Help fix my UTAU accent

I don't think that anything needs to be "corrected"; when taken to the extreme, perfect Japanese pronunciation can actually sound unnatural and unexpressive.
Being that Japanese only has 5 vowels, it's only necessary to be in the general area of them. Many voicebanks, both from Japan and overseas, vary the pronunciation of vowels, etc. for effect. Other than what you already mentioned about the "u", the "e" could be a little bit higher/tighter. Then again, your existing natural pronunciation is already good.

Not sure if "fix" is the right word because accents are fine. But if you're looking to record a bank and have it sound different I noticed a couple of things o u o9

~Some of your vowels trail into being diphthongs at the end, mainly the "o". Instead of abruptly ending it sounds like its turning into "Oooohhhhh/www" Like an english O like in "Go" "Oooow/h" There's no raw samples that you have up so it's hard to tell if it's been recorded like that, or if its a result of the notes transitioning.
-Remember to keep your mouth appropriately open as well as your throat, it will help with your vowels over all, no matter the language

~Another thing that could be changed to your liking are your consonants. Instead of being sharp, to the point and crisp, they're very aspirated. This is probably the "American/English" accent you get told. Try practicing making your consonants come from your tongue and or lips rather than your breath.
-For example. Instead of saying "te" with your tongue on your teeth, move it back a little and use the roof of your mouth. While doing this make sure your mouth is still open and your voice is projecting and not being hidden behind your tongue or throat, otherwise you'll have a new accent. Be sure to be quick and sharp, unlike english consonants.
-Your "tsu" is also a good example, be very precise and sharp. Listen to a few native tongues say "tsu" so you can get the double consonant sound, there are actually tutorials for this sound for those wanting to learn the language.

You can always experiment and see what works best for you and what you think changes your accent. I hope I helped ; u ;9

Amzsie said:

You make a good point, I never thought of that! Some people like accents and do them on purpose ^^ I guess what I meant was "help strengthen my japanese accent"

But ya, Ive realized that some samples do have diphthongs;; I try to not do that but I guess some get past me when I check over the recording, Ill definitely keep a strong look out if I really wanna strengthen my japanese accent.

This next suggestion kinda confuses me a little. Ive been told that my consonants are muffled, so saying that they're too crisp is kinda the complete opposite. Also I tried to do the "te" pronunciation like you said, and any farther back my tongue goes from where it normally is makes it sound even worse. Did you mean that I should put less exhalation into my pronunciation? Because I just tried that and I was never aware that it was a problem. (Now that I think about it, putting less exhalation might make it less muffly) Actually, reading over your message again, you said that my consonants should and also shouldnt be sharp ^^;

But either way, thank you so much for an in-detailed description! Ive always heard people tell me certain things I could fix, but not any ways to fix them! Thank you so much for your advice ^^

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Ahhh sorry for being a bit confusing!~ ; u ;''' I suck at explaining things, especially over text rather than spoken word.

What I mean about being crisp and sharp is more of a tongue or lip click in your mouth. Rather than being the "crisp and sharp" aspirated consonants used with your teeth, tongue and breath. (I cant speak exactly for anyone obviously) But I think when they say the consonants may be muffled is either because the utau engine had something to do with it, or because of them in the recordings themselves. The consonants should be to the point, if they're aspirated (which is exhalation with a sound) it may not pick up with your mic or just not be audible.

What I mean by sharp, is to the point, non aspirated (for most) consonants that are short and dont blend into the vowel using the breath as a bridge.
What I dont mean by sharp is loud, teeth, consonants. For example, when someone says "s" and they have a whistle through their teeth. That's technically a sharp sound but not the one you want.

I hope I was able to better explain OTL

extremely hard consenants are okay for more powerful pitches i feel. So maybe for a lower pitch you don't want your "te" to sound like "TTTTTTE" or your "ka" like "KKKKKKKKA" in general, really harsh and pronounced consenants sound more western than Japanese i feel, but sometimes i notice during songs for high, strong vocals (especially in males) that they exaggerate the pronunciation of their consenants and make them extra harsh and super pronounced for dramatic effect in the music

for lower or less powerful pitches, soften your consenants cx and yeah, i was tryna re-explain what alice was saying XD and me and kuro actually talked about that in chat once