Tag Archives: holox

The Next Step Towards World Conquest: Secret Society holoX Live 2026 First Mission

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Ever since their debut in 2021, I’d been looking forward to the day that one or more members of hololive’s 6th generation—Secret Society holoX—would get a dedicated live 3D concert. Then, last year, they made the big announcement during their anniversary: a full-gen holoX concert would be set for April 2026.

Now that I’m on the other side of the event, titled “Secret Society holoX Live 2026 First Mission,” I can say that it was one of my all-time favorite VTuber concerts I’ve watched online. Some of it comes from my clear bias and favoritism towards the talents themselves, but there also a lot in terms of presentation that both elevated the whole endeavor and made it feel unique. 

In its current form, holoX is a roster of four: the diminutive alien leader La+ Darknesss, the mature hawkgirl XO Takane Lui, the energetic coyote scientist Hakui Koyori, and the cute/cool samurai bodyguard Kazama Iroha. A fifth member, the orca intern Sakamata Chloe, has moved on from hololive and did not appear (More on that later). Lore aside, each of them also have different tastes, histories, and approaches to music and dance. Thus, First Mission was an opportunity to experience their particular flavors both alone and together, and with a live audience that is normally absent from their online-only anniversary concerts.

La+ Darknesss

As holoX’s strongest dancer, La+ has the best stage presence in her generation despite being literally the smallest member of hololive, on top of a wonderful singing voice that swings between boyish and girly. She’s one of my absolute favorites in VTubing for those reasons and more. Getting to see her different choreographies across her original songs all in one place was a real treat—the last time was years ago with the Nissin collab, and she was just recovering from a severe illness that affected her physically and vocally. Here, she really showcased her musical leanings, which is basically aggressive Kpop, idol music (both real and fictional), and cool and complex Vocaloid fare. 

I did notice a couple things about her dance routines. First, I finally got why she steps in place with her arms stretched out during a part of “Love Bug.” She’s talking about “sense of distance” and is mimicking backing away in order to not get too emotionally attached. Second, her dance for her first original, “Aien Jihen,” was simplified in some places compared to previous performances, with other flourishes added elsewhere. I assume these were adjustments made for the live concert format and the fact that she had to keep coming back on stage. Overall, I am a satisfied La+ fan.

Takane Lui

Out of everyone in her generation, Lui has made the biggest push into a singing career. She may not have the conventionally dulcet voice of a Hoshimachi Suisei or an AZKi, but what she does have going for her is a distinct sound and a wonderfully eclectic mix of genres in her original songs. That variety—I would say the greatest in hololive—was on display at First Mission, between the Latin inspiration of “Evil Eye Wink” and , and she hit every performance exuding a sense of confidence that pairs well with her husky voice.

Hakui Koyori

Since the beginning, Koyori has been one of the most prolific and consistent streamers in all of hololive, while balancing that with a variety of projects that include idol aspirations. More than any other member of holoX, her music and dancing are both conventionally energetic and poppy. While I still believe she’s vocally strongest when using a deeper voice and a more “rock” feel, I could tell that she is pretty close to hitting that sound while also still delivering with songs in the former vein. 

Kazama Iroha

If all the other girls are like waves crashing down and making big splashes, Iroha is like a gentle current that still has the power to erode its surroundings. Her voice is both mellow and vibrant, her reputation as the most athletically fit member comes across in how stable she is when dancing, and her songs tend to have a calming Japanese aesthetic that plays into her samurai motif. Iroha’s sweetness is one of her defining features, and it’s amazing how much it comes through in every performance. 

All Together

With each member of holoX being quite different from one another, one new element for this concert that really unified their particular styles was the presence of DJ fu_mou. He became the bridge between each performance, and the flair he added to each song also made them sound new and unique compared to the original songs, as well as past birthday and anniversary concerts.

There were also some really great visual transitions. Whether it was the use of smoke to bridge a medley between the four or a glitching holoX logo slowly coming into view before revealing the next performer, it was one of the smoothest presentations I’ve ever seen for a live VTuber concert. The main exception might be NePoLabo’s Twinkle 4 You, where the girls actually remained in the background even for the songs in which they weren’t the focus.

