Hello everyone. Justin here and welcome to another Otaku Mind. I know, two Otaku Minds in one month!? I’m starting the year off strong. Today, we are celebrating another vocaloid birthday and this vocaloid is very special to me. The vocaloid I am talking about is of course Luka. Hands down my second favorite vocaloid. While the Kagamines might be my favorite, in term of songs Luka beats them. Released in 2009 Luka was the first to impact Miku’s popularity. She was marketed as the first bilingual vocaloid as she had both an English and Japanese voicebank making her really stand out from the other vocaloids before her. Many people have come to see her as Miku’s best friend as well as a second big sister to the vocaloids because of her mature appearance and personality. For me personally I find Luka to be the better singer of the two with the better songs. Why? Well it’s hard to explain but Luka has more realism in her songs. Like whenever you hear her sing you quickly connect with her. You understand what she’s talking about and relate it to your life. It’s as if she’s saying “yeah, I know what you’re going through. I’ve been there. Let me sing about it for you”. For me, that’s what makes Luka the better singer. That’s not to say Miku is bad she’s still a great singer but I just find myself liking Luka’s singing more than Miku’s. Now as with all vocaloids birthday I’m here to count down my personal top 11 Luka songs. Why top 11? Because even when I’m not in character I still like to go one step beyond. Here they are, these are the top 11 Luka Megurine songs.
#11. Promise and Kiss
Here’s a fun fact you may not know about Luka. She was programed to be a jazz vocaloid. Yeah, most people give her rock and pop songs but in truth Luka was designed to be a jazz vocaloid. The song is pretty self-explanatory as it’s sung in English but I’ll tell you anyway. A guy in a club spots Luka and wants to get with her but she knows what he’s thinking and compares their short relationship to a relationship she previously had. I just love the music in this song. It sets the mood and conveys the sad tone Luka is going for. It has Cowboy Bebop feel to it. The English is also quite good. It’s a little hard to understand at some parts but it still sounds good to me and it’s nice to see someone actually use Luka properly in a jazz song. This is the realism I was talking about earlier. Luka is wondering if the relationship will work out or not. If it does great but if it doesn’t and you don’t return to her can she be happy. Very deep and beautiful stuff. If you’re looking to hear some good jazz music from the vocaloids check this song out.
#10. Hanamai Tsukuyomi Tan
I came across this song in one of the Vocaloid games (I forget which one) and just instantly fell in love with it. The melody, the beat, the tuning of Luka’s voice, it’s all great here. It’s a short song where Luka sings about finding a friend who was taken away from her to keep her promise to always be her. The lyrics are great, and Luka sounds incredibly good here. This easily became one of my favorite songs in the game and the one I found myself playing the most. It’s a short traditional song but they make every second count.
#9. Double Lariat
(live)https://youtu.be/-dd4HqNOA4U
One of Luka’s most popular songs and a crowd favorite. The song has a simple beat with a great guitarist and a lot of interpretations to it. One is about the singer spinning around endlessly without stopping despite the fact that everyone around them is better. Some say the song is about the Earth itself and how it keeps constantly spinning only to one-day stop and asks you to be there for it. Another interpretation is about persistence. Don’t give up, keep moving forward, and continue to extend your reach to the world. For me, I view this as Luka talking about the moments leading up to her debut. All of her friends are making their debut and getting famous while she just continues to get overlooked. She’s sad, frustrated, and a little jealous at her friends which is all understandable. She doesn’t want to fall behind her friends, nobody wants that. But despite all of these setbacks she continues to keep singing saying to herself that someday she’ll reach their level and wouldn’t you know it she did. All of her hard work finally paid off and now she’s become one of the most popular vocaloids out there. It’s a straightforward song about a vocaloid working hard to reach her goals and never giving up.
#8. Megane
Probably the sexiest song Luka has ever sung. Megane is Japanese for glasses and in the song Luka compares the sexual advantages of a boy she likes to her glasses. I’ve seen stranger things compared to each other but still the song is very well done. Of course if someone were to do the things to someone else’s glasses as portrayed in this song they would get smacked. Luka’s soft voice throughout the song just sounds so seductive and hot. You get chills listening to it and when she says megane like a whisper in the middle of the song you just get an eargasm. This song is almost the equivalent of Len’s Spice. It’s a dirty song but it’s sung in such an innocent and seductive way that you can’t help but love it. At the end all I can say is Luka makes glasses look hot.
#7. Tonight in the Rain
It’s an R&B song to show off Luka’s bilingual skills. In the song Luka is trying to call someone but that person keeps distancing himself from Luka or just ignores her and as a result it’s making her feel terrible. Throughout the song she talks about what this ordeal is like and how it’s suffocating her and driving her crazy and it’s all her boyfriend’s fault for ignoring her feelings. This time around Luka’s English sounds a lot clearer and better. This is mostly thanks to her new voicebank. The R&B soundtrack in the back is great and addicting to listen to. What else can I say but don’t leave her alone in the rain.
