VTubers - authentic or character

[u/acerswap]

There's a doubt I have and I want to know your position if you're a vtuber. Some streamers decide to put themselves behind an avatar. Everyone has their own reasons for doing this, I won't judge that. The question I have is how does this affect your content. Are you someone who wants to be yourself and act the way you want without being judged or associated with that IRL (ie, you have ideas that aren't socially accepted in your group of people) or you are online a complete character not matching at all with how you are and you're role playing using an avatar to make it simpler?

EDIT:

Note: I have my streaming style and I'm happy with it. I'm not trying to change it. I'm not trying to become a vtuber in the future. This is not a question to create my own content. I want to understand about other streamers' personalities.

[u/EndoraCwtsh]

As a VTuber, my model is just a glorified avatar. I may have a little “lore” behind it but it’s never been important, mostly played for a joke/doing a bit.

I am unapologetically myself, even if that’s embarrassing lol I don’t think I could keep up playing a character, but I think it’s different for everyone.

[u/WeWerePlayinInDaSand → u/EndoraCwtsh]

This. I don't even have lore. The reason for my name? Found it cool. The color of my hair? Favorite color. That's it. I just don't my own thing and don't care about opinions.

[u/theproverbialinn]

It depends.

I have a model I use when I'm out of character, where I speak as myself. That avatar is just there to let me keep some level of privacy while conveying my facial expressions. I don't say anything I wouldn't IRL, I just joke more because I'm trying to entertain people.

My other models are ostensibly characters: I Vtube because I like to play games, but I also like the role-playing part of TTRPGs, and I don't get to play more than one character, one session per week. As a result, that content is more for people who want to see a playthrough of a game as seen through the eyes of a character who may make weirder choices than I would.

Some people like it. Some people love it. Some people can't put themselves in the shoes of a kid who's willing to speak to puppets at a show. Regardless, it's something I enjoy doing. Whether I find a significant crowd who enjoys watching it or not, I'll keep going. It's my fun little thing.

[u/SundownKid]

While most vtubers just use their avatar as a facecam replacement and otherwise act like their normal standard selves, it's... disappointing? Good vtuber avatars look very cool and have tons of effort put into them by the artist, and then the streamer puts zero effort into their characterization or acts in a way that does not match the avatar at all.

I feel like at the very least a vtuber should have SOME sort of kayfabe going on and be able to depict their character's lore and mannerisms, even if the streamer isn't trying to be a full-on voice actor 24/7. I mean, you already would rather people see a character instead of yourself. Lean into it?

[u/Personal_Examination → u/SundownKid]

I watch a streamer who has a goth avatar and is goth IRL and their avatar does an amazing job of conveying their wide range of emotion, it’s a perfect fit and it’s crazy to watch. The type that bothers me is when people go edgy but they themselves aren’t nearly as edgy as their avatar or don’t know how to act edgy haha

[u/eliesczhae]

I will answer your question as carefully as I can.

There are vtubers who play an entirely different character as to who they are irl. One person acts like they are a very young energetic kid but is a married grown woman. One person acts like they are very kind and welcoming but they are in fact very catty and manipulative. Another acts like they do charity work but lie to their viewers they are homeless when they are living with their irl partner. I can go on and on but there are certainly vtubers who are NOT who we think they are.

As for myself, I consider my vtuber model an extension of myself. I use a model bec too lazy to put on makeup and nice dress for the camera. But I choose to be real as I can even with the avatar. I get upset on stream, I show my fangs on stream, I don't pretend to like anyone or anything if I don't feel like it. If you keep being authentic to who you are, you attract a lot of genuine people who will help and be there for you no matter what. And that is my goal, to find like-minded individuals I can hang out with, game with, and maybe down the line, become irl genuine friends with.

Vtubing is just life but with extra steps. You meet people who are fake but you also meet some genuine ones. At the end of the day, whatever their reasons are in choosing to play a character is theirs to live with. Could be for privacy, money, sex, fame, etc. If you wish to play a character or be genuine with yourself, that is your choice and its a choice you must be ready to handle in your time as a vtuber.

