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[[File:Voca_poster.jpg|240px|thumb|[[Loads and Loads of Characters|Not pictured: More than three quarters of the cast.]]<ref>Clockwise from the top, then to the middle: IA, Aoki Lapis, Lily, Galaco, SeeU, Mew, Yuzuki Yukari, Ring Suzune, CUL, Akikoloid-chan, Tone Rion and GUMI.</ref>]]
[[File:rsz_vocaloids_5996.jpg|frame|Luka, Rin, Len and Miku...[[Loads and Loads of Characters|we couldn't fit them all in if we tried.]]]]


'''Vocaloid''' (a portmanteau of "vocal" and "android") is a series of music synthesizing programs created by YAMAHA Corporation. The program is separated into two parts; the editor, which is used to process any voicebank chosen by the user through their input, and the various voicebanks, each with their own unique voice traits for different user taste or purpose. Using a Vocaloid sounds simple enough, as the user simply has to type lyrics and adjust the melody of the song they're creating; however, fine-tuning is necessary to reach better, more natural-sounding results.


There are currently 70+ different Vocaloid voicebanks<ref>(and that's not counting [[Updated Rerelease]]s or multiple characters that count as a single product)</ref>, with the engine itself having had multiple overhauls over the years to increase end product quality. The voicebanks in particular have become popular; due to their more or less blank state with little (if any) official background, fans have gotten into creating their own personalities and interpretation of them. Fanmade characters also exist, with some even [[Ascended Fanon|gaining recognition]] from the higher-ups. The UTAU software also helped bringing many fanmades into life.
Vocaloids (from "vocal" and "android") are music synthesizing programs based on real human voice samples and technology created by the Yamaha Corporation. There are currently 37 vocaloids (Rin and Len count as one product instead of two); and fans have created personalities for each character based on official art (some [[He Who Must Not Be Seen|have no official art]]) and voice. Fans have also created characters based on official releases, such as Neru Akita and Haku Yowane.


In [[The New Tens]], Vocaloid has taken major steps in the entertainment industries, with live concerts (done with projections, in the style [[Gorillaz]] and the 2012 [[Tupac Shakur|2Pac]] concert), video game crossovers, collectible figure lines, and even race car sponsors. Of course, there are also adaptations of the works related to Vocaloid, such as the manga ''[[Hatsune Mix]]'' and the OVA adaptation of the song ''[[Black★Rock Shooter (band)|Black★Rock Shooter]]'' and the multimedia franchise that is ''Kagerou Project''.
To use a Vocaloid, one simply has to type in the lyrics of the song of his choosing as well as the melody for said song, although a great deal of fine-tuning is usually necessary to have the result sound natural. Vocaloids have become so popular that an official unofficial manga adaptation, ''[[Hatsune Mix]]'', was created, telling the trials and tribulations of the Crypton-produced Vocaloid family: Kaito, Miku Hatsune, Meiko, Rin and Len Kagamine, and Luka Megurine.

''[[Vocaloid]]'' has recently taken major steps to becoming [[Serious Business]]<ref>(On the Internet, anyway. Even with it having some recent extensions into the real world, Vocaloid is still a niche thing, even to Japanese who identify as [[Otaku]], with several of them not even knowing there are more Vocaloids than Miku Hatsune)</ref>. Flagship character Miku Hatsune has become a fully-fledged [[Virtual Celebrity]], with an album featuring her work (composed by synthesizer band ''Supercell'') nearly topping the Japanese music charts at No.2, and Miku herself putting on a ''live concert'' at Animelo Summer Live 2009. (Her "live" performances involve her image rear-projected onto a glass screen and sharing the stage with a live band.)

Toyota also began an ad campaign for their 2011-model Corolla, [[Character Celebrity Endorsement|starring]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E15PE7iGT0U Miku herself]; it was subsequently revealed that Toyota sponsored Miku's first overseas appearance -- a live concert in Los Angeles at Anime Expo 2011.

