WhiteCUL

WhiteCUL (ホワイトカル) also known as Yuki-san (雪さん) and formerly referred to as YukiCUL (雪CUL, SnowCUL), is an upcoming Japanese VOCALOID to be developed by ZAN-SHIN Co., Ltd. and distributed by Internet Co., Ltd., and is planned to be released for the VOCALOID6 engine towards the end of 2024, following a crowdfunding campaign.https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/755647 She was formerly released for the text-to-speech software in September 2022.https://x.com/ZAN_SHIN_net/status/1572544782240710660
Her voice provider has not been revealed.
==Concept==
In September 2020, creator and developer, HirotoP, revealed that the VOCALOID3 vocal 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 WhiteCUL was revealed to be the second oldest and is one 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 and based on the concepts of wind, snow, moon and flowers respectfully.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1372772277813612548
WhiteCUL's theme color is white and is based on the concept of snow.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1373222840133021700 She is described as a cool beauty with an outstanding singing ability.https://x.com/ZAN_SHIN_net/status/1572544782240710660
WhiteCUL was initially 18 years old when introduced.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1494337573749403649 Her age was later changed to 20 on September 20, 2022.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1572238849396592642
===Etymology===
The name "CUL" has a double meaning, short for "culture" and "Culnoza", a collaborative group organized by HirotoP. Since WhiteCUL has an overall white theme in contrast to CUL's overall red theme, she is dubbed "White"CUL. The Kanji "yuki" (雪) in her nickname "Yuki-san" (雪さん), means "snow".
===Appearance===
WhiteCUL has floor length curly white hair with frosty blue tips, thick bangs with a blue streak, and deep azure eyes. She wears many hair ornaments including two silver cylinder shaped barrettes, and a silver clip with a white flower with a blue center and ribbons. Long snowflake earrings decorate her ears. Her outfit consists of a light blue sleeveless dress, with a ruffly scalloped hem, over a blue pleated skirt. She has frost blue detached sleeves with scalloped hems, and ornate flower tassels. The bodice of her dress bears a delicate snowflake pattern. Underneath her sleeves are light blue gloves. Her fingernails are painted a chilly blue. Around her waist is deep blue obi with a snowflake pattern on it tied with a white obijime, and a sky blue bow. Her obijime is tied to the side and adorned with two cotton puffballs. The tail of her bow is decorated with an ornate silver design. A glimmering snowflake hangs from the tip of the ribbon. She wears tall heels with navy blue soles, and white toes and heels over light thigh high blue socks. A blue cord encircles her left thigh.
WhiteCUL Reference.jpg|WhiteCUL Reference Sheet.
===Personality===
WhiteCUL is noted to have a timid personality and manipulates snow sorcery.https://www.whitecul.com/
===Relations===
* (青姉 Aonee "Blue Sister")https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1495293535096291332 - older blue and wind-themed sisterhttps://x.com/deecloud/status/1307180043827777536 (22 years old)https://x.com/deecloud/status/1710508838707937711
* (つき Tsuki) - younger yellow and moon-themed sister (18)
* CUL (also known as リカル RE:CUL or REDCULhttps://x.com/CUL1224/status/1508457033892507650) - younger red and flower-themed sister and BLACKCUL's twin (16 at launch;http://www.fukushima-fes-2013.com/special/ (Archived) updated to 17)
* (黒CUL Kuro CUL, a.k.a. 濡鴉 Nuregarasu "Wet Crow") - younger black-themed sister and CUL's twin (17)
* (ロサ) - younger pink and rose-themed sister (15)https://x.com/deecloud/status/1373222840133021700
* Okojō (オコ嬢) - A white-furred , who met Yuki-san on a night during a snowstorm and has been traveling with her ever since.
* Ryouta (りょうた) - A mischievous mouse that loves cheese and games. He is often caught by Okojō as prey and has almost been eaten many times, but each time he negotiates using his bravado to prolong his life. 
