Why Kizuna AI's Channel Stagnated

[@theyuritheorist]

This is video covers this topic fairly well but I did notice the absence of a few things Kizuna Ai was doing a lot of festival and event appearances during the clone saga like summer sonic 2019 and she was busy rehearsing for those events, but they never really announced it to the fans especially the oversea fans, that's why once Kizuna Ai Inc was, they made an effort to be more transparent and continue, with statements concerning anything with Kizuna Ai and Love Chan as well as Pii Chan before her retirement Another thing is that upd8 played a larger role with how the multiple clone project was executed badly, upd8's management had shown signs of bad management with this and with the other vtubers that were under the company at the time Activ8 only stepped in after upd8 failed to deal with the situation and address the rumors being spread

[@DepressedNousagi]

Let me pin this so other people can see the things I missed. I did know about this, but I thought I made the fact that AI had a good reason when she was absent clear in my video, which I realize I didn't. [Just in case people will get the wrong impression that I'm also blaming activ8] I'd also like to just tell people that are scrolling down the comments section that my video tells that the fans were blaming activ8 rather than upd8 during the first few weeks and months of the controversy, which is why most of the outrage shown in the video seems to be directed at them. But like this comment, and what I (briefly) mentioned in the 12~ minute mark, upd8 was heavily to blame.

[@troykv96]

Oh, so that was why Nozomi!Ai was so annoyed at people not being properly informed, she was still working, just in different stuff.

[@SuperCheeseOnline]

Kinda to share they did dirty a bunch of the people under their umbrellla. Omega Sisters (fairly popular in japan) did a video addressing concerns for upd8's continued existence when Ai and the Honeystrap group (i think? someone correct me) left. They interviewed the CEO and he talked about continuing to support the remaining talents under their wing. Only to be left high and dry weeks later when the company shuts down.

[@theultimatesimp2047]

@@DepressedNousagi You did include it in 8:58--the company explaining why Kizuna AI was inactive during the clone fiasco. Just that you didn't get into specifics as to what 'music content' that document refered to. Not that I think thats bad because its literally in the video, just that you missed a detail. I dont think its much a big of a deal though. The message of that segment was pretty clear; The original AI had a good reason for being absent. The rrats kept rrating, not believing anything the company said even as AI herself told the fans that she wanted this to happen, and that she was busy behind this scenes, and overblew the situation.

[@kitnetaminity5295]

If I remember right, Kizuna Ai's last Live had 0 Hololive members attending and the only member that shared a quick word with AI, Sora, was immediately blacked out on the bilibili stream. I remember Hololive fans being a bit saddened that the iron clad blacklist Hololive has been marked with would go that far.

[@wenousagi6213]

“people watch vtubers for their personalities. in all cases, the voice actor behind the avatar is the youtuber itself. replace the actor, you killed the vtuber” well said ❤️

[@StrikeNoir105E]

I still remember that Lost Pause video about vtubers, where he claimed that corporate vtubers can just be replaced by another person and thus why he doesn't like them, a view fuelled by the misunderstandings regarding the Kizuna Ai controversy. No, it doesn't work that way, ESPECIALLY for corporate vtubers. Many corporate vtubers either retire the character outright and just start over with another character (e.g. Oda Nobuhime), or they take their identities with them even when going to another company (e.g. Miori Celesta). There are no cases in vtuber history where the person behind the vtuber has been replaced by another person, and given the culture behind vtubing it's highly unlikely there ever will be (not impossible per se, but highly undesirable). Hololive is the most explicit example of this link between vtubers, as we've seen two of their most popular and highest-earning talents - Kiryuu Coco and Uruha Rushia - leave Hololive via graduation and termination respectively, and Hololive never replaced them. Had the characters been treated as a brand, as simple puppets with which you can just put anybody in to play them, then Hololive would've done so and kept the characters going, since both of the talents were essentially "golden geese". Instead, both were retired alongside the people who played them.

[@typeoddnamehere2362]

@@StrikeNoir105E actually, there is (or was) one agency that did try to replace the actors behind the avatars in the past. The group was called Game Club Project. All the VAs quit because of mistreatment so they got new people behind the avatars. The past tense should give away that it did not end well for them (the agency).

[@HashiriyaR32]

@@typeoddnamehere2362 I think what happened to Game Club Project heavily fueled the "Ai was replaced" rrats.

[@Kyouma.]

"people watch vtubers for their personalities." -> "people watch vtubers for their fake personalities." Even the idolizing makes sense, since VTubers ARE basically idols. And I don't buy that they're just in it for the community and to make everyone feel good. They have companies behind them. Companies with money

[@alex_zetsu]

By that logic, Rushia's career isn't over because the VA is still active even though she has no legal right to her model and probably doesn't have the talent to animate her own model.

[@Milkthrow]

I cannot give enough credit to this massive pioneer. Even when the world she basically created herself started changing she tried to adapt while overcoming all her controversies, executive mismanagement and haters. It's true that the viewers started shifting their interest from her content, but that didn't stop her making it and in the end she earned everyone's respect.

[@laboon344]

even when the world what ?

[@Micahmancer]

@@laboon344 even when The World She Created Herself changed, she tried to adapt

[@fireflieer2422]

@@Micahmancer thanks, this is why commas are so important

[@maegalroammis6020]

she was just an ai for perverted people

[@Rain-pk9cq]

Bro I had to take a second look at this comment lol

[@Henri_Ikari]

There's a lesson that can be learned here though. The talent behind the character is just as valuable as the character itself, like the soul behind the body.

[@SuperLlama42]

Kizuna Ai singlehandedly disproved all those naysayers who came about around when Gura was getting popular who claimed that the person behind the vtuber avatar doesn't matter and that's why vtubing is awful or whatever.

[@chanlaman2565]

@@SuperLlama42 It’s such a ludicrous claim to make in the first place. Without the person behind the character, *there is no character.* The model is literally just an empty husk with the only appeal being its design. Gura is not just popular because her model is cute. In all honesty, it’s nothing revolutionary; it’s literally just an anime shark girl when there’s so many “animal as anime girl” designs. The reasons Gura is popular are because of her unique personality, adorable voice that perfectly compliments her model (can you imagine any other type of voice coming out of that model?), her humor, and her beautiful singing voice (the huge amount of concurrent live viewers she gets on each of her karaokes are proof). At least, that’s how I see it.

[@EroBotan]

there are a lot of cases like this, MBA/marketing/bussiness graduate CEOs ruining everything that the fans love!

[@fltfathin]

@@chanlaman2565 gotta agree, they might as well using PNG and not much will change, the character is a pretext to the act and the act is unscripted so yeh, it's a single entity. the failure in kizuna management is treating her as if miku.

