[January 2026] VRChat Avatar Trends & Ranking | Booth Trend Analysis

Here's my look back at the 10 most-liked avatars published on Booth in January 2026, data included. Two threads run through this month's lineup: a strong dark streak, and designs that build an entire world into one avatar.

At the top sits a ghost girl in a white-based gothic-lolita dress, a bone tail trailing from under her skirt (13,947 likes) — right down to a dedicated AFK motion where she dozes above her own grave, every feature stays in character. Let's start there and go through the lineup one avatar at a time.

📊 About the data　Aggregated: 2026-07-12 / Target: avatars published on Booth between 2026-01-01 and 2026-01-31 with 300+ likes (32 avatars)

The 10 avatars that stood out

Ranked by like count at aggregation time (July 2026), here are the 10 picks with what makes each one special.

#1: Wendy / かえりみち

A ghost girl with long silver hair, gray eyes, and a white-based gothic-lolita dress. A black cross hairpin and frilled headdress set the tone, and a bone tail like an exposed spine trails to the floor from under her skirt — a spoonful of ghostly unease mixed into an otherwise white, frilly design. She took sole first place among January 2026 avatars (13,947 likes at aggregation time).

The substance matches the look: over 400 shape keys for the face alone (plus 70+ for the body) and a set of gimmicks that only make sense for a ghost. A cat-eared ghost pet named "Candy" drifts alongside — pat her and her expression changes, or hand her a bone. The dedicated AFK motion has Wendy dozing afloat above her own grave, and there's a floating "ghost locomotion" mode, an expression lock triggered by touching your head with both hands, plus clothing on/off, sleeve-length, and chest-size adjustments. Polygons come to △277,953 (pet and grave included) at Performance Rank Very Poor, PC only.

You can try her via PolygonLoading in the FUJIYAMA and SuRroom worlds. Compatible outfits are collected under a search link, the creator is openly recruiting outfit and hair creators, and a Mochi Fitter forward-conversion profile was officially released in a post-launch update. With an expression-editing manual and a Discord question channel on top, the post-purchase support is thorough.

#2: Hikikumarino Kumari / STUDIO JINGO

Pale blue-gray hair, bear ears, and a trademark band-aid on the cheek — a dreamy-cute (yumekawaii) avatar. A new release from STUDIO JINGO, the creator behind the hugely popular Manuka, landing at #2 (13,841 likes at aggregation time) — a photo finish, only about 100 likes behind first place.

The base wardrobe is a blue-gray dress layered with white frills plus a fluffy fur-collared coat. Expressions are massive: 18 VRC shape keys + 774 facial shape keys (49 MMD-compatible) + 90 body shape keys, on △208,806 polygons. Humanoid rig, PhysBone, lip sync, eye tracking, full-body tracking, and VRCSDK 3.0 are all covered, and the shaders are dual lilToon / Poiyomi — with the Poiyomi materials made by Poiyomi himself. Playful touches lean into the squishy concept: a "cheek bone" you can pinch and pull, and a dedicated AFK motion where Kumari checks herself in a bear-eared mirror.

The body carries Shrink shape keys to prevent outfit clipping, and Blend / PSD / FBX files ship in the box — the same customization-first attitude as Manuka. Updates kept coming through v1.02, adding six tooth-position shape keys among other refinements. The AFK motion and Unity setup were handled by separate collaborators, a nicely divided production.

#3: Hikarun / くるるしっぽ

"A dog girl who loves games" — chibi proportions, brown twin tails, dog ears, and a maid-style outfit, with gamer props scattered across the whole silhouette: a game-pad name tag on the collar, a controller-shaped pouch on the hip. She came in at #3 (8,181 likes at aggregation time).

Specs land at △80,542 polygons / Performance Rank Very Poor, with about 230 expression shape keys (48 MMD-compatible and 50 body keys counted separately). Idle / Crouch / Prone / Sit / AFK poses, a head-pat gimmick, and outfit-toggle and expression-lock menus are pre-configured, and each hand's six hand signs map to their own expressions. A bonus "school commute set" — yellow cat-ear bucket hat, light-blue randoseru backpack, and a handheld game console — is bundled in.

The outfit story is the interesting part: くるるしっぽ has updated eight of their existing outfit and hair products to "Hikarun-compatible" versions, so anyone who already owns them just re-downloads from their library. A Mochi Fitter conversion profile is included (the tool itself sold separately). After v1.2 added toe bones and eight new expressions, v1.3 aligned Hikarun's armature with the shop's later avatar Ryumii — and both the compatible outfits and the Mochi Fitter profile were updated to match.