==History==
On June 29, 2013, in response to MMD model creator, mqdl, HirotoP revealed that the VOCALOID, CUL, was the youngest of four sisters themed around "Fuusetsugekka". The sisters were themed around the colors of blue, white, yellow, and red respectively. BLACKCUL (Wet Crow), CUL's twin sister who was themed around the color black, was also mentioned.https://x.com/deecloud/status/350651158634823680 The sisters were later featured in a comic illustrated by Megumi Inomata.https://x.com/deecloud/status/350852469456244740https://seiga.nicovideo.jp/comic/2265
Throughout 2020, HirotoP composed tweets in regard to CUL and the many parts of her project. He revealed that CUL's VOCALO Revolution counterpart was meant to become a VOCALOID, but his project fell through, and reconfirmed that CUL had conceptual sisters themed around the following colors: blue, white, yellow, and red (with CUL being the red-themed sister), as well as BLACKCUL. In response to a fan, HirotoP also expressed interest in updating CUL but did not give further details.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1374892420937121793
On March 19, 2021, HirotoP revealed CUL's theme to be "red" and "flowers" while the other sisters were themed around the following: "blue" and "wind", "white" and "snow", and "moon" and "yellow".https://x.com/deecloud/status/1372771105639866368https://x.com/deecloud/status/1372772277813612548https://x.com/deecloud/status/1384781307402612736
===2022===
On February 17, 2022, after the introduction of , the youngest sister themed around the color pink and roses, the ages of the other sisters were revealed. "WINDCUL" (風CUL) was noted to be 19 years old, "WhiteCUL" (formerly known as "SnowCUL" (雪CUL)) was 18, "MOONCUL" (月CUL) was 17, "RE:CUL" (also known as "FlowerCUL" (花CUL) and BlackCUL were 16, and ROSA was 15.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1494337573749403649
On March 27, HirotoP announced the RE:CUL Project, a project revolving around CUL's original sisters. 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 VOICEVOX that was expected to release in the summer. Illustrations would be released in the future.https://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv336019216https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1508041774069346308https://x.com/voicevox_pj/status/1508081380487426053https://x.com/deecloud/status/1508298505001267204 The next day, CUL's Twitter account gave a short introduction about WhiteCUL. She was introduced as the older sister of CUL at the age of 18. Her nickname was stated to be "Yuki-san" and she was the tallest of the four sisters. Her hair was noted to be tied in a ponytail. Further information was expected to be released little by little later on.https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1508457033892507650 Recording for WhiteCUL began on April 16.https://x.com/ROSA_ROSA_15/status/1515327567901114368https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1515328898057535492 On April 23, HirotoP showed an image of him cutting the recording material.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1517525178594762757 By May 1, only 160 more needed to be cut before all of WhiteCUL's materials would be complete.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1520928239493218304
On May 24, CUL's Twitter account announced that there would be news about WhiteCUL soon.https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1529109807147683840 On June 3, ROSA tweeted that she and WhiteCUL would be performing at the 柚子花主催LIVE -Planet Station- STAGE.3 online concert on June 19, however, WhiteCUL's character design would not be shown.https://x.com/ROSA_ROSA_15/status/1532679142629834752https://x.com/deecloud/status/1533618023600635904https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1534119892915752961 On June 15, the lineup revealed that ROSA and WhiteCUL were expected to perform second, with the both of them singing.https://x.com/ROSA_ROSA_15/status/1537268768623464448https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1538169545227370496https://x.com/deecloud/status/1538461589103603713 On the day of the concert, without a character to represent her, WhiteCUL was instead featured as a white sphere with her name written in black font.https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1538503698003161088 It was later clarified that the singing voices for ROSA and WhiteCUL were performed by their voice providers rather than using singing voice synthesizers. HirotoP hoped that the performances would give listeners an idea of what an AI singing voice database would sound like. It is currently unknown if WhiteCUL would be receiving a singing voicebank as, at the time, only ROSA was confirmed to be receiving a voice database.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1538484753372151810
