A friend introduced me to vocaloids via Love is War. She was going to do a dance and/or vocal cover of it at a con and urged me to listen to the song on youtube. I was super confused at first, cause I thought Miku was a real singer. I was like “I’m only sering anime and cosplay videos. Where’s Miku’s video?”.My friend was like “She’s the character with the blue pigtails lol.” Vocaloid is definitely confusing at first and I definitely thought it was some sort of anime for a bit, but it really didn’t take long to get the whole virtual singer concept.
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I found vocaloid because in elementary school i used to....like nightcore...embarrassing. And people used vocaloid pics in their nightcore videos a lot, so slowly i started just also getting into vocaloid content. it was so long ago thought i dont really know what i thought vocaloid was, but i do know if i saw comments saying it had canon lore i believed them. so i used to believe some wacky stuff was canon lol....im not sure when i figured out what vocaloid really was. i know i definitely did by 7th grade cause i was watching a lot of ATH's videos then.
i got into vocaloid age like 9-10 (2012..jesus) cause my friend on deviantart linked "regret message" in one of their art descriptions and i fell in love with the unnatural sounding voices. i think i knew they werent real singers from the get-go but i had 0 idea of how it worked or why and i just thought only really special people got to use them or something
oh man, I vividly remember Spice, Honey Honey and a certain World is Mine MMD video as my first experiences with Vocaloid. I did hear about Miku before that but me, back then as a 9 year old child, also googled "is Vocaloid an anime?" lmao. I think it did take me quite a while to completely grasp what Vocaloid is but I mean, I was a literal child at the time so I can't really say how hard it would truly be for an adult who knows nothing about it to understand.
The video had... a bunch of errors that made me go "uhhh..." but hey, at least we finally have got it right that Miku wasn't the very first (I remember SO many video claiming this simple to research error) and I also think she did a good explanation on why we like Vocaloid so much as a community, that its about celebrating everyone's efforts and supporting each other. So that's at least something.
The video had... a bunch of errors that made me go "uhhh..." but hey, at least we finally have got it right that Miku wasn't the very first (I remember SO many video claiming this simple to research error) and I also think she did a good explanation on why we like Vocaloid so much as a community, that its about celebrating everyone's efforts and supporting each other. So that's at least something.
I found Miku by accident while browsing YouTube and just clicking on random videos on the sidebar. One of them was 'Melody.exe' and since I was already an established trance fan (even at age 11 - I was one of the 'weird' kids who legitimately liked electronic music when it was still a bit marginalised), I was hooked to that song. Another video on the sidebar was 'Anger', which had a completely different vibe (yet still trance) - kid me thought the two videos were connected, despite the songs being by different producers and the videos having different 3D art styles. Lol.
So a lot of people are talking about first exposures? Cool.
I actually started finding Vocaloid songs back in around 2015, and this was the first video that I've seen -
Eventually I became part of the fandom until 2017 when I started listening to more mainstream music. I don't listen to a lot of vocal synth music as much as I do anymore, but I appreciate all the producers who made them. I started going back to the fandom in 2019 through this video.
When I came back, I realized a lot of vocals after Zunko came out, like Fukase and Una. (I watched a video about every single Vocaloid released prior to Zunko's release)
And I guess this year I started researching every single vocal synth anniversary (which I am really interested in). I didn't know a lot of my favorite singers had the same birthday as a vocal synth anniversary...but I created a thread here because I thought it'd be pretty interesting.
So that's all.
I actually started finding Vocaloid songs back in around 2015, and this was the first video that I've seen -
Eventually I became part of the fandom until 2017 when I started listening to more mainstream music. I don't listen to a lot of vocal synth music as much as I do anymore, but I appreciate all the producers who made them. I started going back to the fandom in 2019 through this video.
When I came back, I realized a lot of vocals after Zunko came out, like Fukase and Una. (I watched a video about every single Vocaloid released prior to Zunko's release)
And I guess this year I started researching every single vocal synth anniversary (which I am really interested in). I didn't know a lot of my favorite singers had the same birthday as a vocal synth anniversary...but I created a thread here because I thought it'd be pretty interesting.
So that's all.
Mine was in two takes actually....
