JQ Magazine: JQ&A with vtuber Takanashi Kiara on hololive English 3rd Concert -All for One-

By Chang-Hyun Choi for JQ magazine. Photos courtesy of COVER Corp.

“I am so glad that hololive or also vtubing in general can give such talents that maybe might be overlooked otherwise, a stage to shine on and a place to be in.”

Last week hololive production returned to New York City, featuring showcases of their world-renowned virtual talents or “vtubers,” who combine VR/AR technologies with a wide range of online and in-person experiences, such as streaming, music, fan meetings, concerts, and much more.  

In NYC, these vtubers captivated thousands of fans with their hololive English 3rd Concert -All for One- at the historic Radio City Music Hall on August 23 and 24, along with the hololive STAGE World Tour ’25 -Synchronize!- at the Javits Center as part of Anime NYC, the East Coast’s largest anime convention, on August 22. In addition, various interactive experiences were held as part of hololive Meet throughout that weekend, combining unique fan meetings and karaoke with virtual visits from hololive vtubers from across the world. The fans arrived in the city equipped with merch promoting their favorite talents, ready to show off their passion by cheering loudly and waving their penlights at these events.    

In this exclusive interview, JQ had a special opportunity to chat with Takanashi Kiara, an idol phoenix vtuber of hololive English and one of the pioneers of the English vtubing world. She shared with us her thoughts and impressions about performing at the hololive English 3rd Concert -All for One-, along with her experiences in NYC with other hololive members.  

We really appreciate this opportunity to speak with you. First could you introduce yourself to our readers?

Hi, I’m Takanashi Kiara, from hololive English -Myth-, which is the first generation. Together with four of my colleagues at the time, we basically created the branch, hololive English. I’m from Austria actually, in Europe–not Australia, very important to note that. I was born and raised in Austria, so I speak German, but there’s no German branch so I’m in the English branch. I also speak fluent Japanese because I lived in Japan for a while, so people know me as, like, the multilingual, talkative, dancing entertainer that I am. And I really like to also do a lot of fun streams and bangin’ music. So, check it out!

This weekend was the hololive English 3rd concert All for One. For you, this wasn’t your first time performing at such a concert. In fact, you’ve performed at all three of them. What was your impression of All for One as a veteran of these hololive English concerts?

Well first of all, it was really awesome to come back to New York because I really enjoyed my time here last time. And then last time we already had a great venue but this time the venue was even bigger, even more legendary and well-known. Personally, being from Austria, I don’t really know many venues here but even I have heard of and have seen the Radio City Music Hall. So, it’s actually quite the honor to be there and something I will probably forever be able to show to my friends and my family and be like, “Look where I was standing in front of this ocean of fans that have so much love and passion for us!” It’s just amazing seeing the passion every time and they’re all such a great crowd, so supportive, and this time I could share the stage with Justice, our new generation. It was their first time and it was so cute and lovely to see them, see their excitement. They were really nervous and it was also super cute to see, but then they did their best and gave it their all and I feel like a very proud parent. It’s kinda tacky or cheesy to say that, but a lot of things have happened over the past five years, so with all the change that’s been going on and I’m not going to lie, certainly things that make me feel a little bit lonely or sad, seeing some of my gen mates not being on stage with us anymore, compared to last year. Last year Myth was still standing there with five people and now we were only standing there with three people. But I definitely got cheered up and motivated thanks to the energy of not just Justice, but my kohai in general, so I’m really grateful for that. It’s giving me new life basically, new energy.

On the note of seeing Justice perform for the first time, you’ve also seen the other generations of hololive English debut on the big stage. Can you comment on any differences in seeing Justice here compared to those previous experiences?

I have to say Justice is so unique, they have such great charms, they’re so funny, they’re such great entertainers. The things they bring to the table are just endless, like seeing Elizabeth belt out notes that are like…her voice, her voice is the voice of a century I would say. It’s mind-blowing to me that such a talent is on stage with me together and I feel honored to be with her there, too. And also all the other members too, like Cecilia [Immergreen] suddenly bringing out her violin and stuff. That was magical and beautiful, and fascinating. And then Gigi with her incredible energy that never ends and her charm, her wit. She’s just such a great comedian and she acknowledges that, too. And Raora’s the cutest cat ever. I’ve been spending a lot of time with her backstage and bonding so much with her. I feel like we get along so well because we’re both culturally from the same area and I can really feel that connection. I hope that people can feel that charm and that unique personality from her as much as I do.

So, it’s incredible and I’ve been saying this these past days, but I am so glad that hololive or also vtubing in general can give such talents that maybe might be overlooked otherwise, a stage to shine on and a place to be in. And I feel the same way for me, like I’m really glad that I got such a great opportunity. I was really lucky to join hololive in a time where the world was scrambling and it changed my whole life. And this seems to have also changed the lives of my kohai and I’m really, really happy to see them succeed like that.

