Making a difference
When you're a fan of something, you may think that simply being a fan doesn't contribute meaningfully to the world. You may feel like part of a faceless crowd, tiny and insignificant. You may think the creators of the work you love will never know or appreciate how happy it's made you.
You're wrong.
At Anime Expo this year, several famous Vocaloid songwriters from Japan ran a panel in which they talked about how the Vocaloid fandom makes them feel. The songwriter Dixie Flatline, who wrote Just Be Friends, described his experience:
Eight years ago, Dixie Flatline quit his job in Japan and moved to New York in order to find a music-related job; he really wanted to show his music to the American people and wanted to be a part of a country that had the best music culture to him. It was his dream, but things didn’t pan out for him, and he had to go back to Japan, a huge disappointment for him.
Time passed, and last year, Dixie Flatline saw a video titled “Mikunopolis” where Luka sang his song. For a while after watching, he couldn’t figure out what had happened; he had seen so many people singing his song along with Luka in Japanese. He said that he was supposed to have given up his dream on that day eight years ago. But when he saw the footage, his dream had somehow come true; he had nearly leapt for joy. “No joking,” he added, and he left the audience with this closing remark: “Watching Mikunopolis, watching you guys singing JBF in that video is one of the best memories for me in my life. I appreciate you guys from the bottom of my heart.”
I was at that concert. That was me, in that video, in that huge stadium, waving my arms and singing in Japanese to Just Be Friends along with a thousand other fans. JBF is one of my very favorite Vocaloid songs, and I hoped against hope that Luka would perform it at the concert. I wasn't disappointed.
Just Be Friends at Mikunopolis
No matter how big or small, how famous or obscure the thing you love - your appreciation matters. It makes someone's world better.
You're wrong.
At Anime Expo this year, several famous Vocaloid songwriters from Japan ran a panel in which they talked about how the Vocaloid fandom makes them feel. The songwriter Dixie Flatline, who wrote Just Be Friends, described his experience:
Eight years ago, Dixie Flatline quit his job in Japan and moved to New York in order to find a music-related job; he really wanted to show his music to the American people and wanted to be a part of a country that had the best music culture to him. It was his dream, but things didn’t pan out for him, and he had to go back to Japan, a huge disappointment for him.
Time passed, and last year, Dixie Flatline saw a video titled “Mikunopolis” where Luka sang his song. For a while after watching, he couldn’t figure out what had happened; he had seen so many people singing his song along with Luka in Japanese. He said that he was supposed to have given up his dream on that day eight years ago. But when he saw the footage, his dream had somehow come true; he had nearly leapt for joy. “No joking,” he added, and he left the audience with this closing remark: “Watching Mikunopolis, watching you guys singing JBF in that video is one of the best memories for me in my life. I appreciate you guys from the bottom of my heart.”
I was at that concert. That was me, in that video, in that huge stadium, waving my arms and singing in Japanese to Just Be Friends along with a thousand other fans. JBF is one of my very favorite Vocaloid songs, and I hoped against hope that Luka would perform it at the concert. I wasn't disappointed.
Just Be Friends at Mikunopolis
No matter how big or small, how famous or obscure the thing you love - your appreciation matters. It makes someone's world better.