ミクミク

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Well… what can I say…? I called the half of it, but I wasn’t expecting the freakin’ Kaiko and Len versions to pop up! The denizens of Nico Nico are a weird bunch…

キラッ☆

I’m really not extending my post to a “read the rest of this entry »” this time ‘coz college Thesis is seriously kicking my arse for reals like. Half of what I saw was already Keikaku Doori to begin with… what I just don’t get is the sudden revivals of old songs like Soar. AsaMiyuki-san! OUENDAAAAAAAAA~N!!!

Kagamine Rin/Len Act.2 went on sale today. This new release of Rin/Len features an improved database, which allows smoother transition between the notes which Rin and Len sing, and (according to Crypton) will be easier for DTM beginners to use.

The price of Act.2 is around ￥15,750 (as expensive as other Vocaloids), which means that it’s intended to replace the first act on the store shelves instead of being a patch release. Luckily, Crypton didn’t forget about the faithful Vocaloid fans who bought the first act. For a limited time (before September 20, 2008) Crypton will be sending free upgrade discs to legitimate owners of the first act who live in Japan.

I don’t know why Crypton set a time limit on the free upgrade discs, but it’s certainly bad news for those who remain stranded on deserted islands until September 20, since they’ll have to spend another ￥15,750 to get their copy of Kagamine Rin/Len up to date.

By the way… Kagamine Rin/Len Act.2 demo song 2 was released yesterday. The song’s name is 夏の海 (literal translation: Summer’s Sea) and you can hear and/or download it from here.

Additional thought: Rin and Len in Act.2 demo songs don’t sound all that different from the first act so I don’t know what the hype is all about… Maybe it’s something more technical which an average user like me can’t notice. Or maybe it’s a scheme to get people who got stranded on deserted islands until September 20 to buy the same thing (with minor differences) twice. Either way, I hope CV02 Act.2 didn’t push CV03 too far back into the release schedule.

By the way, this will be my last post in Canada since I will be returning the cable modem tomorrow, and will be flying back to Taiwan early next week. Once I get there, you can all look forward to more Chinese posts every once in a while. Bye for now…

今までのポストを読んでくれで、ありがとうございました！また台湾でポストしますから、たのしみにしてください。 (I hope I got my grammar right!)

This epic soon-to-be copypasta is brought to you by Nyan Nyan: “Gorgeous, delicious, Deculture!”

Okay, /mikumiku/, here’s the thing: I DON’T watch Macross Frontier. I really don’t give a damn about it. Not saying that it’s crap, I just don’t like mecha anime that much nowdays (I’m more of a shonen/harem/comedy-type person), so when Ranka’s \m/, became a meme I really didn’t care.

Then Weekly Vocaloid Ranking #41 came rolling along, blah-blah-blah, don’t have time to make a front page post about it… Then the Top-1 spot came up: it was Miku doing the \m/, and some Macross song I don’t know about. For some reason, I became curious, /mikumiku/, that I had to check the mylist and click on the song, 星間飛行 (Seikan Hikou - Interstellar Flight). Miku’s version was well-done for the most part, but something inside me just kept wanting more. I HAD to listen to the original!

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According to an announcement made on メディアファージ事業部ブログ (Media Phage Blog) today, Kagamine Rin/Len Act.2 will go on sale on July 18th, 2008. Kagamine Rin/Len Act.2 will be easier to use and the notes will connect more smoothly.

For people who bought the first release of Kagamine Rin/Len, the good news is that Crypton will be issuing free update discs. The bad news is that these free update discs will only be available to users with a Japanese address.

The update discs will be issued for free for a limited time until September 20, 2008. To obtain the free update disc, you must have a legitimate Japanese address and must register your license online at Crypton’s My Page as soon as possible.

There’s no mention anywhere of whether Crypton will release a downloadable version of the update (they really should), so if you live outside of Japan and bought Kagamine Rin/Len through an online vendor or through a friend living in Japan, maybe you can try contact them to help you get the update discs and mail it to you.

Another week, another ranking review. However, this will prolly be my last post on the front page (for now) ‘coz college thesis will start consuming my life. So, without further ado…

(Thnks Fr Th Mmrs plays in the background…)

So yeah, Len dressing up as a princess… TWICE… still doesn’t do it for me… Bleh~!!! >_<

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Today I accidentally found out that there’s a Hatsune Miku article in the Taiwanese version of Uncyclopedia. For people who don’t know what the Uncyclopedia is, it is basically a free online encyclopedia with nothing but the truth. It’s so great that I always use it as the main source for my university papers.

Not really…

According to Wikipedia’s entry on the Uncyclopedia, Uncyclopedia is actually an online encyclopedia that is “formatted as a parody of Wikipedia and aims ultimately to parody all encyclopedic subjects.” It is therefore not hard to imagine the kind of Hatsune Miku article that’s posted in Uncyclopedia.

If you can read Chinese and can take a little joke, then sure, head over to the article to have a look. Otherwise, if you are easily offended or is extremely in love with Miku, I advise you to stay away from that link…

MikuMiku.info might experience up to 48 hours of downtime in the next few days due to domain registrar transfer. Just a heads up so you don’t have to wonder about what happened if you do in fact experience downtime in the next few days.

I first found out about Hatsune Miku when I heard the Miku version of Marisa Stole the Precious Thing. Although it sounded weird back then (still sounds weird), I got really excited later on after finding out that the singing was synthesized with a computer program.

A lot of time has passed since then. I revisited some old YouTube favorites just now (including the Miku version of Marisa Stole the Precious Thing) and was surprised to find an even more Miku version of Marisa Stole the Precious Thing.

Apparently someone made a Hatsune Miku PV for the song based on the original PV. Now Miku is not only singing the song, but is also the main character in the video as well…

Comparison of the original and the Miku version shows just how similar the two videos are…

Great job to whoever did the PV…

Long time no see. Half of what you are about to read here is old news. Crypton Future Media released some information of Kagamine Rin/Len Act 2 quite some time ago. Basically Act 2 is an updated version of Kagamine Rin/Len.

In Act 2 the notes will connect more smoothly and there will be less noise. The updated version of Kagamine Rin/Len will be easier to use especially for users new to DTM (desktop music). Hopefully with this update we can see more Rin/Len songs online.

According to the information page, Act 2 will go on sale in mid-July, 2008. There will also be アップデータディスク (up data disk, probably disk/disc with some kind of patch on it) available for existing Kagamine Rin/Len owners, free until September 20.

License registration can probably be done at Crypton’s My Page portal from the looks of what’s on the page…

In addition to the news about Kagamine Rin/Len Act 2, a new demo song of Act 2 was released today. The song’s name is “Action” and can be heard on this page. The MP3 file of the demo song can be downloaded from the page as well.

Rin/Len’s voices in the demo song do sound a lot smoother than the original Rin/Len, and I find their voices to be a bit cuter too. Kagamine Rin/Len in Act 2 will probably work even better with other Vocaloids than they already did.

That’s about all for today. For those wondering where I’ve been… I’ve been selling things in and around the house. My desktop computer was sold not long ago and I’m typing from my notebook PC now. I will be flying back to Taiwan at around the time Act 2 comes out. After that I’ll start making posts from there (easier to get Miku related stuff there too).

Brand new look and a new “mascot” that introduces you to the week’s charts, but still the same ol’ Vocaloid Ranking we all grew to love. Which really could not have come at a better time - Vocaloid in-general really, really needs a boost nowadays from wanning interest.

Anyways… How are Fortune Diver and Uta ni Katachi “NEW” songs…? Didn’t we see those way before? Confounded newfangled ranking system… BLARGH!

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