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  • The Year is 2035. Social distancing is still in effect; not out of necessity, but out of

  • choice. An entire generation of teenagers has seen more anime faces than human ones.

  • The new president has declared the USA a protectorate of Atlantis, a talking dog is the Japanese

  • Prime minister, climate change has been fixed and there are no more wars, obviously. 99%

  • of the world's GDP goes to superchats. And all in all everyone's pretty happy with

  • how things are going. Or else they get eaten by sharks.

  • So it's exactly as voluntary as what we have now.

  • Speaking of, 2020 is when now actually is; and the beautiful future I just painted in

  • your mind is but one possibility of many laid out before us. Its potential cause? The precipitous

  • rise to prominence of VTubers. Which I predicted in my Kizuna Ai video 3 years ago, hence why

  • you should believe in everything I just said without question.

  • Though honestly, I never could have guessed how far this whole thing would come, especially

  • over this last year. Kizuna's just another face in the crowd nowalbeit a pretty

  • big one that's on a lot of billboards and televisions. But her charming outbursts of

  • English profanity have been superceded in our collective culture by EEKUM BOKUM and

  • A. There are plenty of VTube Streamers who rivaland even surpassher viewership

  • now, and more and more viewers every day are falling past her into the bottomless abyss

  • of Hololives, Nijisanjis, smaller agencies, and the endlessly swelling horde of indies.

  • Virtual Youtubers are the new apex predator of the streaming ecosystem, andpretty

  • much everyone I know is eager to welcome our new anime overlords. I know I am. But I don't

  • fully know why I am, so today, I'm gonna take a crack at figuring out what's so special

  • about this whole thing, especially the Hololive girls, since they're who I'm most familiar

  • with

  • But first, this Video is sponsored by Skillshare, an online learning community where creators

  • of all skill levels canwell it's kinda right there in the nameBetween quarantines

  • and winter vacation, a lot of us have a lot of free time on the horizon, and that's

  • time that can be well spent paying artistic tribute to these virtual idols. And whether

  • you wanna immortalize your favourite VTubers in fanart, cut together a compilation of their

  • funniest moments, animate one of those moments for extra hilarity, or remix their songs into

  • new and funky forms, Skillshare is THE place to go to learn how to do it.

  • For instance, if you wanna compete in Mori's next remix contest, DJ King Arthur's course

  • Remixing Dance Music: Digital Production Basicscan help you figure out how to get

  • the killer mashup of your dreams out of your head and into your headphones. And it'll

  • teach you how to get it into other headphones, too, with a whole section on sharing and legality,

  • in case you wanna leverage those skills toward making music of your own some day.

  • No matter your field, whether you're a professional looking to up your game or an aspiring creator

  • wondering where to start it, Skillshare has a class for you, taught by experts. And they're

  • always launching new premium courses, so you always have new places to go on your creative

  • journey. There is a lot to choose from, but they keep the site curated with education

  • in mindmeaning there are no ads to get in your wayand it still costs less than

  • ten bucks a month with an annual subscription. But if you act now, you won't even have

  • to pay that up front. The first thousand people to sign up at the link in the dooblidoo will

  • get a free trial of their premium membership, so you can start learning the skills you need

  • to appease your new anime gods and explore your creativity today.

  • perhaps I'm getting a little ahead of myself. After all, some of you are probably here wondering

  • what the big deal with vtubers even isand why your fealty to them is necessary and good

  • in the first place. Why are they so popular all of sudden? Wellthat much isn't hard

  • to figure out. VTubers have been around for years now, and

  • it's no coincidence that 2020 was the year of their ascendance. You know, on account

  • of the thing. A lot of people have been stuck inside, seeing less and less of their family

  • and friendsespecially the far off ones they only see at cons - and more and more

  • of their TVs and computer screens, and while, believe me, I've tried, man cannot live

  • on video games and anime alone. We need human contact, or at least, an anime facsimile thereof,

  • playing video games. As Yazy said in our last podcast, being in

  • the chat of a big VTuber feelsoddly similar to the sense of anonymous inclusion you get

  • wandering around a con, or sitting in on a panel. For folks with social anxiety especially,

  • there's something reallycozy about being in a crowd like that, where you can exist,

  • express yourself, and participate in something without being reallynoticed, you know?

  • Of course, in theory, any kind of streamer could fill that void, but VTubers have a particular

  • appeal that sets them apart: they're anime. And anime is inherently cooler than real life!

