With the unexpected shutdown of production kawaii, fans wonder if its biggest talent Nene Amano will call it quits or go independent.
The vtuber industry is a tough place, whether for agencies or independents. Even Hololive, with its current market share in the space, began with the fabled “13 knights” of Tokino Sora, referring to the 13 viewers she had. Unfortunately, not every agency can maintain that level of success. production kawaii, initially debuting in March 2021, was one of many smaller agencies popping up in the wake of vtuber hype. Initially, it debuted with moderate success and spawned three generations of vtubers, plus two new groups. Among its earliest members was Nene Amano, one of the most popular homegrown agency talents.
However, the recent shutdown left fans wondering about Nene Amano’s future.
Nene Amano, alongside every other production kawaii vtuber, will go independent.
production kawaii announced on its official Twitter account that it would cease operations by November 30, 2024. Although the agency closed, the talents themselves will not graduate. The agency allowed every talent to maintain ownership of their vtuber identities and channels. On her official Twitter account and livestream, Nene Amano further clarified her future.
“From December 1st, 2024 I will be continuing my activities as the independent Vtuber Nene Amano. Nothing would have been more heartbreaking than not being able to continue our happy and peaceful days together,” said the official statement from Nene.
Although devastated, fans of production kawaii talents praised the smaller agency for allowing all the talents to retain their identities and channels. A similar situation happened earlier in 2024 with Sony Music’s PRISM Project, with several members even forming the independent unit Prima Project.
Other agencies like Idol Corp were acquired by Brave Group US, resulting in a mix of independents leaving and other talents rebranding. With success stories like Maid Mint and Dokibird in 2024, there’s no doubt Nene Amano’s independent career will have all of her fans’ support. Other production kawaii talents will likely experience the same loyalty, especially given the outpour of support on the official Twitter thread.
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