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Eilene (エイレーン Eirēn, pronounced as "ay-len") was one of the world's first Virtual YouTubers, posting her first video on 3 March 2014.
A pioneer in VTubing, she is described by critics as "one of the most important VTubers on Earth, even being fundamental in bringing VTubing to the English-speaking market."[1]
Introduction Video
Personality
Eiiene is a 20 years-old Anime girl aspiring to be a famous animator and having her own anime series in the Japanese TV. She is known for always greeting her audience with the catchphrase "Nyan Hello!" (ニャンハロー！), but also for her weird antics along with her sisters Beno and Beilene.
She is also known for her money problems (to the point of eating the grass of her backyard) and her unstoppable lust for kawaii and moe girls.
Appearance
She has long pink hair in low twintails, and red eyes.
History
Background
Prior to her debut as a VTuber and producer of VTuber content, Eilene was part of a doujin games circle called ICETEA, releasing the visual novels Nanako! and ChainLetters.[2] Both were sold at Comiket 85, which took place in December 2013.[3] She explained how it was for her to be part of the early incarnation of ICETEA on her 100k subs milestone video in what is now the Mirai Akari project channel.
After the circle disbanded, Eilene retained the name and used it for later projects, including her VTuber ventures.[4]
2014
On 3 March, Eilene's first YouTube video was posted to the BitTranslate channel.
2016
On 21 May, Eilene celebrated 20,000 YouTube subscribers.[5]
2017
Eilene has had a 3D model since 2017.
On 24 October, the Mirai Akari project launched. The BitTranslate channel changed its name from "アニメ娘 「エイレーン」 （BitTranslate）" ("Anime Musume Eilene") to "Mirai Akari Project". With Akari taking over the channel, The channel shifted focus away from Eilene. However, Eilene still appeared occasionally in Akari's videos. As of February 2024, all content on the channel prior to Mirai Akari's debut has been privated.
2018
In June, she had a business separation from ENTUM which ceased her involvement with the Mirai Akari Project.[6]
On 31 July she debuted another VTuber, the English-speaking Natsumi Moe.
On 19 October, Eilene debuted her VTuber model. Although she already had a 3D model in 2017, it now gained the ability to move thanks to hiring French VTuber Deat. Deat was subsequently placed in charge of the motion capture software logistics for Eilene's projects.[7] She was planned to appear a supporting character on Yomemi 3D videos, as well as creating videos on her own channel.
2021
On 9 January, Eilene founded the VTuber group Eilene Academy.
On 4 November, the Yomemi shared YouTube channel reached 300,000 subscribers.[8]
2022
On 20 March, Eilene Academy disbanded.
Eilene ceased activities in 2022 due to failed projects and health issues, according to her aide Comdost in a video about early VTubing. There was no official announcement. Eilene since then sporadically posted in her X (previously Twitter) account. Moemi and Natsumi Moe continued now working as independent while Etra re-signed to Aogiri High School. The Eilene Family and ICETEA were apparently on indefinite hiatus.
2023
On 19 November, Eilene redebuted on a new channel under the name アニ娘「エイレーン」(Animusume Eilene). She also restored the original hacked channel.
On 9 November, Eilene wrote to Natsumi Moe on X asking her for permission to put English translations of her new videos in this channel.[9] It is not clear if this is new content, new content related with VTubers or an archive of her previous videos.
2024
On 9 February, Eilene posted details of an ongoing dispute with Chinese businessman called "Mr. Lin" to whom she sold VTuber group H.LIVE.[1]
Eilene Family
Characters related to Eilene are collectively called the "Eilene Family".
Originally it was only referring to the characters in Eilene's videos, but since the appearance of Mirai Akari, it has spread to characters on derivative channels.
These divisions are relatively arbitrary as there are no clear "generations".
Round 1
| Eilene | Mirai Akari R (formerly) | Beno | Beilene | Natsumi Moe (formerly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Round 2
| Moemi Yomeno | Yomemi R | Étra |
|---|---|---|
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Extended Family
| Sifir Esirer | Comdost | Deat |
|---|---|---|
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Eilene Academy (formerly)
| Ui Ren | Chilene Zavi | Kouka Kohaku | Natsume Mei | Kuromiya Tima | Mumuimi Animo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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H.LIVE (Now under different management)
H.LIVE α
| Eve Virginia R | Milfia Valentine R | Saki Himei R | Discordia R | Whitefield R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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H.LIVE Gen 2
| Kefilia Neil | Nonoa R | Luna | Angelica |
|---|---|---|---|
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H.LIVE Gen 3
| Andrea Oswald | Rena Bestia |
|---|---|
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Trivia
- Eilene (and related characters such as her sisters Beilene and Beno) is voiced through a vocal synthesizer software called CeVIO Creative Studio. She uses the default voice bank called Satou Sasara (さとうささら). [10] Sasara is voiced by Japanese voice actress Minase Inori (水瀬いのり).[11][12] Eilene even asked CeVIO if the software was able to pronounce words in English in order to make videos for overseas audiences with it.[13]
- Eilene's house (and by extent, all the neighborhood where she lives) are background generic images from Japanese visual novels.
