The VTuber world is full of streamers with unique personalities, each carving out their own style. Among them, Cinnamon Santou-Rikushichou (hereafter “Cinnamon”) stands out with her truly distinctive background as a former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) member.
After sharing her military experiences through comic essays, she went on to work as a voice actress before entering the VTuber world. On stream, she switches seamlessly between her commanding military-trained voice and a cute, viewer-friendly tone, entertaining fans with everything from oogiri (improvisational comedy) segments to stretching streams.
We sat down with Cinnamon — also a Generation 0 Ambassador for Alive Studio — to hear about the hidden realities of daily life in the JGSDF, her passion for VTuber activities, and the bond she shares with her viewers.
Editor’s note: This article is based on Cinnamon’s personal experiences at a specific JGSDF garrison during her time as an active service member, and does not represent the JGSDF as a whole.
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Profile
Cinnamon Santou-Rikushichou
Former JGSDF infantry member. After completing two terms of service, she left the military and became a voice actress — but her agency went under before her career took off, so she “self-incarnated” as a VTuber. Rumors of being babiniku (a man using a female avatar) keep resurfacing, but she’s starting to think, “Maybe I should just let people think I’m an old dude.”
— First, could you tell us what got you started as a VTuber?
Cinnamon
I’d been drawing comic essays about my time in the military, and people around me had been saying, “You should become a VTuber.” But back then, I wasn’t doing any video or voice work at all, so I thought, “There’s no way someone like me could be a VTuber.”
— So what changed your mind?
Cinnamon
I accidentally opened a Twitter Space (X’s live audio feature) by tapping the wrong button. I didn’t notice for a while, and by the time I did, there were about 300 concurrent listeners. I thought, “Wait, do people actually want to hear me talk? I’m pretty popular, huh?” (laughs). I could draw, I had voice acting experience — all these elements came together and I figured, “Why not give it a try.” Not that it was without its challenges.
— 300 concurrent listeners by accident is incredible… I heard you used to hide the fact that you were a female service member when doing your comic essays.
Cinnamon
That’s right. On X (formerly Twitter), there are a lot of comic essayists who are guys drawing themselves as cute girls. I deliberately played into that assumption and kept all my female soldier content sealed away. When I eventually revealed it, my subscriber count jumped. I thought, “You guys are so predictable” (laughs).
— Predictable indeed (laughs). You designed your own character too. Are there elements from your military background that you’re particular about?
Cinnamon
I can’t help but be picky about the uniform and poses. Like, I don’t want to draw a hand salute without a hat on — that’s not how it works. But if you look at my character, the uniform is pretty heavily customized. I wanted to differentiate myself from other military-themed VTubers, so I made it deliberately casual. A viewer recently asked, “Why is your undershirt black if you’re military?” and I shot back, “Shut up, that’s the character design!” (laughs).
— Do a lot of your viewers know about the military?
Cinnamon
There are quite a few who are interested in the military or are former service members themselves. What really surprised me was learning that some active-duty officers were watching without commenting. A former direct superior sent me a DM saying, “Cinnamon, glad to see you’re doing well.” I was shaking (laughs). And then they added, “I’ve moved to a place near you too” — they even knew where I lived.
— That’s terrifying…!
Cinnamon
More funny than scary, honestly — I burst out laughing! I don’t really trust the internet literacy of the people I knew in the military, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they posted photos of my face without thinking (laughs). But I’ve made my peace with it. I’m pretty open about my background compared to most military-themed content creators, so anyone who knew me could look at my profile and go, “That’s her.” I do always say on stream, though, “If you leak my personal info, I’m charging you!” (laughs).
— Defend your personal intel too! (laughs)
A Day in the JGSDF Starts with a Bugle Call
— You served as an infantry member in the JGSDF. Does the day really start with a bugle call?
Cinnamon
It does for most people, but female service members actually wake up before the bugle. The bugle sounds at exactly 6:00 AM, but female members live in separate quarters, so they need to get up around 5:30 to make it to the morning roll call held at the men’s barracks. Some need time for makeup, and the walk takes 5 to 10 minutes.
