Kizuna AI: The Fading star …

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital entertainment, few names have been as influential as Kizuna AI. Bursting onto the scene in 2016, Kizuna AI is credited with not only popularizing the concept of Virtual YouTubers (VTubers) but also with laying the groundwork for the VTuber industry as it exists today. Her unique blend of charisma, interactivity, and digital innovation captured the hearts of millions worldwide, marking the dawn of a new era in online entertainment.

despite all the success and pivotal role that she played, unfortunately she fell from the mainstream media, around the world with exception of Japan and China.

according to the statistics she began losing popularity around 2019 to 2020 which is considered strange since this period was the peak of VTuber boom.

while she’s is still the hottest VTuber in both Japan and China during Vtuber boom, and she was also getting the most sponsorship and she was the most collaborated YouTuber with video games.
but if you check her YouTube channel you will find a random selection of videos with low view account, it become clear that her YouTube channel is stagnating.

in 2017 kizuna AI was unique idea, that was never heard of before a cute anime girl that played video games was an instant hit. many other companies tried to copy her Style and make a 3D YouTubers as well, but no one was as successful as she was, she was recognized by other big streamers such as PewDiePie which furthermore increased her popularity, even if you are not into video games or anime, there is a good chance that you definitely seen her face somewhere on the internet because of how popular she was.

On May 25th of 2019 she published a video that is considered the beginning of her down falling, the video was called multiple.
The video declared that there will be multiple clones of Kizuna AI, each one will handle different tasks, one clone will handle the editing, the other one will handle the gaming, and the last one will be the idol, leaving the original one with no tasks!

the original Kizuna AI appeared less and less, which made the fans angry because they thought that the company replaced her with the Clones.

after that Nozomi Kasuga which is the voice actress of the original Kizuna AI, tweeted that she is a struggling to keep her role in the company.

fans around the world were enraged with the current situation and they start attacking the Clones who are streaming because they replaced the original one.

soon after that, the Chinese fans started also to get angry because they did not get to meet the original Kizuna AI during the birthday party, they were only able to meet the 4th clone

The company had to make an announcement because of the people angry reaction, they tried to convince the fans that their decision will be beneficial for the long term. and they said they only made the Clones because the original voice actress wanted to do other things such as making songs. but the fans did not believe the company. The fans demanded that the company let the original Kizuna AI participate more.

The distrust of the company grew to the point where when the original Kizuna AI appeared, fans did not believe that she was the original one.

On the 30th of January 2020 the company made a statement saying that they lost more than 6 million because of the current situation.

the situation becomes so bad that the company made a video featuring the original Kizuna AI explaining that she was not replaced.

but this response was a little bit too late, many of the international fans left her Channel because they either did not trust the company anymore or did not understand what was going on.

unfortunately by the time this controversy ended there was a lot of other agencies such as HoloLive, Vshojo, and Nijisanji. so, there was a huge competition which led to Kizuna AI losing her place.

in February 2020, Kizuna AI invited over 1000 virtual friends, including stage performances and crowd appearances by numerous VTubers to her last stream, where She announced that she will go into indefinite hiatus, she will not be producing any new content for the foreseeable future ending her career.

As the VTuber scene continues to expand with new talents and agencies, the lessons from Kizuna AI’s experience remain relevant for both creators and the industry at large, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, adaptability, and direct communication with fans.