Last reviewed: 2026-10-24
If you are new to Japanese VTubers, a handful of words come up in almost every discussion: agency, branch, generation, debut, graduation, and the corporate-versus-individual divide. This guide explains what they mean in practice, with examples from hololive production, NIJISANJI and VSPO!. Where we rely on a single source, we say so.
What a VTuber is, and where agencies fit
Wikipedia defines a VTuber as an online entertainer who uses a virtual avatar generated with computer graphics, typically animated by real-time motion capture. It says the trend began in Japan in the mid-2010s and went international in the 2020s, with Kizuna AI described as the first entertainer to use the phrase “virtual YouTuber”, starting in late 2016. Wikipedia adds that many major VTubers are employed by talent agencies whose business models are influenced by Japanese idol agencies, and that the character and its assets are often the agency’s intellectual property. That last point matters: a person can leave an agency while the character stays behind, and some former corporate VTubers return as a new persona.
Corporate and individual: kigyo-kei and kojin-kei
Japanese media divide VTubers into 企業勢 (kigyō-kei, corporate) and 個人勢 (kojin-kei, individual). A feature on nippon.com says NIJISANJI and hololive PRODUCTION are the two major agencies leading the corporate side, and that smartphone apps and motion capture mean almost anyone can become a VTuber on the individual side. That article is written by an individual VTuber, so it is an informed but not a neutral voice. It quotes a count by User Local that passed 20,000 VTubers in November 2022, a KAI-YOU estimate of at least about 60,000 active VTubers (February 2025), and a Yano Research figure for the domestic market of 80 billion yen in fiscal 2023, with a forecast of 126 billion yen for fiscal 2025. These are secondary estimates and do not split the market between corporate and individual talents.
A debut announcement in practice: the 2021 “LazuLight” debut teaser on NIJISANJI EN’s official channel.
Branches
A branch is a regional or language arm of an agency. Wikipedia lists hololive production as including the Japanese hololive branch, hololive DEV_IS, hololive English (debuted September 2020), hololive Indonesia (April 2020), Holostars and Holostars English, and a former China branch that closed in late 2020. Cover Corporation, which owns hololive, was founded on June 13, 2016 by Motoaki “Yagoo” Tanigo, and Tokino Sora debuted on September 7, 2017. NIJISANJI is run by ANYCOLOR; see our ANYCOLOR page, which explains how the Indonesian and Korean branches were merged into the main NIJISANJI in 2022 while NIJISANJI EN and VirtuaReal continued. For the hololive side, see our hololive production page.
Generations
A generation is a cohort that debuts together. According to Wikipedia, hololive numbers its Japanese generations from 0 and gives the groups names (for example Fantasy for Generation 3, holoForce for Generation 4 and NePoLaBo for Generation 5), while English generations have names such as Myth, Promise, Advent and Justice. NIJISANJI’s Japanese debut groups are not numbered in the same way after 2018, whereas its English debut waves are numbered, from LazuLight in May 2021 to BY THE BEAT as the eleventh wave in March 2025. For how generation names, fan names and hashtags appear on a profile, see our guide to reading a hololive profile.
Debut
A debut is the first official broadcast of a new talent, usually announced in advance with a key visual and a schedule. NIJISANJI uses the label “Virtual Liver” for its talents; Wikipedia says the term was first applied with the second recruitment wave, announced on March 15, 2018. Some agencies recruit through auditions: MoguLive notes that VSPO! EN and its Chinese project opened auditions in August 2023.
VSPO! as a third example
MoguLive describes VSPO! as a “next-generation virtual esports project” operated by Virtual Entertainment Co., Ltd., part of Brave group, whose members are often strong at competitive games such as Apex Legends and VALORANT. A Brave group release dated August 11, 2024 says the Chinese branch, VSPO! CN, was to debut its first four members from August 28 to 31, 2024. We could not verify VSPO!’s founding date or member count from the sources we opened.
Graduation and other exits
“Graduation” is a term borrowed from idol groups. Wikipedia defines it as a VTuber retiring their character and/or leaving an agency on amicable terms. It is not the only kind of exit: contract terminations also occur and are described differently by agencies. When hololive’s Magni Dezmond and Noir Vesper graduated on August 31, 2023, Anime Corner reported the agency said it respected the talents’ wishes and that there would be no graduation streams; membership and exclusive content remained available until September 30. Some graduates continue as independents under a new persona.
FAQ
What does 個人勢 mean? It refers to individual VTubers, as opposed to 企業勢 (corporate) talents (nippon.com).
Who are the two biggest agencies? nippon.com names NIJISANJI and hololive PRODUCTION.
What is a branch? A language or regional arm of an agency, such as hololive English or NIJISANJI EN.
Do all graduations have a final stream? No; the 2023 hololive English example had none.
Sources
- Wikipedia: VTuber
- Wikipedia: Hololive Production
- Wikipedia: Nijisanji
- nippon.com: VTuber industry feature (Japanese)
- MoguLive: VSPO!
- Brave group: VSPO! CN debut announcement
- Anime Corner: Magni Dezmond and Noir Vesper graduation
- ANYCOLOR: Overseas VTuber Project
- ANYCOLOR: LazuLight debut
Reviewed by WVR Inoue on October 23, 2026. See our editorial standards.
Thumbnail: Debut Program on 5/15-16 | 'LazuLight' Debut teaser | NIJISANJI EN by NIJISANJI EN Official on YouTube. Shown via YouTube; all rights belong to their owners.
