It's an important and popular fact that the second day of an anime convention always brings better cosplay... and Saboten-con was no exception. Without a doubt, Saturday was dominated by the Hatsune Miku cosplayers, of which there were four (for a con as small as Saboten, that's a lot). My favorite two are pictured above; this photo was shot after they had just finished an impromptu dancing session.

Saturday's highlights also included a kilt-wearing stormtrooper (who was doubling as a security guard for the maid cafe), Captain America, Darth Nihilus, a black Krillin, and an absolutely ADORABLE female Naruto and Sasuke couple. Check out those photos and more in the gallery below!

If you missed the Friday cosplay post, it can be found here. Look for the final installment tomorrow!

The first time I saw these vocaloid charms mixed in with some other full size toys over at Mikatan Blog, I clearly recollect choking on my tea a little and wailing at my monitor "WHERE CAN I BUY THESE?" Not a surprise, as the overwhelming adorable factor is a lot to handle even for someone who isn't already a vocaloid fan. I'm pleased to announce they will be open for preorder very soon, so now if you want one (or all of them) you can get it!

These three are called Pirori Miku, Pirorin, and Toeto (Toeto is one of Vocaloid Luka's personalities). No prices are out there just yet, but I would expect they will be pretty reasonable, not to mention a great way to show off your love for all things vocaloid on your keychain or hoodie zipper. Wait, Miku hoodie zipper? Must...not...die...from...the cuteness....

[Via Tomopop]

Those friggin' squares at engadget called the singing voice of the new Yamaha robot "terrifying." But we know that voice. We listen to that voice by choice. And what was odd and off-putting to a bunch of tech geeks is a glimmer of hope to us otaku.

Here's how I see it. They gave her a voice. Now she has a body. That's almost good enough right there. Give her a soft touch and the correct...ports, and we'll be good to go. Mass produce, get it going, Yamaha. 

How much would you pay?

And JUST when I was beginning to get into the Vocaloid thing. The Black Rock Shooter anime was impressive, the memes were legendary, the auto-tune voices had stopped giving me a headache, I was considering importing the Project DIVA game to put some Sakura Taisen songs on, and then this happened.

Thanks, Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), thanks a lot. You could have at least watched those videos of Miku's debut on Playstation Home or something to see how it should have been done. You could have debuted a simpler, cuter version. But nooo. You decided not to stop at ruining fashion and the name "Mimu," you went and ruined the name "Miku," too.

*sigh* Hit the jump for the video.

Seriously, it shouldn't. Japanese arcades are LOUD. I mean, they're called Vocaloids for a reason, and their voices will drown in the whirling maelstrom of bleeping and blooping that is the typical game center.

It's not as if the custom songs Sega's soliciting from the Nico Nico Douga community are going to win much fame for their composers, because no one will be able to hear them. 

Well, whatever the case, it's happening, and it's unlikely to ever make it here. Maybe if we added a cleverly designed vegetable-shaped gun controller, then it'd have a chance. Oh! That could be for the Black Rock Shooter version!

Rejoice, Japanatorians and lovers of synthesized voice everywhere! A new game starring everyone's favorite Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku, is on its way!

Our intrepid pals over at Destructoid have brought us news that another installment of the Vocaloid-errific Project DIVA series is in the works.

Not too many details are available, but rumor has it that the game may be bound for the home HD consoles, perhaps the PS3 or Xbox 360. It would certainly be a legendary thing to see Miku dancing on a properly-sized screen. Nico Nico Douga has already called for fan submissions of their favorite Miku songs for addition into the game.

I'm not the greatest fan of Vocaloids, but I definitely enjoy the memes they've helped generate. Considering that the current Project DIVA game on the PSP is already capable of incorporating custom songs, I'd love to see what can be done with the additional power large consoles provide.

Now, hit the jump for a video dose of Miku hotness!

I love me some Hatsune Miku, you all already know that. What I do not love is when cosplayers do a sloppy job when they decide to dress as her, something that I am seeing a lot of these days. Of course, the guy in this video goes above and beyond the call of poor cosplay; what he is doing is simply in a different realm of weird. For instance, here are the highlights of this video:

*White satiny costume plus matching thigh high stockings

*Yellow bedspread in background totally makes the video

*Lucky Star guitar (this should belong to me)

*black leotard appearances with additional caressing of breast area

* unexpected debut of maid costume

* four glasses of milk

*Did he really just leave to puke?

You're convinced, aren't you? I mean, who wouldn't be. Hit the jump to check it out in all of its mysterious, mildly nauseating glory.

[Via Danny Choo]

It was announced earlier this week on the Animelo Summer Live 2009 Re:bridge website that Hatsune Miku will be giving an actual live performance on August 22nd. While there weren't any real specifics, I can only assume the performance will be either via cosplay, or holographs--much like Genki Rockets did during Live Earth back in 2007. Maybe it's just me, but the whole idea of her giving performances has me thinking about Sharon Apple and the plot Macross Plus. Not that she'd turn into into a living AI or anything, but it'd be crazy if Miku were to really become some kind of worldwide phenomenon, giving virtual concerts around the world.

Gackt is scheduled to perform the very next night, though I doubt it'll be an entire concert featuring his Vocaloid counterpart. From what I've heard, the demos were pretty terrifying, but then again, that was when the program was first announced. No doubt it's come a long way since then. Still, I'm sure he has plenty of new material to perform, such as the slew of singles he released the other month. They all had decent b-sides too-- enough to fill to fill a mini-album at least. I don't think it'd be possible, but I'd love to see both him and Miku give a concert stateside. If it were to happen though, would you pay to see Miku in concert, even knowing that it's all pre-recorded?

Hatsune Miku is sort of a big deal around here.  In Japan, an even bigger deal.  It comes as no surprise then that an entire festival would be created to celebrate everything about the vocaloid.  To celebrate the second anniversary of the computer voice idol, there's MikuFes '09.  Entrance and a drink will cost you 3939 yen when the show opens on August 31 at Studio Coast.  There will be producers on hand at the event, such as supercell, livetune, doriko, OSTER project, among others.  You can probably bet there will be limited edition merch and just about everything Miku.  For now, you'll just have to watch the official site for more info.

I feel like being nice, so I won't go out of my way to post pictures of the terrible Miku cosplays we've been seeing today. Instead, here's a lovely picture of how to do it right. At last count, there were close to 14 which I ran into, of which only about four were impressive enough for me to stop and admire. I get that Miku is the new Haruhi, so we're going to be seeing it everywhere. I've come to accept that, but it kills me that most of these cosplayers don't even realize what she's from, or only know her from the CDs they find littering their favorite torrent sites.

It's not wrong to merely cosplay something because you think it looks cool, but there should be some actual time and research involved, or else you're just not going to do it right. On top of that, you should know what you should be cosplaying and what you shouldn't. You might think you'll be the first chubby girl to cosplay Hatsune Miku and that it could work. Trust me, you're not, and it hasn't, so don't think you'll be the exception. If anything, it'll be a bit cringe inducing. If you think you can pull it off, then by all means, but make sure your costume is at least passable and that includes making sure the wig is halfway decent. We'd appreciate it, and I'm sure others would too.