Hello and welcome to the Otaku Mind. This is Justin and today we’re celebrating. What are we celebrating you ask? Today, we’re celebrating the one-year anniversary I fell down the rabbit hole that is Hololive. For those of you who don’t know, Hololive is a virtual YouTuber (Vtuber) talent agency based in Japan. The group was founded by company president Motoaki Tanigo better known as Yagoo in 2016. Originally, Yagoo’s plan was to create a virtual idol group. Think AKB48 combined with Vocaloid. A good idea and Yagoo scouted great talent for his idol dream. Too bad the girls didn’t get the memo and went in a different direction. While the girls would sing occasionally, they decided to be entertainers and instead turned themselves into Vtubers who displayed behavior you wouldn’t expect an idol to have. This move was actually for the better. By freeing the girls from the constraints of being idols they were free to be themselves and gained popularity not just in Japan but all over the world. The group got started in 2017, it had a huge growth in 2019, and then exploded in 2020 here in the west. The Vtubers were cute, funny, and of course entertaining to watch. Given the state of the world and how everyone was desperate for entertainment from being stuck inside for days, this was welcomed. Even if you couldn’t understand what they were saying, their reactions were more than enough to keep you entertained and coming back for more. As of today, there are over 50 members total with their combined subscriber count totaling over 10 billion on Youtube and Bilibili. In order to commemorate this day, I thought it’d be fun if I named my favorite Hololive Girls. Now to be fair, all the girls in Hololive are great and I recommend checking them all out, but the ones I’m about to name are the ones I love the most. They’re girls who always entertain me, brought me deeper into the rabbit hole, and the girls I always simp for. I’m Justin and with a leap of faith, these are the top 11 Hololive Girls.
#11. Ookami Mio
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp-5t9SrOQwXMU7iIjQfARg
Also known as Mama Mio, Mio is recognized as being one of the cutest members of Hololive. Always viewed as a mother figure among her peers because her aura and motherly behavior, Mio wins people over with her charming and cute antics that just makes you fall in love with her. She easily has some of the best reactions out of all the Hololive members no matter what she’s doing. While’s she good by herself, she really shines when she’s collaborating with other members who like to tease her because she has the best reactions, especially when she’s playing horror games and panicking. Another great factor is her avatar. Out of all the Hololive members she has the prettiest avatar in my opinion. Her black hair with red bangs, yellow eyes, and that sweet motherly voice and personality just steals my heart. What else can I say about Mio other than she’s a faqing cute wolf with great reactions.
#10. Kiara Takanashi
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHsx4Hqa-1ORjQTh9TYDhww
When Hololive saw how big they were getting in the west they decided to capitalize on this by hiring 5 English speaking Vtubers. Hololive English/Myth members made their debut in September of 2020 with one of the girls being the energetic Kiara the phoenix. The president and owner of KFP, Kiara easily wins people over with her energetic and comedic personality. Every time you see her she’s always energetic and ready to make everyone’s day better. If you’re ever feeling down or need something to cheer you up, Kiara is the Vtuber to check out. She’s also one of the more perverted of the girls as she doesn’t shy away from her perverted nature and declare her love for specific female characters. Her relationship with another Vtuber on this list is one of the most compelling relationships within Hololive and out of all the members of Hololive English/Myth, she’s done the most collabs with the Japanese members meaning she serves as the perfect bridge to get you interested in other Vtubers. Definitely check out HoloTalk as she sits down and interviews other members to get a good laugh. She’s an unconventional boss that’s slightly crazy and hysterical, but boy is she fun to be around. It’s not too late, so sign up now and be a KFP employee.
#9. Kiryu Coco
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS9uQI-jC3DE0L4IpXyvr6w
Within every group there’s one or two troublemakers. In Hololive there are a number of troublemakers and the leader of the bunch is the wife of Kiryu from Yakuza, Coco. Coco was the first Vtuber I came across from Hololive and apparently she was the first one a lot of people came across, so she gets a lot of credit for pushing people down the rabbit hole. At first, I thought she was a crazy troublemaking dragon and still do to this day, but that’s what makes her so great. She’s not afraid to be a troublemaker, she’s ready to speak her mind and get in trouble all for the sake of having fun and entertaining everyone to show that the group isn’t all serious idols, they’re here to have fun and entertain us. Even when haters try to bash her she ignores them and does her thing. She was one of the first members who could speak English, and she was more than happy to teach the other members how to curse in order to summon the westerners. Out of all the Hololive members she does seem to be the one with the most influence of the bunch. It’s because of her that everyone in Hololive started to play ARK and it’s thanks to her that we got Hololive English/Myth as she was a huge advocate for them and supposedly helped in the selection process. She may have crushed Yagoo’s idol dreams, but she’s making him a lot of money, so I’m sure everything’s forgiven.
