Slightly older figure today but one I’ve been trying to get for a reasonable price for quite some time. It’s Hatsune Miku, everyone’s favourite Vocaloid and virtual idol.
Having missed the first pre-order of Hatsune Miku because I was much more strict on what I bought back in September 2008, and again missing her re-release in May of 2009, I was relegated to the alternate and more expensive methods of acquiring Miku. Nearly a year has passed since I missed the last run of this figure and I’ve seen Miku’s price range from obscene to utterly obscene, in very much the same way Narika’s price did. Unlike Narika though I wasn’t able to find a friend who was willing to sell her at a vastly discounted price compared to the auctions on eBay and the like. Making it harder still Good Smile Company released the “CM Ver.” of Hatsune Miku which is identical in every way to this figure except for her closed eyes, which I didn’t want. This exclusive Miku could actually be had cheaper and much easier than the original Miku despite it’s limited run of 1500 pieces. But I didn’t want this version, and waited. My waiting finally paid off last month when I found her on Mandrake, unopened and brand new for ‘only’ ¥8,000 / $93 CAD, which is admittedly ¥2,761 / $32 CAD above her original MSRP. Given the prices I was seeing at the time she was vastly discounted over alternate methods and I took the plunge. Looking at eBay today, the cheapest I can find her is $165 CAD, so I still feel pretty good about the price paid, despite it’s obvious premium.
Miku doesn’t have a story like other characters, nor does she even come from a series. I wont go into too much detail since everyone likely already knows, but Miku was designed by Crypton Future Media for a piece of voice synth software developed my Yamaha called Vocaloid2, the second installment of the software. What I find strange about the entire phenomenon is that Miku doesn’t have a personality or a compelling story for one to invest in. Instead she has a list of statistics that describe her voice and how best to use it when producing music. Some of those stats are her optimum tempo range, genre, octave range among some lesser useful stats such as her age, height and weight. Beyond that nearly everything about her is fan produced, growing organically in much the same way I think as the Touhou Project has.
Miku’s popularity has also spawned a wide range of merchandise as well as even live concert events. Many have argued that she’s become too popular, being exploited by too many companies milking her for profit, much against what made her popular in the first place. With 72 results on MFC I’m inclined to agree with this theory and I’ll cite two additional examples that I think sum this up quite well. First, during Miku’s surprisingly well done live concert this past “Miku’s Day” (March 9th, 3 (mi) + 9 (ku)), Miku sang the SEGA sound. While this makes sense since the concert was produced by SEGA to promote their Project Diva PSP game, it still felt as if she’d sold out. Which is a very strange feeling to have since, as described above, she doesn’t even have a personality on which to base that feeling on. The second item I’d like to envoke is this (NSFW), a ‘dutch wife’ made in Miku’s likeness. While this is an entirely unauthorized product, it’s way over the top and they’re obviously using her appeal to market their product. Despite this fact though, I do think it’s be slightly amusing to own it as a piece of Japanese weirdness.
So what does all this have to do with Good Smile Company’s Hatsune Miku? Depending on one’s point of view, she’s either an item from before she ‘sold out’ or perhaps one of the first products she ‘sold out’ with. I like to look at this figure like she’s come before all the hype, or at the start of it at least and wasn’t Good Smile Company jumping on the bandwagon but instead helping start it. While this changes nothing about the figure itself, it does cast a different atmosphere over her and in my crazy head makes the inflated prices make more sense.
With so much fan artwork out there of Miku I find it difficult to really compare GSC’s rendition to anything, as her image has a large variance in my mind. I’m also not really aware of much official artwork one can compare to as well. It seems very much like Miku’s any 2 of the following 3, a set of colours, clothes, and hair that can be applied to any model and it becomes Miku. This leaves her open for much interpretation and can make any figure seem perfectly in her likeness. Just look at “World is Mine” Miku, she looks entirely different, but you still know she’s Miku from her long twintails, the colour of those twintails, her eye colour, and even her dark thighhighs.
