Hatsune Miku

Hatsune Miku () is a Vocaloid software voicebank. It was developed by , and first released in 2007. The software's official mascot is shown and described as a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails. 

Miku's character has been marketed as a virtual idol. Shortly after release, the software became a sales hit. Hatsune Miku is widely regarded as an icon of popular culture. Her popularity had made a significant impact on the internet and music culture. This resulted in several spin-off media being made.

 Background 
 Origins 
In 1995,  was founded by Japanese businessman Hiroyuki Ito. The company specialises in making and selling music-related content, such as sound generator software.

In 2004, Crypton released Meiko, a female voice synthesiser. She was followed in 2006 by Kaito, a male software. Both voicebanks use the Vocaloid 1 software engine. They also feature character mascots on their box art. This was Crypton's marketing strategy to explain that a character is behind the singing voice. Three thousand copies of the Meiko voicebank were sold within the year after release. However, only less than 500 units of the Kaito software were sold in 2006. This was the lowest sale for a Japanese Vocaloid product on record. Crypton realised that a female software is more popular than a male software.

In 2007, Yamaha Corporation released the Vocaloid 2 engine. This version has vocals more smooth and natural to that of a human. – archived via archive.today. Crypton saw an opportunity to make a new product after Meiko and Kaito.

 Concept and development 
The task of coming up with Miku's image went to artist Kei Garo. Kei illustrated Miku's clothing and accessories based on Yamaha's DX series keyboard. He also drew the character as having turquoise twintails. This resulted in Miku's design being more complex than Meiko and Kaito. Compared to Miku, Meiko and Kaito were of a more simple manga-style. Yuji Sone said that Miku's appearance fit more with Japanese audiences at the time.

Crypton found that searching a voice sample hard. The company met about ten female singers. They all declined. The singers said they were too scared to have their voice copied everywhere. Eventually, Crypton found . They found her voice to be "easy to understand and cute". Fujita's voice also fits Hatsune Miku's image as a futuristic idol. Crypton therefore chose to sample voices from Fujita.

To give the feeling Miku's existence is "real", Crypton gave few details about her character. They also made sure to keep Miku a "blank canvas" (free to interpret). Hatsune Miku's age is said to be 16 years old. Her weight is specified at . She is described as  in height. Crypton did not say about Miku's background or psychology. This way, fans are free to make their own visions on Miku's character and personality.

Miku's name comes from the Japanese words for first (), sound (), and future (). The combined phrase means "the first sound of the future".

 Songs 
Lots of songs have been made using Hatsune Miku's voicebank. Some of them got very famous in Japan and overseas, which made Miku more well known. Here are some examples:

 "Ievan Polkka" - Otomania
 "World is Mine" - ryo (Supercell)
  - doriko
 "PoPiPo" - LamazeP
  - JIN
 "Melt" - ryo (Supercell)
 "The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku" - cosMo@BousouP
 "Rolling Girl" - wowaka
 "Triple Baka" - LamazeP
 "M@GICAL☆CURE! LOVE♡SHOT!" - SAWTOWNE

 Software 

Hatsune Miku is based on the Vocaloid platform. The software allows users to string together phonemes in order. Once the composition is played, these notes will make a singing voice. Pitch, speed, and volume can be changed to near-impossible levels. For example, the introduction to "" clocks in at 240 BPM (beats per minute).

After being first released in 2007, Hatsune Miku has been updated to newer versions. On 30 April 2010, a new add-on for Vocaloid 2 called Hatsune Miku Append was released. It contains five different voice tones, including "Sweet", "Dark" and "Vivid". On 31 August 2013, an English version of Miku was released, using the Vocaloid 3 engine. The Japanese version of Hatsune Miku V3 was released on 26 September 2013.

Hatsune Miku was updated to the Vocaloid 4 engine on 31 August 2016. This version is known as Hatsune Miku V4X. It is available in both Japanese and English. A Chinese version of Hatsune Miku V4X was released on 7 September 2017. On 1 August 2024, Crypton announced they will release Hatsune Miku V6 AI sometime in 2025. This version is based on the Vocaloid 6 engine. Miku V6 AI also uses artificial intelligence for a wider range of voices.

On 27 November 2020, Hatsune Miku NT was released. Unlike previous versions, this software does not use the Vocaloid engine. Instead, Miku NT is available on Piapro Studio with an in-house voice synthesis engine. An early-access launch of Hatsune Miku NT V2 was released in October 2024. This version was officially launched on 18 March 2025.

