Hatsune Miku no Shoushitsu
The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

This was my first Light novel and I'm glad I read it. Adapting an entire novel from one 4 minute song sounds like it would be rushed but it's not. Besides Miku we get introduced to some other great characters that really bring the story together. If you are a Vocaloid fan I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Story: there are some great moments that were absolutely amazing. And there are times where it made me cry. The story really go's deep in to what the original song was about and I really like that.

Art: even though there it is a Light novel there is ... at least one picture per chapter that gives you an image on what is going on.

Characters: the cast of characters are enjoyable and I love how they interact with Miku. I feel like the story comes together we'll because of the characters.

Enjoyment: I felt all kinds of emotions that I haven't felt while reading a novel. It is fairly easy to read and a lot of the chapters are very enjoyable. Especially because I know the song. But I feel like it would still be enjoyable if you haven't listened to it.

The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku is easily the most bizarre light novel I have read in my life. I had already listened to the song this story is based on before going in and I can easily say that the song could have NEVER prepared me for the category five hurricane I was about to walk into. The story starts out being very typical as a rather generic school life light novel with the only real difference being that it takes place in university rather than high school and one of the main characters in an AI. Due to the simplicity, I found myself getting ... bored and stopped reading for about six months before finally bothering to pick it up again. I was very disappointed in the chapter in which Miku and her collage student caretaker go to Harajuku due to it having no traits in story differentiating it from your typical shopping mall when the real Harajuku is very unique in it's style and culture. Right after that chapter, though, this story flies off the hinges into making no sense in the most hilarious way imaginable. This at least pulled me out of my hibernation long enough to laugh my butt off at some of the ridiculous concepts. The ending to this book is a complete masterpiece and you can only truly find its unintentional hilarity after sitting through the first two thirds. I also found it kind of funny how two of the story's "main characters" are completely pointless until they're used as plot devices in the last third of the book. The main guy's little sister didn't even really have to exist at all because she's only important in the post script scene, which I almost didn't even read. If you are a person like me who enjoys reading terrible stories for the giggles, I can't recommend this book enough. Trust me, sitting through the slog of the beginning will pay off. However, if you are a Vocaloid fan and are looking for a song adaptation that will entertain you, I wouldn't waste my time on this. Bad End Night: Insane Party and The Story of Evil are better Vocaloid dramas to fill your time with.

Surely I can't be the only one who got clickbaited into reading this thinking it's some sort of obscure crossover with Haruhi, right?

Let me start with saying that I'm not a fan of Miku and not really interested in vocaloids in general. I've heard like 3 or 5 song (and the one this novel is based on wasn't among them) and that's it, so I was going into this practically blind. If you're a Miku fan, maybe you will enjoy this more than I did. And maybe not.

While reading The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku, it felt like it wasn't written to be a literary work, ... it felt like it was written as a product. A stock of paper with Miku's face slapped on it to ensure the sales. The plot is bland and boring. First half of the book is just completely uninteresting slice of life-y of boy who got to the guide of real life to an android because of some convenient testing of his personality that was done unknown to him. I imagine his lack of character si done on purpose to ease the self-inserting into a Miku dating fantasy. It really says a lot when the least one-dimensional character in the story is Hatsune Miku.

Then, about half way through the novel the author probably realized that the story sucks ass and is boring as hell, so he tweaked the genres and changed the story without any sort of foreshadowing. From this point on, the novel no longer reads like a boring slice of life story. It now reads as a boring action movie for young kids. The plot is stupid and riddled with coincidences (it's so handy that the dj friend also happens to be a genius hacker thanks to which the gang of good guys can enter the building of the bad guys). The villain is laughable and the finale leaves no impression. The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku is truly a soulless product from start to the end.

Also, some small pet peeves:
1) Considering how the protagonist and Miku are introduced to everyone as cousins as part of the cover, why is everyone so quick to assume they are dating or want to be in a relationship? Did the author forget the cover he wrote himself for those characters and which the other characters were supposed to believe?
2) There's a weird amount of "bruh she's only 16 that would be illegal" comments through the mouths of the characters in this novel. It feels so much out of the place I wonder if wasn't added just as a part of localization of the English release. With how unnatural it feels in the overall flow of the novel I also have to wonder if it was done because of desperate attempt to claim a moral high ground, or it the age was mentioned so much because of its fetishization.

For an afterword, after I've finished the novel, I went to listen to this song to get the "full experience". It's actually awful. I couldn't make it past half of it as it was giving me a headache. My rating of this novel may be 4/10, but I'm giving 1/10 to the song.