Tag Archives: todoroki hajime

Four hololive Dancers, Four Twists

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Todoroki Hajime of hololive held her 3D birthday concert in June, and one of the biggest moments was a group performance of the song “Kokkara” featuring her, Hakos Baelz, Isaki Riona, and Mizumiya Su. As expected, they all showcase why all four of them are almost inarguably the best dancers in hololive, but one thing that really stood out to me is how they were given opportunities to show off their unique dance personalities.

While the most clear example of unique expression is when they each perform by themselves, one thing that really caught my attention is how they each move during the chorus. There’s this pivot/twist move that they do, and if you look closely, you can see that they each perform it differently. I don’t know enough to actually fully make sense of their individual approaches, but to me it looks like:

Hajime has her hands in different positions every time, with weight on one leg and both knees bent. It reminds me of a C-walk, but also feels like she’s drilling down with her body.

Bae also has her weight on one leg, but the other is more extended, she’s bent lower at the waist, and her arms are out like she’s doing the classic Twist. To me, it comes across almost like a sit spin in figure skating and has a clearly different silhouette from Hajime’s.

Riona does more of a shuffle in place with less of a clear twisting motion and more hip movement, and she ends with a very pronounced kick to the side. Her hands are also moving in vertical circles, like wheels.

Su seems to shift her weight back and forth between each leg, though I might be getting fooled by the fact that her left leg is really crossing over her right as she pivots. It gives the impression that Sue is very light on her feet, even compared to the others. 

Additionally, in the first chorus, the four backup dancers do the choreography as well, and they also each have their own take on the move!

Incidentally, Hajime gave their names during the concert, but given her particular speech quirks, I couldn’t fully decipher them. I think they’re Hajime’s personal crew from her backup dancer days, so I think it’d be cool if someone could figure out who each of them were in other performances, including but not limited to the birthday concert.

VTubing and the Dancer’s Conundrum

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With the 3D debut of hololive’s ReGLOSS, we have the arrival of another fantastic VTuber dancer. Todoroki Hajime might very well be the best yet, her experience as a professional backup dancer coming through loud and clear. She’s mentioned her love of dance since day one, and other talents have praised her abilities along the way, so there was a good deal of anticipation for Hajime in 3D.

It was well worth the wait, but I have to think about the fact that the wait happens in the first place. Being a VTuber known for dancing comes at an inherent disadvantage.

Almost all VTubers these days begin with 2D models; it’s the faster and more economical option compared to 3D. The drawback to this approach is that movement is much more limited. Certain skills are not really affected by this—singing, chatting, and gaming all work similarly to what non-virtual streamers do. 

However, dancers cannot show their strength at the start. They require a 3D model plus more advanced motion tracking, as well as literal space they can move comfortably in. For indie VTubers, this can be a very tall order, with the technology being very expensive. Even in a more established company, talents rarely get them any time soon. hololive, arguably the best place for virtual dancing, still has a typical lead time of around 7–12 months, with Hakos Baelz especially delayed (18 months!) due to restricted travel to Japan resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Brave Corporation—owners of VSPO, V4Mirai, and more recently IDOL Corp—often have the shortest lag time, but even that is measured in months. The early period starting from debut is a vital time to make an impact and establish one’s image, and a reputation for dance is harder to include when the audience can’t see it.

After these dancers (or any other very physical performers) show the world what they’re capable of, they still face hurdles. Namely, they often simply cannot dance as frequently as others engage in other methods of performances. For hololive, proximity to their studio in Japan is a major factor—those living overseas have to invest a lot to even be there, and if anyone wants to dance more often, they basically have to stay in Japan. I have to suspect that this has been a factor in both Bae’s, hololive English’s Koseki Bijou, and hololive Indonesia’s Vestia Zeta’s decisions to move to Japan. And even after that, they have to deal with well-known scheduling issues when it comes to booking studio time. Other companies have to rent out dedicated spaces that specialize in 3D motion capture.

Even in a stream to stream comparison, dancers have it tough. A karaoke session can go for hours, bringing attention and even money through viewer donations. Dancing, in contrast, is much more physically demanding while also having to deal with cumbersome and costly equipment.

The upside of being a dancer is that one does finally get the chance, it makes a hell of an impact. There is probably nothing that shows off better the concept of a VTuber as a bridge between the real and the virtual. Hajime’s debut performance of “Bandage” has done incredibly well, with her clipped VOD (see above) already close to 2 million views. I have zero doubt that she’ll get some of the loudest cheers when she appears at the annual holo fes concerts.

There’s definitely value to building up hype over many months for a 3D debut, and wowing viewers with an incredible choreography and sheer ability. At the same time, though, it does give those who shine brightest through their footwork and movement something of a slow start. While I know it isn’t realistic, I do wonder how things would be if VTubers could stream dancing on a whim, or at least as easily as they could do anything else.