Weekly NewsDrop #44—July 30, 2023

It's hololive English -Advent- debut weekend! People are already excited to meet the 3rd Generation holoEN roster, given that fans have waited for a Gen 3 to appear for quite a while. Ducky reports:

The seventy second teaser didn’t provide much in the way of what content to expect out of the new group, but it did give a first look at their new models and names.

Shiori Novella, Koseki Bijou, Nerissa Ravencroft, and duo FUWAMOCO (made up of Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard) are their names, and they’re all wanted for something.

We have already seen the debut of Shiori Novella and Koseki Bijou, and we have yet to see Nerissa Ravencroft—but most of us who are waiting for the debut are in it for FUWAMOCO, the first hololive twin VTubers. They're certainly not the first twins in VTubing, but their reveal sparked discussion on how twin VTubers work.

• This brings us back to that one photo from Duo Leveling's Yuki and Yuna Astrea, who shared their setup once again. This has to be one of my favorite VTuber photos of all time.

Speaking of hololive, HOLORO (hololive Indonesia 2nd Generation) spared no crumbs entertaining everyone with a 1-hour variety mini 3D Live "Holoro Show," a featuring a variety of segments that will excite you, make you laugh and at one point, tug your heartstrings.

Meanwhile, we've already seen what X (formerly Twitter) is, and more users are finding other places to share their thoughts. Japanese users are already flocking to Misskey.io, a fediverse instance using the Misskey software.

• We've seen VTubers, fans and culture enthusiasts flock over to the instance to continue discussing their interests, and they are welcomed with open arms.
• The catch: They do have their own set of rules to follow. As the saying goes, "When you're in Rome, do as the Romans do." Emi has gathered a list of tips for new users.
• Misskey.io's administrator who goes by the name "Murakami-san" was interviewed by Nikkei Asia early this month, sharing that his server maintenance fee rose tenfold in February as it welcomes more users.
• As for NewsDrop... We're already on Threads. Once Threads opens up to the fediverse, you can follow us and get the latest soon. (For the meantime, I already have my @[email protected] handle, which you can follow on either Mastodon or its variants—including Misskey!)

Latest on NewsDrop

• Cover Corp. Taps Tech Company stu for Online Live Performances; Launches New Gaming Brand 'HLZNTL'
• VTubers Take Over Streamys 2023 As Ironmouse, Filian Lead Nominations
• Brave Group's ENILIS Lays Out Plan for Future VTuber Projects
• On Behind The Model—Tiffany Witcher: “When I was done mourning and stuff like that, I had my wedding and I decided to do streaming. I wanted to honor her legacy and do it my own way and help people around the world.”
• We have released the highlights of HoloTakeover's hololive Cosplay Gathering at Anime Expo 2023 on YouTube, featuring YAGOO himself! Special thanks to Clawmaster for recording this for us, we wish him all the best.

Here is the latest stock market update for select VTuber companies listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange as of July 28, 2023.

• Most companies on the watchlist have closed in the red, with only GEO Group (+0.83%) and UUUM (+0.16%) closing the day on a positive note.
• ANYCOLOR held its 6th Annual General Shareholders Meeting, and here's what we learned from it.
• According to Google Finance's earnings calendar, several companies in the list are set to present their earnings reports, which means it should be a busy month.

In Other News

We first take a look at Indonesia, which had two big stories in the past few days:

ALTERLY has announced a hiatus for its three talents Rora Meeza, Rumi Naita and Leifa Nerine as they "return to their respective worlds of origin for an unspecified time."

• Fans did not accept this sudden announcement lightly, with some thinking that the talents behind the VTubers were dismissed, and that they think it could have been a graduation instead. We have emailed the agency to ask for clarifications.

JKT48 ventures into VTubing as it teases JKT48V with three upcoming talents. Ted has this report:

The newly-announced members include Pia Meraleo, Kanaia Asa, and Tana Nona.

This will mark the first time an idol group from the 48G system to debut a standalone virtual idol group. However, this is not the first time the massive idol group system has ventured into experimenting with virtual idols. In 2011, the AKB48 "idol" Aimi Eguchi was revealed to be actually a fictional idol created by the idol group, composed of a CGI composite of six real-world AKB48 members' faces with the voice of one of the kenkyūsei (research student) trainees.

Mythia Batford sings the official theme song Jika ini Mimpi for Dragon Nest 2: Evolution Indonesia in collaboration with Vierratale. Menawhile, Nakama Virtual's Kousei released his cover of natori's Overdose.

Just recently, representatives from agencies AKA Virtual, MAHA5, Re:Memories as well as Rendy Yusuf and VTuber.Asia's Valentino Ringo joined DigiKagi Direct on Twitter (X) Spaces to discuss the overview of the VTuber industry in the country.

Here are other stories from across the globe:

• NIJISANJI EN has all bases covered, with their presence at Anime Impulse Bay Area (ILUNA) and ACGHK 2023 (Luca Kaneshiro, Millie Parfait, Enna Alouette, Doppio Dropscythe and Mysta Rias) this past weekend.
• Akai Haato shall return in good health soon, according to a letter shared by her manager.
• Mori Calliope releases six feet under produced by TK (from Ling Tosite Sigure).
• VESPERBELL and KMNZ will now be managed by RK Music.
• Mysta Rias releases DETECT MY LOVE, makes a bet with Mystakes that if the song reached a million views all of his VODs will stay after graduation. (Mystakes left no crumbs).
• Kobo Kanaeru joins StarBe in performing Princess Samurai.
• Neo Porte's NaYuta has been terminated due to breach of contract. The streamer has been inactive since April.
• Tenko Sorara has been terminated from VOLs after discovering "activities that compromised trust, including artificially inflating engagement metrics on social media."
• Vivian Voss departs from lucid Multimedia to pursue VTubing independently starting August 15.
• Taledo has a good explainer video telling the problem with VTuber Conventions.
• Yano Research Institute expects the VTuber industry to expand to 80 billion yen this year, up by 153.8% year-on-year.
• ChroNoiR is set to appear in Google Pixel Fold's TV commercial.
• Production Kawaii is set to move to Patreon from Pixiv Fanbox.
• hololive production and Taiwan's iPASS collaborate for special edition payment cards.
• NIJISANJI was mentioned in a Nikkei XTrend case study on VTubers and marketing to Gen Z (paywall).
• Pretzel Music has a special 90-day free trial offer for Twitch streamers.
• VTubers to be included in this year's AniManGaki Malaysian VTuber Showcase are announced.
• More hololive figures announced at Wonderful Hobby Life for You! 37 Summer.
• Hayato Kagami and Ike Eveland are set to have their own figures from arma bianca.

Our flagship newsletter Weekly NewsDrop is released every weekend. Subscribe for free to receive this in your inbox.

For news tips, tweet or message @vtubernewsdrop on Twitter, email news [at] vtubernewsdrop.com or fill up the web form.

The views and opinions written on NewsDrop do not necessarily reflect those of its partners. Read our Editorial Policy for more details.

Banner Photo: FUWAMOCO on Twitter