On April 11th and 12th, 2026, Shishiro Hai - Offline was held at Yokohama BUNTAI in Kanagawa Prefecture. Shishiro Hai, a competitive event hosted by Generation 5 hololive talent Shishiro Botan, began on March 31st, 2024, with Shishiro Hai STREET FIGHTER 6 powered by GALLERIA, and has already reached its fourth edition.
Shishiro Hai - Offline marks an important milestone, as the first iteration was enjoyed by numerous fans both in person at the venue and via the YouTube livestream over the two days, with the previous three all being solely online. We would like to look back on the event here on COVERedge with a two-day report and a post-event interview with Shishiro Botan herself.
Edge of Your Seat Action! Who Reigned Supreme in the Tournament Format on Day 1…?
Day 1 was a tournament format featuring 8 teams of three competitors, personally invited by Shishiro Botan, including pro gamers and VTubers who had appeared in previous Shishiro Hai events, who competed in best-of-three matches, with the winner advancing to the next round. The tournament also featured players who had won through in an open-entry qualifying tournament held prior to the main event, which also generated excitement.
To commence proceedings, Shishiro Botan was joined on stage by esports commentator Kōsuke Hiraiwa, who was emceeing the event, and fighting-game specialist Dogura, who was providing commentary.
Shishiro Botan started off by greeting the crowd with a lively opening: “When the first Shishiro Hai ended, I said at the time that I wanted to hold an offline event, and it’s already a reality! I hope everyone, both here at the venue and online, has a great time!”
The first match featured TEAM PURURU, led by VTuber Amaki Pururu (from the esports team REJECT), and TEAM GACHIKUN, led by world-renowned professional fighting-game player Gachikun (from the esports team Good 8 Squad). The contest was hotly contested right from the outset, with TEAM GACHIKUN emerging victorious 3-0.
After this, there were also appearances from pro gamers and streamers such as frequent gaming streamer VTuber Shibuya HAL (from the VTuber agency Neo-Porte), game streamer Donpisha from the game streaming group SANNINSHOW, pro gamer Bonchan (from the esports team Crazy Raccoon), and Twitch streamer SHAKA (from the esports team ZETA DIVISION), with a lot of intense battles.
However, it was the open-entry team OT 1ST PLACE, made up of pro gamer ChocoBlanka (from ZETA DIVISION), VTuber Kiba Kibaru, and Kincho (from SCARZ), that came out on top and emerged as champions. Kiba Kibaru was emotional about their appearance: “I tried my best not to let my team down, so I’m glad we were able to do pretty well.”
Shishiro Botan also praised the effort and results of the three players, giving words of appreciation: “Thank you so much for winning through in the open-entry tournament and appearing today. As host of the event, I am so thankful to have participants like you.”
Day 2: The Entertaining East vs West Battle with Plenty of Light-Hearted Fun!
The serious nature of competition from Day 1 was swiftly set aside for Day 2, which featured the less intense East vs West Battle. Invitees on Day 2 were divided into two teams: Team West, led by Shishiro Botan (Earth Defenders), and Team East, led by La+ Darknesss (Earth Invaders), with battles featuring some unconventional rule changes.
The event began with an opening video detailing the fate (?) that had brought Shishiro Botan and La+ Darknesss together for Shishiro Hai, before the two appeared on stage to welcome everybody, and then it was straight into the action!
Match 1 was the “Test of Strength.” This featured simple STREET FIGHTER 6 One On One battles with Team East winning after a total of seven bouts. However, as Botan and La+ were conducting their post-match interview, the screens suddenly blacked out, and who was to appear but none other than HOLOSTARS Generation 3 talent Aragami Oga!
You guessed it — for the East vs West Battle, a punishment awaited the losers. Aragami Oga, who was in charge of the punishments for the event, spun a roulette wheel to decide that the first punishment would be “Suiken Mystery Drink!” All members of the losing team had to down a revolting, yet healthy, drink in one go. Suddenly, with such a punishment on the line, the teams were surely going to try hard not to lose again.
