The V-Tubing industry has seen a massive surge, especially since the novel coronavirus pandemic. What was before just a hobby has evolved into a massive industry, spawning many Japanese businesses such as the two big agencies ANYCOLOR and Cover.
This study article sheds a spotlight on Luxiem, NIJISANJI EN’s first group of all-male livers, consisting of Shu Yamino, Ike Eveland, Vox Akuma, Luca Kaneshiro, and Mysta Rias. As of May 2023, the members of Luxiem have over 900 thousand subscribers on their individual Youtube channels.
But the question is…how can a sorcerer, a novelist, a detective, a mafia boss, and a literal demon make one of the most popular groups of Nijisanji EN? Well, that’s what I set out to find out, and my findings were quite intriguing.
AGF2022 Luxiem Acrylic Stands Giveaway!!!
For fans of Luxiem, we’ve something special for you! We’re currently giving away a set of AGF2022 Luxiem Acrylic Stands for those who follow our official Twitter and Retweet the following posts! 1 winner for each design will be picked (5 in total)! The products can be viewed on the official site HERE.
Remember to reply to the tweet with the Vtubers that you prefer! Though we can’t promise anything, you may get who you want! Winners will be DMd on Twitter and if there’s no response for 48 hours, we’ll pick a new winner. Free shipping worldwide but you’ll need to provide your shipping address! This giveaway event will be held from May 25 to June 2, 2023.
Who is Luxiem?
Officially debuted on December 20, 2021, Luxiem is the fourth wave of NIJISANJI EN’s Liver groups, and the first wave in NIJISANJI’s EN branch to include only male Livers. It is also one of the first to receive a dedicated YouTube channel.
Luxiem is composed of five members with lore centering around hope and light. Another interesting thing that the members share in common is that they all come from the past…
Shu Yamino
Birthday: May 2 | Height: 173 cm (5’8″) | Age: Uhhhhhhhh
Shu Yamino is a sorcerer from the past with mysterious abilities. Though kind-hearted, he can call down a malediction upon those who wrong him. When Shu was little, a man tried to trick him into stepping on poop, but his plan sadly failed.
This poop turned out to be a magical poop that flew at Shu and knocked him into the hearth. While on fire, Shu blurted out a “your mom” joke, which caused the gods to transport Shu and his house forward in time to the present day of 2021.
Shu is highly knowledgeable, being often called to his other colleagues’ streams in order to help with technical troubles, a feat many of his fans have dubbed as Shupport, a portmanteau on Shu and support. If you ever wondered why fan art of Shu depicts the banana fruit…well, it has to do with how the yellow highlights in his hair resemble the fruit, and well, for this year’s April Fools, he did temporarily change his profile picture to that of a banana, and even made a “debut joke stream” with it.
He is also a member of Luxiem with the most proficiency in Japanese, being able to speak it extremely fluently, and is also really good at complex math and basic JavaScript coding, which his fans call him Yaminerd for that, much to his chagrin.
Vox Akuma
Birthday: April 25 | Height: 178cm (5’10”) | Age: Approximately 400 years old
Vox Akuma is a Demon from the past who held great power. Though confident in his superhuman abilities, he looks after those who are loyal to him. His name, Vox Akuma comes from the Latin word “vox”, meaning voice, and “Akuma”, the Japanese word for demon.
During the Sengoku Period, he was the leader of the Akuma clan, but after refusing the Tokugawa shogunate’s request for power, he soon went to war, which resulted in the decimation of his clan. Since then, he’s been living in the shadows, hoping that one day he will rule his clan once more.
Vox Akuma is one of the few NIJISANJI EN Livers to reach 1 million subscribers in less than a year after his debut. A pretty impressive feat, considering that the original size of the Akuma clan was 522 people. His fans often call him “Milord”. Vox Akuma is also extremely flirty with other members of Luxiem and isn’t against doing fan service. Similar to Ike Eveland and Luca Kaneshiro, Vox can change his voice to a female-pitched one whom he dubs “Voxanne”.
Ike Eveland
Birthday: June 12 | Height: 173cm (5′8″ without heels) | Age: Converting was too hard
Ike Eveland is a novelist from the past who seems somewhat closed-off. When an idea for his next work sparks, he becomes a completely different person. He became a novelist after admiring a book that an old man gave to him as a child. One day while writing, his vision suddenly blurred and once he came to his senses, he was suddenly in our present time.
Ike goes by a number of nicknames, with one of them being “Ikey Wikey”, because he tends to be very innocent. He is also very passionate about “caviar toast”, and whenever he gets angry or scared, he will suddenly blurt out words in Swedish. Similar to Luca Kaneshiro and Vox Akuma, he is also capable of changing his voice to a female counterpart, which he calls Ivy Eveland.
