal was also available, though restricted in "Let's sing with Miku ♪". The version of the voice is unknown. The voicebank itself was accessed via the NetVOCALOID database and was one of the few VOCALOIDs who allowed users to access the network.
Hatsune Miku - Sweet
Designed to be a sweeter sounding version of the "Original" vocal, this vocal is a voice acted result and designed to act very different from the "Original" vocal. The tone is cuter than the original and designed to make Miku sound smaller and is meant for more expressive songs.
  • Hatsune Miku Append (VOCALOID2), April 30, 2010
  • Hatsune Miku V3 (VOCALOID3), September 26, 2013
  • Hatsune Miku V3 (VOCALOID3, VOCALOID NEO, Piapro Studio), September 26, 2013
  • Hatsune Miku V4X (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), August 31, 2016
Hatsune Miku - Dark
Designed to be a darker tone version of the "Original" vocal, this vocal is a voice acted result and designed to act very different from the "Original" vocal. This vocal is designed to make Miku sound moodier and is meant for more expressive songs.
  • Hatsune Miku Append (VOCALOID2), April 30, 2010
  • Hatsune Miku V3 (VOCALOID3, VOCALOID NEO, Piapro Studio), September 26, 2013
  • Hatsune Miku V4X (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), August 31, 2016
Hatsune Miku - Soft
Designed to be a softer tone version of the "Original" vocal, this vocal is a voice acted result and designed to act very differently from the "Original" vocal. This vocal is designed to make Miku sound gentle and is meant for more expressive songs.
  • Hatsune Miku Append (VOCALOID2), April 30, 2010
  • Hatsune Miku V3 (VOCALOID3, VOCALOID NEO, Piapro Studio), September 26, 2013
  • Hatsune Miku V4X (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), August 31, 2016
Hatsune Miku - Light
Light is a higher pitched vocal with a different tone to "original". Designed to be more operatic and angelic than the "Original" vocal with a light but the bold style of voice-acted vocal.
  • Hatsune Miku Append (VOCALOID2), April 30, 2010
  • Hatsune Miku V3 Light (VOCALOID3, Piapro Studio), September 26, 2013
Hatsune Miku - Vivid
VIVID is a high but strong pitched vocal with a different tone to "original", being lower in pitch than "Light". Designed to be more strong and powerful voice acted vocal.
  • Hatsune Miku Append (VOCALOID2), April 30, 2010
  • Hatsune Miku V3 Vivid (VOCALOID3, Piapro Studio), September 26, 2013
Hatsune Miku - Solid
Solid is a voicebank similar to "Original", but with firmer sounds and louder results and is designed for clarity.
  • Hatsune Miku Append (VOCALOID2), April 30, 2010
  • Hatsune Miku V3 (VOCALOID3, VOCALOID NEO, Piapro Studio), September 26, 2013
  • Hatsune Miku V4X (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), August 31, 2016
Hatsune Miku - English
The English version of the Hatsune Miku vocal was also planned for Miku's original V2 vocal, though that project became Megurine Luka instead. Despite the fact this is the English version, it does not always match the tone of the "Original" voicebank. Results have varied per release due to improvements between versions with consequential versions being very different in tone and pronunciation.
Hatsune Miku - Chinese
The Chinese version of the Hatsune Miku vocal. Despite the fact this is the Chinese version, it does not always match the tone of the "Original" voicebank.
Hatsune Miku - Falsetto
A known vocal experimental voicebank related to Miku that has never been released.[43]

Music featuring Hatsune Miku

  • On this wiki, Hatsune Miku is featured in 2,447 songs , 1,095 albums , 55 series , 67 events.
HatsuneMiku Logo
ニュース39
YouTube logo
[nn][yt][bb][sc]
Translation ニュース39 (News 39)
Featuring
Hatsune Miku
Producers
Mitchie M (music, lyrics), TOHRU MiTSUHASHi (video), cort (MMD), nana/sevencolors (illust)
Categories Original song
Tears
YouTube logo
[nn][yt]
Featuring
Hatsune Miku
Producers
Tiara (lyrics, music, arrangement, vocal), 真理歪&真理恵 (illust and movies)
Categories Original song
未来的低音
YouTube logo
[yt][bb]
Translation 未来的低音 (Wèilái de Dīyīn)
Featuring
Hatsune Miku
Producers
Yukinsnow (music), Yujiang (lyrics), Xidousha (video)
Categories Original song
天使だと思っていたのに
YouTube logo
[nn][yt]
Translation 天使だと思っていたのに (Tenshi da to Omotte ita no ni)
Featuring
Hatsune Miku
Producers
Ohaiyogozaimasu (music), Utsu-P (lyrics), Kaneko Kaihatsu (video)
Categories Original song
view • edit
Search for music featuring Hatsune Miku [show/hide]

