Doremi has been releasing some of them subbed, and while they don’t really qualify as Anime the vocaloids are animated and so this is as good a place as any to put them. Note that they were not watched in this order, so the chronology of the comments might be a bit off in places.
- Being one of the earlier shows, the vocaloids’ stage area is much more constricted. It basically looks like a giant CRT monitor. On the plus side this means there aren’t any projectors shining in your face or transparency issues, while on the negative… the models are severely pixelated and the experience isn’t much different from watching a TV. Also problematic is that several songs run into each other and/or end up shortened quite a bit in order to squeeze in an oversized setlist (RIP=RELEASE for instance lasts less than a minute). At least the live band is prominently visible.
- Favorites: #5 Eh? Aa, Sou., #3 Nisoku Hokou, #18 Rolling Girl, #19 trick and treat, #22 Iroha Uta
MIKUNOPOLIS in LOS ANGELES (2011)
- Here we have a two-projector setup. This actually ends up worse than what was used in the earlier Tokyo MikuPa since the screen they use for the projection is reflective as hell and you can clearly see the audience in it whenever the lights are on, and see glowsticks in it when they’re off (plus you’ve got the blinding projectors in your face either way). At least the holograms aren’t as pixelated; slightly blurred instead. They’ve got a violin section in the live band though, so that’s nice. Also… the audience is pretty bad at using glowsticks.
- Favorites: #15 Roshin Yuukai, #7 Romeo to Cinderella, #18 from Y to Y, #13 Miku no Shoushitsu, #14 Migikata no Chou
- A much simpler ground level staging area with two projectors and a reflective screen again, yet here the audience reflections make it look as though the holograms are being projected into the middle of a crowd during close-ups. Which is a neat effect (although being periodically blinded is still an issue). It also has an upper scaffolding area where the characters can appear, which mixes things up nicely. When all is said and done though the projection setup used causes far too many visual issues to recommend watching this show beyond the first five songs.
- Favorites: #5 Eh? Aa, Sou., #3 Nisoku Hokou, #2 Kocchi Muite, Baby!, #26 Starduster, #7 Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro
- The holograms look remarkably solid here, though the effect is somewhat ruined by the projectors… which still end up blinding whenever the camera looks straight at them (this is thankfully not a problem when the characters appear on the upper scaffolding). Another issue is that it often seems as though they’re rooted in place and can’t move away from the center of the stage. It’s an okay concert, but if it weren’t for the slightly different setlist and costumes I would say just watch the 2013 Kansai show instead.
- Favorites: #5 Eh? Aa, Sou., #3 Nisoku Hokou, #12 Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro, #16 Luka Luka★Night Fever, #24 Shiroi Yuki no Princess wa
Seisaku Nisshi 39 (2012) – Miku no Nichidai Kanshasai Tokuban
- Projectors are shining right in your eyes again and, not helping matters, the holograms flicker/blur in the closer shots. Some more positive attributes would be the large amount of stage movement included in the choreography (which is particularly notable after the previous show), and the presence of a larger variety of live performers (including a cadre of violinists and a horn section). The setlist is significantly different as well.
- Favorites: #6 Clover♣Club, #10 Uraomote Lovers, #18 World’s End Dancehall, #23 Puzzle, #19 Roshin Yuukai
Angel Project presents Hatsune Appearance
- A small 6-song presentation with a very small audience that’s notable for not even trying to pretend that Miku is anything other than a computer graphic… honestly it’s more like an exceptionally noisy movie screening rather than a concert (there’s no live band). I can’t really recommend this unless you’re in the market for Project DIVA-like performances.
- This show appears to have the smallest number of live performers, a mere four. Projection-wise there’s a massive improvement however thanks to the projectors being placed up above the stage instead of behind it, meaning there’s no more blinding lights shining directly in your eyes. The downside to this is that the characters tend to fade out (especially if there’s more than one on screen at a time). Oh, and similar to the Los Angeles show, the crowd here isn’t very skilled in the art of proper glowstick usage.
- Favorites: #14 Torinoko City, #4 Romeo to Cinderella, #12 PoPiPo, #23 Tell Your World, #9 Migikata no Chou
MikuPa Kansai (2013) – 39’s Spring the 3rd Synthesis
- A 3-hour long concert whose live band is composed of two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, a keyboard player, and a percussionist (each of whom get at least one solo). The presentation is extremely well done and while the holograms are clearly holograms, seeing as how they look like Anime characters and are partially transparent, they move extremely fluidly and the projectors are placed unobtrusively up above the stage in a way that makes them look like backing lights.