Following this was Match 2: The “Trial of Darkness,” where competitors were blindfolded and had to rely on the instructions from their surrounding teammates. Team West won to avoid the next punishment, “Hellish Foot Massage!”
Match 3 was the “Trial of Lightning,” an intense battle in which players would be shocked if they performed predetermined forbidden actions. Team West also won this match, meaning Team East was on the receiving end of a second punishment in a row, “Shocking Impact.”
The excitement in the crowd was palpable as such impressive battles unfolded, with everyone cheering on all the competitors.
Next came Match 4: the “Trial of Separation.” This was a cooperative battle featuring two competitors from each team, in which players had to work together to control their characters using a massive arcade controller specially made for the event. Therefore, teamwork was paramount, with Team East coming out on top, meaning that Team West would be subject to the punishment — “True Emotional Impact.”
This involved the losing pair facing each other on stage and having a compliment duel where they said what they liked about the other person for a full minute. The immediate reaction from Team West was “That’s the worst…!” They seemed uncomfortable with the challenge, but once they started, we heard positive stories where you could feel the connection the players have and the hidden feelings they have about each other, energizing the venue.
Therefore, after four matches, it was level at two apiece. The final match, to decide the overall winner, would be “Final Knockout” where the winner stays on. In an impressive display, Team West’s Gachikun knocked out 4 competitors to clinch victory for his team, with the final score of the East vs West Battle being 3-2 to Team West!
This, of course, meant a final punishment for Team East, “Stribog Bat,” to conclude Day 2, which featured highly entertaining battles that differed from Day 1 matches and excited audiences both at the venue and online.
Shishiro Botan also gave a touching, emotional speech to close out the event. “A lot happened on the first day, so I wasn’t sure what to do…. But I’m just glad that everyone appeared to enjoy themselves,” she said as she choked back tears, prompting encouragement from the audience. Comments on the livestream also flooded in, such as “That was so much fun!” and “Thank you, Shishiro!”
Venue Report: Original Illustrations from︎ Oh! great Sensei and Gigantic Churros?
Lastly, we would like to share what went on at the venue!
At the venue, many fans could be seen with original Shishiro Hai merchandise and the collaboration food items that were available. Particularly memorable were the Character Churros: churros shaped like 獅白杯 (Shishiro Hai) that were a highlight of the event.
Also, one of the walls at the venue featured original illustrations by manga artist Oh! great Sensei, with whom Shishiro Botan has a close relationship, to commemorate the event, adding a tremendous amount of color to the venue.
As the first offline version of Shishiro Hai came to a close, the venue was still buzzing with excitement. Seeing all the pro gamers, streamers, and VTubers transcend their respective domains and enjoy competing with and against one another gave us a true sense of the potential these kinds of events have.
Post-Event Interview with Shishiro Botan!
─ Congratulations on hosting Shishiro Hai Offline! Now that the event is over, we would love to hear your honest thoughts and feelings.
I feel like it was all over so quickly. We actually decided to do an offline version of Shishiro Hai right after the 3rd Shishiro Hai in May 2025. Since it took around a year from the initial conceptual stages to actually holding the event, the two days of the event felt even more like they were over in an instant.
─ Why did you want to hold an offline version of Shishiro Hai in the first place?
Since we had three Shishiro Hais, with each event getting bigger and bigger, we came to the conclusion that the next one had to be offline. However, I don’t believe hololive had held an event where games were being played offline, so planning such an event for the first time was a challenge for both me and, of course, the management team. It was thanks to the efforts of everyone involved that this event was even possible.
─ On the days of the event, everyone at the venue and tuning in to the livestream were using the hashtag to post live updates, and there was a lot of excitement surrounding the event. Did any specific fan moments or comments stand out to you as particularly memorable?
What really left an impression on me was all the fans using their inflatable (thunder) sticks throughout the event. There was a bit happening on the first day, with the sudden interruption halfway through a match, but I really felt the energy from the crowd, which was particularly memorable. I was also truly grateful to see all of the comments on social media using the hashtag in support of the event and cheering me on.
