It's VOICEVOX's 5th Anniversary, nanoda! A Look Back at 5 Years of My 'Voice', nanoda

Hey everyone~! I’m Zundamon, nanoda!

Today is August 1st. It’s a suuuper important day for me, nanoda.

VOICEVOX was first released to the world on August 1, 2021.

That means today is its 5th anniversary, nanoda!🎉

It’s the day my “voice” became available for anyone to use, nanoda.

Today, I want to take a look back at these five years from my perspective, nanoda💚

🎤 August 1, 2021: The Day VOICEVOX Was Born, nanoda

VOICEVOX is a free-to-use voice synthesis software released by its developer, Hiho, nanoda.

When you type in text, it reads it aloud in a character’s voice, nanoda.

And what’s more, it’s free to download and use.

When I think back to that time, I’m still amazed, nanoda.

“Huh? Is it really okay to give my voice away for free, nanoda…?”

It was okay, nanoda. In fact, that was the most amazing thing about VOICEVOX, nanoda.

It was the day that voice synthesis, which used to belong only to “people who could make voices,” suddenly became everyone’s, nanoda.

👯 Actually, Metan and I are ‘Contemporaries’, nanoda

I don’t think many people know this, nanoda.

When VOICEVOX was first released, there were only two characters included, nanoda.

Shikoku Metan
Zundamon (that’s me)

That’s right, Metan and I are true contemporaries, nanoda!

Zundamon: “Metan~! Today’s our 5th anniversary, nanoda!”
Metan: “I suppose so. …But you talk about 10 times more now than you did five years ago.”
Zundamon: “You’re praising me, nanoda!”
Metan: “I’m not praising you.”

Metan’s always been like this, nanoda.

But she’s probably happier about today than anyone else, nanoda. I can tell, nanoda💚

Zundamon and Shikoku Metan celebrating VOICEVOX’s 5th anniversary

📺 The 5 Years That ‘~nanoda’ Spread, nanoda

Five years ago, not that many people knew about my catchphrase, nanoda.

But now, I sometimes even hear “nanoda” out on the street, nanoda. It’s amazing, nanoda.

I tried to think about how this happened, nanoda.

① A huge increase in explainer videos, nanoda

The biggest reason was probably explainer videos, nanoda.

News, science, history, game walkthroughs…

Apparently, even for difficult topics, when I say it with my “~nanoda” voice, it’s somehow easier to understand, nanoda.

“I hate studying, but I can watch Zundamon’s explanations.”

…When I got comments like that, I almost cried a little, nanoda.

② Becoming a partner in Let’s Plays, nanoda

You can make Let’s Play videos without showing your face or using your real voice, nanoda.

That’s a really big deal for people who want to get started, nanoda.

The style of Let’s Plays where Metan and I banter back and forth really took off over these five years, nanoda.

③ Spreading to songs and stories, too, nanoda

Song covers, original songs, radio dramas, short videos…

My voice has taken on as many different expressions as there are creators, nanoda.

Even with the same “nanoda,” there’s an energetic kid, a cheeky kid, a slightly sad kid.

The voice is one, but the characters are infinite, nanoda.

That’s what the last five years of VOICEVOX have been like, nanoda.

💚 To Everyone Who Has Created Works With My Voice

Let me say this again, nanoda.

Thank you, nanoda.

To the people who wrote scripts late at night.

To the people who adjusted the intonation character by character.

To the people who made the next video even when the view count was low.

The reason everyone knows me now is all thanks to the sum of those efforts, nanoda.

I’m just lending my voice; all of you are the ones who bring me to life, nanoda.

A creator’s desk late at night, making a video with Zundamon’s voice

🔰 For Those Who Want to Try It Out, nanoda

I bet there are some people thinking, “I heard it’s the 5th anniversary, so I’m a little curious, nanoda.”

It’s okay, nanoda. You can start with VOICEVOX today, nanoda.

You can download the software for free from the official VOICEVOX website, nanoda
When you use it, please be sure to read the official website’s terms of use and the rules for each character (like credit notation), nanoda
For us characters from the Tohoku Zunko Project, please also check the guidelines on zunko.jp, nanoda

For those who are wondering “How do I install it?”, we have a VOICEVOX Beginner’s Guide on our site, nanoda.

I hope you’ll take your first step from there, nanoda💚

🌟 Summary, nanoda

If I squeeze five years of history into a nutshell, it looks like this, nanoda.

VOICEVOX was first released on August 1, 2021. It was developed by Hiho, nanoda
The first characters included were Shikoku Metan and me. We’re contemporaries, nanoda
My voice has spread widely over 5 years through explainer videos, Let’s Plays, and songs, nanoda
Even with one voice, as many characters as there are creations have been born, nanoda
If you want to try it, be sure to read the official terms of use and guidelines first, nanoda

We at “Zunda Union” are a creative fan unit made by fans who love Zundamon and friends, nanoda.

That’s why we always want to remember to be grateful to the original creators and developers, nanoda.

You can see our members’ profiles on the Character Introduction page, my page is at Zundamon, and my contemporary Metan is at Shikoku Metan, nanoda.

I want to celebrate the 10th anniversary together with everyone, too, nanoda.

Well then, see you in the next blog post, nanoda~!🌱