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Miku Expo 2024 North America

Pup-p

Nemu nemu~
Apr 8, 2018
99
For solutions (aside from getting a bigger screen), I think a black curtain behind or hiding the sides hidden would been good, or having screens to the side or top (maybe showing lyrics or simple visuals), or having the band members closer to make it more imitate. Also the communication adds to the complaints, since they never said it won't be holograms. I don't mind the LED screen, as long as it looks good.
 
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JGV

Aspiring Fan
Apr 8, 2018
75
USA
It saddens me how a different way of presenting Miku, just tears the community apart. Especially veteran Miku fans are affected as well. 😔

I thought many times on how Miku can be presented other than projection. LED is the logical solution. Especially transparent LED, which gives the same depth and dimension as the glass wall projection. Yet that will far too expensive. What they are doing now is a step in the right direction.

Yes, I understand people’s disappointment of watching a “tv”, but it’s no different compared to watching a movie at home or in theaters. I do like the LED as something new to the experience and in terms of setup, reliability and safety. Safety as in not having the laser protection go into your eyes, which happened to me a couple time on older projection setups.

It just makes sense logistically and financially of use of a screen. Due to large scale of the tour just makes it easier to bring Miku to everyone.

I will be attending the shows in San Jose and attending both weekends at Coachella. Nothing is going stop from having fun and make it the best Miku experience EVER!!!
 

mobius017

Aspiring ∞ Creator
Apr 8, 2018
1,995
On the other hand, I do think the complaining is getting a bit hyperbolic now. Has anyone else seen the threats to start a class action lawsuit against the organisers? :ROFL:
I should really probably just leave the lawsuit idea in the dirt where it belongs.

I really hope it's something to LOL about. We don't know the reasons for the decision to use the TV, but I really don't believe anyone was out to screw anyone here.

As I understand, the whole reason why Crunchyroll was so prominently involved this year is because, after COVID, a need was perceived to offset the risk of running a concert tour. How much greater will the perceived risk be if there's the possibility of getting sued? That would then get passed along to concertgoers in some way--maybe new legalese when purchasing the tickets, maybe higher ticket prices to cover insurance against lawsuits.

Emphatically, we don't need a lawsuit.

Mega Man X5 is one of my favorite video games. Offhand, the protagonist, X, ends up going to war something like 11 times. However, in the opening global crisis of X5, he's the only one who points out that "[a] battle won't solve the problem."

Some sort of conflict is too often the instinctive response to a lot of situations these days. I think communication makes sense here. But, as in the video game, a battle won't solve the problem--it will only make things worse.

Not that that means people don't have reason to be upset. After the debacle with the multiple tiers of Crunchyroll preorders, the ticket scalping by Ticketmaster/others, and the profiteering by some individuals on light sticks, the thing with the screen is a lot to take.
 

Rylitah

kiyoteru enthusiast
Staff member
Moderator
Apr 8, 2018
577
I don't really personally mind the LED screen - I found the complaints that she'd just look super flat if you had a side seat to be a little odd, because... she'd look that way even if it was the same as other concerts?

I'm just a bit bothered personally since they're just kind of dancing in the void, and the lights coming from behind the screen don't really help with immersion at all. That's all it boils down to really - the immersion is just ruined by having the screen so obviously there. If there were some background animations or effects happening on the screen while they're dancing, I think even that would go a long way (and if there is something like that, then good! I haven't watched many videos since I'm going to one of the last shows and want to avoid seeing too much in advance sdfjdsfk)

I think it's perfectly fine to be disappointed, but I also think it's not as bad as people are saying (including supposed calls to cancel the rest of the tour...? Now that's pretty ridiculous).

Now what's going on with the merch.... that's more something to be alarmed about. It really would have been much better to produce way more lightsticks than they ever thought they could need if the issue is how many they have - people would buy them up even after the tour concluded and there'd be no problem. As it is, most people missed out on the online sales and most won't even get the chance to get them at the venue either unless they go super early. That's just unfair.
 

Vector

Passionate Fan
Mar 6, 2022
127
Remember to take good ear protection if you go! I've heard reports from both concerts that the volume was unusually loud compared to previous live shows, to the point where even with ear plugs it could get extreme.
I recommend Etymotic Research's concert earplugs. I've used them at a few concerts (including a taiko group) and they work well. Cuts the level without creating a muffled sound. The reduction is very noticeable, and advertised as 20db.


D'addario makes music-grade hearing protection too, but I haven't personally used them.

My Apple Watch monitors ambient sound levels constantly and alerts me when it's dangerous, and I always bring hearing protection to concerts.

Now what's going on with the merch.... that's more something to be alarmed about. It really would have been much better to produce way more lightsticks than they ever thought they could need if the issue is how many they have - people would buy them up even after the tour concluded and there'd be no problem.
They likely did. They would have placed an order for the total number of light sticks weeks before they first went on sale, and manufacturing would have been partially or fully completed, with no time for another order to be made. (Manufacturing takes time, and suppliers typically have windows of availability.) The "restock" online a few days later was them pulling from the pool that would be sold at concerts; there was never going to be an increase in the total number by that point in time, because their supplier most likely moved on to making other customers' scheduled orders. Relatively small batch products like that are heavily susceptible to long turnarounds on orders.

