Sitting behind a computer making millions of dollars, making money, but many people are still afraid

Virtual YouTubers who live stream as cartoon characters are raking in millions of dollars from fans.

Mayu Iizuka “dropped” her quiet personality, starting to complain, scream and wave frantically in a makeshift studio in Tokyo when her avatar appeared on a live channel in front of hundreds of fans .

Virtual YouTubers (Vtubers) like Iizuka, who voices and animates a character named Yume Kotobuki, have turned a Japanese subculture into a thriving industry where talented artists Top accounts can earn more than one million US dollars per year.

The videos are designed to make fans feel like they’re interacting directly with their favorite cartoon idol – viewers sometimes pay hundreds of dollars for a single comment marked up on the broadcast channel. direct.

Iizuka revealed to AFP news agency that when she plays a game on her channel and wins, her fans congratulate and give money as a way to show support and appreciation.

According to data company User Local, since its inception five years ago, the world of Vtuber has grown rapidly with about 16,000 active people globally. Along with that, the fan base on platforms like TikTok and gaming site Twitch is growing.

Governments in some areas in Japan use Vtuber for promotion. Even international stars like Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz in the movie “The Batman” recently had an interview with Japan’s top VTuber.

Vtubers earn money in the same way as traditional streamers, including through the “Super Chat” system. This is a YouTube feature where the more money fans spend, the more attention their comments get.

In fact, the 9 highest earning YouTube channels in the world from Super Chat in 2021 are all VTubers. According to data analytics website Playboard, all nine are affiliated with a Tokyo-based talent agency. Each earned between $700,000 and $1.7 million from cash gifts.

Most fans spend only a few hundred yen per comment, but crazy fans sometimes spend up to 50,000 yen (about $380) to post messages to their virtual idols.

But the line between the virtual world and the real world can become very thin. A Japanese court recently ruled in favor of a VTuber, who argued that the slander against her virtual character was also directed at her.

Kazuhito Ozawa, the plaintiff’s lawyer, said VTuber can transcend gender, age or physique, but the important thing is to have a real person talking in real life. For Iizuka, the professional voice actress for the character Yume, making the decision to reveal her identity after four years of making the video was a very stressful and scary thing indeed.

“Part of me is afraid that fans of Yume – a girl with big round eyes and perfect body – might be disappointed to know what the real person is on the inside,” she said.