- Eilene's dream was to become an anime creator and liked to draw in that style since she was a little girl. Before working in something related to her goals in Japan, she worked in a restaurant and later sold goods to foreigners. Eilene's meme of being a grass eater came from the fact she only had enough money to pay the rent and the bills but not for decent food.
- In some of her videos, and her Patreon page, she has claimed that she is poor and requires fan support. At the $680 tier, which was reached, she promised that all videos would be subtitled into English.
- Due to her long history and involvement in many projects in the VTuber world, 4chan's anonymous users on the /jp/ board have an ever-expanding "List of Eilene's crimes" that includes everything from the likely true (making Mirai Akari wear a thong) to the ridiculous (causing Fumino Tamaki's Leukoplakia condition, a risk of cancer).
- Eilene is a pioneer of the VTuber fad, but she is not the first Virtual YouTuber.
- To some degree, Eilene manages the channels and business aspects of Moemi, Yomemi and Beilene.
External Links
Media
- エイレーン 改 （Eilene Channel) - YouTube channel
- Eilene's Patreon
- Official Eilene and Friends Discord
- @BitYoutube - Twitter Account
- Eilene's Facebook fan page
- エイレーン艾琳 - bilibili account
- エイレーン - Mildom account
- Eilene's page on Enty
- Eliene's official LINE stickers
Further readings
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 FalseEyeD [FalseEyeD]. (2024, February 9). EXCLUSIVE: Legendary VTuber's Explosive Testimony, We Speak With The Accused [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ ICETEA -Official Website-. (2016, June 4).
- ↑ BitGraphic [@_Bitgraphic]. (2013, December 30). Once gain, We will be selling one of the few (could be the only) English VN game called "ChainLetters" on C85. #c85 #comike [Tweet]. Twitter.
- ↑ comdost [comdost]. (2018, September 7). Is Eilene company still called ICETEA? [Question]. CuriousCat.
- ↑ エイレーン (Eilene) [@BitYoutube]. (2016, May 21). ありがとうございます！＞ｖ＜
応援してくれる2万人のみなさんも、本当にありがとうございます！
メッチャ嬉しいです＞ｖ＜ 皆さんのおかげで頑張れます♪ https://twitter.com/hana_taro_nWo/status/734034223422570496 [Tweet]. Twitter. - ↑ エイレーン (Eilene) [@BitYoutube]. (2018, June 28). 【お知らせ】この度はバーチャルカノジョ「ヨメミ」がENTUMを卒業する事になりましたのでご報告いたします。
理由としましては、ヨメミと言うキャラクターで新たなチャレンジをさせていただきたい為です。
その為、一度フリーとして活動する事と致しました。
引き続き応援の程よろしくお願い致します [Tweet]. Twitter. - ↑ エイレーンチャンネル [エイレーンチャンネル]. (2018, October 19). 【重大発表】エイレーンが３D化しました！！！【ヨメミとドッキリ用】 [Video]. YouTube.
- ↑ Loserbait [@Loserbait]. (2018, November 4). おめでとうございます!!! @Moemi_Yomeno @APP_Yomemi @BitYoutube !!!!!
30万登録者！！！！ [Tweet]. Twitter. - ↑ エイレーン (Eilene) [@BitYoutube]. (2023, November 9). @Vtuber_Moe
Hi Moe, it's been some time. Do you mind if natsumi channel to post English dubs of my new videos? [Tweet]. Twitter. - ↑ http://satosasara.com/resource/sound/voice_profile1.mp3?ts=1405233105945
- ↑ http://www.animate.tv/news/details.php?id=1401968380]
- ↑ [http://www.cinema-life.net/p150925_kokosakecevio/
- ↑ エイレーン (Eilene) [@BitYoutube]. (2016, June 30). @CeVIO_st 突然申し訳ありません。質問ですが、CeVioが英語対応する事は可能でしょうか？ さとうささらが英語をしゃべれれば、海外向けに色々と動画を作れるのですが。。。 @sato_sasara [Tweet]. Twitter.