Together with their multi-person songs, whether it was in the form of duets or full-gen numbers, holoX ended up feeling like a really cohesive unit. The way they contrast with each other has always worked well aesthetically, and here they got to show off their individual strengths and help create something greater than the sum of its parts. I also have to call attention to their cheeky fakeout, where the encore seemed to be another instance of “Our Bright Parade” like so many other in-person concerts, only for it to be another awesome holoX medley.

The Elephant (Orca) in the Room

I alluded to this earlier, but there is something that I think needs to be addressed: the looming question of whether Sakamata Chloe would make an appearance. While she is indeed no longer considered an active hololive talent, Chloe has actually appeared once before post-graduation, in Murasaki Shion’s own graduation stream—a benefit of her “affiliate” status. Given that Chloe was the best singer in holoX, as well as someone actively working towards having enough of a repertoire of original songs to someday have a solo live of her own, I (and apparently many others) held some hope that the orca who had swam out to sea would make her way back for this special moment.

That didn’t happen in the end. Moreover, the girls made mention of an “intruder” at the venue, but that turned out to be not Chloe and instead the jester-like Japanese comedian Gorgeous (seen most recently in hololive at Inugami Korone’s 6th Anniversary). While I had hoped she would be there, I understand that having a talent who left come back immediately for the next major event sets a somewhat bad precedent. Not only does it feel it diminishes the importance of the members who remained, but having the VTuber alumnus show up at the very first group concert creates the unenviable assumption that she would show up every time. Whether it’s Chloe or her fellow affiliate, Amelia Watson, the news of their appearance always risks overshadowing everything else, and is best used sparingly if at all. 

In fact, in one of the last MCs of the night, all of them spoke about how performing without Chloe came with some conflicted feelings, including fear that fans would be disappointed. While the details and length of each speech differed between each talent, they all came to similar conclusions that essentially both the five-person and four-person iterations are important parts of the history of holoX. In my opinion, this is the healthiest approach to a difficult and emotional situation.

Final Thoughts

I am so glad that I finally got to see holoX perform in front of a live crowd, and to fulfill their dream of a full-generation concert. I hope that all of them someday get to be on that big stage again, whether as individuals, as a group, or even in some other form entirely. Secret Society holoX will always be near and dear to my heart, and I don’t see that ever changing.

PS: By the time this goes up, it will already be May 25 in Japan. Happy Birthday, La+ Darknesss!

The Land Is Cloaked in Deepest Blue: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for June 2025

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I attended Anime Central 2025 last month! I enjoyed it a lot and ate a decent amount of Chicago’s iconic foods, so expect some reviews and other coverage in the coming weeks (or maybe months). The last time I was there, I was very under the weather (later finding out it was COVID-19), so it was sure to be a better overall experience this go around.

Thank you to this month’s Patreon supporters!

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from May

A Mecha Classic More Timeless than Ever: Blue Comet SPT Layzner

A review of an awesome 1980s anime that I’d been wanting to watch for over 20 years.

La+ Darknesss Birthday 2025 and the Proximity of Fandom

Another celebration of the leader of holoX, but also some thoughts on VTubers and their relationships with fans.

I Finally Watched Seven Samurai

Just reviewing one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time, no pressure.

Kio Shimoku

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights May 2025

Kio had a talk at a gallery, and tweeted his wishes for how Gundam GQuuuuuuX would go.

Closing

I hear that a funny VTuber that may or may not be part Shark, part Mackerel is on the horizon. I hope she’s gonna be a part of the upcoming Virtual Vacation 2025 concert…

La+ Darknesss Birthday 2025 and the Proximity of Fandom

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Laplus Darknesss from hololive posing on stage. She's a short girl with long white hair and large purple horns in a dark dress.

Today is hololive VTuber La+ Darknesss’s birthday, and that has me thinking about her relationship with her fans. In a world that both passively and actively encourages talent and fans alike to fall into obsession, she rarely lets others dictate what directions to go.

