MMD 6th Cup
This was a really hard post - not because of lack of content, but of having to try to cut down and present only the best ones without it being fifty videos long. Suffice it to say that there was a ton of awesome content, and if you have the time you should totally go sort the tag by views and check them all out.
The themes for this cup were 'E', 'emotions / feelings' and 'rising / growing'. Good luck finding them in some of these videos. On balance, there were less music videos and more 'action' or day-to-day-life videos this Cup - as such, those of you who haven't looked at the primer post on their general characterisation might want to refresh your memory. I'm going to leave producer tags off this post, as I don't want to inflate the taglist too much, and many producers here are one-offs.
【第6回MMD杯本選】恋天使ルシフェル
The absolute best of show can only go to this ridiculous, slapstick-filled twist on El Shaddai. Flawless in comic timing and animation quality, this features everything from Enoch's repeated deaths at the hands of an endless drop, Lucifel pimping out, and a heartjerker of an ending.
Vocaloid Music Videos:
Anything Vocaloid-only that is primarily set to music, where the music drives the focus.
【第6回MMD杯本選】初音ミクPV『ハートブレイカー』 (Heartbreaker, Miku)
Don't get me wrong - as music videos go, this is certainly a very good one, clean and crisp and well-animated. But for being the music video that performed best in the Cup, it feels maybe a little empty; no Chaining Intention, no masses of characters or effects. It felt a little boring.
【第6回MMD杯本選】BAD【Michael Jackson】 (Everyone)
A Michael Jackson MAD has practically become a prerequisite for every cup. While this version of a highly recognizable hit isn't as striking as last cup's Marisa Jackson - there's a lot more going on on-screen and it's easier to lose track of it all - it's still pretty great, and I feel an obligation to link it.
【第6回MMD杯本選】ローリンガール「転がってみた」（full) (Mini Miku)
Veteran fans may remember my once linking this really adorable hand-drawn animation of Miku rolling and flipping and spinning her way down a hill to a happier Rolling Girl ending. Well, here's the MMD version, which I find as heartening as the original. If that weren't enough... here is the astounding video of a guy doing motion capture for it.
【第6回MMD杯本選】The world that I wanted【巡音ルカオリジナル】 (Luka)
Poor Luka never seems to do very well in MMD Cups, or even in regular MMD videos, partially due to a lack of decent models. Let's make up for that with a powerful rock video and a postapocalyptic Luka angsting at herself with some Band Edition drums and Palette-ish sound thrown in. Tremendously slick.
【第6回MMD杯本選】取り外し可能人体 (Kaito)
Kaito busts out moves like crazy in this chaotic trance number. Already impressive dance maneuvers start to get really, really trippy when they start detaching pieces of themselves, ending with something that looks a lot like it could have been a Daft Punk video.
【第6回MMD杯本選】COIL A CIRCLE OF VOCALOIDS (Everyone)
We're into full on futuristic dystopia mode with this jam-packed rock video, with the forces of Vocaloid taking on the forces of Evil Miku in a ruined city when they're not mooning about the nature of the afterlife instead. It's more for the action than the music, given the instrumental nature of the sound, but it fits nicely.
【第6回MMD杯本選】EASY ACTION【MikuMikuDance】 (Kaito/Len/Nel)
I loved this video from the moment I saw Kaito and Len on top of a skyscraper, being INCREDIBLY SERIOUS while wearing the most stupid sunglasses possible, but there's more to enjoy than that. Try to watch it out of economy hours - the speed the landscape moves and the sheer size being played with is very impressive for MMD.
【第6回MMD杯本選】 LIFE 【MMD-PV】 (Petite Miku)
Man, Lat versions of the smaller robots weird me out even more than the Lat normal ones do. Be that as it may, LIFE is a catchy song - a club-pop affair that really, really wants to be ambient happy music and isn't heavy on the senses, with a shiny PV almost up to the level of producers such as wachamaru.
【第6回MMD杯本選】-TheBeautifulWorld- (Miku)
Civ 5's theme tune, the first game music to ever win a Grammy, is paired up with a seriously show-off MMD video. Using no robots whatsoever until the very end, it seeks to just make the environments as breathtaking as possible with a variety of postprocessing and effects. Absolutely stunning work, and a great and unique idea.
