Recently, VTubers began to emerge rapidly on the Switch.
Most of them were active as groups.
Ranging from companies that specialize in producing VTubers to crews formed by fellow VTubers.
Currently, the VTuber scene on Switch was divided into three main factions.
The virtual idol Inverse, part of the VTuber project Restart conducted by the famous group Company N.
The VTuber crew Flare, founded by the emperor of VTubers, VTuber Rita.
And unaffiliated VTubers with considerable influence but no specific affiliation.
Like in the Three Kingdoms period, these three groups were competing for the pie of viewers who primarily watched VTubers, but an anomaly occurred here.
The peaceful state of the Switch VTuber scene was completely overturned overnight.
The cause was the emergence of a new supernova VTuber with a scale large enough to disregard the existing VTuber pie.
To put it bluntly, it was the VTuber debut of the invasive species known as the bullfrog Mollu.
Mollu began to occupy a pie as large as the combined three factions, and there was also a significant influx of viewers drawn to her.
It was a situation that the streamers dominating the existing VTuber market could not simply ignore.
In the face of a disaster that hit suddenly, Rita, the leader of the Flare crew, called an emergency meeting with her fellow streamers.
“Ha… this situation is quite serious. Everyone, please share your good ideas… or any ideas, anything that comes to mind. Just say it.”
The Flare crew, being the newest and smallest of the three factions, was in a situation where it wouldn’t be surprising if they were completely absorbed by Mollu.
I had a few temporary measures in mind, but the opinions of the crew members could very well be better than my own.
This was why Rita had called the emergency meeting.
“Uh, yeah. Ria, go ahead.”
“If we continue like this, we’ll all be ruined, leader.”
“That’s something we all know.”
It was a rather laid-back reaction when water was entering the house.
While that is a point of broadcasting charm, I didn’t expect it would be like this in reality.
Rita held her dizzy head.
Another crew member spoke up.
“But do you think Mollu will continue her activities as a VTuber?”
“I thought she would just do it for a while, but somehow she’s still going. I heard she even bought a new avatar yesterday.”
“That must have cost quite a bit. She must be serious.”
“She used to be a no-cam, right?”
“Lately, many no-cams are showing virtual characters instead of nothing, so it’s the trend.”
The crew members chattered, but no plausible solutions surfaced.
“Honestly, it’s kind of like a natural disaster, so there’s no sharp solution.”
“Hmm…”
“If we had to find something, it’s a low probability, but there is one option.”
Rita, sensing she knew what was coming, asked despite the hope.
“What is it?”
“Let’s recruit Mollu into our crew.”
“If that were possible, would I be here like this?”
The concern that the gigantic Mollu would come into the crew and overshadow the other members was a worry for another day.
At least if she joined the same crew, we could at least get some spotlight and benefit from the viewer pie falling away from her.
It’s a kind of trickle-down effect.
However, this was based on the premise that Mollu would actually join Flare.
“Would someone like her join our low-quality crew? She has rejected offers from other game crews too.”
“Still, we’re the first among the VTuber-related crews.”
“That might be true, but…”
Isn’t it basically the same?
Rita did not vocalize the thoughts stirring in her head.
The crew members were passionately brainstorming, and as the leader, she couldn’t douse their enthusiasm with cold water.
“And there aren’t many people as sincere about virtual content as we are. That’s what our recruitment requirement was. How sincere we are about virtual content.”
“But we just gathered a bunch of hardcore enthusiasts…”
“Oh, sister!”
It all started as a crew created for like-minded people to just play games together.
Never did she think it would grow this big.
It was undeniable that ambition had emerged since they started being called the three greats of Switch VTubers.
“Do you think Mollu might be serious about virtual content? Since we know this side pretty well, we could gradually reveal our curiosities, help fix her avatar, and teach her VR.”
“Is that so…?”
“Just try reaching out once. You’ve got nothing to lose.”
Twenty-six-year-old Rita thought of herself as someone who could objectively assess herself, but she was unaware that she was rather impressionable.
Before she knew it, she was writing a crew proposal email based on a crew member’s words.
