VShojo
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Talent agency, Virtual YouTubers |
| Founded | November 24, 2020 |
| Founder | Justin 'theGunrun' Ignacio, Phillip 'MowtenDoo' Fortunat, Daniel 'Apek' Sanders |
| Defunct | July 24, 2025 |
| Fate | Ceased operations |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Justin 'theGunrun' Ignacio (CEO) |
| Products | VTuber talent representation, character models, merchandising, marketing opportunities |
VShojo, Inc. is a United States-based talent agency focused on representing VTuber creators, with its headquarters located in San Francisco, California. Established in 2020 as the pioneering major VTuber agency headquartered entirely in North America, VShojo emphasizes a "talent first" philosophy by providing support such as character models, merchandising, and marketing opportunities. It is regarded as one of the top three VTuber agencies, alongside Hololive Production and Nijisanji.
On July 21, 2025, well-known talent Ironmouse announced her exit amid accusations that VShojo withheld more than $500,000 in streaming earnings meant for charitable donations. Within three days following her departure, all other affiliated members resigned. Subsequently, on July 24, 2025, cofounder and CEO Justin 'theGunrun' Ignacio declared that VShojo would discontinue its operations.
History
VShojo was established by CEO Justin 'theGunrun' Ignacio—an original Twitch team member—CTO Phillip 'MowtenDoo' Fortunat, a YouTube content creator, and COO Daniel 'Apek' Sanders, who formerly practiced digital media law. The agency officially launched on November 24, 2020, becoming one of the earliest VTuber organizations based in the United States and catering to Western audiences.
In October 2021, VShojo’s talents Ironmouse and Veibae were ranked among Twitch’s top 10 female streamers by hours viewed. By February 2022, Ironmouse had become Twitch’s most subscribed female streamer with over one million followers and 75,000 subscribers.
In March 2022, VShojo raised $11 million in funding led by Anthos Capital to broaden its presence at anime and gaming conventions, develop mobile streaming technologies like Ignacio’s "IRL Backpack," and partner with the mental health nonprofit Rise Above the Disorder.
July 2022 saw the launch of VShojo Japan with new members including independent streamer Kson and Amemiya Nazuna.
Between April and October 2023, several prominent streamers such as Silvervale, Veibae, Nyanners, Henya the Genius, GEEGA, Kuro Kurenai (VShojo’s first male VTuber), and Matara Kan either debuted or departed. Those who left retained ownership of their character intellectual property.
On December 31, 2023, Amemiya Nazuna amicably ended her contract while maintaining rights to her character. Michi Mochievee joined the roster in April 2024.
By mid-2024, VShojo consistently ranked among the global top three VTuber agencies.
In November 2024, VShojo introduced its first full Japanese generation called VShojo NOVA, featuring four members who debuted later that month.
January 2025 marked the addition of singer and voice actress AmaLee to the agency. In April and May 2025, Matara Kan left VShojo while CTO Phillip Fortunat departed after five years with immediate effect.
Additional departures occurred in June and July 2025 including GEEGA and founding member Zentreya. On July 5, VShojo NOVA launched the UNIVOLT record label in collaboration with Universal Music Japan, releasing their debut single "Starry Connection."
Ironmouse controversy, mass departures, and closure
On July 21, 2025, founding member Ironmouse unexpectedly exited VShojo amid legal conflict over allegations that the company withheld nearly $500,000 in Twitch revenue meant for donations to the Immune Deficiency Foundation for over a year. Following this event, several talents such as Kuro Kurenai, Apricot, Henya the Genius, Hime Hajime, AmaLee, and Michi Mochievee publicly expressed support for Ironmouse. Members from the NOVA generation as well as former talents Matara Kan, Zentreya, and GEEGA also showed solidarity. VTuber Kson announced her immediate departure due to unpaid streaming royalties dating back to September 2024 after a live conversation with the CEO.
Both Kuro Kurenai and Projekt Melody soon confirmed their exits; Kurenai had submitted contract termination paperwork on July 11. Michi Mochievee cited similar unpaid royalties as her reason for leaving. AmaLee, Hime Hajime, and Haruka Karibu terminated their contracts without delay. Earlier departures such as Veibae attributed their exit to payment disputes—a claim echoed by Silvervale. Multiple musicians and artists reported outstanding payments while some talents who signed but never debuted—including Mint Fantôme who was intended to lead an idol group—were also affected after contracts were terminated due to delays.
On July 23, Henya the Genius confirmed her departure via YouTube. NOVA members either announced their exits or disclosed contract terminations; discussions were ongoing regarding NOVA's future independent of VShojo. These developments left the company’s Japanese division devoid of talent. Apricot announced her departure on July 24 amid VShojo’s closure announcement stating she was unable to complete her termination process prior to shutdown.
