With spring in the air, so too comes the next volume of the highly unique collaboration between VR company VARK and popular V-Tuber idol company Hololive, this time featuring the duo of Fubuki Shirakami and Mio Okami. Over the last couple of months of 2020 and 2021 the two companies banded together to bring the Cinderella switch live concerts. During these, a duo from the company performs a 3D live, with one member onstage and the other in the virtual crowd, switching with each other for the following performance. One of the added twists is that both concerts are able to be VR viewable through multiple VR capable devices such as the Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR. Season Two kicked off with the adorable pair of Luna and Matsuri. Fubuki and Mio look to continue the trend of successful performances with Volume Five.

First up was the white fox friend Fubuki Shirakami on the grand stage with Mio in the “crowd”. The liveliness of the crowd was once again on full blast with applause, laughter, and cheers. I think out of all the performances to date, Fubuki’s was the most “fan service-y”; she appeared in front of the crowd on the ground floor several times before and after her performances, which I loved. Mio was great as well with her fan chanting, which I always appreciate on the crowd viewing side of the performances.

Fubuki’s first song, “Sakura no Ato”, kicked the energy up with amazing production and its 3D imagery was on full show, as it features Fubuki performing several rocking motions. She then shifted gears to “Aoi Sora no love softy” and the crowd was a lot livelier this time around, with cheers all around along with the most fitting fan reactions. The cheerfulness and energy Fukubi had for this song was just infectious; I found myself bouncing to the beat at times as well. To match the aesthetic of the track the background changed to a blue sky backdrop which brought the performance to a higher level. Fubuki had a “rivalry” with Mio on the crowd side by saying, “I hope everyone was paying attention to my dancing, not Mio in the crowd.” With some of the chat kinda favoring Mio, Fubuki wagged her tail to mesmerize the crowd into paying attention to her humorous effect. Her third track, “Union”, was a more traditional idol like song which I ended up enjoying a lot with Fubuki’s stage presence. Fubuki went all-out for the last song, titled “Fubuki”, with this amazing burst of energy that was just out of this world. Overall, I loved Fubuki's performance and she really surprised me because I wasn’t one for watching her karaoke lives. If she sings like she did here then I’ll definitely be going to the next!

Next up was the great wolf Mio Okami taking the stage with Fubuki handling the crowd side this time around. What was very interesting was the fact that Fubuki was made for this hype man role in the crowd, as the interaction between her and Mio was amazing; I loved every moment of it. When Mio took the stage she made a hell of an impression with interesting poses and she teased fans with the movement of her ears.

Continuing the momentum Fubuki had with her first song, Mio’s first song was “Yume Miru Sora he”, a hololive original track. Because the song was an original release from the group, Fubuki knew all of the fan call signs which helped bring out the ambiance of the crowd. Mio brought the energy and range of what is usually a group track perfectly and this was the right song to start with. She then ramped it up with the song “Eternal Blaze”. Her rendition was just as energetic as the original and it helped that she asked the crowd to “reply” back at the best time of the song as well. What was funny was that Mio did her fair share of fan service as well when she came into the crowd and did a very dangerous nose nuzzle. She then slowed it down with the song “Haiiro to Aoi” which was absolutely fantastic and no doubt one of my favorite performances of the night, up there with the best of all time from Cinderella switch. The passion Mio showed was bar none, and while I was all right with the original, she turned me onto the song completely. Mio bookended her performance with hololive tracks, with her finale being “Asairo clear sky”. And what a way to end an overall strong performance, coupled with amazing stage effects that brought the performance to life even more.

The Aftertalk was very interesting, as both Fubuki and Mio decided to surprise fans by starting on the crowd side instead of the stage. When they returned to the stage they both talked about the process of choosing and performing their songs. Fubuki commented that she only did anime style songs and thought Mio was cool for doing a “jet coast” style of tracks. They also announced that Volume Six will include the duo of Botan and Lamy and will take place May 21. Lastly, before the pair left they served a bit more fan service with a dangerous nose nuzzle.

Overall, I thought Volume Five was a very solid addition to Cinderella switch performances. Fubuki Shirakami and Mio Okami played off of each other very well and I can’t wait to see what Volume Six has in store for us.

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