The first trailer for the mysterious ‘Hololive Alternative’ project just dropped via the official Hololive YouTube channel following the end of the ‘Bloom’ live concert, prompting intense debate as to what this project actually is. Is it an anime? A game? Something else? We don’t have much concrete information yet, but we can make an educated guess.
Back at the end of January, Hololive announced that they were recruiting staff to build an ‘online service’ that would involve the entertainment agency’s VTuber personalities and the fan community. More specifically, Hololive CEO Motoaki Tanigo (aka Yagoo) said that they were considering turning the service into a ‘metaverse’ where personalities and fans alike could inhabit the same virtual world.
In many ways, this would mirror other, similar virtual events that we’ve seen over this past pandemic-ridden year, such as Comic Vket and Jump Festa 2021 Online. This is probably what the Hololive Alternative project actually is, especially considering that it is described as an ‘alternative world creation project’ on the official Twitter account.
Nevertheless, as this first trailer for Hololive Alternative proves, the company is clearly aiming for something much more substantial. Rapping reaper Mori Calliope was tapped to sing the theme song, and several veteran animators were brought on board to make this high-energy PV into a reality: this includes, bizarrely, main character designer for Fate/Apocrypha Yuukei Yamada, who tweeted as a joke last April Fool’s Day that he was ‘making a Hololive anime.’ Yagoo ended up responding to him, saying ‘Yes please!,’ and he was given the task of supervising the layout, animation, and character designs of this Hololive Alternative PV accordingly.
Does this mean that Hololive Alternative could be an anime, after all? Maybe, but an online game service would seem more in line with the kind of content that the company already produces: such a service could just be a more interactive and engaging way to watch streams.
Regardless, Hololive Alternative shows that the agency isn’t just content with producing VTuber talent, and is holding true to Cover Corp’s objective of creating ‘state of the art 2D entertainment.’ What’s more, a special Hololive Alternative manga will be serialized via the official Twitter account, so don’t forget to follow it to keep up to date!
Update: Shirakami Fubuki has since tweeted that Hololive Alternative is not an anime. This is just an MV (music video).