×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Interest
Augmented Reality Idol Unit Holds Debut Concerts This Week

posted on by Jennifer Sherman

Virtual idol Hatsune Miku has become a household name in the world of Japanese pop culture. However, Miku may need to make way for some new "2.5-dimensional" idols on the block. The Yuke's augmented-reality idol group AR performers are holding their first major live performances at Tokyo's Differ Ariake arena on February 14 and February 15.

The Animate Times website recently attended a special advance performance ahead of the "AR performers 1st A'LIVE" concerts. Leon appeared on stage with the group for the first time at the advance performance. The website posted a full report of the event with pictures on Sunday.

The performance did not reveal the "Vcast" (voice actors) or "Acast" (motion actors) who are responsible for AR performers' singing and dancing. The production staff wants people to become fans of the characters themselves, rather than the humans bringing them to life. The AR performers can ad lib and communicate in real time.

At the concert, the elegant Shinji performed "A Song For You," and the cool Rebel Cross duo performed "D.O.A." Not wanting to wait his turn, Leon walked out on stage while the units other three members were still finishing their segment. Leon performed his debut song "Logical Dreamer." Although it was his first stage appearance, his performance was reportedly natural. The inexperienced idol also answered fan questions.

Attendees used a special smartphone app to help encourage the idols during a song battle segment. Leon won the contest. Rebel Cross and Shinji then performed their respective first singles "The Kiss" and "The World Is Mine." The four idols appeared on stage in school uniforms for the finale and encore performance of "Show Must Go On."

Avex Pictures will hold three AR performers concerts on both Tuesday and Wednesday, for a total of six performances. Animate Times' report covers the third performance that will be held on Tuesday.

A team of character designers, CG creators, musicians, voice actors, actors, dancers, and game creators collaborated to create AR performers. The group is composed of three performance units: Shinji, Rebel Cross (Reiji, Daiya), and Leon. The group's official YouTube channel is streaming many videos for the idols. The latest video previews a PPAP segment of their upcoming concerts.

The "AR performers β Live Concert" digest video, which began streaming last April, showcases Shinji and Rebel Cross.

Virtual idol Hatsune Miku regularly holds live concerts. She is teaming up with the taiko drum group Kodō for special performances on March 4-5.

Source: Animate Times


discuss this in the forum (6 posts) |
bookmark/share with: short url

Interest homepage / archives