Tell Your World – kz (livetune)

What a rush! Man, my arms are cramped now from all the frantic waving. T_T

If you look closely enough, you might be able to see me and Fariz waving our extra-long leek lightsticks in the front row. If you’re having difficulty, though:

Anyway, here are my thoughts on the concert.

The Fail:

While I was nearly deafened by the music, I can hand-wave it away with my inexperience with concerts and the fact that I was sitting in the front row (and didn’t have earplugs).

I thought the bass was way too deep and the VOCALOIDs’ voices could barely be heard over the accompanying band music. I guess out of all the things they tested, they goofed in the aural portion. Thankfully I was familiar with most of the songs so I could make out the words very easily.

Len sang Migikata no Chou. Alone. In fact, Rin and Len had no duet together. What the hell is this blasphemy.

Also, the concert could’ve used a little more hardcore fanboyism/fangirlism, IMO.

The Great:

I attended the concert expecting really great covers by the band, and I wasn’t disappointed. I’m not too sure who they are (couldn’t hear Miku introducing them), but they sure know how to rock out, especially the lead electric guitarist on the left. Thankfully, I sat near him so his guitar solos were more prominent throughout their performances.

The song selection was quite good, though I believe fans who have followed the past MikuPa concerts will find most of the songs and dance sequences very familiar.  I managed to predict a few after watching the free test stream (like Yellow and ARiA) but Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru as the first encore was a pleasant surprise (though Melt was a given). I totally didn’t see it coming, and man, did I cheer the loudest.

The projection and special effects were impressive, too! I was afraid we couldn’t see the VOCALOIDs clearly since we were sitting at a wide angle relative to the stage, and especially because we were sitting so close to the stage. Thankfully, we got to watch them dance in all of their virtual glory.

Afterword:

Although the concert lasted a full 2 hours, it didn’t feel very long when the time came for Miku to perform her encore songs. I was satisfied otherwise though, and I hope they’ll be able to pull off a concert again next year. And they probably will.

And hopefully even better than before.

P.S. To the stranger who snagged Project DIVA Extend from me: I actually thought you were my brother’s/friend’s friend LOL. Ah well, have fun with the game anyways.

And now for the first day of AFA itself.

I was originally planning to do a little write-up about this in the morning, but there’s no time for that now!

If you haven’t caught the last MikuPa (in Sapporo), here’s your chance to view a live (and free) screening! Head over here to watch it!

EDIT: It’s over now.

Also, I’m back, b*tches. For the time being.

Well, that stream was short-lived. No encore either. It was apparently a broadcasting test for the real concert tonight, and by the looks of it, the servers seem stable enough.

But enough about free-yet-outdated streams, the Promised Day has come.

We have seen Singapore’s 15-minute version of Miku’s part in Animelo on a video screen, with extra lagging-goodness!

We have seen gameplay videos representing Miku’s very presence at I LOVE ANISONG (and nothing else)!

But finally…5pb has answered our prayers! Now we’re getting a full-fledged, hologram-equipped concert, worthy of being referred to as a real Hatsune Miku Party concert. Hell, it’s actually a sequel to the last MikuPa in Sapporo.

Those overseas need not despair, Nico Nico Douga will also be streaming the concert itself! On two different sites, one for the Japanese and the other for the rest of the world!

With an event as big as this (and not to mention AFA itself), the Kyouran Kyōdai have come prepared!

I’ve applied for leave! (gasp!)

We’ve got VIP tickets! (shock!)

We’ve got front row seats! (awe!)

If you’ve managed to do the same (more or less) and are attending the concert too, yay-fications to you too! If you aren’t though…wait right there!

There’s still the exclusive MikuPa merchandise.

The KKnM-run booth will be located outside the concert hall, and will sell that delicious bag (and all those other things). In fact, there’s a rumour that they might start selling even before the concert starts. Hint hint.

We’re not sure which of the official MikuPa merch will be sold, though COSPA’s definitely confirmed at this point, being a KKnM0-run booth.

Now let’s just hope the concert will be worth the sudden gaping hole in my bank account. –_–

Good Smile Company recently announced this new iteration of the Hatsune Miku Nendoroid, which will retail for 3,000 JPY.

1,000 JPY of every purchase will go towards the Japanese Red Cross to support Japan in their time of need.

