It is mentioned that the indexical signs could function as a supportive role to the iconic signs rather than

causing destructive effects to those iconic. Unlike the common understanding about the indexical (e.g. “trace of
author”) is a destroyer to the mimetic iconic strategies, Clarke’s passage stressed much on that iconic features and
indexical features in a signifier do not necessarily contradict but interdependence in terms of delivering the
presence of the signified, in other words, to “assuage the sense of absensence” of the signified (Clarke, 1992).

The intriguing culture of Hatsune Miku, a Japanese software voicebank with anime-liked character image
(Figure 1) as a virtual singer could be raised as a contemporary example of the interdependency of iconic and
indexical modes of a sign. Miku is regarded as a new kind of musical instrument with a specific visual image by
illustration at 2007 when she was released. When come across the sign which points towards the concept/subject
of “Hatsune Miku as a virtual singer”, inevitably, the most representative example should be the songs composed
using the software with the character image drawn in music videos (MV).

As a sign of “Hatsune Miku, a virtual singer”, the iconic modes in the song composed using Miku have
been, undoubtedly and constantly, her anime-styled visual image and her significant voice (which imitates human
voice but obviously mechanically-produced) which physically resemble her as an instrument with illustrations.
Meanwhile, the indexical modes of the sign could often be observed in the the stories told in lyrics and MV (mostly
in the form of animation). The stories illustrated, in this case, were usually about the identity of “Miku” as a
musical instrument with personality of a virtual character (which is typical topic in science fiction: What if an
artificial creature have its own mind?). The lyrics and MV which will be discussed later would be indexically bonded
to the subject of “virtual singer”.

The song “​初音ミクの消失 (The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku)​” could perform as a typical example of
modes of sign mentioned above. The song was sung by Miku (i.e. using the voicebank software) and her visual
image is in the MV as icon. The lyrics mainly illustrate a story of Miku, as a software having her own mind, being
deleted by her user (​Lyrics with Chinese Translation​). The song includes lines like “A critical error has occurred” and
glitch effects in MV in order to provide further implication that Miku is indeed a software. These could be regarded
as indexical when signifying Miku as a virtual existence. Glitch effects and the term “critical error” are the feedback
(consequences) of a computer system error, thus it fits the definition of index that there are actual relation, also
causal relation in this case, between the indexical sign(glitch and the term “critical error”) and its object (concept
of “Miku as a virtual existence”).

The iconic anime-styled visual image and her voice could certainly function to represent her present while
the indexical are able to “authenticate” the sense of virtual (i.e. Miku as a virtual existence) by using those iconic
signs to activate further connections to the virtuality as mentioned. The present of Miku as a virtual singer, thus
has been more solid.
 Figure 1, character design of Hatsune Miku from official site of ​Crypton Future Media

Figure 2, My understanding upon “Songs composed with Miku as a sign representing Miku, a virtual singer”

Assigned passage
Clarke, D. (1992). The Icon and the Index: Modes of Invoking the Body’s Presence. The American Journal of
Semiotics, 9(1), 49-82.

Reference
Crypton Future Media, INC. (n.d.). バーチャル・シンガー・ラインナップ. Retrieved from
https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid

cosMo＠暴走P . (2018). [Official] 初音ミクの消失(THE END OF HATSUNE MIKU: 2018Remake). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWVtIg5cdDU