Interest
Tegami Bachi's Piko Inspires Virtual Vocaloid Singer
posted on by Gia Manry
A virtual singer character called Utatane Piko will ship as a sofware package on December 8 with voice samples from Tegami Bachi: Reverse theme song performer Piko. Piko rose to fame after a string of videos on the Nico Nico Douga website highlighted his ability to handle both male and female singing parts.
Like previous releases based on Yamaha's Vocaloid2 vocal synthesis engine, the 15,000-yen (about US$190.00, tax included) Vocaloid2 Utatane Piko package allows its users to generate singing just by entering lyrics and notes. (Among the most popular of the earlier singers is Hatsune Miku, whose first solo "concert" film were recently screened in the United States.) Like the real-life Piko, the virtual Piko has a wide vocal range for both male and female singing parts.
Piko sings the ending theme to Tegami Bachi: Reverse, the currently airing follow-up to 2009's Tegami Bachi anime series. Piko is also involved in the Japan Anime Live stage production currently touring in Europe. Sony Music Distribution is releasing the Vocaloid2 Utatane Piko package under the Ki/oon Records label; Ki/oon also released Piko's major label debut single "Story" on October 13.
Source: Natalie via Temple Knights
