On 13 June 2011, UK based Japanese vloggerAmi Yamato uploaded her first video, which featured an animated, virtual avatar speaking to the camera. Four years later, in 2015, Mattel began uploading videos of Barbie Doll as a teenage vlogger onto YouTube. Then, in late 2016, Kizuna AI, considered to be the first VTuber, made her debut on YouTube. Voice-acted by Nozomi Kasuga, Kizuna AI created a sense of "real intimacy" with fans as she was responsive to their questions. Within ten months, she had over two million subscribers and would later be made a culture ambassador for the Japan National Tourism Organization. AI's sudden popularity sparked a trend of VTubers; In two and a half months, the number of active VTubers doubled from 2,000 to 4,000. Of these, and followed AI as the second and third most popular VTubers, with 750,000 and 625,000 subscribers respectively. Nekomiya Hinata, another early VTuber, gained a following of 500,000 in six months. In October 2018, Kizuna AI's appearance on an NHK show interviewing Japanese recipients of the Nobel Prize sparked controversy concerning the depiction of women in Japanese culture.
Evaluation and Trends
VTubers are responsible for a variety of experiments, validation, conversations, knowledge transfer, and their activities include communication, game play, singing and dancing. They specializes in providing original songs and VTubers, and has a strong affinity with music. The company is also making progress with the music industry by establishing a music label and holding VR live shows. The total number of VTubers exceeds 10,000, and as of July 10, 2018, registered The total number of users is 12.7 million, and the video has been viewed more than 720 million times. They are considered to have great appeal in that they "can be who they want to be" and "can overcome restrictions," and many of them engage in activities that are unconstrained by real-world gender and appearance. According to the BBC, VTubers are unique in that they are "not constrained by personal or identity issues," and the popularity of VTubers worldwide is due to their "large customer base outside of Japan who love Japanese culture and anime".
Campaigns involving Virtual YouTubers
Due to their immense popularity, companies and organisations have used VTubers as a method of advertising or bringing attention to a product or service. When SoftBank announced the release of the iPhone XS and XS Max in 2018, Kizuna AI appeared at the event as well as promoting it on her channel. She is also currently the ambassador of the Japan National Tourism Organization. Another virtual star was debuted by the Ibaraki Prefectural Government called Hiyori Ibara, with aims for the Virtual YouTuber to become a symbol of Ibaraki. Hiyori is the first VTuber to be used by a municipal or prefectural government. On June 24, Virtual YouTuber Kaguya Luna, in a collaboration with Nissin Foods, held a livestream by attaching a smartphone with her stream playing to a helium balloon. By the end of the stream, Kaguya Luna reached an altitude of 30 kilometers above sea level, breaking the previous record of 18.42 kilometers above sea level. This was done to advertise Nissin's Yakisoba UFO noodles. In August 2018, Wright FlyerLive Entertainment, which is owned by Gree Inc., released a mobile application that allows virtual stars to live stream videos while monetising them and connecting with their viewers. In a news conference in Tokyo, the head of Wright Flyer Live Entertainment stated that the firm wanted to help virtual stars, but that “just increasing the number is not that effective. We want them to keep on doing their activities., gaining fans and monetization are essential. So, we are providing a platform to support that.” This follows a ¥10 billion investment by parent company Gree into VTubers, as well as a ¥10 billion profit target by 2020.
