MIKUNOPOLIS in LOS ANGELS -はじめまして、初音ミクです-

I know I'm absolutely horrible when it comes to tying loose threads and never even finished posting about my 1st AX experience. But I think this deserves a mention on its own, based on the blu-ray release (the actual concert review shall be posted when I get around to write about my AX experiences, if it happens).

First of all, the effect of the 3D projection really depends on the viewing angle. The four of us were at the back of the orchestra area and to the left, so while it was still 3D, it looked a little weak a lot of the times (but super clear when the character moved to the left).

Filmed performance, on the other hand, is usually centred with the occasional side cameras, so the blu-ray release looked much sharper than what we saw live. The only downside, in this case, is that the camera basically shot directly into the projecting lights located at centre stage and thus had reflections most of the time. To compensate for the reflections, clips filmed and projected unto the large screens in the theatre were sometimes shown instead, but these just look blurry on blu-ray (albeit they looked great on site for us).

The few Hatsune Miku concerts in Japan that I've seen so far all have ragged edges up-close. I was expecting the same for this one so we didn't want to sit too close to the front. But the close-up shots in the blu-ray show no ragged lines at all, thanks to the 3D models being created by 5pb. this time (not indicated in the end credit of the blu-ray, but Magic Frog got the info off tweeter before the concert). Compared to other Vocaloid concerts prior to Mikupolis, I have to say that the 5pb. mods were indeed better in every way than the Sega ones. According to the tweets Magic Frog was following at that time, even the Sega guy (CEO?) admitted the superior result after watching the concert and vowed to learn from 5pb.

Now if someone will just get the concert blu-ray licensed and make a R1 release... Even Neko-tan, who mostly just go for the R3 and sometimes R2 releases, is hoping to be able to buy it!

Before going to the concert, I told my friend that I was more going for experiencing the technology. Now, if Mikupolis is coming again (please skip the DANCEROID), count me in! XD

On a last note, I will try to pick up where I left off back in 2010 for the AX posts, when I have time... XD