Aug 18, 2012
[Article by The Mistress and Shinoda]
Sometimes, it takes just one interesting event to wake the whole team up. Sometimes, all the team needs just to attend is one big push. Fortunately for us, that push came from an event called Vocafusion.
Hey guys, The Mistress here. It’s kind of late, but hey, here’s our coverage of the pioneer Vocaloid fan event, Vocafusion!
Premiered last 20 May 2012 at the SMX Convention Center in Mall of Asia, Vocafusion was the first Vocaloid-related event in the Philippines. Not only did it pioneer a niche-specific event (particularly of the Vocaloid motif), it proved to be one massive and memorable event.
If I recall right, posters for the event appeared a year ago. It got a lot of people wondering, like who the organizers were, who the guests will be, and will it ever push through. It was initially supposed to be held at the UP Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman. As the months pass, the venue changed to a larger place, that of SMX. By then, sponsors were pouring in. Interest checks about the event were coming from all sides. And surprises also came in gradually.
To everyone’s surprise, the Vocafusion staff was able to invite six foreign guests into the event; three from Japan, namely Rerulili (a Vocaloid producer), Osamuraisan (an EXTREMELY gifted guitarist), and That-san (NND singer); one from Malaysia, Min-chan (another well-known utaite); and two cosplayers from Singapore, Jesuke and Vio. With these guests and aggressive marketing, Vocafusion’s hype soared to unprecedented levels. It was quickly becoming one of the go-to events for the year.
On the day itself, things went as expected. Remember how crammed events become whenever Alodia showed up? It’s the same thing for Vocafusion, only without the celebrity cosplayer in sight. Adding to the crowdedness of the place is the event’s small venue. Vocafusion only took up one hall space. The aisles were narrow, and foot traffic was just like a train station’s rush hour.
Regardless, Vocafusion had lots of on-stage activities in-store for everyone. Since it was a music-related event, everyone’s eyes were glued to the stage. The guests were kind enough to play and sing fantastic tunes plus encores! Vocafusion also did a Vocaloid panel to give everyone the basics of editing music and using a Vocaloid’s voice to produce great music. Personally, the most memorable part for me was getting up close and personal with That-san, Rerulili-san, and Osamuraisan. For the rest of the event-goers, the best part was getting to watch and listen to That and Osamuraisan belt out tunes from famous Vocaloid songs!
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Hello, everyone! Shinoda here delivering you another piece of action from the coverages of Otakultura. Our last stop for the month of May was Vocafusion, held at the Function Room 1 of the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
Let me start off with saying that I’m not really a fan of Vocaloid and that I don’t know much about it. The reason I went there was to hang out with my peeps here in Otakultura, and friends from the cosplay community. But going to the event was worth it. Here’s why:
The guests of honor of the event were artists from Japan who had made their mark in the Vocaloid scene. And boy were these artists good at their craft. I do not know a lot of songs from Vocaloid, but I truly appreciated and enjoyed the performances of That-san and Rerulili-san. The classical guitar sounds and the smooth vocals were enough to satisfy the music critic in me. The cosplays were also alright. As expected, there was more of the women cosplaying Vocaloid mascots in their different variations. Not that I’m complaining, I actually enjoyed seeing them.
For an event that may very well be a starting point for the fandom, it did turn out okay. I did not expect that the venue would be jampacked, making it a testament to the multitudes of fans of Vocaloid. It was hard to roam around, and I believe a bigger space would be better for next year’s event judging by the number of attendees that came. There weren’t much booths as well, so there were only a few sights to see other than the events at the stage. The stage by the way should have a backdrop of the event, it pretty much looked plain to me. The events however were quite entertaining, especially the voice acting contests and the bands that performed.
Thanks to The Mistress and Coleen and Jhe for explaining to me more about the concept of the Vocaloid software, the independent music industry that it has created, and the fanbase that it has exponentially developed. The event made me appreciate this concept more. Also, thank you to Sol of Raika and Kuya Jomz of Waku Waku for the access. “wink wink”
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Finale:
Vocafusion has set the standard for organizing fan made events. Despite the overcrowdedness (can’t be helped, y’know) and the small venue, the event was still loads of fun, and very much entertaining. Was it worth the ticket price? HELL YES. I’d have even paid 500PhP ($11.50~) or more just to see the guests perform.
Here’s hoping for another year and another round of Vocafusion. Can’t wait.
External Links
Vocafusion Official Site
Vocafusion Facebook Page
Otakultura’s Vocafusion Gallery on Facebook
Videotaku Episode 1: Vocafusion