Reputation

Status

Google Trends

Hatsune+Miku,初音ミク

Sales

The initial sales of Hatsune Miku were so high that Crypton could not keep up with the demand. In the first 12 days of sale, nearly 3,000 sales reservations were made. This was around one sale in 250 in the music software industry, quoted as "an impossible number" by Wataru Sasaki — the person in charge of the planning and production. Amazon.co.jp stated on September 12, 2007 that they had sales of Hatsune Miku totaling 57,500,001 yen, making her the number one selling software at that time.[44] It was confirmed in her first year alone, Miku sold 40,000+ units, on an average of 300 units per week.[45] Later reports came that she had sold 60,000+ copies of her software. To add perspective, normally selling 1,000 copies of a synthesizing software was considered good business.[46]

Miku's Append was not as well received as her original voicebank, though it managed to stay in the top ten products from Crypton Future Media. However, it disappeared from the list entirely from time to time. Despite this, it has been known to have reached the top 3 products on occasion, as well as to knock other CV vocals further down the charts.[47] Miku was ranked as the no.1 VOCALOID™ product they sold, and despite drifting between ranks on their product list, her Append managed to grab 2nd place.[48][dead link]

Hatsune Miku V3 English was reported as the top selling "Virtual Instrument" on Big Fish Audio's blog in August 2013.[49] In September, it came in 2nd place and went back up to 1st in October.[50][51] The English package continued throughout 2014 to remain in the 10 Top 10 products, though drifted in ranks each month. For example, in August 2014 it was in 10th place, the following month it went up to 6th place.[52][53] In addition it also appeared in its top 10 products in 2015, even after the release of Megurine Luka V4X

Hatsune Miku V3 was reported to have over saturated Yamaha's servers with requests for activation upon release.[54] In October 2013, Hatsune Miku V3 and its bundle package disrupted the Crypton Future Media product charts, taking both the 1st and 2nd place spots between them. Other VOCALOID products sold by Cryton Future Media ended up being misplaced from their normal ranking spots. This was the first time the VOCALOID products had been impacted drastically since their charts began.[55]

On October 15th, Wat reported that there were 10,000+ orders of the Hatsune Miku V3 package on backlog.[56]

For most of 2014, Hatsune Miku's V3 and Hatsune Miku V3 complete packages held the 1st and 2nd spot of the product rankings. Even after the release of MEIKO V3, the two packages soon retook their positions and MEIKO V3 managed to only hold the top spot for a month and a half.

In both 2014 and 2015, a number of Miku products took the top 10 sales rankings of VOCALOID packages sold on Crypton's Sonicwire download store. In 2014, the Hatsune Miku English package held 7th place, while the Hatsune Miku V3 package held 2nd and the English bundle version 1st.[57] In 2015, Hatsune Miku V3 "Light" held the 10th position, the English vocal 8th, the Hatsune Miku V3 English bundle held 3rd and the Hastune Miku V3 package itself held 2nd position.[57]

However, not everything produced for Miku was highly successful. Aside from the original Hatsune Miku tone of voice, her "Dark" tone voicebank, Miku's vocals have had far less popularity with "Vivid" and "Light" being later dropped in her V4X release altogether. The voice itself had become become a "standard" vocal for the engine by her V4X release, with Miku becoming "The VOCALOID".[58] The total sales of Hatsune Miku V4X for the bundled version with Hatsune Miku V4 English and Megurine Luka V4X in 2019 was x2.5. The bundle claimed 1st place while Megurine Luka V4X held 3rd place.[59]

Reaction

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 today. Soon after its release, users of Nico Nico Douga started posting videos with songs created using the software. According to Crypton, a popular video with a comically-altered Miku holding a spring/Welsh onion, singing Ievan Polkka, presented multifarious possibilities of using the software in multimedia content creation. Miku gained her first 1,000,000+ song on 15th October 2007 with the song みくみくにしてあげる♪ (Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru♪), in addition it also became the first VOCALOID song to reach 1,000,000 views. It achieved 1,000,000+ views in less than 26 days.[60]

Miku has remained the fan favorite among the Japanese fandom, having the strongest following and usage even after the release of much better VOCALOID2 vocals. Her popularity was so high that when GazettE’s Aoi made a negative comment about her through twitter, he was immediately met with outraged fans and was forced to retract some of his statements after trying out the software for himself.[61] Indeed, most of the more popular songs of VOCALOID are sung by Miku, having more hit songs on Nico Nico Douga than any other VOCALOID vocal.