“…So it’s nothing much, but we aim for a fun atmosphere where VTubers play games together. Does this sound too needy? Ah, screw it. I don’t know.”
Whatever the outcome, something will come of it.
But let’s not raise expectations too high.
Rita tried to keep her mindset light as she sent the email to the address listed on Mollu’s channel.
“I’d like to discuss the details in person…? Will this work?”
She was able to receive a reply from Mollu expressing her desire to join the crew.
*
“VTuber crew, Flare…”
While rummaging through her mailbox.
Despite filtering out spam, a new type of email emerged among the usual malicious messages and advertisements.
For me, who occasionally watched other streamers’ broadcasts on off days, it was a familiar name.
That was understandable, as the opportunity that allowed me to divert to being a VTuber during my face controversy stemmed precisely from their broadcasts.
The one who had just emailed me was Rita, the leader of Flare.
The recent VR broadcast I performed was inspired by her VR exploration stream.
So it could be said she was, in a way, a role model for me.
Though I didn’t admire her like a fervent fan, she had indeed provided me with an opportunity.
In fact, I had received quite a few similar recruitment offers before.
MCN and crew, exclusive contracts with Eo War streamers, and even offers from nameless entertainment agencies.
It was bewildering that someone I didn’t even know would be promising to make me a celebrity or whatever – it was a ludicrous conversation at best.
Were some of those offers beneficial? Yes, there were certainly proposals that would contribute to me both monetarily and in viewership.
However, there was nothing I genuinely wanted to pursue.
Except for the previous cold noodle advertisement.
Looking back, I really think I made the right choice for that.
There’s nothing quite like it.
This time, the context was similar.
A recruitment offer for Rita’s VTuber crew.
I thought it might be worth a try.
Whenever I needed to make a decision, I always asked for the help of my editor Si-young, and this time was no different.
On the day of the meeting, I headed to her house.
“It’s not bad. If it’s on the VTuber side, your image consumption won’t be as high.”
“Is that so?”
She reacted positively after reading Rita’s email.
“To put it bluntly, even if you made a mess now, people would still applaud you.”
“Eww.”
“Because you’ve become famous.”
Though it was an extreme expression, it meant that unless it was a seriously problematic matter, it wouldn’t lead to a disastrous failure anymore.
So, I wouldn’t be completely tanking it?
“Will you continue with the VTuber broadcasts?”
“Actually, that’s the issue. I plan to discuss it when we meet.”
I’m a bit of an outlier compared to pure-blooded VTubers.
I was initially a no-cam streamer, and due to competition rules, I had to use a half-body cam at times.
Unlike most VTubers, who don’t have their identities exposed, I had a different style altogether.
Moreover, I didn’t stream with a virtual avatar every day.
While for them, their virtual avatar was almost part of their identity, for me, my main was being a no-cam.
Sometimes, when I was just bored and thought about playing with VR, that’s when the VTuber Mollu appeared.
“It wouldn’t be good for your existing viewers if you broadcasted as a VTuber every day. There would definitely be some backlash. Just because they liked no-cam Mollu, doesn’t mean they’ll automatically like VTuber Mollu.”
“Is that so?”
“I think it’s better if I only occasionally pop up like I do now.”
Nodding, Si-young added, “You’d be more akin to a guest than a formal crew member.”
“That would probably be better. I’d feel pressured if we played together all the time.”
“Let me go along with you for the discussion.”
She wanted to join the meeting that might decide the direction of Mollu’s broadcasts moving forward.
At this point, she felt more like a manager or personal agent rather than just an editor.
That was fine with me, but I wondered if this would end up being too much work for her.
“Should we hire more editors?”
“…Huh?”
“I mean, with YouTube growing, it must be hard for you to handle everything alone. Other teams seem to share tasks among multiple people; maybe we should hire a few more—.”
“No.”
Si-young shook her head firmly.
“Not at all, it’s not difficult for me.”
Her look suggested she would not accept disagreements, and I nodded reluctantly.
“Well, okay then…”
It seemed she couldn’t accept the idea of someone else making videos.
She had a steadfast dedication to creating content for my channel.
I felt a sense of satisfaction, something I had never experienced as a boss before.
I thought I should raise her salary.