In terms of performances, what was your favorite collaboration or solo spot of the weekend?

I was really, really excited to perform and MC with IRyS [member of hololive English -Promise-] this time. More and more, management has been kinda choosing to put me and IRyS together several times in the past year or so and it’s been a pleasure. She’s such a great singer, she’s so silly, I love her. She’s really unique and spending time with her is a blast. So it was easy to work with her for planning out the MC and everything and then executing it. But for “CHIMERA,” one of my original songs, management suggested us to do this song together and I’m glad she was open to doing it. It’s not the first time we performed a song of mine and there seems to be a lot of synergy there and I had such a blast. I think it was a great way to hype up the crowd, slaying everybody in the process of it. It’s a pleasure to slay our fans like that. And that was for me one of the biggest highlights.

And if we’re talking about other people, I am super biased, because Kronii [member of hololive English -Promise-] chose to sing my song “DO U” on the second day, which I think was also a big highlight for any KFP [name for fans of Kiara] who heard it. I think they understand, we’re probably on the same wavelength there, for me and my fans, that hearing another member choosing to sing my song on a solo performance…I’m so flattered and so honored and that made me so happy. And I can’t, I can’t stop thinking about it. I screamed when I was watching backstage, I lost my mind, I was running around clapping, jumping. And yet even the first time when I saw it on the setlist I was like, “What?! I can’t believe? What, are you for real? Is this real? Is this a typo? Did you really choose to do my song? Oh you’re so sweet, oh my God, I love you~!”. So, big ups to Kronii, thank you Kronii, I love you, she did so well. She was really sexy, and she used her special charming, alluring voices in her repertoire to make us all fall in love with her all over again.

Related to Kronii singing your song “DO U,” a lot of the setlist for All for One this year contained tributes to other hololive members and songs. Do you have any thoughts on that general direction for the live show this year?

We definitely wanted to; with this concert we wanted to keep it to hololive songs. In the past we had covered songs from outside of hololive, which was also really hype, of course. But I like the idea very much of just doing hololive songs, because we have so much to choose from, so many bangers, songs that you know, that leave people with earworms, so why not? And it shows unity, it shows love and family and that is very fitting for the theme for the concert All for One, which is unity, I would say.

Using the existing discography, members are also bringing it to new heights where you get to hear a different voice, a slightly different interpretation, and that’s just so wonderful.

I used to go to a lot of idol concerts, specifically from the idol agency Hello! Project, and they also had concerts where they shuffled members and they shuffled songs. And I remember as a fan in the audience, hearing legendary, nostalgic songs sung by newer–or just generally other members, was just always like…it was just so mind-blowing and always so much fun, and it always gave it a fresh new twist. And so we kind of did something along the lines there and I love it. I love to see it and I hope the fans enjoyed it as much as small little Takanashi Kiara did when she was standing in a seat in the front row at the Hello! Project concerts.

You brought up your past self being in the audience cheering and seeing your idols for the first time. What did you think about the newest hololive fans and the newest KFP that had a chance to see you at All for One? Is there anything you’d like to tell them in particular?

I’m sure that at every one of these concerts, there’s always a fan who’s there for the first time, who’s at a hololive event for the first time, and I cannot continue recommending it enough for people to experience something like this. So many people who come to our concerts have not really been in this kind of culture, in this kind of sphere before, and maybe don’t even go out that much usually, maybe don’t go to concerts usually. I don’t go to concerts either if it’s not an idol concert. But these kinds of concerts are always very welcoming of newcomers and if you’re even slightly a fan of someone, I think you can have the time of your life there. It’s so easy to enjoy and I think there’s a place to be here for everybody. I hear from so many fans how these experiences have made them come out of their shells more and meet so many new people, and the memories they make are just irreplaceable. Same for us of course on stage, too. So I’m just really happy that it keeps on growing, the audience keeps on growing, seeing new faces in the audience is so lovely. I hope that I will forever see new faces. I mean, it’s going to be hard to remember everybody but I’m trying my best to engrave it into my brain, so please keep on coming to see us on stage. We’re gonna do our best!

Alongside experiences for the new fans, there were also treats for older fans who already know many of your songs. One of the many interesting things was your musical medley with your original songs “PERFUME” and “TASTY.” Many hololive members have been putting out their own medleys to show off a lot of songs. Can you share any thoughts on your song selections?

I think in a way it was pretty predictable because usually when there’s a concert coming up, I would always choose…usually the most recent song that I would have released at that point in time. But in this case between fes [hololive fest] that was the last big concert in Japan and this EN [English] concert, between that time, I released two new songs and I was like, “Hmmm, I cannot choose between those two; I want to do both.” And especially last fes there were so many members doing medleys, so I felt, like, well…you know what? Maybe it’s my time to do one? This is the perfect opportunity. And I think that actually those two songs mash up really well. They both have, like, a sweet but sexy energy, so it matched perfectly. And I hope people were pleasantly surprised when the transition started between the two songs. I have already heard a lot of comments from people saying that they didn’t expect it, even though I feel like it was to be expected. So I think in the future, you know, when I have too many songs that haven’t been performed on stage yet, that I want to give some time to shine. One might be able to expect a medley again, you know? We’ll see, we’ll see. I’m really glad I could do both songs in one performance. I hope everybody has earworms now from it.