I like watching new VTubers debut. Variety is the spice of life, and you never know who’s going to be a pleasant surprise. But I’ve also noticed something when looking at reactions to these reveals: There’s a certain kind of viewer who seems very eager to throw their full support behind someone or something. With just an initial introduction (or even less) to work off of, this type of fan behaves like they’re looking desperately for a conduit for their passion

This can be just another way of engaging with online personalities, albeit one that differs from my more hesitant “wait and see” approach. A forlorn heart might yearn to be recognized and have its intense feelings reciprocated, so having some kind of outlet can be healthy. The fact that this can turn into genuine feelings of attraction and affection can still be okay if there is recognition and understanding of the limits of this relationship. 

Where it starts to get iffy is when someone either projects all their values and fantasies into a figure and fails to at least admit that this is projection, or when the eagerness to find a fandom turns into bitterness. That’s the point at which being parasocial becomes harmful, and I worry about both sides in these scenarios.

Some will play into this dynamic, but La+ has a bit of an unusual relationship with her viewers. She is herself an idol fan, and she has expressed empathy for those who have been hurt by an idol revealing that they have a significant other. She’s also a self-professed doutan kyouhi: a competitive fan who does not want to interact with others who share the same particular fandom. She knows what it’s like to be obsessed with someone…but she doesn’t actively seek to be that object for other people. 

The way the holoX commander prefers to hold her fans at arm’s length has actually at times garnered her haters. They wish she was something she’s not trying to be, and the fact that she doesn’t conform to their desires bothers them. She’ll make connections outside of hololive in big collabs with people regardless of gender or genre. She’ll gush over Mai Shiranui from the Fatal Fury franchise, channeling the energy of fighting game fans who grew up in the 1990s and 2000s despite not being of that era. She’ll ask to be insulted by her colleagues in hololive with mature voices. She’ll even come up with an official name for her fans (Plusmates), but never actually use it. And when others talk about what La+ is like behind the scenes, they’ll mention how hard she works for herself, her peers, and her fans. That’s something I really appreciate about her: She does her own thing and appears to have a good time in the process. 

La+ Darknesss prefers to act as a fellow fan who has the privilege of doing idol-like activities, such as singing and dancing on stage. In this way, seems to look at the fans who might potentially become her most obsessive and parasocial supporters, and says, “I get where you’re coming from, but I can’t be that for you. I can entertain you, though.” That’s just fine by me.

Happy Birthday La+ Darknesss 2024
La+ Darknesss, VTuber Birthdays, and the Ultimate Kayfabe

Celebrating Sakamata Chloe and holoX

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Sakamata Chloe standing with all of holoX on stage, with her at the center.

Earlier today, Sakamata Chloe left hololive for the foreseeable future. Secret Society holoX will no longer be five members strong, so I wanted to just write one last post appreciating their generation as a whole. 

holoX was the first time I wanted to get invested in an entire gen from the very beginning. I love their motif as would-be world conquerors who are actually just silly people, and really think they strike a nice balance as a group—in terms of their character designs, personalities, and respective strengths as entertainers.

La+ is a remarkably good dancer with a sharp tongue who somehow manages to be both mature and a brat. Lui can be both a wise older sister and a bit of a bumbler, and she has brought out some of the most creative songs in VTubing. Koyori is an absolute workhorse who loves to experiment and bring a classic idol vibe. Chloe has great control of her voice, whether for singing or bantering. Iroha possesses great athleticism and an adorable personality, which allow her to tackle every project with a charismatic energy. 

All of holoX doing X poses with their arms.

In the three years they’ve been going, holoX has accomplished so much. They have multiple original songs both individually and as a group, and they’ve only grown as performers despite setbacks in their physical and mental health. Seeing them in their most recent 3d concerts just drives home how much effort they’ve all put into their craft, like when noticing the subtle changes La+ makes to her choreography or realizing the quality of Chloe’s full repertoire of music. 