— Do the male soldiers wake up before the bugle too?
Cinnamon
That’s basically not allowed. In the military, you have to follow the designated schedule, so you can’t just do things on your own. At the garrison where I was stationed, female members were given a special exception to wake up early because they had a longer commute to the roll call area.
— I always imagined early rising was encouraged…! Can you walk us through what happens after waking up?
Cinnamon
After roll call, the mess hall opens at around 6:15 for breakfast. Everyone eats incredibly fast — it usually takes no more than 10 minutes. After that, you go back to the barracks, and a lot of people take a second nap. But I love coffee, so I’d use that time to brew a cup and enjoy it alone.
— That’s a much more leisurely morning than I imagined.
Cinnamon
Is it, though? (laughs) After that, preparations for the morning assembly start around 7:30, with the assembly itself at 8:00. Then at 8:15 there’s the flag-raising ceremony. As the Japanese flag goes up with a bugle call, all service members face the flag and salute. Once the flag is fully raised, duties officially begin.
— That matches the image I had. I hear there are very strict rules about saluting.
Cinnamon
The angle of your arm, the position of your hand relative to the brim of your cap, how straight your fingers are — it’s all laid out in detail in the manual. In TV dramas and movies, you sometimes see JGSDF characters doing a hand salute without a hat on, and it makes me squirm. I get that they need to show the actor’s face, but still… (laughs).
No Daily Shooting Drills? A Soldier’s Morning
— What kind of work happens after the flag-raising ceremony?
Cinnamon
On days with field exercises or shooting drills, you’re already moving much earlier and might not even be at the garrison. But on regular days, we mostly do equipment maintenance. Washing entrenching tools (shovels) used in exercises and oiling them, hanging out OD sheets (olive-drab-colored sheets that blend into mountain and forest terrain) to dry and folding them, washing vehicles. Everything is bought with tax money, so you treat it with care. If even a single screw from government-issued equipment goes missing, you absolutely have to find it.
— That’s quite different from the image of constant running and crawling on your belly.
Cinnamon
That’s purely the boot camp image (laughs). The JGSDF has jobs like distributing bread, or endlessly fueling stoves. Have you ever seen footage of JGSDF members cooking meals during disaster relief? That’s only possible because they regularly train for field cooking. As a “self-contained organization,” the underlying principle is being prepared to handle anything, and all kinds of tasks are built into daily duties.
— Everything is training, in a way. Then it’s lunchtime?
Cinnamon
The mess hall opens at noon, so we’d gather around 11:50 and head over. Speed-eating becomes a habit — I could finish a bowl of soba in 5 minutes. Even now, working from home, I wolf down my oatmeal in 5 minutes (laughs).
— Please eat slowly now that you can (laughs). Was the food at the garrison good?
Cinnamon
It depends on the garrison, I’m told, but mine had amazing food. The curry was the best. Sometimes they serve curry at garrison events, so if there’s a JGSDF open day near you, definitely check it out.
Indoor “Typhoons” and Afternoon Runs: A Soldier’s Afternoon
— What does the afternoon look like?
Cinnamon
From 1 PM you continue the morning’s work, and around 3 or 4 PM, once that’s done, you change into PT gear and go for a “kakiashi” — that’s what we call running in the JGSDF.
— How far do you run?
Cinnamon
It depends on who’s leading. If someone who loves running is in charge, you might be running for 2 hours straight. And you don’t get to choose who you run with — a superior assigns someone with “You lead the run today,” and all you can say is “Yes, sir.” Sometimes a man was assigned, and keeping up with a male pace was honestly brutal.
— That sounds rough… Did you ever get to lead the run yourself?
Cinnamon
I eventually reached the rank of Private First Class, which was above the base rank, so I did take lower-ranking members out. But I’d do a light jog and sneak them back to the barracks early. “We shouldn’t wear ourselves out, you know?” (laughs).
— Not just because you didn’t want to run — it was kindness, right? (laughs)
Cinnamon
Probably kindness (laughs).
