Happy Birthday Miku!

When is Miku Hatsune’s birthday? How old is Miku Hatsune? What does Vocaloid mean?

Dear Miku,

Generally, I am not one to write fan letters. But for your sixth birthday (8/31), I’m more than willing to do this.

I first found out about you because 4 years ago, I was dating a woman from Taiwan. She was an ardent fan of Cyndi Wang. I’ll admit I have never really listened to any C-pop (J-pop or K-pop either), until we went on a road trip to her sister’s graduation. That’s where I had first heard “Honey, Honey”. Days later, I wanted to hear that song again so I went on YouTube and found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwvno63fwNs  (Note: This isn’t the original Miku video but one very similar). I was floored. So I started looking at other videos. That’s when I found out about Vocaloids (Vocal + Androids) . How had I not known about this? I also had no idea that you provided the vocals for the Nyan Cat meme. You are a sly one, Miku. I now had some more YouTube fodder.

The relationship ended when she had to go back to Taiwan. So I would watch Cyndi and Miku videos whenever I started feeling down.

It wasn’t until almost two years ago, that I had found out about the English version of MikuMikuDance. One of the members of my anime group had told me about it. Like most fledging MMDers, I started off making simple videos from downloaded motion data and .wav files. I also started playing around with making original motion data.

You can only learn so much by your own trial and error. So I would look for online tutorials. I would contact up loaders and model makers to get their advice and guidance. I have corresponded with some wonderful people on this journey: my talented colleagues here at learnmmd. Other amazing people who have guided me: Yamilucy, Alvinloser,kb9vcn, Planty-P, SachiShirakawa, Mahlazer, Trackdancer, and so many more.

Another Voice.

Miku Hatsune, you have given me (and many others) another voice to express myself. I’m not musically inclined however I am visually inclined. I have stories I want to tell. I have another avenue to say whatever I wish to express.

Miku, normally one receives presents on their birthday. However you have given me and many other members of the MMDC (MikuMikuDance Community) so much more. The world is yours http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEaBqiLeCu0. Thank you for taking us along. So, to grab a cue from one your songs that most inspires me; I will tell my world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1ZGwUaXpOU

I have fun with this.