【第6回MMD杯本選】セクシーなシテヤンヨのこっち向いてBaby (Shiteyanyo)
Shiteyanyo is so moe.
Vocaloid Other:
Anything else Vocaloid-only.
【第6回MMD杯本選】モンスターハンターＭＭＤ (Miku/Teto/Defoko/Rin, Humour)
Mashing together every RPG parody it can possibly get its hands upon, this video's a little scrappy but has a lot of heart. One of the major winners of the Cup, it's worth watching despite the amount of dialogue, as many of the puns and references are purely sight-based.
【第6回MMD杯本選】億千万コンサート (Everyone, Okkusenman Parody/Humour)
Easily one of my favorite videos of the bunch, an orchestral Okkusenman recital goes terribly wrong when Len shows up late, Rin gets jealous, and everyone begins to fight, but Meiko and Luka soldier on regardless. I can't begin to describe how well this is integrated into the music - just watch it and witness the glory.
【第6回MMD杯本選】アイスミクライマーちび (Miku/Rin, Humour)
Ice Mikuclimbers is a great take on the old Nintendo games, crossing over a couple of the ice-themed classics of the time. Done by the same guy who did the tower climbing video last Cup, you might expect it to rapidly devolve into silliness, and you'd be right at about the point when Solid Snake turns up to give friendly advice and a rocket launcher.
【第6回MMD杯本選】ミクさん実験室 (Miku/Takoluka, Humour)
So, you know that experiment where you put a monkey and some tools in a room with an out-of-reach banana, to see if he can figure out how to use one to get the other? How about Vocaloids? Poor Takoluka. :(
【第6回MMD杯本選】 感染～Epidemic～ (Everyone, Action)
Vocaloids infected with viruses makes as good an excuse as any for some well-animated martial arts action and movie-like plotlines. It's all very melodramatic and silly, but a good watch: Kaito's Icecalibur alone almost makes it worth the price of entry.
【第6回MMD杯本選】ちょっと構ってほしかったんだ・・・ (Miku/Neru, Action)
A follow-up to last cup's 'Neru and Miku try to blow the hell out of each other while flying around' video, this one's been made a whole lot more striking with the addition of MME aftereffects to spice it up. Very smoothly animated, with lots of volleys of macross missiles and punching thereof.
【第6回MMD杯本選】ちびとぷち (Everyone/Minis, Daaaaw)
There's more than a few videos this Cup dealing with the child versions of the characters, particularly Mini Miku and Petite Miku and their sibling ... siblingness, but I think I liked this the most out of all of them; Len versus everyone else in a good old-fashioned bout of kick-the-can hide and seek.
【第6回MMD杯本選】俺の嫁がこんなに可愛いわけがない【初音ミク】 (Miku/Kaito/Rin, OreImo Parody)
I have no idea if this MMD remake of the OreImo opening is even vaguely accurate, as I haven't seen the show and can't find the OP anywhere on Youtube. Nicovideo sure seems to like it, though, and Floor will probably kill me if I don't include it, and I do have to admit that kz/livetune's 'Irony' is a catchy number. (Personally, I preferred Hachune's DDR version here.)
Other:
【第6回MMD杯本選】東方タイムクライシス うどんげシナリオ (Touhou, Time Crisis Parody)
The clear winner of the Cup for the first half - until El Shaddai blew it out of the water mercilessly - is a direct continuation of previous Touhou/Time Crisis mashups in exactly the same style. Well-made with a lot of little touches direct from the games, it plays the parody pretty straight... at least until the bosses show up.
【第6回MMD杯本選】霊夢とリンでボーラーレ♪【萌】 (Vocaloid/Touhou, Volare Parody)
Rin and Reimu put on silly mustaches and sing Volare with exaggerated movements and it is one of the best damn videos this Cup. There you have it. A Crazy Frog for a new age.
