"We'll Win Tomorrow!": How a Japanese Baseball Rallying Cry Spread to VTuber Fandoms

On August 8, the phrase "We'll win tomorrow!" (Ashita wa katsu zo!) became a major trending topic across Japanese social media. From professional baseball enthusiasts to VTuber stream viewers and event attendees, fans from diverse communities posted passionate messages of encouragement following frustrating losses.

In Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), fans of teams such as the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, and Hanshin Tigers posted positive messages despite defeat. Acknowledging tactical setbacks and praising opposing pitchers' strong performances, supporters maintained a forward-looking attitude, pairing loss-acknowledging slang like "makehoo" with resolute chants of "We'll win tomorrow!" Fans also cheered individual highlights, such as home runs by star slugger Munetaka Murakami, as a sign of hope for upcoming games.

The passion was not confined to real-world sports. Posts regarding "Nijisanji Koshien 2026," a major summer virtual baseball event hosted by the popular VTuber group Nijisanji, also flooded social media. Following competitive losses, virtual creators like Rai I nami and their viewers cheered each other up with rallying calls like "We'll win tomorrow, Bakkoh!", uniting the community ahead of the next round.

While loss is an inevitable part of competition, fans across social media chose hope over disappointment, filling feeds with energy for the days ahead. Whether tracking the NPB pennant race or virtual esports tournaments, audiences remain eagerly tuned in.

The Context

In Japanese sports culture, fans often use unique online shorthand to report game outcomes on social media—such as "makehoo" (a report of a loss, combining make for loss and hoo for report). Nijisanji Koshien is an immensely popular annual esports event where virtual YouTubers (VTubers) from the agency Nijisanji act as managers for high school baseball teams in Konami's eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball series. By adopting traditional baseball cheering chants and jargon, VTuber communities have bridged the gap between conventional sports fandom and virtual entertainment.

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