The Nendoroid Hatsune Miku Support Ver. is actually a re-release of the original, plus a few extras:

Pom-poms (and a new cheerful expression to go with them)

Support flag with detachable note head

GSC also collaborated with Re:NG to give you this 30-second advert with a song titled “SING & SMILE”.

Pre-orders are open now on the GSC Online Shop, and it will be released locally on the 7th of April. A worldwide release is planned on the 8th as well.

Sources: Mikatan’s blog, Wcloudxkumo

Crypton has announced that all earnings made from purchasing songs from the 16th of March to the 15th of April will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross.

The online stores participating in this venture are:

• KarenT
• ROUTER.FM
• Hatsune Miku Mobile
• Hatsune Miku – Vocalosound

Now would be a good time to grab some music from iTunes. AvTechNO!, anyone?

Sources: Hatsune Miku Facebook page, Crypton press release

Also, thanks to jrharbort for the heads up! =D

I was going to catch up on the upcoming figures here, but first, THIS.

Nico Nico Douga

This PV is 「どういうことなの!?」, or “Do You Koto Nano!?” by くちばしP (tetsuo). It’s a pretty good listen, and I’ve always liked this composer’s style. But this isn’t what I’m here to talk about. Not exactly.

Nico Nico Douga

This video is the same PV, albeit with some differences. It’s actually an advertisement in (not-so-subtle) disguise for the new Hatsune Miku Lat-Type Ver. 1/8-scaled figure from Good Smile Company (which I’ll cover in an upcoming post *wink*).

While it’s sort of cool to see GSC try to merge their product into the same PV using the MMD model its based off, the figure flashing momentarily during the PV only comes across as subliminal.

I’m sure some of you might argue, “Hey, GSC’s featuring tetsuo and letting him get some spotlight on himself, right?” While I can’t deny this as truth, I’m seeing this as a terrible premonition: that eventually PVs will go hand-in-hand with merchandise (read: sellout).

Yeah, I know, I may be overreacting. The advert does credit tetsuo as the composer, and it has (so far) only aired during the recent Vocaloid concert. I doubt this’ll air on Japan’s airwaves though; can you imagine a 4-minute-long advert?

That aside, if you look closer, GSC’s attempt to inject the Lat-Type figure is atrocious. I’d even say all they did was super-impose the figure into the PV. At times, you can see the “ghost” effect on the figure, the kind that outlines badly cut-out photos.

Also, at 3.25, the figure actually overlaps the word “JOY”. What’s this, GSC? You equate to happiness? Your figure actually contributes towards the meaning in this song?

Bastardized, I say. What say you, then?

Okay, okay, I know, KK’s been dead for about…a month or so? I’m a terrible blogger, I get it.

Anyhoo, if you somehow forgot about MikuPa, it’s about to start! Yup. Right now. And I was lucky enough to get the rest of the day off for this. I do pray I don’t disconnect halfway though.

You can join the stream and watch it, and for those of you who are at the scene itself, have fun!

EDIT: It wasn’t a bad concert…but it didn’t live up to last year’s 39′s Thanksgiving Day either.

While they managed to cram 39 songs into the much shorter timespan, most of them were cut and/or part of a medley, and there was a ridiculous 30-minute intermission during which they looped a set of adverts till even the audience got sick of it.

They used a slightly different set of models this time round, and IMHO they’re an improvement over the ones used last year (which IIRC were taken from Project DIVA Arcade). While the fact that they used a screen (as opposed to a holographic projection) may be a disappointment to most, I don’t really feel the difference. The camera angles used during the stream were terrible, though.

There were a couple of epic moments though. The first was the end of one of the medleys, when they started playing Hatsune Miku no Gekishou. Miku transformed Panty-&-Stocking-style into a silver outfit and sprouted wings near the end. Avid Project DIVA players will know it’s a reference to the way the same song ends in the second PSP game.