Despite the lack of official art to compare her to I think Good Smile Company has done the best job bringing her to the 3rd dimension, and did it with their first attempt. With no personality to build upon, the generic happy face is entirely fitting, I couldn’t see them doing much else other than the eyes closed version which does have some positive qualities of it’s own. Her pose is attractive and playful though I imagine movement in this pose due to her hair, and so her skirt appears far too static given how far out her twintails are. I’m not looking for an easy panty shot, but just something to indicate her skirt isn’t plastic would have been beneficial. Overall her sculpt seems to represent a good averaging of all the Miku variations I’ve seen.
GSC has chosen not to deviate at all with Miku’s defacto colour scheme, using what I feel to be the ‘true colours’ for Miku. Other figures such as those produced by SEGA, and Max Factory have deviated somewhat, Max Factory’s appearing slightly more green, and SEGA’s entirely blue instead of the mix, though the blue is an interesting change. GSC’s detail work is about par for the course at least with regards to average GSC craftsmanship. She doesn’t stand out with any real intricate details, but she’s not barren of detail either. There is the occasionally mistake though, on the back of Miku’s head there’s a tiny paint chip that’s not just noticeable in macro shots, but not incredibly distracting either. There’s also over paint on her finger nails, but that’s somewhat expected. The saw tooth edging on her costume also suffers from overpaint, not keeping within the lines, but they’re quite small and it’s quite acceptable to the naked eye. Miku also has a rough finish compared to some other figures, some of which is noticeable to the unaided eye. The only flaw I can see that’s not forgivable on Miku is the green mark in her right armpit, it’s far enough away from any green areas and should not have made it there. But all and all these flaws are minor and hardly noticeable.
Actually, I take that second last sentence back, there is one more flaw that’s not forgivable. Miku’s panties. They’re white, just white, and that’s not acceptable. Since as far back as I can remember, and as far back as September 25th, 2007 according to Danbooru, she’s had aqua striped panties that match the rest of her attire. How could Good Smile Company overlook this incredibly important and identifying piece of clothing? I take pride in the fact that I can identify Hatsune Miku by her panties alone, as do many I’m sure. Just look at all the posts on danbooru that are of her panties, and only her panties, yet everyone knows who she is. With plain white it becomes much more difficult. Here are some examples, all of which aren’t safe for consumption at work. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen. Sadly that long list could be longer. If at some point in the future I’m able to paint well enough and straight enough I will modify my Miku to have the proper attire, until then however she will have to remain in her very un-Miku-like plain white panties.
I’m quite happy finally having GSC’s original Miku, she looks great and I love her character design. While her twintails might be too long in this figure, they frame her quite well and add some dynamism to the other wise static pose. Miku’s zettai ryouiki is in around the right ratios for my tastes, though maybe her skirt could be slightly longer narrowing the gap as well as hiding her panties a little better (what?). Her detached sleeves expose some extra skin while adding substance to her arms so as not to appear too thin, and for some reason a girl in a necktie is cute. All this comes together quite nicely in a well executed package by Good Smile Company.
I forgot to take Miku’s skirt off…
-Aka
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Just one photo with Drossel? For shame
Goddamit, it ate my 6 paragraph long reply.
To summarize:
There is no “Selling out”, this is a misguided attempt and concept which paints a fan into the group of those who knew the X before they became famous, and tries to paint them as the real fans as opposed to the johnnies come latelies. It also has a madonna-whore dichotomy where you supposedly want your idol to succeed but resent them if they do.
The “Fan produced” is often a load of bolloney, cause someone owns the trademark. They encourage people to invest time and even money to kickstart their product for them and then earn money for it.
There is no “Before selling out”, there’s “Before succeeding in selling out.” GSC did not jump on the cash-cow after it began galloping, and they did not “get it going”. Their whole attitude in release was to get it to sell, for the money.
Also, what personality do the Touhou gals have, really?
You and I disagree on how one defines sell out. You define selling out as becoming popular, where this is not the case for me. I define it more as, milking your fans for profit.
I have absolutely nothing against something becoming popular, it doesn’t affect me and may even make me finally notice something. I do however have a problem with a band or groups image on every type of product conceivable in an attempt to squeeze every last cent out of their fans. There’s a big difference between popularity and success, and selling out.
