I don’t really talk about them here much, but I’m a huge fan of Hololive. They were the driving forces behind me going to AnimeNYC and Round1. I don’t watch their streams, but its talent is amongst my favorite musicians. A few months ago, I bought a few mystery keychains and one of them was of Takane Lui. I didn’t know about her at the time, but I looked up her music, and she immediately became one of my favorites.
I never paid attention to her lore or her Hololive group, I just thought she was an amazing singer. But then I was at Barnes and Noble earlier this month, and I found out that there’s a manga that adapts the lore of her and the rest of holox. It’s called HoloX MEETing!, and I knew I had to buy it. I figured it would be a great item to add to my physical collection of Hololive stuff, and a convenient lore dump for the whole group.
The manga was originally published in 2023, and had two volumes released. Yen Press then licensed the series in English the following year. The manga follows the Holox secret society and their quest for world domination. The story is about Sakamata Chloe, who’s dragged into the group as an intern. Each of the early chapters introduces a different group member while intertwining them into the larger story.
I really liked learning about each of the fictional characters, instead of just the Vtuber and singer. Each chapter also includes a fact sheet with info on each member. For instance, I learned so much about La+ Darkness from the fact sheet at the end of her chapter. Sure, I probably could have found that stuff online, but I would have had no interest in her at all had I not read the manga.
But it’s not just a lore dump, there were lots of interesting moments throughout the volume. Seeing them interact with each other in a fictional world that’s cohesive was lots of fun, and I didn’t expect there to be as much humor as there was. By the time I was done with the first chapter, I was impressed by the humor between Sakamata and La+, two members that I would have never paid attention to.
It took me a little more than an hour to read the first volume, and I had a blast. I was already a big fan of Takane Lui, but I learned so much about the rest of the group and began to like them a bit too. I’ve only read the first volume, but I’m already disappointed that it ends after the second. I would have absolutely loved a long-running about the characters and this world. Overall, HoloX MEETing! is a very fun read for fans.
You can pick up a copy from Amazon. (and at the time of writing, the ebook version is only $7)
9/10