The Hidden Meaning Behind AZKi's Name [Hololive/JShay VA]

[@JShayToo]

Don't worry, I'm not about to become a video essay channel. Video's voiced by me are gonna be extremely rare, because 1.) I still prefer clipping and translating 2.) This is more of an 'insurance' against getting hit with 'reused content' by KZbin.

[@oak8194]

I actually enjoy listening to you talking, though. I wouldn't mind more videos like this on this channel! Heck, you even sing well. XD

[@Chronoxtriggers]

I'd love to see some hidden lore or cool things that are easily overlooked.

[@YY-wu7et]

Can’t speak for everyone but I really don’t mind this type of content.

[@pompow3828]

Nice to hear the voice behind one of my fav clippers. King cover when??

[@rejoice182]

👍 all good, still enjoyable

[@oak8194]

I've always wonder why her name was spelt like that, but assumed she was just being fancy. I didn't expect such a thoughtful meaning behind it that linked into one of her songs! I'm so happy to see AZKi succeeded and grew to where she is right now.☺

[@TheShiningEnergy]

coincidentally, "From A to Z" is another one of her songs.

[@Ice-mg5pr]

I know you said you won't be leaning too hard into the video essay stuff, but I honestly think this was a fantastic video! We definitely need more "Vtuber historians" to provide context for certain quirks new fans may not be familiar with. It'd certainly be far more interesting than just reading it off a wiki page. And you killed it on the karaoke part, man. Loved the chill vibes and commitment to singing out the lyrics !

[@SoraRaida]

An actual Hololive historian, not like those wannabe historians who just show Hololive talents real face as if it's something very deep 😒

[@TrueScaryMJ]

Depressed Nousagi was pretty good before he shot his career in the face. I'm honestly surprised he still makes videos after what he did

[@kikitondo8390]

​@@TrueScaryMJwell he already embrace his mistake and the bad image and stating to try be better. He won't deny what he do was wrong and asking for people forgiveness. He already hated by tenma, and many involved Vtuber, and he won't resent as it was consequences of his past act and move on. Unless his oshi pekora stated she hate DN, i think he will stay making content.

[@dragoxphere3341]

@@TrueScaryMJ He wasn't very good even before that. It's just nobody else was doing them so the bar was low and there was nobody to compare him to

[@JustChiaki]

Actually never really thought about the meaning behind her name. Most of their names usually have a deeper meaning, or something like a pun to them, but I always thought her name being "AZKi" was just a stylistic choice. Very interesting video! Wouldn't mind seeing more content like this in the future!

[@JShayToo]

I didn't know until last year either. But never made a video on it because my main channel is pretty much only Korone and Okayu. This 2nd channel gives me a chance to experiment, and this was one of the first things I wanted to cover.

[@JustChiaki]

@@JShayToo Like I said, definitely wouldn't mind seeing more content like this! Especially for talents like AZKi who don't get clipped as much.

[@Spyduck]

The stylisation point is also correct. For artists with a singular name - alias or real - they tend to remove/replace vowels and/or capitalise letters. For example, Fujihashi Asumi, writer of her popular song "Paku", stylises herself as "asmi", no capitals. AZKi and IRyS under go stylisation owing to their common ground as VSingers, only the method is different.

[@anime_enjoyer5507]

i mean it is something like a pun.. a well thought out pun at that

[@HatredXChanner]

I have always find the meaning of her not having U in her name explained in that music pretty genius.

[@Zeis]

Wouldn't "From Beginning to End, I will always be small without You" make more sense than "I, who is small"? Explains why the "i" in her name isn't capitalized, because U is missing. Thus - "I will always be small without U". She needs You/U/Us to be big/large/shining/herself.

[@JShayToo]

Damn, that is actually a really good point. I had never considered that angle. If I ever remake the video or make a compilation of name meanings, I'll definitely go with this interpretation

[@gorrgumbusenjoyer]

This actually makes sense. I thought it was more that if it were "I who is always small" would be more of a reflection of her beginnings in her journey as a music artist which is her dream, and "U" being a euphemism of herself meaning no matter how successful she has become now. It would never have happened without "U" serving as a reminder of her past of how much she appreciates herself aspiring to be who she is now and all the hard work she put through reaching this goal.

[@mr.chubsgaming855]

same thought. without US pertaining to 'U' , AZKi will probably quit in her journey being a vtuber.

