Magical Mirai, an event all about Hatsune Miku and other virtual singers, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year! Officially titled Hatsune Miku "Magical Mirai" 10th Anniversary in TOKYO, the Tokyo edition was held from September 2 to 4 at Makuhari Messe, featuring 3DCG live performances and exhibitions starring Miku and the crew as always.
The folks at Geek Lab headed down to check it out, so keep reading for a tour through the event, from experiences featuring the latest technology to tempting merch.
Contents1. Looking Back on 10 Years of Magical Mirai With Life-Sized Figures and More2. Enjoying Miku Through the Latest Technology3. Massive Merch Lines4. Energetic Live Performances Starring Miku Herself5. Next Up, Sapporo!
Looking Back on 10 Years With Life-Sized Figures and More
Right after entering the exhibition hall, visitors were greeted by a life-size figure of this year’s key visual, which was drawn by Kei, the very illustrator behind Miku’s character design. Meanwhile, the outfit was created by popular illustrator Noco, who has previously worked on the Fate and Date A Live franchises.
The theme of this year’s Magical Mirai is “retro-future,” which reflects hopes of being able to look back on its past while also going on to create the future. Attendees were able to do just that at an area displaying key visuals, merch, and videos from the past nine events.
On the other side of each event’s section, life-size Miku figures were also displayed for photo opportunities.
piapro, a media platform run by Crypton Future Media (the producer of the original Hatsune Miku Vocaloid software), celebrated its upcoming 15th anniversary with plenty of exhibits. A “piapro wall” had also been set up near the entrance/exit. Naturally, it was covered with colorful messages and drawings from attendees.
Another area displayed 100 posters - the results of piapro and Magical Mirai’s “future poster” collaboration, in which fans submitted designs. There were also staff T-shirts from previous Magical Mirai events.
All six of Crypton Future Media’s virtual singers, or the Piapro Characters, made appearances with life-size figures and character references.
Attendees were also wowed by a huge timeline documenting 10 years of Magical Mirai.
Enjoying Miku Through the Latest Technology
Magical Mirai included not only character-themed exhibits, but also plenty of areas where visitors could experience the latest technology. VirtualCast brought to the table Miku Land, a Miku-themed VR theme park. Their booth contained monitors showing live performances by Miku that could be enjoyed inside the VR space, as well as PCs that were a result of a collab with computer store Tsukumo.
Next to VirtualCast was a Sony booth that gave attendees the chance to experience Miku Land through a spatial reality display. Regular VR involves covering your eyes with a head-mounted display like Oculus, so it can be annoying to equip or feel too heavy once it’s on. However, in this case, there was no need to use a head-mounted display, making it a landmark piece of VR technology. Meanwhile, the actual content being displayed was a show starring Miku, who performed with Magical Mirai theme songs.
Massive Merch Lines
Plenty of attendees were also there to buy various items, meaning that merch booths by both the official Magical Mirai and the exhibitors saw huge lines during the event. The former was situated at the left of the entrance, with tons of cash registers and a designated line to wait in. There was also a series of flag banners from past events set up nearby.
Other sellers included not only companies focused on amusement facilities and merch production, but also unique booths involving a professional baseball league and the city of Chiba! Not to mention, there was a Daihatsu Taft collab car that could actually be test driven, making it a popular spot among attendees.
Yamaha, who developed the original Vocaloid software, had a booth where collab instruments themed around the Piapro Characters were available to try and buy, also allowing fans to look back on their history with the actual products in front of them.
On the first day of the event, Hachioji-P, a legendary producer known for songs like “Sweet Devil” and “Twinkle World,” was also at the venue for an autograph session. Naturally, this also attracted a massive line of fans.
Energetic Live Performances Starring Miku Herself
In a hall next to the exhibits, fans flocked to a stage where Miku and the other virtual singers sang and danced in a 3DCG performance.
Next Up, Sapporo!
The Tokyo edition of this year’s Magical Mirai may be over, but they’re not done just yet. For the very first time, Magical Mirai will be held in Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido Prefecture! If you can make it there next February, be sure to check out the details below.
Hatsune Miku “Magical Mirai” 10th Anniversary in SAPPORODates: February 4-5, 2022Venue: Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater hitaruDetails: 3DCG live performances by Hatsune Miku and other virtual singersOrganizers: Tokyo Metropolitan Television Broadcasting Corporation (Tokyo MX), Crypton Future MediaOfficial website (10th anniversary): https://magicalmirai.com/10th/Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/magicalmirai/Official website (overall): https://magicalmirai.com/
Original report: Ichii (Geek Lab Editorial Department and SubCulture Press LLC. representative) Photos: Same as above*This report was produced with the cooperation of Tokyo Metropolitan Television Broadcasting Corporation.*Photos that do not have watermarks are official Magical Mirai photos.