VOLs' First Convention Appearance at Cosplay Mania 2023
Aside from talking to the first-generation talents, fans of VOLs Project saw the debut of two new VTubers under the 1.5 Generation.
Continuing our event reports from Cosplay Mania 2023, we also checked out VOLs' first event appearance. There, I met Shirousa Mikumi and Aria Synth, as well as their cosplaying counterparts: Seushi Cahill as Mikumi, and Sam Mi as Aria.
VOLs chose the best spot inside the Cosplay Mania expo hall: Facing the Globe EX Stage, home to various performances from DJs, groups as well as guest VTubers.
Needless to say, in that one Saturday I talked to four VTubers, two of whom are VOLs talents. It's almost four months since the agency has debuted, and for the first time, I met their talents in person.
Debuting Mana and Charlotte from the 1.5 Generation
If there's one pattern I see with VOLs, it's that they will debut their talents with a bang: They held their first debut party at the Aniporium Cafe in Makati City, and now they are debuting two new talents under the 1.5 Generation at the Globe EX Stage.
VOLs 1.5 consists of mayonnaise-loving panicky jellyfish Minazuki Mana and cheesecake enjoying spider princess Mayuno A. Charlotte.
Minazuki Mana's profile: A 550-million-year-old "immortal jellyfish," she became the subject of human experiments in their quest for immortality.
Intrigued by humanity, she unlocked the ability to assume human form by altering her DNA. Hacking into the lab's computers, she delved into anime and gaming, developing a passion. One fateful day, she escaped, leaping into diverse worlds of gaming. Her fascination with humans remained unceasing.
Mayuno A. Charlotte's profile: As the spider princess, her mission is to reign over humanity. Yet, she shuns the intricacies of power and politics.
Escaping her royal mantle, she enters the human world driven by curiosity, finding unexpected kindness. Desiring to linger in the human world, she embarks on a streaming journey, aspiring to win hearts and captivate viewers.
Meeting Aria and Mikumi
First on the schedule was Aria Synth, who has recently celebrated her birthday (October 1, a day after). Next was Shirousa Mikumi who was just about to land herself into playing League of Legends (she asks herself if doing so will be a good decision).
Aria described her interactions with the newly debuted 1.5 Generation as very similar to her and Mikumi: All of them have the same chaotic energy. She is looking forward to collaborating with them in a Left 4 Dead stream, where she imagines lots of screams throughout the whole gameplay.
Noticing the cosplayers who dressed up as them, I asked Aria what it feels like seeing yourself cosplayed as. "Sam Mi did an amazing cosplay of me. She did the blue highlights on the wig for four hours," she expressed. That was on top of working on the whole costume. "I can't imagine the effort, but I love it."
Since it's us who mostly ask questions, it's not every day we get one for us; so, I let Aria ask me one question: What's the most standout part in a VTuber?
Here's my answer: "Clips! Clips are my basis for a VTuber's popularity, as people now have shorter and shorter attention spans [and they won't have that much time to watch longer streams]." I'm happy to tell you that we are on the same page.
She also thanks her fans—her Synthizens—for meeting her at the event. "First thing in the morning, there are Synthizens waiting already."
The author jots notes as Shirousa Mikumi shares her experience. (Photos: JM Melegrito, Anime Pilipinas)
Even if Mikumi says she was not feeling well, she still has the bubbly, explosive energy with her. Like Aria, it's her first time attending an event: "...it's like one step closer to success."
She echoes Aria's impressions on the 1.5 Generation, saying that they're very chaotic and she loves it. She tells them to be ready for explosions and surprises along the way.
Time ran fast as I interact with the two VOLs talents, and I wish to talk to them more; but that's for another meet-and-greet session. Thank you VOLs for letting us at NewsDrop reach out to the talents—and we wish everyone at the team all the best in their activities.