HoloX Meeting! is a two-volume comedy manga series, written by Omcurry G. K. and illustrated by Anmitsu Okada. The manga is based on COVER Corp.’s 6th generation of V-tuber talent from their Hololive branch, comprised of La+ Darkness, Chloe Sakamata, Lui Takane, Koyori Hakui, and Iroha Kazama. The manga was originally serialised in November 2022 in Shonen Jump+, a Japanese online manga service.
When a job offer arrives from a company she never applied to, Sakamata Chloe is naturally suspicious, but she can’t say no to the generous salary. Her new workplace is the Secret Society holoX, where fellow members Takane Lui, Hakui Koyori, Kazama Iroha, and their leader La+ Darkness strive to achieve nothing short of world domination! (If they ever manage to scrounge up the funds, that is).
Taking place on an alternate Earth known as Terra, populated by kemonomimi, holoX Meeting! certainly presents itself as a comedic, slice-of-life manga from the very beginning. Closely following the groups’ character lore, a lot of the comedy is derived from these in-depth character backgrounds–as well as from numerous moments from streams that have gone on to become memes in the v-tubing community (Wi-fi-kun, Ganbatte). These comedic elements, although simple in their implementation, are incredibly natural within the manga’s narrative and fit well with the kawaii, slice-of-life aesthetic created in tandem.
However, it’s not a necessity to be active followers of the streamer’s online presence or even v-tubers, in general, to be able to enjoy holoX Meeting!’s story. Whilst the narrative performs an austere means of introducing the main cast of characters, the manga also includes characters’ official bios throughout the volume–providing more information. Indeed, it’s safe to say the main focus of volume 1 is introducing the reader to its peaceful, conflict-free narrative, and loveable characters, taking ample time to divulge background lore on holoX as a group and each member’s position in the collective.
Whilst heavily influenced by the official character models used for streaming, each member has been slightly redesigned to fit the medium of a manga—removing a lot of the overall detail and making these already moe designs even more so. Although this sounds like a downgrade, this redesign certainly aids in an intrinsic transfer of mediums from 3d to static 2d. Furthermore, each of the girl’s personalities are captured impeccably, displaying an amazingly meticulous level of knowledge by Omcurry G. K. Speech patterns, mannerisms, and personal preferences are all presented perfectly, delivering an excellent representation of the girl’s unique temperaments and dispositions throughout.
Despite a beautiful level of detail when it comes to character designs, the rest of the artwork featured can be slightly bland at times, the alternate earth in this narrative feels slightly hollow in depth. Taking place majoritively inside the secret holoX hideout, the enclosed environment sets a harsh divide between our characters and the environment they inhabit–feeling more like a conduit for the story rather than an inherent environment they are a part of.
Additionally, the general lack of side characters outside of the secret society further compounds this feeling of isolation. Whilst background characters do appear on occasion, their inclusion is neither important nor impactful and does little to breathe life into this slightly apathetic world–sometimes appearing as mere outlines.
Despite this, holoX Meeting! is a cute yet simplistic slice-of-life manga that is, undoubtedly, going to entice fans of Hololive and v-tubers in general. Yet, with its Iyashikei overtones, beautiful character artwork, and endearing yet unobtrusive comedy, the manga is sure to maintain an allure to fans of this genre outside of the fandom as well.
HoloX Meeting! vol. 1 is available to purchase from Yen Press’ website here.
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Hey there, I’m Jim and I’m located in London, UK. I am a Writer and Managing Director here at Grimoire of Horror. A lifelong love of horror and writing has led me down this rabbit hole, allowing me to meet many amazing people and experience some truly original artwork. I specialise in world cinema, manga/graphic novels, and video games but will sometime traverse into the unknown in search of adventure.