In yet another F5 spamfest, many fans have observed Hatsune Miku’s facebook fanpage reaching 500k likes (easily breezing past the Vocaloid facebook fanpage). It moved too quickly to catch it at exactly 500,000, so the image above is the best I managed to get.

To celebrate the event, the page will start to cycle through a new fan-made header image every day for two weeks. Congratulations to Hatsune Miku for the achievement, and of course thanks to all the fans who helped her get there!

[EDITED 5/16/2012]: And coincidentally, not long after this event, mikubook.com has celebrated its 1 million favorites milestone. Congratulations once again!

The game has thousands of user generated beatmaps, including Vocaloid. The majority of the community is interested in Anime and everything related, so this comes as no surprise. If you’re interested, you can register and download the game completely free from here: http://osu.ppy.sh/

Practice the included tutorial track, then use the search on their site for tracks related to Vocaloid or anything else you’re interested in. The game has both offline and online play modes. The game is also completely customizable with skins. If you ever want to find me, my username is jrharbort (http://osu.ppy.sh/u/jrharbort).

Here is one example video that shows what the gameplay is like. Keep in mind this is on a high difficulty track on the highest difficulty setting. Even I’m nowhere near this skilled.

Sony Japan recently unveiled a new limited edition crystal white PS Vita that’s complete with with a custom Hatsune Miku themed skin. This beautiful piece of hardware is set to release on August 30th, just one day before Hatsune Miku’s 5th anniversary. The PS Vita sells as a bundle that will also include the new Project Diva game and a 4GB memory card. The price for the Wifi Only model is set for ¥34,980 ($428 USD), and the 3G+Wifi will sell for ¥39,980 ($500 USD).

The bundle is only available for pre-order within Japan. If a source is discovered for international pre-orders, I’ll be sure to update this post. You can check the website of the announcement by clicking the image, or simply by clicking here.

Pre-order sources have been discovered! The Wifi versions can be found here: Click here or here.

And now for a vid on the new color scheme and design:

It’s an obvious fact that we all love Vocaloid music. It’s the bread and butter of the community that binds us all together. It should be no secret that I have a strong likeness towards Vocalectro (Vocaloid+Electronic) music. Dance music can get you jumping, trance can set a calming or uplifting mood, and techno rock can get you pumping. It’s a genre that I really enjoy, and I learn about many artists in my searches for new content. I’ve stumbled across artists with amazing talent, but aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. So I would like to dedicate this post to some notable artists who deserve attention for their amazing work.

Tranceformer Yuno

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/MultiTranceformer
Nicovideo Channel: http://www.nicovideo.jp/user/146610/video
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/tranceformer-yuno
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tranceformer-Yuno/252303988178847
Piapro: http://piapro.jp/yunoyunoyunoyuno

Tranceformer Yuno is a Vocaloid artist that produces Progressive House trance music that is among some of the best you’ll ever listen to. When I stumbled across him, he only had 3 subscribers. I was utterly shocked to see this due to the amazing level of his work. After I promoted his work on my own channel, he soon had over 70 subs. He was extremely grateful for the help. And the most impressive part? He makes this music for fun as a hobby. That’s just incredible. Here’s a track from his channel as an example of his work. The title in English is “Horizon”.

PTaka

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/PTakatube
Nicovideo Channel: http://www.nicovideo.jp/user/10400914/video
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/ptaka
Piapro: http://piapro.jp/M217445

PTaka is a relatively new face in the Vocaloid scene, and he has started off using the new Vocaloid named IA. The very first song I heard from him was called “Dream”, and it got me hooked on IA’s character. The artist did not have a youtube channel, as he never even considered sharing his work with the world outside nicovideo. After I spent some time talking with him, he quickly agreed to set up a youtube account. Afterwards, I helped advertise his work on my own channel. If you want to look into IA’s character a bit more to see what she’s capable of, this artist does a fantastic job. Here is the promotional video I made to help advertise his work.

