Just follow Stars and Let the Bros cook!

Whew, what a week! Although I stayed home and in bed most of the time the entire week, at least, the weekend of Holo-heaven really got me perked up from my stuffy nose and hoarse coughing illness to maybe 89.5% recovered. I went back to work today just to see how well I am. I had some coughing and sniffles during the first half of the day. After lunch, the coughing went down but the sniffles were still there. So, I’m on my way to 100% back to my usual self again. Yay! Yatta!

I got quite a lot to blog about because my recovery has been hyping me up lately. Then I’m gonna catch up on my bootcamp, my art (?), my game, and the Holostars homies~

Let’s see what the Holo-homeboys been cookin’ as of late~

PROLOGUE – UPROAR’s first unit original song

For those who aren’t aware, or don’t bother reading the dates at the sidebar, UPROAR’s first anniversary is coming up. As of this writing, it’s next Wednesdsay (3/29/23), with the debuts of the first two members, Yatogami Fuma and Utsugi Uyu. The last two members, Hizaki Gamma and Minase Rio, debuted on the next day, 3/30.

And speaking of original songs, each member will have their first individual original song coming soon on the days of their anniversaries, so let’s all look forward to those as well. There had been a year long gap of 2021 between the last debut of G1-3¹ and UPROAR’s debut back in 2022, and it has been a blessing that UPROAR made their own successful run during their first year too: fresh faces of the JP side since the early struggles of the original Holostars,² making their 3D debuts over a little of six months forward, making their debuts in the Stars Collection anime along with G1-3, and a whole lot more. They may not have as much higher numbers subscribers-wise, but popularity is never about numbers in this case. They’re a pretty strong unit and they’ll keep on winning.

Plugging in the other first unit original songs!

JUST FOLLOW STARS – HOLOSTARS Gen 1-2-3

I did notice that unit original songs are released differently. For instance, G1-3’s first unit original song, Just Follow Stars, came out back in 2021, which is about more than a year after the debuts of the first batch. Originally, there were twelve of them, but because three graduated early, the release of Just Follow Stars was finally released sometime later. Their song is one of my favorites because it’s so uplifting, and for many of us Starsmin, it has (unofficially) become the anthem of the entire HOLOSTARS group.

TOP OF THE WORLD – TEMPUS HEADQUARTERS (HQ)

While G1-3 and UPROAR released their first unit original songs some months (years?) after their debuts, it’s the reverse for Holostars EN. For both HQ and VG. For HQ, their unit original song was released after the day Axel Syrios and Noir Vesper made their debut.³

Unfortunately for Top of the World, their MV did not feature the full song. Will they ever release the MV of the entire song instead of just a preview?

ALWAYS TIED – TEMPUS VANGUARD (VG)

Unlike UPROAR and TEMPUS HQ, who made their member debuts for two days, the VG boys debuted on the same day. And right after that, their first unit original song, Always Tied, was released. If you missed it a few months ago, here it is again.

We’re still in the 3rd month of 2023… can’t wait for more surprises HoloPro gives us in the next coming months!

Hololive Super Expo 2023 Aftermath

In a way, even though a lot of us kaigainiki were not present at the expo, the boys made sure that we were there— spiritually. Three streams of the boys leading us throughout the expo from the entrance to meeting up some cosplayers and other fans for an interview. There were even three waves, making sure that none of us would miss their touring stream!

Luckily, I was able to watch all three of them and I felt that I was there, even if I wasn’t really there. I’d like to thank Gen 2 SunTempo (Astel, Temma, Roberu), Izuru and Oga, and Tempus (Axel, Flay, and Hakka) for giving us a fun time across the globe!

For those who missed it, here are the streams!

[DAY 1-A] Gen 2 SunTempo (Astel Leda, Kishido Temma, Yukoku Roberu)

[DAY 1-B] Kanade Izuru and Aragami Oga

[DAY 2] TEMPUS (Axel Syrios, Machina X Flayon, Banzoin Hakka)

Although they’re all Expo walking tours, I would still recommend watching all of them. They may walk through the same areas, but they also show different aspects and interview different cosplayers and visitors from each other too. Hopefully next year, the boys can have their own concert along with the girls for next year’s expo, don’t you think?