Like first time I've fallen onto Miku's presentation (she was bound to be released or just shortly released right before I discover her a first time) and then one year or so later, somebody who was on the same RPG forum (Mermaid melody, Tokyo mew mew and other kinds of RPg forums funny times~ ) showed us the video of Rain garden with the kagamine =o
Then I went deeper into it (I was wondering for like some minutes if it was like Gorillaz or like a software, but rememebering that one technical Miku vid in Japanese told me no otl ) and then fell on World is mine (hence why ti's my top favourite, sure there are WAY better songs in my personal discothèque somewhere in my mind, but it's because it was one of the very first ones I've ever heard featuring a Vocaloid)
Then discovered KAITO, MEIKO, the V1 Engloids, fell like many people on Dear You covers' bandwagon, the Bad apple and fellow Touhou crossovers... Then UTAU with Teto, the vippers (I didn't get fool into thinking Ritsu was a Vocaloid but really thought he was a girl, and especially like those "sharp, sour" kind of witch characters because his attire minded me to witches' dresses and because he doesn't look much like wanting you as his friend ='D )
Right before I enter high school, I was trying to find informations about UTAU (as when I just discovered vocaloid and utau, I wondered how would you "create" a Vocaloid -and here we came with the Pitchloids glory era) and when I started high school, it was right before Luka was going to release, and I've created Sakanne practically on my very first days of high school years, in early September right after Day 1 (I remember I've tried finding her a name but couldn't because of MEIKO and Luka ^^"' So she's mostly known by her last name and even often introduces her by her surname -like Woyane)
And while I was finally going onto earlier versions of the Utaforum, I've discovered the other V2s, saw the rise and release of some of my big favourite like Miki, Lily and TONIO~~
However it's been sooooo loooooong than after 12 years I may get muddy on details and get them back in mind later é~è
Also regarding the Yukari x Akari fanfiction, it's cool ! =o Also yeah even though I'd see Yukari Rei being the real Yukari but back in the past when she was younger (like how Meiko Sakine can be MEIKO when she was 16 and started her idol career) I feel yet like seeing her as being a different character when being in same time as Yukari (however I struggle seeing Jun, Lin and Onn as being sepearate characters, same with her CeVIO -looking like she's going to the prom or a special music event held in a somptuous place with orchestra, think like Vienna's New Year Concert)
Like first time I've fallen onto Miku's presentation (she was bound to be released or just shortly released right before I discover her a first time) and then one year or so later, somebody who was on the same RPG forum (Mermaid melody, Tokyo mew mew and other kinds of RPg forums funny times~ ) showed us the video of Rain garden with the kagamine =o
Then I went deeper into it (I was wondering for like some minutes if it was like Gorillaz or like a software, but rememebering that one technical Miku vid in Japanese told me no otl ) and then fell on World is mine (hence why ti's my top favourite, sure there are WAY better songs in my personal discothèque somewhere in my mind, but it's because it was one of the very first ones I've ever heard featuring a Vocaloid)
Then discovered KAITO, MEIKO, the V1 Engloids, fell like many people on Dear You covers' bandwagon, the Bad apple and fellow Touhou crossovers... Then UTAU with Teto, the vippers (I didn't get fool into thinking Ritsu was a Vocaloid but really thought he was a girl, and especially like those "sharp, sour" kind of witch characters because his attire minded me to witches' dresses and because he doesn't look much like wanting you as his friend ='D )
Right before I enter high school, I was trying to find informations about UTAU (as when I just discovered vocaloid and utau, I wondered how would you "create" a Vocaloid -and here we came with the Pitchloids glory era) and when I started high school, it was right before Luka was going to release, and I've created Sakanne practically on my very first days of high school years, in early September right after Day 1 (I remember I've tried finding her a name but couldn't because of MEIKO and Luka ^^"' So she's mostly known by her last name and even often introduces her by her surname -like Woyane)
And while I was finally going onto earlier versions of the Utaforum, I've discovered the other V2s, saw the rise and release of some of my big favourite like Miki, Lily and TONIO~~
However it's been sooooo loooooong than after 12 years I may get muddy on details and get them back in mind later é~è
Also regarding the Yukari x Akari fanfiction, it's cool ! =o Also yeah even though I'd see Yukari Rei being the real Yukari but back in the past when she was younger (like how Meiko Sakine can be MEIKO when she was 16 and started her idol career) I feel yet like seeing her as being a different character when being in same time as Yukari (however I struggle seeing Jun, Lin and Onn as being sepearate characters, same with her CeVIO -looking like she's going to the prom or a special music event held in a somptuous place with orchestra, think like Vienna's New Year Concert)
ill add onto the stories of discovering vocaloid because i was someone who had confusion on what it was for a bit--
i actually came across Gumi first in 2009 when i was 10, because of a cover of PoPiPo actually. but i didnt know it was vocaloid as this was the era of creditting the vocaloid and not an artist (video was literally just titled PoPiPo, nothing else), so i didnt really search for vocaloid specifically as i didnt know the term. i eventually came across "miku anime" shorts on YT and liked them a lot and then watched a few music PVs like World's End Dance Hall, etc but i was still not super of aware of "what" vocaloid was. since i had randomly come across what was being called a "miku anime" (just a short animation from someone) i thought it was an anime or something, maybe a manga. running into things like Kagerou Project at later points definitely didn't help my confusion lol, but eventually searching around enough in 2012~ for any kinds of "series" with vocaloid allowed me to learn what it was.
