NIJI MERCH RRAT
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT:
- This list only considers internally developed and sold merch, external sponsorships and partnerships will be ignored (e.g. HYTE)
- No Store Anniversary bundles will be considered, as they include every liver up to that point; this is irrelevant to accusations of favouritism
- Generation/Personal merch will not be considered; most of these are released around milestones/anniversaries, and as a result are not indicative of any potential favouritism
- Voice Packs, and bundles containing them, are separately tallied; it has been stated by (now former) NijiEN talents that they only receive 1-2% of any merch sales, with the exception of Voice Packs providing a 50% split; these represent the most economic value to talents, thus a separate tally has been kept alongside general merch presence
- For bundles containing Voice Packs, only a few livers will recieve Key Art and appear in advertisements for the bundle; the news pages list all of the talents involved, but for the purpose of the first tally, only the Key Art livers will be considered.
- All information for the merch considered comes from the Nijisanji EN Official Page, as a result there may be some items/bundles that are marketed/listed elsewhere, and may have been missed
WHY?
One of the supplementary claims forming part of the GURRAT is an accusation that Elira, at least, benefits disproportionately as a result of a friendship/closeness with management. One of the ways this is believed to have manifested is in merch opportunities, where Elira reportedly has a majority share:
The purpose of this document is to expand the scope of this premise, taking into account every liver, from every EN generation, for the duration of EN's activities (mostly).
Do note, however, that the results of this document are non-conclusive - one liver featuring in more bundles that others does not conclusively prove favouritism. The sample size of merch considered in this document may also preclude this document from being conclusive. This should instead serve as a supplement to other information and accusations.
THE RESULTS
Each liver is organised by generation; the prominence of each liver (most conservative reading, with no minor roles or smaller packs) is as follows:
Elira Pendora: 9 (6 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Finana Ryugu: 3 (1 of which features a Voice Pack)
Pomu Rainpuff: 3 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Rosemi Lovelock: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Petra Gurin: 3 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Selen Tatsuki: 4 (4 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Millie Parfait: 0
Enna Alouette: 5 (5 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Reimu Endou: 3 (1 of which features a Voice Pack)
Nina Kosaka: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Luca Kaneshiro: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Shu Yamino: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Ike Eveland: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Vox Akuma: 4 (3 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Mysta Rias: 3 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Sonny Brisko: 4 (4 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Uki Violeta: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Alban Knox: 3 (3 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Fulgur Ovid: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Yugo Asuma: 0
Maria Marionette: 2 (1 of which features a Voice Pack)
Kyo Kaneko: 3 (1 of which features a Voice Pack)
Aia Amare: 3 (1 of which features a Voice Pack)
Aster Arcadia: 3 (3 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Scarle Yonaguni: 4 (3 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Ren Zotto: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Doppio Dropscythe: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Meloco Kyoran: 3 (3 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Hex Haywire: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Kotoka Torahime: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Ver Vermillion: 2 (1 of which features a Voice Pack)
Zaion LanZa: 0
Vezalius Bandage: 0
Vantacrow Bringer: 0
Yu Q. Wilson: 2 (1 of which features a Voice Pack)
Kunai Nakasato: 0
Victoria Brightshield: 0
Claude Clawmark: 0
With a more generous reading (all data), the livers' appearances are as follows:
Elira Pendora: 12 (7 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Finana Ryugu: 8 (6 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Pomu Rainpuff: 8 (7 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Rosemi Lovelock: 12 (11 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Petra Gurin: 8 (5 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Selen Tatsuki: 9 (9 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Millie Parfait: 1 (1 of which features a Voice Pack)
Enna Alouette: 9 (8 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Reimu Endou: 8 (7 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Nina Kosaka: 3 (3 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Luca Kaneshiro: 9 (9 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Shu Yamino: 6 (5 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Ike Eveland: 4 (4 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Vox Akuma: 5 (3 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Mysta Rias: 6 (4 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Sonny Brisko: 8 (7 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Uki Violeta: 10 (9 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Alban Knox: 11 (11 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Fulgur Ovid: 5 (5 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Yugo Asuma: 0
Maria Marionette: 11 (10 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Kyo Kaneko: 11 (7 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Aia Amare: 12 (9 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Aster Arcadia: 12 (11 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Scarle Yonaguni: 11 (10 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Ren Zotto: 9 (9 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Doppio Dropscythe: 8 (7 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Meloco Kyoran: 10 (8 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Hex Haywire: 4 (4 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Kotoka Torahime: 7 (5 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Ver Vermillion: 7 (6 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Zaion LanZa: 0
Vezalius Bandage: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Vantacrow Bringer: 2 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Yu Q. Wilson: 3 (2 of which feature a Voice Pack)
Kunai Nakasato: 0
Victoria Brightshield: 0
Claude Clawmark: 0
CONCLUSION
Looking at the first set of results, which follows the same methodology as the original premise, it seems clear that there is SOME kind of bias; Elira has many more appearances than either of her gen-mates, and almost doubles the prominence of the next liver. Speaking of, Enna being second isn't all surprising, considering current rrats, though she is much closer to other livers. The only shock result is that of Millie who, by current understanding, should be a part of the clique, and thus we would expect to have any result but 0. Looking at the initial data alone, we can conclude somewhat reasonably that there IS some kind of favouritism at play.