#4: Nakiya / Keenoo

Short black hair, large black animal ears, a teardrop mole — an all-black, sharply styled avatar. A new release from Keenoo, the creator behind the popular Lasyusha, taking #4 (7,588 likes at aggregation time).

Two outfits ship in the box: a high-collared black coat that covers up to the mouth, and a china-style sleeveless crop top with a long skirt hung with silver orbs and pom-poms. Both come in black and white renditions, and the product images even show a dark-skin, golden-eyed combination. The coat's collar raises and lowers, nailing that mouth-hidden mysterious stance. Shape keys total over 1,500 (including 49 for MMD) spanning expressions, adjustments, and even hairstyle changes — the short cut can be reshaped into a whole range of styles. Polygons run from △107,832 (base body) to △196,312 fully dressed, Very Poor, PC only. The Mochi Fitter forward-conversion profile is distributed free.

The back half of the product page is filled with entries from the #NakiyaPhotocon01 photo contest, each credited to its photographer, closing with a mosaic artwork tiled from community shots. Buyers' photos literally become the face of the listing — an avatar raised together with its community.

#5: Torao / 寺井カントリー|Terai Country

Dusty black-gray hair, cat ears, and an oversized zip-up hoodie with sleeves past the hands, over black shorts, tights, and lace-up boots — a boyish chibi avatar shipped in dark-gray and white colorways. He holds #5 (5,419 likes at aggregation time).

Polygons stay lean: △75,554 in the standard outfit, △46,453 for the dress-up body. Standing, crouching, and prone poses come in eight variations each, plus eight emote poses — and a radial-menu gimmick lets you move the arms even in desktop mode, throwing peace signs, banzai, and head pats without VR hardware. For desktop players, that's a rare kind of expressiveness.

The base body is shared with four other Terai Country avatars — Nanodevi, Tenchill, Tsuruko, and Chiroar — so outfit assets circulate across the series. A Mochi Fitter forward profile is bundled, and a dedicated try-on world is available.

#6: Ayusa / GlitchCat故障猫实验室

Cat ears, silver-white hair, sailor uniform, petite build — at ¥500. Pink gradients tint the hair tips and inner ears, and cherry-blossom patterns show through the sheer sleeves; the visual polish far outruns the coin price. She landed at #6 (4,950 likes at aggregation time).

The internals do too: 271 shape keys + 15 lip-sync + 43 MMD-compatible, with 8 expression particle effects (hearts, music notes) and 8 looping facial animations. Polygons sit at △103,757 / Performance Rank Very Poor, AFK animation included. Post-release, Ver 1.0.1 added arm colliders and a Modular Avatar prefab, and Ver 1.0.2 added eye UV layouts — the customization material keeps expanding through updates. An easy recommendation as a first avatar or a low-commitment addition.

#7: Misumi / 珍飯亭

A black bob with a red inner color, and a "strong-willed" attitude — the creator's own words. With realistic proportions and styling, Misumi is the most grown-up entry in this Top 10, taking #7 (4,479 likes at aggregation time) — and at ¥6,500, the highest price in the ranking.

Two outfit systems ship in the box: a black mini sailor uniform layered with a harness and garters (Performance Rank: Very Poor), and a simple set of white tee, skinny denim, and sneakers (Medium). One avatar, two configurations at different ranks — sailor for photoshoots, the light simple set for everyday hangouts. Polygons total △95,950. Shape keys come in layers — 15 lip-sync, ~110 expression-building, ~50 face-shaping, 29 MMD — with a chest-size toggle. Dedicated motions for dressing, running, walking, falling, and AFK (animation by 枡八), plus dance-world support, are pre-configured.

The setup assumes the current stack — VCC + Modular Avatar + Avatar Optimizer — and is verified on desktop, VR, full-body tracking, and hand tracking. PSD / CLIP files with gradient-map shadow control and a recoloring manual are included for serious recolors, and a Mochi Fitter forward-conversion profile is provided. 珍飯亭 builds its avatars on a shared base body, with matching outfits made to the same standard.

#8: Maon / FLASTORE

Black twin tails streaked with pink, a neon-glowing cat-ear headset, and two tails — a cyber jirai nekomata girl, FLASTORE's 13th avatar. The look layers a jacket and skirt over a skin-tight bodysuit, ships in black×pink and ice-blue×white colorways, and took #8 (2,944 likes at aggregation time).

