What are "VTubers"?


VTubers are short for "Virtual Youtubers". The first VTuber was "Kizuna AI", who was using a 3D avatar and acted in various funny short videos and claimed to be a "Super AI". In reality Kizuna AI was acted by Kasuga Nozomi, an voice actor, who also later revealed her identity in the Kizuna API project. The debut of Kizuna AI prompted more people to become VTubers, and there began a whole industry from drawing avatars (mostly anime characters), to making 2D (called Live2D) and 3D models, to companies that recruit and support talents that act as "VTubers". The VTuber industry boomed as the live streaming industry gained momentum, and in many cases, streamers find it more relaxing to use an avatar rather than showing their real faces, bringing in a new generation of streamers into the industry. Right now, some of the most famous female streamers are virtual youtubers, such as Gawr Gura from Hololive Productions.