Hololive City is a free art event filled with fun and photo ops for virtual YouTuber fans.
The entertainment complex and amusement park next to Tokyo Dome is called Tokyo Dome City, but right now it’s transformed into Hololive City, with the virtual YouTubers of Hololive Production visiting for some Japanese summer festival-style theming.
Starting on July 7, a series of life-size art panels of 54 Hololive performers started going up around Tokyo Dome City, but not all at once. They were divided into three sections, with different characters appearing at different times. So, naturally, our resident otaku reporter, Seiji Nakazawa, made three trips so that he could see them all.
You might expect a veteran otaku like Seiji to already have a few favorite Hololive members, and he was especially excited to see the VTubers featured in the third group of panels, which went up on August 16. That doesn’t mean he has no room in his heart for new infatuations, though, and after visiting Hololive City he’s become freshly enamored with Natsuiro Matsuri, Momosuzu Nene, and Yuzuki Choco, all of whom were part of the first group of panels.
He’s got a couple of favorites in the second group of panels too, which included Akai Haato, Aki Rosenthal, and Sakamata Chloe.
▼ Though, of course, he calls the first two Haa-cham and AkiRose.
In keeping with the festival theme, the Hololive members are decked out in yukata, the colorful lightweight summer kimono worn at traditional summertime celebrations in Japan.
In addition to keeping your eyes out for panels, during the Hololive City event you’ll went to listen carefully to the facility’s public address announcements, since Hololive performers are taking on those duties too.
While the bulk of the fans in attendance were teens, there were also mature enthusiasts in their 40s, and even kids as young as the lower grades of elementary school posing for pictures in front of the panels of their favorites.
It wasn’t just Japanese fans who were showing up to see the displays, either. Hololive has developed big followings in other Asian countries and English-speaking territories as well, and Seiji saw lots of young travelers from overseas who’d included a stop at Hololive City as part of their Japan vacation itinerary.
The pseudo-social connection represented by virtual YouTubers can make the hobby an easy target for snide remarks about being something that only serious shut-ins would enjoy, but what Seiji was witnessing was the exact opposite, with people from different parts of the world out and about and connected by a common appreciation for a burgeoning digital artform.
An especially nice part of the Hololive City event is that the panels are all located in parts of Tokyo Dome City that can be accessed without having to purchase any sort of admission ticket. So if you’re a hardcore fan with a completionism mindset like Seiji, sure, you can spend multiple days soaking up the atmosphere and snapping pictures. But on the other end of the fan spectrum, if you’re a more casual Hololive viewer who just wants to pop in for a few minutes on your way to or from some other sightseeing attraction, that’s also an option.
Hololive City will be going on until September 3, and if you stop on by, there’s probably a decent chance you’ll see Seiji there again.
Related: Hololive City official website
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]