Look, I'm just doing what Crypton originally wanted with Luka, alright?

The first thought that went into my head when I saw Luka's design was this:

"Woah, she looks totally cool and mysterious and stuff."

Which was then followed by something more bizarre:

"Wait a second, that dress looks totally familiar. Nah, it can't be."

And then I double-checked. And I was like, "maybe the character designer was looking at Wrath of the Lich King artwork right before he had to submit Luka's design for Crypton." So I convinced a friend of mine to make a 4-panel comic about how Luka ended up with the final costume design that you see today:



What I find extremely humorous about this comic is that something very similar happened when Luka's voice actress was put in a similar situation during a Q&A session at Anime Expo.

Also, one other thing I find funny about Luka is that despite her appearance, it seems to be confirmed that she can sound like a ditz.
The first thought that went into my head when I saw Luka's design was this:<br /><br />"Woah, she looks <a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:kwuouyME_BDlpM:http://i41.tinypic.com/2vjqwyf.png&t=1" target="_blank">totally cool and mysterious and stuff."</a><br /><br />Which was then followed by something more bizarre:<br /><br />"Wait a second, that dress looks totally familiar. Nah, it can't be."<br /><br />And then I double-checked. And I was like, "maybe the character designer was looking at <a href="https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4042185/Project%20Diva/Wowtip.jpg" target="_blank">Wrath of the Lich King artwork</a> right before he had to submit Luka's design for Crypton." So I convinced a <a href="http://bananagrill.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">friend of mine</a> to make a 4-panel comic about how Luka ended up with the final costume design that you see today:<br /><br /><a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4042185/Project%20Diva/LUKAOutfit%20Comic.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4042185/Project%20Diva/LUKAOutfit%20Comic.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" /></a><br /><br />What I find extremely humorous about this comic is that something very similar happened <a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4042185/Project%20Diva/ya.mp4" target="_blank"> when Luka's voice actress was put in a similar situation during a Q&A session at Anime Expo.</a><br /><br />Also, one other thing I find funny about Luka is that despite her appearance, it seems to be confirmed that <a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4042185/Project%20Diva/your%20amazing%21.mp4" target="_blank">she can sound like a ditz.</a>

Okay, I think Sega's mad at me

Want to know why?


Because this theme does not match the color of my PSP. At all. They did that ON PURPOSE so they'd force me to get this.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYu9Q6SnUW4wAVPmZS9aSsSAsI0CgQ14gNeQqbamOIYCppMfd7vvsj9zSAkjRCL-r0eVvhE_TPR3fLoup-b_M8tfhDwa4qV8as7pcSlBXPMLTufbLvfbwx11cK6IiAhZih5V3g5y_H1WZo/s1600/5312857d.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491461264553445202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYu9Q6SnUW4wAVPmZS9aSsSAsI0CgQ14gNeQqbamOIYCppMfd7vvsj9zSAkjRCL-r0eVvhE_TPR3fLoup-b_M8tfhDwa4qV8as7pcSlBXPMLTufbLvfbwx11cK6IiAhZih5V3g5y_H1WZo/s320/5312857d.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 102px; height: 92px;" /></a><br /><center>Want to know why?</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptrXx-5GT_RicuEHEy_W8a5y4cXGbSOlX81Dj-ItKZ7bVH7xrKlOqbv3uFElRnHMz_fuXdEAq-UB0mpfejRqh6W7_1EK5YYrOa5UgsUp9PgI8y3-y96uNFtwGXCnKPtMsZ9aOYFV2ok6Y/s1600/snap007.bmp" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491461454548729538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptrXx-5GT_RicuEHEy_W8a5y4cXGbSOlX81Dj-ItKZ7bVH7xrKlOqbv3uFElRnHMz_fuXdEAq-UB0mpfejRqh6W7_1EK5YYrOa5UgsUp9PgI8y3-y96uNFtwGXCnKPtMsZ9aOYFV2ok6Y/s320/snap007.bmp" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" /></a><br /><br />Because this theme does not match the color of my PSP. At all. They did that ON PURPOSE so they'd force me to <a href="http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-12x-49-en-70-3qf9.html" target="_blank">get this.</a>

Something's wrong here...

I don't mention Miku and these blog posts are not even related to Project Diva for twice in a row, on top of the fact that I'm now going to say that this Extended Play release on iTunes is totally worth the money:


To begin with, the composer makes Luka sing in a completely fictitious language to Seiken Densetsu/Ar Tonelico-esque music. Not only that, but the composer themselves provides the chorus to some of these songs. The composer can also draw, so this person is pretty talented. So go get it.

