Flare-Up (炎上, Enjō)
A Japanese word that means “a building or ship catching fire” or “a fire incident.”
Though it has this meaning, in the VTuber industry, it has come to mean something else.
A VTuber gets caught in controversy.
They become the center of criticism and backlash.
The community erupts in flames.
In Korea, it’s somewhat similar to the term 불판 (bulpan, “burning board”)—this is what enjō means.
For a VTuber, enjō is almost unavoidable.
If you’re a VTuber, at some point, you’ll get caught in it.
Now, all eyes are on Sera, a highly anticipated 3rd-generation talent from Star Record, who has sparked a massive flare-up!
As a result, according to international VTuber customs, the biggest Korean community for VTuber discussions, Korean VTuber Gallery (국내 버튜버 갤러리), has gone up in flames.
[For VTuber Gallery users who just tuned in: A summary]
Star Record’s 3rd gen, “Sera,” caused an enjō from her debut stream.
She was the last of her generation to debut.
Avatar quality seemed to have improved based on feedback from previous 1st and 2nd-gen members.
The movement felt natural, and the design was beautiful.
On top of that, her Star Record signature “moe RP” as a water spirit was in perfect harmony with her avatar, like an oriental salad—a flawless combo.
She seemed slightly embarrassed while introducing herself as a water spirit, which only made her even cuter.
So far, so good.
It felt like Star Record finally introduced a true pure and innocent (cheongcho) VTuber.
But then, the problem started.
(Audio file: Sera making motorcycle sounds.mp4)
She suddenly claimed her special skill was making motorcycle sounds.
Even this was fine.
It was a bit unexpected, but since the other 3rd-gen members had showcased their own talents, she probably just wanted to do something too.
Her attempt at making motorcycle sounds was so bad it was actually adorable.
The real problem came next.
(Audio file: Sera making the sound of vaping.mp4)
Viewers were initially amused, praising her.
But then, maybe she got too excited—she suddenly imitated the sound of vaping as her talent.
1st wave of shock: Viewers, who had been enjoying the show, were caught off guard.
2nd wave of shock: She made an offhand comment, “Oh, people used to like this before…” hinting that she had done this before in the past.
Shortly after, it seemed like the company contacted her, and in a panic, she abruptly ended the stream.
This is why Star Record, the 3rd-gen members, and the debut stream have been dominating all discussions in the gallery.
Gallery Reactions
“Ah-ha.”
“Thanks, Speedwagon!”
“Sera noona… ugh… I’m disappointed… I can’t believe she just openly vapes…”
“She’s so damn cute when she gets all excited from the compliments LOL.”
“Is it just me, or does the vape sound kinda sound sexy…?”
“?”
“Tbh, girls who vape are kinda hot LOL.”
“Delinquent Sera noona, heuuung…”
“So, is there truly no such thing as a “pure” Star Record member?”
“Fun fact: The ones with the purest aesthetic are actually the craziest behind the scenes.”
“I mean, so what if she vapes LOL? What are you gonna do about it?”
“Honestly, it’s kinda dumb to make a big deal out of it LOL.”
“She’s a grown-ass woman. Let her do what she wants.”
“Wait, are VTubers not allowed to vape now?”
“Is this even worth getting worked up over? (I genuinely don’t get it.)”
“LOL, this isn’t even real drama. Y’all are overreacting.”
Compared to JP VTuber dramas, this is nothing LOL.”
The unicorns are raging because their “pure” VTuber made a vape sound.
They’re mad just at the fact that she even knows what a vape is. Legendary.
Some dudes are really saying, “If she knows what a vape sounds like, that means she must hang around guys a lot.” The delusions are wild.
Unicorns are an actual mental illness.
I don’t care if she vapes, but at least she’s not ugly, right?
There are ugly girls who vape too though.
Well, I’ve never seen an ugly one so far.
An ugly chick vaping is just painful to look at.
[15-year smoker’s expert opinion]
(Attached: Photo of multiple types of vapes lined up.)
I’ve smoked for over 15 years.
That’s not a vape sound.
I switched from cigarettes to vapes 7 years ago and have tried almost every type.
Vapes don’t make that kind of sound.
To explain: The breathing technique is completely different. If she were actually vaping, the sound wouldn’t be that clear.
Damn, respect for the live demonstration LOL.
LMAO, this chain smoker is crazy.
Dude, quit smoking.
Call me an “enthusiast” instead.
Anyone with ears could tell that wasn’t a vape sound, but people still believed it.
Amazing.
Most of these dudes have never even heard a vape before, that’s why.
[Final thoughts: The Great Vape Debacle of 3rd Gen Sera]
At the end of the day, drama aside, this was hands down the most entertaining part of today’s debut streams.
Absolute GOAT-tier content.
