History
2018
On 11 January 2018, Ichikara Inc. announced that they were opening recruitment for virtual idols. The campaign centered around Ichikara's iPhone X face tracking app, also named Nijisanji. The app was designed to simplify the process of becoming a VTuber using Live2D software and the iPhone X's Animoji feature. The announcement stated that accepted talents, known as Virtual Livers, would be expected to stream live to various platforms using this app.[13] The name Nijisanji was not used to refer to the talents themselves until the announcement of the second wave of recruitment on 15 March 2018.[14]
The name was created by mixing two words in Japanese, two-dimensional nijigen (二次元) and three-dimensional sanjigen (三次元). The name was created while imagining a new era of entertainment that connects the real and virtual worlds. There are two meanings implied in the Nijisanji logo: there is the word niji (虹) which means rainbow and the word sanji (三時) which means three o'clock. The rainbow in the logo is meant to symbolize the agency's colorful characters and varied personalities.[citation needed]
On 17 July 2018, auditions were started for a Chinese branch in Shanghai and Taipei, and in cooperation with CAPSULE Inc., would recruit from each eight people for a total of sixteen Livers.[15] The partnership with CAPSULE Inc. would end in March 2019, with Ichikara revoking its license. CAPSULE Inc. would spinoff what it maintained into VEgo.[16][17] VEgo itself would go inactive by the end of March 2020.
2019
A month after the end of the original Chinese branch, in April 2019, in cooperation with bilibili, new Chinese auditions would be started. From these, the jointly operated "VirtuaReal Project" would emerge later in May.[18][19]
Additionally in May, Ichikara launched its "Nijisanji Network" service where it would support other content creators and affiliated companies through the use of Nijisanji management and support resources. They also announce the first and only participants of the program being Indie VTuber Fairys-chan and Tenkai Tsukasa.[20] The service would eventually be shut down on 31 December 2019 with all its participants continuing activities on their own.[21]
In July, auditions began for an Indonesian branch of the agency, Nijisanji ID, which would launch later in September.[22][23] In November and December, auditions began for Indian and Korean branches respectively (Nijisanji IN and KR), each beginning activity in January 2020.[24][25]
2020
In January 2020, Nijisanji officially opened the English version of its Twitter (now formally known as X) accounts, followed by an English YouTube account in June.[26] Also as part of their attempt to appeal to the English speaking audience, they rebranded their Indian branch into a broader English branch (Nijisanji EN). However, in November, the three members of Nijisanji EN were returned to their original Nijisanji IN branch, while the audition for the only English speaking talents was held in December. Nijisanji IN was eventually dissolved and all its members graduated on 30 April 2021.[27]
In September 2020, Nijisanji created an "Aggressive Acts and Slander Countermeasure Team" to offer counselling to victims of harassment and take legal measures against perpetrators of harassment, specifically the online harassment plaguing the Japanese entertainment industry. This announcement came in the wake of Hololive VTuber Mano Aloe's retirement after only two weeks of activity due to online harassment.[28]
In October 2020, Nijisanji privated the various Among Us streams of its member after receiving a complaint by Masuoka, a programmer who made the popular Japanese translation mod of the game. Through a tweet, Masuoka specify that the reason for his complaint was that Nijisanji was using Masuoka mod without properly crediting him. Nijisanji have since entered negotiation with him to properly credit and license his work.[29]
On 1 December, Ichikara Inc. announced the official launch of Nijisanji's first-wave auditions for English-speaking countries. The audition period lasted until 15 December.[30]
2021
Nijisanji EN debuted its first wave in 16 May 2021 dubbed "LazuLight". It consisted of three female Livers: Elira Pendora, Pomu Rainpuff, and Finana Ryugu. A simultaneous commentary livestream on their English channel, hosted by Nijisanji ID members Hana Macchia and Bonnivier Pranaja, was also held.[31] It was followed by OBSYDIA in July and Ethyria in October.
On 17 May 2021, Ichikara officially renamed itself to Anycolor.[32]
In June, Anycolor would announce a talent training initiative known as "Virtual Talent Academy". Its first auditions would be held on 18 June 2021, who would begin training starting from November.[33][34][35] Upon completion, the graduate may be given the offer to debut in Nijisanji or freely move to other agencies to try to audition to them.
