The past few months for Hololive have been one big event after another, the biggest of which was the launch of not one, but two new Virtual Youtuber groups. First up is the Holo Advent at the end of July, the latest generation of Britons after two long years. Then in September came ReGLOSS, who seemed to be the vanguard of a whole new division. Both groups have now had a bit of time to establish themselves, and they seem to reflect two very different approaches: sifting through past experiences and going in the direction of experimenting with a mix of old and new. .
Holo Advent
Although “lore” and “plot” become less important over time, they are part of the first impression VTubers make and can help solidify their image in the eyes of the people of the world. fan. And when it comes to the UK branch of Hololive, parent company COVER Corp. They chose to make things more complicated. Unlike the relatively simple princesses, idols, and demons of the Japanese branch, the first generation (known as Holo Legends) debuted with an ancient Atlantean shark, a god of death, and a warrior. Phoenix soldiers, an Eldritch priestess and a time-traveling detective.
Due to the circumstances of the time (global pandemic) and their own abilities, Myth are the most successful Hololive generation—and possibly any VTuber group—ever. Their next products, Project Hope and Holo Council, were even bigger as representatives and embodiments of abstract concepts: hope of course, but then also the governing body of space, time, nature, civilization and chaos. While they all become famous and interesting individuals, I think the epic nature of their legends can become a burden for the girls themselves. It can weigh down VTubers just as much as it can elevate them, and often streamers only pay basic lip service to this aspect of their character.
I believe that knowing how to avoid that awkwardness is a lesson learned from the previous two generations of Englishmen, and I see this as demonstrating how Advent creates a middle ground between them. Like the Council, they have a unifying group concept: The members of the Advent are all escaped prisoners, locked up due to forbidden powers but who banded together to orchestrate an escape. However, their individual backstories are more detailed than the Mythos but less detailed than the Council. Shiori Novella is an archivist whose pursuit of knowledge has given her access to forbidden things. Koseki Bijou is a sentient gem that unintentionally arouses greed. Nerissa Ravencroft is a demon no different from a siren. Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard are demon guard dog twins who were locked up because they were in too much pain.
In fact, this specific level of lore allows them to play their core characters without having to devote too much to keep up with the acting. Shiori encourages creative activities and the accumulation of interesting stories. Bijou often makes jokes about rock music. Nerissa sings very well. FuwaMoco occasionally talks in a cute dog voice and barks. For example, they don’t need to represent primordial chaos. In professional wrestling terms, the Advent gimmick is a starting point that they can choose to learn or not learn without feeling like they are overdoing it or underdoing it.
ReGLOSS
If Advent was the product of editing and finding a lore sweet spot that wasn’t too sparse or too heavy, then ReGLOSS takes a far different angle. Like Advent, there are five of them in total, but all are considered normal human girls—not reincarnations or half-wombs or anything—though eccentric in their own ways their. Hiodoshi Ao is a handsome manga artist who is now a VTuber to help come up with new story ideas. Otonose Kanade is an aspiring musician with a penchant for bad puns. Ichijou Ririka is a young CEO who loves survival puzzles. Juufuutei Raden is a brash rakugo performer who enjoys drinking and smoking. Todoroki Hajime is a short banchou (thug boss) who loves dancing and fashion.
These five people came together to create music, but the funny thing is that most of them are not practicing musicians. One couple confessed that singing is still quite awkward for them and that they don’t have classically trained voices like many of their senpais. While there have been early Hololive members who were lacking in this department, it was generally expected that they would develop at their own pace and fans would love their abilities or even lack of that possibility. ReGLOSS, on the other hand, debuted from the start with their own generational song.
However, this clearly demonstrates a familiar aspect of Japanese idol culture. Unlike K-Pop, which likes to release its stars when they’re already cool, part of idol culture’s enduring appeal is seeing its performers mature. That quality permeates Hololive naturally and intentionally, but it has never been so focused. That said, it’s worth noting that even though most of them aren’t singers by default, they still have other skills and interests they can draw on. For example, Raden gives talks on art history and Ao does a live stream all about the bullet point system.
The most unusual thing about ReGLOSS is that they are also the first systems to participate in a division called holoDEV_IS (pronounced “Holo-dev-ice”), whose true purpose is still unknown. clear. Is it an attempt to break into other areas of entertainment? Not much information is known.
Room to Explore
With any new iteration, there will be those who want something comfortably familiar. Likewise, there will also be people who want something new and exciting. What I think has made Hololive such a big player in the VTubing world is their willingness to offer both while understanding that there are many types of success—big numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. Advent and ReGLOSS are a testament to this philosophy, and as they continue to grow, I will enjoy seeing all of their members build their own fan bases and find people who appreciate them. .