But using a more liberal dataset, including the smaller releases and less marketed roles, the numbers start to even-out. Not only do several other livers match Elira's prominence; the number of her Voice Pack roles is middling. Under this dataset, the result is very much unclear, enough to cast doubt on the premise.
Without deeper understanding of these Voice Packs (no, I will NOT paypig), I cannot judge which dataset is more accurate. Others better acquainted with how these packs work can decide if those lesser roles are worth considering.
THE DATA
Below is a text dump of each bundle, organised by type of content, with a list of participants and a link to the relevant news page (minor voice roles, as outlined in the Rules of Engagement, are alternatively coloured):
GOODS AND VOICE PACKS:
Winter Date 2023: Aster, Enna
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/l4dht34ufHalloween 2023: Dopio, Kotoka, Aia, Alban, Ver, Reimu, Kyo, Meloco, Scarle, Maria, Luca, Ren, Shu, Rosemi
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/ekwddq6v1oh4Road Trip: Selen, Reimu, Luca, Fulgur
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/so5_o8ybxJune Bride: Nina, Vox, Ren, Scarle, Rosemi, Luca, Uki, Maria, Aster, Aia, Doppio, Hex, Meloco, Ver, Kotoka
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/dgh3m58q8g4cAristocrats and Servants: Alban, Sonny, Elira, Selen
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/ip84svo3mSakura Bloom 2023: Elira, Petra, Reimu, Aia, Shu, Uki, Aster, Luca, Alban, Doppio, Hex, Meloco, Ver, Kotoka
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/foi0_xiphedValentine's Day 2023: Pomu, Finana, Rosemi, Enna, Elira, Selen, Petra, Reimu, Luca, Mysta, Shu, Sonny, Fulgur, Alban, Uki, Kyo, Maria, Aster, Aia, Ren, Scarle
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/zsyyqw86pcWinter Date 2022: Alban, Elira, Ren, Scarle
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/lbqu2df90znHalloween 2022: Sonny, Pomu, Elira, Finana, Selen, Nina, Enna, Luca, Mysta, Fulgur, Alban, Uki, Maria, Aster, Aia, Scarle, Ren
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/ivydqno7pSakura Bloom 2022: Sonny, Fulgur, Alban, Uki, Ike, Luka, Mysta, Vox, Elira, Selen, Nina, Pomu, Finana, Rosemi, Petra, Reimu, Enna
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/w3y9w8j2l
VOICE PACKS:
Party Voice: Yu Q., Aia, Aster, Ver, Vezalius, Uki, Meloco, Claude, Scarle, Selen, Doppio, Vanta, Maria, Millie, Rosemi
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/mal2beoi0kHero/Villain Voice: Ike, Maria, Aster, Alban, Ver, Vezalius, Meloco, Claude, Scarle, Doppio, Kunai, Vanta, Yu Q., Luca, Ren, Rosemi, Uki, Victoria, Sonny, Petra
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/q4f4skra24Cooking Voice: Enna, Meloco, Sonny, Doppio
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/qz7ruvyzj4Phone Call Voice: Elira, Rosemi, Enna, Vox, Kyo
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/4688h5fisSummer Season Voice 2023: Aster, Scarle, Hex, Meloco, Pomu, Rosemi, Enna, Ike, Uki, Aia, Kyo, Maria, Ren, Doppio, Kotoka
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/ej1cotd809myGet Well Voice 2023: Meloco, Kotoka, Doppio, Hex, Ver, Pomu, Finana, Selen, Rosemi, Reimu, Luca, Alban, Kyo, Maria, Aster, Aia, Ren, Scarle
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/29go07douPampering/Scolding Voice: Shu, Luca, Selen, Enna, Pomu, Finana, Rosemi, Reimu, Sonny, Alban, Maria, Aia, Scarle, Kyo, Aster, Ren
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/0951ife4uNovember Seasonal Voice 2022: Mysta, Petra, Ike, Shu, Fulgur, Alban, Uki, Kyo, Aster, Pomu, Finana, Selen, Rosemi, Maria
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/dw-0c7_fyd-v
GOODS PACKS:
HOTEL: Aia, Elira, Finana, Kyo, Ver, Yu Q.
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/jujoehgwaConfectionary: Pomu, Elira, Finana, Scarle, Aia, Maria
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/r1ckc6xxwlWhiteDay Gift 2023: Elira, Petra, Reimu, Vox, Mysta, Kyo
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/59en44856w6
SMALLER PACKS:
Acrylic Desk Calendar 2024: Elira, Rosemi, Aia, Meloco, Kotoka, Enna, Luka, Shu, Vox, Sonny, Kyo, Doppio
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/v0kdifd_4kbNIJI Mascots: Elira, Uki
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/o8gzrsq8uqaNIJI Bear vol.1: Kyo, Petra
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/l6082n2eiLiver Outfit Goods 8th: Aster, Kotoka, Meloco
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/krh641bo8jLiver Outfit Goods 6: Mysta
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/5kmso0t4m7i5Liver Outfit Goods 5: Petra
https://www.nijisanji.jp/en/news/5vgid5bwv6im