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Crunchyroll-Hime is a female corporate bilingual (English and Japanese) Virtual YouTuber. She is the official mascot for anime streaming service Crunchyroll.
Introduction Video[]
Personality[]
Hime is a kitsune in human form, who discovered and fell in love with anime after stumbling across a couple watching Astro Boy on television. While she's over a hundred years old, she has a youthful personality and keeps up with modern trends in anime, video games, music, and pop culture.
Her younger sister, Sudachi, played a prominent role on her channel as her moderator. She often showed up in written text on her channel and in her chat, usually sounding more monotone and less excited than Hime. Hime also owns a black cat named Yuzu, who she calls her "best friend" and loves dearly.
She's multilingual but primarily streamed in English and Japanese. While not fluent, she knows some Korean, German, Russian, Chinese, and Spanish.
Her channel focused on video games and anime. She also held monthly "Animarathons", where she host curated blocks of anime episodes.[3] Hime currently only streams on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
She's considered the "voice" of Crunchyroll on the site's social media channels and the manager of the Crunchyroll website itself. Her VTuber activities are an extension of her role on the website and social media. She's also featured, along with Sudachi and Yuzu, in her webcomic, The Daily Life of Crunchyroll-Hime in the manga section of Crunchyroll.[4][5]
Appearance[]
She has long orange hair in a ponytail with partial white in her bangs. She also has orange eyes and an orange traditional Japanese style yukata-like dress.
History[]
Background[]
Crunchyroll-Hime has been Crunchyroll's official mascot since 2013. Her original design was made by illustrator Euinice Dahae Baik for the "Anime Industry-tans Contest", an online fanart competition held by Crunchyroll, Funimation, Aniplex of America, and NIS America in 2013. The contest involved fans making anthropomorphic "gijinka" mascots of each company in exchange for prizes from each participating company.
Baik's design won and drew the attention of then-social media manager for Crunchyroll, Victoria Holden, who made her the official Crunchyroll mascot. Baik worked with illustrator Shiori Abe to refine the design to its current look. Holden created Crunchyroll-Hime's backstory, which is still in use today. Holden also served as Hime's original English voice actress in Wooser’s Hand-to-Mouth Life: Phantasmagoric Arc and the English dub of Kemono Friends.[4][6][7][8][9][3]
Pre-debut VTuber activities (2019-2021)[]
Before her official debut as a VTuber, she appeared in 3D VTuber form to collaborate with Kizuna Ai on Ai's channel on 17 November 2019. The two played an anime gesture game. Victoria Holden and Crunchyroll licensing manager Tiffa Suzuki helped produce the collaboration. Holden was involved in the creation of Hime's 3D model.[10][11][12][13]
She introduced the 2020 Crunchyroll Anime Awards on 16 February 2020.[14] On 3 March 2020, she appeared again in her 3D VTuber form to celebrate one million subscribers on Crunchyroll's clip channel, Crunchyroll Collection.[15] In her 2019-2020 3D appearances, she was voiced by Rian Tachibana, Crunchyroll-Hime's official Japanese voice actress starting from her appearance in Grand Summoners.[16][14][11]
She hosted the 2021 Crunchyroll Anime Awards in English on 20 February 2021 alongside Crunchyroll YouTube video essay and Crunchycast podcast host Tim Lyu, who appeared in 3D VTuber form.[17] Starting from this appearance, Hime was portrayed by TikToker Kristine Fel.[3]
She hosted the opening ceremony for Virtual Crunchyroll Expo 2021, once again joined by Tim Lyu. She also introduced horror manga author Junji Ito's opening speech for the convention. Both Lui and Ito joined Hime in 3D VTuber form.[18][19]
Crunchyroll announced that Hime would become a Live2D VTuber on 8 October 2021.[20] A teaser video for her debut was posted the same day.[21] while the channel itself was created on 23 September.
