The controversy surrounding Selen Tatsuki, also known as Dokibird, began with her dismissal from the Japanese VTuber agency NIJISANJI EN on February 5, 2024. The agency posted a termination notice on its X account (formerly Twitter), alleging “repeated contract violations and misleading statements on social platforms” by Tatsuki. However, Tatsuki and her followers denied the accusations of unprofessional behavior and accused NIJISANJI of professional misconduct. The controversy escalated when Tatsuki revealed that she had been hospitalized in December 2023 due to a suicide attempt caused by harassment and a toxic environment within the agency. She claimed that she had requested to leave the agency on more neutral terms on January 26, 2024, before her dismissal was announced.
Tatsuki‘s dismissal provoked a strong backlash from her followers and other artists, who expressed their support for the VTuber and criticized NIJISANJI for its handling of the situation. Some artists and creators who had worked with Tatsuki refuted NIJISANJI‘s claims that there were problems with commission payments and stated that Tatsuki had been an excellent person to work with.
(Click on the image above to see the post on X ‘Twitter‘)
Furthermore, it was reported that the controversy had a financial impact on NIJISANJI‘s parent company, ANYCOLOR, Inc., whose shares fell 13% in the two days following the announcement of Tatsuki‘s dismissal. Despite this, NIJISANJI claimed that the termination of Tatsuki‘s contract would have “insignificant financial effects” on the company’s financial results.
In summary, the controversy surrounding Selen Tatsuki involves accusations of professional misconduct by NIJISANJI, allegations of harassment and a toxic environment by Tatsuki, and a negative financial impact on NIJISANJI‘s parent company as a result of the negative reaction to her dismissal.
Reactions to DokiBird’s Dismissal
Several well-known figures from the media and social networks have expressed their support for Selen Tatsuki following her dismissal from NIJISANJI. Some of them include:
- Aethel – An independent VTuber who expressed her disappointment with the situation and the treatment of talents within the agency.
- Annjelife – Another independent VTuber who showed her support for Selen.
- Lucy Pyre – Independent VTuber who also reacted to the situation.
- CyYu – Independent VTuber who joined the voices of support for Selen.
- Kay Yu – Holocure developer, who expressed his disappointment with the agency.
- Cottontail – Voice actress who showed her support for Selen.
- Vadur – A creator who worked with Selen in the past and praised her professionalism and kindness.
- Wikipedia bahasa Indonesia – The official Wikipedia account in Indonesia made an indirect post about the situation, adding the discolored logo of NIJISANJI and the numbers 2-4-3-4, which can be read as “ni-ji-san-ji” in Japanese.
- weeniedesu – An artist who worked with Selen and refuted NIJISANJI‘s claims, highlighting that Selen ensured they were paid even when the agency was slow to do so.
- LilyPichu::: A well-known content creator, artist, and musician. LilyPichu confirmed that she had given permission to NIJISANJI for Selen to use her song “Last Cup of Coffee” in a cover, which contradicts the agency’s claims about permission issues. Her statement added credibility to Selen‘s version of events and highlighted possible inconsistencies in NIJISANJI‘s narrative. LilyPichu‘s involvement in the situation is particularly notable due to her large follower base and respected position in the online content creator community.
The community has reacted quite strongly and supportively in favor of Selen Tatsuki following her dismissal from NIJISANJI. Some of the community’s responses and reactions include:
- Expressions of support on social networks: Many followers and other VTubers have expressed their support for Selen on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Twitch, using hashtags and sharing messages of solidarity.
- Defense of Selen’s reputation: Several artists and creators who have worked with Selen in the past have come to her defense, refuting NIJISANJI‘s claims about payment problems and praising her professionalism and kindness.
- Pause in the distribution of NIJISANJI products: Some NIJISANJI merchandise resellers have expressed their decision to stop distributing products from the agency in response to the situation.
- Announcements of streaming pauses by other NIJISANJI VTubers: Some VTubers affiliated with NIJISANJI have announced streaming pauses as a sign of solidarity or due to the turmoil caused by recent events.
- Questioning of NIJISANJI’s management: The situation has ledsome members of the community to question NIJISANJI‘s management and the way it treats its talents.
In general, the community has shown strong solidarity with Selen Tatsuki, and the controversy has sparked a broader debate about labor practices and the management of VTuber agencies.
“To Be Continued…”
It’s clear that we’ve only seen the beginning of all this controversy. The community, both of fans and artists as well as media personalities, has spoken out, and we can almost say that everyone has taken the same stance. Are NIJISANJI the bad guys in this story? Obviously, we can only mention public information, but you, dear reader, are not bound by these rules… So, what do you think about all this? Please, leave us your opinion in the comments, your stance on all this controversy! You know, we’ll be reading! 🙂
