Hololive Alternative, an enigmatic mixed-media project involving the virtual YouTubers of Hololive, now has a full-length animated teaser trailer. Portions of the video were first shared in February 2021, when the project was first announced. Hololive revealed the video via a post on the official Twitter account and YouTube.
The Hololive Alternative teaser features a number of Hololive Vtubers in various scenes. This includes a big battle between Shiranui Flare, Shirogane Noel, and Murasaki Shion against Kiryu Coco in her dragon form. Though the full roster isn’t shown, many of the more prominent members across the agency are highlighted. Notably, no members of Hololive’s international branches make an on-screen appearance, though the video itself is set to “Dawn Blue”, a song with lyrics and vocal performance by Hololive English Vtuber Mori Calliope. A number of anime industry veterans produced the video, including those involved with such productions as Evangelion 3.0+1.0, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Sword Art Online: Alicization, and Jujutsu Kaisen.
As for exactly what Hololive Alternative is? That’s a bit unclear at the moment. It intends to create an “alternative world” featuring the characters of Hololive, and will involve interested content creators. The implication here is that Hololive Alternative is a way to establish a larger setting where the fiction of Hololive’s characters can exist and grow. In practice, the “back story” elements of a Hololive Vtuber are more like set dressing, with the attraction being the performance of the real-life person behind the avatar. Hololive Alternative will also debut a manga series on Twitter featuring an original story set in this larger world. There are plans in the works for a new online service to allow Hololive performers and the fan community in Japan and around the world to interact, though whether that is connected to Hololive Alternative is unconfirmed.
For the curious, here’s a quick list of who appears in the teaser, in order of appearance:
- Tokino Sora
- Natsuiro Matsuri
- Inugami Korone
- Nekomata Okayu
- Houshou Marine
- Minato Aqua
- Usada Pekora
- Amane Kanata
- Sakura Miko
- Uruha Rushia
- Yuzuki Choco
- Roboco
- Ookami Mio
- Shirakami Fubuki
- Nakiri Ayame
- Kiryu Coco (as the dragon)
- Shiranui Flare
- Shirogane Noel
- Murasaki Shion
Hololive Alternative is in development, and each Vtuber’s content can be viewed at their respective channels. Some Hololive Vtubers also make an appearance in Neptunia Virtual Stars.
