Hello, Justin here and welcome to the first Otaku Mind of 2016. Today my friends we are celebrating a birthday of one of my favorite vocaloids. The vocaloid I am talking about is IA. One of the newest vocaloids to come out in recent years and definitely one of the most popular vocaloids at the moment IA marks the first time I’m looking at a vocaloid not own by Cryton. Yeah, allow me to explain. Cryton only owns Miku, the Kagamines, Luka, Meiko, and Kaito. These 6 are what people refer to as the main 6 vocaloids and are the most well-known out of all the vocaloids. The rest of the vocaloids are all own by different companies so it falls on that company to promote that vocaloid and update their voicebank from time to time. So if you ever wonder why you don’t you see IA at an official Miku concert this is the reason why. There are occasions where vocaloids from different companies perform together but those concerts aren’t Cryton concerts so it’s okay and totally legal. In the end it all come downs to ownership and some companies do a good job promoting their vocaloid while others don’t. IA is owned by 1st Place who do an amazing job promoting her. She was created in 2012 but really didn’t get notice until 2013 and that’s when she really started taking off having concerts and everything. Including a US concert this past year which was a huge success. When she first appeared many people thought of her as Miku’s sister but I don’t know she resembles a younger Luka to me. Like I said before she’s one of my favorite vocaloids, the third to be exact behind the Kagamines and another vocaloid I’ll talk about later and in my opinion the second hottest vocaloid. Now while all vocaloids are open to all genres of music many people like to use her for rock or pop rock songs and today in honor of her 4th birthday I’m counting down my top 11 favorite IA songs. Why top 11? Because even when I’m not in character I too like to go one step beyond. So sit back, relax, and get ready to rock out. These are the top 11 IA songs.
#11. Tori no Uta and My Soul, Your Beats
https://youtu.be/jAZ8G91kCSM (Tori no Uta)
https://youtu.be/NuymRI0doaw (My Soul, Your Beats)
https://youtu.be/JfW0glLj2pE (My Soul, Your Beats live ft. Lia)
Okay these first two might be cheating but this was how I discovered IA. For those of you who don’t know IA’s voicebank comes from the popular idol Lia in fact that’s where her name comes from as well. This is what separates IA from the other vocaloids. The other vocaloids’ voicebanks come from VAs while IA’s voicebank comes from a professional singer giving her the edge in her songs and making her sound a lot clearer and more professional. This is why a lot of mikutards (people obsessed with Miku and think she’s the greatest thing ever) hate her. Anyway, Lia sings these two songs which are both anime openings. Tori no Uta is the opening for Air an opening that I honestly wish I put on my top 11 anime openings list and My Soul, Your Beats is the opening for Angel Beats. Right away these songs are beautiful and some of the best opening songs out there but to add in IA the openings just get better. IA sounds so stunning and realistic in both of the songs. She sings with so much emotion. Whenever I hear her hit those notes I get a chill down my spine out of shock and amazement at how good she sounds. Yes, her voicebank comes from Lia so it’s only natural that she be good at singing these songs but that still doesn’t take away how great and realistic she sounds in these songs. This was my introduction to IA and it’s a good way to start the list off.
#10. Grief
This song comes from the great Keeno who’s very well-known in the vocaloid community for making sad songs. But despite the songs being sad there’s an air of beauty, soothe, honesty and reflection that you can’t help but love. The same can be said for this song. Just like the title suggest the song is about IA’s grief and her expressing that grief to you in a song. The song almost feels as if IA has just had one of the worst days ever. She just went through a heartbreaking break-up and she wants to just cry about it but can’t. So instead she just sings about it and you’re there to listen to it. You really do feel the emotions from the song and can even apply what she’s going through to your life. Chances are you’ve been in her position but you just can’t put it into words what you’re going through well I think this song captures those emotions perfectly. It’s a sad song but you can’t help but feel happy inside knowing that while things are bad now things will get better eventually and it’s nice to know you don’t have to face it alone.
