Mirei Gundo graduates from Nijisanji following baseball controversy
NijisanjiNijisanji has confirmed that Mirei Gundo will graduate from the Vtuber agency following a controversial comment about baseball the long-serving talent made three months ago.
In March 2023, Nijisanji Vtuber Mirei Gundo posted a series of tweets reacting to an ongoing baseball game. In these tweets, she questioned her fans on the sport in an attempt to better understand it.
Most of these tweets were innocuous but one stirred up some controversy after she asked if a strong pitcher could throw the ball at the opponent’s head or body and if doing so would result in a suspension. This upset a lot of Japanese fans pushing the agency to suspend her shortly after.
Since that suspension, Mirei Gundo has not posted on social media or streamed even once. Three months on and now her time at Nijisanji is coming to an end.
Mirei Gundo is graduating from Nijisanji
Japanese talent Mirei Gundo will graduate from Nijisanji on June 21, as announced on the agency’s official Twitter.
A fan translation of the statement reads: “We would like to report that upon mutual agreement, Mirei Gundo will graduate from Nijisanji on June 21, 2023. The graduation stream is scheduled to be held at 11 PM on June 21, 2023.”
The statement continues: “Her YouTube channel, fan club, Twitter, and other social media related to her will be stopped on June 22, 2023. The sale of content such as goods and voice will also be stopped on that day. Fan letters will be accepted until June 31, 2023.”
With the graduation of Mirei Gundo, Nijisanji is losing one of its longest-serving members. Gundo debuted back in January 2019 alongside Yuzuki Roa, forming the duo Mireroa.
For Western fans, Gundo’s graduation may seem bizarre as losing such an iconic member over a Tweet that she later apologized for could be perceived as too strong a reaction.
But in Japan, baseball is both a national sport and a massive part of its sports culture. It is the country’s most-watched sport annually and has an incredibly passionate following.
Furthermore, Nijisanji hosts an annual Vtuber Baseball Championship commonly referred to as Nijisanji Koshien. This event is sponsored by Konami, the publisher of the game used for this popular tournament, Power Pros known in Japan as eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball.
Power Pros uses official licensing from the Nippon Professional Baseball League and the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association. There may have been a risk that Nijisanji could have lost the sponsorship had it reinstated Mirei Gundo.
Mirei Gundo is not the first Nijisanji Vtuber this year to exit following a controversy. In March 2023, ex-NijisanjI EN member Zaion Lanza had her contract terminated for making offensive remarks.