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Yuujin A (友人A, Friend A), better known as A-chan (えーちゃん), was a female Japanese head of content, equipment technician and Virtual YouTuber associated with hololive.
Originally hololive's first support staff member in charge of the technical aspects of Tokino Sora's streams, she became a VTuber in her own right through appearances in hololive content, eventually receiving her own Live2D model. A-chan served as the host/narrator in most collaboration videos uploaded to hololive's YouTube Japanese channel. She retired in June 2024 to take care of a family member.
Quick Answers
What was A-chan's initial role in hololive before becoming a VTuber?
What is the story behind A-chan's Live2D model in hololive?
How did A-chan contribute to the success of Tokino Sora's streams?
Introduction Video
【-ホロのこしかけ】最近のホロライブニュース紹介&楽曲聴き比べラジオ【友人A-えーちゃん】
A-chan's Second Costume Debut.
Profile
Hello, I'm Friend A, a hololive staff member.
The hololive agency's first-ever support staff member. Always has too much on her plate due to the quirky idols and the massive amount of work she deals with, but she takes it in stride as she's truly happy about the agency's and its idols' growth.
Together with Harusaki Nodoka, a newbie employee, she aims to make hololive the top idol agency in the world... and to be free of overtime forever.[3]
Personality
Better thought as a private talent within hololive, A-chan is the head of talent of the group who occasionally appears in interviews and events.
A-chan seems rather deadpan and patient, only putting her energy into what she needs to. But when testing the tech that makes hololive events as stable as they should be, she can show herself to be quite dorky and easy to self-amuse, evident when she tries playing with motion capture or casually cosplaying as the other idols, as well as extremely friendly and relaxed for a Japanese salary-worker. She also shows herself to be a "Hiso Oshi", or someone who cheers and supports everyone in a group to an individual level. But in spite of this, she always keeps her eye out specifically for Tokino Sora due to their long friendship dating long before hololive and has even written heartfelt letters in the name of their friendship on the idol's anniversary streams to congratulate her for progressing so far into her career.
A-chan started as Sora's technician during high school due to how oblivious the virtual idol was with machines and software setup after doing extensive research on how to help her achieve her dream, eventually landing her on Cover Corp's doorstep. This eventually led to her indirectly creating and being hired as a core part of hololive, not as an idol but as the company's technician, and eventually head content director. She is extremely dedicated to her role to the point she admitted reading business books in her spare time on topics such as speaking skills and negotiation. She's also extremely orthodox compared to the holoIdols, having nothing immediately fantastical or glamorous about her and works a salary worker's 9-5 job then goes home to watch some dramas (preferably comedies) before bed. She is satisfied enough with this lifestyle, preferring something quiet and simple. Though it is running joke that she is forced to abide by black company philosophies, such as overworking, underpayment, or even payment in anything but money.
Although she is not a conventional VTuber due to her behind the scenes talents, non-existent VTuber schedule or even the lack of a proper debut, many fans have been wanting her to have her own channel for a long time. Some joke that the hololive's main channel is her channel, but others take this statement seriously as it's the channel she manages and appears on the most. But in of spite this, she is perfectly content working in the shadows of the other idols and regularly promotes their activities, antics and collab schedules on Twitter and is observant of an idol's talents, personality and strengths enough to know when she should offer private feedback or stay out of the way to let them grow.
Appearance
She has short, dark blue hair with a light blue hair ribbon on the back of her head, and blue eyes with black framed glasses.
History
Background
A-chan was first introduced on 21 September 2017 during one of Sora's streams on her channel, however A-chan didn't talk much, often just being mentioned while remaining off camera.[4]
2018
On 5 April, Sora drew A-chan as a little head with glasses and a hand. hololive's "Sora Records" refer to this form as "A-bean". From this moment on this drawing was shown frequently every time Sora talked about A-chan, as she didn't have a model yet.[5]
In July, she debuted her 3D model during an online event that Sora also attended. One characteristic of this early 3D design is that she had a hair clip in the form of an "A" on the right, and that this model was in lower quality compared to Sora's. She would get a second model afterwards.[6]
She created her Twitter account in November.