I also felt that there were many comments along the lines of “These two days were so much fun, but can this be topped next time?!” There is a lot to reflect on from Day 1, but I feel we put on an entertaining event on Day 2, and I could see that everyone was enjoying themselves.
─ Day 2, the 5-match battle between Team West, led by you, and Team East, led by La+ Darknesss, featured lighter, less-serious competition, which was a lot of fun.
We have been conscious about including more entertainment-like elements in these events ever since the 2nd Shishiro Hai, and I think this is really paying off now. I think that those who aren’t necessarily that into fighting games and esports were able to enjoy the more light-hearted competition we had on Day 2. We originally created Shishiro Hai so that hololive viewers who didn’t know too much about fighting games could also watch and enjoy themselves, so I feel like we are really leaning into that concept.
─ The punishments were also quite unique, which made it more interesting as well.
We had more standard punishments like the electric shock and intense foot massages, but we came up with “True Emotional Impact,” especially for Shishiro Hai. Giving each other compliments is something that is unique to the VTuber community, I think. The order was also quite good, I think, with the players experiencing other punishments, the disgusting drinks and the electric shocks, first before getting in touch with their emotions.
─ What is something that happened during the two days that sticks out in your mind?
I am glad we were able to have a team competition on the first day. Previous Shishiro Hais had all been individual competitions, but because we were able to secure a large offline venue this time, I wanted to have as many people participating as possible, so although we didn’t have everyone who had taken part before, we wanted to have a team competition to show our appreciation for everyone.
For Day 2, it was particularly difficult to decide, not only on the punishments, but on the match formats themselves. However, I was so glad that everyone enjoyed playing the games we had organized. I am also really happy we made the oversized arcade controllers, because everyone seemed to have so much fun playing with them.
─ Those arcade controllers were really memorable.
These came from the original idea that we wanted teams of two to do something together. We initially considered a “Helping Hands” competition (where one person is behind the other, inside their jacket, lending the person in front their arms), but you wouldn’t have been able to see one of the players at all, so we thought that would be a little boring. So we thought, “How about two players using one arcade controller?! We’d need a massive one, though.” And that’s where the idea came from.
─ So that’s where the idea came from. As this was the first offline Shishiro Hai, what were some areas that you paid particular attention to?
The management team, in particular, worked extremely hard on how to present everything to the audience. Previously, we only had to worry about how the event looked on stream, but with people at the venue and tuning in online, we needed to make sure that it was easy to watch for everyone. During the competitions, we had large displays of the competitors’ faces on both sides of the venue screen, which differed slightly from how they appeared on the livestream.
─ What did you draw inspiration from when coming up with this event?
We had already held three Shishiro Hai events, so rather than looking for inspiration elsewhere, we drew upon our previous experience. In addition, we asked the pro gamers for their opinions, who are always really helpful. For instance, we asked them, “Would these kinds of punishments be okay?” To which the response was, “As pro gamers, we’re up for almost anything, and if there was anything we didn’t want to do, we wouldn’t agree to participate in the event, so anything is OK!” which reassured me that I could do what I wanted!
─ Is there anything you would like to do or hope to have for future Shishiro Hais?
Let me see. Now that we have held an offline event, if we are to go even bigger, all we have left is either an overseas event or a television broadcast, I guess. An overseas event sounds fun, right? I believe in the power of manifestation, so it is very important to put these grand ideas out there, regardless of whether or not they are actually possible. However, in reality, the next step is probably a TV broadcast. Of course, we have many viewers tuning in to our YouTube streams, but we would be able to reach an entirely different audience by having the event broadcast on TV.
─ We look forward to seeing what’s in store for Shishiro Hais next year and beyond! Lastly, could you once again give a message to all of the fans who watched and showed their support for Shishiro Hai – Offline?
First of all, I want to redeem myself from the little mishap that occurred on Day 1. However, Shishiro Hai would not be as big as it is today without everyone who has watched and supported the event and has been involved behind the scenes. If we are able to continue holding this event in the future, I will do my best to give back to everyone, and I appreciate all of your continued support.
Shishiro Hai – Offline Official Website
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