Expressions run deep — 895 shape keys with Perfect Sync support — making her a strong pick for streaming and photography. A mobile-ready version under 10,000 triangles is bundled, so Quest-only friends and big events are covered. The base is FLASTORE's shared "Bodyset2", meaning outfits for past models like Nemo and Wolfram drop straight on, with a compatibility spreadsheet maintained publicly. A Mochi Fitter profile is distributed separately by the shop.

Item gimmicks — a drink can, a kitchen knife, and a smartphone — come from a collaboration with StellaQuartz and others, each with its own how-to video.

#9: MatchaBun / Eko's Workshop

Matcha-green hair, long lopped rabbit ears, and fluffy white paws — a small kemono avatar whose big ahoge, beret, and leather school satchel make the "matcha × bunny" concept legible from silhouette alone. It came in at #9 (2,695 likes at aggregation time).

Lip sync, expressions, eye tracking, and PhysBones are covered, with individual toggles for every outfit piece and accessory, plus a menu switch to blindfold-style bangs. The setup assumes VRCFury + GoGoLoco, with lilToon as the default shader and Poiyomi materials bundled as an option. V2.0 reworked shoulder weights and added a body-scaling shape key — maintenance has continued steadily since release.

Hand signs carry six expressions per hand. That all-green silhouette stands out in any crowded world, which makes MatchaBun an easy pick for anyone hunting a kemono avatar nobody else is wearing.

#10: Kei / rio3d

Short black hair, glasses, a black uniform suit — a boy avatar from rio3d, the creator behind the popular Nagi, with cool, studious, school-coded styling locked in from head to toe. He rounds out the ranking at #10 (1,608 likes at aggregation time).

At ~69,000 polygons / Performance Rank Poor, Kei is among the lightest in this Top 10 — while still carrying 460 facial and 65 body shape keys. The uniform is a layered system: jacket, vest, white shirt, and black shirt can be recombined, and the glasses toggle on and off. Setup ships against Unity 2022.3.22f1 / VRChat SDK 3.10.1 / lilToon 2.3.2, and a sample avatar is public for direct try-on in VRChat.

As a bonus, a chibi "Punipuni Avatar Kei" and a five-piece stamp set are bundled in. The Mochi Fitter forward profile was created by Limern, a separate collaborator.

Trends across January 2026

Stepping back from the ranking: here's what the full set of 32 avatars published in January shows as a group.

Metric	Value
Total releases	32
Avg likes	2,492
Median likes	733
Avg price	¥4,349
Median price	¥5,000

Median likes at 733 against an average around 2,500 — Wendy and Kumari both cleared 13,000 likes and pulled the average up hard. A few explosive hits coexisting with a steady middle class is the shape of the month.

Tastes: dark takes first place

"Dark" leads at 10, followed by cute (7), cool (6), and yume-kawaii, gothic, and mysterious at 5 each. The Top 10 mirrors it — a white gothic ghost, an all-black animal-eared avatar, a cyber jirai nekomata. January wasn't a cute-first month; dark and mysterious directions earned their support head-on, and the numbers say so.

As an emblem of the dark axis, this Japanese-horror release also arrived in January:

Reika, by DAPPI, is a ghost avatar with black hair and a white headband, built on the shop's shared "Yasegisu-chan" skinny base body. It bundles the "Otsukare (haunted) gimmick" — summon a straw doll with a reverse clap — and still packs 449 expression-editing shape keys. Horror atmosphere and craftsmanship in one body.

Appearance: tails, long hair, cat ears, twin tails

Tails (11), long hair (10), cat ears (8), twin tails (7), short hair (5). Within the Top 10 alone: #1 Wendy's spine-bone tail, #8 Maon's two glowing tails, and the animal tails on #5 Torao and #9 MatchaBun — January was a strong month for tails, and counting cat, dog, and rabbit ears, non-human and half-human motifs kept up a steady output.

On the tail × cat axis, this PC-and-mobile release also came out:

Sabami, by NekoNoNaguriai, is a mackerel-tabby-motif avatar trademarked by a varsity jacket and big braids. It ships with both a PC version (Poor) and a Mobile version (Medium), so Quest-only and phone friends see the same look. The PC version also carries toggle menus for the outfit, cat ears, and tail.

Body types: standard builds at about 70%

The split: standard builds 22 (about 69%), chibi 4, mascots 3, tall 2, petite 1. #3 Hikarun and #5 Torao put chibi silhouettes firmly in the Top 10 — standard proportions hold the center, but chibi and mascot builds have a reliable seat at the table.