In the 2010 Concert, Rin, Len, and Luka made debuts with [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS-mPtF7yDY&feature=related even better renderings]. In addition, the Vocaloid song ''[[Black Rock Shooter]]'' (which features said character, created by artist huke) has inspired an official [[Black Rock Shooter|anime OVA of the same name]], which was produced by animation studio Ordet (ex members of [[Kyoto Animation]]) and was released on 2010. Another popular song, "Kokoro" seems to be getting its own ''[http://rin-kokoro.com/ musical]''. "Daughter of Evil", in turn, got its own theater play and later a manga. Recently, "Cantarella" got a musical, too. The song "Kagerou Days" also experienced a burst of popularity, enough to get the song its own serialized manga and a novel written by the song's own producer.

Miku had yet another overseas concert in Singapore during the [http://www.animefestival.asia/hatsune_miku.html Anime Festival Asia 2011] on November 11, 2011. In addition, during 2012's Miku Party concert, Kaito and Meiko made appearances.


The producers [[CosMo]], [[Deco 27]], and [[Mothy]] have their own pages, as does the band [[Supercell]] and the music-video-making software [[Miku Miku Dance]].
The producers [[CosMo]], [[Deco 27]], and [[Mothy]] have their own pages, as does the band [[Supercell]] and the music-video-making software [[Miku Miku Dance]].


'''Note: The following is only for tropes related to official Vocaloid material. For tropes on song, fanon, and other fan works, go [[Vocaloid/Fan Works|here]].'''
'''Note: The following is only for tropes related to official Vocaloid materials. For character-related tropes for each voicebank, go [[Vocaloid/Characters|here]]. For tropes on song, fanon, and other fan works, go [[Vocaloid/Fan Works|here]].'''


