Acute, Extreme, Perfect

This is a video of actual game-play from the rhythm game Project Diva Arcade F2. The song is Acute, the setting is Extreme, and the score is Perfect(!)

On top of all that, lucky Kaito gets to perform this with both Miku and Luka, the latter again showing her sheer stage 'presence' which is unequalled. The motion is as close to perfection as current technology permits; and if (more likely 'when') the play-only version of this without the game-play appears, there is no doubt in my mind that it will become one of the top Vocaloid demo pieces, raising the bar yet again...

Sing and Smile

It's about time I posted another nice video with good motion, so here's something new: Sing and Smile by Re:nG, featuring an 'all-star' cast of the six Cryptonloids (including the Sakine version of Meiko) along with Teto, Haku Yowane and Neru Akita, all of whom appear in Project DIVA Arcade future tone, from which this derives.

The motion is really good, and Rin's outfit in her initial appearance in the video – starting at 1 minute in – though simple in design is particularly appealing, I thought.

By the way: I have been spending so much time on social media and domestic matters that I haven't been able to keep up with other matters (in case anyone was wondering) – though I have been monitoring a lot of things going on, especially in the local and national political spheres. I shall no doubt comment on at least one or two of those in due course, but for now let's stay with the lighter and more enjoyable world of Vocaloid/Utau...

The Wizardry of OS-TER

If you liked OSTER project's Alice In Musicland, which I featured here a few months ago, you'll go for this similarly-presented version of Music Wizard of Oz, again with the Crypton 'Vocaloid All-Stars' playing all the parts and providing the voices, this time with the addition of Gumi..

It will help to know the original story, as no English words have yet been provided – hardly surprising, as it has only just appeared. No doubt a translation in the form of subtitles or captions will appear one day, and I shall then showcase that here.

In the meantime, it is again a mini-masterpiece, longer than the Alice production at just over twenty minutes..

Decorator

This is the intro song for the imminent (but delayed for three weeks for quality improvements to be made) Project Diva F 2nd game. The song, by kz (livetune), features all six Crypton Vocaloids who also appear in the game – which will now appear (all being well) in late March, at least in Japan.

Meanwhile, we can enjoy Decorator, in a typical setting and style of video for this series of games...

Reflection In The Snow – Take 2

The ever-excellent Mr Neutrino has managed to fix some problems in Kaito's English voicebank, so here is the re-mastered version of the new song.

Incidentally, the reasons for both the title and the perhaps unexpectedly sudden end are that we decided to leave out the last four lines of the lyrics, so it isn't quite as I originally wrote it. It has also lost some of the punctuation in the transcription to the lyrics provided in the video, but that's very much a minor matter.

I've left the original version on the 'blog to enable comparison; and if you did so you'd notice quite a few improvements in clarity in this new version, and previously almost-missing sounds now pronounced properly...

Reflection In The Snow

The latest song for which I wrote the lyrics (and the title this time!) is now up on YouTube. It's been made into a nice duet featuring Gumi and Kaito – though the latter's English is somewhat lacking in some respects. Fortunately Mr Neutrino is very good at 'tuning' pronunciation, so it comes out well despite that quirk...

A Flavour of Magic

Here is a video of a couple of very short snippets from each of the songs performed at the recent Magical Mirai 2013 concert, featuring all six Crypton Vocaloids in solos, duets and one trio.

It gives an idea of what the event was like, a lot more broadly than just one song – even though the one I featured here a few weeks ago was the jaw-dropping staging of Ryo's Odds and Ends. Here we have the lot, sampled, and topped & tailed with the aid of some nifty graphics.

It comes as no surprise that the range of models, costumes and some new (to me at least) songs raised the bar yet again, along with the extra-wide screen (just how wide is that thing?) and some completely new motions even for established songs.

On top of that, we once again get to realise, however briefly, just how good the Vocaloid composer/producers are, their material easily up there with the best in the conventional music arena, more often than not. Remember: it hasn't been tampered with by publishing agents, session musicians (though the live band here won't be quite the same as the original released version), recording engineer, studio acoustics and effects, or a human lead performer (or two, or three).

These works are essentially straight from the composer's thoughts and intentions for his or her creation to the audience – which is perhaps the single strongest reason why the fan community is so dedicated without (except in a few cases!) too 'fannish'. Here we go...

Alice in Musicland

Now here's one I've been saving for a while. You might recall the opening track of this musical version of Alice in Wonderland as the intro to one of the (several) live Vocaloid concerts I have featured here in recent months.

This is the extended version, by no less than OSTER Project, telling much of the original story in music, presented in a kind of pantomime stage format with the Crypton Vocaloids personified by a simulation of animated cardboard cut-out figures. We have the White Rabbit in a hurry, the Mad Hatter's tea party, and the Queen of Hearts, and a few other parts of the Lewis Carroll story as well. There are English subtitles throughout, so it's easy to follow.

It really does have the flavour of the Wonderland story, and is a mini masterpiece, well worth twelve minutes of anyone's time to watch and enjoy. It's infectious...