It was stated in 2013, that videos tagged with Miku's name reached between 1,000 and 1,500 videos each month. This was by far the most videos of any VOCALOID on Nico nico Douga.[62]

According to google trends, Miku has had fairly stable popularity since April 2008. While interest in her under the name of "初音ミク" has fallen dramatically, increase of her as "Hatsune Miku" has risen, likely due to the increase interest overseas. Oddly, despite the reported amount of registrations for Miku in the month of her release, Miku has lost much of her stable popularity using the name "初音ミク".

Despite her popularity as a VOCALOID vocal, both Hatsune Miku and VOCALOID itself were both reportedly struggling to make an impact in the west by December 2015. Though SEGA had imported games like Project Diva X into the west, the target audience was still considered a "niche audience".[63]

One area Miku struggled in to maintain her reputation was the initial release of her Append. Some complaints stated it "no longer sounded like Miku was the one singing" for a few voicebanks. There was a divided opinion on the Appends at the time of their release, with some producers refusing to purchase it and fans boycotting songs with usage of the vocals. Videos also did not always label "Append" for much the same reasons. This was a minor setback that did not last long, as the number of VOCALOIDs with multiple voicebanks grew greatly in VOCALOID3. By VOCALOID4 it was common for multi-voicebank releases to see sales due to the introduction of the VOCALOID4 exclusive XSY. In addition, the updated Miku Append vocals were included with the main vocals of Hatsune Miku V3, and Hatsune Miku V4X with the exceptions of "Light" and "Vivid", which were released individually as download-only vocals for Hatsune Miku V3 after the package's release.

There is no doubt that Miku overall is the most popular of the Crypton Future Media VOCALOID vocals, as the gap between her popularity and all other VOCALOID vocals is much extremely large currently, and has been since 2008.

In 2017, she was reported as the most popular cosplay character, while the song "Miku" also made it into the book for most viewed original Chiptune song on YouTube, putting her in the Guinness World Records twice.[64]

However, reactions towards her have not always been good.

Her strong association with VOCALOID has lead to the view she must be included in all things related to VOCALOID. This view itself has led to criticism. For example, critics at the VOCALOID:AI performance made notes towards and against Hatsune Miku. For a brief moment she appeared on screen during explanation on the technology. The criticism was related to the fact she had nothing to do with the VOCALOID technology demo. This performance was in regards to a beloved real-life singer, Hibari Misora, and that Miku was a fictitious singer fans did not come to see and did not like. The general criticism was fans were there for Hibari Misora's render of voice and image. Miku's inclusion felt out of place and included for the sake of inclusion because VOCALOID was mentioned.[65]

Criticisms towards Miku have been known to be met with harsh fan reactions, especially in Japan. GazettE's Aoi stirred up a debate in 2010 about the legitimacy of Hatsune Miku and VOCALOID music in general. He went onto explain it was crazy to think people thought of machines being equal to actual singers. This caused a backlash from VOCALOID fans. Despite deleting the tweet wherein he criticized VOCALOID and Hatsune Miku, he was told it was too late, for fans would react. He noted that he considered the synthesizers as no different to that of a Drum kit sample set, he defended his previous tweet by noting people will have different expressions toward it.[66]

Impact

Hatsune Miku's popularity had a major impact on the development of other Crypton Future Media voicebanks. Due to the huge market for her voicebank and character image, Crypton have sometimes been overwhelmed by demand. This caused delays to other VOCALOID2 projects, including the release of an additional character, CV04. How much impact her popularity has had on other VOCALOID™ voicebanks is unknown, but Crypton Future Media has many delayed voicebanks that were originally set for a VOCALOID2 release.

Project If... was largely impacted also by Hatsune Miku's popularity, even in the early planning stages. Wat also felt this was a nightmare and that the relationship between VOCALOID and humans had gone wrong.[67][68][69]

Her design has also influenced the VOCALOID™ mascot designs of other companies, creating common design influence that divides fans opinions on character design. Her design has also spawned many producer based derivatives. She is the most common VOCALOID™ vocal to receive derivatives due to the popularity of her voicebank and heavy promotions by Crypton Future Media.

