- I believe that VTuber has become a really popular way of referring to virtual YouTubers because how catchy it is—it is essentially a letter away from the term “YouTuber” that the whole world is familiar with: from U-tuber to V-tuber. This term is used in Japan (spelled with Katakana or Romaji) and the rest of the world by those who like anime culture—not every Japanese person knows the term “virtual YouTuber,” and the overwhelming majority of Americans likely don’t recognize it. Another reason behind the popularity of this term may be that it is simply too embarrassing to describe VTubers for who they truly are— moving 3D models with human voice actors—and VTubers serve as a code name that escapes judgment from those not familiar with anime culture. This term is said to have originated in 2016 coined by Kizuna Ai, one of the first (if not the first) VTubers. VTubers (and most VTubers are from Japan) are a big industry in Japan, where companies would launch VTubers in a similar, commercialized fashion as idol groups.
VTuber
blending; noun
A virtual persona, portrayed by an animated 3D model and voiced by a human, who hosts streams or posts videos on video platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
Etymology : Blending of virtual + YouTuber
Source : “I watched one video and said exactly that ‘This ain’t for me,’ 2 days later and I can’t stop watching vtubers.” In a comment to the video titled “What the VTuber rabbit hole looks like.” Nov, 2020
Last modified: 26 November 2020