How Sarugaku Leon Jr Is Living Out His VTubing Dream

The existence of globie’s Sarugaku Leon Jr implies there is a senior lurking around.

When I posed this conundrum to the first generation member of the Brave group-owned corporation, he gave me a hearty chuckle. It’s the same laugh one those familiar with his streams would be able to pick instantly.

“My dad loved me,” he told VTuber NewsDrop with a giggle.

There is a lore reason for it: “From my lore right now, I used to have a dad, he was great to me, and I left early on and that’s about it. I’m still currently working on my lore.”

Despite the shared name, Leon is very much his own unique human. He is the self-proclaimed “monkey VTuber” from globie’s first generation, bringing chaotic vibes to the table. He’s an FPS fiend ⁠— mostly in Apex Legends ⁠— but he’s also branched out to variety content. 

Leon has an enigmatic draw, pulling together VTubers of all kinds to fool around with. There’s rarely just a solo Leon stream.

And for those perhaps unaware, globie is the newest expansion in Brave group, the VTubing conglomerate behind VSPO, V4Mirai and other smaller agencies. They’re a European-focused agency ⁠— a rarity in the corporate space with only idol really announcing their intentions in the region with idolES.

Sarugaku Leon Jr is joined by six others as part of globie Gen 1. Many might be familiar with Kumanui Miel, whose multilingual collabs have brought them the spotlight. But there’s plenty more just beneath the surface.

“For my genmates, the first generation of globie is such a good hit,” Leon said. “Everyone has such different personalities and unique traits so everyone stands out and I really appreciate management for picking us out very well. 

“We all specialize in different things, such as Reina [Ronronea], she’s very good at singing and she has her own humor, insanely good at entertaining. That’s just one.”

And for Leon, who has always been creating content in one way or another, globie presented an opportunity to break into the virtual space.

“VTubing makes so many things appealing to me,” he elaborated. “There’s so many things you can do anonymously without revealing your actual self. You can meet so many talented people and make friends with them. 

“Back then I was giving up because I did not know what to do. But once I dabbled into VTubing, I was able to get that little push again and I was able to stretch [myself]. I got a vocal coach and was able to improve on my singing as well as do content full time. I’ve not had this much fun in so long ⁠— these last few months have been such a blast.”

That’s not to say the VTubing start was all sunshine and roses. It’s nevertheless daunting to abandon the path you’ve trekked for years to launch yourself into a new frontier.

Thankfully for Leon, the support from his fellow genmates and the wider globie team let him settle in.

“Day 1 I was super shaky and worried about what to say. I was excited, but that lingering thought was in the back of my head. But with the welcoming presence of both management and the other talents, it has let me improve on myself in the last three months. 

“I can see myself act like myself in my streams nowadays because both them and my community have shaped me into the confident content creator I am now. If you compare me to who I was three months ago, I am a very different person.”

And that confidence comes up in those aforementioned collabs, bringing together VTubers from various communities all over the globe. It aligns with the dreams he had when he first set his sights on the virtual world, while also being a mark of progress from his early days filled with self-doubt.

“I’ve been following VTubers since Kizuna Ai, but this was the first time I’d done it professionally. Back then, I was worried people wouldn’t like me, and I’d be like ‘what if I’m not doing good enough, what if I don’t get the following I want?’ All those depressing questions. 

“But this community is super welcoming and passionate about whatever I’m doing. I can do anything and they’ll praise me for it, and that’s really reassuring. That shaped me to be more confident in what I’m doing, so I could meet so many others in the scene. I’m very happy where I am at right now, because my community is so nice. They support me in everything I do. 

“They do roast me a lot, but that happens in content all the time.”

And that stretching of his goals by getting a vocal coach and shooting higher musically? Or trying to get himself out there competitively with appearances at the Nebula Invitational for Apex Legends? It’s all part of the authentic Sarugaku Leon Jr slowly opening up to the world.

“While I did focus on school and stuff, me getting into VTubing let me pursue content creation full time and really put my blood, sweat and tears into it, and I’ve loved it. 

“Back then, I had my goals set around streaming regularly and the normal stuff. But now I am looking at much bigger projects. 

“I want to be able to release original music thanks to the voice training I’m doing and maybe make a hit original song, as well as be known competitively in FPS games like Apex. Hell, I’d love to get a sponsorship with those big gaming companies too. Those are my goals now.”

There are other things on the horizon too. Globie’s second generation is debuting imminently. That makes Leon a senpai ⁠— a senior of his own now ⁠— and he’s ready to indoctrinate more subjects into his chaotic collabs.

“In three months I was able to settle in, so having Gen 2 join us makes me excited,” he continued.

“I was able to talk to them early on, and management has chosen the best possible people for Gen 2. They’re insanely friendly and skilled. And it’s given me the drive to try my best, strive to be unique and try to achieve my own goals.”

And for himself, there’ll be plenty of shooting for his goals. But also he might be trying to dive into a deeper lore than just being someone’s son ⁠— although with some tomfoolery in his classic style.

“I did my lore originally on a whim so… I think I would most likely like to resonate my character lore more with Osamu Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs because he can act both super chaotic and goofy, but also very serious.”