The VTube Culture, the VTube Cult
If you’ve been on the internet for a long time, and if you love anime. The name Kizuna Ai pops up a lot in anime memes. “But who is Kizuna Ai?” You may ask, well...she is a Virtual YouTuber or VTuber. The cross between an anime avatar being portrayed by a human performer.
With 2020 being the shit show year that it is, a lot of us seek to find wholesome content to keep our spirits up to fight through the isolation and restrictions. Some religiously video call their friends and family, several take the time to slow down and work on themselves, others choose to give their heart and soul (and money) to animated Waifus and Husbandos.
Yes, this is what’s populating the YouTube ecosystem as of late, with two big companies. Hololive and Nijisanji leading the charge of bringing VTubers into the mainstream. This post is going to be a small breakdown about what VTubers are and what their appeal is to us. Without further ado...
- A! Welcome to The Rabbit Hole! -
Initially a Japanese phenomenon, VTubers are animated individuals who do live streams playing video games, do fun activities, and most importantly, being overly cute. For a big company like Hololive, each “Idol” has a variety of talents, quirks and personalities based on a type of theme but not limited to; antimorphic animals/ objects, mythology based beings, job positions and...characters from literature.
In a single stream, the idol focuses on the task at hand while also responding to “Chat” (the audience) for their donations and comments. Making “In” jokes and giving their fans fun nicknames. On a regular basis, they also build relationships with other idols by collaborating with each other.
While it started with only Japanese talents. The VTubers of today have branched out to different audiences by introducing a cast of English speaking streamers and quite recently, opened up to Malay speaking viewers with a new generation of Hololive Indonesia talents. Breaking language barriers for all to enjoy.
[Also, I’m biased. My favorite is [Amelia Watson] I am a “Teamate” and that’s all you need to know, go do your own homework!]
- A Wise SIMP once said -
On paper, this feels like SIMPING right? A bunch of virtual characters sitting in front of a camera, playing games or do other stuff. Talking a lot while getting donations from the viewers?! Sounds like a quick buck job for lazy bums! But there’s a lot more to it at work here.
VTubers are not an entirely new trend because as far back as 2016 (ok, not very far but still). It has been a rising topic for a lot of creators who wish to make a presence while remaining hidden from the public eye. In its most basic form, being a VTuber is the combination of WWE Superstars and idol culture married as one. (ok, hear me out!)
In WWE, the Superstars have their own lore in-universe. They have their respective chapters of development, allies and rivalries but often times, the actors will break character, revealing their soft side or uglier side behind the persona. Think about characters like, The Undertaker or The Rock. In the ring and on the mic, they play a character. With gimmicks and catchphrases. (and finishing moves too) They either play a Face (hero/good guy) or a Heel (villain/bad guy) respectively. Peal away the unbreakable streak and terrifying façade of The Undertaker, you have Mark William Calaway. Take away The People’s Champion, you have the ever-so-charming beefy Hufflepuff, Dwayne Johnson.
Similarly, VTubers are digital idols that used the sorcery of technology and human voices and talents to bring life to the models. Unlike traditional idols though, these characters are allowed to be more realistic or “human” with the freedom to swear, scream, talk about their lives and finally, being able to shit post on social media. It is a balance of both worlds. Living as a public figure while staying autonomous from being recognized when walking on the streets.
But given that we have the internet, its only matter of time until the illusion breaks and viewers know the human behind the model. Should we just commit the inevitable and find out who is behind it? That is up to you. (I won’t answer that!) But to me, it doesn't matter if their identities leak by mistake or otherwise.
Everyone has a reason to be public or be hidden. Perhaps a bad history, a personal complication or maybe, they just don’t want the recognition. Whatever the case, I’m sure that most of them are good people.
- Bigger than Anime Culture -
Not everyone is from Hololive and Nijisanji though. Some streamers use different styles and features to stand out against the crowd. Upon watching several different types of VTubers. It got me interested in understanding the technical ways on how its done and what other types of VTubers are out there.
To my surprise, there are various ways and tutorials on how to do it, using different types programs and tracking tools to do it just like the big girls and boys. The one I got really interested in was a channel that exclusively uses Adobe Character Animator by [Okay Samurai]. From what I learned though, the most popular method based on my search was using free to use programs like [Wakaru], [Live2D] or [VRoid Studio].
Speaking of different, there are a lot of independent VTubers out there as well! As of now, I really like [Artemis of the Blue]. Her character is well designed, her rigging is fluid and, her humor is so wholesome and cheeky!
[I mean, just look at this face! SHE’S SO CUTE IT’S THE BEST!]
Adding on, she is one VTuber that just doesn’t care about what her “competition” does. She just does her own thing which I very happily appreciate. Also, her Twitter uses a lot of rinse and repeat but the replies are the best part.
While writing this and studying briefly on how it works, I was wondering how fun and cool it will be to have VTubers bypass Anime, doing the same thing but with different styles based on certain shows, rigged and ready for Adventure.
[Just imagine though. A shapeshifter or face changer model! That would be so cool!]
But being having a cute or cool model is just one small part of the success, the other part and the hardest part of being a VTuber is to sell the character. Most of the time, individuals behind the models are mostly shy and not as talkative as typical streamers. Other times, they might come across as “try too hard” to voice like the model rather than being themselves in their natural voice.
That’s where “Chat” comes in. As much as we are just viewers for the character, we are also participants to interacting and conversing with the talent. Getting to know them in the process. Making them comfortable and vice versa. Its still a developing idea and in some ways, its gotten me excited all over again about how far a certain type of content can go.
If this kind of content sounds interesting to you, I recommend giving it a try. Love it or hate it, it looks like VTubers are here to stay and its going to be here for a LONG time.
Fair warning though, be weary of how far the hole goes. Because while there is a top, there is still no bottom to where it goes! Now [Excuse my rudeness but could you please...] jump into the hole with me? It’s cozy it here...
Thanks for Reading, Happy Hanukkah and Merry Happy Christmas!
- B -