Debut[]
Hime had her debut stream on 12 October 2021.[22] Her Live2D model was technically revealed before her stream had officially started in a video promoting the stream sent at 1pm PT.[23] Crunchyroll would later confirm to Anime News Network via e-mail correspondence that Fel was helping to "power" Hime's VTuber channel.[3]
2021[]
On 25 November, Hime had her first Animarathon stream featuring the first episodes of Sakugan, A Place Further Than The Universe, Laid-Back Camp, and Restaurant to Another World. The episodes were shown on YouTube in full frame with no overlays or Hime on screen. Hime's avatar only appeared at the intro and outro talks, with most of her activity being in chat with Sudachi.[24]
2022[]
On 25 January, Hime had her first collab stream with Selen Tatsuki from NIJISANJI EN as part of a promotional campaign for Princess Connect! Re:Dive, which is published in English worldwide outside of Asia by Crunchyroll games.[25]
On 8 March, Hime celebrated hitting the 100,000 subscriber milestone.[26]
On 30 July, Crunchyroll Games announced and teased an original song collaboration featuring Hime and NIJISANJI EN's Enna Alouette and Millie Parfait titled "Pull for Your Heart". The song was produced by ChibaNyan and was set to be debuted live on Crunchyroll Expo (held on 5-7 August).[27]
On 5 August, the full song was released on the official Crunchyroll channel.[28]
2023[]
Hime celebrated her 2nd anniversary of debut on Oct 12, 2023 with her first ever karaoke stream.[29]
Hime's last regular stream was on December 22, 2023.[30]
2024[]
On March 6, 2024, the official Crunchyroll channel released Hime's interview with the singer Ado, as part of promotions for Ado's WISH tour sponsored by Crunchyroll. The long-form interview was conducted entirely in Japanese and released with English subtitles.[31]
On April 16, 2024, Hime announced the end of regular streams and videos on her channel, with her moving over to Crunchyroll's main social channels.[32]
Mascots and Fans[]
- Hime's best friend is Yuzu, a mortal stray cat she took in one day.
- Her fans are called "kits".
Trivia[]
- Her favorite food is old-fashioned style glazed donuts, Puchi-Purin, melon pan, and many more. Her favorite drinks are iced coffee, boba, strawberry milk, cola, and green tea.[22]
- Her age is the age of Crunchyroll + 100.[22]
- Her favorite color is teal, specifically #2ABDBB, as it's a complementary color to orange.[22] On March 21, 2023 in her collaboration stream with voice actor Ricco Farjardo in Mario Strikers, Hime was dubbed the "TEALLOCK (Terribly Exceptional Awesome Legs) in reference to the Anime Bluelock.
- She used to play a lot of League of Legends.[22]
- Her favorite anime is in the shonen and seinen genre, she prefers manga in the "cheap shojo romance" genre.[22]
- Her favorite animal is cats.[22]
- Her favorite types of music are anime, VOCALOID, electronic, K-pop, and K-hiphop.[22]
- Her favorite sports are kyudo and track.[22]
- Her biggest fear is being late due to fear of missing out. She's also scared of cockroaches due to an incident where one ended up on her leg.[22]
- The holster on her leg is actually a phone holder.[22]
- Going from kitsune to human form means Hime had to consolidate her nine tails into one.[22]
- Crunchyroll-Hime is a huge fan of Hatsune Miku and has a crush on her. She's made multiple attempts to impress and date her in The Daily Life of Crunchyroll-Hime webcomic and owns a Miku bodypillow, shown on the floor of her room during her streams.
- Despite saying she was 6 foot 1 inch (185.42 cm) with heels on in her debut stream and not wanting to admit to her heel size, Hime said during her collaboration with Kizuna Ai that her "charm point" was being 175cm (5 foot 7 inches).[22][10]
- While superchats are enabled on her channel, 100% of the funds received are donated at the end of each month to a pre-established charity of Hime's choice.
- On Minecraft streams, she uses a fan-made model created by Planet Minecraft user Panni Bear.[33][34]
- On her No Man Sky stream, she admitted to being iron deficient.[35]
External Links[]
Media[]
- Crunchyroll-Hime Ch. - YouTube channel
- Crunchyroll-Hime Twitter - Twitter for VTuber activities
Twitter hashtags[]
References[]
- ↑ Crunchyroll-Hime [@Crunchyroll]. (2021, October 13). And a HUGE, HUGE THANK YOU to my artist @Siino_13 for the amazing model 🦊 [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ Crunchyroll-Hime [@Crunchyroll]. (2021, October 13). Thanks for coming to the stream!! 🦊 I couldn't have done it without you AND the amazing team who helped bring me to life ~ ✨ #HimeLive Rig: @iron_vertex ◊ @BrianTsuii ◊ @AkatsukiEnma ◊ @sei_soy [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Kim Morrissy. (2021, October 13). Crunchyroll-Hime Launches Virtual YouTuber Channel [Post]. Anime News Network.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Peter Fobian. (2018, June 7). The Origin of Crunchyroll Hime [Post]. crunchyroll.