 Reception 
 Initial sales and popularity 
Hatsune Miku was initially released by Crypton on 31 August 2007. It was put on Amazon's website for . By 12 September 2007, orders rose to nearly 3,000 copies. According to ITmedia News, an average sale of a music software would be 200 to 300 copies. 1,000 copies would normally be said to be a sales hit. Within the year of being released, more than 40,000 copies of the Hatsune Miku software were sold.

At the same time, Hatsune Miku started to gain popularity through . This Japanese video-sharing site had started in 2006, a year before Miku's release. Each day, users uploaded 100 to 200 songs that used Miku's vocals. By August 2008, Nikkei Business Online estimated that more than 100,000 Miku songs had been uploaded on Nico Nico Douga.

One of the music videos that was popular on Nico Nico Douga is a cover of "". Made by producer Otomania, the music animation shows a chibi version of Miku holding and shaking a spring onion. The animation has led to the spring onion becoming Hatsune Miku's cultural symbol. Crypton Future Media has said that the music video showed Miku's potential in multimedia content creation.

Hatsune Miku's commercial success was largely because of a  cycle. Later research found that consumers used the voicebank to make music content on the Internet. The viewers then see the content and become inspired to buy the software. This results in a positive feedback loop that helped Miku's popularity.

 Reviews and analyses 
Natasha Anderson viewed Hatsune Miku as better over real idols. Anderson argued that real-life idols have strict, regulated lives to keep a certain image for their fans. These restrictions include food diet and relationships with other people. Anderson stated that virtual idols such as Miku would never experience these issues. The private life of virtual idols would remain perfect without having to maintain a strict lifestyle. This improve their lives without endangering their own.

Ian DiOrio criticised Hatsune Miku as technological masterpiece that is fake. He compared Miku's existence to that of leprechauns and unicorns. DiOrio also thought many people are attracted to Miku because she is immortal.

Esther Chen argued that Hatsune Miku's popularity has changed digital music culture. Chen used statistics as evidence to support her argument. These statistics include comparisons between American, Japanese and Vocaloid music. Chen concluded that Miku and Vocaloid has allowed the spread of creative and cultural expressions between creators. She also stated that this came at the cost of mildly damaging the traditional music industry. 

 Awards 
Hatsune Miku was nominated for the 2007 Internet Buzzword Awards. She ultimately came in sixth place. In 2008, Hatsune Miku won the Excellence Award at the 13th AMD Awards. Alongside Miku, a few other candidates such as iPod Touch also received this award. Miku would also win the Free Category of the 2008 Seiun Award.

 Cultural impact 
200px|thumb|Cosplay of Hatsune Miku in Taiwan
Since Miku's release in 2007, other Vocaloids have been introduced over time. Even then, Hatsune Miku's popularity remained mostly unchallenged. iShare Co., Ltd.'s 2008 survey showed that 60.6% of 540 selected people knew Miku's name. Music Awards Japan reported in its 2025 research that 58% of the global Vocaloid songs featured Hatsune Miku.

Several mainstream Western musicians have utilised Vocaloids
over the years. This includes Lady Gaga featuring Miku in her Artpop tour.

In May 2011, Toyota used Hatsune Miku for their new Corolla advertisement campaign in the American market. Miku has also been involved in collaborations with a few Western food chains in Japan. These include Domino's Pizza in 2013, and McDonald's in 2025.

In China, Miku is considered to be the strongest in terms of sales. According to Eri Hatano, this is partly because of China's large population. As of 2023, Miku has been ranked among the top Japanese intellectual properties distributed in China. Miku's popularity in China led to the creation of the video-sharing site Mikufans in 2009. This site would later become  in 2010.

 Multimedia development 

Hatsune Miku's popularity has resulted in many spin-off media being created. These include live concerts, video games, merchandise, and motorsports. Since August 2009, Miku has appeared in concerts in Japan and around the world. These concerts operate using a three-dimensional projection of the characters on stage. Vocaloid songwriters often team up with concert organisers to make a music playlist.

A series of rhythm games starting from  were made by Sega. These games feature Hatsune Miku and other Vocaloid characters. The songs featured in the games were made by producers of the Vocaloid community. In 2020, a mobile gacha rhythm game called Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! was released. Outside Asia, this game is known as . The game features Miku and other Crypton Vocaloids, as well as some original characters.

 Related pages 
  – the next software in the "CV" series
 Kasane Teto – a similar character made for the freeware 

 Notes 

 References 

 Sources 







   (verify the licence)




 Other websites 


 piapro.net - containing official information about Hatsune Miku and other Crypton Vocaloids

Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2007
Category:2007 in music
Category:Mascots
Category:Anime characters
Category:Music software
Category:Japanese singers
Category:Japanese idols