CUL

* VOCALOID
* Debut

**CUL** (カル) is a vocal synth character by VOCALO Revolution and later on, ZAN-SHIN Co., Ltd.. CUL was the mascot of VOCALO Revolution, a TV show about VOCALOID. She was later given a Japanese voicebank developed and distributed by Internet Co., Ltd. in December 2011 for the *VOCALOID3* engine., and was created in collaboration with VOCALO Revolution.

Her voice is provided by Japanese voice actress and singer, Kitamura Eri (喜(き)多(た)村(むら)英(え)梨(り)). 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.

CUL was first introduced as the mascot for the show, VOCALO Revolution.

To distinguish her from her older sisters (as well as from her twin), whose names also end in "-CUL", she is given the nicknames RE:CUL (リカル) and REDCUL.

### Etymology

The name "CUL" has double meanings, short for "culture" and "Culnoza", a collaborative group organized by HirotoP.

### Appearance

Her initial design was conceptualized by Hiroto and modeled by LAT for an MMD PV. Another PV, "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.

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 - male counterpart to CUL and mascot for VOCALO Revolution. Childhood friend and older brother figure.
* Lucia - a brown toy poodle that lives in CUL's neighborhood. The character was designed by Mion (みおん) of VOCALO revolution.
* WINDCUL (青姉 *Aonee* "Blue Sister") - older blue and wind-themed sister (19 years old)
* WhiteCUL - older white and snow-themed sister (18)
* MOONCUL (つき *Tsuki*) - older yellow and moon-themed sister (17)
* BLACKCUL (黒CUL *Kuro CUL*, a.k.a. 濡鴉 *Nuregarasu* "Wet Crow") - twin black-themed sister (16)
* ROSA - younger pink and rose-themed sister (15)

## History

### Marketing

She was introduced in "CUL makes Revolution!". CUL was featured in the show's introduction, the PV "Shiro no Kisetsu" 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. The MMD model used in her PVs, such as "CUL makes Revolution!", was later released. She also appeared alongside Akimoto Yui in a music video that later made it to DVD.

## 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*),

## Reputation

### Reaction

Since CUL's existence as a VOCALOID is owed to her fans, CUL already had an established fandom prior to becoming a VOCALOID. She has had much support and publicity within the Japanese fandom which resulted in her overall positive reception. This made her one of the more popular releases for *VOCALOID3* at the time.

CUL's popularity kept increasing after her release, according to Google Trends it peaked on July 2012. Afterwards she gradually lost popularity in the closing months of the VOCALOID3 era, she was overall less popular than before her release.

### Achievements

* First VOCALOID3 by INTERNET Co., Ltd.
* Hosting VOCALO Revolution
* Performing with a live singer in a music video

## References

1. ↑ http://www.fukushima-fes-2013.com/special/ (Archived)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 https://twitter.com/CUL1224/status/1495293535096291332
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/CUL1224/status/1508457033892507650
4. ↑ https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/15684317
5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20190715225036/http://vocarevo.com/aboutvr.html#07
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/deecloud/status/1307180533294616581
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/lucia8culture
8. ↑ http://mixi.jp/view\_community.pl?id=5450712
9. ↑ https://twitter.com/deecloud/status/1307180043827777536
10. ↑ https://twitter.com/nat0468/status/1508039216835416064
11. ↑ https://twitter.com/deecloud/status/1373222840133021700
12. ↑ http://vocaloid.blog120.fc2.com/blog-date-20110222.html (Archived)