  • Also less real, which can help a lot with the anxiety. Where your typical twitch affiliate

  • seeks to create a vibe akin to hanging with your gaming buddies, VTube Streamsespecially

  • collabsbetter resemble the slice of life atmosphere of a Moe after school club.

  • Which can be easy to misconstrue, just like moe club shows. From the outside looking in,

  • it can look a lot like nerds simply simping for their 2D crushes. And that's definitely

  • a factor, especially when it comes to superchats and character merch. But we don't *just*

  • watch Moe slice of life stuff to see cute blobs jiggle. For most people, the true appeal

  • of these showsand these streamerslies in watching fun, larger than life personalities

  • have fun doing fun things. It's escapism at its simplest and most joyous, here made

  • interactive and immediate. Which isn't easy. If you're not already

  • into VTube, it's important to understand that these live2D avatars aren't just filters

  • over standard facecam. They're digital puppets, controlled by the streamer's expressions

  • and a few hotkeys - and the top hololive VTubers, Gura and Korone, are both REALLY

  • good at exaggerating those expressions and their movements to make those puppets feel

  • alive. Successful VTubers also give their all to the vocal side of the performance,

  • to imbue their characters with morecharacter. It takes a lot of talentand a keen sense

  • of comic timingto do this job well. Have confidence. No confidence

  • These exaggerated, animated personalities give each VTuber and their community a distinct

  • vibe; and with the wide variety of characters out there, it's all but guaranteed that

  • any potential viewer will find at least one channel they can vibe with. A lot of folks

  • enjoy the chaotic, shitposty Bart Simpson energy of Gura's streams, some prefer the

  • laid-back, soothing atmosphere of Ina's drawing sessions, and others deeply appreciate

  • Amelia's patented blend of real gamer skill and real gamer toxicity.

  • It looks like they're gonna try to go for the hunt and not for the kill because

  • what's the point they already won the game OH! looks like they are gonna go for the plant

  • even though it's pretty much in the bag for them no plant even needed THAT'S RIGHT

  • gonna take out the Sova what a surprise…” “My brain is mellllllltiiiing…”

  • Personally, I just appreciate no longer being the worst anime chess streamer.

  • Also she's definitely got the best taste in anime and manga out of the Holomyth squad.

  • Like, Mob Psycho, Made in Abyss, The Promised Neverland,*Deca-Dence.* Between Bubba and

  • Pipe that's some good taste in dogs too. Kiara's probably got her beat in JRPG taste,

  • and her open, positive personality mixes well with everyone she collabs with, and makes

  • it a lot of fun to watch her fail and learn in games on her own. Callie, uh, does a lot

  • of that too, with her own upbeat attitude. Though I think most people appreciate her

  • attitude and beats in a different context. “Trapped in a stasis- I hate this, I haven't

  • taken a life in like ages, okay. This is Heinous, but wait, look at me now! Try'na get souls

  • and I just found out how! Put up a shroud, Stream for the crowd, Play up the game and

  • the viewers could bow!” There's something forpretty much everyone

  • between the five of them. And DEFINITELY everyone when you add in the dozens upon hundreds of

  • Japanese and foreign streamers under the hololive banner and beyond.

  • If you wanna revel in the simple Joy of gaming, it's hard to resist Korone's enthusiasm.

  • If you like clowning aroundor whole-damn circussing aroundthen Polka's zany

  • gaming streams will delight you. It's especially fun watching her play Among Us because she

  • justconstantly seems like she's up to something. On the other hand, Pekora IS constantly

  • up to something. And everyone knows it, which you'd think would undermine her mischief.

  • But she knows how to turn that suspicion to her advantage. She's a master of psychological

  • warfare. “So where are you?”

  • huuh, well, if I tell you, you might get even more anxious, maybe

  • Where are you?” “The foot of the snowy mountain. PEKO PEKO

  • PEKO PEKO Why don't you try your best and catch up? I'm looking forward to your VR

  • horror stream Peko peko peko” “Shut up! Damnit this is the worst!”

  • It's hard not to get attached to a favourite or two if you spend any amount of time watching

  • these girls stream. Though it's worth noting that there are a lot of fun, underappreciated

  • personalities on the maleholostarsside as well. Roberu the bartender has a pure,

  • direct charm that makes his English among us streams a lot of fun, and I deeply, DEEPLY

  • relate to his undying thirst for Pyra in xenoblade 2.

