YouTube erected a platform where commoners could climb the ladder to stardom.
Now, the video-sharing giant is seeing another wave of new talent diving into a glittering entertainment scene.
They aren’t exactly human, though.
These entertainers are called “virtual YouTubers,” or “VTubers,” and are represented by digital avatars that look like anime characters.
Almost exclusively a Japanese phenomenon, at least so far, these virtual talents have proliferated rapidly over the past several months and people in the industry, together with observers, predict the movement will only accelerate.
Following are some questions and answers about virtual YouTubers.
What do virtual YouTubers do?
It’s quite similar to what human YouTubers do, such as recording themselves playing video games, trying new apps, singing, dancing and live streaming their chats with viewers.
They are of course created and managed by humans who set up motion-capture and filming devices so the avatars mirror their real-life movements and voice.
How smoothly the avatars move differs according to each VTuber. Some are 3D characters capable of smooth gestures and changing facial expressions that emulate emotions.
So far, pretty much all popular virtual YouTubers are cute female characters.
Their main playing field is YouTube, but those that have gained popularity there hold live events in the real world and have started appearing on TV programs.
How fast are virtual YouTubers growing?
The Tokyo-based data research firm User Local Inc. announced last week that the number of VTubers had topped 4,000. Only about 2½ months earlier the figure stood at around 2,000.
According to User Local, which also compiles virtual YouTuber rankings, the character called Kizuna Ai has the biggest fan base with more than 2 million followers. Kaguya Luna stands at No. 2 with 750,000 followers, while Mirai Akari has about 625,000.
Compared with the leading Japanese human YouTubers, who have over 6 million followers, the numbers may be still be smaller, but Kizuna Ai already outnumbers some famous YouTubers, such as Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, a former member of the boy band SMAP who has roughly 785,000 fans following his channel.
Why are they becoming so popular?
Minoru Hirota, a journalist who runs a media website called Panora, which specializes in virtual reality-related news, said the movement started picking up steam late last year.
Before then, Kizuna Ai, who is seen as the pioneer of the field, was the only popular VTuber. But several other characters debuted in December and attracted attention.
“People are already familiar with (human) YouTubers, but they have become saturated lately. Then this virtual YouTuber thing popped up and a lot of people found it interesting,” Hirota said.
He explained that one common aspect among popular VTubers is that they show some “gaps” that people may not expect based on the character’s appearance.
For instance, Kizuna Ai, which looks like a teenage girl, plays a mobile game in one video. When it can’t play well, it eventually gets riled up and says, “I’ll never play this s——y game ever again!”
Another YouTuber, Nekomasu, plays a female-looking avatar, but the voice actually sounds like a middle-aged man.
From a technology perspective, Hirota said a big factor behind the bump in popularity is the fact that devices and software necessary to make virtual avatar videos have become significantly cheaper.
How are they different from anime characters?
A critical difference is that virtual YouTubers tend to have more personality than anime characters, whose attributes are locked in by a script.
Unlike anime characters that cannot have a Twitter account to tweet freely, VTubers can and they communicate with their fans in real time as well.
Although virtual YouTubers are played by humans, many fans want to see the characters as if they are acting of their own free will.
Thus, “fans are seeing these characters almost as humans and it’s really a new” way for people to interact with virtual characters, Hirota said.
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Source: The Japan Times