it took me some time to understand the scope of vocaloid. i thought certain things were "official" (from crypton, in a sense) and other was just fan content, not aware that pretty much everything is 'fan content' for some time.
i took a break from vocaloid after 2013 and revisited it in mid highschool around 2015 or so which is where i am now! i learn waaaay more about vocaloid in 2015 than i did before, as ive since been super into the tech side of things. its funny to see how people get into it. no doubt it was harder to get information in the early 2000s, mostly when something like vocaloid was so different and new. once i found the right words, i was able to figure out what it was though.
i actually came across Gumi first in 2009 when i was 10, because of a cover of PoPiPo actually. but i didnt know it was vocaloid as this was the era of creditting the vocaloid and not an artist (video was literally just titled PoPiPo, nothing else), so i didnt really search for vocaloid specifically as i didnt know the term. i eventually came across "miku anime" shorts on YT and liked them a lot and then watched a few music PVs like World's End Dance Hall, etc but i was still not super of aware of "what" vocaloid was. since i had randomly come across what was being called a "miku anime" (just a short animation from someone) i thought it was an anime or something, maybe a manga. running into things like Kagerou Project at later points definitely didn't help my confusion lol, but eventually searching around enough in 2012~ for any kinds of "series" with vocaloid allowed me to learn what it was.
it took me some time to understand the scope of vocaloid. i thought certain things were "official" (from crypton, in a sense) and other was just fan content, not aware that pretty much everything is 'fan content' for some time.
i took a break from vocaloid after 2013 and revisited it in mid highschool around 2015 or so which is where i am now! i learn waaaay more about vocaloid in 2015 than i did before, as ive since been super into the tech side of things. its funny to see how people get into it. no doubt it was harder to get information in the early 2000s, mostly when something like vocaloid was so different and new. once i found the right words, i was able to figure out what it was though.
I had never really thought about how people end up learning what Vocaloid actually is after they first encounter it!
My first encounter was a September 2007 tech blog article saying, "There's a new piece of music software just released in Japan that produces synthesized vocals," subheading, "What could this mean for the future of music production?"
The article was more concerned with whether or not synth vocals would end up being an important part of music production in the future. Whether they would eventually sound real enough to fully replace vocalists in smaller productions. In what ways Vocaloid V2 was an improvement over past software. What are its limitations and plans for future development. Miku was only described as being a mascot character to make the software more appealing. Rather than programs that have the more industry-oriented-software look to them, like you'd see on other music software packages, or like photo editing and 3D modeling software boxes.
I clicked the link in the article to CFM's official website and listened to the three audio samples. The blog also had a link to a couple early YouTube videos, and from there I just kept watching the reposts from NND as they came out. Here's a couple shots of what the website looked like back then:
Idea: Akari accidentally goes back in time and unwittingly interacts with young Yukari. When she returns to the present Yukari is different. So Akari keeps going into the past to try and change different things so that Yukari goes back to being the Yukari she remembers.
How does she travel through time? I dunno, maybe she karate-chopped a stag beetle?
My first encounter was a September 2007 tech blog article saying, "There's a new piece of music software just released in Japan that produces synthesized vocals," subheading, "What could this mean for the future of music production?"
