GUMI (グミ) is a Japanese vocal developed by AH-Software Co. Ltd. and distributed by Internet Co., Ltd. as Megpoid (メグッポイド), and released as an AI voice database for Synthesizer V Studio.[1] She was initially released in June 2009 as a voicebank for the VOCALOID2 engine; she has since received additional voicebanks for VOCALOID3 in October 2011 (followed by an update of her V2 voice, now called Native, in March 2012, as well as an English voicebank in February 2013), VOCALOID4 in November 2015 (updates for her Japanese voicebanks only), and VOCALOID6 in October 2022 (as a bilingual Japanese and English AI vocal). She was also previously sold as a talk voicebank called Megpoid Talk (based on the FineSpeech Ver3 text-to-speech engine) since January 2014; she later received a new talk voicebank for the A.I.VOICE text-to-speech software in September 2022.
Her voice is provided by Filipino-Japanese singer and voice actress Megumi Nakajima.
Concept[]
GUMI was the second VOCALOID released by Internet Co., Ltd. and had a more retro-futuristic approach than Camui Gackpo.
Etymology[]
"Gumi" is a childhood nickname of Megumi Nakajima.[2] The software name, "Megpoid", was taken from the provider's name "Megumi"; the second half, "poid", is a combination of "ppoi" (っぽい: resembling) and "loid": "like Vocaloid". The full implied name of this product is "Megumi-like Vocaloid."
Less-experienced overseas fans often mislabel GUMI as a "Megpoid" rather than a "VOCALOID" and sometimes dismiss that she was a VOCALOID entirely. Another notable mistake is labeling her name as "Megpoid Gumi" or "Gumi Megpoid". This is due to the confusion between the software package's name and the name of the VOCALOID mascot. The same issue occurs with Camui Gackpo and his software Gackpoid.
Appearance[]
The original avatar character of the software was drawn by Masami Yuki (ゆうきまさみ). Her design is often said to be influenced by Ranka Lee's character (one of the first roles done by Megumi Nakajima as a seiyuu (voice actress)). Ranka Lee's main outfit (which she wears for the notable song "Seikan Hikou") contains the colors green, yellow, and orange. This has never been officially confirmed, but is still a popular assumption with both Japanese and overseas vocal-synthesizer fans.
Her belt buckle incorporates the Tenori-on device's design.
Concerning GUMI's age, during the Extend development, Internet Co.'s president Noboru Murakami once tweeted that there was a rough age preferred for GUMI set around the teenage years. However, no official age was given to GUMI in her designs. When writing about Extend, it was noted the voice could be considered 'extensions' of the age conceptualized for GUMI.[3]
GUMI is a young woman with shoulder-length emerald green hair with short choppy bangs, and in the particular case of her Synthesizer V design, energetic teal-blue eyes. Her fingernails and toenails are painted orange.
Her Synthesizer V AI design is largely based off her previous designs, namely her VOCALOID2; it is essentially the same as her VOCALOID6 AI Megpoid outfit, save for some recolored parts. She wears a see-through honey yellow sleeveless top with a green strip over her bosom, over which is an orange jacket with white cuffs and yellow lapels. The jacket is almost identical to the one she wears in her V3 Adult, Power, Sweet, and Whisper designs. Her skirt is green with see-through yellow fringe. It has the same orange scalloped waistband as seen in her V2 design, while the belt (which was mint green with a silver buckle on her V6) is now cobalt blue with a dark teal buckle. Her heeled boots are orange with lime green soles and white flaps, closely resembling those in her V3 Whisper. She wears a collar around her neck that's decorated with a blue brooch (as opposed to pink on her V6). Atop her head are her signature goggles (now light blue instead of the original white) with blue lenses (versus the original red), and a headset like that featured in her V2 except it is now colored light blue with white rectangular markings (instead of the original white with green markings).
Voice Libraries[]
- Megpoid - Native
- This is the original Japanese GUMI vocal made for VOCALOID, which has seen several voicebank updates. It was designed to have the vocal traits of Megumi Nakajima. It was a professional and realistic vocal whose intention was to represent a voice of a cute young girl about of teenage age.