And if you didn’t get to see the girls’ Our Bright Parade venues, you can still purchase livestream tickets to see them. The links are in the embedded tweets I shared on my last post.

REGIS ALTARE REACHES 3RD PLACE AT THE VROYALE RACING COMPETITION

Major congrats to Regis Altare for reaching 3rd place at last weekend’s VRoyale Racing Competition in Mario Kart 8! He wins a high-grade graphics card for his gaming computer— a good boost-up to his streaming setup too!

I didn’t write about this event as much because it was a last-minute announcement in a way. Plus, this is the very first VRoyale Racing Competition ever held. Plus, one of the co-founders of this event is none other than Rest In Ping‘s own rpr too!

Maybe in the next year or so, we hope to see more representation from the Stars, at least, from Tempus. The event takes place outside the Japanese vtuber scene because of some possible ping issues (?), but hopefully, we’ll be able to see this event grow!

If you want to see all the action, you can check out Altare’s stream from his warmups to the end of the event. It’s pretty long, just a warning~

VSAIKYOU: What are the homies been up to?

I have been watching mostly the Tempus boys considering this will be their first VSaikyou tourney. In addition to that, it’s also the first VSaikyou tourney for UPROAR’s party animal manga artist, Hizaki Gamma. Also, for those who have been following VSaikyou for years, there’s also the familiar names from the Stars: Astel Leda and Rikka. It sucks they’re not on the same teams, but VSaikyou’s rules and regulations are self-explanatory.

There have been four VSaikyous so far and in every single one of them, HOLOSTARS members have taken part of them. The history is as follows:⁴

[VSaikyou Season 1]

• Hanasaki Miyabi
• Kagami Kira (alum)
• Kanade Izuru
• Rikka
• Astel Leda
• Kageyama Shien

[VSaikyou Season 2]

• Kanade Izuru
• Arurandeisu
• Astel Leda
• Yukoku Roberu

[VSaikyou Season 3]

• Kanade Izuru
• Rikka
• Astel Leda
• Kishido Temma

[VSaikyou Season 4]

• Astel Leda
• Yukoku Roberu

[VSaikyou Season 5]

• Rikka
• Astel Leda
• Hizaki Gamma
• Regis Altare
• Axel Syrios

Based on that representation alone since VSaikyou’s debut tourney, being a competitor representing Holostars have become a tradition. Before UPROAR!! and TEMPUS debuts in 2022, almost everyone from G1-3 have participated at least once in VSaikyou.⁵ And from this list alone, almost every single member from G1-3⁶ Luckily for this year’s (Season 5), we’ve got some new names but still representing Holostars. What a blessing!

From what i’ve seen so far, all participants have begun their practice. Not only that, all of them have been practicing on the same stage and on the JP server in different customs hosted by some of the players involved including the ShibuyaHAL Customs. They may practice both on-stream and off-stream, but so far, the ones who I’ve seen practicing on-stream are Rikka’s team and the Shiny Spicy Selen Team. Astel’s team started streaming their practice on-stream two days ago and Gamma’s team started their on-stream practice yesterday.

Introducing TEAM SNAKE BITE (TSB)

At least on this side of the VSaikyou enthusiasts scene, the big story is none other than Team 14, now officially named Team Snake Bite.

Axel, Altare, and Selen had been practicing in JP server customs for about three days thus far, starting from last weekend when Altare was first announced as the new third member of their team. They didn’t have a designated in-game coach yet, and so they had temporary coaches from (former) Apex pro players (also vtubers): rpr, iPN, and Tempplex. Two days ago, along with the establishment of TSB, Axel and Selen also announced their official in-game coach, a former Apex pro player Nocturnal.

