NIJISANJI EN



NIJISANJI EN is an overseas branch of NIJISANJI Project, consisting of English-speaking Livers. Unlike other overseas branches, it is not associated with any specific country and is aimed at English-speaking audiences around the world.

Luxiem, the branch's first all-male wave, saw explosive popularity ever since their debut. They are considered as proof of a large audience for English-speaking male VTubers.

Background
On 22 June 2020, Ichikara Inc. rebranded their India branch, "NIJISANJI IN", as "NIJISANJI EN". Although a separate branch from the current incarnation of "NIJISANJI EN", this was the NIJISANJI Project's first attempt to market to English-speaking countries. The India-based branch was eventually rebranded back to "NIJISANJI IN" on 27 November.

On 1 December, Ichikara Inc. announced the official launch of NIJISANJI's first wave of auditions for English-speaking countries. Unlike other overseas branch auditions, the new branch was not identified by name at the time, and no VTuber designs were publicly shown. Auditions were open until 15 December.

2021
On 12 May, Ichikara Inc. launched a new branch of the NIJISANJI Project for English-speaking countries, "NIJISANJI EN", with NIJISANJI's official English Twitter revealing the branch's first wave, LazuLight. These Livers were previously selected during the auditions in December 2020. LazuLight began their activities on 16 May with a special debut program hosted by NIJISANJI ID's Hana Macchia and Bonnivier Pranaja, and an original song called "Diamond City Lights", produced by Mafumafu and with story lyrics by NIJISANJI Liver Hoshikawa Sara.

On 18 June, ANYCOLOR (previously Ichikara Inc.) opened new auditions for NIJISANJI EN. Unlike the first set of auditions, separate auditions were held for male and female Livers, with female auditions lasting until 11 July and male auditions until 1 August.

On 14 July, NIJISANJI EN announced its second wave, OBSYDIA. These Livers were selected from the same December 2020 auditions as LazuLight rather than the auditions that opened in June. OBSYDIA officially started their activities on 18 July with a special debut program hosted by LazuLight, and an original song called "Black Out", produced by TeddyLoid and with story lyrics by NIJISANJI Liver Ryushen.

On 6 October, NIJISANJI EN announced its third wave, Ethyria. These Livers were selected from the June 2021 female auditions. Ethyria officially started their activities on 9 October with a special debut program hosted by OBSYDIA, and an original song called "God sees all", produced by Chibanyan.

On 17 December, NIJISANJI EN announced its fourth wave, Luxiem. This was NIJISANJI EN's first all-male group, selected from the June 2021 male auditions. Luxiem began their activities on 20 December with a special debut program hosted by Elira Pendora and Oliver Evans, and an original song called "Hope in the Dark", produced by Chibanyan.

2022
On 22 February, NIJISANJI EN announced its fifth wave, Noctyx. These Livers were selected from the same June 2021 male auditions as Luxiem. Noctyx began their activities with a special debut program hosted by Reimu Endou and Ike Eveland, and an original song called "Stuck in the Abyss", produced by MATZ.

On 4 March, ANYCOLOR opened a new set of auditions for NIJISANJI EN for male and female Livers. Auditions were open until 31 March (23:59 JST).

On 25 June, Luxiem premiered the official music video for their 2nd single, "Jazz on the Clock!!", produced by ChibaNyan, and written and composed by ChibaNyan and Kenkayoshi. This was released as a commemoration for their six-month anniversary.

On 18 July, OBSYDIA unveiled a new, minimalistic wave logo to replace their original neon logo designed by Petra Gurin.

On 24 July, Vox Akuma became the first Liver in NIJISANJI EN and the fourth Liver in NIJISANJI overall to reach 1 million subscribers. He is the second-fastest member of NIJISANJI to reach this milestone, behind Hyakumantenbara Salome.

On 20 July, NIJISANJI EN announced its sixth wave, ILUNA. This was NIJISANJI EN's first mixed-gender group, selected from the March 2022 auditions. ILUNA formally began their activities on 24 July with a special debut program hosted by Selen Tatsuki and Alban Knox, and an original song called "Let's Get It Started", produced by MATZ.

On 6 August, NIJISANJI EN's official Twitter announced that multiple NIJISANJI EN Livers would participate in NIJIFes 2022 for the first time, including a special 3D showcase from LazuLight alongside Hana Macchia.

