Koga-ryu Ninja Ponpoko

Koga-ryu Ninja! Ponpoko (Japanese: 甲賀流忍者!ぽんぽこ) is an independent Japanese virtual YouTuber who debuted in 2018. She is known for the duo "PokoPea" with Peanuts-kun, and for the annual 24-hour stream that the duo hosts with many guest VTubers.

Profile

Item	Detail
Debut	1 February 2018 (debut video); first live stream on 22 February 2018
Birthday	2 February
Agency	Independent
Unit	PokoPea (with Peanuts-kun); TeeTee Train
Character	Tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) and Koga-ryu ninja
Stated home	The mountains around Koka, Shiga Prefecture
Main channel	Ponpoko Channel

Career

Ponpoko created her YouTube channel on 1 February 2018 and posted her debut video the same day. She opened her Twitter account that month and did her first live stream on 22 February 2018. On 4 April 2018 she marked her channel's first major subscriber milestone with a collaboration stream featuring Peanuts-kun, who became her regular partner.

On 2 February 2020, she held a stream for both her birthday and her second anniversary. The stream title said she had turned 202 years old. In May of that year, she and Peanuts-kun marked another channel milestone with a stream in which they made takoyaki. On 19 November 2020, the two said in a joint video that they are siblings.

The PokoPea duo also works outside YouTube. They have won the Yuru-chara Grand Prix, appeared at TOKYO IDOL FESTIVAL and held collaboration cafes. In January 2021, Hobby Japan published their first official fan book, "Pokopea no Hon," as part of its MOOK series. The book includes a timeline of the duo's activities and interviews with VTubers connected to them. The pair has also worked with the bathhouse chain Gokurakuyu, and a nippon.com article named them among the most prominent independent VTubers.

Activities

Streaming style

Ponpoko's content is mainly video-based variety programming on the shared "Ponpoko Channel," usually together with Peanuts-kun. The duo is known for "PokoPea 24," a 24-hour marathon held every year on 3 May with many invited VTubers. Ponpoko is also a member of the group "TeeTee Train" (also called "TE-TORE") with other VTubers, including Mochi Hiyoko and Saeki Yahiro. In addition, the duo hosts a weekly podcast, "PokoPea no Yume Utsutsu." Because the podcast has no background music, it centers on their conversation.

Music and works

"Pokopea no Hon" (official fan book, Hobby Japan MOOK, 2021)
"PokoPea no Yume Utsutsu" (weekly podcast with Peanuts-kun)
"PokoPea 24" (annual 24-hour collaboration stream held on 3 May)

Characteristics

Ponpoko introduces herself as a ninja of the Koga school who is also a tanuki. Her design has short grey hair with blunt bangs and grey eyes, along with tanuki ears, a tail, a black nose and a green leaf on her head, a common feature of tanuki characters. Her character is about two hundred years old. Commentators describe her as cheerful and energetic, and she often makes comic blunders that become material for her content. She has a contrasting personality to Peanuts-kun, and much of the duo's appeal comes from their back-and-forth as siblings. Licensed merchandise has included trading cards in the "VTuber Chips" series.