Virtual YouTuber Suisei Hoshimachi (星街すいせい) will throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Chiba Lotte Marines game against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on July 20 at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba, according to a report from Natalie.
Hoshimachi currently appears in TV commercials for Lotte’s ice cream brands Clissh and Sou, and the first-pitch appearance ties into a Lotte-sponsored game night called “Cold and Blue, Summer Has Come. Clissh & Sou Day.” Hatsune Miku (初音ミク), the Vocaloid virtual singer who also stars in the same commercial campaign, will come out to support Hoshimachi and take part in the pre-game ceremony.
Announcing the news, Hoshimachi commented, “I can’t believe the day has come when I get to stand on a stadium mound…! I’ll do my best to aim for a fastball!!” In a fuller statement, she added, “I never imagined I’d get to serve as the first pitcher for a Chiba Lotte Marines game. I’ll do everything I can to get the stadium fired up, so please cheer along with me.”
The pairing follows a joint appearance by the two just weeks earlier: on July 3, Hoshimachi and Hatsune Miku performed the song “Ao no Sumika” together for the same Clissh x Sou commercial campaign.
Who is Suisei Hoshimachi?
Suisei Hoshimachi is a virtual YouTuber who has been streaming since 2018. She joined the Inonaka Music label under hololive production in May 2019 before moving that December to hololive, one of the best-known virtual YouTuber groups. In 2021, she provided vocals for producer TAKU INOUE’s major-label debut single “3-ji 12-fun,” released that July, and put out her own debut full album, “Still Still Stellar,” that September. She followed it with her first solo live show, “STELLAR into the GALAXY,” in October 2021, which was later released as a Blu-ray in July 2022.
