Tenjin Kotone - VTuber

Tenjin Kotone gained traction as an independent VTuber during the first VTuber boom of 2018. While she creates a variety of content, she found the most success through singing. Many of her covers of popular Vocaloid songs have over a million views each. She is also an accomplished original artist and signed with a music label at the end of 2020.

Tenjin Kotone Background

Tenjin Kotone is a Japanese VTuber and singer. She debuted in April 2018 as an independent creator. According to her official backstory, she is a former god once worshipped and then forgotten by humans. In researching what humans appreciate, she discovered the fanbase for anime, voice acting, and idols. As a result, she decided to become a VTuber and "the god of entertainment."

Tenjin Kotone History

Tenjin's YouTube channel was created on April 18, 2018. She posted her introduction video nine days later. Tenjin began her career as a VTuber with a combination of chat streams, gaming videos, and interviews. She found her breakthrough success with a cover of "Senbonzakura" in her third video. Her next success would be in another song cover, this time of the popular Vocaloid song "Charles." In April 2019, she started hosting a monthly variety show with other VTubers called "Kami Summit," relating to their similar backstories. While still an unaffiliated creator, Tenjin signed to the Universal Music label in November 2020. As of April 2021, Tenjin has over 300,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 100,000 followers on Twitter.

Tenjin Kotone Physical Description

Despite being a 500-year-old god, Tenjin looks like a teenage girl. She has chin-length purple hair with blunt bangs and a ponytail tied up with bunny ears on the left side of her head. In her default design, she wears a modernized outfit inspired by her Shinto origins. The layered kimono-style outfit features an inner navy blue layer with a pleated mini skirt on the bottom. The top, white layer resembles a furisode kimono with long sleeves stylized to resemble bunny ears. Her obi is yellow striped tied in the back with a wide bow visible from the front.

Her second design features a punk rock-inspired look to match the song styles she usually covers. She has a red streak in her hair while her usual half ponytail is tied up in a loose bun. Instead of the layered kimono, she wears a pleated red miniskirt with an asymmetrical hem and a torn graphic t-shirt. The shirt features a torii design, referencing her origins as a Shinto god. Over the shirt, she wears a black leather jacket. Her accessories include fingerless gloves, bracelets, and a choker.

Tenjin Kotone Personality

When singing, Tenjin displays a cool, mature personality. However, in her non-singing appearances, she is much more childish and excitable. She speaks with a heavy Kansai accent as a result of sleeping in a Kyoto shrine for hundreds of years. When trying to speak clearly without her accent, she usually ends up fumbling her words. This trend resulted in fans giving her a pun nickname "kamisama." While the name sounds like the Japanese word for "god," it uses the character meaning "to fumble one's words."

Associated Company

Tenjin produces her video content as an independent creator. Her character design comes from Noizi Ito, known as the artist for the Haruhi Suzumiya light novels. In late 2020, she joined Universal Music to release her original songs.

Notable Releases/Videos

As an "utaite," or "singing," VTuber, Tenjin's primary content includes song covers. She tends to cover fast-paced and upbeat songs popular within the YouTube community. Since July 2018, Tenjin has also released original music with eight music videos posted as of April 2021.

Cover Songs

When starting her channel, Tenjin often covered songs by Vocaloid and other virtual performers. She eventually expanded her repertoire to include popular Japanese artists like Perfume and ONE OK ROCK. Her most viewed cover and most viewed video, as of April 2021 is "Venom" by Kairiki Bear. She performs the song without arrangement changes, using the original instrumental backing. The song showcases her powerful, mature vocals with a clear, strident tone and wide range. While many of her covers feature a still illustration as a visual, some include a fully 3D modeled performance. For example, her cover of "Roki" by mikotoP includes a full video of her performing the song karaoke-style on stage.

Original Songs

Tenjin started producing original music three months after her debut. Her first single "Don't Say 'Who Are You'" remains her most viewed original song on her YouTube channel. The lyrics reference her desire to become a popular VTuber and her path to discovering the medium. In the middle of the song, she attempts a tongue twister and messes up, a reference to her "kamisama" reputation. Her second single under Universal Music, "Autonomy," came out on March 31, 2021. The video features a fully animated music video depicting a subway aesthetic to match the song's punk rock style. Within two weeks, the video surpassed 500,000 views.

Other Activities

When starting her channel, Tenjin posted many interview videos with voice actress Yui Serizawa. The series lasted for five months and contains 12 episodes across 14 videos. From April 2019 until August 2019, Tenjin co-hosted the monthly variety show "Kami Summit" on the REALITY app. She starred alongside Sister Claire, Kazamiya Matsuri, and Sakura Miko.