VTubers and Their Rise to Popularity
Youtube is one of the platforms that sparks creativity for creators, it is also a good place to monetize content. Various content creators became popular because of this platform. For those who only post on YouTube, we call them YouTubers. Some of the most popular Youtubers are Pewdiepie and Mr. Beast. However, back in 2016, a new kind of YouTubers appeared and they are called Virtual Youtuber or VTuber.
VTubers, what are they?
VTubers are content creators who use animated avatars and stop motion graphics in their videos. Unlike most vloggers and YouTubers who use their physical appearance, VTubers use their digital avatars as their persona. They make content and entertain their viewers all while being anonymous about their real lives. VTubers produce similar content as Youtubers. Activities like, playing games for hours, live broadcasts, joining challenges, and collaborating with content creators.
How did they become popular?
In 2011, Japanese YouTuber Ami Yamato created a 3D avatar for her blog which inspired others to create the same. However, the first-ever YouTube Channel was only created in 2016 by a Japanese VTuber named Kizuna Ai. Due to the massive popularity of Kizuna Ai’s channel compared to Yamato’s vlog, she’s hailed as the first VTuber. Since 2011, Kizuna’s channels have racked up more than 4 million subscribers and over 250 million views. Kizuna Ai is on indefinite hiatus since February. Right now, the most popular VTuber is Gawr Gura from Hololive with 3.99M subscribers.
It doesn’t take much to be a VTubers. As long as you have a good computer set-up and you have the animated avatar that you can manipulate, you’re good. That’s also one of the reasons why it’s popular and so many VTuber channels have popped up. YouTube is also a great platform to earn money. VTubers can earn an income by showing ads on their channel, hosting Super Chats, partnering with businesses or brands to promote their products, or selling their products or services.
My personal favorites are the VTubers from Nijisanji, specifically their EN (English) branch. I saw their promotional video for the upcoming debut of their first male group, the Luxiem. Luca Kaneshiro is my favorite from Luxiem. I love his innocent and childish personality despite his persona being a mafia boss.
Not your usual content creator
Some creators are not comfortable showing their faces on camera and let’s face it, being anonymous is much safer nowadays. They are not the usual bloggers that we tend to see on social media still their content, personality, and creativeness are true as they can be. Virtual YouTubing is fun, cheap, convenient, and can be anonymous it’s an ideal job if you love creating video content yet don’t want to show your face. You can be instantly famous if you have a strong personality.
VTubers POG!