Now applying sell out to Miku is of course absurd, as mentioned in the post, as she was always a product from the start. But never the less that’s the phenomenon I was reminded of.
With the case of Miku, her entire reason for existance was for people to buy this software and produce music of their own. While the character might be copyrighted or trademarked, the voice was licensed for use by the user. This allowed Yamaha and Crypton to make money, money they deserved to make, and of which I have no problems.
The sell out aspect comes when Miku’s face is on nearly every product you can imagine. This doesn’t mean I’ll suddenly stop buying things, but it does remind me of selling out, and that’s all I was getting at in the post.
Also, I know that GSC didn’t start the trend, and I know their intentions were profit oriented, but that doesn’t change anything.
I can’t speak for the Touhou gals really, I haven’t played any of their games. But it’s my understanding that there is a story in there, so even if that story is the thinest poorest attempt at a story, it’s infinitely more depth than Miku has, since she has no story.
I am with you when you say Miku’s been “sold out”, but I don’t believe this is a TOO big of an issue. Unlike some the cases of popular music, the profit-seeking actor is a third party when it comes to the Vocaloid franchise. This means that the creative process of the Vocaloid community remains mostly untainted my outside influences, thus maintaining its unique integrity. As long as this is true, distasteful attempts to cash in on the characters can be ignored as they have little influence on the “core”.
Of course, my stance on the issue would change dramatically on the day when I see figure companies promoting their products directly within the Vocaloid PVs… Actually, I can definitely see that happening in the near future :S
Oh yeah, before I forget — loving the darker shots! =)
It wasn’t my intent to make a big deal of it. It was just a feeling I’d recently got with the franchise and voiced my thoughts within the review as it seemed a fair place to do it.
I agree that the community will remain and all will be well. I just couldn’t help but feel it seemed a similar fashion to a band who’s sold out.
Glad you liked ‘em, I took so many of them, but really couldn’t get what I was intending to do. I was trying to get the kinds of shots one might get at a concert, assuming you weren’t in a pushy crowd or something. Failed miserably in this I think, but they turned out well.
Nice pictures, I like the darker shots especially; it looks kinda like show lighting. I’d say something about Miku but it feels like I’ve been writing about her for all of last week and I don’t really want to write another word about her.
That’s what I was going for! If I only had a fog machine…
I wished you and Visual Fanfare hadn’t done Miku figures recently. I had the pictures all lined up and saw your posts and was all FFFFFUUUUUU lol. Didn’t feel like reshooting a figure so I went with it anyway. I totally understand if you’re all Miku’d out.
I was looking around for dry ice around here for smoky, foggy effects but I’ve got no idea where to get it. I don’t think the local Wal-Mart or Home Depot have it and I’m told that this stuff evaporates (sublimates, whatever) fairly quickly, so I guess I can’t easily mail order it.
Yeah that’s something I’ve never even thought of ordering until recently. There are other methods for creating smoke or fog, but it seems nearly all of them will also set fire alarms off. So I’d have to be careful with it I guess.
I’m glad that you were able to get her at such a (comparatively) reasonable price. 32 CAN over MSRP isn’t too bad even if she wasn’t so rare but I am sorry that after a year-long hunt yours came through with so many extra chips and marks. >,<
Interesting thoughts about the milking of Miku. I totally agree that the fan origins behind the popularity of the character don't really sit well with the seeming commercialization at her expense, but personally I'm not ready to that she "sold out" yet. It just seems to me that the true power of the character comes from the fan inspired works and that all the figures, concerts, and…erm…toys are more accessories than anything. Of course I’m an Eva fan-boy and I’ve seen that franchise milked for years without end, so I might just be desensitized to it.
*Sigh*. I have a love/hate relationship with your reviews, Aka. I love them but occasionally you point out something about a figure I love that’s so basic, so obvious in hindsight that I’m never able to get it out of my head. You did it again with just now by pointing out Miku’s panties aren’t striped. I don’t even particularly like striped panties but you’re 100% right: they are a crucial part of her character design and people know Miku from her panties alone.
I’ll echo everyone else – love the darker shots! How did you get the spot light effect? Just some rolled paper?
