There is not a single hololive community more recognizable than the “Takodachis” of Ninomae Ina’nis. When uttering Ina’s cute portmanteau of Tako and Tomodachi, one brings forth an image of the most dedicated, passionate, and uniquely motivated group of fans in the VTubing space.
You wouldn’t suspect it from chatting with them, though. Like the lovecraftian priestess at the center of their totally-not-a-cult, they are a humble bunch — a consortium of dumbo octopi drifting through an ocean we call the internet, collectively making up just a single brain cell.
“I’d like to think that Ina’s personality and hardworking attitude was the main factor in building her community. But also the community itself raises each other up, which I really appreciate,” a representative of the Tentacult Temple — a committed group of Takodachis, who emphasize they don’t represent the opinions of Ina or her broader fanbase — told Anime Trending.
“I think the back-and-forth between Ina and her takodachis is what makes our community so unique.”
#TakoTimesSquare
The Takodachis first left their mark on the map in May 2021, when they took over Times Square with a birthday tribute to Ina. Taking their running joke of “world domination” a little too seriously, the Tentacult Temple along with others coordinated for the Thomson Reuters billboard to run a 60 second program dedicated to Ina. Seven times an hour.
While fan billboards in the United States have since become commonplace — with dedicated billboards to run whatever program people on the internet will pay for — the only precedent the Takodachis had to work with was the legacy of fan billboards in Japan, which has a rich history of crowdfunding ads in places like YUNIKA VISION.
“The most stressful part was probably seeing reactions to our project, as many people weren’t really keen to the idea — though our doubts were quenched once Ina herself expressed interest in the project!”
Nestled next to the local Taco Bell — a call sign to Ina’s love of Tako related puns — the billboard went live with a rotation of 99 fanart pieces and 4 animated sequences, curated from a pool of over 400 submissions.
With that, the Takodachis ushered in an era in which communities across the VTuber space would come together to crowdfund billboards and other monuments for their respective oshi.
Their efforts were even recognised by COVER Corp. CEO YAGOO, who called the billboard the most surprising thing he’d seen from hololive at the time.
“We Are Hardworking”
The creativity of the Takodachis has become a mainstay for their identity as a fan group, no doubt inspired by Ina herself.
“I think that Ina’s creativity and approach to work also rubs off on her viewers, as you can find that Ina has a lot of dedicated fan artists, songwriters, and other creatives. It’s definitely that attitude she has that motivates us to work on community projects for her!”
In 2022, the Tentacult Temple got together to celebrate Ina’s birthday once more, assembling a fan artbook, with submissions spanning over 342 pages.
“Our community projects are the largest events that our discord sets up, so we try to make them as professional and inclusive as possible, so that we can deliver as many messages from Takodachis to Ina as possible! I think Ina really enjoys the fan interaction, so these projects are a good opportunity to engage with her community, and we don’t want to let anyone down!”
“It was quite a bit of work compiling everything for the book, but thankfully, Takos are just as hardworking as their priestess. I’d say it took around 3 months from inception to creation, but there were a few delays in the design and printing processes.”
As part of the project, they called on LUMINA — the designer behind Ina’s brand iconography and intro sequences — to contribute.
“It was exciting to have LUMINA work with us — honestly I thought of getting her to help us design on a whim, but didn’t think it would actually lead to her designing the cover! She was kind enough to participate in the project even through her other deadlines, so we really appreciate her working with us.”
The Takodachi’s art would go on display through their very first VR chat world, the Tentacult Temple. Unbeknownst to them at the time, Ina would launch A Trip Down Tako Lane to showcase her own art that same year, a brutalist structure centered around a monolith and surrounded by the infinite expanse of the ocean. Perfect for a priestess of the Ancient Ones.
The Takorrarium
But the Takodachi’s efforts wouldn’t stop there. An eager and creative Takodachi by the name of PeaceLight approached the Tentacult Temple and offered to take their collection of art into virtual reality once again.
Earlier that year, Ina’s genmate Amelia Watson, created a birthday tribute to Ina of her own, a piece titled “Takorrarium.”
“I heard that Ina can’t take [the Takorrarium] home with her, or have it shipped out, due to international customs. So I thought, “Hey, why not make it in VR for her birthday?” And, so I got to work,” PeaceLight told Anime Trending.
As such, the Takorrarium in VRChat was conceived as a “welcome back” gift to celebrate Ina’s return in early 2023. The world was abound with stone lanterns, red torii gates, and shrine-inspired imagery from Ina’s own artwork.
“Originally it was just Stone Takodachi. The shrine was something I actually wanted to make as well — you know, from Ina’s background art. The entrance to the world was inspired by Ina’s VR world. When you reach the top of the area, it’s like there’s a body of water all around you. Just endlessness.”
“I wanted to capture that feeling of being lost, like you’re in a paradise, away from the real world.”
The Takodachi’s have continued the tradition, with their recent project being for Ina’s birthday in May.
“It never gets old seeing your oshi appreciate the work that you put into a project, especially if it involves a large part of the community! I just love to see everyone freak out when Ina sees one of their artworks, or a Tako’s heartfelt message getting acknowledged by the priestess. When that happens, I feel like the project was a success!” shared the representative from the Tentacult Temple.
“When Ina acknowledges our projects, we go crazy. No exceptions.”
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