[@astuteanansi4935]

As unfortunate as it is that she suffered the brunt of it, it was definitely a lesson the industry needed to learn. In a way she almost martyred herself for the cause of making the suits realize that the avatar may be what people come for, but the person behind it is what makes them stay. The Kizuna fiasco was so bad that nobody would ever dare try it now, and thank goodness for that. Imagine Cover trying to give Coco's avatar to someone else after her graduation. There would have been riots on the streets. Anyone can "wear" the avatar but there's only one Kiryu Coco.

[@rikachu3963]

She was the one to set the standard for every vtuber. But as more great vtubers came and met that standard, she herself could not stand out herself. However no one can deny what she has brought to the community, Kizuna AI, the progenitor.

[@NexuSYT1906]

Btw how does she does her stuff like no other those dances and expressions ?

[@ishouldhidemynamelmao345]

The thing is she still has one of the best(if not the best) model in the vtuber scene.. but somehow she did fall out of grace.. idk maybe it's the algorithm, maybe it's the company but it was really unfortunate

[@izenmi9555]

@@ishouldhidemynamelmao345 It was when the standard for avatars shifted from Kizuna Ai's full-body tracking 3D model to pretty much Nijisanji's or Hololive's 2D rigs, and now some vtubers use their 3D live models in what seems to result in a 2.5esque type of streams (much like Hololive gen. 0's Sakura Miko, Roboco, and Tokino Sora's live stream avatars). But nonetheless, the change shifted the standard for vtubing as a whole which also resulted in viewers shifting their preferences and ultimately left Kizuna Ai stagnating.

[@SystemBot]

she still set another standard with her last concert which was legendary, it had high production quality and it was even completely free for everyone on youtube.

[@kl9686]

Viewers left mostly around the time that company decided that its a good move to share Kizuna Ai with three people, potentially four. But well, contents wise, Kizuna Ai mostly focuses on local Japan stuffs. While famous Vtubers nowadays doing and playing more trending stuffs. Just by not playing Minecraft was already a huge lost for her. But well, at least the golden time of Minecraft trend was already gone.

[@MillisecondFourthClockhand]

Finally, someone who actually has done their research like Kizuna Ai said. Thank you for standing up.

[@stargazerspark4499]

the viewing audience shouldn't have "to do research" to understand why their favorite personality is no longer available and instead seemingly replaced by a doppleganger overnight. it no doubt watered down and diluted the quality and identity of the channel which is why many folks moved on to other alternatives.

[@KitOkunari]

Being transparent > expecting people to research

[@TheZoobZoobs]

The worst part of this whole thing was that a large chunk of the backlash fell onto the 3 VAs who were brought along to help. Although it resulted in the incredibly cute design of Love Chan and AiPi in the end, I'm sure it scarred all four voice actors terribly. They're gone now because of what happened, only Love Chan remains, and I still wish her happiness and growth, and hope both Kizuna Ai and Love Chan can continue climbing.

[@daleryanaldover6545]

That's quite good to see there is somebody left to continue her legacy, I'm subbing now. Btw is Love Chan Kizuna Ai number 1, 2 or 3? Also do you know where is Kizuna Ai number 3 (the gaming channel VA)? Did she get a new channel? Really sorry, I did really haven't watch Kizuna Ai for a long time so I have no idea. I can only see Ai Gaming channel, Kizuna Ai China and Love chan in official channel list

[@shinyanakagawa8241]

@@daleryanaldover6545 Love-chan is the 2nd, Ai-Pii is the 3rd but she retired last year. Love-chan and Ai-Pii essentially shared the account together but after Ai-Pii's gone, they renamed it as Love-Channel.

[@ashchisalleh1454]

China Ai chan we call Ai gee still work as intended, at least now she enjoyed be one. And seem she has good community even outside KZbin. She still upload stuff in KZbin.

[@daleryanaldover6545]

@@shinyanakagawa8241 I see, thanks for the info. I still want to see content from Ai number 3 but I hope she is doing fine wherever she is.

[@zierlyn]

@@daleryanaldover6545 The person behind #3 is focusing on her music career, though she's only got a tiny following (like 1000 people) and the same roughly 13 people watching her streams (karaoke and game streams with no avatar). She doesn't appear to have any plans to become a vtuber, though she's got the skills. She's been doing some live performances, and she's more than halfway through an EP called Persona that she's been releasing one song for every month. She's also uploaded a ton of covers of vocaloid songs. I don't want to gatekeep, but I don't exactly trust people on the internet to behave appropriately and not bring up her past. In any case, on a COMPLETELY UNRELATED topic, check out this amazing underrated singer called Kakuriyo Hatena.

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

kizuna ai, personally, has always been just barely in my view and attention. aside from extremely big events or situations, i almost forget about kizuna ai, but i end up never forgetting about her regardless.

[@GameFuMaster]

problem for me is, her videos stopped having English CC and I couldn't understand them anymore, so I stopped watching

[@theyuritheorist]

@@GameFuMaster With youtube community subtitles being brought back, maybe they'll allow fans to help with subtitles since they used to do that before

[@CiDK]

@@theyuritheorist it's being brought back?

[@theyuritheorist]

@@CiDK they tweeted about it, but I'm note sure when it will be available for everyone

[@unknownguyindo4356]

@@theyuritheorist I don't think it gonna happen anytime soon. Maybe months or after three/four updates. They fucked up the menu yesterday.

[@olbaze]

Since Kizuna Ai's controversy, we've had multiple (positive) examples showcasing that what people want is the person, not the Vtuber avatar, or the company they belong to. I hope the management companies look at those, and realize that they're very blessed to be able to help these personalities AND make money while doing it. It's fine, even encouraged, to experiment with various ideas. Without experimentation, Kiryu Coco wouldn't have existed. That experimentation just can't come at the expense of the personality. That's what was the mistake with Kizuna Ai.

