Phase 2
The Battle for Kaburaki Roco
In the last episode, we discussed the launch of AnyColor's 'Virtual Talent Academy': it's recruitment process, the debut protocol, and the curious case of three missing members.
Before we go on: Yes, these tales are somewhat embellished as I am bored as shit, and it'll soften the blow at the end of this post when I tell people who thought Suisei and Mito's performance of 'Anti-Gravity Girl' was a new Suisei song to find the nearest gun and brain themselves. You don't deserve happiness.
Let's get on with the show.
Our story picks up on Halloween, where Nijisanji announce that they are recruiting for their Gen 3.5, and the audition is open only for those with prior streaming experience. 'Strange', you might think, given the whole M.O. of the system, and even stranger when it's noted that the x.5 recruits don't actually ever show up in VTA, but are instead considered for immediate debut into Nijisanji.
There is method to the madness, though, as greenhorns can very easily benefit from debuting alongside people with experience being left to their own devices, and may feel a sense of security beside someone like that. Whatever reasons may justify it, though, are largely undermined by the fact that VTA Gen 1's top performer is still absent - and if the scouts have determined that she didn't meet the criteria, then can VTA actually be trusted at all?
In the intervening days we have breezed past both the VTA announcement anniversary, and the first stream anniversary today, and still nothing has happened.
Displeasure of the JP fans has started to rise, with some trying to organise emails of complaint towards AnyColor demanding an announcement of either a delay or their official notice of graduation. VTA is much bigger now than it was in the 1st Gen, and this sense of foreboding extends to fans of Orihito Kuno and Kusakabe Azusa - the two current top dogs of VTA - who believe that it would be too much of a deal-breaker if their PNG oshi was terminated without notice, and considering Roco's popularity, they aren't exactly safe.
Now, you may have noticed I threw in the word 'delay' there, and that's because there's actually some weight to it. You see, the most prominent theory in the JP side right now is that this elusive VTA wave was abruptly held back from their debut, as there is a non-zero possibility that their debut song may have been composed by Hidekazu Tanaka of Idolm@ster and MONACA fame,
who was recently arrested and charged with attempted stalking and sexual assault of a teenage girl.
Tanaka was arrested on October 24: one day after the archives of the VTA members went down. He has worked with Nijisanji in the past, even as recently as the beginning of last month with the FANTASIA concert. MONACA also worked on the song 'Donbura Konbura Speakers', which is the debut song of Ranunculus - the first VTA wave. It's worthy of note that Tanaka was not part of MONACA then, but it's a throughline of what kind of music they may have wanted.
So, where are we now? Well, AnyColor have given themselves a really interesting problem to have, and I've honestly never seen anything like it. VTA is essentially a public-facing audition process. We get to see the people they have in mind, we get to see the results of their lessons, and we ultimately get to see them join the company proper. But what if, suddenly, people start to not make it? What if that applies to popular people? By what metrics are these people reviewed on behind the scenes if raw viewership isn't enough? Pretending that a member achieving 1K+ viewers never existed at all isn't going down well, and it will continue to get worse as VTA legitimises itself and grows it's audience.
People are speculating that they may debut on Nov. 13, as it would line up with Ranunculus (Mar. 13) and Volta (Jul. 13) in perfect 4 month intervals. There is also a belief that Meruto and Raika did graduate due to their lower performance, but Roco may debut alongside Gen 2.5 (experienced) members.
It's all very messy, but I think a Roco debut will be worth the wait.
(Also Holofags who thought Anti-Gravity Girl was a Suisei original should neck themselves).
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