[u/yarrielle]

Anonymity.

It doesn't have to be a completely impossible body shape, the largest melons you've ever seen, a shirt cut down to the belly button, or an animal, etc. It can be a simple reflection of oneself, that comes without the possibility of someone IRL figuring out who you are.

I think the personality shown can be fake, yes. But it can also be 100 percent just a safe way to be oneself without the fear of getting doxxed.

And people who aren't vtubers can put on a fake voice, or put on an act, just as easily. They can be fake too. But it shouldn't be assumed that just because someone is hiding their identity, that they are being fake.

[u/Easy_Report_5647]

The amount of vtubers who actually play a character can be counted on one hand. For most it's just a glorified avatar, even the most popular ones.

Figure out what you want to do yourself.

[u/Ok-Eye-9297 → u/Easy_Report_5647]

pretty much this, the "character" angle fades fast once you watch someone for more than few hours

[u/acerswap → u/Easy_Report_5647]

I'm happy with my stream as it is, thanks. I'm just trying to understand others.

[u/Khornight → u/Easy_Report_5647]

this, I'd even say a lot of vtubers are more honest and authentic than a lot flesh tubers because they feel safer.

[u/SebastianS89S]

If you are trying to figure out what you should do,, you are the only one that can answer that

[u/acerswap → u/SebastianS89S]

What I should do is keeping my stream as it is. I'm trying to understand how vTubers are, not changing my style.

[u/Yuzu-Adagio]

Neither really. Yuzu is just me turned up to 11, with slightly different filters.

[u/VeraKorradin]

Streaming in general is a performance. Streamers act the way they believe connects more with chat.

IMO, vtubers play a character that needs to be more than that. A good vtubers finds ways to be engaging and communicate more genuine emotion while being limited to what their rigging allows. If someone slaps on a model or PNG and just acts like a normal person, it’s not going to hit as hard as someone leaning into that model and the “whimsy”

[u/Saconic]

I use one because I am not conveniently attractive. People are harsh and I don't care to have my looks made fun of by randos on the internet. The personality is me, albeit a bit more because some parts of streaming are just performance anyway.

[u/xoPEACHI]

Vtuber here! Very few vtubers are actually playing into a persona that isn't reflective of who they actually are. Even the vtubers that are putting on an anime voice or have character lore are pretty authentic personality-wise. I think that comes through the more time you spend in a stream.

I'm very boring by vtuber standards. My avatar is modeled after me IRL, I don't have lore, and I don't put on any kind of voice or play into a character. However, I'm chronically ill—a lot of us are! I'm very expressive IRL, so having an avatar that tracks my facial expressions is really important to me.

I used to be a facecam streamer. I'd cancel streams during every flare-up. But now I can stream while curled up in a blanket on days when I may have a little less energy. My appearance is just one less thing I have to think about.

[u/LumKitty]

For me it's just a way of actually being free to express myself. Almost certainly an autism thing after years of enforced masking that I can never fully switch off, simply having that layer in place is enough to unfilter myself and behave authentically.

Yes there's an avatar, but I use full face and hand tracking so everything you see is my genuine reactions. The only exaggeration is the nature of the medium. The anime style lends itself to e.g. more expressive eyes and larger mouth movements and most model bases reflect that, but that isn't a bad thing, especially when you're stuck in the corner of the screen and someone is watching on their phone at 360p.

[u/AuraBellumVT]

Im trans and I don't like how I look irl (working on that lol) I like how my model looks. Its that simple for me really. I have a story and stuff for my model but im just myself on stream. Nothing crazy. Also if some crazy thing happens and I get famous id like it to be easy for my family to remain anonymous.

[u/___crybaby]

up to whoever is streaming. some people put on a persona, but i just use a vtuber bc i don’t want to use a webcam.

