Ninomae Ina'nis

Ninomae Ina'nis is an English Virtual YouTuber associated with hololive, debuting as part of its English (EN) branch first generation of VTubers alongside Takanashi Kiara, Watson Amelia, Mori Calliope and Gawr Gura.

Profile
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Personality
Despite her Lovecraftian-themed appearance, Ina is gentle, peaceful and down-to-earth. She is considerate and kind; Takanashi Kiara relates that when she is down, Ina is always the first to message her. In complete contrast to the salty gremlin Amelia, Ina has near-infinite patience and is widely considered the most well-behaved member of her generation.

Ina is infamous for her use of puns and dry delivery of "dad jokes."

Background
On 23 April 2020, following the success of the Japanese-language hololive VTuber group, Cover Corporation announced auditions for English-speaking members. The initial round of auditions ran until 24 May.

Ninomae Ina'nis auditioned for hololive on a whim. As an artist, she had spent much of her time in solitary art practice, and she saw hololive as an opportunity for change. She had not slept for over 24 hours prior to the live audition, which she credits for making her more talkative than usual. She sang one verse of a song, although described herself as having no confidence in singing, and spent the rest talking about food, including giant gyoza and Dr. Oopsie.

The members of -Myth- began training around June 2020, three months before their debut.

Ina's YouTube channel was created on 16 July, and her Twitter account was created in the same month.

On 8 September 2020, Ninomae Ina'nis was first revealed in a short promotional video alongside the other four members of hololive -Myth-. A simultaneous announcement was made at the hololive Twitter account, and the hololive English Twitter account. She made her first tweet on the same day: an 8-bit Japanese Dragon Quest screenshot translated as "Don't tease me! I'm not a bad tako."

Debut
Ina made her debut stream on 12 September 2020. She was the third member of hololive -Myth- to debut.

2020
On 22 October, Ina reached 400,000 YouTube subscribers.

On 14 November, Ina reached 500,000 subscribers, the 21st hololive member and 4th member of the English branch to do so.

On 11 December, Ina reached 600,000 subscribers.

2021
On 11 January, Ina reached 700,000 YouTube subscribers.

On 14 February, Ina reached 800,000 YouTube subscribers.

On 1 April, all holoMyth members revealed new chibi models based on popular fan designs by Walfie.

On 14 April, Ina reached 900,000 YouTube subscribers.

On 30 April, hololive's Twitter account announced that every member of holoMyth would get their second 2D costumes.

On 5 May, Ina debuted her second 2D costume. In the new costume, Ina can wear two different hats, both hiding the flaps on the back of her head and one pulling her bangs back, revealing her forehead. She wears a gray striped blouse along with a black jumpsuit skirt, dark gray socks, black and golden shoes, and a pink bag. She can also wear glasses and move her hands to hold a brush and a palette. In addition, Ao-chan (Ina's book) now takes the form of a tablet after they uploaded their contents to the internet (It's easier to type without having to press each key one at a time with the corner of their pages). Because of bad internet, Ao-chan was only partially uploaded and isn't able to speak in this form.

On 20 May, Ina announced her upcoming first original song, Violet.

On 27 May, she reached 1,000,000 YouTube subscribers during a chat stream, making her the 15th hololive member to reach that milestone and the 4th member of the English branch to do so after Gawr Gura, Mori Calliope, and Watson Amelia.

On 4 August, Ina released her first original song, "VIOLET." She took a break for a week after its release, leaving Takodachis puzzling over the meaning of numbers and words in the song's music video.

On 15 August, her song "VIOLET" reached 1,000,000 YouTube views.

On 12 September, during Myth's 1 year anniversary celebration, the group revealed their official logo and announced that every member would get their third 2D costume.

On 14 September, during a Super Mario Party collab stream hosted by Gawr Gura, it was announced that Ina, Gura, Minato Aqua, and Houshou Marine would form a new unit "UMISEA," in which all four members shared the theme of ocean. Several videos and streams featuring the unit are set to be released throughout mid-September.

On 31 October, -Myth- debuted their first original song "Myth or Treat" during a Halloween collab with every hololive EN member attending. The song lyrics were written by Calli. The official video of the song was later debuted that same day on Amelia's channel.

