It takes a special performer to get thousands of people, including many from outside of Japan, to make the trip out to Chiba’s Makuhari Messe on a rainy Friday afternoon. Hatsune Miku, though, fits the bill.
Fans from around the world braved stormy conditions on Aug. 30 to kick off the Tokyo leg of Magical Mirai 2024 (the gathering also takes place in Fukuoka and Osaka). The annual event — centered on a concert starring the aqua-haired Miku and other avatars created by Sapporo-based company Crypton Future Media, as well as various exhibitions — was held over three days.
Day One attracted thousands of visitors despite less-than-ideal weather conditions, and the event played out a short distance from the 60th Japan DIY Home Center convention, making for the disorienting sight of suit-clad salarymen navigating through packs of Miku fans.
Magical Mirai’s showcase events, live shows lasting more than two hours, were held twice a day in a hall just off the main entrance. On Friday, several thousand spectators filled the area to see Miku and other characters put on a reality-bending show with fantastical moments sprinkled in (most notably, split-second costume changes).
The performers were rendered in 3D computer graphics, giving them a more realistic appearance compared to the LED screen used during Miku’s North American tour earlier this year, including at Coachella, which had received some criticism from fans who weren’t impressed with the tech on display. At Makuhari Messe, a live band also added extra oomph to the set.
Watching a convention hall full of supporters waving glowsticks in time to up-tempo songs from across the Vocaloid songbook never gets old — and it’s been a staple of such high-tech shows since they started in the late 2000s. Attending the Magical Mirai concert was a reminder of how dedicated fans are to the world of Hatsune Miku, but it was in the main hall and primary exhibition space where it became apparent just how large the culture around her has grown.
I attended one of the first Magical Mirai events in 2013, held in Yokohama Arena. Back then, it was primarily a series of performances and a few pieces of special artwork scattered around the venue. Though it was a sold-out event, it ultimately felt like a straightforward concert. At the time, Hatsune Miku was still largely seen as an oddity by media outside of Japan, more an example of “weird Japan” than a pop cultural force.
Jump ahead 11 years, and Magical Mirai has markedly grown in scale since its first iteration. This year’s exhibition space, held at the end of Makuhari Messe where Summer Sonic’s Mountain Stage is usually set up, housed dozens of booths and exhibits that offered an immersive dive into every part of Miku’s world. A large seminar space was set up so Vocaloid users could teach attendees about new developments in the singing-synthesizer software.
At the Yamaha booth, people could play around with the technology themselves. Near the entrance, visitors could write a message or draw their favorite characters on the wall. Perhaps most importantly, a “creator’s market” was held along the right side of the hall for artists big and small to sell their works — ranging from CDs and original drawings to accessories — directly to fans, underlining the importance of the creatives keeping Miku relevant and vibrant.
As I walked around the venue, I could hear people speaking Chinese, Korean, English and German, among other languages, which gave the gathering an international atmosphere. Chinese Miku fans, in particular, showed up in force, and Chinese video platform Bilibili — similar to YouTube, though it originally started in the late 2000s as a fan site for Miku — even had its own booth selling special merchandise, which attracted some of the biggest lines on Friday afternoon.
It seemed fitting that this edition of Magical Mirai coincided with another example of Miku’s global popularity. In the days leading up to the event, an X user named @thecat_mitsu shared fan art of Miku sporting a cut-off Brazilian soccer jersey, flip-flops and jean shorts, which they dubbed “Brazilian Miku.” The post went viral and inspired people from all over the world to draw versions of the character reflecting their country or city.
That made Miku one of the last memes to hit it big on X in Brazil, which recently banned the social media site. Those users will have to find a new platform for their Miku fandom, but the success of Magical Mirai 2024 proves that wherever they go, the digital singer and her hordes of fans will be there to greet them.
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