Because of Miku's success, Crypton Future Media were able to open up services to allow more support for their VOCALOID vocals, including websites such as Piapro and KARENT, concerts, and an expanded range of merchandise. This expansion into merchandise included collaborations with various notable brands, such as kaomoji.co, a Dutch anime streetwear brand, for Hatsune Miku-themed apparel;[70] SuperGroupies for a fashion line including watches and bags;[71] the Hatsune Miku x Pusheen collection featuring unique merchandise and LINE stickers;[72] and a memorable campaign with Domino's Pizza,[73][74] highlighting Miku's diverse appeal across different sectors. By 2009, Miku was being referred to as VOCALOID™'s first 'Diva'. In 2010, Crypton Future Media produced a ranking of the VOCALOID vocals they sold on their website; since then, Miku has consistently led or been close to leading.

In 2014, an increase of 19.2% on the sale of VOCALOID related goods (equal to ¥8,700,000,000 or $73,800,000) was mostly credited to Hatsune Miku V3's release.[75]

Misc

In 2012, a poll was held for the London Olympic Games 2012 which asked people which singer or group they would like to see at the Olympics. Miku reached the no.1 spot, beating famous singers such as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. The poll was not official and was done simply for popularity reasons.[76]

An independent search on Nico Nico Douga revealed that most VOCALOID vocals had less than 1,000 videos uploaded on Nico Nico Douga between July 1 and December 15, 2011. Miku, however, had managed to gain 9,904 uploads to the site during this period, making her number one in video submissions for VOCALOID related videos. She also had the highest number of total views during this period with 23,847,081 views and 1,943,303 mylists. However, Miku was put in 3rd place on average number of views per video with 2407.82 views per video (and 196.21 mylists). However, a comment led by the report noted that due to the popularity of the most famous producers, it was much harder to assess. When the mean number was conducted, which was a more accurate report of the VOCALOIDs during this period, Miku did not make it into the top 6 VOCALOID vocals despite having consistent no.1s throughout this period.[77]

In 2014, a poll was run to find the top things that made people think of "Cool Japan". 1000 people took part in the vote. In the poll, Miku came 8th, gaining 35.8% of all votes (total 358 voters).[78]

A poll released in 2015 showed that Miku was the most popular VOCALOID vocal in 2014 on Nico Video, maintaining a popularity between 3 and 4 times greater than her closest rival, GUMI.[79]