On 12 August, ANYCOLOR opened a new set of auditions for NIJISANJI EN for male gamers. Auditions were open until 30 August (15:59 JST).

On 29 September, NIJISANJI EN's official Twitter announced that many NIJISANJI EN Livers scheduled to appear at NIJIFes 2022 would be unable to participate due to "unforseen circumstances." These circumstances were later revealed to be visa processing issues.

On 1-2 October, Elira Pendora, Petra Gurin, Selen Tatsuki, and Shu Yamino participated in NIJIFes 2022, marking NIJISANJI EN's first appearance at NIJIFes. All members of Ethyria, who were not physically present at NIJIFes, also appeared in a prerecorded panel. Elira showcased her 3D model on Day 2, becoming the first EN Liver to receive 3D. It was also announced that NIJISANJI would begin rolling out 3D debuts for overseas Livers in the near future.

On 6 December, NIJISANJI EN announced its seventh wave, XSOLEIL. These Livers were selected from the same March 2022 auditions as ILUNA. XSOLEIL began their activities on December 10 with a special debut program hosted by Aia Amare and Kyo Kaneko, and an original song called "HOLD IT DOWN", produced by GRP.

2023
On 6 January, ANYCOLOR opened a new set of auditions for NIJISANJI EN. Auditions were open until 23 January (23:59 JST).

On 22 January, ANYCOLOR announced the first live concert of the branch, called NIJISANJI EN AR LIVE "COLORS" PASTEL STAGE & VIVID STAGE, featuring LazuLight, OBSYDIA, Ethyria, Luxiem and Noctyx. The first three waves will perform on 8 April, while the other two waves will perform on 9 April, showing their 3D for the first time to the public (except for Fulgur, who will be 2D due to health circumstances).

On 2 February, ANYCOLOR announced that the AR Live would be canceled due to various circumstances including coronavirus outbreaks causing delays in live shooting and video production.

On 29 March, ANYCOLOR opened a new set of auditions for NIJISANJI EN. Auditions were open until 17 April (16:00 JST).

LazuLight
Debuted on 16 May 2021, LazuLight is the first wave of NIJISANJI EN. Each member is a fantasy creature associated with a different part of nature: earth, sea, or sky.

LazuLight's name is derived from lazulite, a blue-green gemstone, and light. The use of lazulite comes from LazuLight's blue and green color schemes, as well as to indicate that LazuLight's members are "precious" like gemstones.

OBSYDIA
Debuted on 17 July 2021, OBSYDIA is a dark counterpart to LazuLight, featuring similar fantasy motifs and mirroring its earth-sea-sky trichotomy.

OBSYDIA's name is derived from obsidian, a black volcanic glass.

Ethyria
Debuted on 8 October 2021, Ethyria is a wave themed around Heaven and Hell. In particular, Nina and Enna are associated with Heaven, while Millie and Reimu are associated with Hell.

Ethyria's name is derived from the word ethereal, which refers to the immaterial nature of Heaven and Hell.

Luxiem
Debuted on 20 December 2021, Luxiem is the first wave in NIJISANJI EN to include male Livers. It is also the first wave to receive a dedicated YouTube channel. It is themed around hope and light. In lore, its members originally come from the past.

Luxiem's name is derived from lux, the Latin word for light, and regium, the Latin word for royal/regal.

Noctyx
Debuted on 27 February 2022, Noctyx is a dark, future-themed counterpart to Luxiem. In lore, its members originally come from the future.

Noctyx's name may be derived from noct, the Latin word for night, and Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night.

ILUNA
Debuted on 25 July 2022, ILUNA is the first wave of NIJISANJI EN to include both male and female Livers. It is themed around the moon and magic, with its members being students at the ILUNA Institute of Mystics.

ILUNA's name is likely derived from luna, the Latin word for moon or moonlight.

XSOLEIL
Debuted on 10 December 2022, XSOLEIL is a sun-themed counterpart to ILUNA. Its members have superpowers and are part of the student council at the XSOLEIL Institute of Infinity.

XSOLEIL's name is likely derived from soleil, the French word for sun or sunlight.

