I don’t understand why they exist (other than perhaps “shyness”), and I doubly don’t understand the fan culture that’s exploded around them. Are they supposed to be “cutesy”/“wholesome” twitch thots or something else entirely?
Basically. They are cute girls, usually with social awkwardness or mental issues, where they don't act like vapid attention seeking whores. Of course girls like that became vtubers too after it was huge, but they still plaster their face and tits on social media. Most of the big ones, JP, and corporate, still act true to being "anime girls in real life" and succeed because of it.
Cause alot of them are honestly entertaining. Chances are, if you're into something, you'll probably find a Vtuber that's also pretty enthusiastic about it.
Plus, the immediate chat feedback can lead to impromptu hilarity. So that's always fun.
Putting aside whales and simps, Vtubers can be... oddly wholesome, at times. I've got a meme stashed away somewhere of Mori Collipe(Hololive Vtuber) basically going 'Guys, don't donate if you don't have any money, spend responsibly, c'mon' with a random Twitch E-thot trying to shame and harass guys into giving her money. It's a weird contrast.
That’s a fair enough angle I can understand. Basically just streamers with privacy or some other personal concern now have an avenue to try to compete in this modern world. That’s whatever. And while I do see the same kind of issues across streaming in general (i.e. simping and pandering), they seem really pronounced here. I’m not totally sure why it feels that way. Maybe the use of the avatar is making me see it as inherently less “genuine”. Then again I’m the kinda guy who just can’t wrap my head around donating to 99.99% of streamers in general, but that’s just me. The few I can somewhat understand are the ones who produce something with some modicum of artistic or other merit. Independent journalists, Sam Hyde, those kinds of channels.
Maybe I'm a little weird, but I don't see any difference between what Vtubers do than what some other streamers do - people like Zach Hazard and Accurize and Vaos don't even bother with avatars when doing their stuff.
I'd even go so far as to say what Vtubers do isn't that much different than what some radio announcers do.
But, like I said, I might be a little weird. I tend to focus on the voice, and if the voice and content isn't good, I just shrug and move on.
Then again, I never donate. But free entertainment is free entertainment...
I can see a good reason to keep your real life identity hidden while still giving the viewer a "face" to look at,especially if you start dabbling in political discussions. It's a bit more stimulating than watching someone's logo on your screen for 30 minute long form videos. That being said, the over the top anime waifu avatars are cringe to me and turn me off from the channel
They aren't. People have it in their head that they must be for some reason, but its literally just streaming but with a fake face cam. Its not that complicated.
A huge portion of it has crossed over with Idol culture from Japan because that's the companies who basically created the genre and invest all the big money into it.
But by its raw definition, and how its used for the 90% of them that aren't from one of the big companies, is literally streaming with a tiny little anime character instead of your face.
Why do people like vtubers?
How are they different from normal youtubers?
I don’t understand why they exist (other than perhaps “shyness”), and I doubly don’t understand the fan culture that’s exploded around them. Are they supposed to be “cutesy”/“wholesome” twitch thots or something else entirely?
"What if anime girls were real?"
Basically. They are cute girls, usually with social awkwardness or mental issues, where they don't act like vapid attention seeking whores. Of course girls like that became vtubers too after it was huge, but they still plaster their face and tits on social media. Most of the big ones, JP, and corporate, still act true to being "anime girls in real life" and succeed because of it.
Cause alot of them are honestly entertaining. Chances are, if you're into something, you'll probably find a Vtuber that's also pretty enthusiastic about it.
Plus, the immediate chat feedback can lead to impromptu hilarity. So that's always fun.
Putting aside whales and simps, Vtubers can be... oddly wholesome, at times. I've got a meme stashed away somewhere of Mori Collipe(Hololive Vtuber) basically going 'Guys, don't donate if you don't have any money, spend responsibly, c'mon' with a random Twitch E-thot trying to shame and harass guys into giving her money. It's a weird contrast.
That’s a fair enough angle I can understand. Basically just streamers with privacy or some other personal concern now have an avenue to try to compete in this modern world. That’s whatever. And while I do see the same kind of issues across streaming in general (i.e. simping and pandering), they seem really pronounced here. I’m not totally sure why it feels that way. Maybe the use of the avatar is making me see it as inherently less “genuine”. Then again I’m the kinda guy who just can’t wrap my head around donating to 99.99% of streamers in general, but that’s just me. The few I can somewhat understand are the ones who produce something with some modicum of artistic or other merit. Independent journalists, Sam Hyde, those kinds of channels.
Any video game youtube channel is an act. Its not genuine anyways
Maybe I'm a little weird, but I don't see any difference between what Vtubers do than what some other streamers do - people like Zach Hazard and Accurize and Vaos don't even bother with avatars when doing their stuff.
I'd even go so far as to say what Vtubers do isn't that much different than what some radio announcers do.
But, like I said, I might be a little weird. I tend to focus on the voice, and if the voice and content isn't good, I just shrug and move on.
Then again, I never donate. But free entertainment is free entertainment...
Rotten mean can be tasty if you cut away the rotten parts.
Anything is good if you specifically cut away the bad parts.
I can see a good reason to keep your real life identity hidden while still giving the viewer a "face" to look at,especially if you start dabbling in political discussions. It's a bit more stimulating than watching someone's logo on your screen for 30 minute long form videos. That being said, the over the top anime waifu avatars are cringe to me and turn me off from the channel
They aren't. People have it in their head that they must be for some reason, but its literally just streaming but with a fake face cam. Its not that complicated.
A huge portion of it has crossed over with Idol culture from Japan because that's the companies who basically created the genre and invest all the big money into it.
But by its raw definition, and how its used for the 90% of them that aren't from one of the big companies, is literally streaming with a tiny little anime character instead of your face.
Big Booba, entertainment, and some make really good pundits since they can be practically hidden.
Do they play characters? Sure but does it really matter? It’s no different than watching a TV show, a wrestling match, or a live play.