Revolution Boi

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/RevolutionxBoi
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/revolutionboi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Revolution-Boi/103052269751450

Revolution Boi was the first U.S. based Vocaloid DJ and remix artist. His work with music while he was in Japan has allowed him to become familiar with Vocaloid before Hatsune Miku herself even existed! His work over time has developed quite well, and he often partners up with other artists and DJs to create amazing collab works. Just recently, he gave me permission to help promote some of his most recent remix work involving the tracks Sweet Devil and Tell Your World. If you’re interested in checking out a western Vocaloid artist, Revolution Boi is an excellent place to start! Here is the promotional video I made to showcase some of his work.

Tokiko, the owner of Tokiko’s Diary Sapporo (one of our partner sites), is a blog writer that blogs about her daily activities using her Nendoroid as the starring host. It’s really fun to watch and read.

Tokiko is looking for submissions from people around the world to be featured on her blog. Tokiko lives in the heart of Sapporo, the hometown and birthplace of Hatsune Miku! She would love to see what kind of figurines people around the world have, where the fans are from, and what you think about Hatsune Miku! Her blog is somewhat small, but it’ll be a fun chance for your images and messages to be seen by a Japanese audience.

If you own a Hatsune Miku nendo or other related Vocaloid nendoroids (plushies, dolls, and figurines are also acceptable!), and would like to share your images, then send your messages to tokikowww@yahoo.co.jp. But please follow these guidelines!

1: Please provide your name. This can be your screen name, or real name.

2: Tell her where you’re from! Just the name of your country is fine if you’re shy.

3: Please use only images that you own! Don’t steal other people’s work!

4: Images in 580×436 pixel size are preferred.

5: Please do not send any explicit material (no erotic or violent images).

6: Finally, include a message explaining why you love Hatsune Miku!

Tokiko is looking forward to what everyone has to share. If you want to read her blog, you can click the partner link on the right, or just click here. The English translation button for the blog is in the upper right corner of her page. Thank you very much to everyone who participates!

A couple days ago, it was announced that the DVD and Blu-Ray sets  for the recent concert in Tokyo are now available for pre-order. The Blu-Ray has a set price of 11,401 JPY ($142 USD) and the DVD has a set price of 9,860 JPY ($123 USD). This may seem expensive at first, but these are 7 disk sets that contain concerts from both days, as well as music disks! Both products are capable of shipping internationally, despite being purchased from the Japanese Amazon site. Just click in the upper right corner where it says “Would you like to see this page in English?”. If that doesn’t work, you can always translate the page using Google.

The sets are due to ship on August 29th, roughly 4 months from now. Remember: the DVDs will have a region lock, but can be played in a PC after converting your DVD drive to Region 2 (Japan). You can only change your drive’s region 4 times, so it makes more sense to also have a dedicated DVD drive for Japanese region DVDs. You can find slim-type external DVD drives for as low as $30 or less these days.

Hatsune Miku’s Facebook page admins forgot to add the link for the DVD box set. So I made sure to add it to this article to make it easier to find.

That face is so cute, it should be illegal.

I’m not really one to give reviews on anything, but this is my first real figurine besides Nendoroids. So I’m pretty excited about finally getting this. Full thoughts and additional images can be found in the full story. 

I had pre-ordered this figurine back in November, so it’s been a long 5 month wait. I’ve even purchased new display shelves in preparation for this figurine, and new ones that are likely to follow. The total cost of the figurine including shipping was roughly $100 USD.

The title “HSP ver.” means that the figurine is based on artwork by HSP/HanasoumenP/Kanzaki Hiro. Although distributed by Goodsmile, this figurine is produced by Max Factory. The package decoration on the front isn’t too spectacular, but it doesn’t need to be. The unique design of the figurine is amazing enough on its own. The backside of the box features a few closeup images, and the original artwork that inspired the piece. You’ll also find the all important holographic “Japan” sticker, marking the product’s authenticity.

