Everything seemed to be without warning, and everything seemed to be reasonable, on the day of tripping love and fans to break their fingers to count down the fifth anniversary, she announced to everyone that she would stop the activity indefinitely. For a time, Tieba and forums, all kinds of two-dimensional QQ groups are full of the names of tripping love, and people flock to the official number of tripping love to leave their own thoughts, making me seem to forget that the number of viewers at the same time as the live broadcast of the fifth anniversary is only five thousand. Open the B station, open the Tubing, the current virtual anchors are competing for the current, there is a thriving trend, Tencent and iQiyi and other big manufacturers are also hot layout recruitment, but I gradually feel that the concept of "VTuber" is leaving me.
>>> begins with tripping love, starting with "super artificial intelligence"
I don't know whether it is a rumor of passers-by or official marketing, the early label of trip love in China is rarely "the first virtual youTuber", but more is "the product of a certain university research institute". Indeed, at that time, many people wondered whether the love was artificial intelligence, which showed the success of its human play. In March 2017, she had just surpassed 200,000 followers and participated in her first offline event: AnimeJapan. I was impressed by the extremely strong control ability that Tripped Love showed in it.
At this time, it seems that it is really a super AI full of curiosity about human society, exploring current hot topics, challenging the various limits of its own "function", and showing its "artificial mental retardation" in various games... The image of tripping love is becoming more and more plump and three-dimensional. During the same period, the video of Trippy Love was changed from weekly to daily, and fans had the opportunity to see a new side of her every day. After some trials and explorations, with the "Flower Q" frequently issued in game live such as "Resident Evil 7" and "PUBG", I accidentally let the love of tripping out of the circle. It was at this time that the rest of the "virtual four kings" debuted one after another, and the number of Tubing subscribers who stumbled on love also exceeded 1 million, and the industry ushered in a small climax.
>>> the skin and soul of VTuber
At that time, the definition of VTuber could be summarized as: the UP master who carries out activities with an original virtual personality setting and image. "Zhongren" is still a forbidden word like a satellite source, those "peeling" behaviors that do not conform to human design are even topics worthy of being reported whenever they appear, and more V are sticking to their avatars consistently. In the process of industry development, we can see that JK's personality, aura and character attributes have been consistent for many years, calmly coping with the trap problem of various identities and ages; Derby Debiru, who shows people with a demonic image, implements his own characteristics in terms of mouth habits, writing habits, and differential attitudes towards "human" and "inhuman"; Dai Gray, who deeply interprets his own human plot, has jointly completed a "virtual consciousness awakening" on the big screens of Twitter, Youtube and Shinjuku streets. The Meta Drama... (Why are they all from the Rainbow Society)
The discussion of "the skin or the soul we like" has been a long time, but it is undeniable that the soul of a character like Trip Love is inseparable from the excellent interpretation of the middle person, and at the same time, it is inseparable from the creation and operation of its content by the entire company. In a sense, this "soul" is composed of multiple "people". But at least whether it is the corporate trend of the stars holding the moon or the individual potential of going it alone, everyone is trying to construct a "skin" that meets their own settings.
