Popular Japanese VTuber Minato Aqua (Aqua Ch.) from Hololive recently achieved a record in the VTuber industry, attracting an impressive 735,000 concurrent viewers during her stream on August 28. Unfortunately, this notable achievement was overshadowed by the emotional context of her farewell stream, marking her departure from Hololive.
The news of Minato Aqua's departure from the agency surfaced in early August. After six years with Hololive, she decided to leave due to unresolved disagreements with the management. While Minato Aqua herself hinted at these issues, she requested that her fans avoid speculating about the specifics on social media. Both her fans and colleagues expressed profound regret over her departure and hope that she may still make guest appearances at future Hololive events.
To say goodbye to her audience, Minato Aqua and Hololive organized a special farewell stream. On August 28, she interacted with fans in the chat for the final time and gave an interview reflecting on her career. The two-hour stream ended with a grand farewell concert that featured performances from other Hololive stars.
VTubers rarely leave their agencies; Minato Aqua’s departure was only the third such instance in Hololive's history and the first where the VTuber left voluntarily. In the other two cases, the company terminated the collaboration due to the VTuber’s disclosure of confidential information.
Minato Aqua stands out as a VTuber due to her exceptional gaming skills. Unlike many virtual idols, she has achieved high ranks in games like League of Legends and Apex Legends and has successfully completed challenging titles such as Sekiro and Dark Souls during her streams. Throughout her six-year VTubing career, she has performed virtual concerts for thousands of fans, released original songs, and even had her character's design featured in trading card games (TCGs). At the time of her departure from Hololive, her YouTube channel boasted over 2.2 million subscribers, and she had an additional 1.8 million followers on X (formerly Twitter).
The previous record for the largest VTuber stream was set by Japanese VTuber Coco Ch., who achieved 491,300 PV during a Minecraft broadcast in July 2021. In third place is にじさんじ, with a peak viewership of 319,000 during a virtual baseball show tournament.
Read also: VTubers Q2 2024 report — industry keeps growing, new leader emerges
Popular VTubers frequently draw large audiences, especially for significant events or celebrations. These include Hololive’s New Year’s events, esports tournaments, VTuber birthdays, and new 2D avatar reveals. Fans are particularly enthusiastic about large virtual concerts featuring multiple VTubers from the same agency. Such events often feature guest appearances, allowing VTubers to share audiences and promote each other’s channels.