Out of everyone in Luxiem, Ike is often considered to be the “sane one of the group”, so to speak, with one of his most iconic lines being “I didn’t sign up for this!”. His stream layout was created by himself, despite his statement that he does not have an aptitude for drawing or graphic design.
Luca Kaneshiro
Birthday: April 10 | Height: 178 cm (5’10) | Age: 24
Luca Kaneshiro is a mafia boss who is always down for a fight to help the weak. Despite that, however, he is rather sweet and energetic, with his friends comparing his personality to a Golden Retriever.
During one of his walks throughout the city, Luca spotted someone beating another person, so he decides to intervene. After Luca beats him up, the victim runs away and drops their bag. Unbeknownst to Luca however, that “victim” was actually the thief whom Mysta Rias was investigating. But before Mysta could catch him, they both were transported into our present.
Luca loves using Twitch lingo such as “pog, lmao, rofl” which his friends constantly tease him for it. Like Vox and Ike, he is also capable of doing female-like voice acting, which he has dubbed that voice to be “Lucy Kaneshiro”, his sister. In addition, his fans are commonly called Lucubs, because of his lion mascot, Augustus. So don’t let that mafia look intimidate you–he is melted butter!
Mysta Rias
Birthday: January 20 | Height: 177 cm (5’10) | Age: 27 (technically 82 from his birth certificate)
Mysta Rias is a detective from the past known for his eccentric nature. As a natural-born genius, he solved countless mysteries with his keen deduction skills. He is, however, extremely skittish in the dark. He came to this world after chasing a thief and being transported into our present. Now, with the help of his viewers, who are known as “Mystakes,” he hopes to one day find the thief.
His name is a clever pun on the English pronunciation of “Mysterious”. If you attempt to call him “Mister Rias”, the word pronunciation gets extremely close. One of the most-known memes about Mysta is his webcam mic, known for its bad quality and ear-grating sound.
Another thing Mysta is perhaps infamous for is his unusual and questionable experiences and decisions in cooking and food in general, such as leaving expired milk in the fridge until it turned yellow or leaving rice inside the cooker for three months (I wish I could say I was kidding–those are all true stories). While he might look like a friendly, easy-to-talk person, he’s actually really shy and tends to be hyperactive.
Luxiem’s Music & Collaborated Projects
It is worth noting however that the group name, from my experience with following them, doesn’t necessarily restrict the Liver from collaborating with other members of the company. For example, Ike Eveland has been seen collaborating with Selen Tatsuki from OBSYDIA, and Shu Yamino has also live-streamed with Oliver Evans and Nagao Kei from the Japanese Nijisanji branch on several occasions.
That isn’t to say they never do collaborations with one another, as the five members have made live streams together, usually to celebrate birthdays or subscriber milestones, such as the one below:
As of March 2023, Luxiem has produced two songs as an ensemble, with the first song being Hope in the Dark, which premiered on December 20, 2021. The song was written and produced by ChibaNyan, who also produced THE IDOLM@STER LIVE THE@TER PERFORMANCE Remix CD Vol.5, and the soundtrack was arranged by Yoshi Kenkai.
The second song released as the Luxiem ensemble was Jazz on the Clock!!, which was published to commemorate 6 months since the group’s debut. Similar to Hope in the Dark, was written and produced by ChibaNyan, and the soundtrack was arranged by Kenkaiyoshi, who did the ending arrangement for the Tesla Note anime.
Aside from the Luxiem ensemble songs, a few members have collaborated with other V-Tubers and have done covers of popular songs. One notable example of this is Ike Eveland’s solo cover of Cepheid’s CHRONOS, with a video animated by Eibiso and illustrated by Sau. The thing about this song is that it has a metal death scream, which Ike successfully manages to do.
The Popularity of Luxiem
If you asked me: “Why is Luxiem so popular?”, I would honestly struggle to formulate an answer. Because, as I’ve said in the previous paragraph, the group name is more often than not just a way to denote their debut group, and doesn’t necessarily limit the liver from collaborating with other members of the other waves.
In addition, their personalities are just so unique. You got Shu and his immense technical knowledge, Vox’s seemingly endless charm, and perhaps more and more characteristics that would make me feel lost on what words to use here. But, that popularity is pretty much real. To put into perspective, when Luxiem was announced to have a meet and greet at the United States Anime Impulse, the limited number of tickets they had sold out in less than 5, sometimes TWO minutes.
So regardless of who you fancy, there’s always something for everyone to enjoy. Maybe you like how innocent Ike is? How flirty Vox can be? Mysta’s silly escapades? Luca’s lingo? Shu’s immense knowledge? I hope you enjoy watching Luxiem, as a Quilldren, Yaminion, Kindred, Mystake, or even, a Lucub.