[@SelecaoOfMidas]

​@@mr.chubsgaming855In other words, if she and the production team didn't go for "Route B", she'd have graduated a year ago as planned with the expiration of the INNK Music contract agreement. Now she's on "Route C" or "Gamma", with a major label deal with Victor Music alongside Sora-chan.

[@bmonthatipkul]

Always though of AZKi as A to Z Ki… or a final version of Ki… the small i making the word Ki as Ki. I wouldn’t see KI as a word Ki. Never thought about without u thing since it would have been AZuKi.

[@Megawott104]

Her name is pretty much an ARG, what the heck!! xD Thanks for making this vid, man; I love trivia like this!

[@Bird.jp_Love-English-Fixes-plz]

Even as a Japanese viewer of hololive, I never knew AZKi’s name had such a thoughtful deep meaning. thank you for your hard work of making this informative video, and great singing as well!

[@saltfisher]

JShay karaoke let’s gooooo

[@Pyrocore77]

Dang, that's a lot deeper and more meaningful than I expected. I've had a hard time getting a grasp on AZKi up until more recently, so it's really interesting to learn this. Thanks for the video!

[@JShayToo]

Same. She kinda flew under my radar too until she started popping off recently with her GeoGeussr streams

[@benpurcell4935]

AZKi doesn’t get clipped often but when she does it’s a treat because it’s typically really cute or funny.

[@129das]

AZKi was mostly a live concert singer so when C-19 came She lost almost her entire career when everything closed. She started a few gaming streams with Sora after it all closed down, also live youtube concerts(she did do before) and some Karaoke.

[@HI-Box]

I honestly teared up learning about the significance of her name and that song, AZKi deserves all the best man 🥹

[@yamiRic]

Come for Azki lore, stay for JShay karaoke

[@korinthian7313]

Jshay2 Electric Boogaloo lezgoo

[@PythonRiddler]

Damn, I love your voice, and you may consider it sub-par singing, and in context it may be true, but I actually liked it alot. Also i feel like I somewhat heard of this before about AZKi's name, but now I understand it even more. I love wordplay. Anyways that's Inaff text, can't wait till the next video. Edit: would it make sense if I said that out of clippers I watch you are my oshi in the same sense of how the hololive idols are our oshis?

[@JShayToo]

Ahahaha, clipper oshis XD Seriously though, thanks for sticking around around and the incredibly kind words

[@shubtakkorathinasapostle1159]

the singing caught me off guard, it wasn't bad at all. incredible video from start to end. this community really needs more people who can pick up on and share these small but meaningful tidbits

[@friendlypunk8975]

THIS IS SO COOL. Thanks for the video JShay!!!!!

[@WindStreak_]

Thank you for explaining! I didn't notice that her name had a hidden meaning at all. I'm glad that you are trying out some different things, I hope it helps with preventing demonitization from KZbin. Also, your singing wasn't bad at all man!

[@IceBloo]

Great work, JShay. Wouldn’t mind more videos like this.

[@TheJadeknight7]

I wasn't expecting a karaoke section, lol, but it's a really neat explanation. I'm gonna go listen to AZKi's songs now. 👍

[@Leonlion0305]

Wow, this is actually a really well made video explaining the entire meaning behind AZKi's name. ngl even the singing part is pretty fun to listen along and not cringing to me. You said you wouldn't do more, but I actually would look forward to similar content.

[@AurisChannel]

If only there were any alternatives to youtube, they'd never get away with this vague "reused content" policy and terrible customer support. Anyway, thank you for not giving up on your doggo clips! I also really liked this new listenable format!

[@JShayToo]

Yeah, worst of all, it seems to strike at random, but thank you for the kind words and glad you enjoyed!

[@Absolute__Zero]

I'd like to imagine AZKi is so good at precisely guessing locations because of how 'connected' she is with everyone

[@ayabahollow1204]

I always thought that her name was a fancy version of azuki (red bean, iirc) because of her color palette (black & red/dark red). But it actually has a beautiful meaning behind it. It's nice to have a vtuber essay about something that's not drama or something bad. I'd like to see more vids like this. Also, I demand a karaoke stream from you, JShay.

[@realQuestion]

Love AZKi's stuff. She's worked with some excellent lyricists, but the ones where she wrote them herself are also really good

[@P4brotagonist]

This was a pretty cool video actually. I wasn't expecting this, but it was interesting and seems like you were really passionate about making it.