Honestly, this makes her feel more human, which is kinda nice LOL.
With a single vape imitation, she stole all the attention from her genmates and united the entire community in discourse.
Purely in terms of debut stream impact, she might just be the most legendary VTuber of all time LOL.
She probably didn’t even actually smoke
She likely never even smoked in real life and just didn’t realize that her “special skill” would be a problem.
Honestly, I think it’s just a matter of intelligence.
That “People used to like it before” comment? Yeah, definite IQ issue.
Wait, does she have a past life (previous VTuber identity)? Everyone’s speculating that this is a reincarnation reference.
If that comment just slipped out, then it’s obvious.
She was way too skilled at streaming too.
Ayo LOL, Sera, you dumbass, why do you have so many gaps in your armor?
She’s just so sloppy it’s baffling LOL.
“Sera’s so dumb, I bet she’d even let people fk her if they asked nicely.”**
??? “What is this…? Dk? What’s a dk? You want me to grab it and shake it? Ah… it’s hot and hard…”
??
Bro, they straight up turned her into a brainless bimbo LOL.
They’re already sexually harassing her, crazy bastards LOL.
“Well, it’s her fault for having a sexy voice and doing things that turn people on, so… nghhh!”
Of course, sexual harassment is the national sport of VTuber Gallery LOL.
“I’m sorry!!!!!”
At the urgent command from Hyejin, my manager, to end the stream immediately, I cut the broadcast and immediately bowed my head.
Since Hyejin was at the company and I was at home, I was just bowing to the air, but still—it showed how desperate I was to apologize.
Why the hell did I do that?
My character was supposed to be a pure, graceful, elegant “Water Spirit”, assigned by the company.
A fragile, noble flower was not supposed to be making vape noises.
That was a total character break.
This was something I should have realized with just a little bit of thought.
And yet, despite being no stranger to streaming, I made such a basic mistake.
I had completely forgotten that I was now a part of a company.
Being part of something means adapting to its culture rather than just sticking out with individuality.
How would the company take this?
It was basically like messing up during an internship or probation period.
If they fired me, I couldn’t even complain.
As I nervously waited for my fate, trembling—
“No, no, it’s fine.”
“It doesn’t seem like you did it on purpose… and actually, the situation isn’t even that bad.”
“…What?”
According to my manager, both she and the company had initially jumped in to control the damage, but—they didn’t even need to.
“The reaction is better than expected. Maybe because you’re such a good streamer? Even the vape thing… seems to be getting brushed off as a cute newbie mistake.”
“Ah…!”
Of course, there were negative comments, but overall, the feedback was mostly positive.
Thank god.
If the audience had hated it, the company wouldn’t have been able to just let it slide either.
A rookie who stained the company’s reputation on her debut stream—just imagining it was horrifying.
Sure, my first impression wasn’t exactly great, but there’s a huge difference between messing up and failing versus messing up but still being successful.
“I’m really sorry… I promise I won’t make this kind of mistake again. Please tell the CEO that I deeply apologize as well…”
“Oh, Sera—this is Ju Sieun. Do you remember my voice?”
“W-Wait, President?!”
The person on the other end had suddenly changed from my manager to the CEO herself.
Had she been listening this whole time?! Panicking, I immediately started groveling.
“President, I’m really sorry… I’ve caused trouble for Star Records…”
“Oh, no, no. What trouble? I was a bit surprised watching, but it was really entertaining. It brought back a lot of memories. And most importantly—the audience reaction is fine.”
Somehow, the CEO sounded excited.
There was a definite hint of amusement in her tone.
“Think of it as free viral marketing that we couldn’t buy even with money. And the numbers? They’re at an all-time high.”
“Numbers?”
“You hit 8,000 concurrent viewers. Right at the moment you did the vape impression.”
Should I be laughing or crying?
The fact that 8,000 people had just witnessed that was legendary in itself.
But since the CEO was laughing, I decided to laugh along.
“W-Wow, that’s a relief!”
“There’s no need to worry too much. Just keep streaming like this. This isn’t even a real controversy, so don’t let it get to you. Oh, and you know your next stream is the group collab, right?”
“Yes.”
Each 3rd-gen member had their debut stream first, followed by a big group collab as the next scheduled event.
After that, we could stream freely.
“Great. Just sync up with the company for the collaboration… and don’t obsess too much over community reactions.”
“Ah…”
She totally caught me.
I was literally about to check the community as soon as we hung up.
“Oh, and one last thing—”
Just before hanging up, the CEO had one final message.
“Congratulations on your debut, Sera.”
“…! Thank you!”
“Alright, get some rest.”
The first day of my career as Star Record’s 3rd Gen VTuber, Sera.
A “successful” debut. (…Sort of?)