NewsDrop Digest

Weekly NewsDrop #18—January 28, 2023

Jay Agonoy, Teddy Cambosa, Andrew Amos

January 28, 2023 - 13:04 EST • 7 min read

This week, we've seen event announcements from Hololive and Nijisanji:

Nijisanji EN is gearing up for its AR Live concert, Colors, set this April. NijiEN talents were mum about their preparations until it was first announced after the highlights of last year's Nijisanji Unit Music Festival was uploaded. Ducky has the details on Colors later in this post.
Hololive has released the event designs for this year's Super Expo as well as the costume designs for its 4th fes. Our Bright Parade. Finally, we will see Hololive English (10 talents across Myth, Council and Project:HOPE) and Indonesia (1st and 2nd Generations) in their idol costumes!

Plus: News from Tsunderia, 774 inc. and VSPO! that are marked in the history of VTubing.

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Inside Kawa: Kawa Entertainment has successfully participated in its biggest con yet—the IKKiCON 17 Event Report is now up! Relive the moments from one of Austin, TX's oldest anime events.

NecroNews 28—WoW Is Now Unplayable (In China)

World of Warcraft has made a mark in the esports and gaming community in China—so much that when the partnership between developer Activision Blizzard and local publisher NetEase didn't end up nicely, a lot of players in the country were left devastated.

More on the fizzled deal on this week's NecroNews with Elle and Booster.

Commentary: What Makes FlaVR Unique

Ted describes FlaVR and its community as a good example of how one idea can expand tenfold: "Ironically, the meta status of what they are doing is putting an air of authenticity to the fact that some unsuspecting VTuber fans unknowingly ask if FlaVR is a legitimate agency."

Interview: Preparations for Nexstage Project's Debut

NewsDrop talks to Nexstage Project Executive Producer Jake Mandel Popovics: "I've seen that fans of English VTubers want more than just streams, they want the same kind of exciting, highly produced, content that they see coming out of Japan."

Insight: VTubers React to 2023 Twitch Changes

Ducky talks to VTubers about the recent open letter Twitch has posted, citing changes in the platform: "However, is it enough to keep VTubers⁠⁠—who have a considerable market share on the platform with the medium’s tag cracking the top five in 2022⁠—on Twitch?"

Twitch Promises Big Changes in 2023, but VTubers Remain Split on Future

Twitch’s 2023 open letter to streamers promised big revenue, discoverability, and engagement changes, but VTubers are split on its implementation.

VTuber NewsDropAndrew Amos

Tsunderia is Dissolved

Tsunderia, considered one of the pioneer VTuber agencies in the West, has announced its dissolution as of today, January 25. The announcement was made five months prior to the agency’s third anniversary.

VTuber Agency Tsunderia Dissolves

“Tsunderia as a company may be gone, but the legacy it created will live on forever. I cannot thank you enough for being part of it.”

VTuber NewsDropTeddy Cambosa

VTuber Makes Historic Transfer Between Two Agencies

Komori Met, a talent under 774 inc., has announced her graduation from the agency on January 31 this year. She is set to join the Virtual eSports Project (VSPO!) starting February 1, retaining her identity upon her transfer. This historic move is welcomed by the fans.

Wrestlesanji 2023 Held Successfully, Enna Alouette is the Champion

Ducky looks back at the recently-held Wrestlesanji 2023 organized by Selen Tatsuki and Nijisanji EN: "It ended with a spiteful eventual winner in Enna Alouette, who jokingly tweeted at every opponent to hurry up and eliminate her so she could go to sleep. Alas, her dreams were not fulfilled."

...and may we add as well that following Enna's win, Selen set up a Royal Rumble match. Her co-host Pomu Rainpuff tried her best to stay awake until the end of the rumble.

Lazulight 3D Debuts Now Complete

...with Pomu Rainpuff capping off the relay last Friday. Over 30,000 pomudachi tuned in to watch the wacky fairy entertain each and every one of us.

Nijisanji EN AR Live "Colors" this April

The vocal cords of NIJISANJI EN have been well and truly tested over the last two years, with their top VTuber stars releasing a number of covers and original songs. However, now they’ll get a chance on their own biggest stage with the reveal of their first AR Live concert, Colors, happening in April 2023.

Hololive Super Expo, 4th Fes. Details Revealed

This year's Hololive Super Expo and 4th Fes Our Bright Parade had their general ticket sales for overseas fans have sold out as of this release. Prior to this, details on the event have been revealed to the public. Here's what we know.

In Other News...

Following her successful Shout in Crisis concert and her historic performance on The First Take, Hoshimachi Suisei is set to perform another song on the channel Wednesday night Japan time.
Amelia Watson looks back at her achievements for ChikuTaku—a music video and also a playable game.
Hololive parent Cover Corp. opens a stream moderator job for English contents (Japan residents only).
Mika Melatika debuts a new outfit—making her more mature-looking than usual.
AkioAIR partners with two other organizations to set up Vyspire, an academy for aspiring VTubers.
Stream Breaks announced for Milky Queen (1 month), Rosedoodle (1 week), GEEGA (medical leave), Caerula Aki (1 month), Andi Andinata (starting February)...
...and most especially Ban Hada (indefinite), who told the audience that a car crashed into her house. It was later reported that the car was driven by two minors without a license who then fled the scene.
Manga artist Kitsune Windsor—also known in the VTuber scene as Komori-uta Kitsune—has passed away, Antarctic Press' Ben Dunn announced on Facebook. Komori's friends Mia and Saria will be streaming on Twitch January 29.
Neuro-sama returns on stream after getting banned on Twitch. Developer Vedal987 already has future plans for the AI VTuber, as discussed in an interview. (She can even sing now)
Graduations: Bri (February 12), Kuchikicombi (February), Lilita LaPlume (February 26)
Philippines: RexuLili returns as an indie after separating from Project Solaria.
Also: KoMETA's Virgil returns to streaming February 25.
Promotions: Poshie (Mariah) is now VShojo's Merchandise Operations Manager.
Happy Birthday to Inukai Purin, Namiji Freesia, Merryweather and Ririsya

Milestones

PiaPi UFO: 5,000 followers on Twitch and Twitter, 2,000 YouTube subscribers
Vestia Zeta: 666,000 YouTube subscribers
Serafina: 100,000 YouTube subscribers

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The Weekly NewsDrop is produced in collaboration with Kawa Entertainment. The views and opinions written on NewsDrop do not necessarily reflect those of Kawa Entertainment and its talents. Read our Editorial Policy for more details.

Banner Photo: Mika Melatika on YouTube

NewsDrop Digest