Forum - View topicThis Week in Anime - The Corp-orification of Kizuna Ai
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JustMonika
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I'm here now.. the one fan of this show, lol
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Greed1914
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I think the most awkward thing about it is that it's basically a big reminder that Ai isn't around now. I think her indefinite hiatus is more just a business way of saying that the person behind Ai is done, but the company doesn't want to shelve the brand until something else catches on like she did. Unfortunately, other companies, and even indies, have learned the lessons from how that went, and gone beyond it to the point where that just isn't going to happen.
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Wyvern
 Posts: 1597 |
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If this anime was actually good, it would be even more pointless.
Anime: This is Kizuna Ai, the greatest entertainer in the entire world! Viewer: Wow, where can I watch her streams? Anime: You can't, she's been on hiatus for a year and a half and there's a good chance she's never coming back. Viewer: Then what was the point of- Anime: BUY OUR CRYPTO AI-GENERATED NFTS! |
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TheSleepyMonkey
Posts: 953 |
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Despite being a Wit production, everything about this is just so, so... empty. It's bland in every single way it could possibly be. Then again, given how you have part of the Platinum End's team working on this, and a guy who's only worked as assistant director for some Yokai Watch movies...
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Toyokaaaa
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It's kinda uncanny to see an anime about Vtubers tbh.
Aren't they supposed to be relatable and quirky, why turn them into big name celebrities? |
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Shay Guy
 Posts: 2301 |
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You've got Nicky's name highlighted at the top instead of Nick's.
Akasaka's well-known for being into VTubers, of course, so if there's anyone I'd trust with the subject matter it's him. |
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meiam
Posts: 3450 |
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I'm not familiar with the scene at all, but if the person behind the Ai avatar quit, why not replace them and keep the avatar the same? Isn't that the main advantages of having a fake image be the avatar? I'm really wondering why people watch the vitural idol stuff over the countless real version, would they even care if the person behind the avatar change? If they did, wouldn't they watch real idol?
Anyway I think it would be interesting if at the end of the series it was revealed that the entire show was designed by AI, kinda like that Seinfeld perma show that was on twitch a few months ago, at least the story/writing and voice acting. Ai model excel at reproducing very formulaic stuff that have a been done over and over again, which is pretty much perfect for idol show that are so formulaic, so I have no doubt you could get an ai to write a full season of one without issue (not so sure how well voice synthesizer have come, could probably be done by training one on a specific person voice, iirc they did that in game not too long ago). |
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Greed1914
Posts: 4623 |
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The article mentions this, but the company basically tried that at one point. There were other Ais with other people behind the avatar. In concept, it made sense. The character is an AI and these were different facets, but the audience did not like it. vtubers occupy a bit of a middle area between real and fictional where a lot of the person behind the screen seeps into it, even more so now that vtubers are mostly focused on long live streams. They end up being different enough from an entirely fictional character to where someone else can't simply replace them. When there is a recasting for an anime character, there will be some disappointment, but it's largely met with an "oh well, it can't be helped" response because the audience knows that the actor is performing a script for a character that exists with or without them. That integration of character and person makes a total replacement not work for the audience, probably because it gets in the way of any feeling like they have gotten to know the person. It's why when somebody leaves a vtuber company, the company will simply retire the persona. Too much of that person is in there for someone else to come in and do it. Many of them will share stories about their actual lives, obscuring real names etc, and it would be impossible for a replacement to come into that and be at all authentic to the audience. |
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meiam
Posts: 3450 |
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Weird, I figured the one draw that virtual avatar had, for the audience, was their forever unchanging aspect, ie no matter what the avatar would always look/sound the same, some kind of constant in the audience live with no risk of them changing (neither trough aging or changing live). But if that's not case, whats the point over regular youtuber idol/lets play, which there are an unimaginable amount of? I can understand it from the production point of view, you can cast just about anybody in the role without the person appearance mattering. I imagine most are men or women that just don't have the physical appearance to ever gain much of a following but might be good entertainer otherwise. I also understand it from the streamer point of view, since they keep anonymity and can avoid a lot of the more negative side of the fandom. But I don't see how any of that translate to the audience wanting that content. Maybe if this was about pushing outside what was possible with real people (ie furry, or maybe doing more softcore porn that would still be allowed because its not using real people, whereas it would be banned if it just real people), but that doesn't seem to be the case either. Maybe its just about it being "different but actually the same" in the end? |