On the mascot axis, this robot translation of a traditional dog charm stood out:

HARICCO, by にひ弥総本家, is a quadruped robot inspired by the inu-hariko dog charm, about 60cm tall. It copies a humanoid rig's leg motion onto front and rear legs to fake four-legged walking, and instead of lip sync, the head lamp glows along with your voice. At △9,004 polygons (PC rank: Good) and ¥500, it's a featherweight exploration buddy.

Outfit types: sailor and school uniforms lead

Among bundled outfits, sailor uniforms (4) and school uniforms (3) took first and second. Like Ayusa at #6 and Misumi at #7, "shipped wearing a uniform" was January's default — and with Kei's black suit uniform at #10, the school-coded lineup ran deep.

On the uniform axis, this manga-artist collaboration was also published:

Riharu, by AVAKIN', is a tanuki-eared, stripe-tailed avatar created in collaboration with manga artist Togatagato. A deep-green blazer uniform meets leaf hair ornaments for a Japanese twist, with 524 facial shape keys. It shares a base body with the shop's NIBAN and supports Mochi Fitter.

Pricing: about 56% at ¥5,000+, median at ¥5,000

Eighteen of 32 releases (about 56%) sit at ¥5,000+, and adding the six at ¥3,000-4,999 covers 75% of the month. The median lands exactly at ¥5,000 — "around ¥5,000" is the volume zone for new avatars. Nothing shipped free, while the coin-price tier held three releases including Ayusa (#6, ¥500).

From that same coin tier, here's one more that wins on charm:

Mossan the Mole, by VolvoX, is a fluffy mole avatar about 70cm tall, equipped with a safety helmet and a pickaxe. It's light at △10,700 / Performance Rank Poor, with expressions mapped to six hand gestures. At ¥500, it's a soft, slightly silly companion for world exploring.

Creator's view: January 2026 trends

Four observations from the Top 10 and the month's 32 releases, aimed at avatar creators.

Metric	January 2026
Total releases	32
Median price	¥5,000
Median likes	733
Free releases	0
Highest price in Top 10	¥6,500 (#7 Misumi)
Standard-build share	About 69% (22/32)
Chibi / mascot / tall / petite total	10 of 32

Points for avatar creators:

Wrap-up

January 2026's new avatars formed a clear picture: dark led the taste chart, and the support for darker directions was earned head-on — from the white gothic ghost Wendy to the all-black Nakiya and the cyber jirai nekomata Maon. Tails, long hair, and cat ears topped the appearance chart, keeping non-human motifs thick on the ground, and ¥5,000 marked the pricing center of gravity — with no free releases, coin-priced gems like Ayusa, HARICCO, and Mossan filled the accessible end with real craftsmanship.

From a creator's seat, expression shape keys in the hundreds-to-1,500+ range plus MMD support became the standard kit, and Mochi Fitter support reached half the month's releases. Shared base bodies, retrofit outfit compatibility, photo contests — the pattern of growing an avatar through outfit assets and community, rather than selling it once and moving on, was already unmistakable in January. Expression depth and ecosystem connectivity: those two axes decided January 2026's top ranks, by the numbers and by the lineup alike.

Other categories for January 2026

The new Booth releases of January 2026 are covered category by category in my monthly reports.

• [January 2026] VRChat Outfit Trends & Ranking | Booth Trend Analysis
• [January 2026] VRChat Hairstyle Trends & Ranking | Booth Trend Analysis
• [January 2026] VRChat Accessory Trends & Ranking | Booth Trend Analysis
• [January 2026] VRChat Small Item Trends & Ranking | Booth Trend Analysis
• [January 2026] VRChat Gimmick Trends & Ranking | Booth Trend Analysis
• [January 2026] VRChat World Trends & Ranking | Booth Trend Analysis

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About the data

• Aggregated: 2026-07-12 (original publication snapshot: 2026-04-13)
• Target: avatars published on Booth between 2026-01-01 and 2026-01-31 (32 avatars)
• Ranking basis: like_count (likes) at aggregation time, descending
• Brush-up: this article was updated on 2026-07-12 to the current format, with the ranking and statistics refreshed to that day's re-aggregation
• Inclusion criteria: the VRCFinder database only collects products with 300+ likes, so products below 300 likes at aggregation time are not included
• Note: all figures and rankings are a snapshot as of the aggregation date and may differ from current values. "Published" refers to when the Booth product page went public, which may differ from when sales actually began