If you aren’t into the world of content creation, Japanese media/idol culture, or watching streamers, you may have never heard of the the term “VTuber”. Simply put they are content creators that choose to puppet a virtual avatar to stream or entertain their audiences instead of showing their faces and bodies to the masses. Often times these creators are confused as AI animated characters that interact with people, however, aside from some exceptions, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Just like the top streamers and creators we see online, these are just masks that some of them wear to present as a character that is separate from who they may be in their personal life. Regardless if they chose to do so for aesthetic reasons, as creative outlets, or for privacy reasons, it certainly doesn’t stop the curiosity surrounding this sub-genre of content creation.

Photography by  Naoki Nakashima

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