On 11 December, Ina debuted her third 2D costume. In this costume, Ina has a new hairstyle having her long hair as low twintails that become curly and yellow on the tips. She wears a small black hat decorated with white ribbons that can be removed. Her outfit consists of a white asymmetrical jacket with a black left sleeve. Both sleeves are decorated with a chain of ribbons. Under her jacket, Ina wears a short dress with a pattern similar to those seen in a kimono. She also wears short black boots. In addition, Ina can wear glasses. Her AO-chan returns in her tablet form, but can now display a Takodachi on the screen that was retrieved from the void.

2022
On 6 January, hololive's Twitter account announced that both Myth and Council members would get new year costumes.

On 9 January Ina debuted her fourth 2D costume, a kimono to celebrate the new year. In this costume Ina got a new hairstyle using two buns to the sides in the shape of Takodachis that Ina called "tako buns" and long straight hair. ne of the most notorious differences is that her side locks are much longer and the yellow tentacles on the ends are missing, Ina jokingly claimed that they are detachable, but instead, Ina has the option to wear them as horns. She also has a red rose ornament. Her kimono is mostly purple with a lot of different patterns. Notoriously, the white lines on her sleeves that create a grid are actually paint tubes on closer inspection. There are also various flower patterns and some cranes flying in the lower half of her kimono. The obi is blue and has a tentacle pattern. The obi also has every holoMyth mascot as decoration. Ina wears black boots. In addition, she can also wear a black haori with a rose pattern, a Takodachi bag with IRyS' logo on it, and a big black scarf. As with her other outfits, Ina can also display her tentacles.

The same day, holoMyth debuted their second original song, "Journey Like a Thousand Years."

On 19 March, Ina debuted her 3D model during "hololive 3rd fes. Link Your Wish" day 1.

On 28 June, on Amelia's channel, holoMyth held their first off collab, where every member was present.

Discography

 * Main article: Ninomae Ina'nis/Discography

Events

 * On 12 March 2021, as part of their six months celebration the holoMyth members announced that they would get an official BGM image soundtrack featuring Camellia, with a release date of 14 March. The song inspired by Ina is titled "Kanalumi."
 * On 23 June 2021, hololive's Japanese Twitter account announced that every holoMyth member would appear in "Anime Expo Lite 2021."
 * On 29 September 2021, DoKomi's Twitter account announced that Ina and Gawr Gura would appear in "DigiKomi."
 * On 1 November 2021, OMOCAT's Twitter account announced a hololive English clothing collection, showing holoMyth's logo. Later on 12 November, the same account revealed the design used for the cloth in a black T-shirt and jacket. The collection would be released in December 2021.
 * On 2 May 2022, it was teased on Valkyrie Connect's Twitter account that four hololive members would appear in a collaboration with the game. On 9 May, it was revealed that Ina alongside Usada Pekora, La+ Darknesss and Takanashi Kiara would appear in the game with new artwork and designs.
 * On 14 July 2022, Crunchyroll Expo's Twitter account announced that Ina and other members of hololive English would be appearing as guests in "Crunchyroll Expo 2022," which would be held from 5 to 7 August 2022.

Mascot and Fans

 * Her fans are known as Takodachi, a portmanteau of the Japanese "tako" (octopus) and "tomodachi" (friend). Her purple mascot character is also known as Takodachi, and is often used to represent her followers.
 * Like the rest of the holoMyth mascots with the exception of Bloop, Takodachi was designed by Ina.
 * Her floating book is known as the "Ancient Ones" but Ina calls them "AO-chan."
 * The pink stuffed rabbit that Ina streams horror games with is named Burrito.
 * Her fanbase is officially called the "Tentacult."

Relationships

 * Notable units and groups Ina is part of:
 * "-Myth-," alongside Takanashi Kiara, Mori Calliope, Watson Amelia and Gawr Gura.
 * "TakoTori," alongside Takanashi Kiara.
 * "UMISEA," alongside Minato Aqua, Houshou Marine, Sakamata Chloe and Gawr Gura.
 * "HoloJEI," (as English) alongside Tsunomaki Watame (Japan), Kureiji Ollie and Anya Melfissa (Indonesia).
 * "TakoBazo," (as Takodachi) alongside Vestia Zeta (Bazo).