Granted, it’s also a little bittersweet to know that Chloe, at least in this form, will be frozen in time. The other four will keep going, changing and learning along the way, and while Chloe might very well be doing the same, I don’t know how easily we can follow her on that journey. Despite that, I think holoX will still thrive, and Chloe has what it takes to find success and happiness in whatever she does. I hope we get to hear from her again, no matter what form she takes.

Nendoroid figures of all five holoX members. They are small figures with big heads.

PS: I finally assembled all of holoX in Nendoroid form. I’m glad I got it just in time for Chloe’s final concert.

Chloe's mask left behind at the holoX headquarters. Underneath it is a "Thank you" sloppily written in Chloe's characteristic illegible handwriting.

Sakamata Chloe, Ceres Fauna, and the View Beyond

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On Nov 29, 2024, hololive Japan VTuber Sakamata Chloe announced on her third anniversary that she would be ceasing her streaming activities with hololive at the end of January. As a Day 1 fan of her generation, holoX, I wanted to give her a proper send-off with a nice farewell post on this blog.

Then the next day came, and with it a second major bombshell: Ceres Fauna of hololive English’s Promise announced that she will be graduating from hololive at the beginning of January.

So as much as I would have preferred to write two separate pieces that shine the spotlight on each of them separately, these two departures feel so closely linked together that talking about one inevitably brings thoughts about the other. Consequently, I write this in the hopes that it can be both a celebration and a thinkpiece.

Looking at the Orca and Kirin

Sakamata Chloe and Ceres Fauna lore and approaches to VTubing are different. 

Chloe is an orca, and has been the “cleaner and intern” of Secret Society holoX, an organization ostensibly aiming for world domination. Based on her initial design, she seemed the most serious and mysterious of holoX, only for her to debut in the silliest way possible.

She’s known for her amazing and versatile singing voice that can switch from cute to sultry, her cheeky banter, her aversion to bathing, and her lack of prudence when it comes to things like fanservice (which her fans obviously love). 

Fauna is a kirin and the “Keeper of Nature” for a Council of primordial forces, before engaging more directly with humanity as part of hololive Promise. At first, she seemed like a nurturing “mother nature” type, but almost immediately revealed a mild, yet noticeable yandere undertone to her personality that eventually gave way to a cursed sense of humor.

She’s synonymous with ASMR aided by her incredibly soothing speaking voice, serious gamer attitude that pops up at unexpected moments, and an Extremely Online Millennial sensibility that makes her ramblings endlessly entertaining. 

But despite their differences, the two have some things in common that make their decisions to leave almost parallel each other. Their respective generations both debuted in 2021, a little over three months apart. Although Chloe was the fastest in holoX to hit one million subscribers on Youtube and Fauna still hasn’t hit that milestone, both are known for having an impressively large and consistent viewership, with very few peaks and valleys. Both have a knack for “piloting” their virtual selves in ways that make them feel more natural too. Also, in my opinion, their character designs are among the most beautiful in hololive, and were the ones I initially gravitated towards prior to their debuts. 

I bring up their similarities and differences not simply to compare the two, but to emphasize that both of them feel like consummate ideals of VTubers in their own ways, to the extent that their decisions to leave have been real shocks. Granted, one of hololive’s strengths is the way that each and every one of their talents feels like a pillar of the company in their own unique ways (be it through content, longevity, reach, support behind the scenes, etc.), which makes every exit feel like a big loss. In addition to having two back-to-back announcements, there’s also the issue that three years is both an eternity and a drop in the bucket in internet years. They’ve been around long enough to become part of viewer’s lives in significant ways, but then it feels like their careers were only just beginning. 

Circumstances

Chloe mentioned having to deal with ongoing health issues, the workload, and wanting to go a different direction than the one hololive is taking. Fauna cited disagreement with management as her reason, and specifically stated that she liked singing and dancing for the crowd as if to kill the idea that she hated doing idol stuff. Almost inevitably, there’s been a lot of catastrophizing and speculation as to what exactly this all means, and in response, a number of other talents (like Bae, La+, and Shiori) have given their own thoughts, reassuring fans that they are relatively happy and comfortable with being in hololive currently.

