#2: Thoughts on Minato Aqua

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It felt like a long time coming hearing about the sudden graduation (Japanese idol/VTuber parlance meaning retirement from one's activities) of Hololive's Minato Aqua.

As one of the veteran members of the agency, having made her debut as part of Hololive's 2nd Generation in 2018, she's made a mark in both the FPS gaming scene, being one of the best talents in Hololive when it comes to games like Apex Legends, and as an idol on stage (one of my countless perennial brainworm songs have been 'Aqua Iro Palette'). She's also known for being a reserved person socially, but in recent years she has tried to open up to other fellow talents.

While I must admit that I am not a die-hard fan of her, I have always respected her for her passions and for overcoming her social anxiety. Being in Hololive has helped her build her character and enable opportunities she otherwise would've never gotten had she gone a different path. Now that she has the confidence to move away from Hololive, I wish her the best in the years to come and to savour the remaining days of August with the people she love. It's like Kiryu Coco's graduation all over again, just this time with someone who's lasted twice as long as a virtual talent.

On a tangent: With the recent departure of several talents including Yozora Mel and Friend A (who served as a public-facing staff member), several talents expressing their thoughts about how strict their management has become over the years in the name of safety, and Cover Corporation, Hololive's parent company, opting to be *very* selective about auditioning new talent, and with increasing competition from other agencies and independent VTubers and other forms of media, and on top of all that the uncertain trajectory of the Japanese economy, could it be that the Golden Age of VTubers have finally ended? That the heady days of the late Heisei era and the pandemic years are behind us? Some may say it already ended in 2021, after the departure of Coco. Others may claim that it's a gradual transition to favour consistency over unpredictability within the organisation. What is inevitable is that a company disappears quickly as a force for the common good, or live long enough to be called another jewel in the crown of a repressive entertainment industry. Die a hero, or live to be the villain. Inevitably, even Yagoo would have to step down and someone would have to take his place, but he cannot be the Best Girl. Either way, it's a better fate that a certain rainbow house would only dream of. Am I one to answer my own question? Probably, and it's that while the old times are gone, and the stalwarts settle down one by one, as fans we must continue to share stories about them into the future, and to welcome the new and the changed as long as the direction of Hololive aligns with what we want. Unfortunately, its current direction is one that Aqua does not share at the present moment.

Those are all of my thoughts at the moment. I'll see Aqu-tan's last days in Hololive fondly. OtsuAqua!