On 12 December 2021, the fourth wave of Nijisanji EN VTubers debuted, called "Luxiem". It was made up of five male Livers: Luca Kaneshiro, Shu Yamino, Ike Eveland, Mysta Rias, and Vox Akuma. A debut program was hosted by Elira Pendora and Oliver Evans.[36] Luxiem marked the debut of the first English-speaking male talent wave from a big VTuber agency.[37]
2022
On 17 February 2022, Anycolor announced the merger of Nijisanji ID and Nijisanji KR into the main Nijisanji branch starting on 15 April 2022. As part of the merger, the official social media accounts of the two branches would cease operation and the ongoing audition for their latest generation for both would be cancelled.[38]
On 22 February 2022, Noctyx, the second male wave (and fifth overall) of Nijisanji EN debuted. Noctyx featured Sonny Brisko, Uki Violeta, Alban Knox, Fulgur Ovid, and Yugo Asuma.
On 16 March 2022, Anycolor announced a new wave of three Nijisanji Livers originally from Virtual Talent Academy, the first VTA graduates to debut directly into Nijisanji. The new wave, "Ranunculus", began their activities on 20 March 2022.
It was later announced that Nijisanji's VTubers would collaborate with Japanese singer Yuya Tegoshi.[39]
On 8 June 2022, Anycolor publicly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange,[40] opening at ¥4,810 per share. By 18 October 2022, the company was estimated to be worth over US$2.5 billion, with founder Riku Tazumi's 45% share netting him a personal wealth of roughly US$1.1 billion, making him Japan's youngest billionaire.[41][42]
On 13 July 2022, Anycolor announced the next wave of Virtual Talent Academy graduates to debut directly into Nijisanji. The new wave, "Voltaction", began their activities on 16 July 2022.[43]
On 24 July 2022, Iluna, the sixth wave of Nijisanji EN, debuted.[44] The first English-speaking, mixed-gender wave to debut, Iluna included Maria Marionette, Kyo Kaneko, Aia Amare, Aster Arcadia, Scarle Yonaguni, and Ren Zotto.
On 9 December 2022, XSOLEIL, the seventh wave of Nijisanji EN, debuted.[45] This was the second English-speaking, mixed-gender wave to debut, and included Doppio Dropscythe, Meloco Kyoran, Hex Haywire, Kotoka Torahime, Ver Vermillion, and Zaion LanZa.
On 14 December 2022, Anycolor announced the immediate graduation of Nijisanji EN Liver Yugo Asuma of Noctyx. The notice stated that Yugo's graduation was a result of discussions between the company and Yugo regarding aspects of his activities and behavior as a Liver. Both parties concluded that it would be best to part ways.[46]
2023
On 10 March 2023, Anycolor terminated Nijisanji EN Liver Zaion LanZa of XSOLEIL, citing multiple violations of her contract and rules set out by the agency, including copyright infringement and making "offensive remarks regarding discrimination and sexual assault".[47] However, many of the allegations were disputed in a document released by VTuber Sayu Sincronisity.[48]
On 23 March 2023, Nijisanji temporarily suspended Gundo Mirei after she posted a baseball-related tweet that offended Japanese baseball fans pushing Anycolor to suspend her.[49][50] Mirei was tweeting her reaction to the ongoing WBC (World Baseball Classic). In a tweet thread she voiced her misunderstandings about baseball and made seemingly sarcastic jokes and comments about how baseball could be improved.[51] Since her suspension, Mirei Gundo had not posted on social media or streamed. She eventually announced her graduation on 21 June 2023.[50]
On 24 June 2023, Krisis, the eighth wave of Nijisanji EN, debuted.[52] A male trio, this wave included Vezalius Bandage, Vantacrow Bringer, and Yu Q. Wilson.
On 26 June 2023, Nijisanji EN Liver Nina Kosaka of Ethyria announced her graduation, set for 8 July 2023.[53][54]
On 23 July 2023, Nijisanji EN Liver Mysta Rias of Luxiem announced his graduation, set for 27 August 2023.[55]
On 21 October 2023, Nijisanji announced the graduation of Xia Ekavira, Mika Melatika, and Riksa Dhirendra.[56][57] The talents, who were previously part of Nijisanji’s Indonesia branch, are part of a growing list of former Nijisanji Indonesia talents graduating from the agency. Past graduations include ZEA Cornelia, Taka Radjiman, Siska Leontyne, Amicia Michella, Azura Cecillia, Nara Haramaung, Reza Avanluna, and Hyona Eliatora. All of these graduations have happened following the merge of the agency’s Indonesian and Korean branches to the main Japanese branch.[56] The three graduated on 17 November 2023, 28 December 2023, and 11 January 2024, respectively.[57]
On 27 October 2023, TTT, the ninth wave of Nijisanji EN, debuted.[58] This wave was formed of Kunai Nakasato, Victoria Brightshield, and Claude Clawmark.
