Virtual YouTuber

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Mirai Akari, a virtual YouTuber

A virtual YouTuber (Japanese: バーチャルユーチューバー, Hepburn: bācharu yūchūbā) or VTuber (ブイチューバー, buichūbā) is an online entertainer who uses a virtual avatar generated using computer graphics and motion capture software or technology. A digital trend that originated in Japan in the mid-2010s, a majority of VTubers are Japanese-speaking YouTubers or live streamers who use anime-inspired avatar designs. By 2020, there were more than 10,000 active VTubers.[1] Despite their name, virtual YouTubers are not exclusive to Youtube but are also on platform like Niconico, Twitch and bilibili.

The first entertainer to use the phrase "virtual YouTuber", Kizuna AI, began creating content on YouTube in late 2016. Her popularity sparked a VTuber trend in Japan, and spurred the establishment of specialized agencies to promote them, including Hololive Production and  [ja]. Fan translations and foreign-language VTubers have marked a rise in the trend's international popularity.[2] Virtual YouTubers have appeared in domestic advertising campaigns in Japan, and have broken live-stream-related world records.

Overview[]

Virtual YouTubers, or VTubers, are online entertainers, who are typically Japanese-speaking YouTubers or live streamers. They use avatars created with programs such as Live2D, portraying characters designed by online artists.[3] VTubers are considered to have great appeal in that they are not bound by physical limitations and many of them engage in activities that are unconstrained by real-world sex and gender.[4] VTubers are associated with Japanese popular culture and aesthetics, such as anime and manga,[4] and moe anthropomorphism with human or non-human traits.[4] Some VTubers are anthropomorphic, non-human characters such as animals.[5]

According to the BBC, they are unique in that their content "isn't directly tethered to the problems of a real individual or identity," and the popularity of VTubers worldwide is due to their "large customer base outside of Japan who love Japanese culture and anime".[6]

Technology[]

See also: Video game live streaming § Equipment

A VTuber's avatar is typically animated using a webcam and software, which captures the streamer's motions, expressions, and mouth movements, and maps them to a two- or three-dimensional model. Both free and paid programs have been developed, with some capable of being used without a webcam (albeit with pre-determined animations), and some also supporting virtual reality hardware, or hand tracking devices such as the Leap Motion Controller. The animation software Live2D is typically used to rig two-dimensional models, while programs such as VRoid Studio have sometimes been used to create three-dimensional models.[7][8][9] Commissioned models can cost upwards of US$2,000 depending on their level of detail.[10]

History[]

Predecessors[]

On 12 February 2010, visual novel maker Nitroplus began uploading videos to its YouTube channel featuring an animated 3D version of its mascot Super Sonico, who would usually talk to the audience about herself or about releases related to the company.[11] On 13 June 2011, UK-based Japanese vlogger Ami Yamato uploaded her first video, which featured an animated, virtual avatar speaking to the camera.[6][12] In 2012, Japanese company Weathernews Inc. debuted a vocaloid-like character called Weatheroid Type A Airi on SOLiVE24, a 24-hour weather live stream on Nico Nico Douga, on YouTube and their website.[13] In 2014, Airi got her own solo program every Thursday and began live broadcasting with motion capture.[14][15]

Breakout[]

Kizuna AI was the first VTuber to achieve breakout popularity.

In late 2016, Kizuna AI, the first VTuber to achieve breakout popularity,[16][6][17] made her debut on YouTube. She was the first to coin and use the term "virtual YouTuber". Created by digital production company Activ8 and voice-acted by Nozomi Kasuga,[6][18] Kizuna AI created a sense of "real intimacy" with fans, as she was responsive to their questions. Within ten months, she had over two million subscribers and later became a culture ambassador of the Japan National Tourism Organization.[19] Kizuna Ai's popularity can be attributed to the oversaturation of traditional webcam YouTubers and for aspects of characters that the audience would not expect. For example, despite having a friendly appearance, Kizuna Ai often swears in her videos when she gets frustrated while playing a game.[20]

The VTuber trend[]

Kizuna AI's sudden popularity sparked a VTuber trend.[6][17] Between May and mid-July 2018, the number of active VTubers increased from 2,000 to 4,000.[21]  [ja] and  [ja] followed Kizuna as the second and third most popular VTubers, with 750,000 and 625,000 subscribers respectively.  [ja] and  [ja], two other early VTubers, each gained followings of 500,000 in six months.[17]

In the beginning of 2018, Anycolor Inc. (then known as Ichikara) founded the VTuber agency  [ja]. Nijisanji helped popularise the use of Live2D models instead of the prior focus on 3D models as well as the shift towards livestreaming instead of edited video and clips that was the standard for VTubers like Kizuna Ai.[22]

