The rise and rise of VTubers
Gawr Gura, the most popular VTuber in the world, has officially announced her retirement. A computer-generated cross between a girl and a shark, Gawr Gura acted as a "torchbearer" of this fast growing internet subculture, said The Gamer.
VTubers, or virtual YouTubers, use face or body tracking to "puppeteer a digital avatar" anime character and sing, stream and speak often to massive audience bases, said Polygon.
The online community, which started in Japan, has "exploded in popularity" in the past few years and is now gaining fans across the world. Entertainers' real faces and voices never appear online – instead, fans follow the avatars, the majority of which "derive their visual style from anime".
With millions of subscribers, Gawr Gura decided to retire due to issues with her agency – the largest of a handful that "recruit and foster talent to become virtual entertainers", said Polygon.
The VTuber's decision feels "bittersweet" to long-time fans, said The Gamer. "They weren't just cheering for a cute anime shark girl, but the voice, personality, and presence they had come to know."
Anime streamers
VTube was first taken mainstream by Kizuna AI, an avatar brought to life by Japanese company Activ8 nearly 10 years ago. Since then, agencies have capitalised on the growing market, building up bases of avatar talent. Cover Corp, the agency that managed Gawr Gura, is the largest, handling dozens of creators and facilitating about a quarter of all VTube views.
VTubers, managed by an agency or not, take to streaming services like YouTube and Twitch to connect with their fans. Masquerading as their character and often taking on a signature, high-pitched anime voice, creators put on performances or simply chat – and people tune in by the millions.
Fans of VTubers often develop parasocial relationships with their favourite entertainers, becoming attached to the real people behind the avatars. In many ways, the community mirrors Japan's "idol" culture, in which singers and entertainers are intentionally marketed to fans as role models, friends, or even potential romantic partners.
Motoaki Tanigo, CEO of Cover Corp, said that despite visual comparisons to artificial intelligence, fans might become confused or disconnected if VTube creators started to use AI in their videos. "This whole business is based on fans' desire to support someone because of their extraordinary artistic talent," he told The Japan Times.
Hitting a home run in LA
Viewership of VTube is growing, and it is slowly "becoming a staple of live content", said Esports Illustrated. Last summer, even more people were exposed to VTube when Cover characters made some special appearances at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game.
The avatars took to the jumbotron, were found in photo spots as cardboard cutouts and sold special merch, like t-shirts and baseball cards. "Gura even went viral for her rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game in the 7th inning," said Esports Illustrated.
Baseball and VTube may seem like an unusual combination, but "the collaboration was a success" even before the Dodgers took home the World Series in October. The sport is incredibly popular in Japan, and the Dodgers with "superstar Shohei Ohtani on the roster" gave the collaboration plenty of momentum.
The agencies behind VTube aren't slowing down anytime soon. For Cover, "the Dodgers' promotion is one step in a campaign to broaden the appeal of VTubers beyond the fervent core" of young men in Japan, said the LA Times.
The company has since launched Cover USA, opening an office in Los Angeles, said Esports Illustrated. And alongside its expansion, Cover has introduced "its VTuber talent" to anime conventions and concerts, hoping to "spread awareness of its creators and brand in the English market".