Trivia
  • Because she is the first VOCALOID vocal many got to know and the first to draw a large amount of attention, there are a number of common misconceptions about her:
    • Miku is often mistaken as the very first vocal released for VOCALOID by those new or unfamiliar with the software's history, or the first VOCALOID2 released.
      • While she was the first VOCALOID2 to be released for the Japanese market, it was PowerFX's Sweet ANN who claimed the place as the first VOCALOID2, released 2 months prior to Miku.
      • When Miku became more well-known in 2010, the media also followed this misconception. On more than one occasion Crypton Future Media have labelled her as the first, though this is likely an error as they usually introduce her as "the first of the character vocal series".
      • However, Miku was the first VOCALOID vocal developed specifically for VOCALOID2 as Sweet ANN, codenamed "JODIE" was originally developed for the VOCALOID engine, not VOCALOID2.
    • Since 2010, Miku has won the classification of "Virtual Diva" and has become a pop star in her own right. However, some reports mislabel her as "the first virtual star" when other "virtual stars" have been released prior to her existence as early as the mid-1990s, although these "stars" never rose to the level of popularity Miku has reached.[80] An example of a group of virtual singers from 2002 would be the VBirds.
    • Miku is also not the first VOCALOID vocal to debut in America, as Zero-G's VOCALOIDs were already on sale prior to her arrival. However, all previous VOCALOID vocals failed to make an impact in the US.
    • Miku is also not the first VOCALOID2 to have an avatar; the first was Sweet ANN, who was based on a "Bride of Frankenstein" theme. However, Miku was the first to have a profile that expanded on the concept of an avatar. LEON and LOLA did not feature a character on their boxart, MIRIAM had a blurred photo of Miriam Stockley, and though KAITO and MEIKO had characters on their boxart, they were not originally meant to represent their vocals.
    • She was also not the first to feature in a concert; MIRIAM was the first, in 2004. However, Miku was the first to actually be featured "live" in the concert whereas MIRIAM's concert featured just her vocal.
    • It is also very common to see her listed as the "3rd Crypton Future Media" VOCALOID vocal. However, like the previous examples this is also an error. She was their first VOCALOID, with many not realizing MEIKO and KAITO were originally developed by YAMAHA and merely sold by Crypton Future Media.
  • Sound Horizon, a popular band that uses music to tell stories, used Hatsune Miku in their third single "Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido" and its corresponding album, "Marchen". Saki Fujita, Miku's voice actor, also does narrations.
  • With a total of 15 voicebanks released, Miku has the third highest number of vocals developed for the VOCALOID™ engine, second being GUMI.
  • When taking into account other engine releases, Miku has the third highest number of voicebanks released for a commercial vocal-synthesizer product, with a total of 18. GUMI has the second highest with 24 voicebanks, and Shiki Rowen has the highest with 32.
Achievements
  • First Japanese VOCALOID2 to be released
  • First of Crypton Future Media's Character Vocal series
  • First VOCALOID vocal to be developed by Crypton Future Media
  • First specialized vocal of VOCALOID2
  • First VOCALOID vocal to have a "true" avatar given
  • First VOCALOID vocal to have a bio
  • Highest amount of pre-orders of a software synthesizer
  • Holds the highest sales figures of all VOCALOID vocals
  • First VOCALOID vocal to earn the status of "Diva"
  • Most awarded VOCALOID vocal software released
  • First VOCALOID vocal to receive an Append
  • Most common/popular VOCALOID vocal
  • Most songs created to date
  • Most merchandise to date
  • First VOCALOID vocal to have a video game
  • First VOCALOID vocal to be on stage
  • One of 3 voicebanks used by the robot HRP-4C
  • First to have a song with a million views
  • First and only VOCALOID2 by Crypton to be updated to VOCALOID3
  • First Chinese vocal from Crypton Future Media
  • First non-native Chinese VOCALOID vocal
  • First Japanese VOCALOID vocal to have a Chinese voicebank
  • First Trilingual VOCALOID vocal (Japanese, English, Chinese)
  • First VOCALOID vocal to perform at Coachella.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwnFcaBhNBK/
  2. ↑ Fujita Saki's Official Profile[dead link]
  3. ↑ Fujita Saki's Blog[dead link]
  4. ↑ https://blog.crypton.co.jp/l/2019/08/n1908311/
  5. ↑ https://twitter.com/labopton/status/1167698329389551616?s=19
  6. ↑ https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1912/25/news098.html
  7. ↑ Pratina Nov 9, 2007: KEI Interview (archived)
  8. ↑ VocaloidOtaku - Our Favorite VOCALOIDS: Interview with KEI(archive)
  9. ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2009/01/post-95.html
  10. ↑ P-Tina - Interview(s) with Crypton and KEI
  11. ↑ http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-entry-12152.html
  12. ↑ http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=327922480661644&set=a.232686870185206.50979.138697466250814&type=1
  13. ↑ VocaloidOtaku - Source of Miku's design (archive)
  14. ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/08/vocaloid2-8.html
  15. ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/05/vocaloid2-3.html
  16. ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2007/08/vocaloid2_8.html
