Yuki Tanaka is a VTuber at Live-On, one of Japan’s largest VTuber companies, as the polite and
ladylike Awayuki Kokorone. One day, she forgets to end the stream, and viewers see her real
personality—irreverent, improper, and prone to imbibing after a long day. Yuki is surprised to find
that her accident caused her rankings to multiply, so she doubles down and gets to work. She’ll be a
star yet!
(Source: Crunchyroll)
This anime is the most shameless, senseless drivel this season, and probably the most so in my recent memory. So much so, in fact, that I'm writing my first review just to bash it. Considering that the deer anime just finished airing and that Reiji Miyajima still hasn't wrapped up Kanokari, that's really saying something. Over the three months Vden aired, I went from not having watched any VTubers to becoming a casual fan of a few (this is completely coincidental, by the way), so I can speak knowing both perspectives. As you may guess, neither have particularly flattering views. VTubers are an interesting phenomenon. As streamers, but also idols and even fictional characters, they have connections to many worlds. As such, there are a great many facets of VTuber culture to explore, and that many members of their communities are generally aware of or openly curious about. For example, professional VTubers belonging to corporations such as Hololive will almost never get into the sort of drama that other streamers do. In addition, double dipping as both streamers and idols means they expend significantly more time and effort into their jobs, and even when playing games they have to show a certain amount of care as to their behavior. Yet, for the most part they seem to genuinely enjoy doing it. What goes on behind the scenes? What harmful aspects of idol culture might affect the talents? How much of what the fans see is "real"? Amelia Watson of Hololive English Myth just announced her graduation. Just how influential has she been, and how many opportunities for her peers did she help to seize? What role do VTubers of smaller agencies, independent VTubers, or even the AI VTuber Neuro play, and what might they represent for the future of VTubing? These aren't extensive examples, but I hope I managed to get across just how much potential there is for a series focused on VTubers. Now, Vden. Forget all of that crap, because Vden has nothing to do with it. This anime is only ever surface-level, a glorified compilation of clips and collab videos from VTubers who don't exist. There is no semblance of actual plot or characterization save for the last episode, where it tries to pull off a feel-good ending with absolutely no setup. To its credit, Vden replicates the energy of VTuber streams quite well. The characters laugh, poke at each other, get crunk, and make dirty jokes, but for all that, there is no one behind them. Any dynamics they may seem to have stem from the mind of a single person. Even in the scenes where Live-On's talents aren't livestreaming, they never leave their digital avatars or the "moe modes" they show on stream. If you're hoping for a look into the VTuber industry beyond their live personas, you will leave Vden disappointed. That’s enough for a comedy anime, you say? No, dear reader. At that point, Vden has nothing to offer besides inferior versions of VTubers, of which the world has no shortage of. There is no reason for this collection of clips posing as an anime with an actual plot and characters to exist, save for making a quick buck. VTuber Legend does not have a story to tell. It has no memorable characters, nor anything else with which to leave a lasting impression. Still, I hope that at the very least, it can lead people to give real VTubers a chance. There is much more out there than this anime would leave you believing.
I've been watching VTubers since 2017 when Kizuna Ai started a new era of vtubers. At that time, I thought it would be just a gimmick accessible to those with a studio like her. If you told past me that 7 years later, they would be a juggernaut in online entertainment, spawning a powerful company able to take over American stadiums, video games, multiple manga and light novels, and even an anime that would reference years of history, I would think you were crazy. And that leads me to today, the final day of "VTuber nanda ga Haishin Kiri Wasuretara Densetsu ni Natteta (VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream)" airing. Writing a review to try and collect my thoughts on this series. I'm of two brains on this as both an anime fan and a VTuber fan. As an anime fan, I really don't think this anime is anything special. It had moments of being funny, but a lot of that was due to the voice performances of the extremely talented voice actors behind the cast of live-on girls. Outside of that... Animation-wise, it's fine. The plot is non-existent, it never once pauses to ask any serious questions about VTubers or the people behind them. And the comedy is only "occasional giggle" funny, especially after the shine of a very drunk Ayaneru saying she's going to goon wears off. As a matter of fact, I'd say the worst thing about this show is the lack of any real hate-able traits about the show. At the best of times it's giving you a decent relationship between two characters with a LOT of tension, at the worst of times they make an episode revolving around the character's weird baby complex that isn't anything really new in the world of anime (especially after watching MahoAko earlier this year). It's obvious after the first episode that this episode isn't going to be about "the shocking truth behind vtubers" nor the work that goes into being an online content creator in the current day or how the concept of "being an idol" has changed in an age where you can shine while being alone in a dark room with a single computer (thanks for that metaphor, Minato Aqua.) Hell, in the real world sections of the show, they still use their models to represent them. If I didn't read the light novel, I wouldn't know that Kokorone Awayuki's real name is Yuki Tanaka! So, it's not an effective advertisement for VTubers, nor is it a good anime on its own. So, why would anyone watch this? Why would I, anilist user Moetrash, take hours of my life to watch a show that I can admit is just "whatever"? Well, I need you to stick with me here. It's because this show is a celebration of the cultural zeitgeist that are VTubers. How could a show this unexceptional be a celebration of one of the biggest things to happen to the internet since vlogging? Well, as unhelpful as it may be to say - "You just had to be there to get it". Live-On may be a fake company with fake talents, but many of the events that take place in the show are inspired from years of VTuber content going viral within the community. Many of the characters have traits you can see coming from other VTubers who were popular over the last few years, for example - Utsuki Sei design wise just looks like a redesign of Dola from Nijisanji. Matsuriya Hikari looks like the love child of Natsuiro Matsuri and Sara Hoshikawa. The protagonist of the show, Kokorone Awayuki, is a snow themed fantasy character with a penchant for getting drunk, much like Lamy Yukihana. But her personality while drunk reminds me more of the aforementioned Natsuiro Matsuri, or even the similarly horny Houshou Marine. To those who never watched VTubers or just started recently, these may sound like vaguely familiar names, but for people like me who've stuck around for years, this is like seeing an event on the news getting referenced in some late night television show and going "heh, I know that". Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy is a classic trial that many vtubers go through at least once, Sausage Legend is a game that was brought to millions of eyes because a certain duck really liked dick jokes. Desert Werewolf is just a reskin of Project Winter, a game that was popular during the era of among us, and especially famous for revealing a twisted side behind a certain stellar suicopath. I'm sure there are stupid references I missed just from how many vtubers there are to watch through the years and the amount of content I can consume with my limited Japanese skills. This show is on a timer, it's a love letter to the VTuber community of the past few years buried underneath fictional stand-ins for these very real idols. And as this community knows, within a few years, VTubing can completely transform again (Truthfully, the Live2D models showcased in the show are actually pretty aged by today's standards too. Most VTubers stopped being so stiff two years ago!). The events referenced in the show will fade to time, leaving behind only a mediocre story (with some really good Yuri) that isn't even worth a hate watch. But the final sequence of the show where they show some real VTubers reminds fans how far we've come, and how much further we could go. Sure, this anime isn't the greatest thing ever, and it won't change many lives. But as someone who's supported VTubers for years, it's a fun trip down memory lane, and a reminder of how fans like me are the only reason these misfit idols have been able to make it as far as they have. For that small audience, I think it might be a fun show to turn your brain off and watch to remember the good times. Also, there must be a Rosetai in the production studio who put in so many Aki Rosenthal shoutouts, you're doing God's work, random staff member.
Note: I’m not into Vtuber culture, but I can recognize and understand some things about it mainly because they are so popular it’s basically impossible to escape them if you’re into otaku culture as they pretty much are a part of it, so I’m not going to be biased for it. This anime is an advertisement for the Strong Zero beer- uh, I mean, it’s about a Vtuber breaking character and getting popular because of it as the title says. I'm surprised no one pointed out inside the show the little comments that are in the streams, because this show follows how Vtubers work, they even did their own live2D models of the characters for the show and use them from time to time where they could simply use regular animation all the time. While it also shows them outside of streamings, they usually don't change from how they look in their avatars, I could be cynical and say that it is to keep the illusion that Vtubers are still their personas outside of streams or that the studio was lazy and couldn't bother doing designs for how they should really look, but it is pretty obviously none of those, it’s because the show isn't focused on that, this isn't a show that has Vtubers on it, it’s a show about the Vtubers. This show is pretty silly, it’s a complete slice of life show where you don't have to expect a plot, the characters can change a little in their relationships but it never goes to a point where you'll miss much, as it is basically a collection of streams which I guess most if not all are based on streams made by actual Vtubers and you'll probably see some characters and say that they remind you of some Vtuber you know. It’s also one of those anime where the comedy can vary a lot in quality, but it will never reach a point where you will be laughing a lot from them, if you understand the culture you will surely be able to enjoy it more, because the moments that landed the most for me was stuff like in that episode where they shouted "MAKOTO" and then showed the "nice boat", or the episode where they were playing an online card game where the studio even made an entire small animation for Rias Gremory and references to other TNK anime which I watched and loved, I mean, TNK animating Rias Gremory in the year 2015+9? I didn't even remember the last time they animated her, while other jokes are as bad as the adult baby fetish ones which I can only guess is one of the fetishes the author has as it had two episodes on it. If for some weird reason you were expecting something about the "dark side" of vtubing or anything of the sort here, then you aren't watching the right anime, there are some darker moments like Awayuki being forced to drink to keep capitalizing on her new drunk persona or when they doxed her, but those are played as comedy sketches that don't impact the characters or the setting much. I can't understand why Vtubers are so popular, if anything they remind me that when I was like 12 there were some YouTubers that would do Let’s Play videos that my classmates would talk about, I never got into those because 1) I wasn't interested in that 2) I didn't have Wi-Fi back then, so watching things on YouTube was pretty difficult, so I wouldn't be able to do it even if I was interested. The only difference I can see from Vtubers to Let’s Players is that these are behind cute anime girl avatars, and it's not like I didn't try to watch things from them, I remember when I tried watching one of those Vtubers stream, I watched it for like 10 minutes or so, and while I guess it wasn't so bad, I just cannot possibly get what would be so interesting about watching it for hours to get all the popularity they have right now. If anything I'm surprised this anime isn't more popular given it’s about Vtubers, something extremely popular nowadays to the point of dominating the Comiket just behind a plague like Blue Archive, but this show doesn't even get much fanart, I guess it would be because Vtuber fans aren't even interested in anime or they could just watch their Vtuber instead of watching an anime about completely original Vtuber personas, or maybe the overlap of fanbases just isn't as strong as one would think, as Vtubers are much more similar to watching any other streamer than watching anime. If anything, this show is about what Vtubers can only dream to be, actual anime girls. It's not like I could expect TNK to do this anime, they are one of the only studios that can constantly put out good ecchi anime and they don't do many works per year despite not having impressive animation or anything, so I can just wonder why they chose a light novel about Vtubers to adapt it, I could be disappointed on it as there are other ecchi shows that aired alongside this one like 2.5 getting censored, however, the reason why I'm not really disappointed is because you can see that they really were having fun doing this show, it surely won't change your opinions about Vtubers but you can see how much they appreciate the culture and the last episode is pretty much a testament to that. Thank you for reading.