Why am I paying attention to this team more than the others? First, Altare and Axel are my first oshis in HOLOSTARS before I started to get to know the rest of the group. Second, of all the contestants participating, TSB is the underdog team of this entire tournament. They’re the first all-EN team, second, all three of them are first-timers in VSaikyou. This doesn’t mean that no one among the participants are giving them attention. In fact, I’m pretty sure a lot of the participants are paying attention to them in many ways than one. Even the host, ShibuyaHAL, is definitely having his eyes on them too.

Astel, who (I think) is the most famous name whenever VSaikyou is mentioned, has played Apex with Altare and Axel before in some occasions since their debut last year. He also had Axel in his team along with Fuma in one of the ShibuyaHAL customs before. And of course, their latest was the Shiny Spicy SEEEG- collab. It’s no surprise that if there’s anyone among the participants who know how Axel and Altare play well, it would be the Mad Maggin’ Maggie Astel himself.

Rikka last participated in the CR (Crazy Raccoon) Cup Apex Tournament, another huge tourney like VSaikyou, the day before the Kohaku Cup Apex Tournament⁷ late of last year. He was teaming up with Astel and Izuru during that tournament as well. But before that, he practiced Apex for the first time with Axel and rpr a few days before that weekend, so he had some experience in seeing Axel’s gaming in action. Also during the Kohaku Cup, Rikka also watched the Rest in Ping boys on Axel’s channel, cheering them on and celebrating with them on their 2nd Place win.

Gamma, I know, is a proficient fps player himself. I’ve seen clips of him play Apex and Valorant and he’s pretty cracked as he can be. How much he pays attention to his fellow Star homies is the question. I’m pretty sure he knows how intimidating his senpais can be when it comes to Apex considering their past with the game and the scene around the game. I would not be surprised if he’s also aware of Axel and Altare’s gaming on Apex too. Kureiji Arcade doesn’t count because there was no battle royale events on that event – that was all for fun.

I also read that there are about 25 (?) players coming from Nijisanji, in which Selen is one of them. I don’t know if all Nijisanji livers know each other, or are a little bit familiar with each other, but I’m pretty sure some of them are also aware of Selen’s past with Apex too, being at Top 500 Predator in the game’s earlier days, and how seriously skilled she is even today.

My conclusion? TSB will be a forced to be reckoned by the time VSaikyou begins. The official scrims will begin in April, and there, we’ll see how much they have grown and how competitive and scary they can be on the same level as the veteran participants. My hope for them is that they have a high placement at the end of the tournament (and if the gods smile on them, win 1st place) while having fun playing with the greatest of the greats too. And by the end of it, their names will be remembered and recognized and definitely have higher chances other huge tourneys would want to invite them to compete too!

TEMPUS on the JP Apex tournament arc had just begun. In the next upcoming tournaments, more of them will be participating too, and will be adding to the list of the already growing HOLOSTARS VSaikyou History List!

hololive Meet Events w/ TEMPUS

Dez & Vesper @ Anime Boston

On April 7-9, Dez & Vesper will be joining their hololive senpais, Shirakami Fubuki, Ayunda Risu, Takanashi Kiara, Hakos Baelz, and Kobo Kanaeru for their first appearance at an anime con. More specifically, Anime Boston 2023. For now, not much information about what they’re going to do there, but for those who plan on attending, the link to the official website is at the sidebar under *Holostars @ Upcoming Events.

Axel, Altare, & Shinri @ MomoCon 2023

On Memorial Day weekend, May 25-28, Axel, Altare, and Shinri will be joining their hololive senpais, Ouro Kronii and Hakos Baelz for their first appearance at an anime con – MomoCon 2023. According to Altare on one of his streams, he and the boys are doing a panel but doesn’t think they will do a meet & greet. For the time being, this is all we have right now.

Just like with Anime Boston, link to the MomoCon 2023 is at the sidebar under Holostars Upcoming Events.

Closing

Whew, that’s a lot of blogging, but sometimes, blogging can be satisfying whenever I’m in the mood. I’m doing well myself, had some good food, my throat’s getting hydrated faster from all that one-week coughing, my nose is clearing, and all that jazz. Now I can finally go to bed in peace.

More awesome things to come! Till next time homies~