Official American Miku Announced – “Not Again!”
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Aug 29, 2011 05:09 JST
- Tags: Artists, Character Design, Cosplay, Hatsune Miku, Image Gallery, Marketing, USA, Vocaloid
Manly Miku apparently not having proved a debacle enough, Hatsune Miku finally has an official American version, although not everyone seems likely to be overjoyed by the design selected.
The winning version, by American artist “Exiled Artist“:
The version was solicited from the public in a competition to create a design for the upcoming “J-Pop Summit Festival” organised by Crypton’s “Piapro” site and San Francisco’s Japan Town:
J-POP SUMMIT Festival is held in Japan Town, San Francisco on 27th and 28th August, 2011.
This year, Piapro.jp collaborates with Japan Town on the festival based on the theme of “Gambare Nippon”, and we collected ideas for the design of street banner in Japan Town and a model sheet of “American Hatsune Miku” which people imagine. Consequently, we have received a lot of feedback and applications from not only creators in Japan but also creators all over the world! Thank you very much!
Crypton have acknowledged the version so fans are now stuck with it:
We have adopted the work of a creator in the U.S. and the prize is a trip to Japan for the next Hatsune Miku Live! Congratulations! Miku’s costume in this work pictures her homecoming from L.A. and the work will be adopted on a commercial basis or used for projects related to the next concert.
The competition drew quite a few entries (most of which, it has to be said, are not very good at all, and a large proportion of which appear to be by Japanese artists), an unrepresentative selection of which are visible below:
The selection criteria for the winner are not clear, although Miku has already adopted a cheerleader motif for her charity edition “Ganbare!” Nendoroid, and Japanese certainly have an unrivalled love for such tawdry Americana.
The online Japanese reaction is very mixed, probably not a good sign when it comes to the normally unconditionally adored Miku:
“USA! USA! USA!”
“A cheergirl!?”
“Who wants a cheerleader?”
“Horrible!”
“It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Miku’s been made into a bitch?”
“Shabby.”
“Cute.”
“It does not seem well thought out.”
“The way yanks love cheerleaders so much is weird.”
“More mundane than I thought.”
“It’s not bad, but it is pretty nineties and overly simple.”
“The proportions are certainly off.”
“I suppose it will pass.”
“It looks like some 10-year-old eroge design.”
“I preferred the macho version.”
“Wasn’t the American version this:”
“That is so much better!”
“I wanted to see something like this:”
“More of this guy’s art:”
”Pretty nineties, isn’t it?”
“Leave this sort of thing to the Japs, guys.”
“What was wrong with the Japanese version anyway? The wapanese over there seem to like it.”
“When they said ‘American version’ I was expecting a monster…”
”I thought this version would at least be sporting a six pack.”
“Toyota’s manly Miku was the best.”
Considering the response of American fans to the last effort to alter Miku to fit supposed American tastes, the reaction of actual Americans should she be be foisted upon them will doubtless be interesting to behold.
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TRASH
Also, the majority of Americans have no taste.
Miku has been trolled and mutated by American Advertising Con-Artists who do not have a clue about who she is....
Its just sad,...
yeah that is true
I actually don't see what everyone is complaining about (or rather why they're getting this pissed about it). It's true that his drawing's proportions are shitty to say the least, but I think the actual clothing designs are good.
The shoujo-esque first unrepresentative picture looks really good, too, though; it helps that it's also actually well-drawn. The others are alright but nothing to get excited about.
I too am hoping that that's merely what it looks like: a character sheet. It's common to have a character laid out like that and just put different clothes on the same base drawing, as evidenced by the patriot drawing as well. But yeah, the anatomy and stance are pretty shitty considering his other works...
My hope is they use the base Miku model from the Japanese concerts and give her those clothes for one song or other. If it's merely a representational costume for a specific purpose, like many artists do in their concerts (Michael Jackson did it a lot) then I've no problem. If they're going to MODEL her based off of this concept art, then it's time for us to nuke ourselves.
Well I don't mind the proportions, but I just don't like the clothing. It just doesn't seem appealing to me. I'd prefer something cuter.
the majority of people on earth have no taste.
But the staff who did pick the winner is japanese, not american.
Yeah, I can't imagine an American agency picking a design where she's dressed in an American flag. It clearly looks to have fallen prey to the usual "what Japanese think Americans want to see" syndrome. People in the United States don't typically dress in Americana designs, unless perhaps for Independence Day, or for an international sporting event. This would be like the equivalent of dressing Vin Diesel up in a white suit with a big red dot on it and trying to pass him off as a Japanese action hero. It just comes off as somewhat forced.
In the case of Miku, I really don't think it goes all that well with her hair color either. Image #008 (the second design here)is probably about as Americana themed as you can get without looking silly though.
ha ha ha, now they stole Japan's Hatsune Miku, what would they steal tomorrow?and what others did they steal yesturday?
K-on Girls? although the the staff already sold them to england's university
Yes, because Japan always comes up with revolutionary ideas and never reinvent existing ideas.
Guess what, weaboo? Many early manga and anime artists credit Betty Boop as their design influences.
MY EYES!
#19 does not look pleased. Someone get her some lemon pledge!
