RUBY is an English VOCALOID that was developed by Prince Syo/Anders and distributed by PowerFX Systems AB. She was released in October 2015 for the VOCALOID4 engine.
She is voiced by an active American VOCALOID fan, Misha.[1]
Her developer hinted that the voice provider was not white which may have influenced the design.[3][4]
PowerFX revealed an unexpected design at Anime Expo due to a miscommunication between the developers and the company. The misunderstanding was resolved after negotiations with the voice provider. More information can be found on the Controversy Concerns page.
The final art by Natasha Allegri was worked upon for free though she insisted on not being paid. The concept itself was designed by Misha with some input from her friends.[5][6] Misha stated that she wanted this concept to be like an 'opposite Miku'.[7] This concept's skintone was based on Misha's mother, as she wanted RUBY to represent not only her but also her family.[8] Temi, who collaborated with Misha in creating the concept, said the design was supposed to portray an upbeat and sporty personality.[9] Misha wanted the outfit to reflect the Bronx, her hometown. Uniqueness and simplicity were major aims during the design process. From the beginning, sneakers were a must for the outfit, but a skirt was ruled out.[10] The belt, shorts, and hairstyle came from the producers' desire to add a few anime aspects in order to fit more into the 'ideal' VOCALOID style. Early concepts of RUBY included a younger age and a side ponytail.[11]
In RUBY's initial designs, she had braids, a hat, and different styles of clothing.[12] However, the braids were removed because Rana was revealed to have pink braids as well.[13]
PowerFX had originally hoped to aim RUBY at EDM producers.
Syo presented alternative ideas and thought it was better to expand upon the existing demographic, arguing that people who aren't fans of the VOCALOID software won't buy it.[14][15]
Her demo, "Problem", eventually reached 100,000 views, putting it on par with other past English VOCALOIDs, but making the slow attempt compared to CYBER DIVA took much longer, being a year and a half to do so.
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