And after that, although not the first person to deliberately tear a corner of it, Moon Beauty Rabbit was the first person to rely on "tearing skin" to give up people to set up a fire circle... Let's call her "human." At the age of 16, the class leader, who has a somewhat arrogant personality but a serious nature, talked about the topic of human centipedes when he first met with everyone, and in order to "round back" the virtual age, he explained to everyone that playing old games such as LovePlus and Christmas Kiss was at the age of five. Completely oblivious to its own "virtual" attributes, it is impossible to blow up when you live broadcast yourself by placing the computer on the washing machine, and the mobile phone used for motion capture is supported by a bottle of laundry detergent. But on the other hand, the live broadcast of Moon Beauty Rabbit is full of memes and laughter, when others package the role, she can rely on her own interpretation to obtain enough sense of existence, and the audience is often attracted by the charm of the middle people to the live broadcast room. Sometimes I wonder whether the one on the left is the Moon Beauty Rabbit, or the right one is the Moon Beauty Rabbit:
What can support the behavior of the moon beauty rabbit is undoubtedly its extensive subcultural experience and outstanding planning ability. Under the premature art of human beings, there is a deep and solid talent. Since then, we can also see that the first letter kicked the character setting away, relying on emotional infection and personal charm to this day Kagura mea, operating a business that is actually quite clear; at the same time, there was also a pseudo-bride (big boo) VTuber Inuyama Yuhime, relying on its inextricable connection with the boiled seaweed man, moved V's artist to the front of the stage earlier, and more and more viewers saw the "super beautiful 3D" (live-action appearance). Their live broadcasts and videos have brought me all kinds of joy, but it seems that unconsciously, the concept of "VTuber" has deviated slightly. Virtual YouTuber, at what point should virtually be virtual?
Is the decline of >>> commercial transformation stuck in the throat of traditional "VTubers"?
Perhaps today, the income problem is the most important factor for forcing traditional Vs to start thinking about whether to put down their masks. In 2018, as Youtube adjusted some judgment mechanisms, the large-scale powder-dropping "Tubing Cannon" was aimed at VTubers up and down (mainly because of the excessive login with tubing and IP on the ladder), which is also a time point where the Chinese market is widely concerned. At that time, I had paid attention to the question of VTuber's revenue, and the answer was basically the same: compared to the thousands of yen per time in the live broadcast, the head video potential VTuber like Trip Love has a much higher income from business, and no one doubts the profitability of The Trip Love Channel. Nowadays, the number of video broadcasts on the Trip Love Channel has long been less than in the past, and the amount of tips in the live broadcast room also makes people wonder whether the number of simultaneous viewers has been watched by one more zero.
Whether it is called super chat or eye-catching message, tip or shake, in essence, this consumption method can basically be classified as irrational consumption. I have experienced the period of "she finally came to station B to broadcast live to get a captain", which is also divided into regrets and no regrets. In the earliest days, "becoming a captain" was simply a way of supporting, with some optional features on Station B. Later, the V began to read (write) the captain's name, paint the captain's head, and developed to send a big gift package on the ship, and even had full cashback, I have to say that the road is farther than crowdfunding.
However, there is almost only one way to get a stable tipping income in live broadcasting: let the status of "you" be more important than money in ta's mind, commonly known as raising gachi. The company surnameD H, which is not dead, can be said to be well versed in this way, from the beginning of the planning to recruit people, focusing on nico live owners, senior YouTube anchors, house dance singing multi-faceted event regulars, etc., to summarize in an incorrect sentence, it is to pull VTuber to the level of the female anchor of the cover, and then beat her with rich experience (after all, the timeline is quite long). Today, the top few of them can easily exceed 10 million yen in the last month of YouTube's income (not in hand), and the candidates alternate back and forth under various projects and anniversaries.
In general, the fundamental reason for the success of the "female anchors" is still the content produced as "female anchors", which is indeed widely loved by the masses. But the audience from contact with female anchors to gradually look deeper into it, there is a certain threshold, cover is a very convenient form of lowering the threshold, and its cost has become lower and lower. If the content produced by a V is infinitely converging with the female anchor, and you want to get a large number of fans who are willing to pay money, the most direct way is to "let the fans feel the heart" or "complete the goal with the fans". Among them, showing one's daily life as a person in the Middle is one of the simplest paths. Over time, although it is not a slight currency to expel good money, it maintains the "skin" in the live broadcast and implements its own virtual human design is no longer a "basic requirement", but has become more and more a rare existence.