  • Subarashi! *parched noises*” On that note, there's a practical benefit

  • to the wide range of VTubers, beyond appealing to a broad audienceit makes it easy to

  • avoid whatever aspects of the larger community *don't* appeal to you.

  • Most VTubers sit in a comfortable PG middle ground between all-ages and adult-oriented

  • content, where they can traffick in innuendo and double entendre for the sake of humor,

  • without doing anything suggestive enough to make anyone who's not *here for that* feel

  • uncomfortable. Of course, these are anime girls on the internet; some people are absolutely

  • here for that. And some of those people might be inclined to push that, through thirst chatting,

  • on viewers and streamers who aren't. Which is where more, uh, overt creators like Hololive's

  • Marine come in. “Senchou!!”

  • Ahoy!” “Ahoy!”

  • How are ya?” “I'm HORNYYY!”

  • “A.” They give the viewers who areWoah, actually

  • horny?” a place to congregate, express themselves, sharefanart, and mingle with their own

  • kind. An outlet, if you will. And when these streamers collaborate, they can serve as the

  • butt of the others' “go to jail for horny crimesjokes, subtly setting boundaries

  • for anyone who finds a new favourite through the collab.

  • It helpsquite a bitthat respecting these boundaries seems to be more or less

  • the norm among VTube viewers, when the opposite is so often the case in the world of streaming

  • and parasocial relationships at large. It's all too common for fans of online personalities

  • to become over-familiar with their faves, and expect really unfair things of them, but

  • VTube avatars serve as an additional barrier between creator and audience, and in general,

  • fans discourage each other from trying to break through that. Even if the true identity

  • of a vtuber's “soulis an open secret, it's generally taboo to bring it up.

  • I don't know if that's motivated by respect on every fan's part, per se. I think it's

  • more likely that some of them just don't want others breaking theillusionof

  • the character for them. But the result is positive either way; obsessive, possessive,

  • intrusive fans are pushed to the fringes of the community, whereusuallythey

  • do less harm. And because everyone's already invested in playing along with the character,

  • they're a little more inclined to play along with other rules too.

  • That's not to say the VTube community's free of toxicity and disrespect. Ha. Ha. It

  • is to laugh. But in general, the atmosphere is more positive and inviting thanmost

  • online spaces I've been in. At least when it comes to big, “officially sanctioned

  • streamers. It can be rough for independent creators who don't have a big audience or

  • an agency to back them up, but even then, the community is keen to welcome new voices,

  • and push back against the small but vocal minority of gatekeeping assholes at its periphery.

  • Be they Chumbuds or Deadbeats, most VTube fans are united by a drive to protecc and

  • support. By its very nature this new interactive medium

  • widens the gap between performer and persona, without making the audience feel *detached*

  • from either. And I find that layer of accepted unreality makes certain enduringly popular

  • game commentarygenres” a little more enjoyable, at least for me.

  • Take horror games; it is just plain fun to watch people wander nervously down dark hallways

  • and get jump scared, but most of these games leverage tropes and follow patterns that get

  • old after a while. You become desensitized to these kinds of scares. And when real, 3D

  • streamers make them their bread and butter, it gradually becomes harder and harder to

  • believe their reactions are completely genuine. They know you're here to watch them panic

  • and make loud noises, and of course they're gonna give the people what they want.

  • In my eyes those performative overreactions justfit larger than life *characters*

  • like Okayu, Pekora, and Gura a lot better; you're already primed to expect them to

  • perform. Screams that would sound obnoxious coming from a real human beingstill sound

  • pretty obnoxious, honestly, but they feel like something an anime girl would naturally

  • do. And thanks to the collaborative nature of these streams, you do also get some

  • very genuine reactions when they drag their less brave friends into a multiplayer spookemup.

  • But it's another age-old youtube gaming stapleMinecraft Roleplaythat benefits

  • most from the suspension of disbelief that VTubers encourage. I have NEVER been able

  • to get into this kind of content beforeas someone who waxes poetic about anime on the

  • internet I'm in no position to call anythingcringey,” butin characterMinecraft

  • gameplay just doesn't sit right with meunless it involves vtubers.

  • There's a powerful appeal in seeing all of these characters I enjoy inhabit a persistent,

  • shared space. It's a solid compromise between my craving for continuity and my desire to

  • switch my brain off with truly pointless entertainment. And because I've already bought into their

  • *performance,* I'm not put off when they break into skits, or play along withPranks

  • that likely wouldn't make sense if I thought too hard about them.

