Happy birthday miku!
16 years ago on this day, Hatsune Miku V2 was released!!
Vocaloid in general has huge sentimental value for me...I've been listening to vocaloid music since I was in middle school and it's remained a constant in my life, so I hold it dearly close to my heart.
I didn't really do anything special for this very special day, mostly vibed to some old favorite songs and some of the stuff released for her anniversary.
Blue Planet by DECO*27 is an interesting song in that latter category. Full transparency, I'm not the biggest DECO27 Fan. I think he is a very skilled producer (you don't get this popular in the vocaloid scene by making terrible songs after all lol). I just find his more recent works very same-y and bland. If anything, I much prefer his older works that had a bigger emphasis on rock than pop (Mozaik Role, Two Breaths Walking, Streaming Heart).
As you might expect, as sweet as a song Blue Planet is, listening-wise it doesn't really hit the mark for me 😅 it's kinda going all over the place with it's melody lol
Preferences aside! What makes this song interesting is that it's a response to Hachi-P's Sand Planet, which you can tell right away from the titles alone but there's a lot under the surface too. I'm not going delve too deep into it and do a lyric comparison or anything like that (though I absolutely encourage anyone who is interested to do so) but! I will talk a bit about the context of the eras these songs were released it and my personal thoughts.
So at the time of Sand Planet's release, Hachi-P had long since made a name for himself in the mainstream Japanese music industry. He had pulled away from vocaloid, instead using his own vocals. Sand Planet was his first and, as of now, only vocaloid song since Donut Hole (2013). Hachi-P was one of the og producers back in the day, so his return was a big deal. And what he expressed through Sand Planet was also a pretty big deal.
note: I am not a...idk...vocaloid historian! Please feel free to do your own research on these things in the event that I misrepresent or get a fact wrong!
So starting around 2015, the vocaloid scene experienced what a lot of people considered a decline in the scene itself. A lot of producers moved on, either quitting or, like Hachi-P, pursued a career without using Vocaloid. We also took a couple hits with the unfortunate passings of a few producers. As such, there was kind of a lull in really stand-out songs. Things didn't really start to pick up until around 2017-2018, iirc.
So Sand Planet drops and what does it say? Hachi-P himself stated that this song is about his observations of the vocaloid scene at the time versus what it was back when he was a producer. And he compared his observation of niconico douga to that of a desert. When Hachi-P was producing vocaloid songs back in 2009 and the early 2010s, vocaloid was popping off! But in 2017? ...Not so much.
So the desert represents NicoNico Douga. The animal masked people represent vocaloid producers. The apples and the tree represent the songs these producer's create. In my opinion, the juxtaposition between the desert and miku walking around it with the producers vs miku standing alone beneath the tree, apples materializing out of nowhere, represents the reality of the vocaloid scene vs an outside perspective on the scene, perhaps people who know miku but not the producers and attribute songs using Miku as "a song by Miku" (similar vibes to Unknown Mothergoose!).
The vocaloid scene has gotten a resurgence since 2017 though! I think as early as 2020, it started popping off again? And Blue Planet reflects that!
There's a lot of visual comparisons, such as the tree and the apples from Sand Planet. But instead of being juxtaposed to a desert, instead the song emphasizes a partnership to Miku. DECO27 seems to see the experience of being a vocaloid producer as being on the journey with Miku, making songs together rather than as a producer and instrument. She's very humanized in this song.
I think it's a very heartfelt song and the animation is beautiful. I think it does it's job representing the revitalization these past few years of the vocaloid community. And I think it's quite sweet that we have these kinds of songs (both Blue Planet and Sand Planet) that are like...historical landmarks almost of what these different eras were like from the perspective of the actual producers.
So I know I've already written enough as it is. And if you've made it this far in my ramblings, I am absolutely grateful and honestly would not blame you at all for dipping out at this point!!! But I have a few more thoughts on my mind I want to try and get out.
I may sound a bit bitter in the coming paragraph(s), but I would like to reinforce now that vocaloid isn't going anywhere for me. I can't see myself stepping away from the scene for any reason. I love it with all of my heart and will continue to cherish it for many, many more Miku anniversaries to come.
Here's just my observations on this vocaloid resurgence. I give a lot of credit to the producers who broke out in the past few years. They really carried the scene on their backs, especially considering the big shoes they had to fill. But alongside these producers, I think Project Sekai did a big of heavy lifting...for better or for worse.
We always get surges of new fans, it's nothing new to see a sudden uptick in people not knowing some basic vocaloid facts, or crediting songs to miku rather than the producers. But with Project Sekai's release, I felt that that uptick was a lot larger and louder than normal. It can be quite frustrating as an old fan to be bombarded with incorrect information about the scene (every time I hear people claim things about powapowa-p's death I want to rip my eyeballs out, ngl) and it's been significantly worse this time around.
No shame to new fans and fans joining the community because of project sekai. Honestly, I think it's a wonderful and great thing. And honestly, it wouldnt make sense to complain since the scene is built on participatory culture. The more people we have in the community, the more creators. The more creators, the more miku! I want more people in this community absolutely!
I think what I'm trying to say is the specific era of vocaloid we are entering (or have been in, honestly) is very reflective of the fans brought in through project sekai. ...for better or for worse! I feel like Hachi-p I suppose, knowing what the scene was like back then versus now. But instead of a desert, the setting is full of life but...uncertain? Chaotic? Nerve-racking? Certainly not in a "back in my day!" kind of way...but maybe in a "man I miss how decentralized(?) and kinda loose-goosey/unprofessional/handmade vocaloid was back in the day".
I'm not sure if any of this makes sense. I really hope I don't sound like a bitter old vocaloid fan reminiscing about the "good old days". Because while yeah, I miss a lot of what made the vocaloid community unique back then, I'm not opposed to the future. A lot of my favorite producers got pretty big or started their careers either slightly prior or during this resurgence. So if anything, I'm excited! These songs just got me thinking, man!
Ok, I think I've written more than enough. Sorry! I just get so.....involved when thinking about vocaloid. I guess being in any community for a long-ass time will do that to you. I hope you at least found my thoughts mildly interesting.
Before closing,
I'm eventually going to add a vocaloid shrine to my blog...and it might just include my own little vocaloid starter guide!
I'm going to try and make my next entry about Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. I finished it this past weekend and OUGH it did a number on me. I love this game so much and I want to talk and rant about it so bad. I can't wait!!!