- Favorites: #16 Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro, #33 Senbonzakura, #19 RIP=RELEASE, #37 Tell Your World, #1 Himitsu Keisatsu
SONICMANIA 2013 [WOWOW]
- A simple three song setlist; Tell Your World, Torinoko City, & Yellow. The projectors are placed around the screen rather than directly behind it, so blinding lights are not an issue (except during the angled shots in the final song), but the models are rather badly pixelated. It’s a decent little bite-sized performance, but there’s not really anything to see here that can’t be seen in the full concerts.
- The hologram projectors are back directly behind the stage again, as blinding as ever. As for the live band, it has the same instrument setup as the Kansai show (except a ‘chorus’ instead of a percussionist)… though they do not get any solos. While this one is less technically impressive than the Kansai one, it ends up more fun overall and features the best performances of Cat Food and Unhappy Refrain (past or future).
- Favorites: #3 Cat Food, #18 Unhappy Refrain, #17 Tokyo Teddy Bear, #12 shake it!, #20 Tell Your World
- A birthday-event-slash-release-party that starts out by showing off a Project DIVA video on the screen above the stage, follows it up with a lengthy on-stage segment involving people I assume are Project DIVA staff members (who end up performing three songs), and wraps up with a 7-song Miku setlist and another brief stage appearance by the people from before. All in all this is a solid show; Miku looks fine (except in the wide-angle shots), the live band is nice (it has a violin section), and the stage setup looks fine (blinding projectors still sometimes an issue). My only real complaint is that the setlist leaves a bit to be desired.
- Favorites: #3 glow, #7 World is Mine, #4 Tell Your World, #5 39 (Thank You), #1 Project DIVA Desu!
- I’ve only seen the 30min special available on Crunchyroll so far, which just features seven songs. That said… it looks pretty damn good; like a fusion of the 2012 MikuPa Tokyo and Magical Mirai 2013 shows. I’ll certainly be looking forward to when the full version is available, as it may very well be the best production so far. So much so that I was almost tempted to try to get tickets to see the New York version.
- Favorites: #25 Tell Your World, #1 Senbonzakura, #21 Himitsu Keisatsu, #23 Melt, #12 Romeo to Cinderella
- Originally I watched the TV broadcast version and… I want that black Magical Mirai shirt the guy (producer?) is wearing during the interview lead-in. It seems to be a crew-specific shirt since the band members wear it as well. Anyway, it starts off strong with two live dancers and then immediately loses the built-up anticipation by displaying a hologram that’s not of the best quality; Miku looks both flat and a bit transparent. The bottom line is that the vocaloid quality is similar to the earlier MikuPa Kansai show (despite the projectors being behind the stage here) and the concert appears to be hosted in a high school gym/auditorium. Which is to say that it’s essentially a total downgrade from Magical Mirai 2013 (especially the Cat Food performance), though not a complete waste of time since the live band is good, Miku’s face is remarkably emotive, and the setlist change-up is nice.
- Favorites: #22 ODDS&ENDS, #2 Nijigen Dream Fever, #17 Tokyo Teddy Bear, #6 Karakuri Pierrot, #15 Wonderland to Hitsuji no Uta
- First it must be said that Miku’s English songs are not on the same level as her Japanese ones… not even close (thankfully there are only a few of them). More troublesome is that the stage quality here just does not seem to be in the same league as the earlier Indonesia show. Which is not to say that this concert is bad, as it’s most certainly not; it actually goes quite a long way toward evening the playing field between the USA and Asian performances. It’s just a bit of a letdown after the expectations that were built up from that CR preview of the Indonesia concert.
- Favorites: #12 Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro, #25 Tell Your World, #20 Luka Luka★Night Fever, #13 Romeo to Cinderella, #18 Shiroi Yuki no Princess wa
- The screen is highly reflective; the sea of glowsticks doesn’t do the projection any favors (though at least the audience knows enough to match the colors). The projectors are set up in a triangle formation, with one on the bottom behind the stage and two above, resulting in holograms which tend to fade out if they move away from the center of the stage. The concert hall looks more like a disused movie theater and the stage effects are limited, with most of the heavy lifting being done by the background monitors. The show is rather lacking overall, with the setlist pretty much being its only strength.
- Favorites: #24 ODDS&ENDS, #19 Tell Your World, #1 Sharing The World, #3 Uraomote Lovers, #9 Tsumugi Uta
- The stadium looks like a stadium rather than a high school gymnasium, so it’s already an improvement over the previous year’s Magical Mirai (though it has no opening dancers). The projectors are at ground level behind the stage and so don’t often end up shining directly in the cameras, while the live band consists of a keyboardist, drummer, bassist, and two guitarists. It’s definitely worth watching thanks to the setlist, but the experience would have been 10x better if they had different costumes available for the various new song additions in the show’s first half; Miku and Rin’s default outfits don’t fit them well.
