Virtual-San Wa Miteiru, The Link Between Youtube and Anime

Hello everyone and welcome to our shelter! 😀

Time to finish my first episode reviews for the Anime Winter Season! I can’t believe I was able to do this! I mean, I’m more dead than alive at the moment and I just want to sleep for 1 month straight! But, hey! I was able to make 2 somewhat creative posts a day while working full-time! If there is any time to be proud of myself, I think today is one of those days! Oh, before I forget, if you want to read all my first episode reviews you can do it here! I know, I should be ashamed to do a self-plug so direct like that, but bear with me!

Virtual-San Wa Miteiru is produced by the recently founded VTuber animation studio Lide, Inc. It has a cast of 30 Vtubers from different backgrounds and companies. For the ones who don’t know a VTuber is basically a Virtual Youtube Channel. This means that the “host” of the Youtube channel is a virtual character instead of a person. Something that it’s not really normal in the western, but seems to have some popularity in Japan.

The main hosts (click on the names to go to their channel) are Mirai Akari (733 451 subscribers), Dennou Shojo Siro (596 704 subscribers), Tanaka and Suzuki Hina (323 247 subscribers), Nekomiya Hinata (458 635 subscribers), and Tsukino Mito (311 028 subscribers). So, basically, you can see these are Youtube channels who are pretty big.

It’s a cool idea and I’m not gonna lie, it makes me happy to see so many Youtube channels having their opportunity to work inside the Anime industry.

But, Is It Any Good?

Well, the Anime is completely random! The 24 minutes are composed of small cutscenes which will feature the Youtube channel. I’m not completely sure about this, but, at the end of the episode, they say people that they are still accepting submissions. This makes me believe that the YouTubers are the ones doing the skits and submitting them for the opportunity of some exposure.

So, if you are going to Virtual-San expecting to watch a “normal” Anime, then it is going to be horrible! That’s not the objective of the creators, neither is the route of the show. To me, it seems each skit represents what you are going to get more or less with the youtube channel of that particular Youtube Channel.

Moreover, the 3D animation is not good either… Nonetheless, again, it follows the same route as the Youtube channels. In fact, I don’t believe it would be a nice idea to create something with excellent animation since it would create a decharacterization of the Virtual Youtubers “everyone” knows.

In this regard, if you don’t follow any of the channels I mentioned above, or any of the ones who will be making an appearance (here’s the list), then this is probably not the Anime for you! (I did laugh at some scenes though) However, and that’s why I don’t consider this the worst Anime of the season, for the followers of these Youtube channels I think it’s a great way to watch more work of their favorite Vtubers.

Moreover, for the Vtubers it can be the exposure they need to go viral and start living by doing what they love to do the most. This way, I think Virtual-San Wa Miteiru is a great idea and that probably will be a nice time for the people following these Youtube channels.