VTuber Academia NEXAS Announces Closure Amid Tumultuous Year for NIJISANJI, Hololive and the Industry
On Monday, The Virtual VTuber Academia NEXAS announced that it would be shutting down at the end of January and ceasing all operations as a VTuber agency, leaving over 50 VTubers to decide whether to abandon their IP or continue on as independents. This comes as 2024 marked a turning point for the industry, as countless companies in the nascent sphere dealt with large controversies, graduations, terminations, and for some agencies, total collapse.
In a letter posted to the NEXAS page on X, Founder and CEO Harry So announced the closure of the company. “It is with a heavy heart that we announce NEXAS will officially cease operations as of January 31, 2025.” NEXAS began with a simple idea that borrowed heavily from the pages of My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi: create an agency that helps kickstart a VTuber’s career and teach them the skills they need to succeed, like the titular hero academy from the manga.
“NEXAS was created with a mission: to provide a platform where aspiring VTubers could develop their careers, realize their dreams, and thrive. We are an academy and community that empowers VTubers to thrive in their careers while providing a nurturing place to call home. In a short space of time, we've had the privilege of supporting and debuting a wide array of incredible talents who have amazed us with their dedication, creativity, and hard work. This achievement is something we hold dearly and will remain proud of as we transition to this next chapter.”
However, despite our best efforts to explore new strategies and create opportunities within this industry, we recognize that we were unable to achieve the sustainable model we envisioned. This decision was not made lightly, and to everyone who believed in us and supported this journey, we deeply apologize for not being able to meet your expectations in the long term.”
While the company itself may be shutting down, their VTubers will be allowed to continue. The company revealed that they would be allowing the talents to retain their intellectual property, models, and social media accounts, and could opt to continue on as independent VTubers.
“Our top priority is ensuring that every talent continues to shine beyond NEXAS. We offer the option to all of the talents to retain the IP rights to their avatars and take ownership of their accounts, enabling them to continue their activities as independent VTubers. We are committed to providing full support during this transition, ensuring a seamless handover of assets and accounts. In the coming weeks, we will collaborate closely with each talent to discuss their future plans and assist them in preparing for their next steps.”
We encourage everyone to continue cheering on these incredible creators as they embark on the next chapter of their journeys.”
2024 has been a tumultuous time for the VTuber industry, even as it begins to experience the start of mainstream appeal, with popular VTubers like Ironmouse collaborating with fellow Twitch streamer and “fleshtuber” Kai Cenat, and the virtual anime characters becoming mainstays at conventions all over the world.
The year began with the graduation of Pomu Rainpuff from NIJISANJI EN on January 20th, the first member to debut for both her generation LazuLight, and NIJISANJI EN itself, amid questions about the health and wellbeing of Selen Tatsuki. The sudden announcement of the termination of Selen Tatsuki from her contract with NIJISANJI’s English language branch in February sent shockwaves throughout the VTubing industry. From the Fandom Pulse article detailing the Selen / Dokibird vs NIJISANJI situation:
“The English brand account for VTuber company NIJISANJI released a three-page post on X on Monday detailing the termination of NIJISANJI EN talent Selen Tatsuki. Now going by Dokibird, the VTuber would strike back immediately, alleging mismanagement, harassment, bullying, and more by employees of the company.”
Following her statement, Selen Tatsuki’s audience revolted against the company, posting “Sink the Yacht” on X and in her livestream chatrooms, which were made public again by moderators of her channel.”
The situation reached the mainstream and went viral after YouTuber and business lawyer Andrew Esquire of the channel Legal Mindset would go over the Selen Tatsuki and NIJISANJI situation in a livestream.