On 12 December 2023, Nijisanji announced the graduation of two livers, Chihiro Yuki and Momo Azuchi. They graduated on 31 January 2024.[59]
2024
On 5 January 2024, Nijisanji EN Liver Pomu Rainpuff of LazuLight announced her graduation, set for 20 January 2024.[60][61]
On 1 February 2024, Nijisanji EN Liver Kyo Kaneko of Iluna announced his graduation, set for 17 February 2024.[62]
On 5 February, the company announced the termination of Nijisanji EN Liver Selen Tatsuki's contract, effective immediately, after she had been inactive online for over a month, citing breaches of contract, violations of internal rules, misleading statements on social media, and actions causing payment delays for commissions to fan creators.[63][64] The company received backlash from inside and outside the VTuber community afterwards.[65]
The contents of Selen Tatsuki's notice of termination sparked controversy online. Multiple creators who worked with her refuted the claim that Selen had delayed their payments, and some stated that Nijisanji's management was responsible for the delayed payments.[65] Additionally, the notice accused Selen of posting a song cover without proper authorization, leading to management unpublishing the video until authorizations were confirmed.[48][66] It was later stated that the video portion had not yet been approved due to the inclusion of former Nijisanji Livers.[67] It is unclear as to what specific rights were required, however, as Nijisanji owns the intellectual property for their character designs.
The final statements posted on Selen's Twitter page before its protection stated that she had been hospitalized at the end of December 2023.[48][68][69] Independent VTuber Dokibird, the alternate account of the creator behind Selen,[70][71] later stated that her hospitalization was due to a suicide attempt caused by poor management and a toxic environment.[72][48]
In response to the situation, several Nijisanji EN Livers, including Enna Alouette, Fulgar Ovid, Finana Ryugu, Uki Violeta, and Meloco Kyoran, announced that they would be taking a break from their social media accounts.[48]
On 6 February, in response to the situation, custom PC case and accessory maker HYTE announced that it had terminated its current projects with Nijisanji.[73][48]
On 7 February Japanese time, Nijisanji released an investor relations statement claiming that the decision to terminate Selen Tatsuki would have a negligible effect on its finances.[74] Yahoo! Finance users criticized Nijisanji's inability to retain talent and its handling of Selen's termination.[48][75]
On 12 February, Nijisanji EN Liver Elira Pendora premiered a YouTube video addressing the situation.[76] In the video, Elira and two other Livers, Vox Akuma and Ike Eveland, claimed that the company had been receiving documents from Selen's lawyer that contained untrue accusations and personal information on other Livers, which raised concerns of doxxing. They reiterated the claim that Selen had posted the cover without waiting for permission from management and that it was set to be rereleased once approved, showing a screenshot of a partial Slack conversation. Some Livers reached out to Selen regarding her reaction to the incident, which was allegedly cited by Selen's lawyers as part of the bullying and harassment allegations. Vox and Ike expressed that they felt hurt and sad by the contents of the documents made by someone they "considered a good friend". In particular, Vox stated that the document cited a secretly recorded voice call as evidence of favoritism within the agency. Overall, this statement was received poorly on the internet, with many accusing the talents of reading from a script and questioning why the video was posted ahead of an official statement from management.[77] The scheduled release of the video coincided with Dokibird's first stream; Dokibird ended the stream early to converse with her lawyer. Dokibird made a Tweet in response to the video asserting that the document was not supposed to be shared outside of the legal department, and speculated whether confidential information had been incorrectly shared,[78] which could also violate privacy law. On 13 February, both parties revealed that nothing confidential had been disclosed.[79][80] Dokibird expanded on her response on 14 February, apologizing for her inclusion of the recording of Vox in the document and expressed her sentiment of wanting to move on and for the public to not inquire about further details.[81]
Later that day, Anycolor CEO Riku Tazumi released a statement addressing the controversy via the Nijisanji EN Official YouTube channel.[82][83] He clarifyed that the investor relations statement was meant only for investors, but acknowledged that the language used was inappropriate.[83]
Our wording lacked consideration for the situation and caused NIJISANJI EN fans and everyone who supports the VTuber industry to feel that ANYCOLOR Inc. undervalued the impact of Selen’s contract termination, or Selen herself. I deeply regret this outcome and will be rethinking how our communication in English is done.
— Riku Tazumi, Addressing Your Concerns
He also stated the importance of Tatsuki in cultivating the growth of Nijisanji. In terms of cultivating a safe environment, Tazumi acknowledged that the conflict has not only affected them as a company but also the overall well-being of their talents.[83] Tazumi also acknowledged the lack of content in Nijisanji EN and promised to work on it by recruiting more staff to this division to aid in the agency's other content offerings aside from the typical content. Lastly, he commented that talents are "irreplaceable" and that beyond business partners, they are the most important individuals that they must protect as a company.[83]
