Welcome back to another week of VTuber News! As with any other rundown, we have seen the ups and downs of this community, and perhaps more interesting updates. Whether it is Cover Corp’s YAGOO inviting people to their ongoing male Hololive English applications, or how independent VTuber Gloop Queen shows how to ‘break’ the immersion by combing the virtual and realistic realms, all these updates and more below!
What’s Up This Week?
Bad VTuber News: Closures, Departures, and Breaks
We start off this VTuber news round-up by raising awareness of some of the low points from the VTubing community. Starting off with our very own Tsukimi Lune, who has announced her graduation as a VTuber by April 24, a year after she officially debuted. We wish her the best in her future endeavors.
Meanwhile, VTuber agency Stellux has announced the dissolvement of the company, just three months after its establishment. As the agency cited “financial difficulties” to be the driving force for the closure, its talents Sylvia Sorano, Joy Hinanaki, and Vesper Kurogiri have released individual statements regarding the news, stating that they will move forward independently.
Other small-time VTuber agencies are having major setbacks, such as Indonesian VTuber agency AOI ID converting one of its generations as indie VTubers, and Tsunderia’s Urara Umiushi resigning from the agency for undisclosed reasons. Meanwhile, Philippine-based KoMETA is also facing challenges, as its talent Miria is currently hospitalized after contracting an illness, and Elaine taking a three-week break to focus on other projects.
Even large names are not spared with these low points. Hololive’s HoloEarth project took to Twitter that they are working hard to restore their web services after being reported as a “phishing site”. Meanwhile, VShojo’s Veibae has to postpone her new model debut after some personal matters, and independent VTuber Bao asks her followers to stick around longer, as her break extends.
In other news, independent VTuber Xion announces an indefinite hiatus to focus on her mental health, and Kamiko Kana announcing that she forced closed her Discord server after being mass-reported by online trolls.
The Good VTuber News: From The Biggest to the Uprising
As with any of the latest updates within the VTubing community, of course we have a wide variety of good news updates. To kick start this off, the prologue for the anime series Suisei no Freyline has just been released. Said series features voice casts from VTubers AZKi, Ruri Asano, MaiR, Ginga Alice, and Kyoko Kuramochi.
Meanwhile, V-CARNIVAL has just unveiled a slew of guests attending the event, including VTubers from Hololive like AZKi, Minato Aqua, Momosuzu Nene, Tokino Sora, Hoshimachi Suisei, and Mori Calliope. Also, TRiNITY, a group of Nijisanji VTubers signed under NBCUniversal, performed the ending theme song for the anime The Dawn of the Witch. More on that news in a follow-up separate story.
For now, here’s a rundown of the community’s good news updates, starting off with VTuber agency giant Hololive:
- Hololive Indonesia has just recently celebrated their two-year anniversary with a premiere video celebration. Following that, they have announced that Hololive Indonesia’s merchandise is restocked on the local e-commerce platform Tokopedia, and they have announced a partnership with local comic and manga publisher M&C.
- Takanashi Kiara and IRyS will be present in the upcoming DoKomi event, one of the largest anime and manga events in Germany.
- The short anime series based on the horror game “holoERROR” has reached its final episode, tallying the series at eight episodes.
- There are multiple merchandise releases from Hololive, from Shishiro Botan to IRyS, as well as from Super Expo 2022, although this will be only available at Animate in Japan.
- Brand-wise, there are multiple updates for the benefit of Hololive. These include a collaboration between sushi chain Akindo Sushiro and Minato Aqua, and a perfume lineup inspired from Hololive talents by Codemee. In addition, the Pacific Racing Team has unveiled its car livery designs featuring select Hololive talents.
Meanwhile, here are our updates from both Nijisanji and VShojo:
- Nijisanji has just announced a brand collaboration with Japanese anime television network AT-X. Meanwhile, one of its English talents Pomu Rainpuff has successfully raised US$2,000 for the organization Doctors Without Borders.
- Following VShojo’s Ironmouse being recognized as the top streamer on Twitch for February and March this year, business publication Bloomberg wrote a feature article regarding her success in the platform and the overall access of the VTubing industry.
