I Have A VTuber Addiction And So Should You

This one has completely taken me by surprise and I didn’t think I would love it as much as I do, but VTubers, Hololive Gamers specifically, are my latest addiction. Now, I’ve been following Kizuna Ai for a long time, so these aren’t brand new concepts to me, but Hololive is fantastic and I want to explain why and mention some of my personal favourites.

What is a VTuber/Hololive?


A VTuber, or virtual YouTuber, is an online entertainer, typically Japanese-speaking and usually represented by an anime avatar which is rigged to mirror the movements of the person behind it. I suppose you could track this all the way back to Hatsune Miku and her influence on “Real-life” anime characters becoming as popular as they are now. 

Hololive is an agency of these Virtual YouTubers, that since it’s beginning, now boasts a massive roster of VTubers, each with unique personalities and appearances.

Hololive Gamers

This is the meat of the piece and I love all 4 of these streamers! Hololive Gamers consists of 4 members:

Shirakami Fubuki (Fox, not a cat)


The meme-queen herself and a large contributor to why Hololive and other VTubers have enjoyed a recent boom in western viewers. If not for Fubuki’s “Scat man” video, I may have never found these delightful bundles of wholesome joy. 

Fubuki was one of the first generation of Hololive members and she plays a senpai-role to some of the other members throughout the entirety of the group. For instance, when the group collaborates and does a quiz show, Fubuki will play the host. 

Fubuki is the perfect blend of everything that is adorable about anime-culture. She will add sound effects to numerous things she does, like Jotaro “ora ora ora” or Bruno “arrivederci”. In her 2 year anniversary video, she references Ace from One Piece’s emotional “Thank you for loving me” scene. And of course, there are her incredible short videos that gave her the meme-queen title. Go and watch “De De N Den De De N” and “Im Scatman” right now.

Ookami Mio (Wolf with a JoJo Stand)

I would definitely describe Mio as being the more mature and calm member of Hololive Gamers in comparison to some of the others. This in no way makes her anything less, if anything, this is a defining part of Mio and a huge reason I enjoy watching her. Mio has gained the nickname “Mama-Mio” throughout Hololive as a result of her kind and mature personality and she is treasured by the other members.

During a stream some time ago, Fubuki drew the character known as ‘Hatotaurus’. This is a monster with a pigeon head, minotaurs upper body and wolf lower body. This character caused so much hilarity amongst those who appeared in this stream, that Mio adopted the character as her own JoJo stand. Mio’s wheezing laugh will also extend your lifespan.

Nekomata Okayu (Laid-back cat)

If you’re a lazy gamer like me, then you should all fall in love with Okayu as well. I would definitely describe Okayu as being one of the more relaxed members, despite the fact she can get carried away or emotional at certain times. For example, when Okayu finished The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, she had to take a small break to cry and recompose herself. 

Okayu is also more tomboy-ish than the others, which I love about her, even using the pronoun “Boku ” which has a more masculine impression. She also loves Shounen series like Dragon Ball as well, although almost all of the Hololive members love these, but still!

Okayu is fantastic when she solo streams, but she is absolutely hilarious when the 4 of the Gamers group up or when she collaborates with other members. During these big group events, we get to see the mischievous side of Okayu AND the reactions from the others, which just makes it even more fun to watch.

Inugami Korone (GODDO DOGGO)

Korone is without a doubt one of the most goofy personalities within Hololive and this contrasts perfectly with Okayu. Korone and Okayu were friends before joining Hololive, so they have this extremely wholesome relationship where Korone is goofy and affectionate, while Okayu is more jokey and mischievous. 

Like Okayu, Korone really embodies the animal part of her character. In group streams, such as the time Gamers played Ring Fit Adventure, Korone would constantly be filled with energy and ready to play. On the other hand, Okayu would be lying around and causing hilarious chaos. Also, Korone had to be told to go to bed after streaming “Maka Maka” for more than 24 hours straight. 

Similarly to Fubuki, Korone has had a more recent surge in popularity due to clips of her speaking in English making their way through various forms of social media. Because of this, Korone will often go to google translate in order to make sure that she can interact with her English viewers. It’s a very kind gesture from her, and it leads to even more hilarious clips! X-potato.

Why They Are Special

There are many more members of Hololive that you should be checking out as well, not just the 4 I have mentioned! To name a few:

  • Usada Pekora 
  • Minato Aqua
  • Natsuiro Matsuri
  • Houshou Marine
  • Shirogane Noel

Everyone is very entertaining in their own unique ways, but what I think is most special about these VTubers, is that they are still a person. There are 2 clips in particular that stand out to me: Fubuki’s video of her crying alone and Mio’s video about wanting to stand out a bit more. 

These are still people with feelings that put a lot of effort into entertaining their viewers, but they also show a vulnerability that makes you latch on even tighter. 

After gaining a surge in popularity, Fubuki addresses the fact that she has been crying on her own. The pressure of being at the top is quite crushing, and meeting the expectations set upon her is hard. In her words “We are all number 1” meaning that everyone in Hololive is a big collective family, and they are all special. They are wonderful people… As are the people translating their content, because I’m certainly not a fluent Japanese speaker!

As always, thanks for reading. Stay safe and healthy!

VTubers are even making appearances in games, including the upcoming Neptunia Virtual Stars!

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Conor Evans
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