Suisei Hoshimachi and Hatsune Miku Throw First Pitch at Marines Game
The appearance of two major virtual figures at a professional baseball game shows the growing crossover between VTuber/idol culture and traditional sports entertainment in Japan.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
VTuber Suisei Hoshimachi and virtual idol Hatsune Miku threw the first pitch at a Chiba Lotte Marines game on Monday. Hoshimachi appeared on the pitcher's mound via screen and delivered a perfect pitch to Marines player Shingo Ishikawa. The event was part of Lotte's summer ice cream campaign.
Suisei Hoshimachi and Hatsune Miku took the mound together at ZOZO Marine Stadium on Monday, throwing the ceremonial first pitch before the Chiba Lotte Marines faced the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Hoshimachi appeared on the stadium screen and threw a strike to Marines catcher Shingo Ishikawa. The event was tied to Lotte's "Tsumetakute Aoi, Natsu ga Kita! Coolish & Sō Day" ice cream campaign, which launched July 3. Lotte also released three ad spots on YouTube featuring both characters, with art by Nishikikope. The Marines took an early lead but lost 5-4 after the Hawks rallied in the late innings.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.