vtuber agency drama galore.
the events so far
liverary (old name: uni create) is a vtuber agency that used to have four vtubers who specialize in niche and subculture content.
the original vtuber is akatsuki uni who broaches a wide array of subject matter and is sorta the mascot of the company (hence the original name for the agency) and the next vtuber they got is mochizuki himari whose forte is discussing japanese adult visual novels.
himari got big. she gets a lot of people interested in vns and other content and has made an impact on the japanese visual novel industry. himari interviews industry experts, explains the appeal of erotic content, and so on. it’s fair to say the world of visual novels needs someone who can be a spokesperson and she is a great fit.
liverary is interested in expanding but apparently has difficulty getting new hirees. himari even says one hiree was apparently dangerous and scary.
through her own connections, himari brings in two other vtubers and uni create officially became liverary because uni believed the agency shouldn’t be “just uni”. liverary is a portmanteau of library and lives (as in the japanese word, raibu, for concerts).
the family of four vtubers gets more and more into their niche subject matter. they basically have cult followings.
himari has several concerts, done some popular asmr, and later hosted an anniversary crowdfunding campaign on campfire (japanese kickstarter). everyone is excited to see what happens next.
then radio silence from every vtuber and liverary. all of a sudden, uni and other vtubers resigned. himari went awol. liverary has no active vtubers as of this writing. himari was “technically employed” but according to liverary, they are talking to himari who is talking through a lawyer.
meanwhile, uni and himari emerge as new vtubers under different identities. the same is true for the others to a degree. everyone is gossiping over what the hell is happening, especially the fact himari said she’s moving from her place.
13th december, 11pm in japan: liverary releases a statement that is best described as a 4 page callout post on himari, slamming her inconsistent work scheduling and refusing to record. they have also claimed that himari may get her character model if she wishes, but himari apparently didn’t want her model because she associates it with bad feelings. the post recognizes that himari has bad blood between her and the manager but insists that it’s mostly her fault. they also finally say they cannot do anything about the campfire crowdfunding project and is ending its fulfillment.
everyone hasn't slept well since.
my own thoughts
so i want to say that i have monetarily supported himari and another vtuber from liverary from the very beginning of their careers, so this is going to be biased. as much as i think liverary is a piece of shit, i want to say that i will be extremely opinionated and anyone curious should look into the topic themselves.
now that the disclaimer is over, okay, so the way i interpreted this timeline of events and the doc is that liverary basically abused their power to “call out” himari despite himari being a crucial member of the agency. liverary is incompetent without himari; they couldn't get any new hirees without himari's help. nevertheless, liverary for whatever reason thinks himari is the bad apple.
liverary itself already knows that himari cannot respond properly (she is being represented by a lawyer) and the document really reads like some callout doc on gdocs. this means there is no way for himari to respond in an official capacity.
so the whole thing reads like some epic libeling. we’re talking defamation here and no recourse for himari to respond. it sucks and people in japan have brought up how this is “power harassment” ie people using their positions of power to silence and oppress those lower in the hierarchy. it’s such a textbook definition that the whole situation reads like a farcical comedy.
not only is this unprofessional and dangerous but this callout doc doesn’t say anything substantive besides they’re not going to fulfill the crowdfunding campaign on their end. it doesn’t explain how the other three vtubers left the agency, certainly not uni herself.
uni has the most to lose if she sides with himari for no reason. the company was originally named after her after all. however, she not only left the agency and is standing up for himari but also says that himari was the reason she can keep on performing.
the agency has not explained why uni and the others have left the agency. if this was simply a “himari is a terrible worker” case, then how does one explain the other vtubers walking out of the agency? and the fact they are supporting himari?
what’s more: liverary has been accused of neglecting the voices of vn industry experts. one has asked liverary to delete videos featuring him and liverary has not responsed. in general, people in the eroge industry who worked with himari is quite pissed. it looks like an obvious case of injustice to them and the fact they can't do something about it sucks.
for outsiders, the callout document is baffling. clearly not written by hr, the document reads like dirty laundry and grievances laid out in the public. the public may be unable to come to an opinion on how much is true, but they are flabbergasted by how toxic the document is. it just screams unprofessionalism.
which leads me to the reason i wrote this document, even though i dislike chronicling this stuff and fanning the flames. even if the vtubers are cool and charming, the management may be not. these vtubers must now restart their careers and the vtuber i actually care the most (tsukuru) quit her fulltime job to be a vtuber for them. i’m now worried for her wellbeing.
the whole “uwu i’m sowwy but himawi is evil too” tone of the document is so egregious it should be funny. but unfortunately, much money has clearly been spent on litigation (and in the case of himari, literally moving addresses). it feels inevitable that the vtubers will win their case especially as the document has burned any good faith in the company — but this isn’t exactly a win. even if the vtubers get their dues and win everything, the emotional stress and damage cannot be erased away. this is a bleak timeline of events.
i know these are minor vtubers that not many people will care about, but i think their success, struggles, and sadness should be discussed still. it’s so blatant an abuse that i cannot stop thinking about it. it sucks so much to think about how my subscriptions were feeding this company to neglect the vtubers and even attempt to gaslight us outsiders about the situation.
liverary is an unbelievable piece of trash.
unrelated: i like this vtuber channel.
i hope they do well.