Saegusa Akina

Saegusa Akina (三枝明那) is a male Japanese Virtual YouTuber and a member of Nijisanji.

An enthusiastic university student with big ambitions and commitment to everything he does. He dreams to perform live at the Budoukan.

Personality
Akina has a friendly and lively personality. He is known to be very loud and excitable, easily getting caught up in the tension of any games he plays. Staying true to his character bio, he is a highly motivated singer; he often participates in covers with other livers, hosts karaoke streams, and organised the first Nijimen Utaite Relay.

Perhaps more regrettably, he is often said to have a "virgin boy spirit". Around those he isn't well acquainted with he can easily become flustered and apologetic - especially towards women. Despite having known her for 8 months, upon his first offline collaboration with Aizono Manami he struggled to look at her straight.

Background
Akina made his YouTube debut on 7 April 2019.

2020
On 27 February 2020, Akina debuted the 2.0 brushup of his Live2D model.

On 13 May 2020, Akina debuted in the new Nijisanji music unit "Rain Drops," which is signed under the major music record label Virgin Records (Universal Music Group). The other members in this unit are Elu, Ryushen, Suzuki Masaru, Joe Rikiichi, and Warabeda Meiji.

On 18 September 2020, Akina revealed his new character visual.

On 18 December 2020, Akina announced on Twitter that he will reveal his 3D Model on 25 December, the tweet was then followed by an announcement from Nijisanji's official Twitter. A week later, on 25 December 2020, Akina unveils his 3D Model Debut stream with the hashtag "#三枝明那3D" in collaboration with SEGA.

Events

 * On 2 June 2019, Akina participated on the Vtuber PUBGTournament for the Nagoya Vtuber Festival along with fellow livers Shibuya Hajime and Sakura Ritsuki.
 * On 4 December 2019, Kenmochi Touya announces that he will be hosting the 2nd Mario Kart Nijisanji Cup on Twitter with 67 participating Livers and among them was Saegusa Akina where he recieved his nickname, "Red Hot Shotacon".
 * On 21 December 2019, the match Qualifiers was held within 6 different leagues. Akina fell into the C League with 10 other Livers where he won and placed 2nd just 4pts behind Kuzuha. After Qualifying, Akina would then proceed to the main tournament.
 * On 28 December 2019, the main tournament (Semi Finals and Finals) has begun with 3 leagues playing in the Semi Finals. Akina is placed in the B league where he gets 3rd place behind Yashiro Kizuku at 2nd and Kanae at 1st place.
 * After placing 3rd Place in the Semi-Finals, Akina enters the final stage that lasted for 6 rounds and takes 8th Place in the overall rankings. After the match, he left the message: "憧れの人達が自分をライバルと認めてくれた事が嬉しい" (I'm glad that the people I admired recognized me as a rival).


 * On 4 May 2020, Akina participated on the 1st Nijisanji Tetris Grand Prix along with 46 other Nijisanji livers. The event was organized and hosted by Honma Himawari and Yashiro Kizuku.
 * After getting 1st place in F block qualifiers, Akina advances to the tournament's Semi Finals where he is placed in the B block along with Kaida Haru and Amamiya Kokoro. On the Semi Finals, Akina wins 1st Place with Kaida Haru at 2nd and Amamiya Kokoro at 3rd Place. Placing first meant Akina would be advancing to the Finals.
 * During the Finals, Akina competes with Morinaka Kazaki and Genzuki Tojiro. After taking 1st Place in all three matches, Akina becomes the 1st Nijisanji Tetris Grand Prix Champion.


 * On 19 December 2020, Akina participated on the 3rd Mario Kart Nijisanji Cup Qualifying Match. He won through the D League Qualifiers in 3rd Place right after Ienaga Mugi and Yashiro Kizuku.
 * On 26 December 2020, Akina participated on the 2nd Half of the 3rd Mario Kart Nijisanji Cup.
 * Akina participated on the 3rd Mario Kart Nijisanji Cup Quarter Finals. He won through the A League Qualifiers in 2nd Place right after Fuwa Minato at 1st Place
 * After placing 2nd Place on the Quarter Finals, Akina advances to the Semi Finals B League where he won 2nd Place ranking behind Ibrahim at 1st Place.

Mascot and Fans

 * Akina's mascot is "かめっくしゅ" (Kamekshu), the spirit of the red highlight in Akina's hair. His verbal tic/suffix after each sentence is "がめ" (game).
 * Akina fans are called "童志（同志)."
 * His catchphrase is "DETAWA NE!" (でたわね！ lit. Finally here!). Viewers will comment this at the start of his livestreams. Ichikara released character merchandise T-shirts featuring this phrase for Akina.

Trivia

 * Notable units within Nijisanji:
 * "紅ズワイガニ" (Beni zuwaigani, Crimson Snow Crab) - Akina and Aizono Manami (These two debuted together.)
 * "メッシャーズ" (Mescher's ) - Akina, Mayuzumi Kai, and Fuwa Minato (These three all have highlights in their hair.)
 * "NijiRock" (にじロック) - Akina, Ryushen, Todoroki Kyoko, Kagami Hayato, Amemori Sayo, and Joe Rikiichi
 * "Rain Drops" (レインドロップス) - Akina, Joe Rikiichi, Suzuki Masaru, Elu, Warabeda Meiji and Ryushen.
 * Rain Drops first debuted as an indie group in 2019 during the "Virtual to LIVE in 両国国技館 2019" (Virtual to Live in Ryogoku Kokugikan 2019) one-man live event.
 * They have had a major debut under the label "Virgin Label" of Universal Music.
 * Up until this day (06/04/2021), they have officially released 3 albums that can be acquired in the official Universal Music Store: シナスタジア (Synesthesia), オンソロジー (Onthology) and リフレインズ (Refrains).
 * Color: #392D47
 * Akina has openly admitted to being a shotacon.

Media

 * 三枝明那 / Saegusa Akina - YouTube channelAkina's corporate profile on the official Nijisanji website
 * @333akina - Saegusa Akina's official Twitter account

Twitter hashtags

 * #でたわね - General
 * #三枝全力配信 - Stream talk
 * #さ絵ぐさ - Fan art
 * #ベッド下のさ絵ぐさ - Fan art (questionable, R15)
 * #できたわよ - Thumbnails

Further readings

 * 三枝明那 on the unofficial Nijisanji wiki
 * 三枝明那 - Nicovideo Encyclopedia
 * 三枝明那 - Pixiv Encyclopedia
 * 三枝明那 - Moegirl Encylopedia