Can MikuMikuDance run fully in the browser? AnimaStage (WebGL + WASM) #discuss

What if you could run MikuMikuDance directly in your browser —
no setup, no plugins, no desktop tools?

That’s what we’ve been building with AnimaStage — a browser-based MMD studio powered by WebGL and WASM.

💡 The idea

MMD is powerful, but setting it up is painful:

Windows-only workflows
plugin chains
manual asset handling
heavy desktop requirements

We wanted to remove all of that friction.

👉 Open a link → load a model → play animation → export video

⚙️ Core (Pro version)

Under the hood, AnimaStage is more than just a viewer.

It includes:

PMX / PMD model support
VMD animation playback
Bullet-style physics (Ammo.js WASM)
Multi-character scenes
Cinematic camera system (paths, easing, tracking)
Lighting system (scene + map + volumetrics)
Full post-processing stack (SSAO, DOF, bloom, etc.)
Offline video export (MP4 via WebCodecs)

At this point, it’s closer to a lightweight stage + cinematic tool than a simple web demo.

🚀 Lite version (recent update)

We also shipped a Lite version focused on accessibility and instant onboarding:

Demo Gallery — load full scenes in ~2 seconds (no files needed)
Pose Library — apply poses without breaking VMD playback
Model Analyzer — auto-check textures, polycount, physics
Curve Editor — edit animation with Bezier curves
Redesigned landing: “Run MMD in Your Browser — No Install”
⚡ Performance improvements

We fixed several core issues:

Removed infinite render/update loops
Fixed console spam (fetch / depth issues)
Stabilized analyzer + PMX metadata updates
Improved runtime consistency
🎯 Goal

Make MMD workflows accessible anywhere — even on weaker devices — directly in the browser.

No install. No setup. Just open and create.

🔗 Try it

https://animastage-lite.app

💬 Discussion

Curious what others think:

How far can browser-based tools actually go?
Where do you see the real bottleneck — CPU (WASM) or GPU?
Would you trust a browser-based tool for real production work?
What would make you switch from desktop → browser?

Would love feedback from:
WebGL / Three.js devs, animation creators, and anyone experimenting with real-time tools.