【第6回MMD杯本選】 Are you ready for feel? (Everyone, Music)
There's some plot in there somewhere, but you know what? You can pretty much safely skip right ahead to 1:20 and watch every MMD model imaginable getting down with their funky selves. By the same guy who did A Little Less Conversation, this is fun and furious and not trying to be anything other than a laugh.
【第6回MMD杯本選】Extreme (Everyone, Action)
Embracing the spirit and the themes of the competition more than possibly any other video, this is a surprisingly effective display of a whole bunch of parkour and action scenes. It's not the best ever animation, but there's something fun about how it just blasts out like there's no tomorrow. Miku vs. Mokou is arguably the best bit.
【第6回MMD杯本選】Life is Like a Boat【伊織＆フリーザ】 (Dragonball Z/Idolmaster, Music)
Words can't even begin to describe how happy I am to see Freiza just letting himself go. I-I'm not crying, I'm just... just a little overwhelmed, okay...
【第6回MMD杯本選】 ＧＲＡＺＥ ＣＯＭＢＡＴ 【東方】 (Touhou, Ace Combat Parody)
Ace Combat trailers fill me with joy; they're the epitome of ridiculous film-like storytelling combined with compelling music and a whole lot of barrel roll. Now there are Touhous in it as well. If you do not cry a manly tear at the audio alone, or at Tenchi and Youmu swordcutting missiles left and right, I feel very sorry for you.
【第6回MMD杯本選】あのウサギがごはんのじかん (Elder Gods, Oh God)
This is a terrible video and I am a terrible person for linking it. What starts off as a delightful little romping dance by Hello Kitty turns into something quite terrible at the minute mark, and then the music goes all wrong and Super Mario World will never be the same and oh god. Oh god.
【第6回MMD杯本選】インテルのＣＭが凄すぎる件を逆輸入 (Touhou, Intel Parody)
As much as I might dislike the models - for rather obvious reasons once the video starts, this is not exactly safe for work - I can't deny the skill behind this fantastic parody of a recent Intel Processor advert where characters leap from application to application in a spy chase. Comparison video with the original here.
Edit:
【第6回MMD杯本選】-DDR-神速ステップ- (Miku, ... Ac... tion)
Whoop I forgot this one. PRO DDR with one hell of a buildup.
The themes for this cup were 'E', 'emotions / feelings' and 'rising / growing'. Good luck finding them in some of these videos. On balance, there were less music videos and more 'action' or day-to-day-life videos this Cup - as such, those of you who haven't looked at the primer post on their general characterisation might want to refresh your memory. I'm going to leave producer tags off this post, as I don't want to inflate the taglist too much, and many producers here are one-offs.
【第6回MMD杯本選】恋天使ルシフェル
The absolute best of show can only go to this ridiculous, slapstick-filled twist on El Shaddai. Flawless in comic timing and animation quality, this features everything from Enoch's repeated deaths at the hands of an endless drop, Lucifel pimping out, and a heartjerker of an ending.
Vocaloid Music Videos:
Anything Vocaloid-only that is primarily set to music, where the music drives the focus.
【第6回MMD杯本選】初音ミクPV『ハートブレイカー』 (Heartbreaker, Miku)
Don't get me wrong - as music videos go, this is certainly a very good one, clean and crisp and well-animated. But for being the music video that performed best in the Cup, it feels maybe a little empty; no Chaining Intention, no masses of characters or effects. It felt a little boring.
【第6回MMD杯本選】BAD【Michael Jackson】 (Everyone)
A Michael Jackson MAD has practically become a prerequisite for every cup. While this version of a highly recognizable hit isn't as striking as last cup's Marisa Jackson - there's a lot more going on on-screen and it's easier to lose track of it all - it's still pretty great, and I feel an obligation to link it.
【第6回MMD杯本選】ローリンガール「転がってみた」（full) (Mini Miku)
Veteran fans may remember my once linking this really adorable hand-drawn animation of Miku rolling and flipping and spinning her way down a hill to a happier Rolling Girl ending. Well, here's the MMD version, which I find as heartening as the original. If that weren't enough... here is the astounding video of a guy doing motion capture for it.