'''There is a thread [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13358150750A72649600&page=1#3 here] to discuss improving this article.'''
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{{tropelist}}
== Provides Examples Of: ==
* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: ''Hatsune Mix'' is a closer-to-home example. Other than that, there are the adaptations of the various song projects made using Vocaloid.
* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: The manga.
* [[And Your Reward Is Clothes]]: The "modules" you can obtain in the ''Project Diva'' games.
* [[Ascended Fanboy]]: In a way. Popular Nico Nico Douga singer Piko now has his own Vocaloid, Utatane Piko, courtesy of Sony Music, besides being a professional singer himself.
* [[American Kirby Is Hardcore]]:
** The [http://www.toyota.com/corollamiku/ homepage] for the [http://notanotheranime.blogspot.com/2011/05/hatsune-miku-commercial-debut-toyota.html Miku Corolla advertising campaign]. It seems like whoever drew her doesn't like certain ideas of cuteness... Toyota changed her appearance later, perhaps bowing to pressure from disappointed fans.
** Crypton's [http://piapro.jp/static/?view=sf_japantown Piapro] website held a contest for an official "American" Hatsune Miku design last month, and declared a [http://exiled-artist.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d41incp winner] (made by [http://exiled-artist.deviantart.com Exiled Artist]). [[Word of God]] indicates it will be used "in a commercial basis or in projects related to Miku's next concert". It was eventually used in the March 9, 2012 39's Giving Day concert when she performed ''[[Po Pi Po]]''.
* [[And Your Reward Is Clothes]]: Most of Project DIVA - either clothes or room items. Except the clothes are called "modules".
* [[Animated Actors]]
* [[Animated Actors]]
* [[The Cameo]]:
* [[Anthropomorphic Personification]]: One of the main reasons why Vocaloids are so popular.
* [[The Cameo]]: Miku's first anime appearance was one of these in ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'', as one of the people auditioning to be Meru's voice. Rin, Len, Kaito, and Meiko also appear in the same episode briefly, waiting in line for the auditions, however [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|their coloring is off.]]
** Miku's first anime appearance was one of these in ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'', as one of the people auditioning to be Meru's voice.
** Due to SEGA partially owning them, Miku and Luka have appeared in ''[[Phantasy Star Online 2]]'' as guest stars in the lobby concert.
* [[Catgirl]]: SeeU, the new Korean Vocaloid from the V3 series, has cat ears on her headset.
* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: The earlier Japanese Vocaloids had one dominant color associated with them; with the influx of new Vocaloids and more companies bringing in more varied character designers, this concept has been mostly abandoned.
** Iroha Nekomura. She has a [[Hello Kitty]] design, with a big cat helmet and little cat-eared speakers, among other things. Her last name even means "Cat Village".
* [[Cell Phone]]: Neru's trademark.
* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: Many of the earlier Japanese Vocaloids had one dominant, unique color associated with them ({{color|red|Meiko}}, {{color|blue|Kaito}}, {{color|turquoise|Miku}}, {{color|orange|Rin}}/{{color|yellow|Len}}, {{color|pink|Luka}}, {{color|purple|Gakupo}}, {{color|green|Gumi}}); with the influx of new Vocaloids, this concept has largely been abandoned.
* [[Cover Version]]: [[To Make a Long Story Short|If the song you're thinking of exists, they've probably covered it.]]
* [[Cover Version]]: [[To Make a Long Story Short|If the song you're thinking of exists, they've probably covered it.]]
* [[Crossover]]: Several times over the course of the year.
* [[Crossover]]: Thanks to [[Hajime Katoki]], Miku is now also avalaible in [[Virtual On|Fei-Yen]] cosplay outfit, and Fei-Yen in a Miku Hatsune [[Shout-Out]] version.
* [[Fundamentally Female Cast]]: There are many more female vocals than male ones.
* [[Curtains Match the Window]]: Several Vocaloids have this going on; namely Kaito, Miku, Sonika, Miki, Kiyoteru and Ryuto.
⚫
* [[Kayfabe Music]]: At live concerts; while the band is played by real people, the "lead singer" is an animated projection.
* [[The Cutie]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SvhxTr96eo Aoki Lapis], the new V3 "Whisperloid."
* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]: Even back in the V2 generation, there were quite a number of voicebanks available. By the time V3 ended, the number had almost tripled, and by the time V5 rolled in, there were more than 70 unique voicebanks.
* [[Detached Sleeves]]: All of the V2 Cryptonloids have these, the same with most if not ''all'' their derivatives.
⚫
* [[Loads and Loads of Loading]]: The PSP versions of ''Project DIVA'' games are plagued with this, especially if you have the DLCs installed, as they need to check the license ''every time'' the list of DLC items are loaded.
* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]]: Kamui Gakupo was created using [[Gackt]]'s voice.
⚫
* [[Moe Anthropomorphism]]: The design of the voicebanks is one of the reasons why Vocaloid is so popular.
** Megpoid was created with voice samples from [[Megumi Nakajima]] (earning her the [[Fan Nickname]] "[[Macross Frontier|Rankaloid]]".)
* [[Only Six Faces]]: It's easy to guess a voicebank's origin company or designer by their character style, which can lead to this for larger companies such as Crypton.
** Luka is [[Yuu Asakawa]].
* [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]]:
