Kagamine Rin & Len

Kagamine Rin & Len (鏡音リン・レン), codenamed CV02, are Japanese VOCALOIDs developed and distributed by Crypton Future Media, Inc., and were initially released in December 2007 for the VOCALOID2 engine. They are the second set of vocals for Crypton's Character Vocal Series and are both Character Voice VOCALOIDs. There have since been numerous installments such as additional voice banks dubbed 'Append', an update to the VOCALOID4 engine, and an English vocal.
Their voices are provided by the Japanese voice actress, stage actress, and singer Asami Shimoda (下田麻美 Shimoda Asami).
As of August 31, 2019, there will be no further installments with the VOCALOID program. Instead Crypton is focusing on their own program, .https://blog.crypton.co.jp/l/2019/08/n1908311/https://twitter.com/labopton/status/1167698329389551616?s=19
==Concept==
The development of the Kagamines began when Crypton formulated the concept of making a pair of female and male voicebanks. The first idea was for two voices of a girl and an identical male of the opposite gender, just like twins.CloseUp NetTube - 鏡音リン・レン特集１・発売元インタビュー (Interview with Crypton "How Rin and Len Kagamine were created")
Crypton originally had the intention of distributing them as twins, but this was not adopted. Crypton stated that they approved of the many different interpretations of Rin and Len's relationship that they saw in different works. Crypton's final announcement was that the Kagamines were neither siblings nor lovers.Nikkei Electronics (973) Mar.10,2008,126-127, ISSN 0385-1680"VOCALOID wo Tanoshimou Vol.2" published by Yamaha Music Media,2009, Page 47, ISBN 978-4-636-84438-2 During their Append's production, Wataru Sasaki (aka. Wat) described them as two bodies with one soul.https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/9015396422131712 Wat also said that the Append boxart makes the pair seem like twins,https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/7121733874098176 due to the foetal position they were in.https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/7124695778332672
===Etymology===
When the Kagamines were being recorded in 2007, their names were not yet decided. Their given names of Rin and Len were said to be based on "right" and "left" according to Asami Shimoda. She later confirmed in an interview after the Append release that the names were based on Ken and Rin from , derived from a discussion about names that were familiar from her childhood.
Their surname was derived from the developing code combining Kagami (鏡, mirror) and Ne (音, sound). This refers to an "", which is a sound being bounced back to the user from a different direction caused by soundwaves hitting a surface at a direction that reflects it back the way it came.https://blog.sonicwire.com/2009/01/post-95.html 
Their codename "CV02" means "Character Voice 02".
===Appearance===
KEI was given a concept by Crypton that included Rin and Len's approximate ages as well as the idea of them being 'mirror images' and, like Hatsune Miku, androids. KEI was not given any further direction as he had already drawn the art for Miku, the first release in the Character Vocal Series.
Continuing the tradition of the Item War Internet Meme, many items were proposed for the pair. In the end, Len's item was a banana because his hair was commented to resemble a bunch of them, while Rin's item was an orange since her bow gave the impression of orange leaves. Before her release, Rin had the road roller assigned to her by accident in a video that suddenly received many views on December 1, 2007. Len had yet to be revealed at the time of the road roller meme.http://z8.invisionfree.com/VocaloidOtaku/index.php?s=5ce362ea62a7a7f0574ad8d58b59cdc7&showtopic=1670&st=20&#entry899761
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V2=
Rin was the first of the Kagamines to be illustrated and, following Crypton's concept, Len was made to match her. Their leg features were designed to mimic .P-Tina - Interview(s) with Crypton and KEIVocaloidOtaku - Our Favorite VOCALOIDS: Interview with KEI The Len is often featured holding in merchandise is a YAMAHA KX5. Their main design, of which is most noticeable on their boots, uses the YAMAHA EOS as a design base.
Also, each Kagamine has a particular symbol associated to their design. Rin has a G-clef (Treble-clef) on her shirt and Len has a F-clef (Bass-clef) on his. In their Append redesigns, they are found on chokers rather than their shirts.
When Rin and Len received a new set of vocals during their Act2 release, KEI took the opportunity to fix flaws in the original artwork.
Kagamine Rin.png|Act1 Rin
Kagamine Rin act2.png|Act2 Rin
====Act2====
*Rin has "Act2" under her "02" arm tattoo. While Len now has "Act 2" on his headphones.
*The top was changed around the armpit area, frills were added to the bottom of her top in Act2.
*The shoulder position was corrected from the original design.
*All of the yellow bands on her outfit were made thicker.
*The fringe was made thicker above the left eye. And Len's fringe was reshaped and other strands were adjusted.
*Len's face, particularly around the cheekbones, were reshaped.
*The leg position was corrected; the original's left knee was wider and the right leg was too short. KEI corrected the "Act2" version by changing the positions of the foot. While Len's left knee had a minor tweak.
*Forearms were shortened.
*The interface design on the detached sleeves were changed from green bar to a blue bar.
====Append====
For their appends, Wat wanted them to have a sense of transparency with their design.https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/6224562366713856 In clarification to what he meant by this, he stated the "transparency" was in reference to their hearts.https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/6225615095078912 Their append design and the official illustration were made by オサム (osamu). 