【第6回MMD杯本選】The world that I wanted【巡音ルカオリジナル】 (Luka)
Poor Luka never seems to do very well in MMD Cups, or even in regular MMD videos, partially due to a lack of decent models. Let's make up for that with a powerful rock video and a postapocalyptic Luka angsting at herself with some Band Edition drums and Palette-ish sound thrown in. Tremendously slick.
【第6回MMD杯本選】取り外し可能人体 (Kaito)
Kaito busts out moves like crazy in this chaotic trance number. Already impressive dance maneuvers start to get really, really trippy when they start detaching pieces of themselves, ending with something that looks a lot like it could have been a Daft Punk video.
【第6回MMD杯本選】COIL A CIRCLE OF VOCALOIDS (Everyone)
We're into full on futuristic dystopia mode with this jam-packed rock video, with the forces of Vocaloid taking on the forces of Evil Miku in a ruined city when they're not mooning about the nature of the afterlife instead. It's more for the action than the music, given the instrumental nature of the sound, but it fits nicely.
【第6回MMD杯本選】EASY ACTION【MikuMikuDance】 (Kaito/Len/Nel)
I loved this video from the moment I saw Kaito and Len on top of a skyscraper, being INCREDIBLY SERIOUS while wearing the most stupid sunglasses possible, but there's more to enjoy than that. Try to watch it out of economy hours - the speed the landscape moves and the sheer size being played with is very impressive for MMD.
【第6回MMD杯本選】 LIFE 【MMD-PV】 (Petite Miku)
Man, Lat versions of the smaller robots weird me out even more than the Lat normal ones do. Be that as it may, LIFE is a catchy song - a club-pop affair that really, really wants to be ambient happy music and isn't heavy on the senses, with a shiny PV almost up to the level of producers such as wachamaru.
【第6回MMD杯本選】-TheBeautifulWorld- (Miku)
Civ 5's theme tune, the first game music to ever win a Grammy, is paired up with a seriously show-off MMD video. Using no robots whatsoever until the very end, it seeks to just make the environments as breathtaking as possible with a variety of postprocessing and effects. Absolutely stunning work, and a great and unique idea.
【第6回MMD杯本選】セクシーなシテヤンヨのこっち向いてBaby (Shiteyanyo)
Shiteyanyo is so moe.
Vocaloid Other:
Anything else Vocaloid-only.
【第6回MMD杯本選】モンスターハンターＭＭＤ (Miku/Teto/Defoko/Rin, Humour)
Mashing together every RPG parody it can possibly get its hands upon, this video's a little scrappy but has a lot of heart. One of the major winners of the Cup, it's worth watching despite the amount of dialogue, as many of the puns and references are purely sight-based.
【第6回MMD杯本選】億千万コンサート (Everyone, Okkusenman Parody/Humour)
Easily one of my favorite videos of the bunch, an orchestral Okkusenman recital goes terribly wrong when Len shows up late, Rin gets jealous, and everyone begins to fight, but Meiko and Luka soldier on regardless. I can't begin to describe how well this is integrated into the music - just watch it and witness the glory.
【第6回MMD杯本選】アイスミクライマーちび (Miku/Rin, Humour)
Ice Mikuclimbers is a great take on the old Nintendo games, crossing over a couple of the ice-themed classics of the time. Done by the same guy who did the tower climbing video last Cup, you might expect it to rapidly devolve into silliness, and you'd be right at about the point when Solid Snake turns up to give friendly advice and a rocket launcher.
【第6回MMD杯本選】ミクさん実験室 (Miku/Takoluka, Humour)
So, you know that experiment where you put a monkey and some tools in a room with an out-of-reach banana, to see if he can figure out how to use one to get the other? How about Vocaloids? Poor Takoluka. :(
【第6回MMD杯本選】 感染～Epidemic～ (Everyone, Action)
Vocaloids infected with viruses makes as good an excuse as any for some well-animated martial arts action and movie-like plotlines. It's all very melodramatic and silly, but a good watch: Kaito's Icecalibur alone almost makes it worth the price of entry.
