On the 9th of June 2021, the VTuber community received a saddening announcement from the official Hololive account. This was the news that Kiryu Coco, the dragon idol of Hololive’s 4th generation would be graduating on the 1st of July 2021.
In a short video on her channel she later confirmed this and mentioned that there were various reasons she had decided to leave. It seems that COVER Corp attempted to stop her initially however, after many discussions decided to respect her wishes.
With her graduation only a few weeks away, we here at Informed Pixel wish not to lament her leave, but instead celebrate and talk of her accomplishments throughout her time as an idol at Hololive.
First and foremost, in a community which was mostly made up of Japanese fans, Coco, being bilingual in English and Japanese, was able to appeal to a more global market. One of the most notable ways in which she did this was through her weekly ‘Shitpost Review’ streams where she would often invite other Hololive members as guests.
These streams allowed said members to engage with many overseas fans and introduce fans to lesser known members, as Kiryu Coco has always been one of the more popular members within Hololive.
Coco’s most influential action however was without a doubt her push for English-speaking VTubers which was undeniably a huge success, with Gawr Gura reaching the 1 million milestone within 6 weeks of debuting.
Gura was the first Hololive member to achieve such a feat, with her then going on to achieve 2 million subscribers, a milestone only achieved by one other VTuber at the time, Kizuna Ai. The one who was able to identify this potential market, our beloved Coco Kaichou.
Another key feature of hers is how she is always considerate of her colleagues. A clear example of this was a push for a “HoloHouse”, a place where members would be able to live together. This was a great idea as the walls of Japanese houses tend to be incredibly thin, so vTubers need a place where they are able to be loud without causing issues, as well as prevent the possibility of personal information potentially being leaked.
Although it wasn’t to the level Coco had imagined, her idea culminated in a shared apartment with Kiryu Coco, Amane Kanata and Hoshimachi Suisei living together, with many of the other girls often visiting. It was used as a pit stop of sorts due to its close proximity to the office.
These are only a few of the many reasons why we love Coco. She was not only a key part of Hololive but also contributed to the VTuber community as a whole. We encourage you to show her your continued support and see her off with a smile, as thanks to all the smiles she’s helped bring to all of us. Farewell Kaichou.
If you’re a fan of VTubers and gaming, you can head over to the newly created VTuber section of our site. Want to speak to the team and interact with other gamers? You can do so over on the Informed Pixel Facebook page or on the Informed Pixel Twitter account. You can also check out my Twitter account for gaming debates and more.