I’ve never handled other scaled figurines before, so I don’t have a proper comparison. But it has a very high quality and sturdy feel to it. The attention to the smaller details is spot on without any noticeable errors. The paint on her outfit has a more “textured” appearance, while the legs have a high gloss look. The little alien-looking speaker included seems to have the same high gloss finish. The figurine required minimal re-assembly to remove some protective packaging, but nothing too difficult.

After assembly, the figurine stands at a solid 8 inches tall, or just over 20cm without the stand. The level of detail in the figure for being painted, especially in the eyes, is surprising. It’s incredibly smooth and eye catching. The backside wasn’t neglected either, and her outfit conforms to the body, and has “wrinkles” to give it a realistic look. The hair keeps itself properly balanced against her skirt and her legs, so I don’t have any worries about the gradual “warping” seen with some figurines.

My only complaint is that the keyboard accessory seems to be made of much cheaper material than the rest of the model. The detail of the paint is just as nice as the figurine itself, but it just feels… Lighter. Since it’s just an accessory, it’s not too much of a concern.

Overall, for my first proper scale figurine, I’m pretty happy. The production quality is pretty solid, there’s no physical errors to be seen, and I have a piece based on one of my favorite illustrative and musical artists. I couldn’t ask for anything more! Images of the figurine can be found below. Just click the images to see the full size versions.
 
The front side of the box.

 
The back side of the box.

 
The all important authenticity sticker.

 
Front-side view.

 
Back-side view.

 
Dem legs!

 
The alien… Speaker… Thing…

 
Figurine height measured.

 

“Regarding SAVE MIKU Movement, the deletion problem has been almost solved and we have nothing to announce so far.”

Now, before you jump to conclusions, this can mean a lot of things. Due to how this was a global issue that had to deal with individual country’s copyright laws, it’s possible that there has been a lot of communication and paperwork done over this. These things take a lot of time, even if the initial problem of the false claims has been stopped. I’ve yet to see any new videos vanish from my own playlists for some time now, so it’s now likely that they could simply be working to finish things up.

Crypton has the intention of making an announcement once everything has been settled. So keep cool and keep and eye out for that, and stay tuned!

Simply post a question in the comments, and I’ll add them to this article along with my response for everyone to see. I’ll keep the Q&A open until my next blog update, which should be a few days from now. I recently received my order of the Hatsune Miku HSP ver. figurine, and I’m hoping to do a proper review.

EDIT: Questions are now closed!

Nuglam asks: Is there a way to contact you about topics that may or may not deserve a post? And will you implement a widget for questions or suggestions later?

Answer: I do not have a public contact email, but you can contact me at any time by PMing on my youtube channel located at http://www.youtube.com/jrharbort/. I respond to all messages. I am not the owner of Mikufan, so I will need to speak to the owner about permission for adding a new plugin. So it’s possible that one will be added later.
 

Sherlock asks: Out of curiosity, who’s your favorite V1 character? V2? V3?

Answer: My favorite V1 character, believe it or not, is Kaito. He makes a pretty excellent male companion in duets with other Crypton Vocaloids. I’m also eagerly waiting for his Append release. My favorite V2 Vocaloid is Hatsune Miku simply due to her high level of flexibility, and also due to how well she goes with Vocalectro (Vocaloid+Electro) styled music. The V3 character that has my eye right now is IA, for many of the same reasons as Miku. She’s extremely flexible in the range of genres she can work with, and she also fits with Vocalectro extremely well.
 

Makoto9 asks: I’m torn between buying Project Diva 2nd, and Project Diva Extend. Which would you recommend, and why?

Answer: Project Diva 2nd and Extend both have PV modes, and it’s true that Extend does offer far less songs (10 less to be precise). Adding all of those extra modules really took up a lot of the game’s storage space. But Extend does offer more in terms of gameplay enjoyment, such as items that can even increase the difficulty of gameplay. The song selection in Extend is also more in line with a “Greatest Hits” collection, so many of the songs are bound to be very familiar with many fans. I’ve played both, and I had a lot more fun with Extend than I did with 2nd. If I had to choose again, I’d go with Extend. The Project Diva Wiki has a lot of useful information explaining the changes in Extend.
 