#8. Uruha Rushia
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl_gCybOJRIgOXw6Qb4qJzQ
Rage. It’s something every gamer has felt once and the one person who perfectly encapsulates rage is everyone’s favorite necromancer, Rushia. At first glance, she’s like the sweet and cute little sister type you want to protect at all costs but watch any of her streams and you’ll soon discover that she’s a little ball of rage with some of the best ear-shattering screams you can imagine. Watching Rushia is always entertaining because of her wild mood swings. She can go from sweet and soft spoken to loud and uncontrollable rage to sad and endearing soul at the drop of a hat. Supposedly, before joining Hololive, she had a career in acting so one has to wonder. Are these wild mood swings and rages real or are they all just an act that she’s perfected? Whether they’re an act or not there’s no denying that her rages and screams are funny and great to see. If there was ever a Vtuber who perfectly captured the rage and many emotions gamers feel, it’s Rushia.
#7. Kureiji Ollie
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYz_5n-uDuChHtLo7My1HnQ
Late last year, Hololive Indonesia debuted their second generation which included three new members to the group. Out of the three members the one who seemed to stand out the most and make the biggest impact was Ollie. The zombie idol quickly rose to popularity because of her eccentric personality and excellent backstory. One of the things that makes Ollie so endearing is how she herself comes across as a fangirl of Hololive. Like she’s living her dream of being a part of this group and working with people she loves, respects, and looks up to. Watching her collab streams is always a treat as she flirts with just about everyone and tricking them into joining her own personal harem. Ollie is like a combination of all the other Hololive members we’ve seen so far on the list. She’s cute like Mio (creative avatar as well), is multilingual and perverted like Kiara so she serves as the perfect bridge for westerners and Japanese speakers to check out Hololive Indonesia, a bit of a troublemaker like Coco, and is loud like Rushia. She may be the youngest member on this list, but she shows a lot of promise and I see great things in her future.
#6. Amelia Watson
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyl1z3jo3XHR1riLFKG5UAg
Do you like your Vtubers toxic and extra salty? Well look no further than Amelia Watson. The time traveling detective definitely seems the most human out of all of Hololive English/Myth which makes her stand out from the group. You would think she’d be the odd person out, but in truth she fits in with the group so naturally. In fact, I argue that she’s the leader of the group and gets the most laughs out of me. If you watch her streams you’ll see that she’s a rather competitive girl when playing against others, isn’t afraid to show her anger by slamming her desk, rage quitting and swearing, and will insult the chat or whoever else for her own amusement when she’s angry. Still, despite her toxic and salty moments, Amelia is without a doubt one of the hardest working and smartest members in all of Hololive. It was said that when all the other members of Hololive English/Myth were having issues during their debut streams, Amelia was the one who helped them all out and she always seems to be watching the streams of everyone else whenever she’s not streaming and cheering them on. Also, this is just my opinion, but I think she has the best BGM out of everyone in Hololive. She’s a toxic gamer, but when you look past that you’ll find a very talented and hard worker who inspires you to try even harder at what you’re doing.
#5. Nekomata Okayu
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvaTdHTWBGv3MKj3KVqJVCw
The onigiri loving cool cat herself. Okayu has easily become a fan favorite for her laidback personality and casual viewer atmosphere that she creates on her streams. Unlike a lot of her fellow members who are usually loud and squeaky, Okayu has a more soft and calm voice. Her voice is very soothing and relaxing to listen to. You could be lying in your bed just listening to her talk and you would feel at peace with yourself and the world. It’s ironic, because before joining Hololive, Okayu admits she didn’t like her voice but thanks to the support of her friends and fans she came to love her voice. She rarely gets mad when playing games as she considers herself a casual at life and will usually just laugh off her failures like they’re nothing. However, she does tend to get a little cheeky when she’s playing against others. While she’s great by herself, she’s even more amazing when she’s paired up with another Vtuber on this list. Calm, cool, and unbelievably adorable, Okayu is the Vtuber to go to if you’re looking for a relaxing stream and want to hear a soothing voice. Just don’t take her onigiri.
#4. Ninomae Ina’nis
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMwGHR0BTZuLsmjY_NT5Pwg
Another member of Hololive English/Myth and the easygoing one of the group. Just like Okayu, Ina has a very soft and calming voiced as compared to the other members in her group making her streams a relaxing experience. The eldritch priestess herself seeks world domination, but goes at it at her own pace, which is slow and steady. This tako has no shortage of puns and is always ready to shoot them out whenever an opportunity arises. Between Okayu and her, it was tough to choose which one to place higher on the list, as both girls are just great and relaxing to watch. But the one factor that puts Ina a little higher is her amazing artwork. If you watch any of her drawing streams, you’ll be amazed and see just how great of an artist Ina is. Like seriously, how she’s not an animator is beyond me, it’s that good. I’m very tempted to ask her to do the artwork for my light novel. When she first arrived onto the scene I wasn’t all that big on her, but now she’s one of my favorites and imagining my life without her would be ina-possible. Just know that you can’t spell domination without Ina.