Given that the amount initially allocated for online sale sold out in less than half an hour, we know resellers almost certainly were snapping them up en masse. TSURT really should have limited the quantity per person, but that still only really slows them down.
 
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WyndReed

Dareka tasukete!
Apr 8, 2018
315
26
???, New York
I recommend Etymotic Research's concert earplugs. I've used them at a few concerts (including a taiko group) and they work well. Cuts the level without creating a muffled sound. The reduction is very noticeable, and advertised as 20db.

I use Etymotic in-ear monitors, which use the same eartips, and they're actually pretty comfortable.
 
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Nezuh

Official Piko Husband
Apr 17, 2018
81
Argentina
www.youtube.com
Emphatically, we don't need a lawsuit.
That is not the responsibility of the fans. It should have been thought of in advance by the tour organisers. And if it really was a last minute unforeseen event, then they should have reported it in some form.
I don't think there will be a lawsuit, I don't think it's realistic. But the organisers have to take responsibility.

Nowhere in their marketing material is there an LED screen. Instead, just the usual transparent screen or even AR concert material.

As I understand, the whole reason why Crunchyroll was so prominently involved this year is because, after COVID, a need was perceived to offset the risk of running a concert tour. How much greater will the perceived risk be if there's the possibility of getting sued? That would then get passed along to concertgoers in some way--maybe new legalese when purchasing the tickets, maybe higher ticket prices to cover insurance against lawsuits.
As it is already?
Don't they already have one of the most expensive ticket prices so far?
(genuine question, I saw people saying that but I don't know the usual prices of the Magical Mirai)

At the end of the day, we all love Miku. People are going to enjoy the concert regardless. But we can't be complacent with people who can't host a concert at least at the level they themselves put up during the last 10 years or even at the standard of the last 16 years of Hatsune Miku concerts.
Not even fan events use LED screens, and everyone strives to use something somewhat transparent.

Only once such a thing has happened, and there is a reason why we don't ever talk about the Mikupa 2011 in Tokyo.
 

Vector

Passionate Fan
Mar 6, 2022
127
Don't they already have one of the most expensive ticket prices so far?
Pricing varies wildly by location and when the ticket was purchased, due to the nature of ticket brokers and the exclusivity deals venues have with them. I paid $99/ticket for Denver, while others paid hundreds in other cities. We've also had over 20% inflation since 2018 ($99 now is about $80 in 2018 money, based on ~23% inflation).

Ticketmaster venues seem to be the worst. I think they basically surge price, and raise the price based on sales velocity and remaining seats. (Denver is AXS.)

It's hard to really compare Magical Mirai fairly, when the economics are completely different. Tickets are by lottery and a flat price (with only 2-3 venues involved). Japan's cost of living and median income are very different, which is important in setting a price...and Japan also basically went decades without any inflation.
 

mobius017

Aspiring ∞ Creator
Apr 8, 2018
1,995
I don't think there will be a lawsuit, I don't think it's realistic.
That was basically what I was saying. The way people respond to a situation should be realistic, proportional, and suitable for the context.

I don't mean to dismiss how people are feeling about this. I'm not a fan of how things have transpired (even if I can imagine potential reasons why the LCD display might've been chosen), and the idea of being super stoked to get to go to a concert and then finding what looks like a TV sitting in the middle of the stage makes me feel rather ill. I can honestly just feel how crushed those people would feel, because that's how I'd feel. But things have been increasingly volatile in recent years in all manner of areas, and jumping to things like suing people isn't going to help.
 
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JGV

Aspiring Fan
Apr 8, 2018
75
USA
Saw San Jose day 1 show

The difference in presentation is minimal. It’s the same production, the same great fun!

I can’t recall much of setlist. As I’m suffering from concert amnesia, but I do recall…

That there is a new band for this tour and I was completely blown away! I think it’s a great call hiring local session musicians and under the guidance of Nao Nishimura. It creates a new feel. That Hatsune Miku isn’t just a Japanese act, she’s a global act.

Hope they can find some local musicians for the EU tour.

Day 2. Let’s go!
 
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Vector

Passionate Fan
Mar 6, 2022
127
Just saw a picture posted from San Jose. Definitely looks a lot better than the ones people have been circulating. Hearing plenty of good comments out of San Jose, which is encouraging. I've also been seeing a lot of people with glowsticks, so either the supply is decent or a lot of people got very lucky in that initial half hour sale online...

 

The_Dude

New Fan
Apr 7, 2024
5
I have been to several Miku concerts over the years. Including her very first NA appearance at AX in LA (Mikunopolis). So I do have some previous Vocaloid concert experience to draw from and can certainly see why some of the more veteran concert goers at least could be very let down by the change in presentation technology this go around. I myself held off purchasing a ticket to one of the venues near me when I first heard about the tour on Crunchyroll and was debating whether or not to go this time because of my experience the last time I saw Miku pre-Covid.

