On April 24 and 25, 2024, I went on a trip to see one of the concerts of my dreams: Miku Expo. About a week before this, I saw people online complaining about some aspects, specifically how they use a computer screen instead of projections for the performers. Despite this, I kept my spirits high and didn’t let their opinions ruin it for me. Though, now that I have seen it for myself, were these complaints warranted?

For some background context, the singers in Miku Expo are not real people. Instead, the voices are synthesizers, and the characters performing are projections of digital models. Despite the main draw of the concert being virtual characters, there is also a four person live band. The singers in the concert are essentially designs made to portray the synthetic voices, all six of them being used with the Vocaloid software. Vocaloid itself is a vocal synthesizer, and though the singers in the concert aren’t the only ones to exist within that program, they are certainly some of the most popular.

The Vocaloids within this concert specifically are Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin & Kagamine Len, Megurine Luka, KAITO, and MEIKO. These Vocaloids were developed by the company Crypton Future Media, often abbreviated to CFM. Miku is one of the most famous of all Vocaloids, even those outside of CFM’s copyright, which is why her name is literally in the concert title. My personal favorite is KAITO, and I have been a die-hard fan of his since 2018. One of the few merch pieces I got from the concert was a rubber wristband with his name on it. I’ll be honest, if I had the chance, I’d wear it all the time.

For me, his inclusion was the main draw and would always be the main draw. I initially wanted to go to this concert just to see him in all his digital glory. Now that I have, I could honestly say I have lived a fulfilled life. Once his segment in the concert was up, I thought that I could die happy right then and there. The fact that they used a screen and not a hologram didn’t bother me in the slightest.

I’ve seen videos of these kinds of concerts online, so I had an idea of what to expect, but being there in person was so much more enjoyable. If I could, I would watch it again and again.

The bottom line is, if this is your first concert, especially of this type, I would absolutely recommend it. It was pretty loud, and there was a lot of bass and vibrations, but it’s relatively manageable. Despite the use of a screen instead of a projection, I had a fun time. It was absolutely worth it, and I can say that with absolute certainty.