[@drowningin]

That's true, but it goes both ways. Look at their audiences before being signed, to after. They get huge overnight putting all the eyes on them that weren't there before. The company is dropping bank on these avatars too

[@Bos_Meong]

it goes from avatar first then the person, then you can even botch your avatar completely and people will still gonna like you because of your personality

[@MansMan42069]

The mistake is letting idiotic fans have a say and throw a hissy fit with their kneejerk reactions

[@Dewm_]

I just want to note; a big part of the reason why it's harder for other countries to truly adopt some older or even new japanese Vtubers these days stems from the fact that youtube disabled fan subtitles. It makes me a little bit sad no longer being able to watch Nekomiya Hinata anymore. Unrelated; but I really miss Pinky Pop Hepburn. :C

[@Jirujan]

agree, disabling fan subtitle is actually reducing the amount of content that can be enjoyed by people. i forgot her name (she's a VTuber), but ever since youtube disabling that feature, i can't enjoy her video anymore

[@Scrimblo28]

@@Jirujan I’m not sure how the original system worked, but fan subtitles are returning to some extent I believe. Someone I’m subscribed to said that a new feature is coming out that allows approved fans to subtitle videos, so hopefully that will help future uploads be more accessible ^^

[@makairidah8354]

I miss Kaguya luna. She was my first Vtuber waifu but vanished the moment her return was announced, even to this day I still wonder why her and pinky just suddenly left. At least their mama still has a daughter with Bae

[@nilebrixton8436]

@@makairidah8354 Luna chan never left. she's just focusing on her og character the whole time when Luna went offline

[@larioxem]

I've been checking but Luna had issues with the company that represented her: Vic inc. (株式会社VIC Kabushiki Gaisha Vic) on her current account she posted about being free and that they didn't paid her enough, you can look about on her virtualyoutuberFandom page comments. I think PPH retired for a similar reason and when I followed and translated some of her tweets her cat got sick, different from Luna the vtuber experience wasn't very enjoyable for her, I expected she'll return on a new character just like Oda Nobuhime did with Hololive but nothing so far.

[@Akursedtime]

Without Kizuna Ai, we wouldn't have gotten to the place we are in now. She is truly the progenitor of the vtuber. And I think despite the stumbles, she deserves to be respected and seen as paving the way for others. Whenever she comes back, she will always have her loyal followers and that is enough.

[@haakonbjornsson]

I used to watch her content back when the A.I. Games channel launched, for many months. What actually caused me to stop was not so much fault on her end as KZbin's. KZbin disabled the ability for fan translations to be uploaded as subtitles, which made understanding what she was saying a lot harder since my own Japanese is at a very basic level. For several weeks I'd click over to her videos as they popped in my recommended/home page, see that there was no longer English subtitles, and get frustrated at not being able to understand 2/3 of what she was saying, before giving up finally.

[@dogfamyly]

Yeah, that's when I also left watching her content

[@000Dragon50000]

In all of this I feel really sorry for Aipii, she tried her freaking best the whole time to contain the situation, and even got her own avatar she could take in her own direction eventually, but by then she'd just been put through too much shit.

[@Yutani_Crayven]

This the the worst part. Some companies are so unbelievably inept and incompetent it's borderline criminal with the damage they bring onto their employees.

[@MansMan42069]

Blame the fickle fans.

[@MansMan42069]

@@Yutani_Crayven Have some integrity and blame the fans for being fickle af. You don't get to wash your hands.

[@000Dragon50000]

@@MansMan42069 An individual person's impact on this situation is not only negligible in scope, but also not something you can assume about any individual person. Corporations, on the other hand, have a lot more power over how things go, and it's undeniable that the one managing Ai and the others fucked up bad.

[@MansMan42069]

@@000Dragon50000 There wouldn't have been a fuck up if fans didn't throw a tantrum at something they were clueless about. Time to grow up, kid.

[@SuperCheeseOnline]

I've been a big Kizuna Ai fan since the beginning. The whole replacement debacle is such mishandling. But I really can understand why it could happen. Being the first means having to learn the lessons the hard way. The idea of stagnation was something the decision makers probably already had in mind when they made the decision to introduce clones. It would give the og voice actress some breathing room (she focused on music at the time, and core fans maintained something called "the Kizuna Ai attendance record" as proof that og was very much active even when she was away from the KZbin channel) and add variety to the Kizuna Ai formula, it would've added to the lore too as adding features was something only an A.I. could do (protecting the lore was something very sacred to the core audience). Protecting the lore eventually became something that very much backfired on the company. I remember also when she collaborated with Hikakin, she expressed that there was always great difficulty in handling fans speculation. Other companies took notice and learned the lesson thru her. Overall i think good video there were a few things i would have liked to be discussed (the last concert was crowdfunded in mere seconds from posting which is how it came to be free) but i think you did your best. It made everything very much digestible. Thanks for this as a Kizuna Ai fan.

[@DepressedNousagi]

Fuck! Right I forgot about the crowdfunding part. Thanks for bringing it up.

[@SuperCheeseOnline]

@@DepressedNousagi hey man it's cool nobody's perfect. Keep posting vidoes like this k.

[@theyuritheorist]

I do feel that it could have been done right had they had visible differences from the start rather than later on, since that was when the backlash lowered a bit

[@SuperCheeseOnline]

@@theyuritheorist yeah if only they thought of it from the get go. I think it would have eased some paranoia among fans.

[@nekokid]

So, about the Kizuna Ai's clones. My honest feeling is that, it was the start of the stagnated growth. The company should have made new personas instead of cloning Ai, and use Ai's popularity to promote their talents (via collab or actively promoting their channel). They got greedy, because of how popular the "Kizuna Ai" brand was. Well, it might be because of how much projects they were doing that they decided to clone Ai to minimized "original" Ai's workloads. But that's also because they were eager to make more money, I mean, they should slowdown. Look at how Gura sometimes had very few schedule but her popularity keep increasing steadily. More content doesn't always mean more profit, but you need innovation in between to keep your fans happy in a long term and not leaving you.

[@DIEGhostfish]

Or at least made them different colors, had them interact as a trio a couple times. Don't scare and confuse people, espescially the overseas and tangential people

[@furryfanboy7400]

Gura is lazy and is only being carried by her brand name and clips from YT algorithm but it's all full of dead subs but her VOD views are fine. There's a difference between a live streamer looking for active views/donations and a content creator for views/ad revenue and nobody really cared as much for Kizuna's gimmicks now and they all focused on Nijisanji instead with Kuzuha and especially Mito. (biggest vtuber company IN JAPAN, bigger than Hololive before and still is up to this day).

[@pichitosmalltown3239]

hindsight 20/20. I don't think I want Gura clones, so there's the advantage of having a vtuber group or "generation" where you feature multiple personas who can interact and bounce off each other's content instead of cloning the heavy hitter.

[@Noobnormality]

I don't think they "were" greedy. Yes Japanese companies tend to be more proficient in these money-gathering businesses, but i think the reason was to give more content for the fans while trying to minimize the workload on the og Kizuna Ai considering she was making a project behind. Even if you say that all of this can guarantee a lot of money on their end, it's obvious here that they're trying to make it work out for both parties, otherwise they could've just left the og Kizuna Ai with all those workload.

[@nekokid]

@@Noobnormality yeah I shouldn't have used "greedy" there since we don't know what happened behind the management. Pardon me for that :)

[@SeraphTearZ]

Thanks for taking the time to put together a video covering this topic. That just about catches me up on questions I been having for awhile now. xD Keep up the good work!

