Koda’s thoughts on “The Sound of the Future” panel @ AX 2011

Heya! Went to Anime Expo 2011 at the beginning of this month. There were a lot of VOCALOID-related panels and things this year (more than last year’s whopping 1). Among them, the only one that really even mentioned Engloids was “Mirai no Neiro: The Sound of the Future”, and that one even started out as an embarrassment that I almost got up and left from. They had semi-pro Miku, Rin, and Len cosplayers show up and pretend to be “the real ones brought here from the digital world”; I would have been able to at least appreciate it if the “actors” had been tolerable, but they had obviously been thrown into a position they were not prepared for (not knowing when to talk, staring at their lines, speaking monotone, etc…).

Everything got better with time though (even the acting). The PVs they played this year were a great selection and virtually all were well-subtitled. The Producers who could make it on their own dollar (PENGUINS PROJECT, Sunzriver, and the three members of ZANEEDS) were great fun and they had all prepared original works they premiered at the panel (notably a love song by ZANEEDS called “The Socialist” about Rin being a radical socialist trying to see her paradise realized through any means neccessary).

My favorite part was when Kenmochi Hideki, head of the sound-synthesis division of YAMAHA, suddenly showed up and talked about VOCALOID as a program, not as a series of Crypton-created characters. He actually busted out the editor on the big screen and started sequencing Happy Birthday with Sweet Ann! You would think the audience had never heard an English VOCALOID sing before by their reaction! I think that guy just landed Engloids here pretty effectively if they weren’t known before.

About The Author

Kodakami

I'm an independent video game musician with a love for VOCALOID music. I've written a few Engloid originals, and always have more in the works (though it takes me a while to release them). I own Big Al, Sweet Ann, Oliver, Galaco, LOLA, LEON, and MIRIAM.

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