After their initial success in Japan, VTubers spread overseas, with agencies like Hololive and Nijisanji creating branches in China, South Korea, Indonesia, and India, as well as English-focused branches. Meanwhile, independent VTubers began to appear in many countries, from Japan to the United States. In July 2018, VTubers had a collective subscriber count of 12.7 million, and more than 720 million total views.[23] By January 2020, there were over 10,000 VTubers.[1]

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an overall increase in viewership of video game live streaming in general in 2020, which helped contribute to the growth of VTubers into a mainstream phenomenon.[10] In August 2020, seven of the ten largest Super Chat earners of all time on YouTube were VTubers, including Hololive member Kiryu Coco [ja] at number one, who by that time had earned approximately ¥85 million (approximately US$820,000 in 2020).[24] At the same time, the popularity of VTubers continued to rise on Twitch, a host of several notable English-speaking VTubers such as VShojo members Projekt Melody and Ironmouse.[25][26]

In September 2020, Anycolor, the management company for Nijisanji, one of the major VTuber agencies in Japan, created an "Aggressive Acts and Slander Countermeasure Team" to offer counselling to victims of harassment and take legal measures against perpetrators of harassment, specifically the online harassment plaguing the Japanese entertainment industry. This announcement came in the wake of Hololive VTuber Mano Aloe's retirement after only two weeks of activity due to online harassment.[27]

YouTube's 2020 Culture and Trends report highlights VTubers as one of the notable trends of that year, with 1.5 billion views per month by October.[28]

On March 30, 2021, Kizuna AI was chosen as one of Asia's top 60 influencers.[29]

In May 2021, Twitch added a VTuber tag for streams as part of a wider expansion of its tag system.[30] By July 2021, Gawr Gura—a member of Hololive's first English branch—overtook Kizuna Ai as the most-subscribed VTuber on YouTube.[31]

Advertising campaigns[]

 [ja], a VTuber and representative for Japanese corporation Rohto Pharmaceutical

Due to their popularity, companies and organisations have used virtual YouTubers as a method of advertising or bringing attention to a product or service. When SoftBank announced the release of the iPhone XS and XS Max in 2018, Kizuna AI appeared at the event and promoted the products on her channel.[32]

In August 2018, Wright Flyer Live Entertainment released a mobile application allowing VTubers to live stream videos while monetizing them and connecting with their viewers. In a news conference in Tokyo, the head of Wright Flyer Live Entertainment stated, "just increasing the number [of VTubers] is not that effective. We want them to keep on doing their activities. [To do that], gaining fans and monetization are essential. So, we are providing a platform to support that".[33] This followed Wright Flyer Live Entertainment's parent company Gree, Inc.'s ¥10 billion ($89.35 million) investment in VTubers, as well as a ¥10 billion sales target by 2020.[21]

On June 24, 2019, VTuber Kaguya Luna, in collaboration with Nissin Foods to advertise its Yakisoba UFO noodles, held a live stream with a smartphone attached to a helium balloon. By the end of the stream, the smartphone reached an altitude of 30 kilometres (19 mi) above sea level and was noted by Guinness World Records as being the live stream recorded at the highest altitude, breaking the previous record of 18.42 kilometres (11.45 mi).[34]

Some organizations and companies have employed their own VTuber characters as mascots within marketing.[35][36] These include the government of Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture (which developed the character of Ibaraki Hiyori),[36] the video streaming service Netflix (which developed the character N-ko promote its anime lineup),[37] and Sega (who planned to have in-character streams with Sonic the Hedgehog and his Japanese voice actor Jun'ichi Kanemaru).

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "ユーザーローカル、バーチャルYouTuberの1万人突破を発表 9000人から4ヵ月で1000人増". PANORA. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  2. ^ Chen, James (30 November 2020). "The Vtuber takeover of 2020". Polygon. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  3. ^ Nagata, Kazuaki (2018-07-17). "Japan's latest big thing: 'virtual YouTubers'". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Dazon, Laura (2020-03-16). "Virtual Youtubers – What's the appeal?". Quench. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  5. ^ Hernandez, Patricia (18 February 2021). "The otter who became an accidental VTuber star". Polygon. Retrieved 19 March 2021. The internet has seen a torrent of different types of 'VTubers' over the last year, and while some models are fusions of humans and creatures, few have broken through as straight-up animals.
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  22. ^ 公開, 日時. "尖ったメンバーばかりのVTuberグループ"にじさんじ"の魅力を紹介". Dengeki Online. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
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Further reading[]

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