Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive's bet on the future of pop
An anticipatory hush falls over the thousands gathered at Makuhari Messe on March 8 for a concert. Momentarily, they'll learn which animated performer will be the first to entertain them for the next three hours. A red triangle briefly materializes on stage, triggering a quick wave of recognition that breaks the silence before Omaru Polka pops up to excited screams.
She rips into an original song, shouting a relentless stream of 'po po po po po po po' against a hyperactive video game soundtrack. The crowd, waving glow sticks set to Polka's trademark red, chants along.
For the next three hours, the venue fills with what some are betting is the future of entertainment, and it comes courtesy of Hololive (stylized in lowercase), an industry-leading talent agency operated by tech company Cover, which manages virtual YouTubers, better known as VTubers. Polka's performance kicks off one of three sold-out shows surrounding Hololive Super Expo, a multiday event celebrating VTuber culture. Here, online personalities represented by anime-style avatars sing and chat with the thousands of fans who are physically present, with many more joining online.
Several days after the expo, Cover founder and CEO Motoaki Tanigo is elated by how things went. Speaking from the company's office in Tokyo's Minato Ward, he tells The Japan Times he is thinking beyond the short term. '3D-related content is only getting bigger,' he says.
Once a niche genre in the 2010s, VTubing has grown into an industry projected to reach $8 billion by 2033, according to Verified Market Reports — with Hololive as a major player.
In Japan, Hololive talent has collaborated with a wide range of companies (as well as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government) in a way that has pushed VTubers further into the mainstream. Many have become online stars, often crossing over into the real world.
Thousands of fans filled Chiba's Makuhari Messe convention center on March 8 for Hololive Super Expo 2025 to dance, sing and play alongside their favorite virtual YouTubers (VTubers). |
Via PR Times
'(Hololive is) best-known for having one of the largest fan bases in VTubing — and their success in the industry attracts fans and potential talents to either join the agency or set up their own,' says Jay Agonoy, editor and publisher of the website VTuber NewsDrop.
VTubing is one of Japan's biggest creative success stories of the past decade — and it's now starting to flourish worldwide. For Hololive, that has meant expanding into Indonesian and English markets. Still, Tanigo has even bigger goals. 'We want to be a company that can compete on the international stage,' he says.
Virtual avatars, real potential
Not long after founding Cover in 2016, Tanigo realized VTubing wasn't just a novelty — it was a business with serious potential.
'We did a demonstration of our technology for investors,' he says. 'The reaction, especially from those outside Japan, was really impressive. That's when we knew we had something.'
Hololive emerged just as VTubing started gaining momentum. The idea of digital artists performing via avatars wasn't new — Horipro's Kyoko Date had tried and flopped in the 1990s, with Vocaloid software avatar Hastune Miku proving more successful in the late 2000s (although it was a larger community rather than a single person that brought that character to life). However, the arrival of Kizuna Ai in 2016 changed everything. She coined the term 'virtual YouTuber' and helped push the concept of a single person using a digital character to express themselves into the mainstream. Still, the blueprint wasn't entirely original.
'We operate an idol group similar to AKB48,' Tanigo said in a 2019 talk at Globis University, referencing the megapopular J-pop girl group with dozens of members. His words quickly went viral, with fans joking about Hololive's chaotic, unfiltered streams, where talents curse and discuss R-rated topics in ways AKB48 mastermind Yasushi Akimoto would never allow from his idols.
There's truth in Tanigo's assessment, though. The sheer size of the Hololive roster — over 90 creators — mirrors the super-sized lineups of AKB48 and its sister groups from the mid 2010s. The numbers mean it's possible for anyone to find their favorite and become a fan within the greater group ecosystem.
'It all depends on what the talents (themselves) want to do,' Tanigo says of the people and marketing behind the avatars. Still, variety helps. VTubing exploded during the pandemic as audiences stuck at home binged streams on YouTube. Now, music is just as powerful a gateway. Fans might not have time to watch a full stream, but they can listen to VTuber tracks when they're out and about. In response, Hololive has put greater emphasis on music, expanding VTuber music acts such as ReGloss and Flow Glow.
In many ways, Hololive's talents resemble the idols of yesteryear — only with fewer restrictions. AKB48 came up in an era where entertainment companies controlled every move their stars made. VTubers, by contrast, interact directly with fans across digital platforms, unfiltered, unpolished and free to be themselves. Ironically, for all their animated avatars, they seem more human.