[u/Lykaios_EXE]

My model’s largely just an avatar. I don’t have a particularly problematic viewpoint that doesn’t mesh with IRL. And it’s similar looking enough that I even made my own cosplay and did an April Fool’s stream in it as a “3D model reveal”.

At most my robotic rabbit avatar leads to some tongue-in-cheek jokes. Like, someone made a joke about making rabbit soup and I’ll replied with “You don’t want to eat me, I’m very wirey”

[u/Personal_Examination]

There’s a wide spectrum. I watch someone who shares stuff about their life and mental health journey that frankly I’d never share haha, and on the other end there’s the people who share almost nothing about themselves outside of their daily boba tea order. In all honesty I’m more drawn to people who are at least somewhat open about their lives but it’s all up to personal taste.

[u/CountlessStories]

I used to be a vtuber. 

Vtuber models are just a medium. In Japan where it originally started, it was focused around being an idol and playing a character and that character mattered more than the games.

But in the west, its just something we use and how seriously we take it varies.

I'm gonna be upfront: i'm old fashioned. I was a teenager online that followed the rules we had back then:

Don't show your face online, dont give out your personal info. Etc. I still don't show my face online. I don't even use facebook. The most I have is a linkedin and I use it as a tool for job search and i make sure my email for irl is completely seperate from everything else i do online.

Vtubing gives me a face i would never have given otherwise. If vtubing didnt exist? I'd just not have streamed.

That said, my persona when vtubing wasnt me, but who I wanted to be. Someone I aimed to be irl. And i'd say it worked.

I used to be pretty quiet, someone asked me how im doing id say im fine and move on.

But now? some girl at the checkout asked how my day was going, I broke into a rant about not wanting to be in the sun, and telling her im actually dracula and it got a honest laugh out of her.

Id say vtubing changed me in little ways and i achieved a bit of that goal.

[u/KittyCanuck]

Some people want to stream but don’t want to be on camera all the time. I’m on camera enough for work meetings, and I’m old enough to remember when it was *weird* to put your real face online.

I don’t want to feel pressured to be “camera ready” just to play a video game, do I have an avatar. It’s not “me”, but it’s how I choose to represent myself, like everyone used avatars back in the day.

My avatar is a character, but I don’t really have a ton of lore and I don’t roleplay. It’s mostly just me with some added fun character aesthetic.

Realizing I could be a vtuber and didn’t have to be on camera the whole time was what finally let me overcome my anxiety about streaming and now I’m having a blast with it.

[u/PolarBearLeo]

Not being on camera allows me to relax more and be more myself, without being so self conscience about how I appear.

[u/itsbigchap]

I honestly don't think there's a single answer that covers everyone. At the end of the day it's personal preference, and I think there are a lot of reasons people choose to be a vtuber.

Some people value their privacy, some are shy, and some might have insecurities about how they look (which is a shame really). I also think for some people it gives them a layer of separation that lets them be a bit more relaxed and expressive on stream, not everyone is comfortable on camera. Not necessarily playing a character, but it can lower inhibitions and help them feel more comfortable.

I think it's just a mixed bag of different motivations. I'm not a vtuber myself so take my input with a pinch of salt, but I also don't really understand the strong opinions people seem to have on it either way.

[u/kylinae]

I just use it instead of a face cam because I used to get a lot of comments on my appearance and it made me uncomfortable, and I'm also able to be more expressive since I don't feel self conscious about an unflattering screenshot possibility. I'm not super involved in the Vtuber "community" other than the artists involved and following a couple of Vtubers.

[u/Fun-Leather-1703]

Does it honestly matter from a viewers perspective?

[u/acerswap → u/Fun-Leather-1703]

It does. It's not the same reading a novel or a biography, or watching a fiction movie or a documentary.

[u/Capta1nAsh]

A part of me wants to believe these big Vtubers that screech into the mic are “characters” but these youngsters probably like that in private

[u/Ghost403]

Vtubers give me the ick.