KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — Maybe you have stumbled upon VTuber clips before on YouTube: a snippet of an anime girl chatting with her viewers while playing a video game, watching a movie, or even cooking.
Maybe you've seen that anime girl interviewing your favourite movie stars, who looked slightly baffled while doing so. You may have even heard her songs played in a video game store without knowing it.
You may have wondered, "why?”. And that was before you found out that viewers are sending money to them in return for the entertainment.
Welcome to the world of VTubers, as Malay Mail guides you down the rabbit hole.
What is a VTuber anyway?
No, the "Tuber” part has nothing to do with potatoes or yams. The word is a portmanteau for "virtual YouTubers” — with the YouTuber part referring to talents who stream through the online video sharing platform.
The "virtual” part refers to how VTubers are actually real persons behind their online avatars, rather than a piece of animation. We’ll explain more on how below.
VTubers create a variety of content, including live streams, gameplay videos, and other forms of entertainment, much like traditional YouTubers.
Some have also branched into "real life” — appearing in talk shows, singing opening songs for animes, and releasing music just like normal artists do.
The phenomenon began in Japan — as it always — and has since spread across Asian countries like South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia, before gaining momentum in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
So how do I, ahem, start finding my ‘oshi’
Since the debut of arguably the first VTuber, Kizuna Ai, in 2016 — there has been an explosion of new talents from across the world.
The top two agencies are Hololive Productions and Nijisanji, which have branches for talents in English-speaking world, and even neighbouring Indonesia. There are also hundreds of independent talents.
In Malaysia, some have also tried taking the plunge, with agencies such as Projek Hikayat. Even AirAsia had attempted to cash in on the trend before.
For new fans, it’s usually less intimidating to watch clips of the VTubers — which mostly tend to be funny, absurd, or absurdly funny — rather than watch a stream that can sometimes stretch for hours. You can also watch music videos of their song covers, or stream their original music on Spotify.
Once you start, just leave the YouTube algorithm to take care of it.
Recommended reading:
Yes, Malaysia has its own VTubers, too! What does it take for them to make it?
You May Also Like