My descent into Nijisanji EN madness (where I have their VOD’s or streams in the background while working) started almost two years ago on May 15, 2021, when a trio of talented young ladies released a little song called, Diamond City Lights (DCL).
I still pretty much only watch the initial 10 gals of the first 3 waves, Lazulight, Obsydia, and Ethyria. They came on the scene within three months of each other – each releasing a banger hit in 2021.
The other two songs were Blackout by Obsydia, and God Sees All by Ethyria.
These days, since I’m short on time, I stick with what is a proven quality. They were the best in streaming. They still are, to me.
[DISCLAIMER: The following will once again only be my opinion.]
Others come along but a tone was set for Nijisanji EN and it was set by the first waves, and specifically, the first three members of Lazulight: Elira Pendora, Pomu Rainpuff, and Finana Ryugu.
Honestly, DCL is not the greatest song. But its a song that sticks with you. Its a song that makes you want to bust out twerking. Noooooo not… necessarily, but….
Is DCL Twerkable?
It happened on a cool night in late October of 2021, shortly after Ethyria debuted.
An extremely drunk Elira was playing Phasmophobia with another fairly drunk Finana. The dragon ranted without a breath asking, “Is DCL twerkable?” to everyone, while busting into their streams. Three streams were intertwining as the night went on, Millie and Reimu joining in.
It was a night of chaos and fun. It was that Halloween night that we all started asking, “Is Diamond City Lights twerkable?”
Crisu caught it all here:
(Check out Crisu’s channel.) He caught all of Anime Impulse on his channel – all the live performances and Hopconcert with Lazulight and Ethyria. It was REALLY GOOD.
Elira, processes comedy quickly… especially when she’s drunk. When she gets going; its hilarious to hear her talk non-stop. That’s one of the reasons so many love Elira. She is so quick on the uptake. She is organically funny. Elira is just that cool bro you wanna know – similar to her dragon sister, Selen Tatsuki.
The DCL Chant
The fact everyone starts chanting Jinzo faiyo faiba waipa, and Ta-ta-ta-ta-taiga during the bridge of DCL was started by an idol culture expert, Pomu. She actually gave a class – that was really fun – on how to chant and do idol calls, “Learning Wotagai with Pomu Sensei.” This was back in September of 2021. It’s when the rumor started that she had multiple arms.
I watched an entire audience at Anime Impulse in LA go wild singing the chant. Everyone joined in. Truly something to behold.
You can’t hear that song without filling in the chant by Pomu. You can’t listen to the song without quietly feeling the need to twerk because of Elira.
Lazu-Lit the Way
I’ve noticed newbies to Nijisanji EN don’t realize Lazulight, pretty much set the tone for Niji EN branch in a direction that is chaotic, unconventional, and just fun. A “throwaway your cares” kind of group.
Most, can forget the stupidity of the world as it burns and listen to and watch these fun-loving V-Tubers that are just nice, kind, generous and openly dorky and so, so creative.
Photo by Budgeron Bach on Pexels.com
I realize as new waves come along the kids that jump on this bandwagon might forget the three that came before. You have the TikTok kids and zoomers invading and they try to be smart and funny, but also lowkey judgy. They are missing a beat somewhere. I honestly don’t get them.
But then, I’m old, and I’m old school.
The cultured and based antics of these three millennials, who were brought up in the 90s and the early 2000’s (in my kid’s age group) and before everything was combed over for sensitivity and being inoffensive, struck an instant chord.
I got them. I got them because I’d been around that age group since I’m around my adult kids a lot and I just never truly grew up. We watched the same anime. Played the same games. Spoke the same vernacular. Loved Japan and its culture.
They were also kind of old school in how they were pretty uncensored.
That was when the internet was open to just “be who you are.” Freedom.
Lazulight was that breath of fresh air when we could just be free to think and listen and not worry about everyone else because we were everyone else. We were just existing like that other guy.
The camaraderie was open to all.
That’s really what Lazulight and Nijisanji brought.
And, in a sense its what Japanese V-Tubers brought. They were silly and Nijisanji EN brought that silliness to life for English-speaking viewers with the first Niji EN wave.
I’m not saying other agencies or Indie V-Tubers don’t have that. I’m just chatting about Nijisanji EN and why I started watching. Personally, what drew me into this group was Lazulight. And, it’s still Lazulight, specifically Pomu Rainpuff, that keeps me around.
I was considering this while watching their 3-D and in consideration of my Kami-Oshi, Pomu, about to have her 3-D on Friday, 1/27/23, around 7 pm here. (Again, I have trouble figuring out time zones.)
They really bridged the Japanese and English speaking audiences in a similar funness.
I’ll be honest. When Lazulight came on the scene I had had it with toxic, hyper-parasocial, EN chats and groups. The white knights and chads that seemed to claim ownership on a content creator. “Hey man, I’m just here to watch a show. Please stop being mean to randos for giving donations you don’t approve of cause they aren’t part of your in-crowd.” I had already been ready to leave the V-Tuber scene.
And then a cute chaotic fairy, a keenly funny dragon, and an inappropriate silly feesh came on the scene. And they were like taking your first breath, coming up from water when you felt you had been drowning.
They really were a breath of fresh air. Their fans were like me. We just wanted to watch some fun content after a hard day at work. We didn’t need to marry or stake claim to these entertainers. We are just viewers that want to have fun with other viewers.
Chill man.
Finana and her egg and the way she opened the door for content that breaks all boundaries. Elira had a laugh that made you smile and this amazing singing voice. She is truly the definition of “chill.” Pomu, you began to wonder, does she need her meds? She was so creative, chaotic and insane. On first glance, you wondered, “what the heck is happening?” Especially after this wonderfully edited video by PomuPower Distribution Center (PPDC):
(I miss PP DC.) I love the very end of this video after 29 minutes, when Elira finally says “yes.” It was perfectly edited.