#9. We Gotta Run
https://youtu.be/UMpuuRmZOJU
https://youtu.be/dfm3UJiRyk0 (live)
The official theme to Super GT racing in 2014 We Gotta Run is a song that really helped IA go mainstream in Japan. The song is pretty self-explanatory. Don’t just stand idling around. Go out there, have fun, dance, say hi to Christopher Walken. Okay that last one might be implausible but you get the idea don’t take this moment for granted. Enjoy yourself and go all out. The song really does a good job getting you hyped with his party like feel and build up and this is the only song so far that I’ve seen a vocaloid perform with actual dancers and singer in a live performance. The song is also welcoming for Western listeners since the song is pretty westernized so if you’re looking to get into vocaloid or IA than start with this song. What else can you say but get out there and run.
#8. Setsuna Drive
https://youtu.be/VoROtgs4ywA
https://youtu.be/j4dwwX7E-FA?t=3m30s (live)
You wanted rock where here it is and it goes hard. Illustrated by the same guy who did the illustrations for the Kagerou Project, Setsuna Drive feels like a secret song from the project that takes place years after the original project ended. The song from what I can gather is that IA in the future has lost her way and has given up on life but her past self somehow travels to the future and tells her not to give up, keep going forward, and be confident with your decisions. Other than the song is pretty straightforward. It’s a fast pace rock song that gets you pumped up and for a guy like me who normally doesn’t listen to rock music on a daily bases this song is great to listen to.
#7. Shooting Star
Now this is how you get people hyped for a live performance. Before IA made her debut concert in North America this song was sent over as a way to promote and boy did it do a good job. Right away we all got a clear understand of who IA was and what she was like. This was a girl who took her role seriously and wants to be a shooting star shining brightly for everyone to see. But she can’t do this alone, she needs are help and this is her song thanking and asking everyone to help her on her journey. I especially love her dancing throughout the video. She doesn’t move like a robot but like an actual person. I would love to see her and Len have a dance off with each other. Once again IA sounds amazing here. The lyrics are deep and meaningful and you feel the emotional weight each one has as she sings. All I can say is let’s keep moving forward and make our dreams come true.
#6. A Tale of Six Trillion Years and a Night
Man was this a sad but cool song. This song comes from a series called Pandora Voxx. The story about a girl named Maki becoming a god and granting the wishes of people. Although every story ends on a dark note and this song is no exception. In the song IA talks about a demon boy who was tortured and beaten on a regular basis by his village because he was a demon. One day a slace girl finds him and became the first person to ever treat him kindly. She frees him and the two runaway together with the boy for the first time in his life being happy until the people from the village come after them where he makes a wish to Maki and wishes that he and her were the only people left in the world. Maki hears his wish and grants it making him and her the last of humanity. That, or he went on a rampage and killed everyone in his village leaving only him and her alive. Man such a dark and sad song that really gets to you in the heart. You really feel bad for this kid, he did nothing wrong and just wanted to be happy but nobody gave him that chance. They judged him before they knew him except for this little girl who took the chance to know him and saw him as a good person. I’m sure that in the end he didn’t wish to destroy humanity but given what happened to him it’s understandable why he would think along those lines. Outside of that the instrumental to this song is amazing. Everytime I listen to this song I can’t help but tap my foot and hum along to the song. It’s a dark, sad, but beautiful song that gives you a new perspective on life and encourages us not to judge others before you know them. In fact, don’t judge people at all.
#5. M’aider Stranded Girl
One second. That’s how long it took me to fall in love with this song. The word M’aider comes from France which means mayday so the full translation of the song is Mayday, stranded girl. The song primarily focuses on the future and how unknown it is. In the song IA talks about how she has no idea what lays ahead for her in the future, is worried about it and it’s totally relatable. She compares her worries to a girl being stranded and doing flag signaling asking for help hoping that one person will have the answers to her problems. This is something everybody worries about on a day to day basis. What’s gonna happen tomorrow? I don’t know, but IA says in the song the only thing we can do is keep going forward into the unknown and face whatever comes are way. If you haven’t noticed yet a lot of IA’s songs are all about facing the unknown and moving forward with your life. Just throwing that out there.
