Interest
Former hololive VTuber Uruha Rushia's Online Alter Ego Racks Up 900,000 Yen in Superchats
posted on by Kim Morrissy
An online personality believed to be the alter ego of the former hololive Virtual YouTuber Uruha Rushia earned over 900,000 yen (approximately US$7,800) in an unarchived test livestream on Sunday, according to Playboard's data on YouTube's Superchat statistics.
Entertainment news outlet J-Cast reported that in the hour-long stream, the female content creator Mikeneko obliquely addressed the controversy around Rushia's termination from hololive. She said that the reason she decided to hold a stream was because she was worried about being forgotten by everyone. Although she was also deeply hurt by slanderous comments, she still wanted to talk with everyone through her streams and express her gratitude. She asked viewers not to stir up trouble, and said that she was thinking of starting afresh under a new identity.
The stream had over 80,000 concurrent viewers and accrued 309 Superchats, earning 909,290 yen (US$7,880) in total, or 2,943 yen (US$25.50) per Superchat. The channel has gained over 650,000 subscribers since its creation on February 22.
Mikeneko is believed to be Rushia's alter ego because the male utaite (online-based singer) Mafumafu released private messages addressed from that account when discussing his personal relationship with Rushia in a February 19 TwitCasting stream. Nevertheless, Mikeneko jokingly replied to a comment saying "I love you, Rushia!" with "Who's Rushia?"
Cover Corporation announced on February 24 that it is terminating its agreement with Uruha Rushia due to contract violations. The company claimed that the talent distributed "false information to third parties and has been leaking information, including communications regarding business matters."
Rushia's YouTube channel and membership service will shut down around the end of March. The company will also issue refunds for her 2022 birthday celebration merchandise at a later date.
According to Cover, Rushia's actions have "caused the company to suffer reputational damage," and the company promises to instruct its other affiliated talents in order to ensure that similar incidents do not happen in the future.
The news followed speculations around Rushia's relationship status after the talent allegedly received a Discord message from Mafumafu while on stream. Mafumafu addressed the allegations in a tweet obliquely referring to Rushia: "I became good friends with that person through games. Last night, I made contact to play a game together. I am sorry for the discomfort I caused to many people. It is not true that we live together."
A Japanese YouTube video that claims to have information leaked directly from Rushia has received over 2 million views.
On February 14, Cover addressed harassment of Rushia in a statement, and announced that it would take action against "slander and defamation" directed at her. The agency announced the next day that Rushia would not appear at the 3rd Anniversary GARIBENGER V Super Thanksgiving event on February 20 due to "poor health."
Uruha Rushia was a 3rd generation hololive talent who debuted on July 18, 2019. Her official English profile describes her as "a necromancer from the Underworld Academy who is not good at communicating with people. She does not want to be alone, however, which is why she talks to the spirits and the damned."
According to Playboard's data, Rushia is currently the world's top Superchat earner of all time. As of February 14, 2022, she earned approximately 379 million yen (US$3.2 million) in total. She earned 17 million yen (almost US$150,000) in January alone.
