Hololive Alternative



Hololive Alternative (ホロライブ・オルタナティブ), stylized as hololive Alternative, HOLOLIVE ALTERNATIVE, and HOLOLIVE △LTERN△TIVE, is a multimedia project aimed at expanding the Hololive franchise. The project centers around the lives of Hololive characters outside of their livestreams. The project was announced on February 17, 2021 alongside a 30-second teaser trailer (PV) featuring the song Dawn Blue by Mori Calliope. A full-length trailer was released on May 5, 2021.

A second PV video was released on June 11, 2022. The PV featured the song Story Time by Star Flower.

The narrative of Hololive Alternative draws inspiration from the Holoearth Chronicles art book released at Comiket 97.

Characters
The following characters appeared in the Dawn Blue PVs:
 * Tokino Sora
 * Shirakami Fubuki
 * Natsuiro Matsuri
 * Nekomata Okayu
 * Inugami Korone
 * Houshou Marine
 * Minato Aqua
 * Usada Pekora
 * Amane Kanata
 * Sakura Miko
 * Uruha Rushia
 * Yuzuki Choco
 * Roboco
 * Ookami Mio
 * Nakiri Ayame
 * Kiryu Coco
 * Shirogane Noel
 * Shiranui Flare
 * Murasaki Shion

The following additional characters appeared in the Story Time PV:
 * AZKi
 * Hoshimachi Suisei
 * Momosuzu Nene
 * Omaru Polka
 * Shishiro Botan
 * Yukihana Lamy
 * Watson Amelia
 * Ayunda Risu
 * Tsunomaki Watame
 * Yozora Mel
 * Tokoyami Towa
 * Ninomae Ina'nis
 * Moona Hoshinova
 * Airani Iofifteen
 * Akai Haato
 * Himemori Luna
 * Oozora Subaru
 * Mori Calliope
 * Takanashi Kiara
 * Gawr Gura
 * Aki Rosenthal

2019

 * Dec. 28 - Release of Holoearth Chronicles at Comiket 97

2020

 * Apr. 1 - Yuukei Yamada, animation director for mobile game Fate/Grand Order, tweets as an April Fool's joke that he will make a PV for Hololive, which is later found by YAGOO. Yamada would eventually serve as animation supervisor for the first Hololive Alternative PVs.

2021

 * Jan. 20 - YAGOO makes a post on Note.com announcing that Cover Corp. is recruiting developers and designers for a new metaverse-themed project
 * Feb. 17 - A 30-second PV featuring Dawn Blue by Mori Calliope is released
 * May 5 - The full version of the February PV is released
 * Jun. 4 - Chapter 0 of Holoearth Chronicles Side:E ~Yamato Phantasia~ is released via Twitter
 * Jun. 7 - Holonometria is released
 * Nov. 23 - The first gameplay of Holoearth is revealed
 * Dec. 29 - Dawn Blue is released
 * Dec. 30 - The Blu-Ray release of Dawn Blue occurs at Comiket 99

2022

 * Jan. 13 - Shishiro Botan interviews YAGOO about Cover Corp.'s metaverse project
 * Mar. 19 - Hololive Alternative appears at Hololive Super Expo 2022
 * Mar. 25 - A Japanese-language test of the lobby system for Holoearth occurs.
 * May 6 - Holoearth Chronicles Side:E ~Yamato Phantasia~ is released on Square Enix Manga UP!
 * Jun. 11 - The second PV for Hololive Alternative, featuring Story Time by Star Flower is released. Additionally, the first concept trailer for Holoearth is released.
 * Dec. 31 - Story Time by Star Flower is released.

2023

 * May 12 - Soreyuke!! Makai Gakkou is released on LINE Manga.

Music
The first PV for Hololive Alternative featured Dawn Blue by Mori Calliope. The full version of Dawn Blue was released in December 2021. A Blu-Ray release was sold at Comiket 99.

The second teaser PV featured the song Story Time by Star Flower. Star Flower is a group comprised of Hoshimachi Suisei, AZKi, Moona Hoshinova, and IRyS. A Blu-Ray edition was released at Comiket 101.

Manga
The first Hololive Alternative manga, a manga tie-in with an "original Alternative story", was announced on the Hololive Alternative Twitter account in February 2021. The announcement was deleted following a dispute with the artist responsible for the manga, Mizuryu Kei. A settlement was then reached between Cover Corporation and the artist. Mizuryu Kei subsequently announced his resignation from the project. Mizuryu Kei also deleted all his Hololive-related fan works and asked followers not to bother Hololive talents about the dispute.

Following the retraction of the announcement for the first manga, a subsequent manga, "Holoearth Chronicles Side:E ~Yamato Phantasia~" was released on the Hololive Alternative Twitter account. In October 2021, a separate manga, "Underworld Academy Overload" was announced on the Hololive Alternative website.

Although the mangas were originally published via Twitter, in February 2022, it was announced that due to the number of pages in the mangas exceeding what can be published on Twitter at once, future mangas would be published via Holonometria. A manga reader was slated to be added by the end of February 2022. On May 6, 2022, it was announced that "Holoearth Chronicles Side:E ~Yamato Phantasia~" would be published on the Square Enix app Manga UP! alongside the manga viewer on Holonometria.

Yamato Phantasia
On June 4, 2021, Chapter 0 of the manga "Holoearth Chronicles Side:E ~Yamato Phantasia~" was released on the Hololive Alternative Twitter account. The manga features Shirakami Fubuki, Ookami Mio, and Nakiri Ayame. On October 31, 2021, Chapter 1 was released. Yamato Phantasia is authored by Kousuke Kurose.

Underworld Academy Overload!!
In May 2023, "Soreyuke!! Makai Gakkou" was released on LINE Manga. Soreyuke!! Makai Gakkou is authored by Moroyan. The manga was released in English on June 2, 2023.

Development
In October 2021, a "metaverse" videogame Holoearth was announced as one of the projects within Hololive Alternative. A gameplay demo video was released on November 23, 2021. The game is composed of 3 components: a sandbox game, a lobby system, and an avatar creation system. English localization for the game is planned.

A limited test of the lobby system on Windows was slated for March 14, 2022. Japanese language registration for the test launch opened on March 11, 2022. The test launch was comprised of the lobby system and ran from March 11, 2022 to April 6, 2022. On November 24, 2022, the lobby system was released into beta.

Concerts
On December 26, 2022, a concert was held as a test for Holoearth infrastructure. The concert Protolive featured performances from Mori Calliope and AZKi. A sequel concert, Protolive #2 〜Yamato Phantasia〜 is scheduled for July 15, 2023. The theme of Protolive 2 is the nation of Yamato, the Japan-inspired setting of the manga Yamato Phantasia. Featured artists include Shirakami Fubuki, Sakura Miko, Nakiri Ayame, and Ookami Mio. 

Websites
A lore website, Holonometria, was opened in June 2021. The website contains background information on the Hololive Alternative universe as well as short stories. A manga reader was announced with an intended release at the end of February 2022. On May 6, 2022, the release of the manga reader at midnight the following day was announced, however problems with the English and Indonesian localizations ultimately prevented its release. The manga reader was eventually released on November 25, 2022 with five chapters of Yamato Phantasia.

Video
Trailers= Gameplay=