Reflections on an Industry in Transition: Why Saying Goodbye to Our Oshis Feels So Personal
By Shazly Zain
April 29, 2025 9:30 PM PT
As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.
In the span of a few months, we have seen the high profile departures of several older Hololive VTubers. Although Amelia Watson has an affiliate status, implying that we will see her again even if rarely, Hololive fans will be saying goodbye to Ceres Fauna, Nanashi Mumei and Gawr Gura permanently. For Holostars fans, we almost lost Regis Altare, leader of the Tempus Guild.
This begs the question–what is happening at Cover and what are these management issues?
Departures in a Wider Context
User-generated content as a career option is still very nascent. Only recently did the first ever YouTube video celebrate its 20th birthday. Retirement in the traditional sense is relatively rare for now with only a few content creators ceasing their activities permanently.
Table 1: Career Longevity Comparisons Across Entertainment Industries (Source: Compiled from Statista)
When compared to industry approximates such as the K-pop or J-pop/Idol industry, the lifecycle of VTubers follows similarly. There are notable differences such as the rigid and restrictive contracts K-pop idols have and the push for graduations and member renewals seen among some Japanese idol groups that limits their career longevity. Such issues are being faced by VTubers in other corporate settings, though Cover Corp seems to be a notable exception to these norms.
Given the wider industry trends, perhaps it is unsurprising that some talents from the HoloMyth and Promise (previously Council and CouncilRys) are moving on after four to five years.
Concern or Doomposting?
Several online comments have painted the departures of the older talents as problematic and symptomatic of bigger issues at Cover. The initial reaction upon receiving the graduation announcements was that Cover was forcing talents to stream less and be more idol-like. Some have even pointed to Cover’s public listing in early 2023 as problematic. Some fans were concerned that senior management would prioritise shareholder primacy over talent well-being
It is important to recognise that some of these comments were made by individuals seeking to stir up discontent within the holopro community. Virtually all the HoloMyth talents have warned fans to be discerning consumers of information. There have also been rebuttals by talents against the supposed idol approach Cover is allegedly making. Holostars EN talents have also spoken favourably about the experimentation management was attempting with announcements and content, noting that promoting male talents is significantly different from female talents with different degrees of success.
But it is also important to recognise that these comments were also made by well-meaning fans. Ultimately, fans have a significant relationship with their oshis, not the company. It does place emphasis on the communications team to ensure that information vacuums and corporate speak do not become hotbeds for misinformation. It is perhaps fortuitous that Cover has released a series of regular interviews with strategy leaders within the organisation that highlights the potential trajectory of the company and their talents.
Legacy
I was there when the legendary “A” was first uttered. Truth be told, I thought it was my old laptop speaker seizing up.
I was quite diligent in catching all of HoloMyth’s streams during the Covid 19 lockdowns. I, like many of you, found a sense of escapism and community with our favourite VTubers. Eventually, I started watching Mumei and Kronii and found their brand of humour entertaining. And while I stepped away from watching streams after a while, only having time to catch the odd stream once in a while, I always tried to keep up with the funny moments the clippers would curate. I eventually came back to watching regularly as HoloStarsEN’s Tempus Guild got my attention.
Here we are, four years later.
Today, aside from my day job as a qualitative researcher, I regularly keep up with the latest industry developments and write the occasional op-ed or two. I am even formulating a PhD thesis on the political economy and industrial development of the VTuber industry, a ludicrous notion to be honest.
My story is not particularly unique. I am sure that many of you reading this have experienced moments of inspiration while watching your favourite HoloPro talents. And I hope these moments continue.
The Tale of Two Norwich Fans
There is an advertisement depicting two Norwich City fans attending a game. One of them, quieter and clearly more stressed out, is always being checked in by his cheery friend. For us football and/or VTuber fans, watching a game or a stream is an experience in its own right. For that game or stream, nothing else mattered–win, lose or draw, it was just a community experience.
The ad ends tragically as the quieter man places a scarf on the seat of the cheery man. This gesture symbolises the death of a season ticket holder, the cheery man in this case.
Hearing the struggles of Gura was painful. She sounded regretful, having to effectively lie to her chumbuds and pretending everything was okay when it was not. We as fans will never know the true struggles of our favourite oshis. Many of our oshis speak of imposter syndrome. But I do hope that the people behind our favourite oshis realise the incredible achievements they have accomplished. This was not just a lightning in a bottle moment. They succeeded because of their efforts in making VTubing successful.
Mumei, Ame, Fauna, Gura and to any of your favourite oshis that have since graduated, you did good. We as fans are proud of you. We hope you can look back at this with pride as well.
And so perhaps as a personal appeal, let us be kind to our oshis, our fellow fans and to ourselves. Not because they or yourself deserve it but because you deserve to live in a kinder world.
See you later chumbuds.
Gawr Gura’s stream-ending screen. (https://www.youtube.com/live/3pS6f3_veik?t=2932s)
Op-Ed by Shazly Zain, Public Policy & Qualitative Researcher
Shazly has spent the last seven years providing strategic advice based on innovative, mixed-Qualitative and Quantitative methods in both commercial and sociopolitical research.
Beyond his professional work in the public policy and government relations space, he likes using games & pop culture as unconventional inspirations for his public policy musings. Shazly is also a massive fan of the Tempus boys and owns a reasonable number of Gura merch.
Follow or connect with him on LinkedIn here.
