The announcement of Gawr Gura’s retirement, known as a graduation in the VTubing space, took the internet by storm.
The internet, particularly Virtual YouTuber fans, was in shambles when Gawr Gura announced her graduation. See how her fellow VTubers, as well as the fanbase, reacted to the news.
Gawr Gura's Graduation Announcement
The announcement was made through a short video posted on Gawr Gura's YouTube channel.
In just two hours, the video has garnered almost one million views. After all, she has 4.5 million subscribers, making her one of the most subbed-to VTubers in the world.
Gawr Gura was part of the first generation of the hololive English branch, -Myth-. This generation is widely credited for bringing the VTuber boom outside of Japan into the West. Throughout the years, she has become a prominent VTuber and content creator worldwide.
Gura's activities as a hololive talent will cease on May 1, 2025. In the VTubing industry, this is referred to as "graduating." She is the fourth holoEN member to graduate in less than a year. Her gen-mate, Amelia Watson, ceased streaming activities last Sept. 2024, followed by Ceres Fauna and Nanashi Mumei in Jan. and April of this year, respectively.
Gawr Gura graduation reactions
Of course, the news sent waves through the internet.
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Other branches of hololive also reacted to the news publicly. Moreover, Motoaki Tanigo, CEO of hololive's parent company COVER Corporation, sent Gura a farewell message, too.
Thank you, Gura-san, for all your hard work in hololive English. Because of you and the other members of hololive English, hololive became so loved and popular in English-speaking countries. I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done. Thank you with all my heart.
"It's so hard to wake up to a news like this… Although we don't interact that much, I enjoy the tiny moments we had together. Let's shower her with love until the very end!!," hololive Indonesia's Kureiji Ollie posted.
Talents from the Japanese branch, like Takane Lui and Momosuzu Nene, expressed their sadness about the news, too.
"I just want everyone to be happy. Is there no way to stay in Hololive and still find happiness?," wrote Momosuzu Nene. "All the sad announcements are really getting me down. Help me, people from the company!"
Naturally, the news also reached far beyond the VTubing space.
Gawr Gura's fans, called the Chumbuds, are naturally saddened by the news, but some chose to get through it via humor.
"For non [hololive] fans, this is like if Goku retired from fighting," wrote X user @abichungus.
