Selen Tatsuki terminated from NIJISANJI EN, company faces brutal backlash

The VTuber community is never bereft of drama but the latest twist in the ongoing saga of NIJISANJI missteps has reached a new peak after the company’s English division terminated the contract of “Liver” Selen Tatsuki⁠—a move that has since been met with intense backlash. 

Selen was part of NIJISANJI EN’s second wave of VTuber talents, originally debuting in July 2021 and building a following through streaming and running several events such as tournaments and art contests. Two and a half years later, her contract with NIJISANJI’s parent company ANYCOLOR was today terminated as a result of “repeated breaches of contract and misleading statements on social platforms,” according to the org. This all came after more than a month of radio silence regarding the creator and no update from NIJISANJI.

In a multi-page document released on Twitter, NIJISANJI EN listed violations it claims Selen made regarding active communication and the company’s Activity Rules that apply to all of its creators. Most were barely explained, with general terms like “non-compliance with rights confirmation” and “ongoing reports or inappropriate behavior” used. Among the four pages of context, only two examples were listed. 

The first was a warning given to Selen in May 2023 regarding the use of “misleading statements that could damage the company’s reputation.” A more recent example, where Selen’s cover of LilyPichu’s Last Cup of Coffee song was made private with very little explanation after being published on YouTube on Dec. 25, was the second example. Creators like Rima Evenstar have delved into this thoroughly—including the meaning and cost to produce out of pocket for the creator—but, in short, Selen openly pushed back against the song’s removal and told fans they could reupload it, along with making several other statements.

According to NIJISANJI, Selen and her legal representatives refused to back down and instead informed ANYCOLOR the company should be held responsible for her inability to engage in her Liver activities due to managerial decisions and mismanagement that allowed her to be “harassed by other affiliated Livers.” Additionally, NIJISANJI noted if negotiations did not progress, Selen was planning to release a public statement.

If that wasn’t enough, Selen was hospitalized after that music video incident in what she originally stated on Dec. 27 was an accident. Now, sharing information from her personal account, after NIJISANJI revoked access and set all her branded social media private, she confirmed she was hospitalized for “an attempt”—likely referencing attempted suicide—brought on by “bullying from within” and a “toxic environment.” In that same tweet, she confirmed she had originally been looking to leave NIJISANJI on “more neutral terms” on Jan. 26, before later confirming she was caught off guard by the termination in an emotional voice message.

There are also concerns the wording in NIJISANJI’s termination announcement points to management being responsible for some of the final updates on Selen’s branded account regarding her hospitalization, not Selen.

With this termination, it appears Selen will revert to using the name “Dokibird” and the personal accounts she used before joining NIJISANJI to create content as an independent VTuber. She plans to make her “re-debut” on Feb. 7 to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

“I am still me, every memory and achievement I’ve earned is still me,” Doki said. “They cannot take that away. Please let everyone know that this is where I am now, I hope you all find me again and we can laugh together again.”

Dozens of other VTubers have also released statements speaking out against NIJISANJI’s treatment of Selen and its handling of this situation, with one of the heaviest callouts coming from Lucy Pyre in a warning to all potential VTubers to avoid working with the company in the future: “To all vtuber hopefuls: do NOT join nijisanji. you can run events for them. you can be one of their most popular livers. you can be sweet and kind and professional and respectful. you can even win awards for them. they do not care. this is how they’ll treat you.”

NIJISANJI has yet to release any follow-up statement and no talent from the organization has chimed in either. This is the second termination for NIJISANJI in the last year and will be the fifth lost talent in that same timeframe after Pomu Rainpuff’s graduation on Jan. 20—not counting the upcoming graduation of Kyo Kaneko on Feb. 17.