If ever there was an article that needed a video or two, this is it
VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
91–100 of 114 posts
Re: VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
#92The last section should have been titled “Why Do People Watch It?” because I finished the article still wondering.
That's a bigger question, like why do people watch streamers in the first place. It's not for me personally but it's a huge worldwide multibillion industry so plenty of people enjoy it and / or aspire to be it.
It's not really the same thing.
"Normal" streamers are watched for a variety of reasons: maybe their personality is entertaining and charismatic, maybe they're really good at the game(s) they play (speedrunners in particular fall into this camp), and so on. There will always be viewers watching purely for parasocial reasons, but it's usually not the primary reason to watch them.
With vtubers, though, the parasocial element is essentially the full extent of the appeal. They're not very charismatic (vtuber humor is infamous for consisting mostly of loud childish noises and sex jokes), they're usually not very good at games and rarely dedicate themselves to one game or one genre. They are watched because the viewers are lonely and want to feel like they have a (girl)friend, that's about it.
Re: VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
#93The last section should have been titled “Why Do People Watch It?” because I finished the article still wondering.
VTubers separate the actor and the on-screen character, which is good for both the actor and the audience.
Audiences tend to be young (because, in general, they have the free time), and some struggle to distinguish the two, leading to strange parasocial interactions where audiences believe there is an actual relationship between them and the streamer. Some streamers are good at leveraging this relationship for money and clout; at the extreme example, there is OnlyFans.
At the worst, this fake one-sided relationship can lead to stalking and murder, but even lessor forms such as constant rumors over relationship status or sexualized screenshots can take its toll. VTubers reduce or eliminate this from audiences, but their use also helps the streamer since the VTuber is obviously a character they play, it is not them as a person.
This is not different than how some people obsess over actors, musicians, sports players, or models.
Re: VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
#94The last section should have been titled “Why Do People Watch It?” because I finished the article still wondering.
Oh I can answer this! I watch quite a lot of VTubers, almost all of them from the Hololive brand and a few indies. I don't watch regular streamers anymore. - The most succinct way I can describe it is it has some overlap with the appeal of the anime/manga subculture in the West. Imagine a character in an anime has a "soul" imbued in them and they talk for hours on YouTube about a brand of ketchup they like and all th…
I can guarantee you that if you're an adult carrying around a stuffed anime doll, many adults are going to perceive you as weird or a loner.
Re: VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
#95That's a bit... late to the party. I can't find when the article was published, but the phenomenon "went worldwide" several years ago by the means of COVID. These days the vtubing as an industry is in a somewhat stable state, if not a possible decline, going by viewership hours over the same period. Many big EN and JP names have already retired too.
Yeah, I was thinking that too
Gawr Gura sang "take me out to the ball game" at a Dodgers game in 2024. This stuff has been super mainstream now for years
Re: VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
#96[dead]
Re: VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not the parent, but I have the same question. Your reasons above could be said about streamers in general, but what about VTubers in particular appeals to you?
You all are beating around the bush. Some people like anime girl personas better than 3d girls. It is somewhat similar to the whole furry thing on a few levels. This creates the demand for services/content which we are now discussing. /thread
Can we talk about how gross it is to call real human women "3D girls"? Is that just me?
Re: VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh I can answer this! I watch quite a lot of VTubers, almost all of them from the Hololive brand and a few indies. I don't watch regular streamers anymore. - The most succinct way I can describe it is it has some overlap with the appeal of the anime/manga subculture in the West. Imagine a character in an anime has a "soul" imbued in them and they talk for hours on YouTube about a brand of ketchup they like and all th…
I can guarantee you that if you're an adult carrying around a stuffed anime doll, many adults are going to perceive you as weird or a loner.
Ehh I'm fine with it these days! It's pretty small and chained to my backpack inconspicuously. I've realized it's more important to express myself how I want than caring what people think all the time.
Knowing that I enjoy something this much means I can just ignore people that don't understand how I feel, is what I meant to say.
Re: VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
#99The latest and greatest method of exploiting and monetizing the male loneliness epidemic.
I’ve met a decent amount of lesbian vtuber fans so I don’t think this is necessarily true.
Re: VTubing: How a Japanese Phenomenon Is Going Worldwide
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
For the big VTuber corporate brand, for sure. But the indie VTuber scene as exploded. It used to be fairly expensive to get in the hobby, and you needed to be technically savy or have someone be for you. Now there is a lot of free and open-source VTuber software that don't need complex setup, just a webcam. And you can easily commission a few hundred bucks an artist to get your whole character and animation. This mad…
Is this AI? That was the case like 5 years ago. Every big western vtuber right now started out as an indie using free models.
I must be old, but five years is not that long ago. OOP was mentioning the covid peak. Before 2019, there was already vtubers, but the setups where way more complicated and janky.