While VTuber culture is widespread today, it’s easy to forget just how recently it formed. The term “VTuber” came into widespread adoption with the early success of Kizuna Ai in 2017, and modern VTuber culture as we know it today only started to take shape with the rise of modern agencies.
This became abundantly clear with the debut of hololive English -Myth- in September 2020, when VTubing was elevated to a global phenomenon. Millions of fans flocked to the newly formed unit, who went on to solidify VTubing as an otaku staple in the West.
The rise of VTubing caused the combination of many long-standing communities — notably from the anime and idol spheres — with their respective members forming the foundation of the VTuber community today.
So it is no surprise that, with such vibrant backgrounds, the communities would be able to draw together experts in many disciplines and execute exceptional feats.
From illustrators and project managers to volunteers and the many members of the fandom whose support made it all possible, here is the story about the holoEN billboard at Yunika Vision.
Where did the inspiration for the project come from?
PONG: I found out about hololive EN through a podcast that Mori Calliope was on. At first, I was like, “What is a VTuber?” I knew of Kizuna Ai, but wasn’t aware there were streamers.
That video changed my YouTube algorithm and recommended a lot of holoEN clips. The very first live stream I watched was Mori’s karaoke stream; she was having fun, and I loved that. So I started to watch more holoEN VTubers.
I am not talented in anything, so I wanted to show my love through fan projects. Thankfully, KFP put up with my relentless pinging in the Discord, so I was able to be PM (project manager) for many projects over the last three years.
I was [the] PM for a billboard fan ad for Takanashi Kiara back in August of 2022 when she visited Seoul Popcon. I saw how much Kiara loved the fan ad. And already leading a project like this, I thought about doing a similar fan ad project for the whole Hololive EN girls, to show our love for all of their hard work! Also I wanted JP fans to see our EN girls!
Why did you choose the Yunika Vision billboard? What is the significance behind the location?
PONG: If you see the Yunika Vision billboard, most of the time, idols are there to advertise their new album, or fans do fan ads for them at Yunika Vision. This is the place to do idol fan ads.
So, since hololive EN girls are idols, I thought it was the place to do fan ads! Also, it gives us a unique way to be creative since there are three screens we can use! It was definitely the right choice because we were able to display both Myth and “CouncilRys” (now hololive Promise) for the whole minute instead of dividing them into 30 seconds each.
What was it like to get the different hololive fan communities involved?
PONG: Because I am not active in every single fandom, sometimes it was difficult to ask for help. But at the end of the day, I was able to talk to cool people, and they helped a lot with spreading the news about the project.
And the fundraising?
PONG: This was the most difficult part of the project. Asking for money is never easy. In order to reach the most people, I asked many fans from each fandom to like and retweet my posts about the project.
I did a profile picture giveaway for fans who donated, wrote messages, or sent in their fan art. And [I made] a clip of certain holoEN girls reacting to the project.
This was a group effort. [It was] very difficult, but we did it.
I am forever grateful to all the fans who helped spread the news about the project and gave their own resources to help!
What about the artists?
PONG: Send emails and pray that they will respond…
Thankfully, PONG’s efforts were not in vain, as Rosuuri and Yongdal would take up the cause.
How did you first get involved with the Yunika Vision billboard project?
Rosu: PONG, the project organizer, reached out about drawing hololive Myth and Council for the Yunika Vision fan ad project. I was excited to learn about such a cool project and really wanted to participate, but had a lot of work scheduled that month — even other hololive projects such as a promotional illustration for the hololive x pixiv contest. PONG was amazing to work with, and I was able to contribute by working hard to adjust my schedule and give the Myth piece the time it deserved!
Were you a fan of hololive before creating official illustrations for them? If so, how did it feel to work on those projects?
Rosu: Yes, I’ve been a fan since 2019, even before hololive English debuted! A friend introduced me to Minato Aqua clips, and I fell down the VTuber rabbit hole from there.
It feels surreal that I was able to work on various official art and merch for hololive! I am so thankful to the COVER staff and their collaborators for entrusting me with the projects I worked on!
As both a VTuber and an artist, what role do you think fanart plays in the industry and community?
Rosu: Fanart is a wonderful way for fans to share their passion. When an anime, game, or VTuber inspires me and I want to express my love, then art is the best way to express it. It’s also very fun and relaxing to draw something with these motivations!
Fanart brings our community together through sharing these feelings. It’s also a great way to discover VTubers for yourself. I often find new VTubers through fanart! Some artists draw fanart of scenarios that happen during streams, so they can convey a lot about the VTuber and share their community’s unique experience!
What inspires you to make art of VTubers?
