Piko Utatane

Utatane Piko (歌手音ピコ) is the first Vocaloid from Sony Music Distribution and uses the Vocaloid2 engine. He is currently the only Vocaloid to have appeared from Sony. He was released on December 8, 2010.

Appearance
Utatane Piko's hairstyle is almost identical to the real Piko's hairstyle, the only difference being an ahoge on top of the head that is shaped like the letter "P". The white hair color is likely inspired by depicted artworks of the singer.

His design incorporates the guitar.

Etymology
His surname, "Utatane" means "sound of singer" while "Piko" is the name of a popular Nico Nico Douga singer called Piko; in other words, his name means "sound of singer Piko".

Marketing
Though he has a standard licensing agreement, Sony have held a tight copyright control on how his voicebank may be used. This was demonstrated with his demo when Sony announced they would not give permission for his vocals to be uploaded from the demo version. There was no merchandise given for him and he seemed to rely only on his provider's (Piko) popularity and links with the Vocaloid fandom. He was the only Japanese Vocaloid 2 to be made "download only" at time of release. Utatane Piko's portrayal is that of a teenage/young male singer.

Popularity
In the Japanese fandom, he is currently amongst the lesser used Vocaloids, although he has overall seen more usage than the previous male released in 2010 such as Gachapoid. Part of his usage problem is owed to being released next to the release of the Kagamine Append, with the Kagamine's grabbing much of the attention from him as a result, he wasn't as popular as the Kagamines and the Crypton Future Media vocaloids.

An independent Vocaloid search on Nico Nico Douga revealed that most Vocaloids had less than 1,000 videos uploaded on Nico Nico Douga in between July 1 and December 15 2011 with Piko falling into that category as well.

Trivia

 * SF-A2 miki's voice provider, Miki Furukawa, works for Ki/oon records who are owned by Sony and is the same group Utatane Piko's provider Piko comes from.
 * Utatane Piko was also the youngest Japanese male Vocaloid to actually be voiced by a male vocalist prior toVY2.
 * Fans often are divided on their opinions of Piko's eyes and their colour. Some say he is Heterochromia iridumwith his left eye being blue and his right green. Some fail to even notice the different coloured eyes.

Notable for...

 * First Vocaloid produced by Sony
 * First male Vocaloid by Sony
 * First download only Vocaloid

ReferencesEdit

 * 1) ↑ [1] Vocaloidism - New Vocaloid "Utatane Piko" Announced!
 * 2) ↑ [2] Youtube - Piko's cover of minato(Ryuusei-P)'s magnet
 * 3) ↑ link

External linksEdit
Official : Other : Fandom :
 * Kioon: Piko
 * Ki/oon Records
 * Sony Music Group
 * Piko's Official Site
 * Utatane Piko fanart DeviantArt / Pixiv / Piapro
 * Utatane Piko models on MikuMikuDance wiki
 * Utatane Piko derivatives on Fanloid wiki