Nekomata Okayu Covers 'Romeo to Cinderella' and Makes It Sound Like a Confession

There are Vocaloid classics, and then there are untouchable Vocaloid classics. doriko‘s ロミオとシンデレラ (Romeo to Cinderella) — originally released featuring Hatsune Miku — falls firmly into the second category. It’s the kind of song that’s been covered hundreds of times, appeared in rhythm games, and still somehow hits just as hard as it did when it first surfaced on Niconico. Taking it on is a statement. 猫又おかゆ (Nekomata Okayu) makes that statement count.

Her take is unhurried and intimate. Where a lot of covers of this song lean into the drama — the rock-leaning production, the frantic energy of the original Miku vocal — Okayu strips it back to something warmer. The arrangement by Misato Ono keeps the recognizable melodic bones intact while softening the edges, giving the whole thing a slightly languid, late-night quality. It suits the song’s subject matter in a way that feels almost more honest than the source material: this is a song about sneaking around, hiding feelings, lying to your parents for the sake of love. Sung like this, it sounds less like a declaration and more like a whispered secret.

Okayu’s voice has always been one of the more distinctive in hololive — low and smooth, with a laziness that reads as ease rather than disengagement. On ロミオとシンデレラ that quality does a lot of work. The song’s chorus has a desperate, pleading energy in most versions; here it’s more resigned, more tender. There’s a vulnerability in how she handles the higher phrases without straining for them, letting them settle naturally instead of pushing for impact. It’s a vocal performance that trusts the song rather than trying to outperform it.

The mix by よしけん keeps things clean and close. The vocal sits right in front of everything, which is the correct call — there’s nothing here to hide behind, and the production knows it. You’re listening to the voice, and the voice is doing everything.

Lyrically, ロミオとシンデレラ is about a girl in a secret relationship, framing herself as Juliet but hoping for Cinderella’s ending instead of the tragedy. The video’s opening line — 「大きな箱より小さな箱に幸せはあるらしい」(“Happiness is said to be found in the smaller box rather than the larger one”) — sets a contemplative tone that Okayu’s delivery carries all the way through. It’s a song about wanting something simple, even when everything around it is complicated. That theme fits her effortlessly.

The MV, directed and illustrated by オムカ and noka respectively, is clean and soft — visually in step with the mood Okayu’s vocals establish. Nothing flashy, nothing that pulls focus from the song itself.

This is the kind of cover that doesn’t try to reinvent the original. It just finds a different angle on it — and in doing so, reminds you why the song works. ロミオとシンデレラ is a song with a lot of life left in it. Okayu proves that here, quietly and confidently.