Kagamine Rin/Len

Kagamine Rin & Len

Kagamine Rin/Len V4x and English bundle
Original author(s)	unknown
Developer(s)	Crypton Future Media
Initial release	December 27, 2007
Stable release	Kagamine Rin/Len v4x / December 24th, 2015
Development status	Active
Operating system	Windows
Platform	PC
Available in	Japanese, English
Type	Vocal Synthesizer Application
License	Proprietary
Website	www.crypton.co.jp/mp/pages/prod/vocaloid/cv02.jsp

Kagamine Rin & Len (鏡音リン・レン) are humanoid personas voiced by a singing synthesizer application developed by Crypton Future Media, headquartered in Sapporo, Japan. They use Yamaha Corporation's Vocaloid 2 singing synthesizing technology. Their voices are sampled by Asami Shimoda. They have performed at live concerts onstage as animated projections.

The characters' given names are derived from the concept of 'right' and 'left', like on earphones. Their surnames came from the Japanese words for mirror (鏡 kagami) and sound (音 ne).

Development

Rin & Len were developed by Crypton Future Media using Yamaha's Vocaloid 2. Their voices were created by taking vocal samples from voice actress Asami Shimoda at a controlled pitch and tone. They were the second release within the "Character vocal series," which included the vocals Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka. Rin was the first of the Kagamines to be illustrated and Len was made to match her, following Crypton's concept.^[1]

They received mixed results from producers because compared to Hatsune Miku, they were considered much harder vocals to use. Asami Shimoda, noted she often received the comment from Vocaloid fans that Rin's voice echoes within their head and makes them feel dizzy, while Len's higher ranges were not favoured by those not fond of the pair entirely.^[2]

Despite being released as a masculine character, during the development of VY2 the vocals of Ryuto or Len were not classified as "masculine vocals" and were not considered capable of holding a low masculine tones because of it. As a result, he and Ryuto were not referenced in the development of VY2.^[3]

Additional Software

Due to a number of complaints and issues with the original vocal, it was replaced with the "act2" package. This package acted independently from the original package.^[4] It addressed issues regarding their ability to vocalize clearly. People who purchased the old version were able to claim the updated disk until 20 September 2008.^[5]

After Hatsune Miku Append was released for Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin & Len Append was released for Rin & Len. Rin's appends are "power," "warm," and "sweet" while Len's appends are "power," "cold," and "serious."^[6]

An update, Kagamine Rin/Len V4X, is currently in development for Vocaloid 4. This package contains six Japanese vocals, three for Rin and three for Len. They are updates on the old vocals from Vocaloid2. Rin's vocals are "Power EVEC," "Warm" and "Sweet" while Len's are "Power EVEC," "Cold" and "Serious." EVEC is a new system developed for Piapro Studios which allows delicate changes to how phonetic sounds sound. There are two options for the EVEC vocals: "Power" and "Soft." All Rin and Len vocals can use the new Cross-Synthesis system developed for Vocaloid4, though are limited to only being able to do so with other vocals of their assign character of "Rin" or "Len". An English vocal was also released alongside their V4x on the same day; it was sold separately but was also purchasable as a bundle with the main V4x release.

Marketing

20,000 copies were sold on initial release.^[7] The Kagamine Append package was released and went straight to fifth place on December 2010, the day of their release. ^[8]

Characteristics

Crypton's initial concept was for Rin/Len was for two voices of a girl and her mirror image of the opposite gender, just like twins. This idea was not adopted and their relationship is unconfirmed.^[9] Crypton's final announcement was that they were neither siblings nor lovers.^[10][11] During Vocaloid 2 Append production, Wataru Sasaki described them as having one soul between the two of them.^[12]

For their appends, Wataru wanted them to have a sense of transparency with their design.^[13] In clarification to what he meant by this, he stated the "transparency" was in reference to their hearts.^[14]

For the V4x design, Rin was given a more silver/whiter look to make her appearance more refreshing.^[15] The design also was based more on the EOS B700 rather than the Kx5 because of it more whiter appearance.^[16] More synthesizer base music symbols were used in addition.^[17]

Rin Age 14 years Birthday December 27 Height 152 cm / 5 ft 0 in Weight 43 kg / 95 lb Append Suggested tempo Suggested vocal range ACT2 85-175BPM F♯3-E♯5 Power 65-170BPM F3-B4 Warm 60-160BPM F3-B4 Sweet 55-155BPM G3-C5 V4X Suggested tempo Suggested vocal range Power 50-170BPM F2-E4 Warm 50-160BPM F2-C4 Sweet 55-155BPM G2-D4 English 55-155BPM G2-B3

Len Age 14 years Birthday December 27 Height 152 cm / 5 ft 0 in Weight 47 kg / 104 lb Append Suggested tempo Suggested vocal range ACT2 70-160BPM D3-C♯5 Power 65-170BPM A2-D4 Cold 60-160BPM B2-C4 Serious 55-155BPM A2-C4 V4X Suggested tempo Suggested vocal range Power 60-170BPM D2-D4 Cold 60-160BPM E2-C4 Serious 55-155BPM F2-C4 English 55-155BPM E2-G#3

References

1. P-Tina - Interview(s) with Crypton and KEI
2. ASCII - VOCALOID『鏡音リン・レンAppend』発売記念インタビュー第2弾は声優の下田麻美さん♪
3. IT Media News - コードネームは「勇馬」　ヤマハ純正のイケメンボカロ「VY2」の話を聞いてきた
4. kim (14 July 2008). "[VOCALOID2情報] 鏡音リン・レンACT2の歌声ライブラリについて" (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 February 2015.
5. kim (18 July 2008). "[VOCALOID2情報]鏡音リン・レン act2　本日発売！" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 February 2015.
6. 音声ライブラリー (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 January 2015.
7. 岡田有花 (23 July 2008). 「初音ミク」発売からもうすぐ1年　開発者が語る、これまでとこれから (in Japanese). ITmedia. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
8. Tao (31 December 2010). "2010売上ランキング – VOCALOID編" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 February 2015.
9. crypton_wat (28 November 2010). "全部とある、2つで1つの魂のせいなんだぜ。画像準備中っす！RT @kingyo_sou 最近のwatさんのはっちゃけ ぶりが楽しいですw RT @vocaloid_cv_cfm: 会社とうちゃく～。机をボンゴ代わりに叩いたって気まずくならないスペシャルな時間ｗ" (Tweet).
10. Nikkei Electronics (973) Mar.10,2008,126-127, ISSN 0385-1680
11. "VOCALOID wo Tanoshimou Vol.2" published by Yamaha Music Media,2009, Page 47, ISBN 978-4-636-84438-2
12. "crypton_wat". Twitter. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
13. "crypton_wat". Twitter. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
14. "crypton_wat". Twitter. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
15. "crypton_wat". Twitter. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
16. "crypton_wat". Twitter. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
17. "crypton_wat". Twitter. Retrieved 27 April 2016.

External links

• Official website (Japanese)