Quotes

 * "Live without regrets."
 * "If there is anything I can achieve with streaming, is wishing you to have a better day. A better week, a better month, a better year, a better life. Humu. 'Cause I know there are times you just feel like nothing's going your way, and the world is just dull and gray. But if I can add a little color to your life, that just makes me happy. Humu humu humu."
 * "Even if you make a lot of mistakes, and you think everything is going wrong, the one person that can for sure forgive you is yourself. Humu humu."
 * "What happens when we squish your squishy hair? I'll bonk you. With a crowbar. Don't do it."
 * "Don't let excuses be in the way of your learning."
 * "Time is also a limited resource, you can't even buy that with money."
 * "What's wrong with pancakes? Nothing's wrong with pancakes. They're just not burgers."
 * "(Long pause) Tomorrow!"

Name

 * In Japanese, her name is written 「一伊那尓栖」.
 * Her surname, Ninomae, is simply written with the kanji 一, meaning "one." This is a kanji pun; "ni no mae" means "before two." It is an example of nanori, or idiosyncratic readings of kanji which only appear in names.
 * Her first name, "Inanis," is written with the kanji 伊那尓栖, which phonetically spell "inanisu." Phonetic spellings using kanji are more common in Chinese or historic Japanese.
 * "Inanis" is Latin, meaning "empty." It appears in the medieval Latin poem O Fortuna, in the line "Sors immanis et inanis," meaning "monstrous and empty fate." It was famously set to music in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, but this line is perhaps best known to video gamers for its appearance as a lyric in Final Fantasy VII's "One-Winged Angel."
 * She gives her surname-first, Japanese style, even when speaking in English. Takanashi Kiara and Gawr Gura also do this, while Calliope Mori and Amelia Watson use the English name order when speaking in English.

Lore

 * Ina is a priestess of beings known as the Ancient Ones.
 * Despite her appearance, Ina'nis claims to be human.
 * Ina's current appearance and ability to control tentacles are thanks to the strange book she found. The book is nicknamed AO-chan, from the abbreviation "AO" (for Ancient Ones).
 * Ina appears to be inspired by the Lovecraftian mythos, a collection of stories featuring tentacled horrors, cultists to ancient forgotten gods, and old books of insanity-inducing lore. The book she found is likely a reference to the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire in the Lovecraft mythos used to summon ancient supernatural evils.
 * Ina's illustrator, Kuroboshi Kouhaku, is well known for illustrating several Lovecraftian mythos-inspired servants appearing in Fate/Grand Order.
 * The label on the cover of Ina's book reads「このネクロノミコンがやばい大賞！」("This Necronomicon is the insane grand prize!") which is a reference to 『このライトノベルがすごい!』大賞 ("'This Light Novel is Amazing!' Grand Prize").
 * According to Ina, Takodachis are creatures of the void who are primarily shaped like octopuses, but can take other forms. Ina has also admitted various times to being a Takodachi herself rather than human, though she still denies any possibility of her not being human.
 * Ina's squishy orange hair reportedly tastes like Nintendo Switch game cards, which are coated in a bittering agent known as denatonium benzoate.
 * The purple ear-like appendages at the top of Ina's head are strictly speaking not ears, but are referred to as "flaps." The misconception that they were ears came from her debut stream, which Ina scolded herself for in her one-year debut anniversary stream.
 * While the tentacles she controls allow her to multitask, they apparently still require the same level of mental coordination. This leads to situations in which she has to rely on using her hands, despite tentacles being available.
 * The Ninomae family have long held a special purpose, "blessed by the angels, in a way," as Ina puts it. Ina was always meant to be a priestess. "AO-chan was always around," but Ina's first song tells the story of how Ina became "awakened" to AO-chan and began to fulfil her purpose as priestess.
 * According to her one-year debut anniversary stream, Ina's birthday of May 20th has no special meaning; it's just her birthday. She blames the ink blot which obscured her age in the debut stream on the Ancient Ones; Ina claims she cannot have done it herself as she does not produce ink, since she is a normal human.
 * Ina's nemesis is Past Ina, herself from the past, who she considers to be a separate person.