The second was the final encore song, When the First Love Ends. I’m not going to spoiler this bit though; you’ll have to see for yourself. That is, if someone manages to leak a full recording. >_>

Here’s a taste of the concert. It’s one of the few portions that was streamed for free:

(Yes, I ended up watching it through UStream. FFFFF)

Here’s the songlist, courtesy of pKjD:

XX.) 「かくれんぼ / Kakurenbo」 – buzzG & Aizawa Mai
01.) 「Ievan Polkka」 – Otomania feat.初音ミク
02.) 「こっち向いて Baby /Kocchi Muite Baby」 – ryo (supercell) feat.初音ミク
03.) 「二息步行 / Nisoku Hokou」 – DECO*27 feat.初音ミク
04.) 「アルビノ / albino」 – buzzG feat.初音ミク
05.) 「え？あぁ、そう。 / Eh? Aa Sou.」 – papiyon feat.初音ミク
06.) 「ぽっぴっぽ / Po Pi Po」 – ラマーズP feat.初音ミク
07.) 「トリノコシティ / Torinoko City」 – 40mP feat.初音ミク
08.) 「キャットフード / Cat Food」 – doriko feat.初音ミク
09.) 「崩壊歌姫 -disruptive diva- / Houkai Utahime -disruptive diva-」 マチゲリータP feat.初音ミク
10.) 「白い雪のプリンセスは / Shiroi Yuki no Princess wa」 – のぼる↑ feat.初音ミク
11.) 「ワールズエンド・ダンスホール / World’s End Dancehall」 – wowaka feat.初音ミク＆巡音ルカ
12.) 「ダブルラリアット / Double Lariat 」- アゴアニキ feat.巡音ルカ
13.) 「No Logic」 – ジミーサムP feat.巡音ルカ
14.) 「RIP RELEASE」 – ryuuseiP feat.巡音ルカ
15.) 「Japanese Ninja No.1」 – デッドボールP feat.巡音ルカ
16.) 「ルカルカ★ナイトフィーバー / Luka Luka★Night Fever」 – samfree feat.巡音ルカ
17.) 「結ンデ開イテ羅刹ト骸 / Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro」 – ハチ feat.初音ミク
18.) 「ローリンガール / Rolling Girl」 – wowaka feat.初音ミク
***30-MINUTE INTERMISSION***
19.) 「trick and treat」 – OSTER project feat.鏡音リン・鏡音レン
20.) 「悪ノ娘 / Aku no Musume」 – mothy_悪ノP feat.鏡音リン
21.) 「悪ノ召使 / Aku no Meshitsukai」 – mothy_悪ノP feat.鏡音レン
22.) 「いろは唄 / Iroha Uta」 – 銀サク feat.鏡音リン
23.) 「炉心融解 / meltdown」 – iroha(sasaki） feat.鏡音リン
24.) 「ココロ / Kokoro」 – トラボルタ feat.鏡音リン
25.) 「メランコリック / Melancholic」 – Junky feat.鏡音リン
26.) 「リンリンシグナル / Rin Rin Signal」 – Dios/シグナルP feat.鏡音リン・鏡音レン
27.) 「SPICE!」 – minato(流星P) feat.鏡音レン
28.) 「Fire◎Flower」 – halyosy feat.鏡音レン
29.) 「Packaged」 – livetune feat.初音ミク
30.) 「ハロー、プラネット。/ *HELLO, PLANET.」 – sasakure.UK feat.初音ミク
31.) 「マージナル / Marginal」 – OSTER project feat.初音ミク
32.) 「初音ミクの激唱 / Hatsune Miku no Gekishou」 – cosMo（暴走P） feat.初音ミク
33.) 「歌に形はないけれど / Uta ni Katachi wa Nai Keredo」 – doriko feat.初音ミク
34.) 「Yellow」 – livetune feat.初音ミク
35.) 「タイムマシン / Time Machine」 – 1640mP feat.初音ミク
36.) 「ARiA」 – とくP feat.初音ミク
***ENCORE***
37.) 「カラフル×メロディ / Colorful x Melody」 – ちーむMOER feat.初音ミク
38.) 「メルト / MELT」 – supercell feat.初音ミク
39.) 「初めての恋が終わる時 / When the First Love Ends」 – supercell feat.初音ミク

You can check out more photos and information from his post, as well.

The details for the second Thanksgiving concert were released not too long ago (yesterday, in fact).

Right now it’s all just information on a single webpage, complete with a leek countdown timer, but I’ll machine-translate it to the best of my ability. >_>

The concert is officially titled “Hatsune Miku Live Party 2011 –39’s LIVE IN TOKYO-”, though apparently that mouthful can be shortened to “ミクパ♪”, or “Mikupa♪”.

Mikupa♪ will be held on the 9th of March next year at ZeppTokyo (again), and the concert halls open at 6PM. The concert itself will be approximately 2 1/2 hours long, lasting from 7PM till 9.30PM.