On June 25, the progress of WhiteCUL's VOICEVOX voicebank was to be shown in a livestream at 18:30 JST.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1540612278479093760 On June 30, HirotoP tweeted that a rough design for WhiteCUL and a sample of her VOICEVOX voicebank may be shown soon.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1542360783035973633 Another livestream featuring details about WhiteCUL was launched on July 9.https://x.com/azu__0122/status/1545384352645025793https://x.com/deecloud/status/1545682568607313926
On September 9, it was announced that WhiteCUL, , and would be releasing at the same time on September 30.https://x.com/voicevox_pj/status/1568147202739937280 On September 30, HirotoP tweeted that a large announcement for WhiteCUL was scheduled for the next day and would be posted via the official ZAN-SHIN Co., Ltd. Twitter account.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1572370956135596032 This included illustrations and samples of her voice.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1572236423474057220https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1572235801093865478https://x.com/ROSA_ROSA_15/status/1572235541902692352 He also confirmed that her age had been changed to 20.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1572238849396592642
On September 21, details about WhiteCUL's character and her illustrations, which included her key art and reference sheet, were revealed.https://x.com/ZAN_SHIN_net/status/1572544782240710660https://x.com/ZAN_SHIN_net/status/1572544792932028419 A sample of her "Normal" emotion for VOICEVOX was also shown.https://x.com/ZAN_SHIN_net/status/1572555614055993348 On September 23, aoirooto was confirmed to be the official illustrator for WhiteCUL.https://x.com/aoirooto/status/1573278242928312322
WhiteCUL was released on September 30, as expected. She along with Goki and No.7 are considered the fifth generation of VOICEVOX vocals. WhiteCUL has four expressions: Normal (ノーマル), Fun (たのしい), Sad (かなしい) and Bie~n (びえーん).
===2024===
On May 20, 2024, a crowdfunding campaign for the development of a VOCALOID6 voicebank for WhiteCUL was announced on her official Twitter account.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1792404895762624841 The crowdfund was announced to be launched by ZAN-SHIN Co., Ltd. via CAMPFIRE on May 24, and was listed as an "All or nothing" campaign with the release being unconfirmed at the time, though WhiteCUL noted that she was hopeful of getting closer to her dream of releasing a music software.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1792404895762624841 The official crowdfund page was made available and detailed an initial goal of ¥7,000,000 yen, with additional stratch goals added for the production of original music & PV productions and a new 3D model production for free distribution, based on WhiteCUL's new design.https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/755647 The goal of the campaign was to develop a VOCALOID6 AI voicebank for WhiteCUL and produce goods to introduce her to the world. Funds from the crowdfund would be used should the goal be reached, for part of the VOCALOID6 voicebank development costs, production and delivery of return goods as well as various fees and processing costs and other expenses related to production. Options for courses to receive Digital Download editions and physical Packaged Versions of her VOCALOID6 voicebanks were added. Return goods included:
* Crowdfund Limited Package Illustration Acrylic Diorama
* Original Rubber Key Chain
* Mouse Pointer Data Full Set (Digital download)
* Thank You Voice Video
* Crowdfund Limited Wallpaper Data (Digital download)
* Mouse Pointer Data (Click Only, Digital download)
* Original Cable Holder
* Original Bottle Holder
* Original Microfiber Cloth
* Original Ice Cream Spoon
* Original Full Color Neck Strap
* Original Rubber Coaster
* Original Acrylic Smartphone Stand
* Crowdfund Limited Package Pattern Tapestry
* Original Tumbler
* Original Mouse Pad
* Plush Toy (Yuki-san)
* Thank-you Message (For calling out names)
* Yuki-san's Voice Message with Your Choice Of Lines
* Original 
* Original Face Towel
* Crowdfund Limited Package Illustration Life-size Tapestry
* BIG Yuki-san Plush Toy