[@amanwithbrokendreams]

I discovered her during a collaboration with the anime man, and watched her every since. But as you know eventually, things doesnt last forever, she got overshadowed by the newer generations. I admit when Holojp gen 3 got announced I watched more of they're streams.

[@Archedgar]

Lmao, nice avatar + name.

[@ShizukaPrince]

@@Archedgar haha

[@fca003]

Ai-chan was mentioned by Joey in WTF Japan way before their collab. A lot of english speakers came to her channel because of that.

[@chetawanung-adjmagool9967]

Great content as always. Just a side note: "Thai" is pronounced like "tie", not "thigh".

[@eugeneescalona9478]

Kiara: 👀💧

[@kigaya8809]

Did he stuttered

[@TeraAFK]

thighland is best

[@PCVP4729]

Yeah and I don’t understand why he said it like it was surprising. Vtuber market is massive there.

[@BeruleAdierant]

This is the greatest prove of why you can`t just "replace" the voice of a Vtubers.

[@victinim2512]

I'm really happy I found your channel, I also enjoy other channels like internet historian, Emplemon and Summoning salt. Having you making this long and detailed videos about the history of vtuber is always my favorite way to pass time, Thank you.

[@abbychannel4591]

The one thing that made me slowdown on watching Kizuna and other pioneers is the lack of subtitles. I am a fan of HimeHina and that time KZbin allows submission of subtitles from external sources and then after they remove that function the translated videos slowed down. After that the boom of vtubers came out and clippers became a thing. Since this is becoming a source of money for the clippers, most of the subbers became a clipper.

[@praisesui-tyan]

Clippers really are the true heroes of the vtuber boom of 2019, then the BIG BOOM of 2020 where so many clippers emerged.

[@MrRuano825]

YT recently announced that they were opening the subtitler role for channels to assign, so I'm hoping that - to some extent - this won't be such an issue. Still sucks that it had to go in the first place.

[@abbychannel4591]

@@MrRuano825 The problem right now is that YT did this too late. Clippers will prefer to stay as clippers because let us face reality, they earn from ads. If subbers will get compensation from getting a subtitler role then they will probably go with it but with the ways on how vtuber company goes, they probably wont. But like you said I am also hoping that somewhere out there is a dedicated fan that will wear the hero's cape for us and bring back the limelight of the pioneers.

[@ashchisalleh1454]

KZbin block vtuber channel from having subtitles. Only people lurk around vtuber and see how youtube keep creepling until Kaichou show how much vtuber channel make money outside and inside using all type superchat. By then KZbin slow harass vtuber.

[@B1GG1N]

This was my experience as well. I use to watch Kizuna AI's videos everyday because there were English subtitles available, but all of a sudden they started becoming available less and less. Then a giant rabbit hole formed in front of me thanks to clippers, and I fell in. While I still was subbed to AI's channel, my daily viewership had declined.

[@jo-ri-oh8950]

I have a "issue" with the fact that modern VTubers are called "VTuber", I always preferred to call them VStreamer because 99% of their content is stream. Kizuna Ai has suffered greatly from being a "real" Vtuber because VStreamers greatly benefit from the stream format which allows the volunteers to make many clips which will all be seen a good amount of of times which helps to spread their popularity. Like you said, her content wasn't spread like her concurrents by her community and that contributed to her situation today...

[@techsoly]

Vtuber became the term because it's meant to be Virtual KZbinr, which they are. It's the platform they originated from so Vtuber is the definition they all go by. The issue of the wording should really only be for twitch/other platforms as Vtubers doesn't make sense as they are more deserving of the term VStreamers.

[@EricChien95]

@@techsoly Yup for example in Bilibili they care called V-Up as in Virtual Uploader. as Up主 is what they called their content creator.

[@Jirujan]

not really, there are lots of VTubers who can't gain lots of popularity even if they stream often. the problem isn't the clipper, but her own channel. her non-stream collaboration video only available in her own channel, it didn't spread her popularity greatly, but it spread the popularity the person she collab with. making a short video was a good thing before pandemic, because people who hangout with their friend can talk about her video and spread her popularity. meanwhile, in 2020 most people just share her video in their social media account didn't talk much about her. stop comparing 'VStreamer' who gain popularity via streaming, you only saw the popular one, most of them grow slower than what you thought here's the example of good non-steam collab between Natsumi Moe and Yomemi (kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIm5lYSXn7merNk) (kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2aTY6toba6Uh5I). they spread each others popularity by making the collab video on both channel and put different perspective on the video. people won't get bored because they didn't watch same video. people who know Yomemi can know Moe, and people who know Moe can know Yomemi. they help each other spread their popularity

[@m.i7211]

I agree that most recent vtubers focus on livestreams than pre-recorded videos, making the name Vstreamers more suitable. However it’s also important to note that when the “vtuber trend” first started, most vtubers posted videos, not streams. Kizuna AI, Shiro, Kaguya Luna, Mirai Akari, were all video posters.

[@arumi9929]

Also now vtuber stream not only on youtube but bilibili, twitch, niconico etc. While Vtuber term is Virtual KZbinr😅

[@Ice-mg5pr]

Another amazing video! I really love these kinds of topics that delve into Vtubing culture and history! I wasn't able to watch Kizuna Ai's final concert, but I plan to soon, and I hope to be around whenever she makes her return. Who knows what the industry will look like then.

[@qfeuille3]

Thank you for another informative and focused video. Kasuga went through a lot of issues, hope she finds happiness from the hiatus/break.

[@madison8818]

I still remember back in like 2016 that I thought Kizuna Ai was an actual A.I. Safe to say she wasn't, but the idea of an anime waifu KZbinr was enough for me to be stuck in this rabbit hole for about 5 years now. It's kinda insane to think how her very existence had given rise to the all vtubers. Not many pioneers icons can do that and stand the test of time For me, even though she really didn't adapt well on the Renaissance of Vtubers in 2020, she was doing what she loves; doing concerts, collabing with other vtubers, being shit at games; she was doing what she loves. If you're more interested with Kizuna Ai, her Touya x Kizuna collab in the "Sharpness Radio" (kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4O6m4Voo856qNU) is a much watch. We stan for this godmother of vtubers!

[@Rubyshedinja33]

wow thats the same as me but while looking up ddlc around when she started it

[@somefishhere]

A great radio collab

[@chibi_okami]

I already know she's not an A.I because she's bad at English lol

[@firefly618]

LMAO how could you think that? It was pretty obvious there was a voice actress behind it. In fact, that's why we got so angry and sad when she was being replaced.

[@radiathor]

this video is one of the best I've seen in the last few months

[@nabe4320]

another solid vid. I didn't know too in depth about the whole debacle with Kizuna's AI's, but the comments and your explanation do help, and her final stream was a legendary one to never forget.

