Electrifying presence: Calliope performing for fans waving glowsticks and pensticks during a sold-out concert at the historic venue Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California. — AFP
Fans waved glow sticks at an animated character on stage, having packed a sold-out Hollywood concert hall to see their virtual idol perform – showcasing the global ambitions of Japan’s “VTuber” subculture.
Pink-haired musician and livestreamer Mori Calliope looks just like a character from an anime cartoon, brought to life on stage through a hologram-like illusion.
Platforms like Netflix have helped take Japanese anime mainstream – and Calliope’s Tokyo-based talent agency wants its roster of virtual YouTubers, or VTubers, to be the country’s next big cultural export.
“They look like anime characters. I like anime, so it was easy to get into the VTuber format that way,” said Calliope concert attendee Luigi Galvan.
The actors behind VTubers use motion capture techniques to communicate directly online with fans, who can pay to highlight their comments to the character and other viewers.
Nearly half of top VTuber agency Cover Corp’s virtual stars under its famous “hololive” brand speak primarily in English, not Japanese, and the company recently opened a US office to accelerate business in North America.
Around 4,000 fans attended the recent concert in Los Angeles, hololive’s first solo artist gig outside Japan.
AFP asked Calliope – in her avatar form – if virtual YouTubers can really crack the US market.
“A couple of years ago, my firm stance was, ‘No, it won’t’,” said the star, who has over 2.5 million YouTube subscribers.
“But these days, I like to be a little more hopeful,” added Calliope, whose actor wished to remain anonymous like most in the industry.
Calliope, who playfully calls herself a “Grim Reaper” on a mission “to harvest souls”, likes black gothic outfits that contrast with her long pink hair.
An alter ego helps audiences “see and appreciate you for what lies within” instead of age or looks, allowing VTubers’ talent as musicians and raconteurs to shine, she said.
Calliope is one of Cover Corp’s more than 80 hololive VTubers, who together have 80 million YouTube subscribers globally, from Indonesia to Canada.
While Japan reigns supreme in the VTuber world, the country may face fierce competition from neighbouring cultural superpower South Korea in the coming years, warned Cover Corp’s chief executive officer Motoaki Tanigo.
“Aspiring K-pop singers have survived tough training and are already professional,” making the country a potential goldmine for VTuber actors, he said in Tokyo.
“Can we easily find people like that in Japan? Of course not.”
South Korean VTuber companies “stand a good chance of growing exponentially” in the important US market because American audiences prefer polished performers, Tanigo said.
In contrast, in Japan, fans often cherish the process of unskilled idols evolving, he explained.
While VTubers live in a digital world, Tanigo said the human element behind the characters is an important part of their appeal.
“In principle, we won’t” use generative AI technology to create new virtual talents, he said.
“This whole business is based on fans’ desire to support someone because of their extraordinary artistic talent,” Tanigo said.
“I think fans would be left feeling confused as to what, or who, they are rooting for.”
Calliope fan Ian Goff, 23, agreed, saying he is fascinated by the actors behind VTubers, and their avatars are just the “cherry on top”.
“You can make a character with AI, but you can’t make a person with AI because that’s what makes the VTubers who they are,” the San Diego resident said. — AFP