— What time does the workday end?
Cinnamon
The run finishes around 5 PM, you change, and there’s a closing assembly. After watching the flag being lowered, duties are officially over. You eat dinner at the mess hall, take a bath in the communal bath, and then it’s free time.
— Is there pressure not to relax in front of senior members?
Cinnamon
In some cases, yes — if a senior is standing, you don’t sit down, or you put your phone away and make an effort to talk to people. Little courtesies like that.
— I always imagined phones were confiscated, but you can use them!
Cinnamon
Phones aren’t confiscated. During the 3-month basic training period, using them in bed is prohibited so that recruits actually sleep, but you can lock them in your cabinet. They can’t really take phones away entirely — parents would get upset.
— Makes sense — adapting to the times. What did you do during free time?
Cinnamon
Most people would chat while smoking. A lot of JGSDF members love their cigarettes. I don’t smoke, so I’d stay behind and scroll through my phone.
— When are lights out?
Cinnamon
Around 10 PM there’s barracks cleaning, at 10:30 there’s night roll call, and lights out at 11 PM. After that, you’re not supposed to get out of bed, but… well, I was definitely on my phone. There’s no way I’m sleeping at 11 PM (laughs).
— So much phone time! (laughs)
Push-Up Punishments and the Bed-Stealing “Typhoon”
— The military has a reputation for strict punishments…
Cinnamon
If you were late to something, it was called “hansei” (reflection), and the whole group would have to do push-ups as collective punishment. You’d hear, “Half right, face!” “Assume the push-up position!” and then you’d keep counting until you were told to stop.
— Until you’re told to stop… What gets you off the hook?
Cinnamon
When the squad leader feels like it? (laughs). When they said “Do you even understand why you’re being punished?”, you had to put on a properly remorseful face and posture, with maybe a bit of acting mixed in. But actually, the person giving the order would also do the same number of push-ups behind the scenes. They figured it wouldn’t be right to just make others do it.
— Do some recruits come in unable to do push-ups?
Cinnamon
Quite a few female members can’t do them when they first enlist. There’s actually no physical fitness requirement like “must do X push-ups” in the enlistment criteria. Those who can’t just hold the position. Training people up is what the military does.
— What was the worst punishment you ever experienced?
Cinnamon
The “typhoon” where our beds disappeared. Training squad leaders would carry out all the beds and mattresses from the recruits’ rooms and hide them. The room next to mine had four people living in it, and all four beds just vanished.
— That’s quite elaborate.
Cinnamon
Some places take it even further — making human shapes out of bedsheets, dressing them up, and recreating a model room out on the parade ground. It’s half punishment, half memory-making — basically a giant oogiri contest.
— Oogiri! That connects to the improvisational comedy segments you do on stream, doesn’t it?
Cinnamon
Maybe there’s a bit of that, yeah. The military has this spirit of “When it’s time to get serious, get serious. But when it’s time to goof off, goof off big.” My oogiri streams probably line up with that mentality.
“I Chose the Funnier Option, and That Was the Military”
— What made you join the JGSDF in the first place?
Cinnamon
I requested some information, and a recruitment officer showed up at my house and said, “Why don’t you come have some tea?” So I went to the local recruitment office. They told me, “Plenty of people with no athletic background enlist,” and before I knew it, I’d signed something right there. I had to take the exam at that point, and I passed, so in I went (laughs).
— It’s impressive how you can just dive into the unknown like that. Same with starting as a VTuber.
Cinnamon
Basically, when I look back on life choices, I try to pick whichever option I think will make for a better story. I became a VTuber because it seemed like more fun. That said, I’m starting to think I’d like to settle down a bit (laughs).
— No fear of failure?
Cinnamon
I’ve pretty much always failed at everything, so I don’t really have much fear of failure anymore. If I’m going to fail and get yelled at no matter what I do, I might as well fail at the most interesting thing.
— In the JGSDF, they say “preparation is 80% of success.” Has that carried over into your VTuber life?