AMERICA WHY?!?!?!? IT BURNS IT BURNS
Dallas Cowboys cheerleader! What's more American than the uniform of the cheergirls of America's Team!
/vomits
Incoming lawsuits! I hope they seriously learn their lesson not to Americanize Miku.
I can imagine all her USA songs now. Rap & US-Pop.
As though jpop wasn't simply an adaptation of 80's and 90's american pop. Music is music. All the racism here is disgusting. But so are all the american miku drawings.
The official US Miku is actually illegally based on a real cheerleader outfit of some American sport group.
They're going to get a lawsuit for this.
First off... where the hell are her hips? Whoever drew this needs to go study anatomy. There is no definition of where the hips are supposed to be, nor where abs stop and ribcage starts. Basically they took a cylindar, threw some legs, arms, and a head on it, then put clothes over top to hide the joints. She also has the most deformed hands I've seen since intro to drawing in college. Not to mention the legs are freakishly long and the knees are too high. The face actually turned out... ok, but the rest definitely needs to be changed. She also is lacking an ass... partly due to the fact she has no hip bone.
Why do they have to Americanize her? Vocaloid is a Japanese and that's it.
...Do they wrap Sushi in an American flag before eating it over there?
no we wrap it in bacon because were are fat and bacon makes everything taste better even sushi
Sushi topping a slice of apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese on top. Doesn't get more American than that.
It's called fusion.
Actually, apple pie with Cheddar cheese is very traditional British. Sushi I'm not so sure about, though.
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSION! HA!!
I believe this is as American as sushi can get:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXjxHQQxcLw
I'd like to order an extra large sushi-bacon cheeseburger pizza with ultra-size fries and a 96-oz Diet Coke.
What? I'm hungry and I'm on a diet!
@yaku
Those guys are apparently Canadian. Though I suppose that still makes them 'North American'. :|
That's Canadian.
Sad part is considering the utter shit that is sushi fusion it is not too far from the truth.
Just some marketing geniuses that wouldn't know who Miku was if she bit them in the ass.
Probably graduated from the same schools as the translators who localize manga and anime so Japanese high school kids wind up talking like Detroit ghetto rats.
Japanese cultural icons should stay Japanese. Whats the problem?
It's a standard in the US: if it ain't from America, Americanize it.
I think all the complaining is having a double standard.
Look at what Japan did to the power puff girls.
I'm pretty sure people have a bias towards decent art. In the PPG's case, the Japanese version's art wasn't horrendous, so people gave it some slack. In this (and previous Americanizations of Miku), the art is unattractive at best, and a 10-year-old's doodling at worst.
Personally, i like the character designs of PPG-Z... though the show is too painful to watch unlike the CN Original one (which I really enjoy on the other hand).
I don't like the Japanese x-men it is shit.
Yeah. We're the original China. China is just China-quality USA.
Japan fully acknowledges that all they do is pretty much steal things, Japanize and then remarket them. They haven't had an original idea in decades. Hell, the first major manga was based on Disney's designs.
Well, neither at least 50% of your childhood favourite cartoons and heroes are that original. Pokemon, Transformers, Robotech, Sonic, Mario, Zelda, Rockman, Power Rangers, etc; they all were based on toys, videogames and long time series from god damn Japan.
At least when Tezuka "stole" Disney and Betty Boop's design, he came out with Astroboy and Jungle Emperor Leo (that inspired Lion King which people nowadays still ignorantly unaware of). Also, keep in mind that the sparkling eyes design were actually already implemented in Japanese vintage cartoons back in the 30's.
@9:35
None of that disputes the fact that Japan steals everything from other cultures and makes it into the Japanese image before repackaging it. The Japanese admit they do it, only weeaboos try to ignore it.
@19:17
This. Japan tends to do a lot of "borrowing" from other cultures. Even their mythology isn't with some modification. Textbook example is my favor creature of "their" lore: the Oni.
fucken america they ruin every thing
u jelly?
You spelled "fucking" wrong, weeaboo.
...Do they wrap Sushi in an American flag before eating it over there?
no they probably just change the name, in order to safe guard their fragile
egos, and maintain their perpetual state of denial.
That's the exact same question I want to ask some translators.
Cultural imperialism? To prove cultural superiority? Xenophobia? Patriotism? Glocalization?
Being born and having lived in Singapore my whole life, I feel absolutely zero loyalty to either country and am able to look at this from a outsider's perspective. I believe that cultural products should remain, and enjoyed, as close to the original as much as possible.
You're looking way too deep into it. Not everything's a consipracy you know? They're just assuming giving the character American style costumes would further increase it's popularity in the states.
I concur. The original is often the best, also in this case.
Yes, it is definitely imperial dogma at work here. America is out to stake their claim on inferior oriental countries by hitting where it really hurts - your prepubescent cartoon idols.
Singapore is on the list, but far far down on our priorities since frankly, it just doesn't matter really.
Oh, and good call on never ever leaving Singapore. Imperialists are just drooling at the chance to get their boots on your neck to subjugate you.
In other words, same Miku but in different clothes?
soooo... um... why don't they just use the original Miku? I mean, it's not like she's going to break away from the anime crowd no matter WHAT they change her into, so why not just use her normal form?