(I don't have any negative opinions about cats, deer and others, but I wonder why "breaking the dimension" has become the selling point of the A B virtual area)
>>> the current ecology of Country V has been transformed into another look by capital
What prompted VTubers to stop paying attention to the virtual, in addition to the audience factor, is also the entry of capital. We can construct a domestic small story here: if the mother is ready to debut as a VTuber on the B station today, can she choose to fight alone? If you plan to support yourself full-time and know nothing about the popularity rules of Station B, the answer can basically write down a big NO. Flipping the bulletin board: [Shanguo Planet] is strong, but only recruits a small number of top-quality middle-class people. [Shanshan College] is not well-known but has complete resources, but it only signs contracts with V with certain achievements. [Small Fruit Fruit Plan] almost no threshold, it seems that the fruit lady should choose it.
(The technology of avatars is constantly updated, and the cost is decreasing, except for painters)
If you really sign a contract with the "Xiaoguoguo Plan", Guo niang will find that the part-time intern who was responsible for communication before is the union, and then she will not be able to contact again. What you can get in your hand are a few "operation manual" documents that look like they were copied from a certain place, the live broadcast room is supported by some fancy decorations, and a little more Starlight coin every week, and there is no more content. Live content guidance? Video slices of the powder? Post-production of footage? The operation and maintenance of the fan base? In these areas, The Fruit Lady will not receive any support. And guo niang's live broadcast income from now on, in addition to the 25% deducted by the uncle, the union will also take 25%, plus 10% of the tax, 100 yuan of tip guoniang can only get about 45 yuan. The union will also tell you that if there is no union, your uncle will first take 50%, and then deduct 20% of the tax, and you will have less!
(Come soon to debut)
In fact, 99% of the country V as long as they enter the union, they are in a similar [small fruit plan], signed a clause that may not be able to quit at any time, and are released by the union in a live broadcast room. Some of them broke through the results of their own blood, perhaps they could stabilize dozens of captains, perhaps they could stabilize more than ten thousand streams, and they would be invited to a more advanced project similar to [Sugi Academy], perhaps they could obtain a more exquisite "skin" to be reborn, and they might join a mature superior society and obtain a new circle. Have you noticed that the [Little Fruit Tree Plan] [Shanguo Academy] [Shanguo Planet] is actually a project under the same [Shanguo Mutual Entertainment], and the vast majority of the resources in hand are used in several star members of the [Shanguo Planet], and the remaining limited resources are allocated by the [Shanshan Academy], and the largest number of [Xiaoguoguo Plan] can only get some "leftovers" from it. The reason why there are multiple projects is because the union needs to rely on the "Small Fruit And Fruit Project" to contribute the number of heads, and the "Shanshan Academy" needs to contribute a stable flow of water, so as to win more official resources to feed the members of the [Shanguo Planet] in the live broadcast of the B station, in other words, the role of the fruit girl in the whole union may only be a number of +1.
On the other hand, the more V at the top, the greater the real pressure it will face. If you relax a bit, you are likely to fall into a vicious circle of declining data – fewer resources – worse live streaming – and continued data decline. Under the industrialized roar operation, the V up and down are squeezed forward by various live data (or revenue), how can we expect that most of the output from it is carefully maintained virtual characters and images?
(Picture Ichiraku, I think I should choose to watch the blue fantasy Ofe Carly Ostello)
>>> Of course, there is more than one way out of an ecosystem
Can V in China output content in the form of pure video without wading through the "muddy waters" of live broadcasting? The road may be more difficult than Youtube's. Taking Station B as an example, if you are not able to participate in the activities by chance, the game area 10,000 plays can probably get 20-30 yuan of revenue, and the animation area will be higher, but no matter how it is calculated, it is difficult to maintain it from a full-time perspective.
In addition, it has to be mentioned that with the end of the veteran artist agency Lehua and ByteDance, the VTuber industry has ushered in a new round of form impact - I think this model is closest to the form of the traditional Korean girl group. Members must have a considerable height in the level of strength such as song and dance, supplemented by more elaborate idol packaging, more mature industrial operations, and the content of the output can be maintained at a very high level at least at the level of perception. Although the popularity of passers-by is not too good, if you really want to investigate carefully, people have indeed not used any dirty means, and there is no need to engage in criticism and confrontation. It's just that this kind of operation method is bound to be accompanied by the problem of oversaturated exposure, and passers-by can always look up and look down to see some content that they don't necessarily want to see.