"Original" NIJISANJI EN
From 22 June to 27 November 2020, NIJISANJI IN was temporarily rebranded as "NIJISANJI EN", making it NIJISANJI's first official English-speaking group. The IN branch later suspended all activities on 30 April 2021.

Trivia

 * The NIJISANJI EN official YouTube channel was originally a "NIJISANJI World" channel that posted English-translated clips of Japanese Livers for international audiences. After LazuLight's debut, the channel shifted its focus to supporting the new EN branch and stopped posting new clips of Japanese Livers, though older clips are still viewable. On 11 February 2023, the channel started posting clips of JP Livers again as part of its series "1 min NIJISANJI."
 * After LazuLight, the NIJISANJI EN official Twitter account makes a seemingly out-of-context Tweet before announcing the next wave:
 * They tweeted only ":)" before OBSYDIA's reveal.
 * "uwu" for Ethyria.
 * "All according to KEIKAKU" for Luxiem.
 * "Hehe! :)" for Noctyx.
 * "the moon is beautiful tonight 🌚🌝" for ILUNA.
 * "☀️the sun approaches its zenith☀️" for XSOLEIL.
 * LazuLight Debut Promo.jpgIA's existence was teased even before LazuLight debuted. In the promotional illustration for LazuLight's debut, purple-tinted images of OBSYDIA's torsos are projected onto the buildings. Selen Tatsuki can be seen in the upper-left corner, while Rosemi Lovelock and Petra Gurin can be seen on the building to the right of Finana Ryugu.
 * ETHYRIA audition silhouettes.jpgia was the first, and so far only, NIJISANJI EN wave in which applicants could audition for pre-designed characters. The audition form contained silhouettes of the designs plus excerpts of each characters' lore.
 * Before Ethyria was announced, fans would sometimes joke about NIJISANJI EN naming their waves after Minecraft, as both lapis lazuli and obsidian are blocks in Minecraft.
 * Alternate ideas for Luxiem's name included "Royal Flash", suggested by Ike Eveland, and "Prismarine", a Minecraft reference.
 * ILUNA and XSOLEIL are two of only three NIJISANJI waves in which all of their respective members attend the same school, with the first such wave being the main branch's Selene Drama Club.
 * Since Noctyx, NIJISANJI EN has had equal amounts of male and female debuts. This is expected to change with the upcoming anticipated an all-male "gamer"-themed wave.
 * NIJISANJI EN Livers debut with the equivalent of 2.0 models compared to other branches, eliminating the need for 2.0 Brushups later on. They are still eligible to apply for 3.0 Brushups (selected by roulette).
 * As with other branches, NIJISANJI EN Livers receive a free outfit as a reward for reaching 50,000 subscribers. However, because EN Livers tend to reach this milestone very quickly, each wave so far has revealed their second outfits together and shared a common motif:
 * LazuLight's second outfits are Japanese-styled with obi and frilly skirts.
 * OBSYDIA's second outfits are all military-themed.
 * Ethyria's second outfits are royalty-themed and based on playing card suits.

Video Clips

 * Diamond City Lights - LazuLight Debut Song
 * Black Out - OBSYDIA Debut Song
 * God sees all - Ethyria Debut Song
 * Hope in the dark - Luxiem Debut Song
 * Stuck In The Abyss - Noctyx Debut Song
 * Let's Get It Started - ILUNA Debut Song
 * Jazz on the Clock - Luxiem 2nd Single
 * Hold It Down - XSOLEIL Debut Song

Websites

 * NIJISANJI Website
 * ANYCOLOR Inc. Website

Channels

 * NIJISANJI English Official - NIJISANJI English channel
 * NIJISANJI_EN - English Twitch channel
 * Luxiem Channel【NIJISANJI EN】 - Luxiem's unit-dedicated YouTube channel

Social Media

 * @NIJISANJI_World - International NIJISANJI account
 * @NIJISANJI_staff- NIJISANJI staff contact account
 * r/Nijisanji - NIJISANJI Subreddit
 * nijisanji.official - NIJISANJI EN Facebook page
 * @nijisanji_en - NIJISANJI EN Instagram account
 * @nijisanji_en - NIJISANJI EN TikTok account

Store

 * nijisanji-store.com - NIJISANJI EN's Official Store