Nijisanji opens “acting-focus” VTuber auditions as agency looks to innovate

Nijisanji has opened its latest auditions for Nijisanji EN, but they aren’t as many had expected with the VTuber agency specifically looking for “acting-focus VTubers,” suggesting a shift from traditional streaming to something more unique.

It’s not unheard of by any means for a VTuber to get into character. Some of the biggest names in the industry do just that with the likes of La+ Darkness, Pekora, and Debidebi Debiru all being good examples.

However, voice acting and playing a character have always been secondary to entertainment. For most VTubers, this means dropping the act soon after their debut and focusing on delivering content.

However, newly opened auditions suggest the next Nijisanji members could be far more character-driven with AnyColor going as far as to hire dedicated voice actors.

Nijisanji EN wants talented voice actors for its next wave

Sharing the application form on Twitter, Nijisanji EN Official posted: “NIJISANJI EN Acting-focus VTuber Audition. Please check the application form for more details. Audition period Sunday, December 10th 2023 at 19:00 PST.”

However, the application form attached wasn’t the Nijisanji standard instead putting a huge emphasis on “acting focus,” effectively pushing for voice actors to audition.

While most VTuber auditions are left open to the individual, this one is much more specific in what is required: “Please pick a character that suits you best from the options below, and creating a story for the character. and submit a video presenting the story in character.”

The four available stories to pick from are:

• “You are a regular office worker by day, and an idol by night. Can you hide your secret identity while trying to live a double life?”
• “You are a traveler researching a planet’s ecosystem. Play out a scene in which you go scouting in a new location.”
• “You’re a gatekeeper of hell who acquired a cursed weapon. You are eroded by the weapon, and you begin to lose your humanity. Portray the gatekeeper’s story.”
• “You are a martial artist who loves proving your strength in fighting rings. Recently, it was discovered that aliens are real and with new space travel technology, you start your journey across the universe looking for strong opponents to challenge.”

The application explicitly states “original character ideas created by candidates other than the above options will not be considered,” so applicants will want to stick to the four provided character descriptions.

This idea was largely well received by the community with many praising it for being original and interesting. Given Nijisanji’s usual gap between auditions and debuts, fans can expect these new talents to start their VTubing activities in 2-4 months.