Nanamori (ななもり) and Satomi (さとみ), two members of the Japanese virtual idol group Strawberry Prince (すとぷり), have announced that they are graduating from the group. Both shared the news separately on their personal X accounts on October 18.
In their posts, each described the decision as one they had wrestled with for a long time. According to the announcements, both members said they had “agonized over this and thought about it many times” before reaching what they called “the final answer.” The two did not release a joint statement, and their posts used similar language despite being posted independently.
Neither announcement detailed the specific reasons behind the decision, nor did they give an exact departure date or outline what either member plans to do next. As of the announcements, Strawberry Prince’s official channels had not issued a separate statement addressing the departures.
Who is Strawberry Prince?
Strawberry Prince is a Japanese idol group built around illustrated, anime-style personas rather than the members’ real-life appearances, a format often described in Japan as “2.5-dimensional.” The group grew out of live-streaming and online content creation before establishing itself as a music and entertainment unit, releasing original songs and holding live events for a fanbase built largely through video platforms and social media. Nanamori and Satomi have been part of that roster, known to fans through the group’s streams, releases, and online appearances rather than traditional television work.
Member graduations, in which a performer formally steps away from a group’s activities, are a common occurrence across Japan’s idol and virtual-idol industries, often followed by solo projects or a shift to other entertainment work. Strawberry Prince has not yet said how Nanamori and Satomi’s departures will affect the group’s upcoming schedule or lineup.
Author’s Comment
Ah, the classic J-idol graduation script: "I agonized over this," "this is the answer I arrived at," and absolutely zero specifics. I’ve read this exact phrasing a hundred times from a hundred different idol units, and it still works, because it’s genuinely how these groups operate — fiercely protective of the members’ privacy, allergic to messy details. Strawberry Prince built an empire on illustrated avatars and parasocial warmth, so of course the actual humans behind Nanamori and Satomi get to exit on their own vague terms. I don’t know why they’re leaving and neither do you, so let’s not pretend otherwise. What I do know is that this fandom takes graduations hard, and two at once is going to sting. Wishing both of them something good on the other side of the curtain.
