Weekly Vocaloid Ranking #207 – Jello

Just when it was getting warmer, a typhoon came and the weather got unstable, but I hope you’re enjoying your autumn holidays, everyone.

“Why speaking about this problem regarding manners?”

I’d like to give some explanations as to why we did that enlarged segment. First, let’s think of Vocaloid songs as “fan works”. Originally, fan works weren’t adressed to the general public, in part because of copyrights issues. Apart from anthologies approved by the original authors for instance, these works only circulated among friends or in restricted places such as doujin conventions.

But Vocaloid songs have taken a different path from that of the fan works that had been produced so far. These songs are used in commercial CDs, in karaoke or in games, and different people are involved: the creators, called “Vocalo-Ps”, the artists who are in charge of the PVs and illustrations, and even those who cover Vocaloid songs.

• Appearances on TV, newspapers, magazines, radio
• Live performances
• Major albums
• In-store events
• Karaoke
• Games
• Conferences, talk-shows
• Doujin conventions (e.g. Comiket, Vom@s)

VocaloPs engage in a variety of activities, be they doujin or commercial ones. As you can see above, a single artist can appear in all these venues. These weren’t part of “fan activities” until now. VocaloPs appear in lives and in the media while engaging in doujin activities at the same time… Let’s be honest, some in the Vocaloid fandom have a hard time making a distinction between all of this; to them, these events are all more or less the same thing, and they can’t be blamed for thinking that way.

Contrary to commercial events backed up by companies, doujin conventions are often run thanks to the help of volunteering fans, with few people and on low budgets, and in addition to being a place where people can trade items, they’re also a place where fans can meet and exchange: that’s why the participants are expected to show perfect manners.

The reason why we did this enlarged segment is to discuss the problems that arise when people attend a doujin convention as if it were just like any other event. However, we can’t blame the regular attendants alone for these problems. The VocaloPs engage in a variety of activities, so they should expect fans from very different backgrounds to attend the doujin conventions they participate in. It is important for them to learn about these events and inform others about them.

But what should regular attendants do? Some say that learning all the rules is difficult… but let’s think about it deeper. In reality, the rules are basically the same everywhere and have the same goal. For instance, in live concerts you have to follow the instructions of the security staff when lining up, and in the case of doujin events it’s the circles who give instructions, but apart from differences like the use of end-of-the-line signs, it’s the same, isn’t it?

Likewise, rules about high heels are the same: they’re as dangerous in doujin conventions as they are in live events. When you compare all these events, you realize that what is expected from the participants is pretty much the same everywhere. The rules are made so that the events go smoothly and safely, so if you think about it, it’s not surprising that the rules are so similar.

• know what type of event you are attending
• know the rules of this event
• follow closely the rules and the instructions you’re given

In other words, if you understand why rules exist, and if you follow the three basic points listed above, you’ll be able to attend any event without troubles.

That’s the end of our four-weeks long project. Thanks for watching, everyone!