#4. Circuit Disco
A very unexpected song from IA but one I’m glad I came across. Unfortunately, this song hasn’t been translated yet so I’m forced to make up my own interpretation from it. Judging by the happy tone from the song I get the feeling that IA is talking about going off on a journey where she continues to grow and reach new limitations. However, once she reaches her limit she wants to keep going and push herself pass the limits to something new and bigger. That’s the kind of vibe I get from this song. Reaching your limits and going pass them. This song really has a lot of energy and IA sounds so great hear that I’m surprise she doesn’t sing this song at concerts. I imagine it would be a big it. Hopefully when she comes back over she’ll sing this song because it’s one of her best songs.
#3. World Calling
https://youtu.be/1WBStIEi-zo
https://youtu.be/mpHoaCMsNVw (remix)
From the creator of the Kagerou Project comes World Calling. This song came out before Jin started the Kagerou Project and can be seen as a field test for him and IA seeing if he could work with her or not. Well after listening to this song I think their compatibility with each other was over 9000. Jin goes on record saying that the point of the song was to connect with someone and that’s what IA’s doing. She’s not only connecting to you but the whole world. The song is just so fun to listen to and if you’re feeling down or lonely this song is a good pick me up song. The song is just basically IA asking to meet you so that you can hangout, get to know each other, and get out and enjoy life. And it’s all done in the form of a cute music video with plenty of imagination and creativity to keep you watching it over and over again. This song was such a hit in 2012 that it became the main theme song for the 2012 VOICE FES concert in Japan. It’s a cute song with a cute vocaloid, a talented artist, and it was the start of something big to come.
#2. The Kagerou Project
https://youtu.be/V1I16L0Egn8
https://youtu.be/e8SnsWAguaQ (Childhood Record live)
https://youtu.be/Wv0l2WMBxAM (daze)
Yeah I decided to put all these songs together. Trust me, if I were to rank them all separate than this list would be much longer and they would take up 75% of the list with 7 of them being in the top 11, they’re that good. The Kagerou Project was kind of like IA’s calling card. This is where IA really got a chance to show off what she could do and she had a really good guy working with her. Jin did an amazing job using IA in his project as he tuned her perfectly. The songs themselves are all good whether you like the soft and sweet Imagination Forest, the fast-paced Headphone Actor, or the ever popular Outer Science song the Kagerou Project is a showcase to IA’s greatness and helped establish herself in the vocaloid chain. While Miku may have been a singer as well for this project it was IA who stood out the most and earned the most likes and fans.
And the number 1 IA song is. . .
#1. See the Lights
https://youtu.be/E2CwrQC_wq0
https://youtu.be/Wcofm02rAag (live)
This song is just perfect for IA. The beat, the singing, the message everything you expect from IA is in this song. In the song IA is talking about all the places she’s been and talking about people seeing the lights. What are the lights you ask? Well, they’re her. This catchy song is IA telling everyone to stop ignoring her. You all know you can see and can’t ignore her and she knows it. Stop ignoring her, gather around, and enjoy the fun she’s having with everyone. The music is awesome in this song as well. That beat is so addicting to listen to. IA’s dancing is a little robotic at some parts but it’s still good and I like it. I also like the references throughout the song like Mr. Taxi is the name of a popular song from the idol group Girls’ Generation and Len actually did a cover of the song where they sing about traveling all over the world and IA is saying she can travel more freely then them and G6 refers to another popular Asian song about traveling at a supersonic speed. At the end of the day whatever doubts you may have about IA she’ll disprove them in this song and make you realize that the lights are real, you can’t ignore her, and you’re gonna love her. And that’s a guaranteed.
Well that’s my list. I hoped you enjoyed. Happy birthday IA. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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