  • I know that's not a problem for everyonewe are talking about one of the most popular

  • youtube content formats ever hereBut for me, as someone whose interest in Minecraft

  • has only ever extended to crazy redstone builds, it's exciting to have that barrier broken

  • down. And it's not just the newto mestuff

  • that's more exciting when VTubers do it. Their crazy personalities make among us collabs

  • endlessly fun. And even games I've played and seen played a million times over, like

  • Super Mario Bros. and Banjo Kazooie somehow feel fresh and fun again in the hands of Korone

  • andwell, mostly Korone. I dunno man, there's just something about her simple, universal

  • expressions of delight, exhilaration, and frustration that justbrings me right back

  • to discovering these games for the first time. She justgets video games, you know?

  • AHH, WOW!” “CHAINSAW WOW!”

  • CHAINSAW! CHAINSAW! CHAINSAW! CHAAAAAINSAW!” “WowWOW!”

  • Her enthusiasm is infectious, and clearly authentic, even if it is being channeled through

  • a convincing performance as an aggressively excitable cartoon dog. Actually that might

  • be part of the nostalgia trip too. I can't be the only one who gets, like, soft scooby

  • doo vibes from Korone, can I? Can't you just see her goingreeheeheeheehee?”

  • Which I guess would make OkayuShaggy? Pekora's gotta be Fred. Y'know. Traps

  • and all that. Hachaama's scrappy, obviously. That's about as far as I've thought this

  • out, but maybe someone out there will do something amazing with that scrap of an idea. It's

  • not out of the question for the VTube Community. New and wonderful cartoons, compilations,

  • remixes, and illustrations inspired by these characters pop up all over the internet every

  • single day. These girls are inspiring creatorsof every stripe to express themselves, and the

  • quality and quantity of fun, beautiful, hilarious original and remixed content coming out of

  • this fan base is nothing short of inspiring. I mean, shoot, just look at all the reinterpretations

  • of that one Eekum Bokum cartoon. It's so cool seeing a whole community of artists bouncing

  • off each other like this. It feels like a more internationally accessible

  • version of the vocaloid communityand there are even some miku miku dance animators

  • putting their considerable talents to use in the space.

  • Of course, I can't talk about fan creators without acknowledging the IMMENSE contributions

  • that Fan-subbers have made to VTube as an international community. Before Hololive English

  • was a thing, these guys made it possiblealmost singlehandedlyfor the rest of us to be

  • VTube Fans at all. And even as the international market has grown and become more accessible,

  • their creative editing and subtitling choices have ensured that their compilations and clips

  • remain distinctly enjoyable in their own right, even if you're tuning into streams daily.

  • Y'know, it's one thing to watch Pekora deceive and betray her friends live. It's

  • another to enjoy the highlights, with the correct combo inputs for her laugh annotated

  • on screen. “Ha ^ Ha v Ha > Ha < Ha ^ Ha.”

  • I don't think the community would be anywhere near this vibrant if VTubers weren't so

  • enthusiastic about encouraging their fans to create. All of them share fanart, edits

  • and animations on twitter, and some do entire streams focused on fan creationsCalliope's

  • Remix Party,” where she spotlighted the ten best remixes of her debut single, provided

  • a substantial buff to our driving playlist, and even taught me a thing or two about music

  • production. That's the other thingmany of the Hololive

  • girls bring some serious artistic talent to the mix themselvesbeyond the baseline

  • it takes to bring their avatars to life, I mean. As a hundred thousand plus people just

  • found out live a few weeks back, Gura's got some SERIOUS pipes on her.

  • *SingingDepartureby Masatoshi Ono* And Ina, for her part, is an exceptional illustrator.

  • Also her dad jokes are second to none. “Sorry I'm late.”

  • Hi Late! I'm Ina~” I don't wanna discount Amelia's gaming

  • skills and showmanship, or Kiara's ability to get other streamers to open up. Everyone

  • in the hololive stable is talented in their own right. But of course artists are going

  • to better appreciate the work that fans put into art AND understand the satisfaction they

  • get from making it. And that understanding created one of my favourite

  • moments in Hololive history: “I've also heard that…”

  • “A lot of people have been picking up drawing again, or picking up their hobbies again after

  • watching my stream…” “And uh…” *sniffles*

  • AH! I'm sorry!” “It really makes me happy because... “

  • That's one of the biggest reasons that I wanted to doWell I wanted to become

  • a Vtuber...” There's nothing quite like being told that

  • your art has inspired someone else to create. In that clip you can see, in real time, a

  • real person's life changing for the better. Not just in a material, “lotsa superchats

  • way, but on a powerful, emotional level. Even behind an anime puppet.