On July 24, VShojo acknowledged mismanagement of funds collected for charity purposes and revealed it had depleted its financial resources leading to a decision to cease all operations.
Talents
| Name | Branch | VTuber debut | VShojo debut | Departure | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akatsuki Hotaru[lower-alpha 1] | Japan (NOVA) | November 22, 2024 | July 23, 2025 | ||||
| AmaLee (Monarch) | English | December 11, 2021 | January 26, 2025 | July 22, 2025 | |||
| Amemiya Nazuna[lower-alpha 2] | Japan | July 16, 2022 | December 31, 2023 | ||||
| Apricot (Froot) | English | November 27, 2020 | July 24, 2025 | ||||
| GEEGA | English | February 16, 2021 | September 2, 2023 | June 27, 2025 | |||
| Haruka Karibu | English | May 8, 2020 | December 3, 2022 | July 22, 2025 | |||
| Henya the Genius[lower-alpha 3] | Japan | May 13, 2023 | July 23, 2025 | ||||
| Hestia Happiness[lower-alpha 4] | Japan (NOVA) | July 15, 2023 | November 22, 2024 | July 23, 2025 | |||
| Hime Hajime | English | January 30, 2021 | July 22, 2025 | ||||
| Ironmouse | English | August 5, 2017 | November 24, 2020 | July 21, 2025 | |||
| Kson | Japan | May 1, 2016 | July 16, 2022 | July 22, 2025 | |||
| Kuro Kurenai (K9Kuro) | English | September 30, 2023 | July 22, 2025 | ||||
| Matara Kan | English | October 15, 2023 | May 5, 2025 | ||||
| Michi Mochievee | English | April 20, 2024 | July 22, 2025 | ||||
| Nyatasha Nyanners | English | July 17, 2020 | November 24, 2020 | April 30, 2023 | |||
| Okamoto Nagi[lower-alpha 5] | Japan (NOVA) | November 23, 2024 | July 23, 2025 | ||||
| Projekt Melody | English | December 27, 2019 | November 24, 2020 | July 22, 2025 | |||
| Silvervale | "English" | "July 30," " 2019" | "November 24," " 2020" | "April 26," " 2023" | |||
| "Veibae" | "English" | "April 12," " 2020" | "April 9," " 2021" | "April 26," " 2023" | |||
| "Yutori PekeTemplate:Efn\Japanese: 柚鳥ペケ" | "Japan (NOVA)" | "colspan=2\style=text-align=center;" | "November 23," " 2024" | "style=text-align=center;" | "July 23," " 2025" | ||
| "Zentreya" | "English" | "style=text-align=center;" | "November 26," " 2017" | "style=text-align=center;" | "November 24," " 2020" | "style=text-align=center;" | "July 11," " 2025" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Event | Award Category | Outcome | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | The Streamer Awards | Outstanding Content Organization | Template:Nom | [1] |
| 2023 | The Vtuber Awards | Leading Vtuber Organization | Template:Nominated | [2][3][4] |
| Best Concert Experience (Candy Pop Explosion) |
Template:Nominated | |||
| The Streamer Awards | Outstanding Content Organization | Template:Nom | [5] | |
| 2024 | Template:Nom | [6][7] | ||
| The Vtuber Awards | Leading Vtuber Organization | Template:Nominated | [8] |
External links
Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "lower-alpha", but no corresponding <references group="lower-alpha"/> tag was found
- ↑ Polhamus, Blaine (February 20, 2023). "Complete list of 2023 Streamer Awards nominees". Dot Esports. Gamurs.
- ↑ Enriquez, XC (November 29, 2023). "Full Nominee List for The Vtuber Awards". ClutchPoints.
- ↑ Warren, Trenton (December 18, 2023). "Highlights from the 2023 VTuber Awards Winners". Anime Trending.
- ↑ "Official Winners of The VTuber Awards". The Vtuber Awards. December 18, 2023.
- ↑ Bhattacharya, Richik (January 25, 2024). "Announcement of nominees for all categories at The Streamer Awards: Full 2024 list featuring Kai Cenat, Iron Mouse, and others". Sportskeeda. Nazara Technologies.
- ↑ "Nominations for The 2024 Streamer Awards". Esports Illustrated On SI. 2024-11-12.
- ↑ DeSena, Gabby (December 8, 2024). "A summary of all winners at the 2024 Streamer Awards". Sports Illustrated.
- ↑ "Winners of the 2024 Vtuber Awards". The Vtuber Awards.
- VShojo
- 2025 controversies
- 2025 controversies in the United States
- 2025 scandals
- American companies established in 2020
- Corporate scandals
- Entertainment companies established in 2020
- Mass media companies established in 2020
- Multi-channel networks
- Talent agencies of the United States
- Technology companies established in 2020
- VTubers