Culture
Pokémon × Hatsune Miku: ryo unveils two new music videos
"1996" tells the story of the search for Mew, while "LEGENDS" shows Miku as the singer of a Pokémon band.
The animated music video "1996" by ryo (supercell) was released on October 23, 2026, as part of the Pokémon music project "Project VOLTAGE High↑". The song combines Hatsune Miku with a story about children who complete their Pokédex and search for the rare Pokémon Mew. One day earlier, the project released another new music video by the same artist, "LEGENDS".
"1996" tells a story about the beginnings of Pokémon
For "1996", ryo wrote the lyrics, composed the song and handled the arrangement. Together with the Vocaloid producer Machigerita, he also developed the original idea for the video's plot. The story follows several children trying to find Pokémon and fill their Pokédex. Well-known creatures such as Pikachu, Smettbo and Mew also appear.
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Shunsuke Takarai directs the music video and is responsible for character design, storyboard and staging. The animation is produced by Studio Hare. The production is led by BLUE RIGHTS under Makoto Kimura. The Japanese magazine KAI-YOU reports in detail on the creatives involved and on how Pokémon game motifs interact with the animation.
Second video "LEGENDS" shows Miku with a Pokémon band
"LEGENDS" was released on October 22 and musically draws on "Pokémon LEGENDS Z-A". The music video shows Hatsune Miku performing with a band of Pokémon such as Riffex and Gortrom. It was directed by Yasuhiro Arafune.
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On the official Project VOLTAGE website, ryo describes the two pieces as different perspectives: from his point of view, "LEGENDS" is aimed at children, while "1996" appeals to memories of the now-adult generation. Placing the two videos side by side contrasts the recent development of the game series with its origins.
Music and animation remain the core of the project
Project VOLTAGE began in 2023 as a collaboration between Pokémon and Hatsune Miku. It combines music by Vocaloid artists with specially designed illustrations and animated videos. aninew.de also recently reported on another Pokémon music project with Masayoshi Oishi.
Further animated videos from the Vocaloid scene appear regularly, including "Dreamcore" by john with Hatsune Miku. The two new Project VOLTAGE videos are available on the official YouTube channel.