US-based VShojo VTuber Group Debuts

VShojo VTuber Group aims to bridge gap between Virtual Entertainers and Brands

The VTuber community saw the launch of VShojo, an agency for virtual stars based in the US, last November 24. VShojo prides itself as a “a talent-first VTuber company, dedicated to the growth and success of its members“.

VShojo’s first generation

The VShojo roster introduces the re-debut of active virtual personalities Projekt Melody, Ironmouse, Nyatasha Nyanners, Silvervale, and Zentreya as well as VTubers Froot (formerly known as Apricot, debuted on November 27) and Hime Hajime, whose debut is yet to be announced.

Projekt Melody

“This is Melody. She has trouble counting and lacks vital organs. People describe her as the most wholesome pervert they’ve ever met. Melody is friendly, considerate, and talks about [CENSORED]… a lot.“

Ironmouse

“A demon queen who goes by several names…but has also been rumored to be Satan herself. She is a friendly, fun loving demon who ran from her duties and escaped the confines of Hell/the underworld in order to make new friends, learn new things and live life to the fullest. Has an obsession with the internet, music, lewd, nerdy and all things cute. She wears special magical bells on her body to contain and control her power in order to better blend into the human world. If her bells ever get removed only pure chaos will ensue. It has been said that once the bells are off her true demon queen form will be revealed. All she ever wants to do is have fun and see what the human world is all about and consume … make as many souls friends as she can.“

Nyatasha Nyanners

“An ancient evil creature that has assumed the form of a pink-haired catgirl. She tries her best to be pure hearted and loves to sleep and play games. Her ultimate goal is to become an idol and take over the planet.“

Zentreya

“A red haired half human/half red dragon, rockstar (kinda). She is very headstrong and tends to yell at everyone around her, but loves meeting new people! She tends to play pranks and loves memes. Wants to rule humanity one day, but she’s too much of an air head to do it.“

Silvervale

“An ōkami sakura spirit who ventured to earth out of loneliness. Upon realizing that fluffy ears are not common in the human realm, she often hides them under a pair of cute headphones. She is a delicate blend of lewd and wholesome, loving to spread joy and cozy vibes. Nothing makes her happier than meeting new friends, and she hopes to encourage them to appreciate the fleeting beauties in life. Though she has a terrible sense of direction and is very forgetful, her childlike sense of wonderment is known to melt hearts.“

Froot

“A bittersweet Lich who spends her days in her underworld castle drawing art. She took a turn to streaming once she realised she could harvest human souls by disguising them as Twitch Subscriptions. She is a hopeless necromantic and hopes to one day own her own Virtual Fashion brand.“

Hime Hajime

“A well-endowed Alien/Dragon/Robot hybrid from some far away planet. She decided to explore the universe but was drawn to Earth due to its variety of entertainment. Currently living in an old Japanese apartment but enjoys her time with videogames and alcohol. Often a bit crude but has a soft pleasant aura around her. Chose the name Hime Hajime from an ‘eroge’ as I think they call it on Earth?“

Prior to VShojo, Melody, Ironmouse, Nyanners, Silvervale and Zentreya collaborated in various videos online, such as LewdCast. Calm-voiced Nyanners is a popular personality on YouTube prior to her entry as a VTuber with her covers of The Tiny Salmon Song, Mine’s not hot and Old Town Road. Melody is regarded among the circles as the first 3D rendered camgirl who amassed a following in her first three days of streaming. Zentreya on the other hand founded the Twitch Team Virtual Streamers Worldwide (VSW). Silvervale is known for her horror game play-throughs on Twitch.

VShojo as a bridge between VTubers and brands

VShojo’s role is to be a bridge between its VTubers and the brands. It will provide the talents sponsorship opportunities, technical and legal/public relations support as well as helping them expand their reach through social media and merchandise assistance and more, all while giving them complete freedom.

To know more about VShojo, we got in touch with its Chief Executive Officer Justin “GunRun” Ignacio, who is also part of Twitch’s founding team prior to building the venture together with its Chief Technology Officer Philip “MowtenDoo” Fortunat, for a quick Q&A:

Anime Corner (AC): You’ve mentioned in your interview with The Hollywood Reporter that you’ve streamlined the process for VTubers and brands, may we know from your perspective what specifically are the challenges both VTubers and brands have to face prior to building this?

Justin “GunRun” Ignacio: While working with VTubers to grow their channels, I noticed that brands were not aware of the VTubing space even though it has a significantly large audience. Our goal is to help the VTuber community understand their value by educating brands and potential sponsors about the size of the VTubing market and the impact they can make given its incredibly supportive fandom.

AC: Also prior to building VShojo, most of your talents are independent. How was it easy/hard to get them in the fold?

Ignacio: I have been connected with the livestreaming community since I worked on the launch of Twitch in 2011 and during this time I have been both a technical and marketing resource to many content creators, including VTubers and their VTubing friends. Once it became clear that VTubers were not getting the same opportunities as traditional livestreamers, yet often attracting larger audiences, it inspired us to launch VShojo.

In addition to already being friends with many of our roster, we worked closely with them to ensure our business model was aligned with their goals and expectations.

AC: Can you let us in on the group’s upcoming plans, if any?

Ignacio: Our immediate plans are to start connecting with brands in order to educate them on the industry and lineup sponsorships and other activations. We’re also looking into how we can push the VTuber collaboration content forward with our low latency HD streaming tech.

In addition, you can expect more highlight uploads on YouTube and in other languages!

We would like to thank VShojo for accommodating our brief contact, and we look forward to its upcoming activities.

Photos from VShojo as sent to PRTimes / Illustrations by TSCR