#3. Calliope Mori
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL_qhgtOy0dy1Agp8vkySQg
The reaper herself who makes you yearn for death. While Calli may not be the best when it comes to videogames, she exceeds when it comes to singing, rapping, and putting in the hard work. Calli’s raps are seriously some of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time, the woman just spits straight fire whenever she’s on the mic and even though she underplays her singing abilities she’s also a fantastic singer as well. She’s a hard worker, like I said before she’s not the best gamer, but that doesn’t stop her from giving it her best shot at videogames and providing us some good entertainment. Her relationship with Kiara is one of the most compelling stories going on in Hololive at the moment as you can’t help but ship the two together because of their chemistry. The thing I respect the most about Calli is she doesn’t hold back her punches. She doesn’t pull any BS and tells it like it is for those hoping to be top Vtubers like herself. A few weeks ago some people were giving her lip when she told indie Vtubers to start making content and stop tweeting. Rather than get off their asses and take her advice, they instead fired back at her and said the only reason why she’s so popular is because of Hololive. And why do you think they hired her in the first place? Hololive doesn’t just pick up anybody on the fly. If you’re in Hololive, it’s because they recognize you as a hard worker who is talented and will continue to be a hard worker who gives it their all. While Hololive may have shined the spotlight on her, it was thanks to her talent and hard work that allowed her to shine and reach the levels of popularity she’s at today. Calli is living proof that if you want to be a Vtuber or an entertainer in general, you’d better be prepared to put in the hard work and create content (and no, tweeting doesn’t count as content). Also, Atlus, let her play Persona 3.
#2. Gawr Gura
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoSrY_IQQVpmIRZ9Xf-y93g
The city pop shark herself. Out of all the members of Hololive English/Myth, Gura definitely made the biggest impact on her debut. She was an adorable shark with a great singing voice and actually revived Yagoo’s dream. Despite only being around for half a year, Gura will go down as being the fastest rising Vtuber of all time. Within one month of her debut she managed to get 1 million subscribers to her channel and then went on to reach 2 million subscribers last month. Holy crap, that is unheard of! She hasn’t even been around for a over a year yet and she’s already got more subscribers than channels that have been around for years. It’s really hard to describe what makes her so popular. On top of just being an amazing singer, the shark just has great comedic timing, is cute as all hell and shows a good understanding and knowledge of what she’s doing. She knows what to say, how to deliver it, and when to say it. In the end she just has that It Factor that you can’t teach, it’s something that you just gain from experience and Gura clearly has the experience and skills to be one of the best Vtubers of all time.
And number one. . .
#1. Inugami Korone
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChAnqc_AY5_I3Px5dig3X1Q
Of course it was going to be her, she’s just so cute~! When Hololive was picking up steam in the west, the one Vtuber that stood out from the pack was Korone. People were drawn to her cute and funny personality as well as her obsession with taking everyone’s yubis. Also known as the Doogslayer, Korone’s popularity soared big time because of her endurance streams having some of the longest streams in Hololive history where she would actually beat games in one sitting such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot, and Doom 64 as well as Doom 2016. The simping for this dog knows no bounds as multiple game companies and developers have sent her gifts and merchandise thanking her for playing their games. She always finds a way to get the most out of the simplest of stuff. She could spend a whole hour-long stream just playing around with a letter and you would still walk away entertained. Korone’s friendship with Okayu is well-documented in Hololive and well-known by everyone as the two just have great chemistry together. They work off each other perfectly and it was thanks to Okayu that we got Korone in the first place as she was the one who recommended her to the company knowing that she would be great and sure enough she was right. The final thing that gives Korone the number one spot is that I feel she’s the one who’s grown the most out of all the Hololive girls. The Korone we see today is a major departure from the Korone we saw in her debut stream, you swear they were two different people. Korone’s debut stream was a major disaster, so much so, that she got in trouble with management. Not to mention she was a very shy person who had a hard time speaking to others. The Korone we see today is always bright, cheerful, funny, and creative and she’s made it her goal to collab with every member of Hololive out there, even going as far as learning English to expand her reach in the west and get everyone’s yubi yubis. It’s because of these things and more that Korone is my pick for the top Hololive Girl.
And that’s my list. I hope you enjoyed it and hopefully this helps as a guide for those looking to check out Vtubers. Who’s your favorite Hololive Girl, let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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