2020
On 7 September, she got her third 3D model, the same date as Sora's third anniversary debut.[7]
2021
On 10 May, A-chan became the host of "radio-style" news and music program called "holo no koshikake" (ホロのこしかけ), aired on the hololive official YouTube channel at the end of every month.
During its first broadcast, A-chan also debuted her second 2D costume, in this costume she wears a striped blouse with a dark blue jacket on top, alongside wearing a corporate ID held by a blue lanyard. The new outfit also features improved facial expressions and animation.[8]
2022
On 9 May, A-chan, along with Harusaki Nodoka, received an official biography akin to other talents on the hololive website.[3]
2023
On 18 March, during hololive 4th fes. A-chan debuted her second 3D costume having the same design as her second 2D costume.[9]
2024
On 28 February, during her birthday, A-chan debuted her third 2D costume. A-chan uses a short ponytail. She wears a blue T-shirt and dark blue shorts with white stripes to the sides. A-chan has white sneakers with a stylized blue "A" and heels. On top she can wear a dark blue jacket with a white print of glasses and the word "UGA" above it. When the jacket is closed, she can put two pieces of bread to make her chest look bigger. A-chan can also use shades, that are also compatible with her main outfit.[10]
On 31 March, she announced that she would be take a three month break due to family issues.[11]
Retirement
On 28 June, A-chan announced that she would retire from hololive production on 30 June.[12]
Events
- On 2 July 2021, the official hololive Twitter account announced that Houshou Marine, Sakura Miko, Uruha Rushia, Shirogane Noel, Minato Aqua, and A-chan would appear in a collaborative promotion campaign for the movie Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, along with a secret person as guests.[13] Initially, the project was scheduled to be released on 3 July, however, it has since been postponed indefinitely.[14]
Trivia
Likes
- Her hobbies are checking out hololive members' streams and Twitter feeds, studying English, music, and DJing.
- She is into sports, specifically soccer.
- She has a lymphatic-massage fetish (erotic massaging).
- Her favorite TV programs and movies are: Wednesday Downtown, Jounetsu Tairiku Backstage, Goddotan, Summer Resort.
- Her favorite game is God Field.
- Her favorite manga and anime are Naruto andthe Monogatari series.
- Her favorite foods are spicy foods, especially curry.
- Her favorite drink is energy drinks.
- Her favorite animal is dogs.
- Her favorite music is Japanese Rock, western EDM, R&B dance, and Vocaloid.[2]
Miscellaneous
- A-chan is a DJ and is confident enough to instruct other talents on how to DJ as well. To Ninomae Ina'nis' surprise, she can even write lyrics too.[15]
- Unlike Sora, she is terrible with horror games.
- Her nerves are often at the foil of Houshou Marine's desire to be annoying. This sometimes causes minor, often comical feuds between the two, such as A-chan bringing in a hyperactive holoEN manager (presumably Jenma) to annoy Marine in reverse by pressuring her to shout her infamous "I'm Horny."
- It is rumored that when A-chan gets punched, she doesn't flinch or acknowledge she got punched due to her being very resilient.
- A-chan can speak English at a conversational level. As explained on HOLOTALK episode 10, she recently purchased a book on how to speak English in thirty nine days. Unfortunately, due to how busy A-chan is, she does not think she'll be able to finish the book in the recommended thirty nine days.
- A-chan is often responsible for replacing everything the idols destroy on hologra, ranging from the mere window to the entire office building.
- Her dreams are to make hololive the #1 VTuber idol agency in the world, to become the best senpai/kouhai duo in VTubing along with Harusaki Nodoka, to have a documentary made of her professional life, and to be free of overtime forever.[3]
- Aside from the documentary, she achieved all of these by her retirement. Fictionalized depictions of her professional life appeared in hologra.
- She is the 25th hololive member to join the official hololive Subreddit as a moderator.