[@332Valentin]

Amazing video, karaoke part took me by surprise lol. I really like these type of videos they are quite refreshing :)

[@RecordToDeathToBoredom]

Okay now explain IRyS. Iris as in in the eye, IRS as in you pay taxes!!! Hope descends indeed.

[@MrZestful]

It's actually "y IRS???". You have to put y anywhere in between to avoid copyright!

[@TallulahSoie]

AZKi is brilliant. Can't say it any better than that. I was always curious about this and I'm amazed the meaning is so deep. Amazed, but not surprised. So many of her and original HL songs are so personal and "heavy." Emotional when you learn the stories.

[@gutsbadguy50]

We can always use more vtuber lore explanations! Lots of them have names that mean things in japanese that the average kagainikki wouldnt pick up on.

[@konnir8980]

Kudos for doing something outside the confort zone. Thx for explanation.

[@neetworawry8728]

That karaoke part was great, I can see myself doing that whenever I listen tk Suisei and Irys song . Lucky to have found your channel, cool voice as well, I hope you do a bit more of these informative essay video.

[@EntidadLibre]

Thank you for singing it, JShay!! As a singer, I get emotional whenever people do it, even if they aren't pros. And thanks for the explanation. If I needed a reason to love AZKi more, is this one.

[@KoKey-hd4bm]

I always imagined you as the messenger of the dog god, but now we know that you have a deep voice and that you sing well... Incredible!

[@Felder93]

The legendary JShay karaoke

[@Lugia21]

This is why I loved AZKi since I first heard her and was very happy when she said she went with Route B and moved officially to Hololive, specially since she boomed really hard after finally transfering and starting to play games.

[@Frank22lol]

Videos like these are definitely needed in the community. It's so hard to look for specific content or references nowadays. I would like to learn more about the talents, their "lore" (not the supernatural one but about their career as a streamer) and don't have the time to look through all vods. Clips are usually just funny moments and don't do rhis kind of explanation. Kiara has a wonderful series of videos where she explains stuff like "the usuall room" and "Australia".

[@dkahardian9153]

at around 5:30 5:35 some clips from hololive old members flashed in my minds and make my eyes a bit watery. some of them like: suisei (journey of struggle before joining hololive and the moment she made into "the first take"), miko (cry with yagoo about quiting), and last but not least, sora's history and journey. Hololive is an agency full of history that if written, its felt like a novel with a long and ongoing series. with roller coaster mood. from beginning till the end, without U, i will always small. from zero to hero, no. from a particle of dust to a star. a shining bright star. A Shiny Smily Story of their Bright Parade.

[@commentofthis]

Eyy, you got a nice voice there..😆 Looking back, she is indeed quite literally always sings solo, and somehow you can almost always feel that loneliness whenever you listen to her old songs, quite an oddly interesting feelings really.. Now, since she's already contributed as the former (presumably) only Vsinger under INNK, it may also adds to her unique existence as the 'not-so-new' member of Hololive, cmiiw

[@محمدنورإخسان]

I almost shed a tear because it is so sweet ❤

[@kokonotsuu7]

The intro is pure perfection

[@shoutenry]

JSHAY2 KARAOKE?! lessgoooooo

[@Xandrez192]

I actually loved the karaoke part, real creative way to actually show off what you're talking about in the video without needing to drop a "Pause here and go listen" in the middle. Plus, karaoke's about having fun, right?

[@holofanlee]

Been a huge fan of AZKI from the day I fell into the rabbit hole. I really love learning all these details about her. She really puts so much thought into her lyrics and songwriting. And the fact that she writes most of her music and lyrics herself makes me even more impressed. As a Pioneer I can't thank you enough for making this video JShay!!!!!!

[@SelecaoOfMidas]

Considering where AZKi started from, this is a great continuation of her journey through music. From Touhou doujin music projects to now, she's earned her place and success. Always glad to support people like her when possible.

[@tadanossan4865]

so in a nutshell her full name is AZKi without U, meaning from the first (A) to the last (Z) I'm just a little person without U, and you cannot understand that without listening to her song, she's just so brilliant! this reminds me of Risu's song, Alice&U where you can also read it as ARisu and U btw nice clip bro!!! i have no problem with this kind of narrative clip

[@isaacshepard1474]

That's so sweet, just when you think AZKi's already as sweet as can be she always proves you wrong

[@RandomGuy0987]

Appreciate the translations, love the clips. Nice karaoke too dude!