My feeling is simply that there’s one priority above all else: making sure these people behind the VTubers can live in ways they don’t regret. They are the core and backbone of hololive, and to neglect them would damage everything, including but not limited to their bottom line. Whether that means allowing talents to leave on good terms or changing things within the company to keep them from burning out or damaging their health, everything in their power should be done to make sure hololive is not the end of their careers for the wrong reasons. 

In this regard, I can’t help but also express concern over Kazama Iroha, who has had to go on hiatus because she’s completely lost her voice due to stress. A part of me worries that the increasing expectations for hololive members— regardless of whether those expectations might be from the company or externally from viewers—risk encouraging a form of ableism in VTubing, a field that has been great for people with disabilities and other health problems. The concerts are among my favorite parts of hololive, but I don’t want them to happen at the expense of the talents’ wellbeing. If safeguards are in place already, then great. If not, I hope they get some.

Cheering ’til the End

I come away from all this largely with fond memories of all the great times I’ve had watching both Chloe and Fauna. For Chloe, the first things that come to mind are all her 3D specials. There’s her getting pelted with fish during her 3D debut, her duet with May’n, and her performance of “Jouya Repaint” with all of holoX at 4th fes, among others. Chloe’s voice is one in a million, and I hope she keeps it safe for her own sake. 

For Fauna, the personal highlights are a bit more varied. Of course there’s all the excellent ASMR, but her April Fools 2009-era Minecraft stream (complete with crunchy audio/video quality, awkward mannerisms, and up-angled webcam) is an all-time great. I also can’t say enough about her performance with Shiori and Nerissa at Breaking Dimensions, as well as how Fauna’s “Stay with Me” showed just how much training she’s put into singing. 

Something else Chloe and Fauna have in common is that their respective lore each allows for goodbyes that create interesting stories. Chloe could move on from her holoX internship to a bigger “job” elsewhere. Fauna has implied that she’s actually an usurper of the true Keeper of Nature (her mascot character Nemu), and maybe Nemu could take back her rightful place. 

I hope that wherever they land, it’s someplace they can thrive and do what they want at a pace comfortable for them. 

La+ Darknesss Is Now a Shoujo Manga Author

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hololive’s La+ Darknesss is now a published manga author! As an anime blogger and a Plusmate, I had to write about it.

Shoujo manga magazine Hana to Yume is celebrating its 50th anniversary. As part of the festivities, they published an interview with La+ in their 14th issue of 2024, wherein the holoX leader talks about a variety of topics related to shoujo manga. On top of that, she also got the chance to script a manga, with art by Chitose Shiki. We’ve seen manga about hololive talents, but never an officially published work by one.

The one-shot work is titled The Knight-themed Streamer Who’s My Oshi Is Actually My Male Glasses-Wearing Coworker!? As is implied, it’s about a girl who discovers that her meek coworker is her favorite online personality. It’s a funny and all too fitting topic for a VTuber to be writing about. La+ in many ways has the tastes of both an old man and a young girl, and it manifests in this cute story.

As for the interview, here are some highlights:

  • La+ is a voracious reader. She typically reads 40 volumes of manga and other books every month. Even when she has a busy month, she’ll still read about 20.
  • Despite seeming like someone who would be more into shounen, half of her reading is shoujo manga. She thinks Hana to Yume can appeal to guys and girls alike.
  • What she’s into can change, but recently, she’s been into more conventional shoujo romances.
  • Yazawa Ai is how she got into manga—Nana and Paradise Kiss, especially. Yazawa’s work made her want to become a fashion designer, which she has studied. La+ actually still does fashion design. (In her casual outfit reveal stream, she mentioned designing the entire outfit from head to toe. Previously, she had also mentioned that she’d probably be a designer if she hadn’t joined hololive.) 
  • The title that got her reading Hana to Yume was Ouran High School Host Club. Kyouya (who she refers to as “Kyouya-sama”) is what kickstarted her love of glasses. (Generally, La+ describes herself as being into glasses rather than glasses characters.)
  • After Ouran, the big Hana to Yume titles that drew her in further were Yona of the Dawn and Snow White with the Red Hair.
  • What she looks for in major female characters differs between shounen and shoujo. In the former, she wants girls who are super-talented and extremely cute. In contrast, she prefers very normal and average shoujo heroines.
  • Her favorite currently running Hana to Yume titles are It Takes More than a Pretty Face to Fall in Love and Tamon’s B-Side. 

