Hiiragi Yuino (柊ゆいの) is a member of the Japanese female idol group Pupa!! (ピューパ‼︎) and also works as a VTuber under the name “yuinon_chan” (ゆいのんちゃん). She is active both within the group and through individual online activities.
Before joining Pupa!!, she worked at a company while also doing photo shoot modeling in parallel. Around the time she began idol activities, she left her job to focus more on entertainment and supported herself through part-time work in order to spend more time on her activities.
She joined Pupa!! after a two-month training period and started official activities on March 29. Her early time in the group overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic, when live shows were heavily reduced. The group had previously been performing several live shows per month, but activities were temporarily limited due to restrictions.
When live activities began to resume, she experienced additional difficulties. Her part-time workplace reduced her shifts because she was active in live performances in Tokyo during the pandemic. Even though event staff and performers were taking infection control measures, the workplace did not accept this situation, and she eventually left the job. After that, she continued activities without stable income, but gained more free time, which she used to work on ideas she had wanted to try, including planning original merchandise.
During this period, she focused on continuing activities in a positive way and used the situation as motivation to create projects that could also connect with fans going through similar uncertainty.
She was part of the group during a major transition period, including the departure of the producer who had handled most of the group’s music. She noted that some fans strongly associated Pupa!! with that producer, with reactions questioning whether the group would still feel like Pupa!! without them.
During that time, the group continued with live activities as a three-member unit, including a one-man live at Shibuya WWW, which became an important point for the group.
She has spoken about newer members positively, saying they brought new perspectives to the group. She also learned from them, especially in areas of idol activity she did not originally set out to pursue.
She also notes that Pupa!! has always been a group where members and management work together on decisions and direction, rather than everything being decided in a top-down way.
Outside of the group, she works as a VTuber under “yuinon_chan,” and continues individual creative activities alongside her idol work.