[@EleosAnim]

after that karaoke cover, my Oshi clipper is now Jshay

[@Wyrdwad]

That's... actually really cool! The amount of thought that went into that name is kind of astounding. I always assumed it was just a combination of "azuki" and "ASCII," since she herself could rightfully be called a "digital standard" of sorts (basically, THE singing voice of Hololive JP), but that wouldn't account for the capitalization being as it is. Then again, I never really thought accounting for the capitalization was needed -- I doubt IRyS has any particular reason for the way her name is capitalized, for example, other than probably just to match AZKi's use of three capital letters with one lowercase vowel, since she's her equivalent in the English branch (which does make me want to see a Hololive ID vsinger sometime soon!). Sometimes, "because it looks cool" is a good enough excuse. ;) Very cool analysis video, though, and not bad at all with the karaoke! Nice to hear your voice, too, as I'm a long-time fan of your other channel -- I got into the rabbit hole through Korone, and Korone remains my one and only real oshi, so your dedication to her content (and the accuracy and polish of your translations, which I say as a professional Japanese-English translator myself!) is really quite appreciated. The fact that you're also apparently an AZKi fan (a Hololive member I kind of slept on for far too long, but whose content I've been really enjoying ever since I started watching her by way of her GeoGuessr content) just reinforces my previous assumption that you have good taste! Heheh.

[@JShayToo]

Haha, thank you for the incredibly kind words, and glad that you enjoyed! I listened to a bunch of her songs way back when, but likewise, I only really started watching her streams last year. But yeah, her recent GeoGeussr streams are always really entertaining!

[@CageNightwind]

IDK how I am subbed to you and still missed this one. Thanks for this 'offbrand' upload because it's something I was always curious about. Cheers!

[@mikwing17]

Such a beautiful name. Got immersed during your karaoke time that I didn't get to try understanding the lyrics so I had to rewatch it again.

[@AlmRodail]

Great video, and you absolutely smashed that karaoke!

[@heliogt1961]

AZKi made one of my favourite songs with Hachi (independent singer) highly recommend that aswell. its nice to know why her name is like this. thank you for this video

[@mjc7745]

Glad the algo took me here. Thanks for MORE translations!!!

[@TheRealVordox]

Our tiny red bean, a strong bean, but a bean nonetheless. Thanks for spreading out the lyrics of her earlier song~

[@NinjaPopeXue]

W-Was JShay best idol all along!? But seriously, it does take a lot of courage to put yourself singing out on the internet. Plus I've always appreciated your translations, which are accurate but aren't worded too literally, making it easily digestable for a Western audience.

[@AnimeMotorsports]

I love this!! 💜 I'm glad you didn't decide to remove the karaoke part, looking forward to the next video!

[@dardardarner]

I'm surprised that I kinda almost got the whole meaning by myself before I even saw this video, since without U was one of the first Azki songs I listened to, and was the time I also started learning Japanese and was just getting into hiragana, so I kinda connected some of the dots myself. (the whole Azuki without U = AZKi thing) but I just decided to not dive any further cus I thought it was just some coincidence lol. On the otherhand, Jshay Karaoke!?!??!???!??!??

[@luancaqu]

I was always curious about her name meaning and now I’m glad I get it. Excellent work, thank you a lot!

[@hiiragihasmanywaifu]

That's why i love AZKi and her music, this made me want to deeply think more of the lyrics of her other songs really amazing vid Also great singing there, u actually hit the notes well

[@infinathan443]

Amazing video dude! Love your clips and I wouldn't mind more of these video essays either. Especially if they're about Hololive history. Also new Holostar EN member?! Fr tho that singing was nice.

[@BringerOfPlenty]

After that Holotalk episode I listened to the song +others and became an AZKi fan

[@khalildefrias8049]

That was great! I hope you and murasaki ringo keep making this type of lore content, very cool

[@lupusdaemon6015]

Woah! I had no idea it was so deep. Very clever wordplay across two languages. Thanks for the explanation!

[@mikebmcl]

Thanks!

[@blazingkite8983]

then you have IRS I mean IRyS

[@Mati-kun]

Thank you for the video. I enjoyed this small yet important analysis.

[@lilypads3033]

That is one of the most genius naming sense in Hololive, just like Alyce&U, my mind is blown how they came up with these names

[@hakerooni]

boy howdy! Definitely gonna be breaking out this fun fact amongst friends

[@mentecato666]

Really good video! I like her singing, but I don't know much about her, so this was very helpful on understanding her! Based singing btw 🎉

[@jessepeterson6694]

OMFG THAT INTRO IS SO CUTE, YOU BETTER KEEP I'LL OR I'LL ROAST YOU ON A SKEWER! Oh BTW love your Korone clips from the first channel.