- ↑ Crunchyroll. (n.d.). The Daily Life of Crunchyroll-Hime [Post]. crunchyroll.
- ↑ funimation. (2013, December 12). https://funimation.tumblr.com/post/42981174961/our-pals-at-nis-america-inc-have [Post]. tumblr.
- ↑ Crunchyroll. (2013, March 2). Dahae Baik [Post]. facebook.
- ↑ kami_nomi. (2016, January 19). Interview with Victoria "SailorBee" Holden, Crunchyroll Soc. Media MGR [Post]. MyAnimeList.
- ↑ Scott Green. (2015, August 15). Wooser Gets a Visit From Crunchyroll in Latest Episode [Post]. crunchyroll.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kizuna, A. [A.I.Channel]. (2019, November 17). 【#】【コラボ】Himeちゃんとアニメがお題のジェスチャーゲームしたらドタバタな結果に・・・。【鬼滅の刃】 [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Tiffako [@tiffako]. (2019, November 17). I helped to produce this video with Hime and Kizuna Ai!! Please watch for some wholesome content ✨ [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ @Daryl Harding. (2019, November 22). Crunchyroll-Hime and Kizuna AI Join Forces and Fans Are Loving It [Post]. crunchyroll.
- ↑ Kim Morrissy. (2019, November 20). Crunchyroll-Hime Guest Stars on Kizuna Ai's YouTube Channel [Post]. Anime News Network.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Tachibana, R. [@RianTachibana]. (20120, February 16). 【拡散希望❤】 Hime💗🦊🦊✨ Sooooooooo cute❤️❤️ She’s moves and talks is really cute🥰🥰❤️ Please check #Crunchyroll & #AnimeAward 🎊🎊🎊 [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ Crunchyroll [Crunchyroll Collection]. (2020, Match 4). A Special Message from Hime | 1 Million Subscribers [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ Crunchyroll-Hime [@crunchyroll]. (2021, August 6). Crunchyroll-Hime's Japanese voice actress, Rian Tachibana, joins the Crunchyroll Games panel at #VCRX today @ 4:15PM PT! ✨ [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ Crunchyroll [Crunchyroll Collection]. (2021, February 20). 2021 Crunchyroll Anime Awards [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ Crunchyroll [Crunchyroll Extras]. (2021, August 6). VCRX 2021 Opening Ceremony [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ Joseph Luster. (2021, August 6). Junji Ito Makes VTuber Debut to Kick Off Virtual Crunchyroll Expo 2021! [Post]. crunchyroll.
- ↑ Joseph Luster. (2021, October 9). Crunchyroll-Hime Makes VTuber Debut and Launches Her Own Channel! [UPDATED] [Post]. crunchyroll.
- ↑ Crunchyroll [Crunchyroll Collection]. (2021, October 8). Crunchyroll-Hime Debut Teaser! ~ PV [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ 22.00 22.01 22.02 22.03 22.04 22.05 22.06 22.07 22.08 22.09 22.10 22.11 22.12 Crunchyroll-Hime [Crunchyroll-Hime Ch.]. (2021, October 12). Crunchyroll-Hime Debut Stream! [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ Crunchyroll-Hime [@Crunchyroll]. (2021, October 13). My debut stream is ✨LIVE✨! I better see you there ~ [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ https://youtu.be/BcBgFn-JsT8 [Video]. (n.d.). YouTube.
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Ay-9NIY_cS8
- ↑ Crunchyroll-Hime [Crunchyroll-Hime Ch.]. (2022, March 8). 【100k Special】Playing a crane game for 100k subscribers! | Crunchyroll-Hime [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ Crunchyroll Games [@playCRgames]. (2022, July 29). We're announcing an original song collaboration with #NijisanjiEN's @MillieParfait and @EnnaAlouette at @crunchyrollexpo! [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzthXCWXV9w
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OczntbjIXIw
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCgAG9m4XIs
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4K_SpsqFaQ
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quS-jD3mOMU
- ↑ Crunchyroll-Hime [Crunchyroll-Hime Ch.]. (2021, November 30). 【Minecraft】Lets play the block game! | Crunchyroll-Hime [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ Panni Bear. (2019, July 5). Crunchyroll-Hime [Post]. Planet Minecraft.
- ↑ Crunchyroll-Hime [Crunchyroll-Hime Ch.]. (2022, September 13). 【No Man's Sky】To infinity and beyond or something like that | Crunchyroll-Hime [Video]. YouTube.