CUL

CUL (カル; Karu) is a Japanese VOCALOID developed and distributed by Internet Co., Ltd., and was created in collaboration with VOCALO Revolution. CUL is a VOCALO Revolution mascot character and she was released as a VOCALOID in December 2011 for the VOCALOID3 engine. Her voice is provided by Japanese voice actress and singer, Eri Kitamura (喜多村英梨; Kitamura Eri). She is a "Character Voice" type vocal.
==Concept==
Originally, CUL was released without background information. However, the information was posted for her in 2013 when she was featured in a special event.http://www.fukushima-fes-2013.com/special/ (Archived)
CUL was first introduced as the mascot for the show "VOCALO Revolution", and like Lily before her, CUL was not part of Internet Co.'s "poid" series. Several music videos were uploaded featuring a 3D model of CUL created by , utilizing vocals from VY1 prior to CUL's release as a VOCALOID.
In 2011, a male counterpart for CUL named REV was revealed and confirmed to be designed by CUL's creator, Hiroto-P. Like CUL, REV was given a 3D model by MikuMikuDance modeler and was intended to use VY2's vocals. In September 2020, it was revealed by Hiroto-P on Twitter that REV was planned to become a VOCALOID like CUL, however, progress on the project fell through.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1307180043827777536
In the same Tweet, Hiroto-P revealed that CUL was to have siblings whom she grew up with in the Shinobi no Sato Ninja Village (忍びの里), which was under constant threat by hostile forces.https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1494325832730681344 CUL was revealed to be the youngest of the four sisters of Fuusetsugekka (風雪月花), with each character being based on a different color (from oldest to youngest): blue, white, yellow, and red. A twin version of CUL, "黒CUL" or BLACKCUL, was also conceptualized. A 3D model for MikuMikuDance of was released in 2011 by Lat. However, it is unknown if this was part of that concept.
In March 2021, Hiroto-P confirmed that , CUL's younger 15-year-old sister with a pink theme, was in production for a new AI singing and talk synthesizer developed by ,https://x.com/deecloud/status/1373222840133021700 seeming to suggest that VOCALO Revolution would no longer be producing any vocals for the VOCALOID software. According to ROSA's background, she was separated from CUL & her older sisters for a long period of time when one day CUL appeared to her and told her that she was her older sister.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1379269804926754816 ROSA was released as a Talk Voice for on December 17, 2021 with a singing voice database announced for to be produced in 2022.
On March 27, 2022, Hiroto-P announced the RE:CUL Project, a project revolving around CUL's original sisters.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1504098529324974081 The first of whom, WhiteCUL, was announced at the "Software Talk Video Posting Festival Supporting Festival (ソフトウェアトーク動画投稿祭応援しまくる祭)" from the VOICECONNECT 2 doujinshi convention to be receiving a speech library for .https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1508457033892507650
===Etymology===
The name "CUL" has double meanings, short for "culture" and "Culnoza", a collaborative group organized by Hiroto-P. In a tweet posted by CUL's official Twitter account, CUL was given the name RE:CUL (リカル; Rikaru) to distinguish her from her older sisters (as well as from her twin BLACKCUL).https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1495293535096291332 Another subsequent official Tweet offers REDCUL as another alternative name for her.https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1508457033892507650
===Appearance===
Her initial design was conceptualized by Hiroto and modeled by LAT for an MMD PV. Another PV, "白の季節 (Shiro no Kisetsu)", features artwork by vient. The design is that of a young woman with a red and black theme. Her hair is in a ponytail and she wears a sleeved dress with striped stockings and boots.https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/15684317
Her V3 design is by an unknown artist, the initial theme is kept with the addition of white and gold. She now wears a corset, black shorts under garter, and a long jacket with an armband. The jacket design incorporates a golden alto clef symbol separating the red shoulder section from the black chest section.
===Relations===
*REV - The male counterpart to CUL and mascot for VOCALO Revolution. He was designed by Hiroto-P and 3D modeled by Kio.https://web.archive.org/web/20190715225036/http://vocarevo.com/aboutvr.html#07
*Lucia - A brown toy poodle that lives in CUL's neighborhood. The character was designed by Mion (みおん) of VOCALO revolution.https://x.com/lucia8culturehttp://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=5450712
*WINDCUL (青姉; Aonee, "Blue Sister") - older blue and wind-themed sister (originally conceptualized as 19 years old; later updated to 22 years old)https://x.com/deecloud/status/1710508838707937711
*WhiteCUL (雪さん; Yukisan) - older white and snow-themed sisterhttps://x.com/nat0468/status/1508039216835416064 (originally 18, later 20)https://x.com/deecloud/status/1572238849396592642
*MOONCUL (つき; Tsuki) - older yellow and moon-themed sister (conceptually 17, now 18)
* (黒CUL; Kuro CUL, a.k.a. 濡鴉 Nuregarasu "Wet Crow") - twin black-themed sister (conceptually 16, now 17)When BLACKCUL's age was updated to 17, CUL's age was also updated to 17 and she was now given the nicknames RE:CUL and RedCUL.
* (ロサ) - younger pink and rose-themed sister (15)https://x.com/deecloud/status/1373222840133021700
==History==
===Marketing===
She was introduced in "CUL makes Revolution!". CUL was featured in the show's introduction, the PV "白の季節" and the closing credits of the show. CUL was also the mascot of "CUL project: official", a website designed to promote making her official. Stickers featuring her were also released on sale.http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-date-20110222.html (Archived) The MMD model used in her PVs, such as "CUL makes Revolution!", was later released. She also appeared alongside 秋元結衣 in a music video that later made it to DVD.
An official Twitter account was started for CUL on June 6th, 2021.https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1401562830793441282
On June 8th, 2021, ROSA's official Twitter debuted two plush dolls as GREENFUNDING backer rewards for her CeVIO AI crowdfunder, one of ROSA and one of CUL, to be distributed pending its success.https://x.com/ROSA_ROSA_15/status/1402155751393566743
===Voicebanks===
;CUL
:Cul is a female Japanese vocal known for its solid tones and is known from its ability to climb from low notes to high with ease. 
*CUL (VOCALOID3), December 22, 2011
*CUL (VOCALOID NEO),
==Music featuring CUL==
==Reputation==
==References==
==External links==
Language	Description	Site
==Navigation==
Category:CUL
Category:Internet Co., Ltd.
Category:VOCALO Revolution
Category:Project VOCADOL
Category:VOCALOID
Category:VOCALOID3
Category:VOCALOID NEO
Category:Feminine vocals
Category:Japanese vocals