Following a cryptic countdown campaign, the first ‘virtual singer’ attached to the hololive English project has been announced: her name is IRyS, a ‘half-demon, half-angel’ also known as a Nephilim.
This is the first we’ve heard about hololive EN’s very first virtual singer since auditions were opened back in November. For clarity’s sake, it’s worth pointing out that there isn’t that much practical difference between a ‘virtual singer’ and a ‘virtual YouTuber,’ except for the fact that a VSinger is usually expected to lean a little harder into the ‘idol’ side of hololive’s brand image. If we take Tokino Sora as an example, then she certainly has released a lot of music, but also streams regularly on her YouTube channel as well.
In any case, IRyS’ character profile and social media accounts were revealed several hours into a cryptic countdown hosted on the official hololive EN channel. Titled somewhat humorously as ‘#CountdownWitnesser,’ it is actually still ongoing, presumably counting down to an additional announcement. Most likely, this will be some sort of music video to fit in with IRyS’ image as a virtual singer.
An additional video was posted after the end of the initial countdown to formally introduce IRyS and set a date for her debut stream: 11 July. The basic setting for her character as a Nephilim has already been explained, but one other thing worth mentioning is that she apparently belongs to a new set of talent within hololive EN known as ‘Project: HOPE.’ The Japanese press release actually calls this a ‘new generation,’ sparking speculation as to whether this is the name for the much-anticipated second wave of talent.
Speaking of hololive EN’s second generation, IRyS offers us a ballpark time frame for when we can expect them. If auditions for the VSinger were held back in November and ran for three months, then it takes around six months to sort through the applicants and work with them on their avatars, characters etc. That’s just a rough estimate, however.
IRyS will hold her debut stream on 11 July. Check out her YouTube channel for more!