If you want to just have a digital copy, the easiest way is probably to get a Bookwalker account.

Happy Birthday La+ Darknesss 2024

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Decided to try and do a quick analog ink drawing of La+ Darknesss for her 2024 birthday.

As always, VTuber outfits are hard…

(I also talked about her birthday and VTuber birthdays in general last year).

Check out her birthday live on May 25 at 7am EST/8pm JST!

Bad Dudettes, Good Fighting: Holo X Break

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When I first tried the hololive fan game Holocure, I was stepping into a recent video game genre that I had never experienced. But things were different with the developer’s new hololive-themed title: the side-scrolling beat-em-’up Holo X Break. In it, players take control of the members of NePoLaBo (hololive’s 5th generation) and brawl their way through waves of goons in order to defeat Secret Society holoX (hololive’s 6th generation) and rescue the CEO of hololive, Yagoo.

Beat-’em-ups are near and dear to my heart. I remember being a small kid, barely able to reach the joystick at my local Blimpie’s arcade section, staring in awe at games like Final Fight and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were once the games that best showed off the heights of video game graphics, eventually becoming a decidedly “retro” genre as the decades passed. 

A big part of the appeal of Holo X Break is, naturally, getting to indulge in hololive fandom. All four initial playable characters have their own strengths, weaknesses, and unique abilities based on their personas. Nene is a peppy girl from another world who throws beetles and can heal herself and others. Polka is a witty clown who has a balanced moveset and can create objects out of thin air. Lamy is an alcohol-loving snow elf who can magically freeze enemies. And Botan is a lion girl whose  skill in FPS games translates into a specialization in ranged weaponry. Everyone is voiced by the VTubers themselves, and numerous cute references and cameos are also strewn throughout.

The gameplay stands on its own quite well, though I found that I had to get used to its pecuilarities. Holo X Break is a curious mix of genres, built on the straightforward nature of beat-em’ups but also adding in randomized power-ups in the vein of rogue-like descendants such as Holocure. But unlike Holocure, a lot of the extra things you can do are not just automatic, and have to be actively selected. Between the core movesets featuring both basic and special techniques and an ultimate, five item slots you can fill with weapons and healing that you have to cycle through in real time, and the equipment that you can pick up and wear (or store for later)—all while being attacked by throngs of enemies—and it can feel overwhelming.

With time, I got the hang of things, especially when I realized how the game wants to be played. I wanted to hoard items, but Holo X Break discourages that, and intends for you to use your weapons liberally. It wants you to spend coins to upgrade your equipment in between stages as much as possible rather than trying to “save more for later,” even punishing you by taking away all coins upon death. Different enemies require different tactics, and figuring out who to prioritize when they gang up on you is part of the challenge. According to the developer, Holo X Break is heavily inspired by the game Little Fighters 2, but given that I’ve never played that, I find that it feels more like the older Technos games: Double Dragon, River City Ransom, etc.

Speaking of enemies, I’ve always loved fighting bosses in video games, and having them be the members of holoX (a group I adore) only adds to the charm. Just like with NePoLaBo, they’re voiced by the actual talents, and their identities have been adapted in fun and interesting ways. Fighting against them feels a little more akin to taking on a Mega Man robot master, with the way you have to take into account their different abilities and movement tendencies. Getting to see La+ Darknesss shoot orbs of dark energy and summoning bolts of obsydian lightning is nothing short of rad.

