Having been away from livestreaming since her graduation from Hololive on May 1, Gawr Gura made a spectacular return on June 28. One of the most popular Virtual YouTubers globally, her debut livestream under a new look and name attracted almost 201,000 peak concurrent viewers, making it one of the best debuts in VTuber history.
Debuting under her new name, Saba, a short form of SamekoSaba, Gawr Gura would not have expected her first broadcast to be such a success. At the time of writing, the VOD had over 2.5 million views, and her YouTube channel had a total of two livestreams, with the second one reaching 72,381 Peak Viewers (PV). It had also accrued over 911,000 subscribers.
Most impressively, Saba has put up such numbers without support from any agency, as she has chosen to stream as an independent VTuber. It also put her in second place for the top VTuber debut ever by peak live viewers, with only one name ahead of her: Yuki Sakuna, the former Minato Aqua, who rebranded and re-debuted under this new guise a couple of months after graduating from Hololive.
Who is Saba, the former Gawr Gura?
Gawr Gura attained fame as one of the most followed VTubers globally and was Japan's number one such name with an impressive 4.74 million subscribers on YouTube. The online star's shark-themed character, casual gaming style, and charismatic personality made her a huge attraction internationally.
She was one of the original members of Hololive English's first generation (nicknamed HoloMyth) and was key to driving the agency's global expansion strategy. In fact, the star VTuber played a key role in introducing the Japanese phenomenon to mainstream Western audiences.
However, she became one of the many recent high-profile Virtual YouTuber names to depart Hololive. Like the others who quit before her, Gawr Gura disclosed to fans that disagreements with her employers and a lack of consensus on the direction forward led to her choosing to exit.
Most popular VTubet debuts
When looking at the list of the most popular first livestreams by Virtual YouTubers, Saba is currently in the second spot. Her 200,828 Peak Viewers (PV) puts her behind only Sakuna's debut broadcast, which reached a whopping 383,139 simultaneous live viewers.
The other creators to be a part of this top five are Koyori ch., Chloe ch., and Iroha ch. The first of these names regularly pops up on Streams Charts' rankings, be they monthly or quarterly results.
SamekoSaba's debut broadcast was also among the ten most popular livestreams by VTubers over the first six months of the year. The 200,000-plus peak concurrent viewers it hit put her in seventh place on a leaderboard led by Shion Ch., whose most popular stream from April 26 did 355,020 PV.
Most popular VTuber debut streams
| #
|
VTuber
|
Peak Viewers
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuki Sukuna (Sakuna Ch.) | 383 139 PV |
| 2 | Sameko Saba (Saba) | 200 828 PV |
| 3 | Koganei Niko (Niko Ch.)
|
190 350 PV
|
| 4 | Rindo Chihaya (Chihaya Ch.)
|
183 452 PV
|
| 5 | Kikirara Vivi (Vivi Ch.)
|
180 943 PV
|
As crushing as the recent spate of VTuber exits has been for fans, the fact that their returns under new guises and as independent streamers have been an exciting development. Moreover, their debut livestreams have also pulled in record numbers, reiterating the fact that these unique creators have become some of the most popular and followed names in the online space today.