Oh, and did I mention that all of these songs on this release can also be heard for free on their piapro account? Yeah, there definitely is something very wrong happening in this world. Or at least with me, anyway.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a><br />I don't mention Miku and these blog posts are not even related to <a href="http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/search/label/Project%20Diva" target="_blank">Project Diva</a> for twice in a row, on top of the fact that I'm now going to say that this Extended Play release <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/leyenda-ep/id351279472" target="_blank">on iTunes</a> is <a href="http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/2009/12/extended-play-releases-are-expensive.html" target="_blank">totally worth the money:</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5UstSfSvLOqEnOLbwBxVijD5LuOTPvhh3XKGlOfRQ8K71KXtaImtFEN8TreI1sttQh9tag1VGDSfGa9w2pAXAvUWW6RzlEcppK7iHcS2I-R2edIafQUiNfyaUj7IoZGLFBDhPkQd_XZ7/s1600-h/Leyenda+-+EP.bmp" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433146816409817122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5UstSfSvLOqEnOLbwBxVijD5LuOTPvhh3XKGlOfRQ8K71KXtaImtFEN8TreI1sttQh9tag1VGDSfGa9w2pAXAvUWW6RzlEcppK7iHcS2I-R2edIafQUiNfyaUj7IoZGLFBDhPkQd_XZ7/s200/Leyenda+-+EP.bmp" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 150px;" /></a><br />To begin with, the composer makes Luka sing in a completely fictitious language to <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/y9mv29lnv4cu1z5c" target="_blank">Seiken Densetsu</a>/<a href="http://piapro.jp/content/0k3ve0bal30h6gra" target="_blank">Ar Tonelico-esque music.</a> Not only that, but the <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/4ykwysmjdsl0y6as" target="_blank">composer themselves</a> provides the chorus to some of these songs. The composer can <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/5erqyzakjgslpdyq" target="_blank">also draw,</a> so this person is pretty talented. So go get it.<br /><br />Oh, and did I mention that all of these songs on this release can also be heard for free on <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/zw2b1kkc97avjc1y" target="_blank">their</a> <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/nirv1a3cstzejn5m" target="_blank">piapro</a> <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/08z7omyx3ger150i" target="_blank">account?</a> Yeah, there definitely is something very wrong happening in this world. Or at least with me, anyway.

All we gotta do...

... Is just be friends.


This song is super-catchy. And it's totally available on iTunes if you want to buy it. But you don't want to buy it, do you?
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a><br /><br /><center>... Is just be friends.</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxetTxTenjFsqkvJ8E-blqMEgtY6RZa-ZbN0Tz43-n1i-icFLgBfzw6ziCSNM9UnMaGYjXdGNo3e5_VbuDin_ddWCS2RCwuzFJHmzpT-UT2uNpMgkITEs2tixnlIqMShEM2SvYRGMkhyphenhyphenk-/s1600-h/Just+Be+Friends+-+EP+2.bmp" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432432516213861714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxetTxTenjFsqkvJ8E-blqMEgtY6RZa-ZbN0Tz43-n1i-icFLgBfzw6ziCSNM9UnMaGYjXdGNo3e5_VbuDin_ddWCS2RCwuzFJHmzpT-UT2uNpMgkITEs2tixnlIqMShEM2SvYRGMkhyphenhyphenk-/s200/Just+Be+Friends+-+EP+2.bmp" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" /></a><br /><br />This song is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoPzP-MwcLI" target="_blank">super-catchy.</a> And it's <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/just-be-friends-ep/id326428819" target="_blank">totally available on iTunes</a> if you want to buy it. But you don't want to buy it, do you?

Miku's hair can turn into wings?! Crazy.

Next up on the iTunes store is this album called haneito by someone who goes by the name of Clean Tears:

The art is so purty.

This person is also pretty important as one of their songs is the first one played during Project Diva's ending credits. How that came to be will be saved for another time; besides, this song isn't in the album anyway.

Aside from electronic pop, this person can also can churn out some really good trance music such as the first track on this album which became one of their most iconic songs. Then I was surprised by the R&B pop tracks in the album as they're not bad at all.

So what's the verdict? It's pretty good for quite a steal if you're buying it at the album price through the US iTunes store.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a><br /><br />Next up on the iTunes store is this album called <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hane-ito/id309978470" target="_blank">haneito</a> by someone who goes by the name of <a href="http://piapro.jp/bpms" target="_blank">Clean Tears:</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbqYYHnNp9pEBrt-2CcPuh5a7EWgA5aczd4pDAIJeNQZ7mA21fTxyrEeFZliFLBWmZDABMDP69QNPzkjSlQNXWodWwuSZdNY0aAH5h2OJq-JxbCdj3nBvrPa9ltxZSUtdJKIkug5DCVv1/s1600-h/jacket_13.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419532656707340738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbqYYHnNp9pEBrt-2CcPuh5a7EWgA5aczd4pDAIJeNQZ7mA21fTxyrEeFZliFLBWmZDABMDP69QNPzkjSlQNXWodWwuSZdNY0aAH5h2OJq-JxbCdj3nBvrPa9ltxZSUtdJKIkug5DCVv1/s320/jacket_13.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The art is so purty.</span></span><br /></div><br />T<span style="font-size:100%;">his person is also pretty important as one of their songs is the first one played during <a href="http://hardcoregaming101.net/projectdiva/projectdiva.htm" target="_blank">Project Diva's</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_yXDdr5eH8" target="_blank">ending credits.</a> How that came to be will be saved for another time; besides, this song isn't in the album anyway.</span><br /><br />Aside from electronic pop, this person can also can churn out some really good trance music such as the first track on this album which became one of their <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Yo3SfhaRs" target="_blank">most iconic songs.</a> Then I was surprised by the R&B pop tracks in the album as they're not bad at all.<br /><br />So what's the verdict? It's pretty good for quite a steal if you're buying it at the album price through the US iTunes store.