[@caseycarlson9436]

I hope someday you'll do a video on Oda Nobuhime. What a tragedy. I've been enjoying all your videos as of late, keep up the good work.

[@PooDotStinkPants]

Great job on the research, we had no idea who this VTuber was until now.

[@starlightmoonlight498]

I started watching kizuna in late 2017 and I thought she was great. However I couldn't really understand Japanese that much. But 2018 rolled in and she was one of the reasons why I was learning it, I found a lot of moti in what she did. Being original and just doing what she wanted. Learned a lot of stuff her songs were great and I watched her when i could since catching streams live were hard back then. about when hololive gen 4 rolled onto the scene and then I became a tatsunoko then a deadbeat. I learned new sthings gained motivation and I had fun. Never took any of them for granted and cherished those times because good things don't last. Congrats on hitting 30k 🎉

[@astranix0198]

Show me your motivation

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

I felt bad when I heard about Kizuna A.I. being phased out because I actually enjoyed her gaming content. I remember finding her around the time that Super Mario Odyssey came out, and it was fun to watch her fumble through the game (especially when she raged whenever she died or something went wrong). I did kinda stop watching around the time she started doing less gaming and more music, though...

[@marmedalmond9958]

Her gta videos are hood classics

[@irvancrocs1753]

@@marmedalmond9958 don't forget the legendary resident evil playthrough, and pubg where her ultimate goal was to get her first kill lol..

[@DakkaBert]

I recall clicking on a kizuna ai video, being confused why there were multiple of her, then clicking off and never coming back. A brief moment of confusion was all it took to lose a viewer, thats a hard but important lesson to learn.

[@dasherplayz4471]

11:57 This is so sad. So many people who might've had a very successful career had it taken away from them because a company doesn't know how to manage itself

[@OPTERON_PRIME]

great video!

[@TheDeathWombat]

Hands down, she had the best music across the genre. I’m a metalhead who really isnt into pop music, let alone jpop, but goddamn is her music on another level. I think her music is more EDM than anything, and I have been steadily getting into electronic music as of late. Hello World and The Light are just simply amazing If she comes back, I hope she can do a song with Porter Robinson or Teddyloid

[@MidnightTheKitten]

Agreed!! Sky High is also great!

[@somefishhere]

I learned about her thru Secret Sky.

[@misterkoneko2389]

Been waiting for this topic to be brought up in this channel

[@jks1086]

This remind me of the same case with another (group of) vtuber(s). At this point, it's just better to retire the character as well instead of finding the replacement. Even hololive didn't replace Chris Hitomi, let alone Aloe, Coco, or Rushia.

[@bigboiganiga8356]

Rushia didnt retire. Chris didnt, Aloe is kind of and Coco is the only one that graduated properly. Rushia and Chris got kicked out due their breach of contract, very bad girls. Aloe breach the contract but did gave farewell speech while Coco is the only that graduated properly with concert and all.

[@chenchen6150]

Only Coco that legit graduate while the rest terminated due to breaching the contract with the exception of Aloe since she gave a farewell and apology before retired.

[@jks1086]

@@bigboiganiga8356 I mean, the characters won't be used anymore. The VAs are fired (or at least out). The characters are retired.

[@taigaaisaka6305]

I dunno why some people, as of late, bring Christ Hitomi into the conversation when talking about Aloe, Coco or Rushia. Unlike all 3 of those, Hitomi's case was actually fkd up, and showed that she was a garbage person. The reason she was fired was because she made a shady deal with a dude, in exchange of her body (yes, s*xual favors), he would get her a full streaming set up (PC, camera, etc)- After getting all of that, she then proceeded to gaslight the dude. Basically, she scammed him. He then made everything public. It was later revealed that he was a well known piece of sh*t, but still, it was a case of two awful people screwing themselves. A far cry of what Aloe and Rushia went through, Aloe decided to quit after the harassment against her and Rushia was kicked because she went and talked with a drama youtuber even tho her friends and manager told her not to, thus breaching her contract.

[@furryfanboy7400]

@@chenchen6150 We could have had a vocaloid singer, I will never forgive the obsessed doxxers and especially those MASS idiots hiding in their little discord servers. I'm willing to bet they also kick-started the #WeLoveRushia bringing unnecessary attention that spread like wildfire on 5ch and to Korekore, ultimately pressuring her to do desperate acts.

[@seido7586]

Kizuna Ai will never be forgotten... She's the first Vtuber I watched... I really hope she'll be back and make live etc. What the fans do is a bit the same thing that happens to Genshin review on Play Store when their anniversary...

[@leisureman85]

These west taiwanese, man lol You made me remember my first yab. I was hella confused and didn't have a clue about /vt/, so I kept scrolling Twitter and Reddit for hours, and when I found out about Nozomi Kasuga, my brain exploded. Great work as always. I hope you are not depressed anymore.

[@HirokaAkita]

I'm into the VTuber scene literally almost since day one. I started to follow Kizuna during about March 2017, what might be almost half a year after her debut, but in the grand scheme of things, is not that far from the beginning. *_What the company did to her and her companions is almost unforgiveable._*

[@noodles7422]

I'll forever remember her, she was the first vtuber I've watched

[@nyankrauss]

The Last Live was EPIC af, my kokoro was shattered to pixels and dissolved in the air as she ascended \)(/ (T~T)

[@axtremulus]

I really think there’s a crossroads of vtuber+vocaloid+”AI” companion (think Siri, but more capable and customizable) that I think is on the cusp of the industry at this point. With how well that fits Kizuna’s character, I’m surprised they didn’t evolve that way as the industry changed.

[@karayura10]

Gatebox

[@axtremulus]

@@karayura10 Gatebox has always been interesting, but it’s more of a piece of a larger interconnected system that you would need. Not sure what function Gatebox has beyond the hologram projection and associated application. Would be great if they pushed even further with the concept!

[@gracusa]

That was so good Holy shit, your videos are so interesting and fascinating I love it, keep up the good work man

[@electronresonator8882]

Vtubers especially when they're famous are not that anonymous, people know who they are, they simply don't talk openly about them , so Nozomi Kasuga can pull Kson move during this period and make a name for herself, so when the AI contract period already finished, she can simply go Indie ..and even pay an illustrator and live2D rigger to make her own semi-Vtuber show

[@shafwandito4724]

Nozomi is the owner of Kizuna AI Inc. technically her (whatever) contract is based on her decision whether or not she wants to continue.

[@kevinnio]

I think they just saw the opportunity to make more money out of the image of AI and being pioneers of the genre didn't consider how the fans were not only attached to the character model and personality, but also to the person behind it in some measure. They thought they could replace the voice actress with anyone and it would be the same. Oh boy, they were wrong.