Ah, the crazy beginnings of a really unique group of gals.
Why Pomu Rainpuff?
Pomu was just an office lady (OL) that worked long 9-5 plus hours, afterward donning her avatar and becoming Pomu for another three to five hours. I don’t know how she did it. She was working on little sleep. She was creating wild content, from singing God Knows, perfectly for 100 times to malding episodes. She was one-of-a-kind.
Later, for us oldies, we found that Elira actually chatted with Pomu in the background and kept prodding her on to this wild and insane ride of madness. Pomu would ask, “Am I going too far?” Elira would say, “no, it’s funny.” (These are not the exact words but you get the gist.)
And then there was this sweet and open woman in zatsudans. Pomu wears her heart on her sleeve, you find out. Its why us older Pomudachis who have been here from the beginning have so much respect for the fairy.
The Three Gazulights
In reality, Pomu and Elira had been V-Tubing friends for years. Their earlier iterations used to always stream together (I actually liked watching that old content back in the day). The content decision to make Pomu the mad fairy and Elira the girl she wanted to play Minecraft with, was something we all began to follow.
Gimmick They knew how to build a gimmick.
That camaraderie as two content creators has translated well when they became the first to start Nijisanji EN. I really believed them being friends and partners in crime, helped out so much and was a must for them to build that cornerstone of Nijisanji EN for us, the audience.
Finana, in her past iteration is kind of a genius with computers and art, and her love of mixing and music. She was their little sister, in a way.
On her 3-D when she put together one banger night of DJ’ing it was something to behold. Finana was in her creative element. You always caught glimpses of her intelligence with music, especially after she released, in my opinion, the best original cover from Nijisanji EN, Tsunami.
This fit her so well. She was going to surprise us all.
Finana, the quiet fish that suddenly said something inappropriate when talking about an egg. She’s just a quiet and cloistered little nerd that kept to herself. We all loved seeing her come out of her shell with Nijisanji. She was the perfect last corner for this trifecta of creativity.
Now, Elira Pendora was someone I rarely watched. She is so unassuming and smart. We all know she has a degree. She went to university. She had wanted to grow up and be a singer on stage. She has this amazingly supportive mom, dad and brother, Elibro. I really think its why she seems so put together and has become the quiet leader of Nijisanji EN. She set a tone of calm and relaxation for viewers to feel comfortable. She truly was the definition of “chill.”
She is the friend that will accept you for who you are. “You do you.”
And then you listen to her zatsudans and realize she’s actually much more together than most. Listening to her talk makes you realize she’s a pretty kind human.
All three are really sweet to their chat and they have and deserve mad respect for what they started.
The Relatability of Pomu Rainpuff
I am a loyal Pomudachi from the beginning. I think I related a lot to her and what she dealt with in the beginnings. She wanted to do what she loved but she also had to make a living. She had to work as the OL (office lady). When she quit her job and became a full-time streamer it was scary. But she followed her dream.
I think the way I relate to her being someone stuck with having to pay the bills but also have all this creativity pent up is very relatable to a lot of us who are writers, artists, musicians, and down deep creative types more than work-a-day types.
We live in a world that is about money and paying bills. Its pretty much the horror of life.
But when this virtual girl wins we all feel like we are winning also. Its because in a way, we live vicariously through their dreams and goals. We are rooting for them because they are rooting for us. They are saying, “Hey chat, thank you for spending a bit of your day with us. Thank you because without a viewer there is nothing to view.”
I guess what I’m trying to convey is Lazulight really paved the way in more than just being first. They were the ones who truly set the pace for Nijisanji EN and it’s inclusivity and acceptance for us dorks that watch.
Here’s to the three dorks that started it all. Shy, smart, creative, and just getting by with what they love. They are just like us, for real, for real.
Thank you, Lazulight. Keep doing you.
Please let me know in the comments your favorite Lazulight gal. And please watch Pomu become a more Solid Pomu in her 3-D premiere here.
Please enjoy:
I hope you all the best in your life. May you find what you seek and search for and have a great Year of the Rabbit. Happy Lunar New Year and Happy Life!
Love you Gracie!!! 🙂 ❤
the unlit cigarette 
A great tribute to Lazulight. I feel the same way. I didn’t mix with EN VTuber groups or chats before Hololive EN started back in late 2020, and I didn’t see much of the white knight/weird possessiveness stuff going on — I think the relaxed, open style of the main Hololive branch carried over, and most of the fans ended up fitting perfectly with that approach. The same goes even more for Lazulight and the second and third NijiEN generations, as well as for the smaller agencies I’ve looked into recently.
As for some of the music, “DCL” isn’t the type I’d usually go on too much about in itself, but it’s a good time for sure. Good song to do Pomu’s idol chants to. All in all, I’m happy to see the ladies getting the recognition they deserve, especially with the 3D debuts.
I agree. DCL wasn’t a favorite of mine or that style. Its just a catchy tune like Copacabana. LOL It’s oddly become the Niji EN theme song. Its like when you first join you better know how to sing it and do the chant. 😀
Hey AK, who is your favorite Lazulight member? Do you have one? Or, is it someone else?
Thanks for the comment. 🙂
My favorite in Lazulight — that has to be Pomu. All three are great, but yeah, Pomu. Feels like passing notes about which girl I like in class, such memories.
I knew you had good taste.
Haha, I laughed when I read your analogy. We’re so parasocial (I really hate this new catch word). 😀
Also — bringing up Copacabana made me remember that Millie sang it on one of her unarchived streams. One of my favorite moments, her realizing how depressing the song is in contrast to its upbeat tone in real time.