thoughts on vtubers?

[eggie_]

hihi so i've noticed an upward trend in the popularity of vtubers on twitch - not complaining or anything just an observation!! - and i wanted to know everyones thoughts on them.
personally i think theyre really really cool! ive already followed a few and i like that it helps streamers keep some semblance of a personal life lol. plus i know some people arent totally comfortable with building their brand based off of their face, and the avatars are super cute!! i think if i ever started streaming i'd want a rig 100% tbh. its just that theyre so expensive (and rightfully so) it would take forever to save up for a good one!
i used to get weirded out by the whole vtuber thing but im glad some of the stigma surrounding them has started to dissipate, bc theres some cool streamers out there who are vtubers!

 

[Jessi]

I don't mind em, though I don't really watch them. My attention span is very tiny so its hard to focus on gameplay, when I find myself easily distracted from their avatar. I do support them fully though, because I know its awesome when you don't really feel comfortable showing your face. More power to em

 

[DarkDesertFox]

I love Kizuna AI a lot! I really think she caused a huge spike to appear because of how popular she became. Haven't been able to keep up on her videos as of late, but I love listening to her music!

 

[DJStarstryker]

I started watching Hololive back in August, about a month before Hololive EN started up. I don't watch consistently, or even all of them, just whatever catches my eye as interesting. I mostly watch Shirakami Fubuki, Nekomata Okayu, Inugami Korone, Kiryu Coco, Amelia Watson, and Yukoku Roberu, but there's a bunch of others I'll watch here and there.

I mostly prefer watching either video game streams or clips that fans made. Most of the streams are too long. I want a tl;dw to show me the most interesting parts. It doesn't matter to me if there's subs or not since I have some Japanese knowledge. I also really don't care for the streams that is just reading Superchats. Occasionally there's a funny gold nugget in there that happens, but I'm not watching hours long of someone saying "Thank you Person A, Thank you Person B, Thank you Person C..." just to find them.

I haven't tried watching Nijisanji or any other mainstream VTuber. I did watch a bit of Kizuna Ai back in the day when she was newer and rising in popularity, but I didn't watch her for very long. She was almost the opposite way of the modern VTubers - her videos felt too short.

I love Kizuna AI a lot! I really think she caused a huge spike to appear because of how popular she became. Haven't been able to keep up on her videos as of late, but I love listening to her music!

The current popularity has nothing to do with Kizuna Ai though. Kizuna Ai's time in the spotlight was several years ago and has been trending downward since. VTubers are spiking in popularity this year, mainly because of Hololive VTubers and, to a lesser extent, Nijisanji VTubers. Yes, she was one of the originals and helped pave the way, but I just mean she doesn't have anything to do with the popularity now. Most modern VTubers do hours long live streams, and they're not nicely cut and edited like Kizuna Ai's are. They also have a lot more interaction with their fans. It's a completely different feeling. It feels more like Twitch or other live streamer fandom, but with anime girls/boys as their avatars instead of showing their face.

 

[eggie_]

honestly i think the spike has a lot to do with a) how much more mainstream anime has gotten, definitely some de-stigmatization there and b) a couple really popular twitch streamers have started using rigs instead of face cams, even if just occasionally. its introduced it to a waayyy larger audience. lily pichu and pokimane (what ever your opinions on them may be, i dont really care in any case lol) have definitely focused some attention on the whole idea of being a vtuber - me included! i honestly didnt know it was a thing until they did it.

i have no idea what the youtube space looks like regarding vtubers looks like though, i mainly stay on twitch, so maybe lily and pokimane's influence hasnt been as widespread on youtube as it has on twitch

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

I think it's really cool that this is a thing and it's another option for those who don't like using a face cam! Personally however, I prefer to watch a real person rather than an avatar. I just feel like I can connect better when I can really see their facial expressions. But more options never hurt so I still think that this is a good thing for other people!

 

[Kaioin]

I'm indifferent, I don't see the appeal personally but it's not really my crowd anyway.

 

[Flyffel]

I have checked out a few but I haven't seen any vtuber whose streams I find actually entertaining. The idea is cute though. I miss Etika, he was the only streamer who I found seriously entertaining.

 

[eggie_]

etika's situation as a whole was just really heart breaking. still is

ive found a couple vtubers, though, and they seem really nice!! im still kinda scoping out the community ofcofc but comfyrana seems really nice, veibae seems cool (her stream is much much larger though), and ive found a couple small vtubers as well. serotina is super cool, but her streams are a little more mature haha

 

[VillageDweller]

only thing i know about vtubers is that pokimane tried it and everyone was mad about it for some reason ?? and nobody would explain why

i think they're cool if ppl wanna do it lol

 

[Midoriya]

I don’t use YouTube for vtubers and I don’t even use Twitch to begin with, so... not my cup of tea.