The article was more concerned with whether or not synth vocals would end up being an important part of music production in the future. Whether they would eventually sound real enough to fully replace vocalists in smaller productions. In what ways Vocaloid V2 was an improvement over past software. What are its limitations and plans for future development. Miku was only described as being a mascot character to make the software more appealing. Rather than programs that have the more industry-oriented-software look to them, like you'd see on other music software packages, or like photo editing and 3D modeling software boxes.
I clicked the link in the article to CFM's official website and listened to the three audio samples. The blog also had a link to a couple early YouTube videos, and from there I just kept watching the reposts from NND as they came out. Here's a couple shots of what the website looked like back then:
Many possibilities. Maybe each is from another parallel universe, or from a different time period. Or they could all be siblings of a huge family or clones.
Idea: Akari accidentally goes back in time and unwittingly interacts with young Yukari. When she returns to the present Yukari is different. So Akari keeps going into the past to try and change different things so that Yukari goes back to being the Yukari she remembers.
How does she travel through time? I dunno, maybe she karate-chopped a stag beetle?
another ai tts i believe
sample:
sample:
Honestly, they need to slow down making all these new AI synths. It's the V3 bubble again, except all the V3s at least had an engine in common boosting their sales/use a bit 
She sounds very cute and realistic =o Also wait, she said Tsukuyomi ? Well, I doubt it'd be Ai Tsukuyomi's "early teenage" version considering she's silver-haired and the latter is blonde and that anyway we would have heard from AH-Software about it
Still, very impressive (also iunno why she reminds me an idol from im@s)
Still, very impressive (also iunno why she reminds me an idol from im@s)
No connection with Tsukuyomi Ai, they just have the same (last) name.
Tsukuyomi-chan is a character whose creator wants to release as many free materials as possible. Everything involving this character will be free use, even for commercial purposes. She has illustration materials, a 3D model, an UTAU voicebank, various other software, etc. Her website is here if you want to look more into her.
Tsukuyomi-chan is a character whose creator wants to release as many free materials as possible. Everything involving this character will be free use, even for commercial purposes. She has illustration materials, a 3D model, an UTAU voicebank, various other software, etc. Her website is here if you want to look more into her.
So some people were talking about it back on Thursday, but I saw iilluminaughtii's video on Vocaloid pop up on my feed and I was exited. There was some stuff in the beginning that was wrong, but I understand as someone who has been into Vocaloid well over 10 years (wtf? am I that old???) I was being a bit nitpicky. Doubly because a lot of info on old Vocaloids are buried and you really have to look for it sometimes. At 5:11, I decided I wasn't enjoying the video because of mis-information and clicked off. It was just SO poorly researched.
I know I'm being a big baby and that none of this actually matters, but let me throw my big baby fit gawdamit!
I know I'm being a big baby and that none of this actually matters, but let me throw my big baby fit gawdamit!
Oh no, don't worry, that's the general reaction. It doesn't help that either the person behind the video or someone on their team (I don't know enough about these people to say for certain) kept mocking, insulting, and blocking people trying to offer corrections, ultimately throwing a major fit talking about how they're never covering Vocaloid again and how they were so excited to do the video, before "you fucking ruined everything". Sooooooo your reaction is hardly unwarranted, rest assured. The whole thing's hilariously inept and their reaction to the criticism was just the cherry on top.
...what???? what???? Why???? My problem with the video isn't that it's misinformed. It's that the channel is touted as this highly researched mini-documentary like channel.
Ugh... I hate it when people double down and blame fans when politely corrected.
Also, when I was looking at something, I found out one of the articles used for research/in the video was from red bull. Like... the energy drink. Little ad campaign they had where they had articles and interviews on music and stuff. 'Redbull music academy'... fun fact of the day I guess???
Yeah, I can readily forgive a channel just making a video because Vocaloid is cool, they wanna share this new info they found! But when you present stuff that's supposed to be highly and heavily researched and not only get multiple facts wrong, but lash out against the people trying to help and offer corrections? Eh, the whole thing just rubs me the wrong way.
I would like to add my own nitpick. It is indeed minor and pales in comparison to your critiques and such. But Is it right to critique that she possibly got the name of my favorite artist mispronounced like Kenshi Tansu instead of Kenshi Yonezu??? Like am I missing something from his name? I always say Yonezu Kenshi ;-'.