By default, I guess. Don't know if hiring mercenaries is gonna be sustainable, however.

Chuuba agencies live and die by the for-lifers that were homegrown there. Sure, debuting talents don't rake in the same amount of immediate returns, but one rising tide is enough to lift all boats.

The closest competition for the 2 spot is Phase simply because the chuubas that they got are more associated with Phase than any other. Unless proven otherwise, Matara will always be a Niji talent. Kuro will always be a Niji talent. Henya will always be the face of VOMS. Kson is practically an indie at this point that's sorta employed by VShojo, and she'll always be remembered for Hololive. Meanwhile, if you think of PC, you immediately think of Pippa, Tenma, Hime, Lumi, etc.

It's all about getting into the consumer's heads. You can never truly escape where you came from, at least without exerting the same level of effort and time like what you did before. And if the majority of talents in your company are involuntary walking billboards for the competition, it's gonna be hard to get some real investment. PC grew naturally, and has the luxury of taking their time. VShojo rocketed up, and it's gonna take a lot of savvy to make sure they don't crash from orbit.