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 a proof against a widely-held belief that there's little audience for English-speaking male VTubers.

Background
On 22 June 2020, Ichikara Inc. rebranded their existing India branch, "NIJISANJI IN", as "NIJISANJI EN".

On 27 November 2020, the "NIJISANJI EN" branch reverted its branding back to "NIJISANJI IN".

On 1 December, Ichikara Inc. announced the official launch of NIJISANJI's first-wave auditions for English-speaking countries. The audition period lasted until 15 December.

2021
On 12 May, ANYCOLOR announced a new version of NIJISANJI EN as a new branch of the NIJISANJI Project for English-speaking countries, as well as the upcoming debut of the branch's first wave LazuLight, previously selected during the auditions in December 2020. The new Livers started 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 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 18 July, the second wave, OBSYDIA, started their activities 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. These Livers were selected from the same December 2020 auditions as LazuLight rather than the auditions that opened in June.

On 8 October, the third wave, Ethyria, started their activities with a special debut program hosted by OBSYDIA, and an original song called "Gods Sees All", produced by Chibanyan. These Livers were selected from the June 2021 female auditions.

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

2022
On 27 February, the fifth wave, 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. These Livers were also selected from the June 2021 male auditions.

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 6th 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 the branch 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 24 July, the sixth wave, ILUNA, began their activities 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. This was NIJISANJI EN's first mixed gender group, selected from the March 2022 audition.

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.

LazuLight
Debuted on 16 May 2021, LazuLight is the first wave of NIJISANJI EN.

LazuLight's name is a portmanteau of lazulite, a gemstone, and light. The use of lazulite was motivated by the blue and green color scheme of LazuLight's original outfits as well as the members' "preciousness", both properties that can be attributed to the lazulite gemstone.

OBSYDIA
Debuted on 17 July 2021, OBSYDIA is the dark counterpart to LazuLight.

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 may be derived from the word ethereal, which can refer to the immaterial nature of Heaven and Hell.

Luxiem
Debuted on 20 December 2021, Luxiem is the first wave of NIJISANJI EN to include male Livers. It is also the first wave to receive a dedicated YouTube channel, Luxiem Channel【NIJISANJI EN】.

Luxiem's name is derived from lux, the Latin word for light and regium, the Latin word for royal/regal. This light motif is also apparent in the white clothing of Luxiem's original outfits and in the title of their debut song, "Hope in the dark".

Noctyx
Debuted on 27 February 2022, Noctyx is the dark, futuristic counterpart to Luxiem.

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.

ILUNA's name is likely derived from luna, the Latin word for moon or moonlight. ILUNA is also the name of the institute that all the members attend.

"Original" NIJISANJI EN
Although a separate branch, NIJISANJI India was the first official English-speaking group whose name even rebranded as "NIJISANJI EN" between 22 June to 27 November 2020. They were officially suspended from 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 no longer posts new clips of Japanese Livers, though the old clips are still available for watching.
 * Before the announcement of every post-LazuLight wave, the NIJISANJI EN official Twitter account makes a seemingly out-of-context tweet.
 * 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.
 * All of the hints for the new waves in NIJISANJI EN by the official account so far have represented the number of the wave itself. ":)" means wave 2, "uwu" means wave 3, "All according to KEIKAKU" means wave 4, "Hehe!" means wave 5, and "the moon is beautiful tonight 🌚🌝" means wave 6 (ILUNA). Each of those have either words, letters, or symbols representing the wave number or wave name.
 * LazuLight Debut Promo.jpg existence of OBSYDIA was teased prior to LazuLight's debut, as purple-tinted images of OBSYDIA's torsos are projected onto the buildings in LazuLight's promotional debut illustration. 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 is the first, and so far, the 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.
 * Luxiem created their wave name using Latin words suggested by Vox Akuma during a brainstorming session. The name is a mixture of the Latin words "regium" (regal, royal) and "lux" (light), forming "Luxiem".
 * One of the other names suggested was "Royal Flash" by Ike Eveland and "Prismarine" which was a Minecraft reference.
 * All of ILUNA's members go to the ILUNA Institute of the Mystics, making it the second NIJISANJI wave where all the members go to the same school, the first of which is NIJISANJI's main branch wave Selene Drama Club who go to Selene Girls' Academy.

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

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