KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO (神椿スタジオ)

KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO (神椿スタジオ)

By WVR Editorial Team Inoue
October 25, 2026 5 Min Read
Comments Off on KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO (神椿スタジオ)

KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO (神椿スタジオ) is a Japanese creative label and artist-management studio that grew out of YouTube. It is best known for virtual singers such as KAF (花譜) and Rim (理芽), and for building those singers into a wider fictional universe called “Kamitsubaki City”, which has since spread into games, a visual novel and a television anime. The studio sits inside the creative company THINKR and, in autumn 2026, is marking its 7th anniversary and has announced a rebranding.

At a glance

  • Name: KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO (神椿スタジオ)
  • Type: creative label and artist management focused on virtual and online-born artists
  • Operator: THINKR Inc., which lists KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO as one of its six studios
  • Launched: October 18, 2019 (as a label), according to Wikipedia
  • Best-known artists: KAF, Rim, Harusaruhi, Isekaijoucho, Koko and the unit V.W.P
  • Platforms: YouTube, X (Japanese and English accounts), bilibili and Discord
  • Language: mainly Japanese, with an English navigation and an English X account

The video above is a music video for “After School Borderline”, a collaboration between KAF and the band Shinsei Kamattechan from KAF’s “Suite” series, which premiered on April 29, 2026.

History

The studio’s own site describes it as a “YouTube-born creative label and a new-era artist management” operation that works with many kinds of next-generation creators. The starting point was KAF, who opened her YouTube channel on October 17, 2018 and released her first original song, “Ito”, in December 2018, according to Wikipedia. On October 18, 2019, during a stream by KAF, the studio and its record label Kamitsubaki Records were announced together with a new virtual singer, Rim, who was introduced as a debuting artist. Harusaruhi and Isekaijoucho were announced at the same time and debuted later.

THINKR describes itself as an “IP design studio” that combines music, stories and technology. Its page lists six studios, of which KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO is the virtual-artist one; the others cover composers and singers (KYOKAI STUDIO, ALLT STUDIO), illustrators (PHASE STUDIO), directors and animators (QA STUDIO) and a lab (UNKNOWN LAB). Its bio for one composer refers to ANSWR as the former name of THINKR.

Structure and artists

The studio’s artist page lists thirteen artists and one project. They are KAF, Rim, Harusaruhi (春猿火), Isekaijoucho (ヰ世界情緒), Koko (幸祜), the unit V.W.P -Virtual Witch Phenomenon-, CIEL, Kuusou (空爽), Asu (明透), Bema (琶舞), Sinseiki (心世紀), Tsumitobatsu (罪十罰), VALIS, and the project Musical Isotope (音楽的同位体).

KAF is the studio’s flagship. Wikipedia lists her first one-man live, Fukakai, at LIQUIDROOM Ebisu on August 1, 2019, which was funded by a crowdfunding drive that raised over 40 million yen. She performed at Nippon Budokan on August 24, 2022, and Wikipedia describes her as the first VTuber to do so. Her YouTube channel passed 1 million subscribers on June 21, 2024.

Rim reportedly made her musical debut in December 2019, and Wikipedia notes that “Carnivorous Plant” went viral on TikTok in 2020 and has reached about 49 million YouTube views. She releases songs in Japanese and also sings English and Korean covers. Her cover-live series Chocolate Live reached its third album on April 23, 2025.

V.W.P, announced on March 13, 2021, is a group whose members include KAF, Rim, Harusaruhi, Isekaijoucho and Koko. Its first one-man live, Gensho, took place on April 15 and 16, 2022.

Beyond music: Kamitsubaki City

The studio’s fictional city, Kamitsubaki, began as a mixed-media project in 2019. According to Wikipedia, the rhythm game Kamitsubaki City Ensemble launched on August 29, 2024, the visual novel Kamitsubaki City Regenerate followed on March 13, 2025, and the television anime Kamitsubaki City Under Construction aired on TBS and affiliated stations from July 3 to September 25, 2025. Crunchyroll streamed the anime outside Asia. The five main singers play fictional “witchlings” in the story, making the franchise one of the clearest examples of a VTuber-adjacent label expanding into broadcast anime.

Overseas activity

Most of the studio’s activity is in Japanese, but KAF has performed abroad. Wikipedia lists a June 7, 2025 appearance at Anime Festival Asia in Jakarta, a mixed-reality live in Los Angeles in July 2025 (a listing that the article itself flags as needing verification), and a promotion for YouTube Music Weekend that appeared in Times Square in August 2023. The studio runs an English-language X account (@kamitsubaki_eng), a bilibili space and a Discord server, and its website navigation is in English although most news text is Japanese.

2026 activity

The studio’s news page shows a busy autumn. On September 5 it announced a rebranding and website renewal, though the page lists only the headline. The same day it announced an official fan club, “1209Carat.”, for Isekaijoucho. It has also announced a 7th Anniversary pop-up store at Tower Records Shibuya (post dated October 18), the KAMITSUBAKI WARS 2026 event at Kanadevia Hall on December 11 to 13 with one-man lives by Rim, Harusaruhi and Koko, a joint event at Shibuya WOMB on November 28, and Isekaijoucho’s fourth one-man live at Yokohama BUNTAI on March 24 and 25, 2027. Recent releases include Harusaruhi’s “PAUSE” on August 21, Rim’s “Howmeni” on August 19, and Asu’s “Medley no Kansatsu” on October 14.

What to watch next

  • The details of the rebranding announced on September 5.
  • Dates and goods for the 7th Anniversary pop-up store in Shibuya.
  • The December KAMITSUBAKI WARS 2026 live shows and any streaming options for overseas fans.
  • Further Kamitsubaki City media and games after the anime.

FAQ

Is KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO a VTuber agency? It describes itself as a creative label and artist-management studio. Many of its artists are virtual singers rather than streamers.

Where can overseas fans follow it? The studio runs an English X account, a YouTube channel, bilibili and Discord, according to its official accounts page.

Official links

Sources

Profile

Original name
神椿スタジオ
Operated by
THINKR Inc.
Founded
2019
Status
(confirmed October 24, 2026)
Official links
Website · YouTube · X

Sources

Reviewed by WVR Inoue on October 24, 2026. See our editorial standards.

Thumbnail: 【組曲2】花譜×神聖かまってちゃん # 161 「放課後ボーダーライン」 【オリジナルMV】 by 花譜 -KAF- on YouTube. Shown via YouTube; all rights belong to their owners.

Author

WVR Editorial Team Inoue

Follow Me
Other Articles