Alex asks: I am curious about your line of work, social structure, and family structure. Also what your religion. Is this too personal of a question?

Answer: I work part time with one of my older brothers for the moment, since getting a proper full time job in my area has proven difficult. I’m still trying though. Social structure? I think I’m doing fairly well in that department. I had just recently hosted a large Brony meet (gasp, he’s a Brony too?!). It went pretty well. My family is Christian, although I’m not too religious myself. But I would not consider myself to be atheist.
 

gabriel razo asks: can you please make a concert in Las Vegas i dont have money to travel =(

Answer: I’d love to go to Vegas to perform for you, but I’m a horrible singer. Thanks for asking though!
 

Andrew Murphy asks: After receiving many mixed information from various websites what is the verdict of another tour and possibly within the united states. Also how successful was the tour in the states as in sales because I regret missing the buffalo concert.

Crypton and SEGA have not yet had a tour in the United States. The first live performance was in Los Angeles at Anime Expo 2011, and they even held a special conference at the New York Comic Con late last year. There has been no official announcement about a nationwide “tour” with the exception of a possible return to L.A. in 2013. But this can always change.

These past few days have been pretty crazy. Thanks to the mention from the Vocaloid facebook fanpage, my message has reached hundreds of thousands of Vocaloid fans around the world. It makes me happy that we can finally put old problems to rest, and we can continue doing what the community has always done before: Share our love and interest of Vocaloid with the many fans and artists around the world. I have taken the time to answer everyone’s questions on Facebook, Youtube, and Mikufan, and I want to thank everyone for the positive feedback!

I’ve been pretty busy for the past few days, the last couple in particular due to the unexpected attention, so I have a lot to cover. So I’ll just quickly recap some of the major news events, and express my opinions rather than going into heavy detail.

The Virtual Tupac Performance at Coachella Fest

I live within the Coachella Valley, so news of this spread around very quickly (here is a local article). Naturally, the thought of Hatsune Miku’s live 39′s concert performances came to mind and immediately reminded me of the Mikunopolis concert I had attended. This actually has me excited due to the fact that the music industry is realizing the potential that this technology has as an entertainment platform. Of course, the technology has never been exclusive to Hatsune Miku. So the idea that it was “stolen” is rather silly. It is a rather old concept that has been used many times before, most notably by the Gorillaz music group, and even the Haunted House ghosts at Disney Land. When it comes down to it, it’s just merely a projected image on glass. It will be very interesting to see where this leads in the future.

AniMiku Fan Concert to Premier at Tora-Con in New York

One of the very surprising recent announcements is that a completely fan-driven Vocaloid concert will be shown at Tora-Con on April 21st in New York. Crypton and SEGA have no official involvement in this concert, but they have acknowledged the concert and announced it to the fans to show their approval. This could very well be the first of many fanmade performances in the future. Additional information and details can be read from the linked article from Hatsune Miku’s facebook post.

A Chance for Miku to be Immortalized in Wax

Madame Tussauds is a well renowned London Gallery of famous people sculpted in wax, with 14 locations worldwide. One particular gallery located within Bangkok, Thailand has opened a facebook poll for people to vote for the next person or character we would like to see added to the gallery. Hatsune Miku is currently sitting with a comfortable lead with over 1,000 votes above the second highest candidate. If you can, go and place your vote to show your support!

Hatsune Miku Not Making an Anime Expo 2012 Concert Appearance

This comes as somewhat sad news to many expecting fans, including myself. The staff of Anime Expo has informed their followers that Hatsune Miku and the other Crypton Vocaloids will not be making a return concert appearance at Anime Expo 2012. SEGA and Crypton did, however, say that they have “other exciting plans”. These plans are still a mystery, so fans will need to stay tuned for further updates. They have also hinted at the possibility of a return concert in 2013. Regardless, I will still be attending Anime Expo 2012, and I hope to see many of you there!