** Piko Utatane uses Nico Nico Douga singer Piko's voice.
⚫
** So human, in fact, that you'll soon forget that they're robots. Some designs even look outright organic.
** CUL is [[Eri Kitamura]].
⚫
** Several examples such as Piko and Miki downplay this; both have robotic joints and the former has what appears to be an equalizer and a USB-like tail.
* [[Kaleidoscope Hair]]: Sonika.
** Some Vocaloids defy this, depending on their background info; some are stated as not being robots.
* [[Katanas Are Just Better]]: Gakupo Kamui. His katana is even said to be ''somehow related to his musical ability''.
⚫
* [[Kayfabe Music]]: At live concerts, the band is real enough, but the lead "singer" is a projected image (and not really a singer at all).
* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] - There's quite a few already and the number is only growing. And that's not even getting into the fanmades and genderbends. Note that this number increases ''exponentially''. In 2010, the number of Japanese Vocaloids could be counted on both hands, and the number total were still easy to keep track of and to recite without issue. By the time 2012 arrived, the number had almost tripled.
⚫
* [[Loads and Loads of Loading]]: The PSP version of Project DIVA games are plagued with this. Especially if you have the DLCs installed, as it needs to check the license everytime the list of DLC items are loaded.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Most official and fan characters. The 'Hatsu' of Hatsune (Miku's last name) means first; she was the first japanese Vocaloid2 character. The 'Kagami' part of Kagamine (Rin and Len's last name) means 'mirror'; Crypton once described them as mirror images instead of being twins, although they [[Flip-Flop of God|backtracked]] on that. The 'Meguri' of Megurine (Luka's last name) means circulating/revolving; a reference to her bilingual capabilities. Furthermore, the 'ne' at the end of Kagamine, Hatsune, and Megurine means 'sound'. Akita Neru means 'I'm tired; going to sleep' and Haku Yowane means 'weak-willed words'. In fact, the name "Akita Neru" was coined ''because'' of the troll who created her using the phrase ''akita, neru'' ('I give up; going to sleep'), as a reaction of frustration about the difficulty of using the VOCALOID software.
** Lily's voicebank was sampled from the singer Yuri Masuda. "Yuri" means "lily" in Japanese and similarly, Gakupo, voiced by Gackt (pronounced Gakuto) and Gumi, voiced by Me''gumi'' Nakajima. Utatane Piko, voiced by Nico singer [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Piko]].
* [[Mismatched Eyes]]: The male vocaloid Utatane Piko has one green and one blue eye, which can be clearly seen on his [http://www.kioon.com/vocaloid/piko/ official page]
⚫
* [[Moe Anthropomorphism]] - Probably one of the reasons why Vocaloids are popular.
* [[No Export for You]]: Many of the non-English Vocaloids are rather difficult to get if you don't live in Japan, and shipping can get to ridiculous prices. Yamaha attempted to avert this with some Vocaloid3 banks such as VY1V3, Mew, Aoki Lapis, Tone Rion, and the V3 Gumi banks available as downloads, Voctro-Labs ships Bruno and Clara internationally, and SBS put up SeeU on eBay (albeit at a considerably higher price), but some, like Yuzuki Yukari, are still rather difficult to get overseas.
** In addition: Do you want to buy an album by your favorite composer, or a compilation album? Unless it's registered on KarenT, you will probably never be able to get it, because they're usually sold at Comiket or VocaMas - and even if they're sold online too, they're usually on Japanese-only sites.
* [[One Mario Limit]]: A visual variant. Any other character with big twintails of a similar color will be confused with Miku.
* [[Only Six Faces]]
* [[Opposites Theme Naming]]: Rin and Len Kagamine. Their names are a pun on the words "right" and "left", respectively.
* [[Rapunzel Hair]]: Miku, and to a lesser extent Luka, Haku and Neru. Fanartists tend to draw it ''even longer'', to the point of it being longer than the character is tall.
* [[Recursive Adaptation]]: Gakupo was based of [[Gackt]] who then made a remix of a Gakupo song and PV.
⚫
* [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]]: So human, in fact, that you'll soon forget that they're robots.
** Especially the V2 Appends and most of the Vocaloid-3's.
⚫
** Except in the cases of Piko and Miki; both have robotic joints and the former has what appears to be an equalizer ''as part of his left eye.'' Oh, not to mention the tail-like USB cable.
* [[Sibling Yin-Yang]]: Between Len and Rin.
** This is somewhat emphasized in the Append artwork; Rin's outfit is mainly light with some darker elements, while Len's is mainly dark with some lighter elements. And the [http://weekly.ascii.jp/elem/000/000/029/29482/1_cs1e1_x584.jpg boxart.]
* [[Talking to Himself|Talking To Herself]]: Rin and Len are voiced by the same person.
* [[Theme Twin Naming]]: Rin and Len are puns on "R" (right) and "L" (left).
* [[Vaporware]]: We haven't heard much of CV04 and its existence since its confirmation in 2009, and details get more and more scant as time passes by.
** [[Word of God]] says that he's still in production. However, he might not be in the ''Character Vocal'' series anymore since he's now listed as "Male Vocal" rather than "CV04".
* [[Virtual Celebrity]]
* [[Virtual Celebrity]]
* [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair]]: Kaito, Gakupo, Miku, Luka, Gumi, Sonika, Miki, Iroha and Gachapoid's [[Moe Anthropomorphism|human form]].
* [[Zettai Ryouiki]]: Hatsune Miku and, subsequently, many other female (and sometimes male) Vocaloids.