[@Hamizannn]

12:38 "Oda Nobuhime who retired because her management was a f***ing circus show" I see what you did there.. That was pretty funny. On a side note, its quite sad to see how she fell from popularity considering how much of a boom she had. I used to watch some of her stuff and vtubers like kaguya luna and mirai akari back in the days, and there used to have some fan subtitles which helps me to understand their videos. One day, youtube just decided to remove that feature for some reason, thus making it hard to follow them.

[@RazzySensei]

It made me spit as well.. it was a nice line

[@saberarturia8573]

Meanwhile A certain management: WHERE WE DROPPING GIRL

[@mapleflag6518]

I don’t get it

[@dkosmari]

You glossed over a major component: Activ8 never respected Nozomi Kasuga. In that same memed-to-death video where Yagoo talks about how he wants to build an idol group "like AKB48," you'll also find the Activ8 CEO talking about their business plan. He clearly states that *Kizuna Ai is just their intellectual property*, they compare her to Disney's Mickey Mouse, and they plan to license Kizuna Ai to be used in all kinds of media, like games, ads, music videos, etc. They thought of Kizuna Ai just as a Hatsune Miku, and completely ignored the fact there's a person breathing in life behind that puppet. You're giving a lot of leeway to the "it was a misunderstanding" version of the story, when it's clear there was a lot of corporate malice from the beginning.

[@KuroSlick]

People be forgetting that the Japanese business world is a lot more brutal than the western business culture

[@firefly618]

I agree 100%. I was among the fans who left AI Channel for good when the clones took over and when Kasuga posted those sad tweets. I was sad, I felt that the company did not respect her work nor her fans. It was very obvious that they believed Kizuna AI's name, image, 3D technology, scripts, and overall intellectual property was what made her great. It was not. We knew intuitively that it was the voice actress who was the soul of the character. Take her away, and you are left with 2 sorry substitutes that nobody wanted to watch. (But we would have watched if they were given their own models and channels! Meaning if those voice actresses were also given respect!) I'm kind of glad that a talent company with such terrible management tanked. Good riddance.

[@nilebrixton8436]

boom! bingo. that announcement rubbed me the wrong way and probably was the final straw that made me quit watching her, despite how painful it was for me.

[@nilebrixton8436]

@@firefly618 same here. up to that point I've been watching her non stop almost everyday and introduced her to friends and family. the lack of respect to the voice talents killed it for me.

[@furrosama]

Man the way you structure this video is really masterful if i would say so, my english teacher would love it if i could structure an essay with such clarity and precision and emotive like this one :O

[@epicosexio]

Wow thanks for the coverage of this topic. Now Im updated on the most recent news yez

[@ak6427]

Sheesh, kizuna's story gets a tear in my eye every time... I was there for the very first episodes she released, but later stopped watching. Forever a legend though.

[@Soreign_]

Man, this anime's plot is sooo good! The ups and downs, the mystery of the original Ai, the evil company/empire. So many fell on the way and now our heroine rests. Can't wait for season 2.

[@YourTypicalMental]

Depressed Nousagi is a youtuber I won't skip ads for.

[@alexrod9271]

I always wondered what happened to her & this video explained it well! Glad to know she's "resting"

[@jeffriart]

Have been following Kizuna Ai from the beginning, I'm still fond of her all these years and will remain a fan for a long time. The concert was a bang! I wish her the best during the hiatus and hope that she'll come back stronger. I'm aware about the controversy back then, but to be honest, I didn't watch much of her at that time. But it's a great lesson to be learnt by everyone in this industry. Thank you for making this!

[@doctor_arknight]

For the greater good of Vtuber's community. I hope you'll keep uploading this kind of content. Cause its very important to help share this kind of knowledge to all of the fan base. Especially for a new fans out there, who still not knowing what has happened around the community. I'm telling you this, you are legend. And your content are priceless.

[@EnderKnight11]

Ai-chan is still an absolute legend! I was there for the concert and it blew me away. The entrance was the greatest entrance I've ever seen! Every part of the concert was amazing! And the ending almost made me cry :')

[@Alexandrites]

I never followed, saw her videos or anything, and i still cried in that live man.............

[@s.m.4995]

I still remember this stuff perfectly. I quit watching Kizuna Ai altogether because I couldn't find videos with her in actual voice actor and every single time I asked about it the fans shut me down hard. I just wanted to know if the actual Kizuna Ai was still on the channel. I was more than happy to give the others a chance to, but the way everyone was acting pushed me away hard.

[@phantom7958]

I remember back then, where I will always wait for her new videos, and translation were always updated. Such golden age. I hope she comes back but that could only be a dream

[@angelquinones9201]

This is a good video. Thank you.

[@AGRAk]

She was the one that impressed me the most to became a Vtuber and to do vtuber content, but sometimes agencys do wrong choices and that's devastating

[@SinRayquaza]

Ai walked so others can run. She was my 1st Vtuber and she will always be remembered 😊

[@edenromanov]

A fantastic video on the great Kizuna Ai, DeNou just knows how to make these great insightful documentary style videos so well and this one was a banger like the rest, made me misty eyed for a minute there reminiscing about peak Aichan but the ending also made me hopeful for her return one day. 🙏❤️

[@animebro14]

That's honestly depressing.

[@aven5170]

I'm missing Ai-chan again. :( I think her decline can be attributed to several reasons but the 2 big factors I can think of is first, the non-stop evolution of vtubing. When Nijisanji debuted Tsukino Mito and the succeeding first wave in 2018, they really pioneered a new era in vtubing which is the streaming and Live2D. Even though they faced criticsm back then being called cheap and low effort as compared to Kizuna Ai's style of vtubing, I think this is where the change started. Despite Ai chan's huge popularity in Japan and many people idolizing her, aspiring vtubers still choose to do the streaming style as it is more cheaper and less complicated. Streaming and Live2D is like the lovechild of anime and gaming streaming that was prevalent at that time and it has opened up so much new content ideas. The second reason is when Love chan and Pii chan were introduced in 2019 , we already know how Ai chan's fans feel about this and it doesn't help that her company back then did not handle it well. Like what my oshi said, they won't stay relevant forever. Who knows, in the near future, new batch of vtubers will introduce another vtubing concept, another era. So while they are still here, support them the best you can.

[@imanyanemoirchan133]

i princess selena doing??

[@RedRabbit-ZA]

I've never really been interested in Kizuna AI. To me she felt more like a brand than an actual person. When I was introduced to vtubers in 2020 all the drama had already happened.

[@uselessprotaganist7444]

She was more of a brand, from a time when the concept of a vtuber was being thrown around as a completely artificial youtuber, with everything heavily produced by a company. She was the original concept of a vtuber, which was then iterated on by others with different spins, until it evolved into the more refined balance we get with companies like Hololive and Nijisanji.

