With help from Kibbles in configuring Iroha, I managed to make a Vocaloid/UTAU duet with SillCaracal’s utau, Yamane Koko! I think they go well together, not just in design but in voice 😀
Akiooooo
Aiko’s genderbend, Akio, is in the banner now, thanks to Qrullgx c: Thanks so much for taking my commission, it turned out great 😀
…in which Aiko posessed a friend’s mp3 player
Breeze MMD + AWA Photos
Yaaay this project is finally finished!
I collaborated with Kenji again after he surprised me with a work-in-progress “Breeze” MMD video over the summer. At first, he was planning to use the original music, but after I found the karaoke and a basic UST, I made Aiko sing it. Since the other 2 dancers he used were Teto and Rin Append, I also decided to throw them in to make it a little more interesting. Rin Power can be heard in some glitch/stutter in places, VCV Teto does harmonies, and Rin Sweet + Whisper Teto sing the bridge together.
Many thanks to Kenji for his awesome camera + MME work, to Luna and Sango312 for rendering Rin Append for me, and to KodaP for his mixing tutorial!
Mp3 can be found in the description on the original video post.
Also, though this post is a bit late as I only recently got the photos, but I got to meet up with several UTAU voicers at Anime Weekend Atlanta! Cheesekun, Sparky, Asteriski, Ritz (my friend and Chiyoko’s voicer) and I met up at the Vocaloid photoshoot on Saturday. Sparky was even cosplaying as SHOICHIRO~
As a special meet-up gift, Sparky made plushies of Aiko, Azure, HARMON-E and Chiyoko! ;u; Here’s a close-up of Aiko and Chiyoko:
Teto in Project Diva
That’s right, Kasane Teto, practically the figurehead of the UTAU fandom, will be in Project Diva as a playable character!
I figured I’d go ahead and share my thoughts and feelings on this, though I’ve yet to play any of the PD games (not for lack of wanting) since they’re pretty mixed. On one hand, I’m super excited for Project Twindrill and Teto for being included in this, on the other… well, continue reading.
This event pretty much solidifies Crypton’s support of UTAU, and of Teto, which is both good and bad. If you’re wondering the negative repercussions, just look at people’s reaction after Crypton/KarenT posted news of the Graduation from Lie CD: “OMG! TETO-CHAN IS VOCALOID NOW?!?!!!”
When that’s completely not the case. And it won’t be until certain things come to pass, if they ever do.
Teto, unlike other fanmades recognized by Crypton, has her own voice used in a software SEPARATE from Vocaloid itself. Her counterparts Haku and Neru, as well as Sakine Meiko, Hachune, and Tako Luka, lack “officially set” voices or Vocaloid voicebanks, and are merely character derivatives of existing Crypton series Vocaloids. Haku and Neru are typically Miku (or Rin, in Neru’s case) voice-edits (if they have a voice at all), and the other three are easy enough to guess.
Teto is different in that she is an UTAU, but her IMAGE (design, art, etc.) is not by default connected to the UTAU software in any way. Ameya, the programmer of the UTAU software, does not “own” her image. Twindrill, the team that develops her voicebanks, owns her image and apparently has either collaborated or has licensed it to Sega/Crypton for Project Diva. Does this make her a Vocaloid?
NO.
Teto’s voicebank is still UTAU-only. Until she gets a commercially developed voicebank for the Vocaloid synthesizing engine, she will REMAIN as such. It is only her image that is connected to Crypton through both Project Diva and KarenT, her voice remains useable in freeware. Vocaloid is its own software, therefore calling Teto a Vocaloid because her image is being used in a Vocaloid game is like calling Mario a Pokemon because he was in Super Smash Bros. with Pikachu and Lucario.
Now, facts aside, this honestly has me a little worried. I don’t think Twindrill plans at all to have Teto become a Vocaloid (as in commercial voicebank using Yamaha’s engine and all), nor do I think that she could easily become one at all, considering a legal mess it would create for copyright of Oyamano Mayo’s voice (she’s Teto’s voice source). But it sure opens the door for a lot of fandumb and makes me a bit apprehensive. It’s quite an accomplishment for a character related to the UTAU freeware, but I’m just not so sure I’m ready to accept a Teto contracted in any way to Crypton just yet. Call me a stick in the mud or a purist or a hipster, but it feels really, really weird to see this happening.
tl;dr – Teto’s still not a Vocaloid yet, get the fuck over it.
Aiko and Neko Kappa Nitori
Eeeeeeeeeee! So cute! I’ve been meaning to make them sing/dance this for a while but recently I totally forgot about doing it, so thank you, nijiyamiryuu!