Capping off this segment, here’s our rundown on some of the most notable good updates within the VTubing community:
- Independent VTuber Hiiragu Yuu made a voice cameo on the latest video of Internet Historian titled “That Zone Between Area 50 and 52”.
- Gaming news publication Niche Gamer appoints VTuber duo Elle and Booster to be their latest partner, where they will be producing a weekly video recap on the latest updates within the gaming community, mainstream or niche.
- Kawa Entertainment released ViewLink, a VR solution that allows VTubers to stream VR content while using their Live2D model.
- Riot Blue launches separate YouTube channels for their three talents, debuting individually.
- Music VTuber Koro returns from streaming, as well as announcing the launch of its own record label by late 2022.
Other Updates: Merch, Music, Milestones
In merchandise news, UWU Market has unveiled a slew of VTuber collaborations for the month of April, including Ywuria, Onigiri, and Akuma Nihmune. In addition, the clothing apparel company is also on the hunt for VTubers who have themes of ghost and paranormal activity for their upcoming “Yokai” collection.
Meanwhile, Hololive’s Amelia Watson has just recently released a new cover of Ookami Blues, Ui Shigure is launching her latest album titled “The Rain Doesn’t Stop Yet”, and Thai agency Polygon Project is working on an original group single, to be released by April 14. In addition, composer Feris is doing a music giveaway catered to VTubers.
On another note, there have been notable music “wins” this week: Mori Calliope has been selected as the featured artist for the playlist “VTuber and Play” on Spotify Japan, and her upcoming Shinigami Note for Universal Music Japan has reached number one on CD Japan. Meanwhile, Hoshimachi Suisei’s new tracks “TEMPLATE” and “WICKED” reached rank 1 and 2 on the Oricon charts for April 1.
We would also like to recognize the following milestones:
VTuber Debuts: New Arrivals or New Looks
Interesting Bits and Thoughts to Ponder
Have you ever crossed your mind how legal matters play out in the VTuber industry? This is what Spanish legal publication Idealax recently tackled in their latest blog, including insights from Diego Pinto, a lawyer specializing in esports and streamers and one that handled legal matters for the VTuber agency OWOZU. (The blog post is written in Spanish.)
Meanwhile, a tweet by Stella Luna asking the VTuber community for some ‘cancellable’ takes about the community is making rounds online. But there was one response that really got us: a tweet by CableVT saying that the idol industry has been a detrimental part of the VTubing industry. According to the tweet, the popularity of the industry has seeped through the mindset of the VTubing industry to just push through limits, which can sacrifice quality over growth. We have a lot to expound on this, but we’ll set a separate piece for it.
there is no reason for independent vtubers (especially abroad) to be held to similar standards as corporate JP vtubers https://t.co/7REO7fd48j
Another interesting thought we have seen (and worth sharing repeatedly) is from a tweet saying that VTubers don’t exist to become therapists for their audience. With a sad trend of viewers getting emotionally attached to VTubers and trauma dumping in every stream, this thought is more important than ever to reevaluate our parasocial connections with our favorite VTubers.
And that was for this week’s VTuber news round-up! There are still trends within this space that are worth exploring, such as what unique selling point do VTubers have, as asked by VTuber Kara de Hestia. Or how about accepting the fact that “2.5D” VTubers will be a trend? Just ask DJ Azure, who made a promo video in a classic wotagei fashion. Now, where is my light stick at? See you all next week!
For your feedback and suggestions, email the section editor: jay.agonoy [at] animecorner [dot] me. Follow us on Twitter, @VTuberSection. You can also mention us in any activity you have, and the best ones will be included in the next VTuber News Round-Up. Catch you all next week!
Featured Image: Koro, Tokoyami Towa © 2016 COVER Corp., Elle and Booster
Read Previous News Round-Ups:
Week of March 27, 2022 · Week of March 20, 2022 · Week of March 13, 2022 · Week of March 6, 2022 · Archives
VTuber News Round-Up: Week of April 3, 2022
Source: Cebu Otaku
0 Comments