Chibi Mikusan
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"I'm in love with its unique cuteness!" |
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Chibi Mikusan is what you get when you cross Vocaloid with Azumanga Daioh (Or any Moe-themed 4koma for that matter). Chibi Mikusan is a webcomic that narrates the humorous everyday life of Chibi-Miku and the rest of the Vocaloid gang in a series of silent, often non sequitur strips. Illustrated by a Japanese artist named Minami, it used to be a gag per day webcomic series until recently, where new strips are released erratically (which can range from once every few days to a whole month). Though it is not the first Vocaloid 4koma series nor the most original, it is arguably the longest running out there with a small but dedicated fanbase.
Known for its inconsistent character designs, being disgustingly adorable and easy to understand despite the lack of dialogue (thus enjoyed by both Japanese and English speaking fans alike). Can be found in Minami's 'site here and his PIXIV page. A Danbooru archive with translation notes can also be found here.
Tropes used in Chibi Mikusan include:
- A Day in the Limelight -- Yowane Haku gets a special "DX" strip that spans 8 panels long. It deals with her getting a surprise birthday celebration. D'aaaaaaaaaawwwwwww~!!!
- Other characters can also take center stage for brief moments, changing the title of those particular strips (Chibi Neru-san, Meguri-neesan, etc.)
- All Love Is Unrequited -- A Running Gag in the series. Characters are either Oblivious to Love or just plain dense.
- Aloof Big Brother -- Kagamine Len to Chibi-Miku.
- And Then Neko-Miku Was A Stray Cat -- The strange twist in Neko Miku-san.
- Animated Actors -- It's the only explanation how they manage to play as themselves (or each other) in the Project Diva games.
- Animated Adaptation -- A short video uploaded on Niconico Douga gives us a taste of what could be done in the future of the series.
- April Fools' Day -- 2010 gave us this fake PlayStation Portable box art.
- Art Evolution -- It's in there, trust us.
- Aside Glance -- Luka turns to the readers at one point and gives a thumbs-up for finally getting brownie points from Chibi-Miku.
- Author Avatar -- Arguably, Kiyone Suzu.
- Berserk Button -- Don't feed Chibi-Suzu anything that tastes awful, if you value your life.
- Alternatively, don't get caught eating anything that was meant for her.
- Also Chibi-Neru, when she takes one snowball too many.
- Big Eater -- Suzu, a Running Gag along with her iron stomach.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows -- Akita Neru.
- Bratty Half Pints -- The Kagamine twins when they were younger. Thankfully Hatsune Miku fixed them.
- Break the Badass -- When Rin found out that Chibi-Teto is an even better gamer than she is. She also straightens up whenever Big Sis Miku is around.
- Bullet Catch -- Luka catches an airborne snowball thrown by Rin... with her bare hands. Cue EPIC SNOWBALL FIGHT.
- Shoot the Bullet -- When Luka and Rin's snowballs clash.
- The Coats Are Off / Let's Get Dangerous -- After Rin realizes that she and Luka are an even match.
- Butt Monkey -- Funny how Len has turned into a bigger Butt Monkey than KAITO in this series...
- The Cameo -- Minami likes to insert some of his original characters in a few strips. Most notable is his own Vocaloid derivative, Kiyone Suzu.
- Christmas Episode -- Featuring Haku in a Sexy Santa Dress.
- Clark Kenting -- Almost nobody recognized Chibi-Neru without her clip-on side-ponytail.
- Cloudcuckoolander -- Chibi-Miku. Thinks of the craziest things (like Teto's doriru-hair).
- Cool Big Sis -- Rin to Chibi-Miku. MEIKO to Hatsune Miku. Luka tries to be this to Chibi-Miku.
- Cosplay Otaku Girl -- MEIKO, but not for herself. Guess who are her favorite victims...
- Crazy Prepared -- Rin.
- Cutesy Name Town -- Vocalotown, home of the quirkiest Vocaloids ever.
- Deadpan Snarker -- And how! For a 4koma series with no dialogue, Rin's snarkiness really shines through!
- Distracted by the Sexy -- Len will never be able to finish World is Mine in Project Diva if he keeps playing as Miku.
- Dojikko -- FL-chan falls flat on her face every few steps.
- Disability Superpower -- Her clumsiness turns into this when she learns how to dodge with it.
- Dragged by the Collar -- Part of Uta's shtick with Momo, whenever she's not twirling her in the air for being silly.
- Chibi-Miku also had to drag Chibi-Suzu away from Haku's shop.
- Dreadful Musician -- Chibi-Suzu. Full stop.
- All There in the Manual -- About Kiyone Suzu's specs. Yes, even her dietary needs.
- Early-Bird Cameo -- MEIKO and KAITO first appeared in a TV drama Chibi-Miku loves to watch. This is way before they're established as Hatsune Miku's caretakers.
- Emotionless Girl -- Ruko and Uta.
- Exact Words: Chibi-Miku's doll's head came off, and she asks Rin to fix it. And she indeed fixed it and said that the head won't come off again. True to her words, the head is fine; but she made it so that only the hair launch off from the head. Nice trolling, Rin, as always.