 

[Kuroh]

The current popularity has nothing to do with Kizuna Ai though. Kizuna Ai's time in the spotlight was several years ago and has been trending downward since. VTubers are spiking in popularity this year, mainly because of Hololive VTubers and, to a lesser extent, Nijisanji VTubers. Yes, she was one of the originals and helped pave the way, but I just mean she doesn't have anything to do with the popularity now. Most modern VTubers do hours long live streams, and they're not nicely cut and edited like Kizuna Ai's are. They also have a lot more interaction with their fans. It's a completely different feeling. It feels more like Twitch or other live streamer fandom, but with anime girls/boys as their avatars instead of showing their face.

Technically, Kizuna Ai having a large influence in paving the way (given she was one of the most popular when VTubers were originally taking off) means that she did influence current VTubers, even if not directly. There are other aspects to VTubers popularity, of course, but her role back then was important and introduced many to VTubers in the first place. Her channel has nearly 3 million subscribers and surely a lot of those viewers started with her as a first VTuber that they watched, liked, and lead to furthering their interest with VTubers in general.

 

[Miss Misty]

Honestly, I'm not a fan. Seems like a gimmick for people who don't have the chops to hack it longterm. I follow quite a few YTers and streamers who don't use facecams and they just... either have the game be full screen or they do other stuff with the layout where the facecam would be. And I mean I consider them normal YTers/streamers just like the ones who do use facecam. Facecam isn't a requirement to be a streamer. I just don't understand what an anime avatar adds to the experience. If you don't want to show your face, that's fine, but if you're so worried your personality and/or gaming skills won't be enough to hold attention on their own, then I'm a little leery of how entertaining the stream will actually be.

 

[Blast]

There are other aspects to VTubers popularity, of course, but her role back then was important and introduced many to VTubers in the first place. Her channel has nearly 3 million subscribers and surely a lot of those viewers started with her as a first VTuber that they watched, liked, and lead to furthering their interest with VTubers in general.

This goes for me too. When Kizuna Ai first become popular around 2017 I watched a couple of her videos and it was alright I guess, just not enough to get me to keep coming back for more. Many of my friends have really gotten into them, but they don't appeal too much to me. It's a novel concept and, as a Vocaloid fan, I totally see the appeal of interacting with a virtual character. Especially one with a professional voice behind the hologram.

VTubers are riding the streaming wave and fit perfectly into the otaku niche market. Plus, they provide a lot of memes that help create a community behind them and keeps their audience entertained even when they're not streaming or uploading. Though I'm not a fan myself, I think they're very interesting. With some big media companies backing the trend they could be here to stay for a long time.

 

[Sharksheep]

I have seen clips and read some drama posts about them. The idea of VTubers I'm fine with. I haven't seen enough content to know if any of it is problematic. I have mostly just seen game streams.

I just have issues with the intense fans and the companies they belong too. The people playing the characters are under super strict contacts much like all the kpop and jpop idols

 

[Maiana]

I think it's fine. One of my favorite streamers poses as a cat, and I also used to watch Kizuna AI a lot a few years back.

 

[Antonio]

I remember this discussion and I didn't want to create a new thread when I wanted to share this but I'm currently get a vtuber commissioned and it's still a wip but LOOK AT IT, AHHHHHH.

 

[Croconaw]

I don’t really have an opinion on them one way or another. I know of a few and I guess if it’s their thing, they are free to do whatever.

I remember this discussion and I didn't want to create a new thread when I wanted to share this but I'm currently get a vtuber commissioned and it's still a wip but LOOK AT IT, AHHHHHH.

View attachment 404910

This is really nice, honestly. I know it’s not finished but I like it so far. It’s amazing the products you can receive with commissions.

 

[ForgottenT]

I cringe when I see it, I can't stand it, and I'm constantly being served ads for holodive.

 

[sleepydreepy]

I think its cool when people use an animated avatar to represent themselves instead of just streaming with a voice over. Its a great way to add personalization to your videos if you don't want to show your face. However I don't want vtubers like Kizuna Ai because from what I understand Kizuna Ai is a character? I'm not really sure but right now I am just interested in watching streams and content from real people and I don't care if they use an avatar to represent themselves.