If you look back at their earliest videos, you will be surprised at how shallow and one-sided the understanding of V by the operators and people at that time was, and at the same time lament how rapid its progress was, as if it was really a super AI that was iteratively evolving. Maybe I shouldn't use such a word, after all, since choosing such an idol business model, they who pay attention to the "real feeling" may not be so important.
>>> "four tripping love" project may have been the end of a story
In June 2019, Activ8, which belongs to Trip Love, launched the "Four Trip Love" project. I think the details of it now need not be said much, as a result, it has caused an irreparable blow to the image of tripping love, and it has also pushed Haruhi Wang, the person in love, directly to the front of the stage with the official mouth. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary, I still have a few friends who think that the current tripping love official account of Station B is not the original tripping love.
Perhaps since the "Four Tripping Love" storm, the official appointment of Kasuga Akira as a consultant of Tripwire Love, this project has deviated slightly from the concept of virtual. Although it has always called itself Virtual Gamer on the A.I.Games channel, Trip Love will greet "Hi Dormer, I'm Virtual YouTuber Trip Love!" The word virtual youTuber in the word is omitted, which is actually more than three years ago.
>>>which comes to mind when we mention VTuber?
Taking advantage of this opportunity to write, I curiously entered several channels that were once incomparably familiar, and looked at the recent situation of my old friends - Master Kang Hakari Kanna, who had experienced various operational storms, last submitted an article two months ago; the whale lagged behind the much-watched leader Crimson Elio, who still maintained a fairly high popularity; Ann's cousin, who had been a steam friend, seemed to have experienced some ups and downs; Qinglu Yunai, who had "Shuang Brother Single Push", had no news for nine months after declaring that "he came back from the exam"; once" The first person under the Four Heavenly Kings", the cat palace Hyuga, live broadcast at the same time the number of viewers less than 500 ...
(Sony + B station + refers to the new idol project of Rino Hara + Crimson Elio + Garden Serena + Kagura Mea, which is a good thing.jpg)
Looking back, writing down big paragraphs, what exactly do I want to say with "We're losing the concept of VTuber"? Perhaps it stems from the expectation that the road cannot be seen clearly: with the help of new technology, a new entertainment content can be realized from the foundation. And now most of the content that the audience's grandparents like to hear about V has been fixed in the same kind of content produced by old anchors and idols, and capital has also stuffed the more industrialized cultural interpretation in VTuber's various ecosystems. Borrowing from Shinji Miyadai's "island universe" view, VTuber is no longer a unique existence, and what we get from it is infinitely similar to the previous forms of entertainment.
However, it is far from the time to say that the concept of VTuber has failed. If you have watched the live broadcast of the fifth anniversary of tripping love or the video of the major notification, you should understand that the content cannot be simply summarized as "will be dormant indefinitely". At least for this reason, she made it clear that she was "doing something fun with everyone again" and hoped that "everyone would be waiting for me." Meanwhile, the dormant original "Love Number Two" Love Sauce has resumed its activities, also mentioning "expecting and renewing the tripping love encounter". We may also be able to report some unrealistic expectations of "hibernation" and "awakening".
In addition, taking the video potential as an example, HIMEHINA needless to say, Omega Sisters, Tanuki Peanuts, MonsterZ MATE and other VTubers are still steadily outputting content in their respective fields, and there are also virtual research agencies in China that have been operating continuously since 17 years. This "incense burn" continues, and there are still many shining stars in places I can and don't see.
Finally, I would like to end with an old saying: more supervision of people, less supervision of the audience. Close this article, when you can D, be more D.