is a Japanese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 written and illustrated by Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 artist

Mangaka

is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

 Kei. The manga was originally based on the Vocaloid 2

Vocaloid

is a singing synthesizer application, with its signal processing part developed through a joint research project between the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and Japan's Yamaha Corporation, who backed the development financially—and later developed the software into the commercial product...

 character Hatsune Miku

Hatsune Miku

is a singing synthesizer application with a female persona, developed by Crypton Future Media. It uses Yamaha Corporation's Vocaloid 2 synthesizing technology. The name of the character comes from a fusion of the Japanese for , and future , referring to her position as the first of Crypton's...

, but came to feature other Vocaloid 1 and 2 characters as the series progressed. The manga was serialized in Jive

Jive (publisher)

is a Japanese publishing company in Shinjuku, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan and was established on May 12, 2003. In 2004, the company sold its stock to Poplar Publishing and now Jive is an affiliate of that company....

's shōnen manga magazine Comic Rush

Comic Rush

is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine, published by Jive. The first issue was published on January 26, 2004; the magazine is sold monthly on the twenty-sixth.-List of serialized titles:*Busin 0: Wizardry Alternative NEO*Casshern Sins*Clannad...

 between the January 2008 and December 2010 issues. However, the characters and settings depicted in this manga are not official.

Plot

Each chapter in Maker Unofficial Hatsune Mix is a self contained story and there is often little to connect two chapters together. Despite this, they still form a rough chronological order, taking into account the first appearances of the different characters. The series is set in Sapporo, Japan. The characters share personality traits that were influenced by the Vocaloid fan community. Items and food associated with the Vocaloids are also depicted. Kasane Teto

Utau

Utau is a Japanese singing synthesizer application created by Ameya/Ayame. This program is similar to the Vocaloid software, with the difference that it is freeware instead of being released under third party licensing.-Overview:In March 2008, Ameya/Ayame released UTAU, a free, advanced support...

 also makes several guest appearances within the series.

Characters

Miku loves nothing more than to sing at every opportunity, but is down to earth in her view on the world and often acts as the voice of reason in the presence of the Kagamine twins. She does her best to be mature and kind, but sometimes slips into childish tendencies. She is headstrong and often will go to stubborn means to get what she wants done (such as getting a new computer or finding out who ruined her music sheets), which can occasionally lead to violence.

Rin is upbeat and vivacious. She looks up to Miku as an older sister, but is more than capable of looking after herself. She likes to fool around with her brother, but is never malicious, and is unable to sing without him. She can hold her feelings well inside her and knows when is the right time to be in a certain manner.

Len is portrayed as being quiet, but ambitious. He tends to take the submissive role in the twins' relationship despite all the bickering they do, although he cannot sing without his sister. He can be timid and apologetic, but most of the time he can drive his ideas down to the letter.

Luka is the calm, but caring member of the Vocaloids who joins in chapter 16 (although she makes a blank-eyed appearance in chapter 15). She is a kind person and gentle to people, although Meiko is jealous of her because of her potential sex appeal and ability to outshine Meiko. Luka has the ability to sing in English, unlike the other Vocaloids. She does, however, have insecurities about her singing once in a while.

Meiko

Meiko is the mother figure of the group and although she does well to look after the younger Vocaloids, she can sometimes have a twisted, sake-induced view of how things should work. Her obsession with being the "idol" of the family and the one with the most sex appeal drives her to obsession. She is a big opportunist.

Kaito

Kaito is the father figure of the group, though not always the greatest role model. He looks after the group's overall interests, which has sometimes caused conflict with Meiko. He does not like the fact that Meiko overly drinks and is upset about his role in the family. He has an obsession with ice cream, causing him at one point to spend all the family's money in the idea of using the ice cream for "business". He considers Miku the closest family he has.

Gackpoid appears as a gangster motorcyclist in chapter 11.

Hachune Miku is a super deformed

Super deformed

Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...

 version of Hatsune Miku who often appears out of nowhere making cameos, upsetting the main characters, and generally getting herself into trouble.

Volume list

Note: The chapter "Abandoned Mix" is not included in volume one, and the orders of chapters in volume two and three are different from that in Comic Rush.

External links

• Comic Rushs official website