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Blazi
 Posts: 502 |
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Well, you are in luck cause the manga does go to that area with a certain little sister. Definitely won't be in this season, maybe season 2 though one arc will probably be the entirety of s2. |
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aepplesauce
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Same lol. It might be a cash grab but it has some cool ideas. I've never been able to get into VTubers besides liking their voice/design and maybe watching a stream in the background. But the blend of VTuber elements with an idol anime formula works well and makes me understand their kira-kira more. It looks at some of the specific challenges that come with the idea of a virtual world when it comes to video content, AI deciding rankings, character designing yourself; and most interestingly to me, how someone's chosen personality, style, & flavor of VTuber is different from their irl self (spoiler[you can kinda tell who chris is]) & their motivations for such. I think that as the plot starts to chug along a bit more we might get more insight and it could be a good surprise. |
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Rentwo
 Posts: 184 |
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We already have a Oshi no Ko Vtuber in the form of Akai Haato/Haachama.
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Shay Guy
Posts: 2301 |
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Plus you don't have to worry about a bad hair day, stuff going on behind you, whatever. As for the viewer end? Eh, it's a fun addition.
I wasn't going to bring it up, because it's all the way out in volume 9 and it looks like they'll be doing four volumes a season, but yeah. For anyone who's curious: spoiler[It's not actually that much. It's a brief digression in an arc about cosplay, with a character who mainly works as a VTuber and posts home cosplay on the side under a different identity. There's five pages of explanation about the VTuber world and how she fits into it. The main plot significance is that she's reluctant to cosplay in a setting where people will hear, and maybe recognize, her voice.] Last edited by Shay Guy on Tue May 02, 2023 9:59 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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VerQuality
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Vtubers occupy a really weird space between reality and fiction. From the few that aren't a mystery wrapped in an enigma (Ina?), what vtubers I know of could absolutely have the physical appearance to make it as conventional streamers. And like you say, there's not much in the way of lewdness, either, since most streaming platforms have pretty strict limits on that, and the 2D avatars are generally pretty limited in that respect in either case. What you're left with is this weird blend of kayfabe (as in WWE wrestling), Twitch-esque live-streamer culture, and personal stories. Basically, if all entertainment personalities are putting on some kind of mask, vtubers at least give you a pretty mask to look at. It's really weird to try and explain, and what exactly appeals to people is going to be pretty varied. One thing I think a lot of people get wrong about it is that the streams themselves are only part of the ecosystem - I'd argue clips are as important if not more important than the streams themselves. Even some of the actual corpos seem to not fully grasp this. Looking at clips is a bit like watching a massive SoL anime - you get a sense of this cast of different characters, and once you find one you really like, you can dive into the live streams and follow them more closely. Then you have concerts and other mass events that act as capstones and 'season finale' moments, and it starts to fall into a more digestible narrative form. This ended up way more messy than I was expecting, but basically - vtubers are a ton of different things, and it sounds like this anime has managed to capture none of them. Which is really kind of a sad note for Kizuna Ai's legacy. |
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kotomikun
Posts: 1205 |
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Besides the consistent appearance, which is definitely part of it in most cases (though they often have alternate outfits and such), there's lots of things. It eliminates the need for makeup, lighting, anything else required for a good on-camera appearance. It conceals your identity--popular streamers often have issues with loony fans figuring out where they live. It helps communicate things about the streamer in a more obvious and creative way than you could realistically do in live-action; and just being a vtuber makes it extremely likely that you're part of the anime subculture. It's also just kind of bandwagoning; the formula of "gamer on webcam screams at scrubs" had gotten kind of stale, and vtubers at least have the appearance of something new and interesting, even if they're often just doing the same things with a cartoon avatar. Human interests are usually like that. |
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