Otakon 2011

Hatsune Miku Live in LA 'MIKUNOPOLIS' Behind the Scenes

The behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the CGI Vocaloid pop star began with a few clips of local news coverage of the debut US concert that took place at the Nokia theater during last month's Anime Expo, leading into an assortment of Hatsune Miku Toyota commercials, music videos, and finally, clips from the "MIKUNOPOLIS" concert itself.

Immediately afterwards, Hatsune Miku's producer, Toshihiro Fukuoka, introduced himself to the audience in English and welcomed the crowd to the panel. He then spoke in Japanese through a translator, revealing that "we planned this concert back in November of 2010." Mr. Fukuoka then displayed the first planning sheet they used as a template for the live performance. "It says 'Miku USA,' it doesn't say 'Los Angeles.' What this means is that you might possibly see Miku live in places other than L.A." There were no further specifics on the dates or locations of any further concerts. "Maybe on the East Coast," he said.

Fukuoka then showed a 15-minute highlights reel of the L.A. concert, and then announced a new batch of Hello Kitty-themed Hatsune Miku merchandise, "Miku-Kitty." Fukuoka then announced a "very early beta" of Mikubook.com, a networking site where users can rate and share Miku music and videos. Then, he presented the audience with a demonstration video for "Miku Miku Dance," a free piece of software for users to make their own Miku videos with pre-choreographed dances and lip-sync.

Nearing the end of the panel, Fukuoka announced that an English version of Hatsune Miku is currently under development, and that any upcoming details on the project would be announced also on mikubook.com. Before bidding the audience farewell, Fukuoka announced four exclusive pieces of merchandise especially for Otakon - a poster, a rubber Miku strap, a CD featuring the work of famous Vocaloid-ist WOWAKA (famous for the song "Rollin' Girl") and a DVD of music videos by Brother P.