  • I don't wanna psychoanalyze anyone here, but that seems to be something Ina's in

  • this formaking that connection with her audience, and fellow streamers. She even tells

  • her fans to save their superchat money so they can rent movies for watchalongs, which

  • is justsuper cool of her. Despite the inherent distance between performer

  • and persona, in these long, improvised broadcasts it's inevitable that the authentic human

  • being behind the vtuber bleeds through. And in a weird way, it can feelmore real than

  • a real personjust being themselvesin front of a webcam. Like, by adding the

  • filter of the avatar, the performance, you take away some of the moredeeply ingrained

  • filters that govern how we interact. Korone definitely plays up her attachment

  • to Okayu as a bit “I love you, too.”

  • *DESPERATE SCREECHING* “Okayu…”

  • Okayu…” “Okayu!”

  • Okayu!”

  • Could you move more to the right, Subaru-chan?” “Sorry I mean to the left.”

  • Just a little more!” “Just a little more!”

  • OK! OK!” “HEY YOU!”

  • But there's clearly a genuine friendship underpinning the kayfabe. When Korone talks

  • about how good Okayu is at reaching out to her and helping when she's feeling down,

  • and when Okayu relates anecdotes about Korone getting… a bit clingyit's just so

  • personal and specific and relatable. I dunno, it makes me happy.

  • Though not as happy as watching themand miobe happy for a teary-eyed Fubuki when

  • she hit a million subs live on stream. “Sorry, it's kinda awkward saying this

  • with this timingAs I was playing with everyone, I reached a million subs!”

  • *Evangelioncongratulationscircle* “Thank you! My tears are welling up!”

  • *laughter* “Sorry, I was wondering if I should say

  • it or not* “Of course you should tell us!”

  • *EVA climax continues* For all we joke, andJokeabout Simping

  • for 2D waifus… I think it's those human moments that draw most of us to VTubers and

  • keep us coming back.

  • They give people something personal to connect to. And without that connection, Vtubers lose

  • a lot of their power. There's a reason Kizuna Ai isn't at the forefront of this conversation

  • anymore: The Multiple AI Project. Activ8, the suits who own her image, tried toduplicate

  • Kizunacreating different versions of the AI idol with different voices and designs.

  • Perhaps simply a measure to reduce the original's workload and sustain the brand if something

  • happened to herthough suspicions began swirling that their true aim was to reduce

  • her control over the character. Either way, it backfired. For those who weren't

  • super invested in Kizuna already, the change in direction made her seem less and less like

  • a character and more like a brand. And for those who were invested, the perceived sleight

  • against the soul of their favourite online personadidn't go over super well. Streams

  • began hemorrhaging viewers, speculation about the issue was banned from chat, and in an

  • effort to salvage things, Activ8 eventually created a new, dedicated management agency,

  • Kizuna Ai inc, with her officially-revealed original actress, Nozomi Kasuga, serving in

  • a highly-publicized advisory role. The lesson is clear: being virtual doesn't

  • make vtubers replaceable; acting like the actor behind them is irrelevant does just

  • as much to break the parasocial spell as calling too much attention to them. And it takes away

  • the fans' main reason to support them.

  • Vtubing allows people who might be self-conscious, or anxious, or otherwise averse to streaming

  • on camera to break out of their shell, find an audience, and maybe even make a living

  • in a way that wasn't possible for them before. And it feels really good to be part of that,

  • even if it's just as a spectator. Though of course, a lot of folks are gonna feel compelled

  • to contribute more directly, be it financially, or creatively. In the form of a superchat

  • or an overlong video essay. It also feels good, of course, to connect

  • with other people who appreciate the same stuff you do. I've put my feelings about

  • VTubers out there, but this is a phenomena that transcends language, culture, and nationality,

  • so I know there are a million perspectives on it that I've never even considered

  • so I'd love to hear your perspective in the comments below. And while you're at

  • it, if you'd consider checking out one of my other video essays about less interactive

  • anime before you dive back into the endless ocean of Vtube content, I'd appreciate that

  • too. I'm Geoff Thew, Professional Shitbag, signing

  • out from my mother's basement.

The Year is 2035. Social distancing is still in effect; not out of necessity, but out of

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虛擬實況主的魔力(The Magic of VTubers)

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    Diana Pelagia 發佈於 2021 年 04 月 28 日
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