[@Ethyrus]

The Dying Light music in the intro is fire man

[@daleryanaldover6545]

I really like Kizuna Ai number 3, she's scaredy cat as hell and really fun to be with, I wish I knew her VA. But people kept bugging her about OG Ai whereabouts. It's always the paranoia that destroys one image, it's like an epidemic spreading so fast and before you know it, you were already within the angry mob of zombies trying to eat away of what's left. Many have been victims of these mindless idiots whose sole purpose it to ensue chaos within the community. It doesn't matter what kind of community that is, they are inevitable and will come to destroy what we love.

[@kyon8549]

If yer interested, I know Ai-pii's YT channel now, but please just respect her privacy now and don't call her Aipii. She makes good music but unfortunately she doesn't have enough subs as of now.

[@yunluna9517]

I think youtube removing community contributed subtitles also played a part, because of that her global fans stopped watching her videos due to language barrier and turned into dead subs, making the yt algorhithm thinking that her videos are no longer good and stopped reccomending her to ppl.

[@kerb5989]

Personally, I think staying to her formula was better for Kizuna. She was left with those who enjoyed that type of content during the vtuber boom. If she had transitioned to live streaming I'm sure there would be a lot of backlash for jumping on the trend. Besides, plenty of VTuvers already fill that market.

[@Burn_Angel]

I don't completely agree. Sticking to her formula is necessary, but she can experiment streaming at least here on YT. If it doesn't work, well, back to the roots.

[@KaiserNetwork]

Business need to adapt to changes or else they sink.

[@DeviousKid45]

@@KaiserNetwork doesn't always work. Trying to copy a rising trend alienates your established loyal fanbase. It just seemed greedy. This is prevalent in video game development especially. Staying in your niche market has benefits.

[@Mmmm-vm8vn]

You put so much work into content we can't look for or make ourselves, thank you so much Nousagi, you're doing great :)

[@cikame]

Great video, helped me fill in some of the gaps i had. The change that happened with vtubers is really interesting, Kizuna AI is like a character in a show due to the scripted edited format, whereas while most vtubers are somewhat playing a character it's not something they keep up and eventually you're just watching a streamer with an anime face, i get to know about Fauna's cats, Pekora's interactions with her mum, Kiara recently gave some old furniture to her family members, Mio has covid, IRyS had cheese crust pizza for the first time, it's mundane stuff really but i love it, that's where the power of the clippers comes in because even if you're not watching the streams you're forming connections with these people through the events in their lives. I watch shows for entertainment and that's fine but i don't really care about the people involved and that kind of goes for Kizuna AI too, she entertained me a lot but it kind of ends there, that's why her early gameplay videos were so awesome like when she was playing RE7, simply seeing her react in an unscripted manner was new and refreshing. If people started tuning out for the same reason then the company's decision to split her into 4 people is really the opposite of what everyone wanted, ironically while you get more content that way you get even less of "her". I hope if she comes back there's less production behind it, people just want to hang out with and chill with "her", not a representation of her.

[@commenter6472]

Great vid. Thank you

[@TheRealestEric]

It really breaks my heart, what happened with Ai-chan... She was one of my favorites, and was the one who brought me down the rabbithole. I wish things had gone better for her. They never should've changed her seiyuu.

[@nicolasmonty3692]

According to my research from 2020 to 2021 Ai seiyu wa not changed and as I mentioned in an earlier comment I was one of the few who kept close tabs on h her and since mid -late 2020 it was determined that by comparing. Voices, laugh and demeanors the OG seiyuu voiced her on both her channels Ai channel and. Ai games until her last live earlier this year.

[@nilebrixton8436]

@@nicolasmonty3692 nope. if you watched og long enough the "splits" were easy to spot. though they did a pretty good job of imitating her demeanor but no amount of likeness can replace og. it's like twins. family can tell twins apart easily but outsiders are easily fooled.

[@nicolasmonty3692]

@@nilebrixton8436 I watched since 2017 so according to my comparisons, that did not happen, but that's just what my evidence shows. So unless you show me your solid evidence from reliable source links, I will not believe your claim. Have a nice day. Also on a side note, the voice behind her is a professional Voice actress, so variations in voice are expected.

[@nilebrixton8436]

@@nicolasmonty3692 I was introduced to her back in 2016 via her promo event at a convention. watched her vids multiple times before the personality split since the frequency was only few vids a week back then. you don't have to believe me. in fact you are entitled to believe whatever you want. have a good day.

[@Flugmorph]

your videos slap, really appreciate the work and research you put into these video projects.

[@c.k.6939]

One detail I'd like to point out is that the unwritten rule of "the person behind a VTuber should never be replaced" isn't something that came out of nowhere. I always remember the story of Game Club Project when it comes to this, as from what I know that was at least the first major case and arguably the originator of a key aspect of VTubing culture that people nowadays simply recognize as the norm without really knowing why.

[@thedaviddlc3355]

I’ll miss her for sure. Ai-Chan will always s be #1 in my heart

[@isa300100]

I always thought the fall began when youtube disabled the community subs, because there is when me an most of my friends stopped watching her.

[@peacelight_live]

Another good video explaining these topic ^_^ I would like to mention, Kizuna AI was very supportive of VR Market in VRChat. She even attended and sponsored at Virtual Market (VKet). Its pretty much convention in VRChat. She was very active with community. Because of her action, it wouldn't have grown as it did.

[@123nicanor]

Shit makes me sad, I remember stumbling upon Ai's channel when she was very new. Her kayfabe wasnt even fully realized/very prominent. It was the Resident Evil 7 playthrough, I remember her talking (very vaguely so excuse me if this is wrong) that she was tired cuz she worked that day but it was important to play once in a while too. Back then I remember she was just a regular person, with a face of an anime girl. She had the kayfabe of an AI yes, but it was very mild. From what I remember, she and the viewers mostly forget about it. TBH thats what hooked me in her content, basically what most of the Hololive idols are doing now, light kayfabe but almost like a real person playing the game (only difference was she was doing a recorded playthru vs the livestream content modern Vtubers are doing now). I fell off too because of the clones, I wanted the OG content back, the more grounded setting. More like the lets player/content creator rather than an idol. I didn't know of this paranoia BS at all (which made me more sad now that I know of it). This shit is making me so friggin sad. Time gets to everybody, even your fave Vtuber now will be affected by it too sooner or later. FRICKIN. SAD.

[@adamquek1095]

Thanks for mentioning Nobuhime and the upd8 shishow.

[@jajathenewking6131]

All I knew from her was the first VTuber is Kizuna Ai and the start of this trend. Everything else I had no idea. She definitely needed that break and hopefully she comes back with a bang.

