Kyoko Date

Kyoko Date was developed under the code name "DK-96", and debuted in 1996 under the stage name . "DK" was an abbreviation for "Digital Kids", while "96" indicated that this was the 1996 version. The name Kyoko Date was chosen as a Japanese-sounding name to represent the Digital Kids initials, and it was listed as her real name on her official profile. The version that appeared in 2001 was called "Kyoko Date DK-2001". The 2007 version is simply known as "Kyoko Date" and has no code name. == First appearance ==

Kyoko Date was developed in collaboration with Visual Science Laboratory, Inc. to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Horipro's founding. It was hoped that, at a time when the number of media channels available was increasing, a virtual idol would be able to appear without the problem of time restrictions. Meanwhile, dating sims like Tokimeki Memorial were also popular, and its heroine Shiori Fujisaki, among others, was being called a "virtual idol", being treated as a talent, and gaining popularity. and the initial monetary investment in the project was said to be on the order of several tens of millions of yen (hundreds of thousands of dollars). The CG artist Tatsuya Kosaka (KonKon) was in charge of the modeling work. Her voice was provided by a human actress, chosen from 50 of Horipro's associated talent and female employees on the basis of having an appropriate voice for an idol. Kyoko's movements were animated via motion capture, then a very new technology, and recorded by American dancers. Producing content was very expensive, costing several million yen (tens of thousands of dollars) for a stage appearance. Her actual range of activities included CD sales and radio and television appearances, but virtual live shows and the sale of photobooks were also under consideration. Horipro viewed Date as a dream talent for the multimedia age of the 21st century: she would never get sick or be involved in any scandals, she could appear simultaneously on any number of channels worldwide, and she could speak and sing in any language of the world. This would allow her to perform on a global scale cheaply, quickly, and precisely. Yet in spite of these advantages, and in spite of sales promotion, it was issues such as the unnatural quality of her movements that came to the fore. Her CD debut came on November 21 with the single LOVE COMMUNICATION but sold less than 30,000 units. In 1997 her voice was changed, her name was updated to "Kyoko Date DK-97, She appeared on posters of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and on the front cover of the ad magazine , but in the end, Kyoko Date disappeared after just a few months of minor activity. Fujisaki's debut as a singer was run by Watanabe Digital Media & Communications, a company associated with Watanabe Productions and headed by the eldest daughter of its founder , Miki Watanabe. At the time, Yoshitaka Hori and Miki Watanabe were seen by some as the second-generation leaders of the entertainment industry's leading production companies. Others opined that even if Kyoko were to find success as a radio DJ, her real success would come only after the person who provided her voice discarded the facade of Kyoko's character and emerged into the spotlight personally. In 1999, Kyoko debuted in South Korea under the name "DiKi" with an album entitled Between, but again found no success. Profile Kyoko Date's profile during the DK-96 era: • Real name: (Her friends call her "Datekyō") • Stage name: • Date of birth: October 26, 1979 (16 years old) • Birthplace: Fussa, Tokyo Radio • Kyoko Date DK-96: '''' • Kyoko Date DK-97: Rabirabi Labyrinth Discography Japan • Love Communication (November 21, 1996, CD Extra) • Ending theme to the Nippon TV drama Yokubō no Shokutaku • Love Communication • Love Communication (Acoustic Heart mix) • Love Communication (Back Track) • Touch (July 21, 1997) Korea • Between (February 1999) • Albatross - (Albatross - Freedom) • Between You & Me • Pyeonji () • For U • 1st White Day • Chuyeong Hwesang (; 初恋回想) • Silver Lining Rainbow • Namanui kkum () • Albatross - (Inst.) • Between You & Me (Inst.) == Second appearance ==

In 2001, a version of Kyoko Date titled "Kyoko Date DK-2001" served as the navigator for a series of general-audience, internet-based lectures from the Kanazawa Institute of Technology called . It was intended that this version proceed on to appearing in online advertisements, and Horipro explained away the character's earlier failure as a result of being "ahead of her time", but DK-2001 too vanished without any significant activity. This version was supposed to have born on June 9, 1983, and the modeler who created it used the pseudonym Sonehachi. == Third appearance ==

In 2007, Kyoko Date once again reemerged as an avatar in the virtual world Second Life. The design of this version was based on that of DK-2001. She appeared mainly as an event MC, but as the popularity of Second Life dwindled, she soon stopped her activities once again. ==Virtual relatives==

Around the year 2000, the creation of 3D CG idols was popular among modelers, and Kyoko Date's original modeler Tatsuya Kosaka created another character, , who was alternately described as the younger cousin or younger sister of Kyoko Date. Kaori appeared in a number of photobooks, beginning with Virtual Beauty Collection 3: Crystal in 1999. She won the grand prize, based on votes by viewers, on a program broadcast from 1999 to 2000 on entitled CG Idol Contest. It was stated that she dreamed of becoming an idol just like her mother, and the company aspired to launch her career as a VTuber following the success of fellow virtual artists such as Hatsune Miku and Kizuna AI. A crowdfunding campaign was launched for her virtual career and was deemed successful, with her YouTube and social media accounts launching almost immediately. ==See also==