It was noted that overseas patrons would have to use a forwarding service such as Tenso, to support the campaign.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1792876996571394216https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1792876996571394216 A YouTube broadcast was held on May 24 featuring WhiteCUL (representing her voice provider), guest starring HirotoP and Ryouta {りょうた} from ZAN-SHIN Co., Ltd., commemorating the start of the crowdfund.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1793598011458875814 WhiteCUL began posting various thank-you messages to supporters days after the start of the campaign.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1794307462637785578https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1794669883797672124https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_pP6qb223M The crowdfund launched on May 24 as expected and became the most popular CAMPFIRE campaign during the start.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1794293982304063934 On May 27, the crowdfund reached 28% of its funding goal, prompting a celebratory tweet from WhiteCUL as well as acknowledgement from the official Yamaha VOCALOID and GUMI from Megpoid Twitter accounts.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1795231188103094317https://x.com/vocaloid_yamaha/status/1795015725121446346https://x.com/GUMIfromMegpoid/status/1795061020324495827
A promotional cover was posted to the official WhiteCUL YouTube channel featuring her voice provider singing by , providing supporters an idea of how WhiteCUL may sound.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbds8ie4LYIhttps://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1797232262049935668 By June 4, 41% of the goal was raised; WhiteCUL noted that she was a bit worried but remained hopeful.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1797579126402171235 A sample of what would be WhiteCUL's illustration designed by aoirooto was posted on June 11 in the midst of the crowdfund, as well as a full illustration of what would be used for crowdfund-exclusive merchandise and as the package illustration. A promotional commercial advertising the crowdfund was posted soon after.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1800123323361509656https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1800015107965301118 By June 23, nearly 81% of the crowdfund was achieved.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1804485756519592178
A commemorative YouTube broadcast was announced to be held on June 30 following the crowdfund.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1805514129920475564 On June 27, her crowdfund met its goal of ¥7,000,000 yen.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1806148785967596016 The first stretch goal was achieved on June 28.https://x.com/Whitecul_yuki/status/1807028118252875821 The crowdfund officially concluded on June 30 with over ¥12,100,946 raised by 535 supporters.
On December 19, ZAN-SHIN issued a statement postponing the production of VOCALOID6 WhiteCUL, which was originally aiming for a release before the end of the year. According to Arima (有馬), ZAN-SHIN's contact for CAMPFIRE crowdfund participants, conflicts in coordinating with WhiteCUL's voice provider for the voicebank's recording sessions were given as the reason for the delay. Therefore, voicebank production was suspended until an agreeable recording schedule could be achieved with the voice provider.https://www.zan-shin.info/news20241219https://camp-fire.jp/projects/755647/view/activities/652112https://x.com/ZAN_SHIN_net/status/1869586824534102123
==Marketing==
WhiteCUL was a featured performer at the 柚子花主催LIVE -Planet Station- STAGE.3 online, live virtual concert alongside her sister among other virtual singers.https://x.com/CUL1224/status/1538169545227370496https://x.com/deecloud/status/1538461589103603713 She appeared simply as a white sphere with her name written in black font. Both performed using their voice providers own vocals as neither at the time had singing voice synthesizer libraries.https://x.com/deecloud/status/1538484753372151810
An official website for WhiteCUL was created and revealed on October 5, 2022.https://www.whitecul.com/ Her official illustrations were distributed and her official profile was shown. Released alongside her were two additional pet companions Okojō (オコ嬢), a stoat with white fur who met WhiteCUL during a snowstorm and Ryouta (りょうた), a mischievous mouse that loves cheese and games.
==Voicebanks==
;WhiteCUL
:A Japanese speaking vocal for WhiteCUL.
:* WhiteCUL (), September 30, 2022.
;WhiteCUL
:A Japanese AI vocal based on the singing style of WhiteCUL's voice provider.
:* WhiteCUL (VOCALOID6), , In development, expected for the end of 2024
==Music featuring WhiteCUL==
==Reputation==
==References==
==External links==
Language	Description	Site
==Navigation==
Category:WhiteCUL
Category:Internet Co., Ltd.
Category:ZAN-SHIN Co., Ltd.
Category:VOCALOID
Category:VOCALOID6
Category:Feminine vocals
Category:Japanese vocals