/vt/ - Virtual Youtubers

>>66996621
Vtubing is but the latest style in a long history of masked performing arts, starting from ancient Greek and Roman theater up to 18th century Italian Commedia dell'arte.
>Characterized by masked "types", commedia was responsible for the rise of [...] improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios.
Does it sound like vtuber kayfabe and anime tropes? Because it is.
The most obvious influences of contemporary vtubing are from Japanese anime aesthetics and character types, as well as from Twitch gaming livestream culture.
But compared to facecam Twitch-style streaming, vtubing allows for a higher degree of privacy, which in turn lets the streamer feel less pressured and more free to bare their weird self. Moreover, it shifts the emphasis from photogenic features to personality and delivery. This is why most vtubers have much more interesting if not even "quirky" personalities, compared to facecam streamers, which in turns attracts a more quirky and demanding audience.
Remember too that most vtubers perform hour-long monologues, either while playing games or sometimes in dedicated monologue streams called zatsu. This is a key part of the vtubing experience, because it allows an unfettered display of the streamer's personality, which is ultimately what people watch vtubers for. A certain Japanese company discovered this fact in the worst possible way when they tried to replace the actress behind one of the first vtubers.
Vtubing is not just a fad (it is in part that) and is not only a strong parasocial experience (nobody can deny it) but it is also the latest stage in a very ancient tradition of masked entertainment.

>>56439763
Yes, in a perfect world it would be morally questionable ("scummy") to lock the actress's identity under a contract, but in the real world it's needed and therefore acceptable.
First of all, you should recognize the company's role in the vtuber's success. A company or agency provides resources, guidance, promotion, and hopefully a conducive working environment to an otherwise 1 view literal-who sad girl, streaming alone from her room in front of 2 people and slowly going even more insane. (Many such cases.)
>>56440022
>you are a fan of the character
Correct.
>the person behind the vtuber doesn't matter
Wrong and you should know it.
This was made clear to everybody, including any company doing their reps, during Kizuna AI's clone yab. A vtuber is not a fully developed character, it's a masked "type", plus a "canovaccio" (the lore) to be used in the contemporary successor to Commedia dell'Arte and other improv theater traditions.
Therefore the person behind matters a lot, not just for her voice, singing, and acting, but also for the many parts of her personality and life experience she decides to include in her character.
This is why the company cannot treat the person like a generic voice actress. Every resource they invest into the character is tied to the specific individual, as evidenced by the fact that once they end their contract, the character is "graduated." The most obvious way to protect their investment is by keeping the actress identity somewhat bound by contract.
Again, in a perfect world it would be morally questionable, but in the real world is considered an acceptable compromise.