Likes and dislikes

 * Ina likes food, drawing, gaming, reading and sometimes cooking.
 * She enjoys a soft drink called "Dr. Oopsie." Mama'nis criticizes her for drinking too much Dr. Oopsie.
 * She dislikes bugs, being bored, and cucumbers. "I'm not allergic to cucumbers or anything, but I just don't like eating them. They smell funny. They smell like cucumbers."
 * Her goals are drawing every hololive member, improving her Japanese and singing skills, making lots of collaboration streams and friends, and world domination to make fun of her status as a human that has gained supernatural powers.
 * Her favorite games include Nier series, Final Fantasy XIV, Destiny 2, Apex Legends, Kingdom Hearts, Pokémon, Fate/Grand Order, Arknights, Granblue Fantasy among others.
 * Her favorite light novels include Biblia Koshodō no Jiken Techō, 86-Eighty-Six-, The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II, Kino no Tabi and Fate/strange fake.
 * Her favorite anime include Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sword Art Online, Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, the Fate series, Gin Tama, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., Nichijou, Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, 3-gatsu no lion, Made in Abyss, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba among others.
 * Ina's favorite season is winter.

Miscellaneous

 * Ina is a very talented artist. She drew the holoMyth members present in their introductory video, a few illustrations of herself, the cover of Mori Calliope's Debut EP (DEAD BEATS), the artwork of holoMyth's single "Journey Like a Thousand Years" and all of hololive EN’s first generation member's mascots with the exception of Gura's mascot Bloop to name a few. She has also drawn art used in official hololive merchandise, and occasionally draws fanart of her fellow hololive members.
 * Ina is infamous for making puns. Whenever she or another hololive member (sometimes other VTubers in general) makes a pun, the chat tends to say "INAFF." Pavolia Reine in particular shares her fondness for puns.
 * Ina has various introductory phrases: "Wah!," "Good morning/afternoon/evening," and "Ina Ina ii na~."
 * She is the fourth hololive EN member and tenth hololive member overall to join official Hololive Subreddit as a moderator.
 * She used to have a verbal tic often written as "humu humu." Ina herself acknowledges this tic, and has even made it into a subscriber icon. It began as a way to assure others that she was listening in voice calls where physical cues like nodding couldn't be used. However as time passed the tic dissapeared unless Ina acknowledges it.
 * She often jokes about only having one brain cell.
 * Ina has a sister, whom she has named "Ane'nis." Her mother and father are named "Mamanis" and "Papanis," respectively.
 * On 20 May 2021, fans celebrated Ina's birthday by renting electronic billboards at Times Square to display fanart of her.
 * It is said that Ina has an extremely marbled back, so much so that Takodachis became obsessed over it for awhile, drawing fan art at any excuse they could find.
 * The kimono outfit Ina and Sana wear in their duet cover of Futariboshi are decorated with flowers that have special significance. Ina's include violet, referencing truth, sincerity and modesty; and morning glory, representing holding to strong bonds despite their ephemeral nature. Each also wears a scrunchie on their wrist of the other's color, representing their close friendship.

Media

 * Ninomae Ina'nis Ch. hololive-EN - YouTube channel
 * Ninomae Ina'nis's corporate profile on hololive.hololivepro.com
 * @ninomaeinanis - Twitter account
 * @ninomaeinanis - Marshmallow account
 * /u/InaInaInaa - Reddit account

Twitter hashtags

 * #TAKOTIME - Stream tag (English)
 * #タコタイム - Stream tag (Japanese)
 * #inART - Fan art (English)
 * #いなート - Fan art (Japanese)

Further readings

 * 一伊那尓栖 - Nicovideo Encyclopedia
 * 一伊那尓栖 - Pixiv Encyclopedia
 * 一伊那尓栖 - Japanese Wikipedia
 * 一伊那尔栖 - Moegirl Encyclopedia
 * 니노마에 이나니스 - Namu Wiki
 * Ninomae Ina'nis - Hololive Fan Wiki