While I had some setbacks (Lui in particular can be a real skill check), I did beat the game within a day. When I went online to check out other opinions, I found that its reception is a lot more mixed than holocure’s, and much of it seems to come from simple unfamiliarity with older beat-’em-ups, as well as the modern belief that gameplay should be a more streamlined experience. The game currently has no save system and unlimited continues, which brings me back to my childhood while being a source of frustration for others. 

In light of this, the developer plans on adding saves. I’ve also seen comments about not being able to get past the first boss, Koyori, despite playing for hours, and it made me realize just how difficult stepping into an unfamiliar genre can be, especially with a game that doesn’t pull its punches. One review complained that they were tired of just hitting the same button over and over—something that didn’t really bother me in the least, and hadn’t even realized was an issue in the first place. I actually don’t necessarily enjoy when games have all the fat and excess shaved off, so to speak, and I appreciate Holo X Break for not taking that route. 

I haven’t gone through everything Holo X Break, but I hope to savor every piece of it. And while I’m still looking forward to seeing holoX in Holocure, I’m happy to see them here. Now, if only I could play some co-op for the true beat-em’up experience.

Holy Moly Holidays: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for December 2023

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Whenever I get around to December, I begin to think about my annual tradition, where I post about my favorite characters of the year. I’ve had one in mind all year long, but there’s another who’s a bit of a late entry of sorts.

I’ve also been enjoying the heck out of the holoX 2nd Anniversary streams, especially La+’s (naturally). I highly recommend them all, but want to draw particular attention to La+’s performance with HimeHina.

Happy holidays to all my Patreon subscribers for December:

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from November:

Attack on Titan: The Final Conclusive Ending Denouement

My thoughts on the controversial ending and the equally controversial main character

I Imported Japanese Curry Because of a VTuber

Spoilers: The curry is good, and you should check out Sena Aimi.

The Unbearable Weight of the Past: Space Battleship Yamato 2202

Reviewing the sequel to a remake, one that poses some tough questions.

Kio Shimoku

Kio will have one of his works adapted to live-action, but probably not the one you’re thinking of.

Apartment 507

Yohane the Parhelion

Closing

In other news, I’ll be doing a bit of traveling at the end of the year, and I hope I can come back with some worthwhile stories to share.

Hololive and the Year of Amazing Dancers

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I once described La+ Darknesss as having a level of skill and confidence in dancing nearly unmatched all of Hololive. That was back in March, shortly before 4th fes (the latest of the annual live concert events), and at the time, I left a caveat that there were actually a number of members who had yet to debut in 3D, and things might change.

Well, things have changed.

At this point, every girl in Hololive outside of the most recent debuts have gotten full 3D models, and many have shown themselves to be noticeably amazing physical performers. Among these talents, there are three that stand out to me in particular.

Hakos Baelz of Hololive Promise.

Vestia Zeta of Indonesia Gen 3.

And Vestia’s genmate Kobo Kanaeru. 

I have zero technical or artistic knowledge of dancing (outside of reading Wandance!), so my praise of them is mostly based on vibes. From that limited perspective, I get the sense that they move better than the vast majority of their fellow Holomembers. On top of that, they all seem to approach dance in different ways compared to one another, to the extent that I start to feel like their personalities and quirks come through in their respective performances. 

To me, Bae moves as if her entire body from head to toe is equally super-charged, Zeta from the ground up (with her legs being a big focus), and Kobo like she’s acting just as much as she’s dancing. La+, in comparison, seems to dance from the core and then have her energy radiates outwards into the rest of her body. I don’t know if this is even accurate or makes sense, but I start to wonder if I might be able to recognize each of them through their dancing even if they shared the same 3D model. Either that, or I’m just overestimating myself.

We might be entering a new Renaissance period of VTuber dancing. The recently announced 5th fes, Hololive Island, is likely to feature all of them and be an incredible showcase. On top of that, an upcoming Riot Games event in Japan is going to have a performance by Murasaki Shion and three of the names I’ve mentioned above: La+, Bae, and Kobo. And with ReGLOSS’s Todoroki Hajime making dance a major part of her character, I can see things only getting more exciting in the near future.