Internet Giants' Miraculous Collaboration: 'Niku Chomoranma' x 'Shibuya HAL' Dominate SNS Trends

The utaite unit "Niku Chomoranma" has released its first collaboration video with popular VTuber "Shibuya HAL," creating a huge buzz on social media. The video, titled "【Shibuya HAL】We had so many common interests in our first collab, the conversation just exploded LOLOLOL" (【渋谷ハル】初コラボなのに共通点多すぎて話盛り上がりすぎたwwww), published on the "Niku Chomoranma🍖" YouTube channel, covers a wide range of topics from gaming to the history of Niconico Douga, eliciting numerous expressions of surprise and emotion from both fanbases.

This unexpected pairing garnered numerous surprised reactions such as "Niku Chomo and Shibuya HAL!?", "What kind of collaboration is this!?", and "Totally unexpected, I rushed to watch it!". In particular, the collaboration between Niku Chomoranma, who are active in the utaite culture rooted in Niconico Douga, and Shibuya HAL, a VTuber enjoying immense popularity primarily through game streaming (such as Apex Legends) in the esports scene, struck many internet users as a shock due to the convergence of top creators from different genres.

The context

To understand the significance of this collaboration for non-Japanese readers:

• Niconico Douga (or Niconico): A popular Japanese video-sharing service, often compared to YouTube, known for its unique feature of comments scrolling directly across the video screen. It has been a foundational platform for many Japanese internet creators.
• Utaite: A Japanese term for people who cover existing songs and post them online, primarily on platforms like Niconico Douga and YouTube. Utaite culture is deeply rooted in Niconico's history.
• VTuber: A virtual YouTuber, an online entertainer who uses a virtual avatar generated by computer graphics. They perform activities similar to YouTubers, such as live streams, gaming, and vlogging.
• Apex Legends: A popular free-to-play battle royale game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts.
• Niconico's Cyberattack: In June 2024, Niconico Douga suffered a major cyberattack, leading to a prolonged outage and data compromise. Its recovery has been a significant event in the Japanese internet community.

Niconico Douga Connects a "Crossover of Internet History"

Some voices also analyze this collaboration as having a deeper meaning than just a meeting of popular figures. One user commented, "The fact that an utaite from Niconico Douga and a VTuber who rose to prominence with Apex are at the same table in 2025 talking about Niconico is just too heartwarming!" Furthermore, another user expressed the "emotional depth" of this collaboration, linking it to the recent situation of Niconico Douga: "The fact that even Niconico, which just recovered from a cyberattack, is trending because of this, feels like a crossover of internet history, so emotional 🐾."

In the video, their shared experience of activity on Niconico Douga was discussed as a common thread, and references to early internet culture brought back nostalgic memories for long-time fans. Additionally, the fact that Shibuya HAL, a VTuber, appeared in Niku Chomoranma's video as his "main body (person inside)" also became a talking point among viewers, with comments like "I laughed watching the 'main body' talking and listening."

Expanding Collaboration Possibilities and Creating New Culture

This collaboration demonstrated a new potential for creators active across different platforms and cultural spheres to connect through shared roots from the past. Fans expressed anticipation for further cross-genre collaborations, with comments such as "If Niku Chomo can collab with Shibuya HAL, the range of people they can collaborate with in the future has expanded immensely~" and "I'm so excited, anticipating more VTuber collaborations in the future."

The collaboration between "Niku Chomoranma" and "Shibuya HAL," who have spearheaded the utaite and VTuber cultures respectively, not only marked a new page in the history of internet entertainment but also foreshadowed diverse possibilities for future creator activities.