Rosu: Their personalities are so fun and entertaining, and their designs are so cute that I can’t help myself! When I feel that connection to a VTuber, I get inspired to capture their energy and character to share with others. It’s very motivating!
What was it like to have your artwork displayed in front of so many people, and represent the hololive English community?
Rosu: It’s really amazing! It’s always been my dream to see my art on a large display like that. I feel so lucky I was able to chase that dream while representing this group I like so much! holoMyth are funny, entertaining, and so cute too — I hope I was able to capture everything wonderful about them!
I wish I could have seen the display in person, but seeing all the pictures and videos by fans under #HoloENYunika was marvelous and made me really happy!
What was it like to see the project come to fruition? How do you feel about the community’s reaction to the billboard?
PONG: I even changed my flight in order to see the very first one. When I first saw it, I almost cried because it looked so beautiful.
Also, I know how much the artists/animation/logo team worked on it in order to finish it on time. They worked so hard to finish it, and seeing all of their hard work on Yunika, I can’t describe my feelings at the time.
I loved it whenever people posted about the fan ad. I think the highlight for me (other than holoEN girls commenting on it, and going to see it) was when a group of KFP went to see the fan ad together. This time, I just wanted to see their reaction instead of taking pictures of the ad. Seeing their reaction made me so happy.
The 2023 Yunika Visions Ad featured at hololive expo. How was that process?
PONG: The point of fan ad is to show appreciation to our oshis, so the fact that it was shown during the expo was a kind gesture by hololive. They didn’t have to do that, but it gives the feeling that even the company appreciates fans showing love towards their talent. I appreciate that our team’s hard work is noticed.
Process-wise, it is just like how it happened in my tweet. They contacted me wanting to feature it, and I answered!
How has the process evolved over the years? What was running the 2025 ad like compared to 2023?
In 2023, the idea came around of doing a fan ad only six months before the ad airtime. So there were a few time crunches here and there.
I knew that fundraising would be the most difficult part, but didn’t realize how much more of a challenge it would turn out to be. So when I planned for the 2025 TKMR ad, I started early.
I contacted and recruited most of the staff for the project in May 2024. And I had a clear vision of how the ad wanted to look. So when I was asking other members to join the project, I knew who would be the best for certain parts, which made everything easier. Also, having extra time helped in planning.
Another difference is that compared to 2023, now there is better communication with COVER regarding the fan ad. This website has clear guidelines, so now [we] know exactly what is allowed and what is not. I am thankful for COVER [understanding] the needs of fans and working on it to have better communication like this.
You have publicly shared that 2025 will be your last time on the project as PM. Can you tell us about the significance of Mori and Kiara as the stars of this ad?
PONG: At first, Kiara or Mori were not my oshis. But for Kiara, everything changed when she reacted to one of my superchats. It was a joke superchat, but the way she reacted was really funny and, somehow, I knew there and then she would be my kami oshi.
And from there, stars aligned. I went to Dokomi and won Kiara’s meet and greet, then I tweeted over 120+ days at Korean conventions. There was a voting going on for one of the conventions (I hope my tweets raised awareness that Kiara wanted to be invited), and Kiara was invited to Korea!
[That] made me want to do some kind of fan ad near the venue of the convention. KFP was so kind, they trusted me to do the “Welcome to Korea, Kiara” project! We did two fan ads, one on the billboard and one in the subway ad spot. I never thought I would be a project manager, but this fan ad was the start for me.
As this was all going on, [I happened to be] listening to Mori’s music more often. She was the first VTuber I ever watched (other than Kizuna Ai). I loved her music, and I appreciated it more and more as time went on. She soon became my oshi.
I admire her work ethic and her working relentlessly to reach her goals. She is one of my inspirations to work hard and reach my own goals.
As both became my oshi, I wanted to show my love towards not only both of them but also to all holoEN. Because I feel like holoEN is a family. Hence, the reason why I wanted to bring the holoEN Yunika project (at the time, only Myth & CouncilRys had debuted).
Both Kiara & Mori mean a lot to me. They care a lot, and through their actions, you can see that. Even though they are very busy, they make sure to interact with fans and love seeing their growth. It makes me want to be the best version of myself.
In 2025, I wanted to show appreciation towards TKMR, so I worked on it since April 2024 [to make it happen]. I contacted artists and other staff members to be part of it, and I loved how it turned out. KFP & Deadbeats are amazing fandoms, and I love being part of them.
I loved being a PM for KFP. This fandom gave a chance to a stranger like me. There are so many talented peeps in the fandom, and it made my job so much easier. I loved working with all the volunteers and artists for the past few years, and I hope that we can continue to do amazing fan projects for many years to come!