NIJISANJI EN would go on to pull its talents from Offkai Expo after the massive backlash. The company itself was a frequent topic of YouTube channels during the year, as wave after wave of graduations and controversies consumed the company from without and within. From allegations of bullying, to claims of mismanagement and preferential treatment, to cancelling concerts, to accusations of sexual harassment emerging in early December, it seemed as if NIJISANJI couldn’t escape the headlines. This led many fans to begin referring to the VTuber agency as a “black company,” a Japanese phrase to describe a company that treats its workers poorly and frequently overworks them, like a sweatshop.
Some smaller agencies seemingly took it as a challenge not to be outdone in the “black company” category. Akio AIR officially shut down on March 24th, after the company was rocked by scandals late in 2023 involving the hiring of a minor and allegations regarding the CEO’s lack of professional conduct by VTuber Athena Nightingale, leading to a mass exodus of talents. WACTOR, which had changed its name to 910 Inc in an effort to distance itself from its numerous scandals in 2023, would find itself the subject of controversy yet again as numerous talents alleged that the company forced them to perform activities outside of the scope of their contract, and engaged in sexual harassment, bullying, and other misconduct.
The Singaporean agency VSEA never actually incorporated its business and thus its contracts were unenforceable, and it was revealed the company hired several minors. It would be disbanded in June of 2024. vReverie, which had been hemorrhaging talent the entire course of the year amid claims of mismanagement and poor treatment, finally closed its doors on December 3rd.
Like NEXAS, many other agencies would close up shop in 2024, including Production Kawaii, Prism Project, EIEN Project, and Yume+. Idol Corp, rather than shutting down, would end up being acquired by Brave Group and continue on as a subsidiary.
Even the increasingly popular Hololive, a pillar of the industry, couldn’t escape 2024 without graduations and controversy. The Japanese VTubing company saw the graduation of four talents between the Japanese and English branches: Minato Aqua and Sakamata Chloe from the Japanese branch, and Amelia Watson and Ceres Fauna from the English branch.
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Of note, Amelia and Chloe opted to only partially graduate by ending their streaming activities with the company, while retaining their status as an affiliate member. Fauna and Aqua would fully graduate, ceasing all ties with the company. The four VTubers leaving the company voiced similar concerns, citing disagreements with management as one of the main reasons they chose to leave.
In a members-only stream posted on her YouTube channel, Takanashi Kiara, of Hololive EN’s first generation -Myth- like fellow genmate Amelia Watson, assured her audience that while things may be changing, it is not all doom and gloom, and sometimes when a company grows, its goals and the goals of its employees sometimes grow in different directions.
There is no need to panic just yet, the future of Hololive is bright, and Yagoo, the CEO of Cover Corp whose real name is Motoaki Tanigo, assured fans that they are listening to their concerns. On the Hololive website announcement of next year’s HoloFes, Yagoo had the following to say:
“However, at the same time, we understand that this year has also come with some sad news and moments of uncertainty for our fans. We take comments from our talents and fans to heart and we, as a team, are committed to delivering as much positive news and creating as many joyous experiences for everyone as possible.
We look forward to seeing you at these special events and sharing all that we've achieved together."
While the industry had significant growing pains in 2024, there is a lot of hope and optimism for the future. New technologies continue to be created that continue to push the VTubing space to new heights. New agencies continue to spring to life and have learned from the lessons of agencies past. Companies like Phase Connect continue to thrive, and while Hololive experienced a few bumps in the road due to its graduations, it is unlikely to deter their upward trend and growth. Hopefully the former NEXAS talents will be able to join in that growth and gain momentum as independents.
How do you feel about the state of the VTuber industry going into 2025? Did you follow the Selen controversy? Are you a VTuber fan or hater? Who is your Oshi? Become a paid member to support our journalism and leave a comment.
By Gator Gamer
Gator is an English language Vtuber and the host of the Anime Boomers Podcast with Cody Baier of Anime Outsiders, and Spooky Weebtrash. He is also a huge fan of NEXAS member Lulu Lasso and has been interviewed on Clotho V. Melodiam’s stream. You can also find him on X as @TheGatorGamer.
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