It's great to hear you’re so inspired by medleys at fes. When I first heard them, I was surprised by this new way to hear all these songs mashed together. There are even other examples of members singing their medleys together.

Yeah, I think you’re talking about Calli and Lui, who did a unit at fes and they were together medleying each other’s songs. Maybe something I could do in the future, too.

To ask a more general question, how do you feel about this trip to NYC? Was there anything that surprised you? Did you learn something new during this trip?

One thing that comes to mind is when we were backstage and having some down time. So we had a piano somewhere between all the rooms. At one point when I saw the piano, I dragged Cecilia over to it and I was forcing her to play. Because everyone knows Cecilia plays a lot of instruments, we had fun with that. But at some point, most of us were hanging out in the backstage room and I hear in the distance, I hear the piano being played again. But we were like, “Who is it this time? Who’s playing? It must be Cecilia, right?” Everybody was curious about it I guess, and then we ran over…and it was not Cecilia. Most of us were shocked because most of us didn’t know that Hakos Baelz played the piano so fluently, so well, so skillfully. With her playing the piano, she looked like the most sophisticated lady I’ve ever seen. How can she have so many skills? It’s incredible. We were all stunned by the beauty that was in front of us at that moment. And so that was quite a surprise. You find out things when spending time like this together.

Normally, we’re scattered across the globe. I mention this sometimes but like the JP [Japanese branch] members, they’re all in one country, the ID [Indonesian branch] members, they’re all in one country–usually I mean, though maybe somebody like Zeta moves to Japan now–but in general they’re all in one country. The thing is, with EN members, we’re all over the world. Some live in America, or in Canada, or in Japan, or in several countries in Europe, or in Australia, etc. So for us to meet up, it takes a lot. Maybe times have changed, and a lot of members live in Japan now so they can meet up in Japan a lot, but it’s still special when all of us get together because that’s a really rare thing to happen. And then that’s when the real bonding begins and I always cherish that and await that, especially because Myth was created during a time when the pandemic kept us all apart and I think we really felt that struggle. Because friendships definitely grow faster when you’re able to meet in person and it changes so much. Whenever I meet someone in person, I feel like our friendship level grows at a 500% higher rate. I wish we could have more of these moments, but maybe that’s what makes it even more special because when we do meet up it’s always like a little school trip. Like whenever we all get into one elevator we squeeze, we squish into one elevator, and then we squish into one car that transports us to the venue. And then we all eat at the restaurant together and go sightseeing together. It’s like a little school trip and it makes me feel young again.

You’ve had many opportunities over the years to go to these super gatherings of hololive members. Have there been any new traditions or anything a group of you promise to do when you meet up that has been going on for multiple meetings?

One thing that seemed new this time was when girls were bored backstage, they would do bottle flip challenges. And then when YAGOO [nickname of COVER Corp. CEO Motoaki Tanigo] or any other staff came into the room, they would make them also do the bottle flip challenge several times in a row. Stuff like that. I think there’s always something new, but also traditions continuing. For example, Kronii taking a nap somewhere or Calli ordering Raising Cane’s for all of us to feast on. She loves that so much and she loves to share that with everybody. And also in both of the concerts last year and this year, we had JP and ID guests. It’s so fun for once to turn the tables around where we’re hosting them instead at fes where the JP members are hosting us and perhaps they will show us around and treat us to a nice dinner and so on. But here we’re trying to be good senpai, the good hosts, and we’ve been trying our best to keep our guests, our ID and JP guests, comfortable and let them have fun. It’s really quite the honor and pleasure to show them around. I’m about to go hang out with Subaru-senpai and we’re gonna go do some sightseeing so I’m really excited for that. Subaru-senpai has been enjoying New York a lot, Towa-senpai of course, too, and the ID members. It’s so great to see them happy and mesmerized by the community that we have created.

Thank you again for the opportunity to learn about your time here, Kiara, and the time you’re spending with others. Myth, you and all the other members are an inspiration to the fans. It’s fantastic to attend these events and see everyone working so hard.

Thank you so much, too, it’s been a pleasure. I like sharing my thoughts and memories, so it was an honor. Thank you!

Special thanks to Alex Rushin, Annmarie Sairrino, hololive production, COVER Corp. and associates for interview assistance. For information and updates on Takanashi Kiara’s recent musical releases, streams, and contents, click here. For additional information about hololive, click here. For more JQ articles, click here.