Hatsune Miku is one of the most recognizable figures in the Japanese Otaku scene, (her long turquoise twintails are hard to miss). She is the ultimate Vocaloid superstar, a forever-sixteen-year-old fictional pop idol that performed concerts on-stage as an animated projection..

We participated at Hatsune Miku’s Magical Mirai 2016, an event that was held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba from September 9th to September 11th!

In Hatsune Miku’s Magical Mirai 2016 (mirai means ‘future’) you could experience everything about the unique culture of vocaloid. This is the fourth consecutive Hatsune Miku Mirai event, and tt featured a special exhibition and a live event!

Of course we would have had a giveaway contest! There were so many official goodies there, so we purchased some for you, our awesome readers!

You can enter the contest and have a chance to win all the amazing Hatsune Miku you see in the banner by commenting either here on this article or on our Facebook post! The winner will be random-picked.

You have until October 1! Get commenting!

Special Exhibition Report

Impressively Large Visuals

Last year, the live event at the Science Technology Museum at Nihon Budokan had 22,000 visitors.

This year, the venue was moved to the International Exhibition Hall of Makuhari Messe which is known as Japan’s largest convention facility.

There were a lot of visitors. Many of them wore Happi (Japanese festival costumes).

The International Exhibition Hall is so big that it could take a whole day to check every booth. This was fantastic for Hatsune Miku’s fans. So many things to see!

When you entered the site, Hatsune Miku welcomed you.

Both the costume design and the main visual were made by LENA[A-7].

She expressed Hatsune Miku singing in a joyful way. Hatsune had a big smile on her face and her cute costume was both futuristic and cute.

For a moment we thought of stealing it. Who wouldn’t want to have it in his house? In the end we decided to act properly. We were joking of course, but really, it would have looked cool in front of the house.

The first booth that you saw was about Hatsune Miku’s history. She was originally released in August 31, 2007, so there was a lot of ground to cover.

The large visual of Magical Mirai Generations was so impressive. There was also a space next to it where fans could interact with fellow fans and take commemorative photos with figures and stuffed dolls.

In the piapro Calendar Voting Project, which decides the illustration of the piapro Calendar 2017 by public voting, people had the chance to check all the illustrations and vote for their favorites.

The was also a white wall where you could write or draw anything you wanted. These walls are always great. We spent a lot of time checking the countless pictures and messages.









Piapro also had a digital version of the wall. It’s 2016 after all. You could write or draw your message on tablets. The messages were then projected on a monitor next to the wall. Amazing.







Popular Workshop

At the exhibition hall, there was a workshop in which you could make Hatsune Miku T-Shirts by choosing the design, color, and printing!







At Nurie Uchiwa Zukuri (Coloring Fan Making), there was a space allocated for coloring all kinds of Hatsune Miku materials. It was popular with both adults and children!







At the workshop Peta Peta♪ Masking Tape Art, fans had the chance to draw a large Hatsune Miku using only colored masking tape. We found it very original.







Various Events Filled with Hatsune Miku

GOODSMILE RACING had some awesome racing cars on site. We wish we had one to drive around.













But we could only afford the mini car. Oh well, something is better than nothing.

There were also exhibitions of Pick Kobo, Hatsune Miku’s fan

Various artists had the chance to display their Hatsune Miku art. There were also many main visuals. The way they displayed their exhibitions made us want to have them all.











And of course, the necessary pin-me Japan map. There were many overseas visitors, so next to the island was a world map as well!

Just across from the map there was a huge crowd amazed at the improvised Hatsune Miku illustration made by LENA[A-7], the artist who worked on the main visual of Magical Mirai 2016.

“Let’s take a peek! Miku’s dressing room…❤”What!!!?











That little peeking hole was amazing!

Behind the wall was Miku’s dressing room and when you peeked inside, you could sometimes see Hatsune Miku.

If you took a peek before or after live events, you would be able to see Hatsune Miku in her dressing room.

Hatsune Miku was also the main face of CM by LUX, a very famous shampoo brand in Japan. Hatsune Miku is acknowledged as one of Japan’s most famous idol.

Glico, a well-known confectionery maker in Japan, had their own booth. Glico is famous as one of the must-see sightseeing spots in Osaka.

There were also exhibitions of VOCALOIDSHOP, VR contents and others. Each booth was crowded with visitors.





Besides the official goods, various merchandise were sold at company booths.





We had to stand in a long line to get the things for the giveaway, but for the readers of MANGA.TOKYO, I patiently stood in the line!









After we enjoyed all the exhibitions, we went to the live event. The live event started with 39 Music!, the theme for this year, and went on playing Strangers, Slow Motion, Hitorinbo Envy and other popular songs.

The event was so popular that tickets were sold-out before the event. Including the event theme song, there were many songs and costumes that were revealed to public for the first time!













The next year’s event has already been decided!

http://magicalmirai.com/2017/

If you think that it would be difficult for an overseas fan to take part in the event, think again, There were many overseas tourists and we saw many exhibitions with English explanations. Please participate in the event next year!

We are definitely going, so let’s meet there!

Remember those goodies we were waiting in line to get? They are for you, the readers of MANGA.TOKYO!

You can see all the Hatsune Miku merchandise you can win in the banner above. The only thing you have to do to take part in the contest is to comment on the article or the post on our Facebook page.

The winner will be selected randomly.

You have until October 1, so get commenting! Tell us what you think of Hatsune Miku, which was your favorite photograph, make a request for a future giveaway – anything counts!

© Crypton Future Media, INC. www.piapro.net / © SEGA

Graphics by SEGA / MARZA ANIMATION PLANET INC.

Organized by TOKYO MX / Crypton Future Media, INC.

illustration by LENA[A-7] © Crypton Future Media, INC. www.piapro.net