[@Khantlerpartesar]

You should also focus the "4 Heavenly Kings of Vtuber" and why they kind of fell apart - would love to see your research about this. Thanks for the video!

[@DepressedNousagi]

I have a video planned about that soon!

[@Khantlerpartesar]

@@DepressedNousagi noice, keep up the informational work mate! Thanks!

[@MiracleMomo]

Thanks for making this so I no longer have to reach in the back of my mind for all the info of how betrayed I felt every time someone asks about her. For one thing, I always liked her style of video more. It was always refreshing to click on a Kizuna video and see that comfortable white space and sound effects and cute cute CUTE girl. I miss that era of Vtubers, all my favourites went away after the Hololive boom brought in the overseas market and changed everything. When the clones showed up, it removed all the passion I had for the channel and left such a bitter taste in my mouth when I could no longer see my cute AI girl. Kizuna fans loved her personality more than anything. You liked to blame China for the backlash, but at the time, most of us were livid. All her hard work building that channel from nothing, gone in a flash. They took her from us and wouldn't tell us why. Then we look at her tweets and clearly she seems to be suffering. To this day, I don't know what to believe, but think of how us fans felt at that time - An AI doesn't need money or recognition. They can just stick whoever they want into the model and think they can reap the benefits of her hard work. It felt horrible, so I couldn't keep watching.

[@nilebrixton8436]

same here. blaming China is a cop out in my opinion. in my eyes it had nothing to do with China or their fans because we all felt betrayed. edit: felt betrayed by the company not Kizuna AI

[@WeebsLifeBalance]

Big respect to Oyabun. First time she debut I know something big will come, a new trend, and she is the pioneer.

[@Pixeluchiha]

Personally, I feel like this video is exactly what overseas viewers needed to see. Like said in the video, I myself didn't fully understand the cloning situation and got pretty turned off from Kizuna Ai as a whole, as I thought that she had been replaced and never gave it a second thought. For a year or so, outside of Kizuna Ai, I hadn't really known that vtubers were a thing because I had completely retreated from the scene. After I was introduced to Hololive in mid 2020, I had considered watching Kizuna again, but still didn't understand the situation from years prior, so I nevers went back. In fact, I now feel ashamed that I never returned and didn't watch even her Last Live (which I am definitely going to watch tomorrow, even if it wont have nearly the same impact as it did when it did happen). I am hoping that this video receives enough traction that most overseas viewers of Kizuna Ai that left will return, and create a new wave of support.

[@ashchisalleh1454]

Yes. You understand it.

[@chuchuleptitrain]

great work, Kizuna Ai will stay the OG and also the first Vtuber I watched with Kaguya Luna. Talking about Kaguya Luna, I wonder if you could also cover her case or talk about what happened to her someday. thanks for your work and Take care of yourself!

[@velvetra29]

In the anime / light novel titled "Log Horizon", there are multiple level of how strong a magic is. The highest level being "Global Level Magic." It only occurs once in a blue moon, a magic that so powerful, it can change the whole world. In the vtuber scene, we have witnessed this "Global Level Magic" three times: 1. Kizuna Ai. 2. Kiryu Coco. 3. Holomyth.

[@ultimatevexation8782]

Ok

[@prisuners6275]

Nah, not really

[@nightingaleseraph]

>holomyth >magic pick one

[@jackb450]

Kizuna Ai due to being a Pioneer/THE pioneer for Vtubers to come Kiryu Coco for the expansion of Vtubers globally Holomyth... what was their impact?

[@velvetra29]

@@jackb450 Depressed Nousagi already made a video focused on that specific topic. Kindly give it a watch.

[@KyudoKun]

I was visiting Kizuna Ai channel awhile ago and noticed that her last video was posted almost 3 months ago. I was curious and felt a bit panicked that I thought her channel died. But thankfully I found your channel to answer my questions. I was also a big fan of Kizuna back in 2017 when she used to make videogame playthrough. Tho I got bored following her when she started posting music videos and all that idol thingy. It was not that content I subscribed for in the first place.

[@Yun_K.M]

the sad thing for me is that one of the first founding member of the vtuber communities was unceremoniously kicked in the ball by youtube and the adpocalypse. every one talk about Kizuna A.I but hardly anyone know about the eilene gang, one of the first vtuber to actually have decent view and sub, that start all the way back in 2014 before vtuber was ever a thing. eilene gang was the reason i like vtuber nowaday, ecspecially nijisanji.

[@ashchisalleh1454]

👍👍

[@remforrest]

I love watching your videos, I like to play spot the sachiowo that I know will be there. I am suprised I don't see shachimu and others. Please keep on your interesting post.

[@linajabba9639]

Well yeah I never really watched her, but honestly have so much respect for her

[@baconmandanthe3rd944]

not gonna lie i wouldn't mind a chris pratt vtuber lmao jokes aside, amazing video! I always heard of kizuna ai being in this community but did not know much about her and was confused as to why her channel seemed to stagnate. But even though i had never really watched her content, i still felt quite emotional while watching the last concert. This was really informative and entertaining, great job my guy!

[@HitodamaKyrie]

I actually learned of Ai-chan through a Drop Pop Candy MMD video. This must've been just as her overseas recognition was beginning to ramp up. I definently recall it was before her Biohazard 7 playthrough. Pretty sure video games wise she was playing Inside around that time.

[@RomHunterBlueSilver]

Thx 4 the vid and u gonna love the RX 78 2 Kizuna Ai, I didn't expect all of that happen in 2019.

[@MBits.]

Imagine a timeline where kizuna ai streamed plus i think it was fine that she did what she did since she already did what she wanted and made a name for herself and forever effect on the vtuber community

[@theyuritheorist]

I think that's what the clones were intended for while she was working on music and stuff outside of youtube and if the clones had visible distinctions and upd8 was more transparent, it could have worked out, unfortunately they weren't and when Kizuna Ai Inc was made they had to choose whether to go back to making videos while abandon the groundwork that was made for her music or continue having her make music and make less videos

[@AverageBear-ly]

Really nice video summarizing Ai's career, l like your thoughts and analysis on why things happened, think it gives a pretty intuitive insight beyond just the falling numbers. Thumbs up!

[@NeostormXLMAX]

the same thing happened with a lot of earlier vtubers as well, like eliene and the other 4 kings like cyber girl siro and kaguyaa luna, along with others that did the video skit thing, live streaming was a whole new can of worms that required a different skill set and had to be approached differently you had to constantly upload and you had to draw a specific audience that would value watch time and amount of videos vs, quality which works for the algorithm

[@BlahajGoesNom]

3:16 is the best thing I have ever seen in a while