Not quite the MADWorld I was expecting...

A MAD is essentially a music video that either attempts to juxtapose characters from a completely different series into an existing opening video from another or use a song that was meant for something else and make a completely "original" music video with it using characters from a random series.

... Maybe it's better if I just showed you an example of a MAD instead. THE iDOLM@STER has festivals dedicated to this stuff on Nicovideo, and a lot of them are pretty amazing:



And if you're wondering, yes, they literally recorded those animations from the 360 port of the game, somehow pulled them out from the background stage, and did lots of clever tricks to make it look like that. And since Project Diva has been released into the wild, someone decided that maybe it was a good idea to apply this technique using Sega's 3D models of Crypton's Vocaloids. Hopefully events dedicated to this will start popping up more so I can talk about it later:



And with this post, I officially declare Vocaloid Week to be over. Hope you enjoyed my random discoveries.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOY8N4GOMY1SdTkogG1jKRAgYo04y9rQD9lqTRkhSd2LJjS01ElGANwp59EhNML5wzsXJ4ABZiRXJhU4ehL-qzktqK2lhi-KZa_OzQGsnKGzr2eOTHRPg3N8S6REzIhtDOatpw0QJINo/s128/04.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOY8N4GOMY1SdTkogG1jKRAgYo04y9rQD9lqTRkhSd2LJjS01ElGANwp59EhNML5wzsXJ4ABZiRXJhU4ehL-qzktqK2lhi-KZa_OzQGsnKGzr2eOTHRPg3N8S6REzIhtDOatpw0QJINo/s128/04.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 127px;" /></a><br />A MAD is essentially a music video that either attempts to juxtapose characters from a completely different series into an existing opening video from another or use a song that was meant for something else and make a completely "original" music video with it using characters from a random series.<br /><br />... Maybe it's better if I just showed you an example of a MAD instead. THE iDOLM@STER <a href="http://idolmaster.tdiary.net/" t="" target="_blank">has festivals dedicated to this stuff on Nicovideo,</a> and a lot of them are pretty amazing:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZSMGZCPlY3M&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZSMGZCPlY3M&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />And if you're wondering, yes, they literally recorded those animations from the 360 port of the game, somehow pulled them out from the background stage, and did lots of clever tricks to make it look like that. And since Project Diva has been released into the wild, someone decided that maybe it was a good idea to apply this technique using Sega's 3D models of Crypton's Vocaloids. Hopefully events dedicated to this will start popping up more so I can talk about it later:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5WlCZEBH4-Q&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5WlCZEBH4-Q&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />And with this post, I officially declare Vocaloid Week to be over. Hope you enjoyed my random discoveries.

I guess this will be the beginning of the Annual Vocaloid Week?

There's a lot of artists that Sega didn't pick up for Project Diva. Sasakure-P was one of them, and that Gummy Bear Remix song I linked to yesterday (more like today, since I forgot to publish it last night) is one of his more recent works. His style typically uses chiptunes and hand-drawn sprites that emulate the NES for his Vocaloid videos, although there are exceptions like this one which looks and sounds more 16-bit:



And is half of a depressing two-part video series. The second half is more 8-bit, and despite sounding happy with blue skies and colorful sprites, is still sad:



Maybe this guy's being saved for a DS or Wii release?
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOY8N4GOMY1SdTkogG1jKRAgYo04y9rQD9lqTRkhSd2LJjS01ElGANwp59EhNML5wzsXJ4ABZiRXJhU4ehL-qzktqK2lhi-KZa_OzQGsnKGzr2eOTHRPg3N8S6REzIhtDOatpw0QJINo/s128/04.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOY8N4GOMY1SdTkogG1jKRAgYo04y9rQD9lqTRkhSd2LJjS01ElGANwp59EhNML5wzsXJ4ABZiRXJhU4ehL-qzktqK2lhi-KZa_OzQGsnKGzr2eOTHRPg3N8S6REzIhtDOatpw0QJINo/s128/04.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 127px;" /></a><br />There's a lot of artists that Sega didn't pick up for Project Diva. <a href="http://sasakure.bms.ms/sasakuration.htm">Sasakure-P</a> was one of them, and that Gummy Bear Remix song I linked to yesterday (more like today, since I forgot to publish it last night) is one of his more recent works. His style typically uses chiptunes and hand-drawn sprites that emulate the NES for his Vocaloid videos, although there are exceptions like this one which looks and sounds more 16-bit:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dBYMuMS67EU&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dBYMuMS67EU&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />And is half of a depressing two-part video series. The second half is more 8-bit, and despite sounding happy with blue skies and colorful sprites, is still sad:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3qkrfOnX5ZM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3qkrfOnX5ZM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Maybe this guy's being saved for a DS or Wii release?