The Hololive Super Expo is a multiday event celebrating VTuber culture. Here, online personalities represented by anime-style avatars sing and chat with the thousands of fans who are physically present, with many more joining online. |
Via PR Times
VTuber News Drop's Agony points out another difference in that, unlike with Akimoto, 'Most English-speaking fans forgive Tanigo if Cover makes mistakes, as long as Hololive's talents are treated well.' The support remains strong, even after a string of high-profile 'graduations' (idol-speak for departures) from the agency. 'You rarely see that kind of reverence toward other executives in this young VTuber industry.'
Tanigo, whom fans have nicknamed 'Yagoo,' has himself become a celebrity within the Hololive universe. In person, he's straightforward, business-focused and extremely hospitable. (Maybe too much so. At the end of our chat, I ask about his plans for the rest of the day. He smiles and says, 'I have to go to a meeting that started 10 minutes ago.') Fans see him as a hero, and when he made a surprise appearance at a Los Angeles meet-up, the crowd went wild.
No longer niche
It's July 5, 2024, and the top of the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium has ended. That means it's time to sing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame.' And leading the singalong? An anime girl who is part shark.
Gawr Gura, the biggest English-language VTuber on the planet, appears on the jumbotron, her cartoonish grin beaming down on the crowd.
It's the peak of Hololive Night, a crossover between the VTuber agency and the Los Angeles Dodgers — home to another Japanese icon, Shohei Ohtani. The event is a hit — though fans endure hours-long lines for exclusive merchandise — and marks one of the most ambitious leaps VTubing has made into the American mainstream.
Hololive isn't the only major player in this space. Rival agency Nijisanji, operated by AnyColor Inc., packed Makuhari Messe the weekend before Hololive Super Expo and has its own global ambitions. But Hololive has so far drawn the most international attention, a feat Tanigo attributes to the growing popularity of anime and gaming. 'There's no need for verbal communication in video games — it goes beyond language barriers,' he says.
'Hololive wasn't the first company to integrate elements of idol culture into VTubing, but they've been the most successful in carrying that idea into the English-speaking market,' Agony says, citing the debut of first-generation English talents, collectively known as 'Myth,' in September 2020. Additionally, he points out that Hololive's Indonesian branch has carved out a solid fanbase as well.
Not everything has been smooth sailing. In 2020, Hololive's most popular streamer implied Taiwan was an independent country, sparking outrage among Chinese netizens. The backlash was so intense that Cover shut down its Chinese branch entirely. Still, Hololive's growth has been steady. Besides Hololive Night, the agency has staged concerts in Los Angeles and New York.
'We have to think about how to do things not just on site but also online, in a way to deliver content to the fans,' Tanigo says. 'And we need to collaborate with American businesses to be more present in the U.S.'
Motoaki Tanigo has himself become a celebrity within the Hololive universe. Fans see him as a hero, and when he made a surprise appearance at a Los Angeles meet-up, the crowd went wild. |
Johan Brooks
In Japan, brand partnerships have helped popularize Hololive talents. VTubers now pop up on TV and in marketing campaigns. Hoshimachi Suisei, one of Hololive's top music-focused talents, recently sold out Nippon Budokan and landed campaigns with Parco, Converse and, as of this week, McDonald's — appearing alongside J-pop heavyweights Yoasobi and Ado.
In the U.S., VTubing remains a niche but expanding cultural force. Tanigo says his company is working on more live events and collaborations this year, plus a global mobile game release and an English-language version of its hit trading card game.
Tanigo sees the broader appeal of Japanese entertainment as a rising tide that can lift VTubing further—but he believes true global success requires a united front.
'With K-pop, you had Samsung and other companies in South Korea pushing to put the music into the Western market,' he says, adding that Japan shouldn't rely on just one company to drive anime-based entertainment worldwide. 'It should be several big companies — and Japanese industries — working to help one another.'
Korean entertainment also had government backing, something Tanigo says could be useful in Japan. 'When you make collaborations with other companies, you sometimes don't break even. The government could help with financial support to further spread Japanese pop culture.'
Compared to the rigidity of J-pop, the world of VTubers is looser, more chaotic and ultimately more diverse. A growing, dedicated fandom has made the choice to live there, Tanigo and his team are betting you'll do the same.
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