This year, it’ll cost 5,390 JPY to attend, but the cost not only earns you entry; it earns you a single drink (at least, that’s what I think it means) and a Hatsune Miku Nendoroid Plus Charm Sakura Version! I do believe it’ll be similar to the charm distributed with Project DIVA 2nd, except probably either simply pink or donning the kimono costume featured in the game.

If you’re interested in ordering tickets, the early bird orders will open on the 27th this month at 12PM on e+, but they’ll close on the 5th of January at 6PM. Regular orders will (tentatively) open on the 30th of January (elsewhere?).

If you’re curious, Mikupa♪ will mainly be sponsored by 5pb, but Crypton, SEGA, Good Smile Company and AG-ONE will all have a hand in it, so expect heavy merchandising, too.

The website also promises that the outfits the virtual divas will don next year will also be different, to celebrate the concert’s one-year anniversary. Either that, or I’m mis-reading the message totally. >_<

There are no details of any available live streams as of yet, but assuming it’ll be held the same way as last year’s concert, Nico Nico Douga will open up that live stream for us.

Looking forward to Mikupa♪? =3

Hearing about the juicy details after a long stay over at [censored] made all my misery go away. THANK THE LORD.

Anyway, yes, Imageepoch ran their press conference a couple of days ago. I ripped the trailer from the stream before they closed up the recording for good yesterday (and it isn’t too soft like the other rips), so give it a watch:

(480p’s available btw)

The game is said to be a cross between a third-person shooter and an RPG, but judging from the trailer, it looks like it’ll have some first person elements as well. I’m not sure at what point the titular main character ever wields a handgun though, so I think that’s just a cool cinematic of some sort.

The only cast seen in the trailer (apart from B★RS herself) are a muscular commando and his merry men soldiers, all of which who would’ve made Captain William Rush proud, what with their inability to take aimed shots (as opposed to spraying all over the place).

Oh yes, I forgot the aliens.

The game is set in the year 2051, where Black★Rock Shooter awakens, only to find the world decimated by an alien invasion in 2032 (remember the teaser?). There are apparently only 12 human survivors left on the planet, and your/her job is to defeat the invaders, the 7 Apostles, and their Armerments AKA their massive robot army.

The trailer doesn’t show much though; in fact, it only consists of scenes from (which I think are) the beginning of the game, when B★RS awakens in the midst of a battle. Shame we don’t get to see any live gameplay just yet, but the game engine does look promising.

I did find a couple of scans from Famitsu which delve deeper into the gameplay and even reveal the design of one of the Apostles (gasp!).

While still maintaining the art style (huke’s still in charge of the art after all), B★RS has been given a little makeover. Her katana has been replaced by a blade matching the dark, metallic theme of the game, and her Rock Cannon even has a blade attached to it. She also has what appears to be either two giant blades or wings fixed to her back.

The HUD appears to consist of only a HP bar and a heat emission bar, which will probably display that “OVERHEAT” warning if you’re too trigger-happy. The targeting reticule is that blue star. Heh.

No sign of any free-roaming here; all the battles will occur in a small area, which is expected from a PSP game. There’s no sign of any overworld or area-to-area travel a la Monster Hunter just yet, but don’t let that get you down.

And here’s the 5th Apostle, Nafe! Sporting a short skirt, giant metal arms and a hoodie with metal usagimimi, she does seem like the kind of person you wouldn’t want to mess around with. They’ve also already made her in-game model, so it looks like the game’s progressing rather well.

I’m not too sure what purpose CNRT (the red transformable mecha) serves in the game though. Translation, anyone? >_>

Also, the long metal worm-like thing in the second scan? That’s a City Eater. o_O

(Tip of the hat to duckroll for his analysis of the scans.)

There’s no sign of the second character in the poster image (the first image). Will she be a support character?

Here’s the staff and cast list for the game. Credits to cowboybibimbop for translating the entire list:

STAFF

• Director: Kazuya Niinou (Etrian Odyssey)
• Scenario: Kazushige Nojima (Final Fantasy VII, VIII, X)
• Animation Studio: Ufotable

CAST

Sakamoto Maaya
Sawashiro Miyuki
Jisen Masanori
Nakahara Mai
Sugita Tomokazu
Hikasa Yōko
Shimoyama Yoshimitsu
Kamiya Hiroshi
Shimoda Asami
Akimoto Yōsuke
Hamada Kenji
Hoshino Mitsuaki
Hōki Katsuhisa

I find it strange that they included Sawashiro Miyuki, who voiced Yomi in the OVA, and not Hanazawa Kana. I wonder who’s voicing the star of the game.

