Hatsune Miku - The False Idol And Her Fandom As A Body Without Organs

Hatsune Miku - The False Idol and Her Fandom as a Body Without Organs

Hatsune Miku is a Vocal synthesiser, a commercially produced software that comes paired with an illustrated girl as the “performer.” People use this software to create digital performances, borrowing Hatsune Miku’s image and posting them online, where they often evolve as they are circulated. Her image is free to share, adapt and create with - the surrounding “Vocaloid fandom” uses this image and voice to explore and navigate complex and heavy topics, often extremely personal, such as grief, sexuality, depression and relationships. While there are some works in this area, they are lacking in depth and evidence, which is the gap I aim to fill. This study aims to examine the appeal of using Hatsune Miku as a vehicle for these complex representations, looking further at the surrounding fandom. Using semi-structured interviews on participants from fandom sites such as Tumblr, gaining a breadth of qualitative information on their connection to Miku, I am to investigate my hypothesis that the connections between fandom and figure is comparable to that of a Body Without Organs, which in this case, occurs with ease, due to Miku’s freely accessible image, prosumption encouraging background and narrative lacking nature.

Back in April 2024, I was interviewed for an academic paper on Hatsune Miku and the VOCALOID fandom. The author finally shared the finished work with me at the very end of 2024, and I've created a site where you can read the paper in full!