【第6回MMD杯本選】ちょっと構ってほしかったんだ・・・ (Miku/Neru, Action)
A follow-up to last cup's 'Neru and Miku try to blow the hell out of each other while flying around' video, this one's been made a whole lot more striking with the addition of MME aftereffects to spice it up. Very smoothly animated, with lots of volleys of macross missiles and punching thereof.
【第6回MMD杯本選】ちびとぷち (Everyone/Minis, Daaaaw)
There's more than a few videos this Cup dealing with the child versions of the characters, particularly Mini Miku and Petite Miku and their sibling ... siblingness, but I think I liked this the most out of all of them; Len versus everyone else in a good old-fashioned bout of kick-the-can hide and seek.
【第6回MMD杯本選】俺の嫁がこんなに可愛いわけがない【初音ミク】 (Miku/Kaito/Rin, OreImo Parody)
I have no idea if this MMD remake of the OreImo opening is even vaguely accurate, as I haven't seen the show and can't find the OP anywhere on Youtube. Nicovideo sure seems to like it, though, and Floor will probably kill me if I don't include it, and I do have to admit that kz/livetune's 'Irony' is a catchy number. (Personally, I preferred Hachune's DDR version here.)
Other:
【第6回MMD杯本選】東方タイムクライシス うどんげシナリオ (Touhou, Time Crisis Parody)
The clear winner of the Cup for the first half - until El Shaddai blew it out of the water mercilessly - is a direct continuation of previous Touhou/Time Crisis mashups in exactly the same style. Well-made with a lot of little touches direct from the games, it plays the parody pretty straight... at least until the bosses show up.
【第6回MMD杯本選】霊夢とリンでボーラーレ♪【萌】 (Vocaloid/Touhou, Volare Parody)
Rin and Reimu put on silly mustaches and sing Volare with exaggerated movements and it is one of the best damn videos this Cup. There you have it. A Crazy Frog for a new age.
【第6回MMD杯本選】 Are you ready for feel? (Everyone, Music)
There's some plot in there somewhere, but you know what? You can pretty much safely skip right ahead to 1:20 and watch every MMD model imaginable getting down with their funky selves. By the same guy who did A Little Less Conversation, this is fun and furious and not trying to be anything other than a laugh.
【第6回MMD杯本選】Extreme (Everyone, Action)
Embracing the spirit and the themes of the competition more than possibly any other video, this is a surprisingly effective display of a whole bunch of parkour and action scenes. It's not the best ever animation, but there's something fun about how it just blasts out like there's no tomorrow. Miku vs. Mokou is arguably the best bit.
【第6回MMD杯本選】Life is Like a Boat【伊織＆フリーザ】 (Dragonball Z/Idolmaster, Music)
Words can't even begin to describe how happy I am to see Freiza just letting himself go. I-I'm not crying, I'm just... just a little overwhelmed, okay...
【第6回MMD杯本選】 ＧＲＡＺＥ ＣＯＭＢＡＴ 【東方】 (Touhou, Ace Combat Parody)
Ace Combat trailers fill me with joy; they're the epitome of ridiculous film-like storytelling combined with compelling music and a whole lot of barrel roll. Now there are Touhous in it as well. If you do not cry a manly tear at the audio alone, or at Tenchi and Youmu swordcutting missiles left and right, I feel very sorry for you.
【第6回MMD杯本選】あのウサギがごはんのじかん (Elder Gods, Oh God)
This is a terrible video and I am a terrible person for linking it. What starts off as a delightful little romping dance by Hello Kitty turns into something quite terrible at the minute mark, and then the music goes all wrong and Super Mario World will never be the same and oh god. Oh god.
【第6回MMD杯本選】インテルのＣＭが凄すぎる件を逆輸入 (Touhou, Intel Parody)
As much as I might dislike the models - for rather obvious reasons once the video starts, this is not exactly safe for work - I can't deny the skill behind this fantastic parody of a recent Intel Processor advert where characters leap from application to application in a spy chase. Comparison video with the original here.
Edit:
【第6回MMD杯本選】-DDR-神速ステップ- (Miku, ... Ac... tion)
Whoop I forgot this one. PRO DDR with one hell of a buildup.