マクミランさんは バーチャルユーチューバー を見る
This week I watched a vtuber named Sakura Miko and her vtuber friends compete with each other in Mario Kart. A vtuber (short for virtual youtuber) is an internet personality that is represented by a voice actress and computer generated (anime style) avatar. This is a relatively new trend even in Japan, but many vtubers, like Kizuna Ai have hundreds of thousands of followers. Many vtubers do short topical videos and play video games (like Miko). The appeal, I think, is similar to Japanese idols, and many vtubers fashion themselves in that image. I was introduced to Miko's group "Hololive" by a person I know who is a huge fan. I watched a live stream on Miko's youtube channel of her and other vtubers competing fiercely in Mario Kart. From what I could tell, there was a lot of trash talking going on. Though Miko was doing well, at one point her console crashed and she couldn't play anymore! However, the livestream was very enjoyable to watch. Since many vtubers livestream, there are no real time subtitles available for many of their videos. As such, that means I really have to use my Japanese knowledge to understand what is being said! Like anime, vtubers usually use informal speech, so I think listening to them is valuable for learning the speed and tempo of typical Japanese conversations. Likewise, the viewer chat is almost entirely composed of Japanese speaking people, so to understand the comments I also have to read Japanese in real time! The chat is full of a lot of slang, like the word 草 meaning the equivalent to the English "lol". Ultimately, watching a vtuber livestream is a very intensive exercise for Japanese students!
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