Nianyan

Nianyan is cheerful and positive, though she is also known for being somewhat clumsy and absent-minded. However, her charm makes up for her occasional mistakes.

She has cat-like ears and a maid-inspired outfit that blends traditional Japanese elements. The character has waist-length, light brown hair with bangs, decorated with chrysanthemum hair ornaments and red ribbon accents. She has large, expressive purple eyes and a gentle expression.

Her attire consists of a layered outfit with a mint kimono-like top that has floral patterns in red, yellow, and green, along with long, flowing sleeves lined with red fabric. Her collar has yellow ribbon with a red pendant in the centre. Over this, she wears a white apron with frilled edges, tied at the waist with a purple ribbon. An obi with a small cat-shaped name tag, with the hiragana letters of her name, and red flowers on her waist.

Her lower half features a skirt-like extension of the kimono, continuing the floral pattern, and ending with a ruffled yellow hem. She wears black knee-high boots with lace details, completing her look.

The design blends a traditional Japanese aesthetic with a modern European, maid-like theme, and the character's feline features, such as her ears and tail, give her a charming, fantasy-like appeal. Some features, such as the chrysanthemum flower were chosen to honor Japan and Vietnam due their importance there.

Background

2022

On 22 April, Nianyan made her VTuber debut on Twitch at 2PM PST. It was attended by 40 viewers at peak.

On 19 August, Nianyan held a fundraiser for the charity, Heart Ribbon for children's welfare. She raised approximately 15,000 yen.

On 14 November, Nianyan discontinued her Twitch channel and started streaming on YouTube onwards.

2023

On 20 March, Nianyan celebrated 300 YouTube subscribers.

On 22 April, Nianyan celebrated her first anniversary with a cover of EGOIST's "All Alone With You" and doriko's "Romeo and Cinderella". She expressed desire to try singing despite not having confidence in it.

On 16 May, Nianyan celebrated 400 YouTube subscribers.

On 1 July, Nianyan celebrated 500 YouTube subscribers.

On 3 August, Nianyan began her crowdfunding for her new model, successfully completed in one day.

On 18 August, Nianyan announced YouTube partner status, opening membership feature. Nianyan also released a cover of DECO*27's "Salamander" as a gift.

On 31 August, Nianyan celebrated 600 YouTube subscribers.

On 17 November, Nianyan celebrated 700 YouTube subscribers.

On 29 November, Nianyan announced that she would no longer be doing singing covers for the time being to focus on more original content.

On 2 December, Nianyan celebrated 800 YouTube subscribers.

On 20 December, Nianyan celebrated 900 YouTube subscribers.

On 26 December, Nianyan celebrated 1,000 YouTube subscribers.

2024

On 31 March, Nianyan celebrated 3,000 YouTube subscribers. She announced that she would be taking a short break until her second anniversary.

On 15 April, Nianyan announced a re-debut scheduled for 26 April with her new illustrator, Yasuyuki, making her the first English speaking VTuber to have a model illustrated by Yasuyuki. Her previous YouTube content was privated in preparation for the debut.

On 26 April, Nianyan held a re-debut stream on YouTube to celebrate her second anniversary, featuring her new Live2D model illustrated by Yasuyuki. She also celebrated 4,000 YouTube subscribers. She had a variety of debut gifts for her viewers, especially merchandise upon debut and her first original song, "夢月夜。 (Yumetsukiyo)".

On 24 August, Nianyan announced that she would be returning to university to pursue more career opportunities and released her second original song, "灰色の命 (A Grey Life)". Her channel also became recognized as an Official YouTube Artist Channel.

2025

On 10 February, Nianyan re-booted her series, "Nianyan Morning" and announced changes in her streaming schedule, adjusting her channel video descriptions and more.

On 26 February, Nianyan introduced a stamp rally as a community event that would last all of March.

On 22 April, Nianyan celebrated her third anniversary. She revealed new membership badges and additional benefits to her Anko plan, her apparel collaboration with Favorite and showcased a new original song, "にあにゃんの歌 (Nianyan's Song)".

2026

Retirement

On 31 January, Nianyan graduated; 2 days prior, she held her final livestream. Nian would later private almost everything from her YouTube channel, leaving a few selected videos public. She would also make her Twitter account private.

• Her fans are called "Anko".
• A notable detail is that the cat is holding a skewer of mitarashi dango (three-colored sweet rice dumplings) in green, white, and pink, which is tied to its body with a decorative yellow bow.

Name and lore

• Nianyan is from Japanese onomatopoeia "nyan", a cry of a cat. When said fast, it sounds like "nyan-nyan", similar to her name.
• In Japanese, she writes her name in hiragana
• Nianyan considered using a first and last name before debuting, but gave up as she could not think of one.
• Nianyan expressed her interest in a maid design, highlighting its versatility and potential for integration with various cultural elements.
• She is the first English-speaking VTuber from Yasuyuki.

Likes and dislikes

• She likes tea, Japanese sweets, udon and singing.
• Her favourite game genres are visual novels, JRPG's and action adventure games.
• Nianyan's favourite games are Utawarerumono, Xenoblade, Animal Crossing, and Zelda series.

Hopes and dreams

• Nianyan has expressed her desire in participating in a collaboration cafe.
• Nianyan is interested in releasing an album full of original songs.

Miscellaneous

• Nianyan is Canadian.
• She streams in the PT (GMT -8) time zone.
• She speaks English, Vietnamese and Japanese. Nianyan can read and write in all languages, but she only streams in English or Japanese.
• Nianyan has studied Japanese in order to talk to her Japanese viewers more.
• In 2024, she went to university to receive formal education on Japanese.
• She has won scholarships for her proficiency in Japanese and previously participated in contests.
• She owns a Rottweiler dog that can be heard during streams.
• She has four ears: the human ears on the sides of their head, and the cat ears on top of their head. The cat ears shrink into the head when she is in a state of shock.
• She does not consider herself a singer as she was never professionally trained.
• She enjoys cooking and often shares her creations.
• Her oshi from holoLive is Tsunomaki Watame.
• Nianyan shares her character designer Yasuyuki with Uruha Rushia of hololive, Kamishiro Natsume, Kamiyu Reirin of Pixela, Kokoromo Memory of Phase Connect, Hizuki Hino and many more.
• Nianyan is known for getting along with her indie VTuber siblings and often promoting them on her streams or social media account.

A cat-maid who is the owner of a popular tea shop.