[@ArseneaLupin]

Top tier content, honestly this kind of videos is good for new fans who had many questions about Hololive talents. Also, you have a cool singing voice my dude.

[@RC10000]

Loved the video man!!! Thanks for the explanation!!! I'm bamboozled fr

[@129das]

Awesome Man I been a Pioneer or Kaitakusha for a long time Shortly before the song "error" came I might not be a crazy spender but I do buy all her songs All of they. AZKi I could easily call my Oshi. I don't really have anything else this just a nice video on AZKi.

[@sora1172]

Just want to say thank you for everything you do with your translations and these videos. I can honestly say without your channels I wouldn't have fallen as far into the rabbit hole as I have. You are one of the pillars of the translation community for me. Also your singing was very enjoyable to listen to and I am eagerly awaiting a cover from you! Once more from the bottom of my heart thank you for the incredible work that you do.

[@himither]

I went from a respectful kusa at the karoke to a full-on mindblown state after the realization of how much meaning is behind that short four letter name/word. Talk about emotional rollercoster.

[@HydrengeaEdelweiss]

Amazing singing dude 🌽😭🌽 Also, now I'm wondering if there are similarly deeper meaning at IRyS lowercase y.

[@sanguis77]

I am so glad to see another translator who also sings. I hope this is a regular thing now

[@Sterosz]

I always her name is a japanese version of Ascii, interesting how much thought went into the name and the song. The karaoke was good, can’t wait for the full cover :P

[@bvnanadev]

Thanks for this, never imagined it went beyond a mere stylization.

[@velociwaffle]

Great video! More Holo video essays are always welcome!

[@rinoakirova1548]

That's an incredibly sweet message and very clever use of implicit storytelling. I wonder whether the name or the meaning came first, but either way the love for her fans is very real.

[@maybeso5710]

Nice singing 👍 And nice video, definitely gonna check out AZKi now

[@40wink]

Throughout the video it went from what I thought was simply a good bit to a very meaningful message. Thank you for the explanation and don't worry about the karaoke. It was a more fun alternative to just reading 😊

[@NONIWDD]

Damn, thats actually some really good singing if you ask me, looking forward to more videos in the future!!!

[@Himemiya_Chikane]

This is super clever. Thank you for explaining!!

[@maxterhex]

Hey, our lovely ramen chef finally reveal his voice >.

[@chubgp8009]

A really enjoyable video mister jaytoo

[@Cheintz88]

This was really interesting, I hope you do more if another topic interests you.

[@davidwusoftdev]

I never thought about her name having a meaning behind it. Wow, that was deep!😲 Thank you for making this video! 😊

[@NightmareZV]

Thinking that she would've just gone after INNK closure, and the fans being her reason to remain in Hololive, I think it gives this whole song has now a really big weight and it sure has made me cry 🥲 Thank you for this video and the explanation.

[@halo2d]

That was a fun unexpected karaoke moment. thank you JShay

[@zav75]

LOL didn't expect the suprise karaoke, hilarious

[@vergildante0196]

holy i never thought it would be this deep. Damn i like it when there is a meaning behind a name!

[@Crasuk]

I like this kind of content and wouldn't mind if you do more videos like this :-)

[@squaminator]

thanks for the deep dive, that was really cool

[@Monafide3305]

That was a lot more interesting than I expected!

[@scarletsky4486]

I've watched your clip videos since the early days, and if I remember correctly it was where Korone become champion in Apex for the 1st time back in 2020. Nice to see you're branching out from the usual content. We need more of this kinda video essay for Holomem lore or heck even past events that happened for that matter. Life getting busy again post Covid, I don't have time to keep up with everything that happen in Hololive since 2022, and would be nice to see a commentary video with clips of events that occur in that year from time to time. P.S. I missed your outro bgm.

[@saschb]

Cool story, I never knew! Unarchived karaoke when?

[@azrifqalim4548]

Had a feeling that the AZ are referring to letter A to Z like an beginning and end, and was drawing conclusion to Ki to key or something, but man this was so much better and made much more sense with AZKi as whole.

[@AggressaCh]

Now I'm curious as to why IRyS has a small y.