Houshou Marine (宝鐘マリン) (Japanese pronunciation:[hõ̞ːɕo̞ːmaɾiɴ]) is a Japanese virtual YouTuber affiliated with Hololive Production. She is part of Hololive Japan's 3rd Generation, "hololive Fantasy".[2] On 10 January 2024, she reached 3.01 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, making her the most-subscribed VTuber from Japan on YouTube, surpassing Kizuna AI. She is the second most-subscribed VTuber on YouTube worldwide after Gawr Gura from Hololive English in most metrics.[3]
Career
Houshou Marine debuted in 11 August 2019 as the last member of hololive Fantasy to debut, after Usada Pekora, Uruha Rushia, Shirogane Noel, and Shiranui Flare. Her official character bio states that she calls herself the Captain ("Senchou") of the Houshou Pirates, but she doesn't actually own a ship (hoping her career will raise funds for one)—meaning she is only a cosplayer.[4] Her Live2D avatar was designed by Akasa Ai[5] and rigged by Ilie Tou.[6]
Having her interest in VTubers piqued by Kaguya Luna, one of the early pioneers of VTubing, she started entertaining the thought of becoming a VTuber herself after becoming a fan of Nijisanji's Tsukino Mito. Marine cites Shirakami Fubuki and Minato Aqua as inspirations for her decision to audition for Hololive.[7]
Marine's streams often includes chatting, drawing, singing, and playing video games. Her chatting streams are noted for her fast-paced delivery and diverse repertoire of topics, which ranges from TV shows she watched as a child, Internet culture, otaku knowledge about anime and manga from the 90s and 00s, Internet memes, and so on. Despite her official age being 17, she is often treated and joked about as a mature woman by viewers because of the dated topics she frequently talks about.[7]
Noted for her skills as a digital artist, Marine sometimes draws on stream and posts her drawings on Twitter.[8] She also actively discusses topics such as browsing adult-oriented doujinshi magazines and talks at length about searching for images of that manner in her streams.[9]
In December 2023, Houshou Marine performed at the annual FNS Music Festival by Fuji TV, becoming the first VTuber to be invited onto the show.[10]
Activity
Internet radio
hololive presents V no Sukonna Otakatsu Nandawa (ホロライブpresents Vのすこんなオタ活なんだワ！) (6 May 2020 – 27 March 2024, HiBiKi Radio Station)[11][12]
Hologoe! (ホロごえっ！) (15 April 2024 – present, Abema)[13]