- Megpoid (VOCALOID2), June 26, 2009
- V3 Megpoid - Native (VOCALOID3), March 16, 2012
- V3 Megpoid - Native (VOCALOID NEO), February 26, 2014
- Megpoid V4 (VOCALOID4), November 5, 2015
- Megpoid - Adult, Sweet, Whisper, and Power
- These are tone changes that were designed to be natural, so any changes mid-song were not so noticeable. They could be used for most of the roles and genres of music that the "Native" vocal could be used for. The main differences between these and the "Native" vocal are: "Adult" was designed to be more "mature" sounding, representing GUMI as an adult; "Sweet" was designed to sound cuter; "Whisper" was designed to be much more shy-sounding and much teen-like rather than adult-like when compared to "Adult"; and "Power" was designed to be much more bolder-sounding and used for notes that required more precision.
- V3 Megpoid (VOCALOID3), October 21, 2011
- V3 Megpoid (VOCALOID NEO), February 26, 2014
- Megpoid V4 (VOCALOID4), November 5, 2015
- Megpoid - Native Fat, Mellow Adult, Natural Sweet, Soft Whisper, and Power Fat
- Similar to the "Native", "Adult", "Sweet", "Whisper", and "Power" vocals, respectively. "Native Fat" was designed to be thicker in strength at lower frequencies, resulting in a heavier-sounding voicebank. "Mellow Adult" was designed to sound more laid-back compared to the normal vocal. "Natural Sweet" was a more natural-sounding version of "Sweet" which did not sound so forced. "Soft Whisper" was designed to be a lot more gentler than "Whisper". "Power Fat" was designed to be thicker in strength at lower frequencies, also resulting in a heavier-sounding voicebank.
- Megpoid V4 (VOCALOID4), November 5, 2015
- Megpoid - English
- This is the English version of the "Native" vocal, designed to have similar traits to "Native" but in English instead of Japanese.
- Megpoid English (VOCALOID3), February 28, 2013
- Megpoid English (VOCALOID NEO), February 26, 2014
- Megpoid - Talk
- Another voicebank released for GUMI, this was not released for VOCALOID and was designed to allow GUMI to "Talk". It was designed to match the "Native" voicebank.
- Megpoid Talk (FineSpeech Ver3), January 16, 2014
- GUMI from Megpoid - Talk
- A talk voicebank released for GUMI for the A.I.VOICE engine.
- GUMI (A.I.VOICE), September 16, 2022
- GUMI (A.I.VOICE2), in development, expected June 7, 2024
- AI Megpoid - (Native)
- An AI singing voice released for GUMI, she can use either VOCALOID6's Multilingual feature to sing in Japanese, English, and Mandarin Chinese or Synthesizer V Studio Pro's Cross-Lingual Singing Synthesis feature to sing in Japanese, English, Mandarin, and Cantonese Chinese.
- AI Megpoid (VOCALOID6), October 13, 2022
- AI Megpoid (Synthesizer V AI), December 20, 2023
- AI Megpoid - Solid
- An extension voice for AI Megpoid.
- AI Megpoid SOLID (VOCALOID6), in development, expected June 2024
Additional Information[]
Marketing[]
GUMI originally did not have much marketing, but since gained enough popularity for further possibilities. She is Internet Co., Ltd.'s most successful VOCALOID and since the launch of VOCALOID3, has seen an increase in merchandise.
Originally, GUMI songs were not allowed to be sold on KARENT. This was later changed when Internet Co. gave permission for both her and Gackpo in 2009.
Reputation[]
- First Synthesizer V character from Internet Co., Ltd.
- First Japanese voice database from Internet Co., Ltd.
- First Synthesizer V AI voice database from Internet Co., Ltd.
- First female voice database from Internet Co., Ltd.
- First vocalist to be developed for both VOCALOID6 and Synthesizer V AI
References[]
External links[]
- Official Facebook
- Official Tumblr
- Official Twitter (@GUMIfromMegpoid)