Imageepoch has also released the pricing info for the game (it’s at the end of the trailer, too). The standard edition costs 6,279 JPY (approximately 99 SGD), and comes with nothing else. Good for fans on a budget.

The limited edition (AKA the White Premium Box) costs a whopping 10,479 JPY (approximately 165 SGD), but comes with these goodies:

• A box of “gorgeous” visual works from huke.
• A Black★Rock Shooter figma, white ver. (tentative)
• A Black★Rock Shooter Art Works booklet. (tentative)
• The limited game soundtrack by Basiscape.

The game’s slated to be released in summer (around July, perhaps?), 2011. In my opinion, the game’s shaping up to something totally epic, and it’s joining my list of must-plays on the PSP, along with Patapon 3 and God Eater Burst.

Imageepoch is also planning another B★RS game, but this one’s going to be an omake free-to-play browser game on Nico Nico Douga. Titled Puchitto Rock Shooter, the game’s art will be based on CHANxCO’s style, and will be completely separate from the canon of the first game and the OVA.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but this looks like the actual overworld, with blue star buttons. Not very diverse, but hey, it’s free.

A variety of sprites of B★RS. Too cute.

Looks like B★RS won’t be alone on this one either; she’ll have 3 more friends/enemies joining her. And one of them’s Black★Matagi. ( *A*)!

Puchitta Rock Shooter is slated for release in spring, 2011.

I can’t wait for the gameplay trailer(s) for the official game, and I can’t wait to play both games. >_<

What about you? Are you gonna get it when it comes out?

Sources:

• B★RS The Game Official Game Site: [1] [2]
• Puchitta Rock Shooter Official Details
• 2channel
• Red Blaze

Also, you can check out Danny Choo for his press conference photos and coverage. Lucky bugger.

UPDATE: Apparently NIS America’s planning to localise Imageepoch’s games in North America and Europe. How long will it be before we see B★RS in English, eh? Thanks to rrw for the heads up.

Also, pre-orders for the game (both editions) are open! Amazon (8,907 JPY for limited, 5,337 JPY for regular) or AmiAmi (8,560 JPY for limited, 5,140 JPY for regular), pick your poison. I don’t think local stores are going to have pre-orders available just yet, what with the summer release and all. There is a ~15% discount till the end of December though, just to ease some of that heartburn from splurging a little. =3

I’ll cut this short, since I really should sleep soon.

Firstly, the queue-before-the-gates-open. As it turned out, few knew where tp queue, and 10 minutes to show-time, the queue turned into less of a queue and more of a zerg rush waiting to happen. Thankfully the gatekeepers turned it into nothing but a bottleneck, but I expected better from AFA, being in in its third year running.

Secondly, yes, the Project DIVA Arcade machines work just fine, though you’ll have to queue for quite a bit before you’ll get your turn. The machines are in full demo mode; everything’s unlocked and free-to-play, but you can’t save any progress on your card.

Thirdly, Aki Takanori (GSC’s head honcho) announced a second BRS OVA during the Kana Hanazawa panel (which I missed FFFFF). Wait, let me reiterate that properly, lest you be skimming through this post.

BRS SEQUEL B****ES

There aren’t any more details, and heck, it’s not even officially announced on the website yet (though apparently it got a mention over at 2ch). I’m kinda glad that we were the first to find out about this. Inb4 speculation about the plot. Again.

Oh, and they’re gonna try to get huke to come over next year too! I APPROVE.

And lastly, Anisong. JAM Project and Aniki were good (though JAM Project’s performance obviously outshone Mizuki’s, judging by the crowd activity), but the Miku “bonus performance” was…horrible. They actually managed to make it worse than last year’s fiasco by simply playing back videos, as opposed to rendering it live. Here’s the songlist, for the curious:

1. こっち向いて Baby
2. 恋スル VOC@LOID
3. StargazeR

They used the PV of こっち向いて Baby found in the DVD included with the split single, and Project DIVA Arcade gameplay videos for the next two. All 3 of which a typical Miku fan would’ve already seen by now.

Total fail.