Hololive Production is a virtual YouTuber (VTuber) talent agency owned by Japanese tech entertainment company Cover Corporation. As of 2021, the agency manages a total of 52 VTuber talents between its branches; notable members include Usada Pekora, Houshou Marine, Shirakami Fubuki, Kiryu Coco, Inugami Korone, Minato Aqua, Akai Haato, and Gawr Gura. Alongside Anycolor’s Nijisanji agency, it is one of the two major corporate VTuber agencies.
The name Hololive was initially used for Cover’s 3D stream distribution app, launched in December 2017, and later its female VTuber agency, whose first generation debuted from May to June 2018. In December 2019, this Hololive branch was merged with Cover’s male Holostars agency and INoNaKa (INNK) Music label to form a unified “Hololive Production” brand. In 2019 and 2020, the agency debuted three overseas branches: Hololive China (since disbanded), Hololive Indonesia, and Hololive English.
As of May 2021, Hololive talents have more than 40 million combined subscribers on YouTube.
VTubers have become internet sensations across 2021. There’s one group that reigns supreme: Hololive. With over 50 creators under their banner, here’s how the Japanese company broke YouTube, and the internet, with their idols.
Everyone knows the household names in online entertainment, from Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg to Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson. However, a number of these online stars are becoming increasingly ‘virtual’.
The VTuber craze has taken YouTube by storm, and one company is at the forefront of it all: Hololive. The Japanese talent agency is home to over 50 creators, and all of them are taking the internet by storm and breaking records. And, VTuber-mania doesn’t look like slowing down soon.
Growth and reorganization
On 5 April 2018, Cover released an update to the Hololive app that removed its AR features, but added a feature enabling mapping of a user’s facial movements onto animated avatars in real-time. This update enabled at-home auditions using the iPhone X, and auditions for five new characters that would become part of the agency’s first “generation” opened on 2 May. The first generation of Hololive talents debuted from May to June 2018, and a second generation followed in August and September. On 15 November, Cover debuted AZKi, a non-Hololive VTuber focused on creating music.
On 6 December, Cover unveiled Hololive Gamers, a new group of VTubers specializing in let’s plays. Its new talents debuted in December 2018 and April 2019. On 19 December, talents appeared in a video on Hololive’s YouTube channel to demonstrate an update to the Hololive app that enabled in-person collaboration. On 25 December, Hololive launched a series of daily anime shorts starring talent Sakura Miko, Miko no Tsutome! It was well-received, and a second, ongoing web animated short series, Holo no Graffiti, began weekly release on YouTube in May 2019.
On 8 January 2019, Hololive announced that it had signed a contract with the Chinese video platform Bilibili, under which it would open 15 channels on the platform and simultaneously stream there and on YouTube. It would also begin collaborating with Chinese-speaking volunteers to translate Hololive videos, and start releasing original content for the Chinese market. On 17 May, Cover opened permanent talent auditions in China and Japan.
On 19 May, Cover formed an in-house music label, INoNaKa (INNK) Music, from AZKi and independent VTuber Hoshimachi Suisei. One week later, Cover unveiled an all-male VTuber agency named Holostars, whose first generation talents began debuting in June, followed by more in September and October of the same year. The 2nd generation of Holostars talents debuted in December 2019, and a 3rd generation would later debut in May 2020. The 3rd generation of Hololive, named “Hololive Fantasy”, debuted from July to August 2019. The 1st generation of Hololive China, a Chinese-speaking branch active on Bilibili, debuted from September 2019 to January 2020. The 2nd generation of Hololive China debuted in April 2020.
On 2 December 2019, Cover consolidated its Hololive, INNK Music, and Holostars agencies under a new brand named Hololive Production; the three entities continued to operate under their separate management teams. On the same day, Suisei transferred to Hololive from INNK, leaving AZKi as the label’s only member. A 4th generation of the original Hololive branch debuted in late December 2019 and early January 2020.
What are VTubers?
VTubers are a relatively new phenomenon when it comes to the internet. Short for “Virtual YouTubers,” they are online entertainers and idols. However, unlike your usual streamers, they use a virtual avatar as their ‘camera’.
The trend spawned out of Japan in the early 2010s, but didn’t really take off until Kizuna AI’s creation in late 2016. Considered the first VTuber in history, Kizuna broke the expectations of who streamers are, and brought virtual reality into entertainment in a big way.
After that, VTubers exploded globally. At the time of writing, there are over 10,000 known VTubers. There are also talent agencies housing these VTubers, the biggest of which is Hololive.
Some of the world’s biggest streamers, including Pokimane and PewDiePie, even cashed in on the craze in the peak of its mainstream popularity in 2020. However, even since then, the industry has only continued to boom, becoming one of the most popular trends on YouTube with billions of views per month.
The rise of Hololive in 2020
Hololive is an arm of Cover Corp, a Japanese start-up created by Motoaki ‘Yagoo’ Tanigo. Often referred to as the father of VTubers, Yahoo started exploring the concept of these virtual entertainers in 2017, inspired by vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku.
After debuting Tokino Sora in September 2017, Hololive slowly expanded from there. One VTuber turned into two, and then all of a sudden, there were dozens of creators under their banner by the end of 2019.
Expanding into China, Indonesia, and English-speaking nations across 2019 and 2020 turned Hololive from a niche Japanese group into a truly global experience. While all of Hololive’s Chinese VTubers have since “graduated” (codeword for retired) due to controversy, it did its job of bringing virtual entertainment into the foreground.
2020’s expansion into the Western market saw the rise to the trend as we know it today. Hololive English’s first five VTubers — Mori Calliope, Takanashi Kiara, Ninomae Ina’nis, Gawr Gura, and Amelia Watson — took over YouTube, leading to a complete craze in September.
There’s no exact answer as to why VTubers exploded in popularity. The use of a virtual avatar may be one side of the story, giving previously-camera shy personalities a way to express themselves. It’s also just different from your regular online entertainer business.
The VTubers themselves are immensely successful. Eight out of the 10 highest-earning YouTube stars (based on Superchats, the platform’s donation system) are VTubers. Collectively, 30 million subscribers follow Hololive VTubers, and that number only grows when you consider other talent agencies.
The future of Hololive and VTubers
With a wider Western audience getting involved with VTubers — whether it be new talents like those under Hololive, or already established streamers like PewDiePie making the switch — the future for VTubers looks even brighter in 2021.
Hololive’s rise on YouTube isn’t ending here either. The group has put out a second set of auditions for English VTubers in February 2021, and their grand plans for expansion don’t stop there.
What this year will bring for Hololive remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure — VTubers are here to stay.
