VIDEO REVIEW – Written by Scott
Tell Your World (The Official Video)
Music & Lyrics: kzlivetune, Animation: wakamuraP, fantasista utamaro and TAKCOM.
In a previous video review I had asked the question “Where does Hatsune Miku go when she is not performing?”
A cynical few might snicker at that question. After all, Miku is just a software program, right? Yet for the millions of fans worldwide Miku has always been so much more than that. She embodies the collective expression of our creative dreams. Through Miku we see the imaginative inspiration of many others, ranging from the amateur basement musician or artist all the way up to those who represent the epitome of talent in music, illustration and video, and it inspires us to be creative ourselves. Miku fills our journey through life with beautiful music and brings joy to a world that oftentimes feels bleak and forbidding. In all ways that matter, Hatsune Miku is indeed real, as real as she needs to be.
The concept of Hatsune Miku as an entity is clearly well understood by kzlivetune and the animation directors of the official video for a song made instantly famous by one Google Chrome commercial. They set about creating the world where Hatsune Miku the entity might actually exist when we don’t see her on stage. The result is nothing short of phenomenal.
Miku’s world is portrayed as a magical digital electroscape of music, motion and vibrant color. Into this place Miku materializes from a cloud of random thoughts and ideas as a realization of our collective desire to express our artistic nature. We watch in awe as her electronic DNA combines to give life to her form.
The Princess of the World starts by holding court suspended among a kaleidoscopic whirlwind of stars and variegated color. Following the first chorus she leads us on a magical journey through time and space. Everywhere around her there is brilliance, life and energy. Miku is rarely in the same place for more than a second or two, and she changes her shimmering form and color hundreds of times, reflecting back the creative expressions of the thousands of people who make her songs, illustrations and videos.
In Miku’s world, it takes but a thought to make reality. A stage magically materializes, complete with speakers, screens and the two backup dancers who you might recognize from her video Sweet Devil.
As the video nears its end, Miku completes her connection to our world. The electronic angel ascends through a cascade of stars into the celestial space above the Earth and hovers within the sun’s corona, waiting for that moment when the ”play” button calls upon her to sing again.
It was a long wait, but Tell Your World is everything that a Hatsune Miku fan could wish for. The video is a vibrant celebration of Hatsune Miku as a virtual angel and a recognition of Miku as a genuine positive force in the lives of her fans.
Will kzlivetune come up with a new song to top this amazing offering? We look forward with great anticipation to finding out. In the meantime, we have much to enjoy. The Tell Your World limited edition extended play CD/DVD combination can be purchased from CD Japan here.
I wrote about Miku last year, and one of the most interesting ponits I found was how she belongs to the fans [in a way that would be completely frowned upon if she were a human]. The idea is that fans/users have manifested much of what drives the Miku-culture; primarily music and art. Her institute isn’t driven by some producers and massive label, instead most of the popularity has been generated internally to the fanbase. Personal, I’ve very little interest in Miku, but the idea that the culture is self-generating is fascinating. Also, it is my opinion that there are various aspect of the cultural demographic (otaku) which are frowned upon, but Miku doesn’t seem to be one of them; otaku should be proud of Miku, and maybe they are.