Tune In to the Midnight Heart (真夜中ハートチューン)

3 MILLION CHANNEL SUBSCRIBERS

CELEBRATION EVENT

SUMERAGI IKON

Hello-Iko, everyone! I'm Ikonic!

Hello-Iko!

Thank you all for coming to my three million subs celebration concert today!

I even got a new outfit just for this.

Do you recognize this pattern?

So much has happened on the way here.

It was hard and I wanted to quit so many times.

Ikon!

You can do it!

There's a reason I've stuck with it, though.

Hey,

I know you're watching.

IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT

Okay, see you tomorrow.

Bye-Iko!

THIS STREAM HAS ENDED

Things are looking up lately.

SUMERAGI IKON CHAT STREAM! SUMERAGI IKON - 32.2K SUBSCRIBERS

My sub count is growing, too.

With this number, I can easily be considered a top VTuber.

Huh? You landed tickets to the Blue Box concert?

Blue Box? What's that?

Huh? They're the number one VTuber group in Japan, you know.

Their biggest star, Momotose Ao, recently crossed three million subs.

VTubers doing concerts in Chiba Messe? Sign of the times.

Three million...?

At my current pace,

it'll take around a century for me to hit three million.

Am I actually the furthest one from her dream out of all four of us?

Wh-Wh-What do I do?

I'm gonna be the black sheep!

I have no doubt Rikka, Nene, and Shinobu will make their dreams come true.

I'll get left behind...

I never would've had these thoughts before.

What's gotten into me?

Meowrgh!

What's wrong, Kirino?

Something on your mind?

This is all your fault.

You jerk!

My fault?

She can execute a good tackle.

That's your takeaway?

I can't be satisfied with the status quo.

I need to get more popular.

MOMOTOSE AO - 3 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS

Momotose Ao, one of the biggest VTubers around.

She's what I should strive to be. I gotta catch up to her quick.

I'll do some research into her

and figure out what I'm lacking.

Welcome to my three million subs celebration concert!

I hope you all enjoy yourselves!

She's...

She's such a good dancer!

Her 3D model is pretty

and the effects are out of this world!

Wait, it's too early for me to go 3D.

I should focus on her regular streams.

I'm making macarons today.

I hear it's hard even for pros, but I'll try my best.

PIANO STREAM!

VTUBER TACKLES CENTRALIZED COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM

Wow.

I do a wide variety of content too, but she's on a different level.

It's not fair that she's smart, too!

No, stop getting cold feet.

I gotta outdo Ao-chan in something.

MUNDEY

A notification for Kirino's stream?

A cooking stream? Now that's new.

COOKING STREAM! SUMERAGI IKON

Hello-Iko! I'm gonna try baking a cake today!

Here's what I'm making.

A special four-tier cake!

No VTuber's ever done this before. Let's get started.

First, open this pack of superfine sugar...

Uh, where's the mixer?

WHAT DO I WATCH? WHERE'S THE HANDCAM?

Body temperature? How do I figure that out?

How do I preheat an oven?

A heatproof bowl? There are bowls that aren't heatproof?

Wait, I don't have a handcam,

so you can't see what I'm doing, huh?

THIS LIVESTREAM HAS ENDED

Bye-Iko for now!

What is she doing?!

Chat is confused as heck!

SUGAR UNPACKING STREAM F FOR STREAM

HOME EC. ROOM

Yikes.

That was a disaster.

But I can't beat Ao-chan unless I one-up her.

CHOOSEDEY

Hello-Iko!

I'm playing an instrument called the didgeridoo today.

WHENSDEY

I'll get a perfect score on a Tokyo U mock exam today.

THIRSTDEY

I'll keep singing until I hit three million subs.

FRYDEY

Good morning, everybody.

Hey, Kirino.

We need to talk—hey, wait!

Why are you running?

'Cause you're gonna yell at me! Just leave me alone!

If I don't do this,

I won't be able to beat Ao-chan!

What are you saying?

Ao-chan, huh? I see how it is.

Bucky'll definitely try to stop me if I tell him.

He'll say, "There's no way you could ever beat Momotose Ao."

I gotta figure this out on my own.

What do I have to do to beat Ao-chan?

Ao-chan's streaming.

MOMOTOSE AO NEW OUTFIT KINDA SEXY <3

This...

This is it.

FEW DAYS LATER

Check this out.

IKON NEW OUTFIT DEBUT!

Iko's doing a new outfit stream.

That's pretty sudden.

So she hasn't come to club because she's been busy drawing this.

Wow, I can't wait.

NEW OUTFIT DEBUT

It's always fun trying to figure out what it looks like from the silhouette.

Oh, here we go.

Hello-Iko, everyone!

What do you think of my new outfit?

A swimsuit?!

Wow, that's steamy.

Is she really doing this?

VIEWERS

Wow...

Look at that viewer count go.

Maybe because I made it way more risque than Ao-chan's.

WOW, IKON! I COULD WATCH THIS FOREVER.

Th-This is amazing.

Huh?

JUMP FOR US!

You want me to jump?

Okay, I'll jump for mew.

Hey, she's jumping.

Wow, they actually bounce and sway.

Uh, it's still going?

The angle of her neck went all wonky, too.

Did something go wrong?

What in the world are you doing?

I'm streaming! Give it back right meow!

I can't beat Ao-chan in anything!

I can't catch up unless I do this.

I see. I can't say I approve.

There's no need for you to play catch-up.

You already have what it takes to be a top VTuber.

Liar.

I'm not lying. Yours truly would never lie to comfort somebody.

You've fried your brain over this, right? Just leave the rest to me.

After all, you're not at all inferior to Momotose Ao.

Okay. Help, Bucky.

Sure thing! You can count on yours truly!

Your face...

Hmm? You noticed, too?

Just how perfect my skin is?!

I'm saying it's too close!

You gave that cool speech earlier, Bucky,

but do you really think I can beat Ao-chan?

A Yamabuki never flatters.

You do have that potential.

How? She's better than me at everything.

Well...

First of all, I love your voice.

L-Love?!

Yes, I love it.

A VTuber's voice is one of their most valuable assets.

O-Oh, right, yeah. My voice.

Visuals, voice, creativity.

Naturally, you won't gain popularity if you're lacking in any of those,

but personally, voice is the most important to me.

With long streams, people do other stuff while watching them on the side.

It becomes an audio-only experience at that point,

and if they don't like your voice, they can't listen to it for long.

On that note, you have a low-key angelic voice.

It's calming and I can listen to it all day.

That alone is a top-tier talent for a VTuber.

I believe that your voice is superior to Momotose Ao's.

Slow down on the praise!

I'm literally clenching my cheeks right now!

Like I said, I don't flatter. I mean it.

However, having a great voice means nothing without reach.

That's where collaborating with bigger streamers comes in.

TAKOYAKI PARTY!

You should join their livestreams as a guest.

Once people hear your voice, they're sure to take an interest in you.

But...

Would anyone even collab with me?

I looked into it.

I'LL DM THE VTUBERS I WANT FOR THAT ONE EVENT! PLEASE DON'T IGNORE IT!