Vocaloid Storytime

January 28, 2009 1:44 PM

The Vocaloids,¹ anime-like characters created for the singing synthasizer program by the Yamaha Corporation, have been capturing the imaginations of Japanese fans for more than a year. They've inspired and starred in a large body of fan-produced songs and animated videos,² ranging from macabre to sorrowful to dramatic to humorous. [Massive MLYTP]

Take Alice Human Sacrifice, the story of a small dream who just wants to survive. Or an alternate version...and a few more unsubtitled but progressively creepier and bloodier adaptations.

In the mood for something a bit more SF? Check out Kokoro Kiseki, the story of a scientist who creates a cute girl robot without a heart. Then follow it up with the sequel from the robot's point of view. Or watch an alternate mix of both viewpoints.³

Or watch Daughter of Evil, the saga of an irredeemably wicked princess who gets her just deserts. Or does she? Round out the trilogy with a message of regret. Or visit two alternate viewpoints to get the full story.⁴

For the tale of a psychotic lover, see Cantarella.⁵ Or visit the nightmarish Dark Woods Circus.

Looking for something a bit lighter? How about the story of the most high-maintenance girlfriend ever? Then watch the reply from a male point-of-view. Or two.

Finish up by witnessing a proposal. Or just watch the twins being dorks.


¹Previously on Metafilter here and here. Since the last post, a set of vocaloid twins has also been released, and a new bilingual vocaloid character is slated for release on January 30.

²Often posted to Nico Nico Video, then later ported to Youtube.

I've tried to link the English subtitled version of the video where possible, but in some cases there were multiple alternate versions and it was hard to choose. A few alternates I couldn't fit in:

• ³Rin's version alts: 1, 2, 3D Animation. Manga version. Untranslated: Alt animation for Len's version.
• ⁴The Servant of Evil and Regret Message with alternate animation. Untranslated alts for Daughter of Evil and Servant of Evil: 1, 2.
• ⁵Alternate untranslated version.

posted by anthy (7 comments total)

Don't forget the oscilloscope video version of Hatsune Miku sings "Ievan Polkka".
posted by bigtex at 2:38 PM on January 28, 2009

I further recommend:

1. The sad, all too familiar tale of a girl who just wants to get to her interview on time.
2. This video may cause death in those allergic to Japan.
3. What happens when you uninstall a Vocaloid
4. I'll confess... only girls are supposed to watch this but I did it anyway

Related, less chirpy and more professional videos (that got dubbed by actual singers):
1. Super Mario World Western Show
2. The 7/11 song
posted by shii at 2:42 PM on January 28, 2009

As a 7/11 conbini regular, I know for certain that song will randomly pop into my head the next time I go in and cause further awkwardness.
posted by incompressible at 3:44 PM on January 28, 2009

Don't forget the oscilloscope video version of Hatsune Miku sings "Ievan Polkka".

There's no way it can beat oscilloscope Mack the Knife being sung in German while throwaway Ernie Kovacs gags take place behind it.

(My quest: to connect all the strange things in the world to each other. Now Leek Girl and Ernie Kovacs have been linked! How many more jumps can it be to get to Kevin Bacon?)
posted by JHarris at 6:41 PM on January 28, 2009

Okay, I love Dark Woods Circus. Goddamn, more of that. Do I need to learn to speak Japanese just to find that on a CD?
posted by adipocere at 7:06 AM on January 29, 2009

shii - that Owata video is frickin ADORABLE. Thank you for the links; I'd hadn't seen most of those.

adipocere - I'm pretty sure that it's not on a CD. Most of the songs are fan-produced and sung by the vocaloid program, then posted for the amusement of other fans, so... Though the creators CAN publish the songs to CD (and there are some CDs), I don't think many do.

There's an mp3 download here, though?

Also, wow, I had NO IDEA that song was actually sung by the vocaloids until I googled it. Sometimes the original vocaloid songs are covered by actual singers (see: this and this among others), so I figured this one was the same. Props to the creator!

And just found a prequel video, a jazzy version of the song, and a parody video. I could seriously waste days finding alternate versions of these. It's fascinating.
posted by anthy at 9:14 AM on January 29, 2009

Thank you, anthy, I downloaded it and then listened to it, uh ... way too many times. And then heard it in my dreams.
posted by adipocere at 10:55 AM on January 30, 2009