- A-chan's work ID badge with lanyard was produced as official hololive merchandise in March 2023.[16] It sold out, and was re-issued in December 2023.[17]
External Links
Media
- hololive ホロライブ - VTuber Group - hololive's Group YouTube channel
- A-chan's corporate profile on hololive.hololivepro.com
- @achan_UGA - Twitter account
- @achan_hololivepro - Instagram account
- @achan_hololivepro - Threads account
- u/Achan_hololive - reddit account
Hashtags
- #よなよなえーぼいす - General
- #絵ーちゃん - Fan art
- #ホロのこしかけ - holo no koshikake stream
Further readings
- 友人A(ホロライブ) - Nicovideo Encyclopedia
- 友人A - Pixiv Encyclopedia
- Yūjin A - Hololive Fan Wiki
- 友人A - Moegirl Encyclopedia
- 친구A - Namu Wiki
References
- ↑ @schwarz_blk. (2020, September 7). ホロライブ所属VTuberときのそらちゃん（@tokino_sora）とえーちゃんさんの3Dモデル制作を担当させていただきました！どうぞよろしくお願いします！ [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Houshou, M. [Marine Ch. 宝鐘マリン]. (2021, February 21). 【#ホロライブプロフィール帳】みんなに描いてもらった！【ホロライブ/宝鐘マリン】 [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Profile on hololive.hololivepro.com. (n.d.). hololive.hololivepro.com.
- ↑ hololive Official [@hololive_En]. (2020, April 5). A charades pro is born! #SoraRecord [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ hololive Official [@hololive_En]. (2020, August 24). The birth of A-Bean! ₍₍ ◝(•̀ㅂ•́)◟ ⁾⁾ #SoraRecord [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ ファイ博士φ電脳サイエンティスト. (2018, July 25). 【総集編】【ときのそら＆友人A】12時間ぶっ通し!! 第1回 夏のファイ祭り! Supported by VIVE JAPAN【4/7】 [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ Tokino, S. [SoraCh. ときのそらチャンネル]. (2020, September 7). 【#ときのそら3周年】わたしの新しいお化粧お披露目します♪【３D生放送】 [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ hololive ホロライブ - VTuber Group. (2021, May 10). 【#ホロのこしかけ】最近のホロライブニュース紹介&楽曲聴き比べラジオ【友人A/えーちゃん】 [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ A-chan [@achan_UGA]. (2023, March 18). 自分と記念撮影しました！ドン！ [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ A-chan [hololive ホロライブ - VTuber Group]. (2024, February 28). 【#友人A新衣装】告知あり‼ホロメンが衣装予想⁉ 初・新衣装お披露目します NEW OUTFIT【 ホロライブ公式 / 友人A 】 [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ A-chan [@achan_UGA]. (2024, March 31). みなさんへ突然申し訳ないです！3ヶ月ほどお休みします！🙏家族の付き添いをしながら仕事を続けると迷惑をかけそうなので、会社に相談した結果まとまったお休み期間を設けることにしました🙇♀️少し長期になりますが7月には戻れそうなので、それまでホロライブプロダクションを宜しくお願いします [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ A-chan [@achan_UGA]. (2024, June 28). 私、友人Aは6月末をもって、ホロライブプロダクションを退職します。 [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ hololive production [@hololivetv]. (2021, July 2). 【お知らせ】「ホロライブ×エヴァンゲリオン」特別企画が決定 7月3日（土）19時より「『シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版』広報推進作戦」をプレミア公開 タレント数名をゲストに「推しシーン」を同時視聴 ネタバレの浸食を防ぐため、枠公開は当日を予定しています [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ hololive production [@hololivetv]. (2021, July 3). 【お詫びとお知らせ】本日プレミア公開予定でした「『シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版』広報推進作戦」について、諸般の事情により、公開延期となりました。楽しみにしていた皆様には大変申し訳ございませんが、続報をお待ちくださいませ。 [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ Ninomae, I. [Ninomae Ina'nis Ch. hololive-EN]. (2022, September 19). 【ROOM REVIEW】 #TakoTakover Progress Check!!!! 【Pt.1】 [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ "hololive Official Merchandise" hololive Office Lanyard - Friend A Ver. (2023, March 18). Geek Jack.
- ↑ [20231219 - ] [Rerun] "hololive Office Merchandise" hololive Office La. (2023, December 19). Geek Jack.