#6. Pompadour
From the popular Oster project. It’s been awhile since these guys released a song and it’s a Luka song. Unfortunately, there’s no translation for this song so I’m force to interpret it on my own. Just from reading the lyrics and watching the video it seems like Luka is getting ready to go on a date but she’s having all kinds of trouble getting ready for it. Luckily, the rabbits are there to help her out and get her ready for her big date and when the day finally arrives she not only looks and feels pretty but she’s confident in herself. That’s the kind of vibe I’m getting from this song. Being an Oster project song you can expect the song to be cute, lively, and addicting to listen to and this song is known is exception. The song is unbelievably cute and addicting to listen to. Luka of course sounds amazing in this song. So realistic and human. It’s a song I wouldn’t expect from Luka but I’m glad she sung it and I hope to see Oster project use Luka more in the future.
#5. Hello, Worker
(live)https://youtu.be/3sikh24P3kk
One of the many songs that people really connect with. The song is the producer talking about life and how overwhelming it can be at times. Which is true life can be overwhelming and the choices we make can be difficult at times. For example, what can I do, what do I want to do, how do I separate my dreams from reality, how do I make my dreams a reality? Stuff like that has either popped up in our head or will pop in our head down the road and it can overwhelm and stress us out. But Luka tells us that the best way to do it is to handle it one day at a time. No one fully knows what the future brings and that’s okay. For now, do what you can do now. Live in the present and do what you believe is right while still following your dreams. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what your boss thinks of you, what I think of you, or even what the creepy old person down the street thinks of you. All that matters is what you think of yourself because no matter where you go in life at the end of the day you’re the one who decides how to live your life.
#4. Just Be Friends
(live)https://youtu.be/CiS7e94OG-8
(live English)https://youtu.be/86mrcooopJQ
Hands down Luka’s most well-known song. This song is pretty much like Miku’s World is Mine song. Its Luka’s calling card it’s the one song everyone associates with her because it’s a good song. Bittersweet but a good song. In the song Luka talks about breaking up with her boyfriend. As much as she doesn’t want to do it she knows that this is the best choice for both of them. However, she still wants to be friends with the guy in the end. This is so real and bittersweet. I’m pretty sure everyone has been down this road before. You’re dating someone you like but as time goes on it starts to fall apart and just isn’t working out. As much as you don’t want to you know the best choice for both of you is to break up and if possible go back to being friends. It’s a tough choice and Luka conveys that in the song. You can tell she doesn’t want to break up with the guy but in her heart she knows that this is the best choice for both of them. It’s a hard lesson about relationships but it’s one that has to be learned. An honorable mention for this spot also goes to the song Answer which is a follow-up to Just Be Friends where Luka has learned to move on with her life after the break up and is now enjoying life. Song here: https://youtu.be/XOyCXmfJmiU
#3. Luka Luka Night Fever
(live)https://youtu.be/_R_Vk5s_N70
This one is dedicated to the late Samfree who tragically passed away at the age of 31. This song is one of those feel good songs that you just wanna get up and dance whenever you hear it. The beat is amazing, Luka is loud and dancing amazing well, and has that party feel to it. Even when watching a live version of the song you just feel the energy and excitement in the video as you watch everyone in it. Nothing much to say about this one. It’s a good party song that makes you feel excited and its Samfree’s gift to us. I say we treasure it always.
#2. Joker Poker
We’re returning to jazz with this cool song Joker Poker. The concept of the song is Luka comparing a man’s love to a game of poker and wondering if he’s bluffing or not. She doesn’t know but she’ll play the game with him and see what happens. I love how smooth Luka sounds in this song. She sounds all smooth, mature, and sexy like she’s been down this road before so none of your bluffs are gonna work on her. The best thing you can do is stop BSing her and tell her how you really feel. The music is also great and having Kaito and Meiko as backup singers is a nice touch. I would love to see this performed live at a concert with Luka singing and Kaito and Meiko dancing in the background while providing backup vocals. For a while this song was my favorite Luka song but I found one song that managed to beat this song. What is it? Let’s find out.
And the number 1 Luka Megurine song is. . .
#1. Blue Bird
Of course my favorite Luka song would be a jazz song. That was what she was originally meant to sing. I love everything about this song. The music, the singing, the tone, the message, everything in this song is addicting to me. A blue bird has always been associated with happiness so I’m going to assume the message in this song is about falling in love, being happy, and enjoying life. Her singing, amazing. So natural and smooth throughout the song that she honestly sounds human here. After listing to the song you just feel happy and want to go out and embrace the day with a smile on your face and enjoy it. This is a song that always cheers me up whenever I feel down and I’m sure after listening to it you’ll feel good as well. One of the most insulting things about this song is that it’s so unknown to everyone out there. This song deserves more recognition. In fact a lot of songs on this list deserve more recognition. My advice guys is go out there and find more jazz songs from Luka. Trust me, you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor and you’ll thank me for this later.
Well that’s my list. I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading, happy birthday Luka, and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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