Hololive Graduations : Cover Corp CEO Discusses The Reason Behind All The Big-Name Departures

Cover Corp CEO Motoaki "YAGOO" Tanigo has commented on the recent uptick in hololive graduations, giving what he thinks are the reasons that saw big name talents like Minato Aqua and Gawr Gura leaving the company in the span of the same year.

As reported by ITmedia, Tanigo said the Hololive graduations were simply born of shifting goals after a long time with the company.

"More than six years have passed since we started VTubers in 2017 and the first stage of Hololive in 2006, and I believe that this is the timing for changes to occur in each talent's career plan and life plan", Tanigo tells the media.

Many fans have taken offense at the similar language used every time talents like Gawr Gura or Ceres Fauna leave, wherein it's always summarized as "Differences in direction" with the company.

Despite this, Tanigo said that every talent had their own unique reasons for leaving, rather than being some kind of walkout spread out over a year.

"I believe that each talent has his or her own unique circumstances. We understand that it is not a case of 'they graduate for the same reason. We had to focus on growing our business, and we had to establish various systems to support the talent, including merchandising, licensing, and sales," he says.

He'd also announced changes in how the company is run, allowing him to get a better handle on issues plaguing individual talents.

Some Vtubers had described one of these methods as being a "Tea party", wherein they're able to get one-on-one time with the Cover Corp CEO.

"Even though there are various individual circumstances, we hope to work together as partners if possible", Tanigo explains.

"We would like to avoid situations where people quit due to miscommunication. While strengthening communication, we would like to evolve the company so that we can respond to the growth of the talent."

A Strenuous Year Of Hololive Graduations

The past year has been rife with Hololive graduations, with both Minato Aqua, Murasaki Shion, Sakamata Chloe from the Japanese side leaving, alongside Amelia Watson, Ceres Fauna, Nanashi Mumei and Gawr Gura from the English side leaving.

The effects of the Hololive Graduations even showed in the shares of the publicly-traded company: after the announcement that Chloe and Fauna would be leaving, Cover Corporation shares took a hit over that weekend.

It should be noted that not every talent leaves for good: Cover Corporation had started the Affiliate system, with some talents still being able to return for future events.