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V4=
For the V4x and V4 English designs, Rin was given a more silver/whiter look to make her appearance more refreshing.https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/666221924683411456 The design was also based more on the EOS B700 rather than the Kx5 because of its more whiter appearance.https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/664415899621810176 In addition, more synthesizer-based music symbols were used.https://twitter.com/vocaloid_cv_cfm/status/664414723186671616
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===Relations===
*Hatsune Miku - Fellow member of the Character Vocal Series.
*Megurine Luka - Fellow member of the Character Vocal Series.
==History==
===Marketing===
The Kagamines were marketed as "2 vocals for the price of 1" and were aimed to catch the interest of the growing VOCALOID fandom. Unlike Hatsune Miku, they were not an immediate hit, failing to meet marketing expectations despite receiving the same level of promotion Miku received at the time of their release. After the release of their "Act2" voicebanks, sales picked up steadily and the Kagamines eventually became one of the more heavily marketed VOCALOIDs though have never met the marketing strength Miku gained before them.
Crypton Future Media registered both "Kagamine Rin" and "Kagamine Len" as a trademark on January 29, 2015.http://www.trademarkia.com/kagamine-rin-79159405.htmlhttp://www.trademarkia.com/kagamine-len-79159407.html
On July 30, 2021 at the "Hatsune Miku Chronicle" (初音ミク・クロニクル) art exhibition event, merchandise featuring Kagamine Rin & Len's original concept artwork now known as Kagamine Rin & Len if. (鏡音リン・レン if) were revealed with a finalized illustration of the original design by KEI.https://piapro.net/39chronicle/ex.htmlhttps://www.hmv.co.jp/artist_%E5%88%9D%E9%9F%B3%E3%83%9F%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%83%8B%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AB_000000000875231/
===Voicebanks===
The following covers the VOCALOID software, for future releases see Piapro Studio releases.
;Kagamine Rin - Power
:Kagamine Rin was designed to be a deeper tone teenage vocal compared to Hatsune Miku. She was meant to have tension to her vocal and was a "power" type vocal. The Kagamine Rin vocal, now known as "Power", has undergone dramatic overhauls over time due to quality issues and consequential versions have sounded different to past versions. The voice is voice acted and is an amateur singer.
* Kagamine Rin & Len (VOCALOID2), December 27, 2007
* Kagamine Rin & Len act2 (VOCALOID2), July 18, 2008
* Kagamine Rin & Len Append (VOCALOID2), December 27, 2010
* Kagamine Rin & Len V4X (VOCALOID4, ), December 24, 2015
;Kagamine Rin - Warm
:Designed to fit a more acoustic sounding song, this is a version of the voice with more warmth, focusing on the lower tones of the vocal range resulting in duller highs but more depth in lows.
* Kagamine Rin & Len Append (VOCALOID2), December 27, 2010
* Kagamine Rin & Len V4X (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), December 24, 2015
;Kagamine Rin - Sweet
:A more cute sounding version of the voice of Rin with a sweeter tone.
* Kagamine Rin & Len Append (VOCALOID2), December 27, 2010
* Kagamine Rin & Len V4X (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), December 24, 2015
;Kagamine Rin - English
:The English version of the Kagamine Rin vocal.
* Kagamine Rin & Len V4 English (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), December 24, 2015
;Kagamine Len - Power
:Similar to Kagamine Rin "Power", the vocal is a "power" type vocal and is meant to have tension in the vocal. The vocal is meant to sound boyish, like a young masculine vocal. The vocal has undergone dramatic overhauls over time due to quality issues and some consequential versions are quite different to others, even compared to the Kagamine Rin "Power" vocal. The voice is of a voice acted result and represents an amateur singer.
* Kagamine Rin & Len (VOCALOID2), December 27, 2007
* Kagamine Rin & Len act2 (VOCALOID2), July 18, 2008
* Kagamine Rin & Len Append (VOCALOID2), December 27, 2010
* Kagamine Rin & Len V4X (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), December 24, 2015
;Kagamine Len - Cold
:The Kagamine Len "Cold" vocal is the opposite of the Kagamine Rin "Warm" vocal and is designed to sound moodier, with more focus on the highs. The result is fuller high sounds but the lower sounds are less attractive.
* Kagamine Rin & Len Append (VOCALOID2), December 27, 2010
* Kagamine Rin & Len V4X (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), December 24, 2015
;Kagamine Len - Serious
:Serious is a vocal that is designed to be the opposite of Kagamine Rin's "Sweet" voicebank. It is quite emotional sounding compared to "Cold".
* Kagamine Rin & Len Append (VOCALOID2), December 27, 2010
* Kagamine Rin & Len V4X (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), December 24, 2015
;Kagamine Len - English
:The English version of the Kagamine Len vocal.
* Kagamine Rin & Len V4 English (VOCALOID4, Piapro Studio2), December 24, 2015
==Music featuring Kagamine Rin & Len==
==Reputation==
==References==
==External links==
Language	Description	Site
==Navigation==
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