Wizards of the Coast has released an original song and music video featuring Japanese virtual icon Hatsune Miku, in a collaboration with Crypton Future Media. The song, which is by the artist Mwk, is called ‘Connected’. The music video shows Hatsune Miku floating around backdrops of artwork from the Kamigawa Neon Dynasty set, throwing Magic cards around (rather carelessly, if we’re being candid).
Wizards teased this collaboration by posting an image of Hatsune Miku holding Magic cards on the official Magic: the Gathering Facebook page on Wednesday evening (or the wee hours of Thursday morning, for UK readers), generating a hubbub of speculation among fans – many expecting a Hatsune Miku-related Secret Lair or Universes Beyond announcement. It wasn’t that, though – to general relief (or disappointment, depending on who you ask), it was this music video instead.
For those not in the know, Hatsune Miku (which translates to “first sound of the future”) is a virtual popstar and Vocaloid voicebank developed by Japanese media company Crypton Future Media. Since her creation in 2007, her synthesised voice has been used in hundreds of thousands of songs, and her anthropomorphised character of a 16-year-old girl with enormous cyan twintails has grown into one of the largest pop culture icons in Japan. Hatsune Miku has starred in anime, rhythm games, and even on a guitar pedal.
She has plenty of fans worldwide too – she’s appeared as a singing hologram beside Lady Gaga, in a music video with Pharrell Williams, and she was set to perform at Coachella 2020, before its cancellation due to Covid-19. It’s also not unusual for Hatsune Miku to pop up in unexpected big-brand cross-promotions like this one with Magic: the Gathering. For instance, in 2013 she appeared in a food delivery app as part of a collaboration with Domino’s pizza.
The Hatsune Miku music video appears to be a continuation of a direction Wizards has been taking in recent years of varied Magic: the Gathering crossovers with other properties. The TCG isn’t just crossing streams with obvious fantasy and sci-fi fare like D&D, Lord of the Rings and Warhammer 40K, but also going for more diverse team-ups, such as crossovers with Fortnite and My Little Pony.
The collaboration is tied to Magic’s upcoming (February 18, mark your calendars) Kamigawa Neon Dynasty set, which is heavily inspired by Japanese culture. Here’s everything we know about Kamigawa Neon Dynasty so far. If you want to know about the other MTG set releases of 2022, check out our guide.