Cinnamon
Not at all (laughs). In the military, I was meticulous about gear prep because mistakes affected others. But streaming? I start on a whim and keep going on a whim. I have zero intention of “doing things properly.” If something goes wrong, it’s my stream and I’ll fix it myself. Nobody dies if I mess up on stream.
— I heard you even had a 70,000-yen microphone sitting unused for two and a half years (laughs).
Cinnamon
I bought an AKG C214 for home recording during my voice acting days. I thought I was streaming with this great mic, but one day I discovered I’d been using my webcam’s built-in microphone the entire time. Two and a half years of zero return on my gear investment (laughs). Then there was the “a cappella singing incident” where I had no background music and nobody told me. But all of it becomes material for comic essays or streams, and if it’s funny, it’s all good.
— You also have a background in voice acting, which was apparently inspired by your military announcing experience.
Cinnamon
That’s right. I’d done stage acting for a long time as a student, so I was never uncomfortable speaking. In the military, my strong core from training made diaphragmatic breathing easy, and my voice was naturally loud. At voice acting school, they told me I could skip the vocal training classes.
— Does your military announcing voice sound different from your current streaming voice?
Cinnamon
Completely different. For military announcements, I’d use a proper, commanding tone — like (in a crisp, authoritative voice) “We will now commence the 76th JGSDF Combined Firepower Exercise.” What I use now is 100% a character voice (laughs).
[Video] What if a JGSDF soldier delivered famous VTuber lines?
— You also do morning stretching streams. Is that connected to your military background?
Cinnamon
I originally wanted everyone to do the “JGSDF exercise routine” — the military version of radio calisthenics — but I couldn’t get the audio, and I don’t have a 3D model yet, so I can’t show the movements. So I went with regular stretching instead, as a stepping stone to eventually doing the military version. I also can’t play a real bugle, so I do a “nyappa” (meowing sounds) as a substitute. At 8:15 AM — the time of the actual flag-raising ceremony — I play the “nyappa,” then spend a few minutes reading comments.
— The flag-raising time! So even your stream schedule echoes the military.
Cinnamon
Actually, it’s a bit the opposite. In the military, there was no environment where I could do something this free. So part of why I do it is to savor the feeling of “I’m free now.” Going from communal living where I couldn’t even speak up, to living alone and doing whatever I want.
“Everyone’s Free to Do Whatever They Want”
— Your streams have a great sense of community — the viewers interact with each other and there’s real team spirit.
Cinnamon
Oh, so my streams come across as friendly? That’s good to hear (laughs). I’ve recently realized I’m actually quite lonely by nature. When I moved for work and didn’t know anyone, I started depending on streaming. “Everyone’s going to show up to my stream, right?” That’s how my current style began.
— I heard there was also a difficult period when viewers left.
Cinnamon
There were interpersonal issues, rumors being spread about me, people believing them, and toxic anonymous messages (malicious messages sent through anonymous messaging services). I got hurt by each one, and I wondered if I just wasn’t cut out for streaming. But recently, I’ve settled into the mindset of “Everyone do your own thing — I’m going to do mine.”
— Is there a message you’d like to share with your viewers?
Cinnamon
I do whatever I want with complete freedom, so I want to tell my viewers, “You’re free to do whatever you want too.” If you get tired of my streams, feel free to stop coming. And if you want to come back someday, the door’s always open. I want people to be that free about it.
As a Generation 0 Ambassador for Alive Studio
— As an Alive Studio ambassador, do you have any recommended features?
Cinnamon
My favorite Alive Studio feature is the effects system! I love setting up effects that trigger from viewer comments. And one recent update that really made me happy was the improvement to YouTube integration. I used to forget to input my live URL, which meant the comment sync wouldn’t work. When I mentioned this to the dev team, they implemented a feature where you just enter your channel URL or YouTube handle and it auto-connects. It’s so much easier now! I really appreciate how they take feedback and keep making things better.
Cinnamon’s military experience is woven throughout her VTuber activities in the most charming ways. Her philosophy of “choosing the funnier option” is a way of life worth cheering for!
