Vocaloid
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name(s): | Vocaloid, ボーカロイド (bōkaroido) |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Scope/Focus: | Music |
| Date(s): | 2004-present |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Vocaloid is a singing voice synthesis software idol. The software is capable of pronouncing the English, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean languages with the appropriate voice banks, and other languages in the process of being added. Despite early adoption being mostly on the English side of the fandom, western interest has flagged since, whereas popularity took off to stratospheric heights in Japan with the release of version 2 of the Vocaloid software and introduction of "characters" for the voice banks, the first of which was "android diva" Hatsune Miku.
Fandom
The Japanese Vocaloid fandom is very large and active, mostly on the social video-sharing platform NicoNicoDouga and on 2chan. The fandom dynamics are somewhat special since it is not based on a source text, and all media in it are by definition fan works. This creates a very fluid border between "original", "transformative", and "derivative" works, with on one end of the spectrum original songs and PVs (Japanese fandom contains many professional songwriters) and on the other extreme covers produced by feeding saved configuration files to a different voice bank with no editing.
Common fandom activities are writing songs, performing songs, covering existing songs with Vocaloid, making videos for songs, drawing fanart, singing karaoke versions of Vocaloid songs, and playing existing songs on an instrument. Writing fanfiction is a less common fan activity in this fandom.
Creators of vocaloid tracks are usually called producers.
Related Fandoms
Vocaloid fandom is closely enmeshed with both the UTAU fandom and the Utattemita section of Nico Nico Douga. The Evilious Chronicles and Kagerou Project are two multimedia fandoms that grew out of Vocaloid song cycles.
Project Sekai (and before it Project DIVA) is a game series developed by SEGA that uses Vocaloid voicebanks and characters and I'm not sure whether fans consider is a subset of Vocaloid fandom or a separate related fandom.
Vocaloid Voice Banks
(Work in progress)
- English
- Vocaloid 1:
- Vocaloid 2:
- Vocaloid 3:
- Vocaloid 4:
- Hatsune Miku
- Ruby
- Cyber Diva
- Megurine Luka
- Fukase
- Cyber Songman
- GUMI (Megpoid)
- Vocaloid 5:
- Japanese
- Vocaloid 1:
- Vocaloid 2:
- Hatsune Miku
- Kagamine Rin/Len
- Megurine Luka
- Gakupo Kamui (Gackpoid)
- GUMI (Megpoid)
- Gachapoid
- Lily
- SF-A2 Miki
- Hiyama Kiyoteru
- Kaai Yuki
- Nekomura Iroha
- Utatane Piko
- VY1
- VY2
- Vocaloid 3:
- Mew
- Akikoloid (not commercialized)
- Aoki Lapis
- Tone Rion
- CUL
- IA
- Yuzuki Yukari
- vFlower
- Vocaloid 4:
- Vocaloid 5:
- Chinese
- Vocaloid 3:
- Vocaloid 4:
Example Fanworks
Fanart
- tiny vocaloids :), Archived version by revelry-in-severity, 2023 -- pixel art sprites of Hatsune Miku, Megurine Luka, KAITO, Sakine Meiko, Kagamine Len and Kagamine Rin
- Miku Gets A Haircut! and other such matters by japhers, 2020 -- featuring Hatsune Miku, Kaito Shion, Kagamine Len, Kagamine Rin, Megurine Luka, Meiko Sakine, Gackpoid, Gumi Megpoid, Kasane Teto
Fangames
- Mesmerizer by Atena and others (2024) - fangame based on the 32ki Vocaloid and music video of the same name
MMD
- Shut up and sleep with me, Kaito! by AmaiAkai (2014)
Archives and Resources
- Vocaloid on Fanfiction.net
- Vocaloid on the AO3
- Vocaloid at Wikipedia
- http://www.voctro-vocaloid.com/en/, site about BRUNO and CLARA, the world's first VOCALOID voices in Spanish
- Explaining Vocaloid in under 3 minutes, Archived version, youtube video by Rice
- Vocalobooru - SFW Vocaloid/UTAU booru
- Do you like this Vocaloid song? - Tumblr blog thatr runs weekly Tumblr polls that showcase individual vocal synth songs