6 False Myths About the Vtuber Community
Can you guess which ones?
As vtubing keeps getting more and more popular, we are reaching people who are unfamiliar with this medium.
This can sometimes cause some misunderstandings between people inside and outside of the community since vtubing is still a new and niche space with all kinds of people in it.
For that reason, I made this post, in the hopes of helping introduce this space to others and clear some questions.
1. Vtubers aren’t AI.…most of us
The vast majority of vtubers (around 99%) are real people who are just using a virtual model.
When you see a vtuber on a video or live stream, there is a real individual behind the model who is using specific software to track movements and expressions and uses keyboard toggles to create funny moments for their audience.
However, there are very few exceptions to this.
There is a creator, called Vedal, who developed his own AI vtuber “daughter” called Neuro-sama, or Neuro for short. She can talk, react to things, and even interact with other vtubers and streamers in collaborations.
You can see some clips here:
However, the interactions are not like they would be with a real person. You can clearly see that this is an A.I., but she can still create very funny moments within the limits of her programming.
So don’t worry, AI isn’t taking over the world…yet
2. Not all vtubers are Japanese
The vtuber industry originated in Japan, but as the technology became more accessible, it quickly expanded to other countries, especially to English-speaking countries.
Now, we have vtubers from everywhere in the world. Predominantly, Japan, Canada, Indonesia, and the United States.
In Hololive alone, we can find talents from many countries in their English branch, but they also have their Japanese and Indonesian branch.
In my case, I’m a vtuber from Latin America, so I know English and Spanish. I hope this gives you an idea of the diversity of people that you can find in this space.
3. Not all vtubers are idols
Because vtubers originated in Japan, they adopted something we call “idol culture”, which is pretty much Japan’s version of Hollywood’s celebrity culture.
Almost all the first vtubers started their journey by participating in it because they all originated from Japan.
That’s why it is common, even now, for vtubers to do many traditional “idol-like” practices like singing, dancing, and voice acting as well as “debuts” and “graduations”.
But not all vtubers do this.
Not everyone has the talent to do those activities or is passionate enough to try them.
Most just do the regular content live streamers do like playing games, talking with their audience, setting up events, crafting stuff, or anything really.
Also, depending on the type of content you plan to create, you might not even need to have a “debut”.
4. Not all vtubers are from a company
There are many corporations focused on vtuber content. These are called vtuber agencies, and their talents are commonly referred to as “corpo vtubers”.
Currently, 3 agencies dominate the market of corporate vtubers:
We also have what we call “indie vtubers”. These vtubers aren’t part of any corporation/agency/company and are simply doing their own thing without the restrictions of an agency.
Some popular indie vtubers would be:
5. Not all vtubers do NSFW content
If you spend some time researching vtubers, you will pretty soon find some that also create NSFW content on websites like OnlyFans or Fansly.
While some big names in the community do that, the majority don’t offer that type of content.
However, the fans will still make NSFW art and animations without their knowledge, and the vtuber can’t do much to stop them, so you might still come across it online.
Also, many vtubers tend to make adult jokes or are very open about their relationships, but they don’t create sexually graphic content.
6. Not all vtubers are men pretending to be girls
I’ll be honest…I find this one pretty funny, but I do understand where it comes from.
I mean, catfishing has existed since the Internet was a thing and maybe even before that, so I can’t blame anyone for thinking this way when people can hide their appearance behind a model.
However, the truth is that most of us are not faking our genders.
Some use a feminine model, and you can clearly tell that they have the voice of a dude, so they aren’t trying to hide anything. It is really up to you if you want to keep watching them or not.
Also, if you are having genuine fun with their content, it shouldn’t really matter what they are, in my opinion.
Final Thoughts
I hope that this post helped clear some doubts about the vtuber industry and the culture around it.
Despite what some might think, the animated PNGs you see on screen doing funny things have an adult person behind them who is trying their best to entertain you.
While the content we create is diverse, most of us aren’t comfortable with participating in NSFW stuff, so please don’t put everyone in a box just because some big names in the space create this type of content.
If you want to get into this space, you’ll need an open mind because many members in this space are nuts, but that’s simply because they tend to be their unapologetic selves when on stream, so every now and then, they might say some unhinged stuff.