Evangelion is definitely a great example of a series that sold out, maybe 10 fold now. In fact so much so they’re making a remake of the entire thing. Though I like the remake, and some of the merch.
The marks on Miku really aren’t too terrible, I point them out because I like to find faults in things. But looking at her on my desk, she looks perfect from any normal viewing distance, and I can’t see the back of her head anyway.
Haha sorry about the pantsu, but I thought everyone already knew it anyway. So I felt I should dedicate more than a passing comment. I’m surprised that GSC didn’t do it to be honest, but perhaps it’s more effort than it’s worth in their eyes.
Thanks! The spotlight was acheived using the old halogen lights from my cabinet, and as you say, rolled up paper. The hints of red were done with the same red plastic bag as in the Haruhi review.
Late to the party I am it seems haha…
Funny you got such an impression from the Sega logo thing when all I was thinking is “ZOMG MIKU IS GOING TO BE PROJECTED ON STAGE!!!”. :p
Ah fanboy I am…But I dunno I can’t really bring myself to be bothered by any of it just yet. Things like what Sega is doing with the Diva games and concerts all I can do is feel grateful for them heh.
Like Chag said the fan-made song community is still going strong and as long as thats always there I’ll be content. Plus to me corporations interest in their songs can only be a good thing right? I mean look at Ryu or Huke…Its amazing how far they’ve come thanks to Miku and I sure as heck appreciate Ryu’s non-vocaloid work that hes been given the opportunity to make lately! ~_^
Reminds me why my favorite games are all ones with a strong Mod community…I just absolutely adore fan-created content and the type of creativity it fosters. ^_^
Ah well anyway enough rambling…Lovely shots here Aka especially the funky light ones. I still prefer Max’s version of her 100x over, but you made her look quite nice here!
I love the concert, don’t get me wrong. But midway through when I heard he sing “SEGA” I was like wtf. Or when I heard game sounds, likely around the same time. It was distracting from the concert rather than adding to it. While I never needed reminding she wasn’t real or anything, it still ruined the mood.
Ryu is supercell right? he did the theme to Bakemonogatari I think?
You like MF’s? She looks like an alien! Totally unattractive to me.
Ryu is part of supercell, which includes people like the illustrator Huke and Redjuice so basically the people behind most of her most well known songs. Its since expanded to include real musicians and thats what you heard them sing the ED to Bakemonogatari (I <3 their vocalist).
Haha alien…Eh yea she does look somewhat funny in pictures, but once you get her in hand she's spectacular…The sheer quality and detail put into her blows any other PVC of her out of the water. Like when you said that the GSC one doesn't have much movement in the skirt considering the pose you get that movement in the MF one and then some…The thing just oozes craftsmanship. ~_^
But then I love semi-transluscent hair and thats a big part of the appeal of the figure.
She’s beautiful but i prefer the Figma version of miku =/
anyway love the photoshoot, makes miku look even better =)
I’m not a fan of joints really. But I’m learning to ignore them somewhat. Slowly ordering more figmas.
Thanks!
Cool shots with the black background – it works really well with this version of Miku. Instead of a fog machine, try a humidifier… that’s what I’m trying out with some of my shots right now.
I was debating whether to get this or the CM version – I eventually opted for the CM version as it was something different. The CM Miku also ended up in my site banners as well. lol
I was waiting ALL winter for some big fluffy snow to take pics of my CM Miku – unfortunately we rarely had any snow this year – and whenever it snowed, I was away at work. Ugh! The pics I managed to take with some snow turned out like crap. =(
I liked GSC Miku’s pose the most, compared to the Sega and Max Factory versions.
Don’t humidifiers exhale warm/hot vapour? That’s not something I want to blow onto my figures. Ultrasonic humidifiers wouldn’t work well for me either unless I used distilled water, since my water is full of impurities that would cause a wonderful dust in my room.
The CM version does have a certain attraction to it, as if Miku’s enjoying a good song on her headphones. Maybe I’ll eventually purchase that one as well but I don’t have any plans to do so at the moment.
I wish it snowed here too, I was very disappointed with winter. Hopefully summer’s a better season.