Like I mentioned, I was there at Miku's first appearance stateside and even managed to drag a couple of friends of mine who got me into Vocaloid to see her in LA a couple years later at the first Miku Expo and a couple other tours. But the last Expo I attended it started to look like the tour organizers/producers were getting a bit lazy and even cutting corners on the whole experience ( I specifically remember when it came time for band member introductions they didn't even have Miku or any of the other Vocaloids come out and introduce them but instead just had the words "Band Introductions" flash up on a screen with the cheapest graphics imaginable accompanying those words, and I was like "Really? that's all the effort they put into that this time around?").

I was debating as recently as last week whether or not it would be worth it for me to try and make it to one of the shows in Texas even if I had to pay those incredibly inflated resale ticket prices. But even before the LED screen fiasco I was wondering if it would be worth it for me to go or if this tour would be more of the same as previous tours I'd attended. Can anyone who has been to other Miku concerts tell me if they did anything different aside from changing to an LED screen? Any change in how the concert went down? How it started? How it ended? Did Miku personally introduce the band members this time around, or was it just words on a screen again?
 
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ElectricMiku25

Miku Otaku
Nov 16, 2023
8
United States
Just saw a picture posted from San Jose. Definitely looks a lot better than the ones people have been circulating. Hearing plenty of good comments out of San Jose, which is encouraging. I've also been seeing a lot of people with glowsticks, so either the supply is decent or a lot of people got very lucky in that initial half hour sale online...

I agree, I was at the 1st San Jose show and the visuals were a huge improvement compared to other shows. I was in the standing area so I saw the screen directly and it looked really good. Definitely an experience I will remember. As for the glowsticks, I did see some still for sale at 4:00 but I'm assuming they were down to the last few. I did also see some people bring unofficial glowsticks which some say can affect the projection but since this was an LED display, I'm not sure if it did anything to it. I believe that with each new concert, they keep on getting better and better.
 

Blue Of Mind

The world that I do not know...
Apr 8, 2018
705
Just saw a picture posted from San Jose. Definitely looks a lot better than the ones people have been circulating. Hearing plenty of good comments out of San Jose, which is encouraging. I've also been seeing a lot of people with glowsticks, so either the supply is decent or a lot of people got very lucky in that initial half hour sale online...

Ohhh, the coloured border around the screen makes the setup look so much better! I'm still annoyed at the lack of transparency from the organisers (there's STILL no statement after how many days?), but it's good to see they're improving the new setup while touring.
 

MagicalMiku

♡Miku♡
Apr 13, 2018
1,364
Sapporo
it's really nice to see all those improvements(●'◡'●)🎁🎈
as for the statement, given that all fans attending the concerts are enjoying them so much and i don't see any complaints from them, probably there will be an after report on the official blog and a press release about how the whole tour went (after it ended, just like it happens with other Miku events, example Magical Mirai).
The staff won't talk about the screen and setup change now because there are some agreements between Crypton and the main sponsors about the timings of blog reports with photos and videos(・∀・(✨🎀
 

InstallGentoo

Aspiring Fan
May 7, 2021
49
ok i did contact some of my friends at SEGA, and while I can't say some things until an official statement (yes, the staff is aware of the complaints, but it can take some time for a public statement because it has to be checked and approved by all main sponsors, that's how things work)
Excuse my ignorance, you're affiliated with SEGA? Excuse me, it might not be appropiate to ask in this thread.

better lighting and set dressing
On that note, is it possible to change the set and lights to accomodate the screen for the rest of tour or is it too late to do that?
 
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MagicalMiku

♡Miku♡
Apr 13, 2018
1,364
Sapporo
Excuse my ignorance, you're affiliated with SEGA? Excuse me, it might not be appropiate to ask in this thread.

On that note, is it possible to change the set and lights to accomodate the screen for the rest of tour or is it too late to do that?
hehe don't worry ^-^ well, thanks to my job in the gaming industry i do know some people on a personal level as friends from various companies, in this case i have some good friends from Sega and Marza Animation Planet from over 10 years and we love to talk about anything related to Miku ^-^
regarding the change of set and lights, I think some small improvements (but can make a big difference) can be made during each event, because only after an event is really possible to understand what improvements can be made for the next one✨
 
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wei wei

New Fan
Apr 13, 2018
15
Did Miku personally introduce the band members this time around, or was it just words on a screen again?
the only times i've seen Miku actually introduce the band members was during Mikunopolis, and Mirai 2013/2014. every other time i've seen Miku, it's just their names on the screen followed by little riffs/solos. in answer to your question though, for Miku Expo 2024, it's just their names displayed on the screen like usual.
 
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mobius017

Aspiring ∞ Creator
Apr 8, 2018
1,995
She also personally introduced the band members by name during Expo 2021 Online and Expo 2024 VR. I personally love that little touch--it breaks down the barrier between her and the real-world human band members (and, by extension, the audience) and is a really nice acknowledgement of the band members and what they contribute to the show. It makes them all feel like they're really part of the same group performing together, rather than the singers being center-stage and the band just being there to support them.
 

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