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Musicians]]
[[Category:Musicians]]
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[[Category:Vocaloid]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Sega]]
[[Category:Sega]]
[[Category:Memetic Works]]

Latest revision as of 15:26, 31 October 2023

Not pictured: More than three quarters of the cast.[1]

Vocaloid (a portmanteau of "vocal" and "android") is a series of music synthesizing programs created by YAMAHA Corporation. The program is separated into two parts; the editor, which is used to process any voicebank chosen by the user through their input, and the various voicebanks, each with their own unique voice traits for different user taste or purpose. Using a Vocaloid sounds simple enough, as the user simply has to type lyrics and adjust the melody of the song they're creating; however, fine-tuning is necessary to reach better, more natural-sounding results.

There are currently 70+ different Vocaloid voicebanks[2], with the engine itself having had multiple overhauls over the years to increase end product quality. The voicebanks in particular have become popular; due to their more or less blank state with little (if any) official background, fans have gotten into creating their own personalities and interpretation of them. Fanmade characters also exist, with some even gaining recognition from the higher-ups. The UTAU software also helped bringing many fanmades into life.

In The New Tens, Vocaloid has taken major steps in the entertainment industries, with live concerts (done with projections, in the style Gorillaz and the 2012 2Pac concert), video game crossovers, collectible figure lines, and even race car sponsors. Of course, there are also adaptations of the works related to Vocaloid, such as the manga Hatsune Mix and the OVA adaptation of the song Black★Rock Shooter and the multimedia franchise that is Kagerou Project.

The producers CosMo, Deco 27, and Mothy have their own pages, as does the band Supercell and the music-video-making software Miku Miku Dance.

Note: The following is only for tropes related to official Vocaloid materials. For character-related tropes for each voicebank, go here. For tropes on song, fanon, and other fan works, go here.

Tropes used in Vocaloid include:
  • Adaptation Expansion: Hatsune Mix is a closer-to-home example. Other than that, there are the adaptations of the various song projects made using Vocaloid.
  • And Your Reward Is Clothes: The "modules" you can obtain in the Project Diva games.
  • Animated Actors
  • The Cameo:
    • Miku's first anime appearance was one of these in Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei, as one of the people auditioning to be Meru's voice.
    • Due to SEGA partially owning them, Miku and Luka have appeared in Phantasy Star Online 2 as guest stars in the lobby concert.
  • Color Coded for Your Convenience: The earlier Japanese Vocaloids had one dominant color associated with them; with the influx of new Vocaloids and more companies bringing in more varied character designers, this concept has been mostly abandoned.
  • Cover Version: If the song you're thinking of exists, they've probably covered it.
  • Crossover: Several times over the course of the year.
  • Fundamentally Female Cast: There are many more female vocals than male ones.
  • Kayfabe Music: At live concerts; while the band is played by real people, the "lead singer" is an animated projection.
  • Loads and Loads of Characters: Even back in the V2 generation, there were quite a number of voicebanks available. By the time V3 ended, the number had almost tripled, and by the time V5 rolled in, there were more than 70 unique voicebanks.
  • Loads and Loads of Loading: The PSP versions of Project DIVA games are plagued with this, especially if you have the DLCs installed, as they need to check the license every time the list of DLC items are loaded.
  • Moe Anthropomorphism: The design of the voicebanks is one of the reasons why Vocaloid is so popular.
  • Only Six Faces: It's easy to guess a voicebank's origin company or designer by their character style, which can lead to this for larger companies such as Crypton.
  • Ridiculously-Human Robots:
    • So human, in fact, that you'll soon forget that they're robots. Some designs even look outright organic.
    • Several examples such as Piko and Miki downplay this; both have robotic joints and the former has what appears to be an equalizer and a USB-like tail.
    • Some Vocaloids defy this, depending on their background info; some are stated as not being robots.
  • Virtual Celebrity
  1. ↑ Clockwise from the top, then to the middle: IA, Aoki Lapis, Lily, Galaco, SeeU, Mew, Yuzuki Yukari, Ring Suzune, CUL, Akikoloid-chan, Tone Rion and GUMI.
  2. ↑ (and that's not counting Updated Rereleases or multiple characters that count as a single product)
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Vocaloid?oldid=2036296"