- Favorites: #24 ODDS&ENDS, #7 Lost One no Goukoku, #4 Hitorinbo Envy, #8 Rimokon, #25 Hand in Hand
- This concert is curiously more of a showcase for the live musicians than the vocaloids; the musicians are introduced first, are often well-lit, and the vocaloids get digitized in and out between songs with little-to-no pretending they’re actual idols holding a concert until near the end. It appears to take place in an oversize movie theater and has a relatively unobtrusive triangular projector formation that allows for exceptionally solid models… I haven’t seen such unfaded and smooth rendering since the 2012 MikuPa Tokyo show (the downside is that they look completely flat/2D in the wide shots). While I’m hesitant to call it bad, there’s just something missing here. Authenticity maybe? It just has this sort of artificial feel about it, akin to a publisher-curated compilation album.
- Favorites: #18 Ten Thousand Stars, #3 Uramote Lovers, #23 Blue Star, #14 Migikata no Chou, #2 Hatsune Miku no Shoushitsu -DEAD END-
- The venue looks like a flight hanger this time around, though the stage production is elaborate enough the arena appearance barely registers once the show starts, while the projectors act as backing lights and the live band is a 5-piece with two guitarists. It’s worthwhile to note that they often treat Miku like an actual performer here, having her stay on stage while switching between songs/costumes instead of just fading the hologram out/in at will, which I wish they would make the effort to more consistently. Anyway, while it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the 2013 Magical Mirai it comes very close to recapturing that mood and is definitely worth checking out.
- Favorites: #3 Hibikase, #2 Ghost Rule, #5 Slow Motion, #12 Nostalogic (MEIKO-SAN mix), #15 Umiyuri Kaiteitan
- Nothing much to say about the venue or projector placement and the live band consists of the basic 4-person configuration. It’s a pretty solid all-around concert and the only thing that stands out is that some of the numbers could have been real knockouts with better stage presentations; Streaming Heart needs better dance choreography, Hibikase needs more lighting/environmental effects, Boukyaku Shinjuu has no business following Doctor=Funk Beat, Senbonzakura needed some falling confetti like Melt got, and Suna no Wakusei needs a different costume.
- Favorites: #3 Alien Alien, #18 Kimagure Mercy, #9 Doctor=Funk Beat, #19 TODAY THE FUTURE, #24 39 Music!
- Appears to take place in a repurposed movie theater with the projectors hidden below the stage and a clearly visible screen, resulting in blurry holograms that look completely flat in wide-angle shots. As for the band, it’s the basic 4-piece setup again. The only thing the show has going for it is the setlist (great songs… though the ordering could use some work), but that’s not enough to make it worth putting up with such lackluster production quality. Also: R3 Miku looks terrible; something about the head size/shape doesn’t work.
- Favorites: #9 Shinkai Shoujo, #24 Suki! Yuki! Maji Magic, #21 Tell Your World, #17 Rimokon, #25 Snow Fairy Story
- My first impression of this concert was that it was all flash with no substance, illusory (yes, I see the irony there)… and despite a few isolated spikes of quality that ends up being my overall impression as well. The band is a double-guitar 5-piece and I’ve no real complaints about the venue, the video screens though seem much too small while the stage is so large that the vocaloids occasionally gets lost in it.
- Favorites: #4 Unknown Mother-Goose, #3 METEOR, #6 Sweet Devil, #22 ODDS&ENDS, #14 Rettou Joutou
- Venue is a bit spare (looks sort of like an aircraft hanger; nice stage however) and the band setup is the same as last year. It starts off quite strong despite some questionable choreography and the first quarter actually feels like a coherent production rather than a random ‘best of’ compilation. The seventh song is where things start to get choppy… which makes sense since that’s where the daily setlists diverge. While it never recovers that earlier level of cohesion, it does recapture the early energy following the band member introduction (and there are a few standout moments here and there in the middle stretch).
- Favorites: #1 Teo, #11 Kill Carry On, #21 HIBANA, #3 Ai no Uta, #19 Ohedo Julia-Night
Rankings
- Most Realistic Models: MIKU EXPO 2016 Japan Tour
- Best Projector Setup: MikuPa Kansai (2013) – 39’s Spring the 3rd Synthesis
- Best Looking Models: Magical Mirai 2013
- Most Entertaining: Magical Mirai 2013