- Extreme Doormat -- Take a good guess.
- Here's a hint: It's not any of the girls.
- Extreme Omnivore -- When hungry, Chibi-Suzu will eat anything that can pass through her mouth.
- Eyes Always Shut -- Momone Momo, so far... except for one time Defoko dragged her away from Chibi-Miku.
- Fan Girl -- Chibi-Teto to KAITO.
- Fan Nickname -- Some English fans like to call Luka by her most prominent trait: Pedoluka.
- Utane Uta may be better known to fans as Defoko.
- Friend to All Children -- Momone Momo is probably this. Pedoluka is a creepier version.
- Fun Personified -- Chibi-Miku. Nothing can get in her way and/or ruin her fun.
- The other chibified characters also count.
- Generation Xerox -- The Hatsune sisters, though Chibi-Miku is a lot more hyperactive than her older sister.
- The Glomp -- For a dog, Hamo strangely likes to attempt to do this with Chibi-Miku and Neru.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl -- MEIKO.
- The Heart -- Haku is the best friend you can ever have. She has managed to rescue Hatsune Miku and Ruko's friendship twice, and is perfectly content with just being in the sidelines.
- Incredibly Lame Pun - "Yowaneko".
- In-Series Nickname -- The titular character. She's only called as such because her older sister probably shares the same name as her. The other chibified characters get to retain their full names.
- Jerkass -- Kagamine Rin to pretty much everyone, but especially to Chibi-Miku.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold -- When no one is looking.
- Lethal Chef -- Hatsune Miku tries to teach Chibi-Teto how to cook. Hilarity Ensues.
- Inverted with FL-chan, whose cooking turns out fine, but she hurts herself while doing so.
- The Load -- Yowaneko, both figuratively and literally. It serves nothing but to creep the other characters out, and when Haku tried to lift it, she threw her back.
- Made of Iron -- Uta and Momo, as demonstrated by jumping out a helicopter and landing feet-first on the ground.
- Megaton Punch -- Defoko to KAITO under orders from MEIKO. Theoretically-speaking, any of the girls can do this to the two guys if they really wanted to.
- Memetic Mutation -- In-universe example: the Not-Quite-Sure-What-This-Thing-Is gained a cult following all thanks to a certain image board. Chibi-Miku, Rin and FL-chan fail to understand this logic.
- Moe -- Oh, so very much.
- Mood Whiplash -- Some story arcs tend to have this, especially those that deal with Hatsune Miku's past.
- No Dialogue Episode -- Almost the entire series.
- Onee-Sama -- Hatsune Miku, the older sister of Chibi-Miku, always with a smile on her face and cares for everyone, especially her little sister.
- Perpetual Smiler -- Hatsune Miku never seems to get angry with her peers... or does she?
- Just don't try to tell Chibi-Miku that Santa isn't real.
- Cat Smile -- Chibi-Suzu's derivative, unless somebody pushes her Berserk Button.
- Running Gag -- It's subtle, but there are a few:
- The Vocaloids' cooking skills.
- Negi-based products.
- Chibi-Neru's fear of dogs, always hurting herself in the head whenever she tries to run away from Hamo.
- "Thing Not Quite Sure What It Is", an ugly mascot-type character that nonetheless has a huge following.
- She's All Grown Up -- Yokune Ruko was introduced (in a flashback, no less!) as Hatsune Miku's childhood friend who moved away. Cue present day Ruko returning...
- Shout-Out -- One of the names Chibi-Miku suggests for Hamo when she first arrives is Negima; this could be a reference to the negi dish, though.
- Something Completely Different -- Neko Miku-san
- Spider Sense -- Luka can sense whenever Chibi-Miku is nearby... even when she's been transformed into a cat!
- Sugar and Ice Personality -- Luka is usually seen as stoic and aloof, but she positively glows whenever she's together with Chibi-Miku. She even blushes just thinking about her.
- Super-Deformed -- Practically everybody, since they're really not up to proportion.
- Supreme Chef -- Kagamine Len, but his skill are hardly praised and his position is currently being threatened by Momone.
- Also Rin to a fault.
- Tareme Eyes -- Teto, FL-chan and Uta.
- Those Two Girls -- Uta and Momo were introduced almost simultaniously, with Uta acting as a foil to Momo's wackiness.
- Luka was also introduced a few strips after FL-chan, and they've been together ever since.
- Tranquil Fury -- What Rin usually does to her brother and Chibi-Miku when they do something to tick her off.
- Dissonant Serenity -- What Hatsune Miku does to keep the Kagamine twins in line. It really creeps them out.
- True Companions -- Chibi-Miku, Chibi-Neru and Chibi-Teto (some fans know these three as the Triple Baka). They are joined by Chibi-Suzu later.
- Also Hatsune Miku, Yowane Haku and Yokune Ruko.
- Tsurime Eyes -- Neru, MEIKO and Luka.
- What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome? -- Uta uses her ultra-fast reflexes to... catch flies (and extremely agile dogs) with her bare hands. Could also be Mundane Utility.
- What If Chibi Miku-san...
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? -- Neru's pursuit of Len is often thwarted by the presence of Team Pet dog Hamo.