  17. ↑ http://www.sankeibiz.jp/business/news/120327/bsg1203270754009-n3.htm
  18. ↑ http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-entry-14608.html
  19. ↑ ANN - Supercell/Miku Song in U.S. iTunes' World Top 10
  20. ↑ Tweet - 11 May
  21. ↑ http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/radio/program/index.html[dead link]
  22. ↑ Livedoor News -「初音ミク」で選挙活動計画「政治利用ダメ」で民主議員頓挫 June 30, 2010 -- Election Activity Plan Standstill of a Democratic Diet member with "Don't Use Politics"
  23. ↑ http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/07/22/video-hatsune-miku-sings-theme-song-for-a-japanese-national-election-candidate
  24. ↑ http://www.trademarkia.com/hatsune-miku-79106369.html
  25. ↑ http://km4osm.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-375.html
  26. ↑ https://mainichi.jp/articles/20190822/k00/00m/040/020000c
  27. ↑ Recruitment Page Details
  28. ↑ Recruitment Start Announcement
  29. ↑ March 15 Contest Start
  30. ↑ Recruitment Start Page
  31. ↑ Recruitment Page Works List
  32. ↑ Recruitment Page Works List
  33. ↑ Hatsune Miku If ver. KEI Illustration Announcement
  34. ↑ Contest Conclusion Results
  35. ↑ Contest Results Announcement
  36. ↑ 千代, Best Award
  37. ↑ 梨伊荼, KEI Award
  38. ↑ ろきの, Saki Fujita Award
  39. ↑ Hatsune Miku if Ver. Nendoroid Miku Chronicle Event Pre-Sale Announcement & Pictures
  40. ↑ Hatsune Miku Chronical Event Page
  41. ↑ Hatsune Miku if Ver. Nendoroid Pre-Order Announcement & Pictures
  42. ↑ Hatsune Miku If ver. Nendoroid Product Page
  43. ↑ https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/420865420938067968
  44. ↑ IT Media News - 異例の売れ行き「初音ミク」「ニコ動」で広がる音楽作りのすそ野 (Extraordinary sales for Hatsune Miku as Nico spreads the music)
  45. ↑ http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0807/23/news046.html
  46. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20121114235741/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/virtual-star-to-be-unleashed-on-us-2291713.html (archive)
  47. ↑ http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-date-20120609.html
  48. ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2010/12/2010-vocaloid-1.html
  49. ↑ August sales Big Fish (archive)
  50. ↑ September sales Big Fish (archive)
  51. ↑ October sales Big Fish (archive)
  52. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170615043544/http://blog.bigfishaudio.com/archives/4862 (archive)
  53. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170704060118/http://blog.bigfishaudio.com/archives/4869 (archive)
  54. ↑ http://www.vocaloid.cl/2013/09/usuarios-sobrecargan-servidores-de-yamaha/ [dead link]
  55. ↑ http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-entry-17165.html
  56. ↑ Twitter: Backlog of Miku orders
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 http://blog.sonicwire.com/2015/12/sonicwire-2015-4.html
  58. ↑ http://km4osm.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-151.html
  59. ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2018/12/sonicwire-2018-vocaloid.html
  60. ↑ http://dic.nicovideo.jp/a/vocaloid伝説入り#2007
  61. ↑ https://www.tokyohive.com/article/2010/11/the-gazettes-aoi-stirs-up-debate-about-vocaloid-artists-through-controversial-tweets/
  62. ↑ Popularity charts 2013
  63. ↑ https://kotaku.com/youtube-copyright-nonsense-hitting-yet-another-communit-1745318795
  64. ↑ http://km4osm.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-374.html
  65. ↑ http://www.mikumiku2ch.jp/article/470582074.html
  66. ↑ https://www.tokyohive.com/article/2010/11/the-gazettes-aoi-stirs-up-debate-about-vocaloid-artists-through-controversial-tweets/
  67. ↑ https://twitter.com/project_if_cfm/status/7506315468
  68. ↑ https://twitter.com/project_if_cfm
  69. ↑ https://twitter.com/project_if_cfm/status/7401025579
  70. ↑ kaomoji.co - kaomoji x Hatsune Miku collection
  71. ↑ https://twitter.com/SuperGroupiesUS/status/1699261374269120600
  72. ↑ Hatsune Miku x Pusheen collaboration announcement
  73. ↑ Domino's App feat. 初音ミク 特設サイト (defunct, archived)
  74. ↑ CrunchyRoll - Hatsune Miku Helps You Order Domino's Pizza with New App
  75. ↑ https://soranews24.com/2014/12/11/state-of-the-otaku-union-survey-reveals-vocaloids-up-adult-games-down-in-2014/
  76. ↑ http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-date-20120123.html
  77. ↑ https://www.vocaloidism.com/2012/01/04/the-harsh-realities-of-vocaloid-on-nico/
  78. ↑ http://39mikustream.blogspot.jp/2014/02/8.html
  79. ↑ https://ch.nicovideo.jp/kadotanimitsuru/blomaga/ar699704
  80. ↑ http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1229-a-brief-history-of-virtual-pop-stars/

External links

Language Description Site
Japanese Crypton Future Media Inc. official homepage Link
Japanese VOCALOID2 Hatsune Miku product page for CV01 Link
Japanese Miku Append product page for CV01a Link
English Hatsune Miku V3 English product page for MV3e [dead link] Link
Japanese Hatsune Miku V3 product page for MV3 Link
Japanese Hatsune Miku V3 product page for MV3 Bundle Link
Japanese Hatsune Miku V4 product page for MV4X Link
Japanese Hatsune Miku V4 English product page for MV4e Link
Japanese Hatsune Miku V4 product page for MV4X Bundle Link
Japanese Hatsune Miku V4 Chinese product page for MV4c Link
Japanese/English Hatsune Miku The official Facebook page for VOCALOID Hatsune Miku Link
Global HatsuneMiku The official YouTube channel for VOCALOID Hatsune Miku Link
English deviantArt , art and media community Link
Japanese Pixiv , art and media community Link
Japanese Piapro , art and media community Link

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