Taking the First Step as a VTuber
On the day I resolved to walk the path of a VTuber, I looked up auditions and took the opportunity to research the state of VTubing in this world.
'Even in this world, the VTuber Emperor has blue hair, as expected.'
From the Japanese VTuber Emperor who currently commanded a whopping 300,000 concurrent viewers, to the bottom-tier, zero-viewer indie VTubers in Indonesia, I observed countless creators and grasped the unique characteristics of this world. And so, I reached a conclusion.
'It's impossible to rise to the position of the Korean VTuber Emperor with just my voice and singing ability.'
In an era with thousands of domestic VTubers, talented voices and outstanding singing abilities were a dime a dozen. Therefore, I judged that with only the voice and singing ability of the current Choi Minseo, I wouldn't be able to shine with my own light among the countless stars. I needed another weapon. A weapon they didn't have.
'Found it.'
I found my weapon without much difficulty. In this "VTuber World" where the ordinary twenty-year-old part-timer Choi Minseo lived, virtual reality games were highly popular. Literally, virtual reality games with settings that seemed straight out of a game fantasy novel were being released. Furthermore, to properly enjoy this virtual reality world, one needed an "avatar." This was a world-line where even ordinary people, not just VTubers, owned their own personal avatars! An era where everyone had an avatar, combined with the unique trait of having to physically move one's body to play the game.
'Voice and singing ability are the basics. What's needed on top of that is gaming physicals.'
This current body was a mixture of Choi Minseo's physical abilities and the physical abilities of "me" who possessed her. After moving my body a bit to test it out, I discovered an astonishing fact.
'It's even better than my original self.'
A perfect harmony of male strength and female flexibility. It wasn't simply that Choi Minseo's physical abilities and my physical abilities overlapped; they had merged.
"A force and power reaching more than 1.5 times that of an average adult male."
My reaction speed and strength were far superior to an ordinary woman's, and my stamina was so good that I could stream for long hours. Couldn't this be considered my unique weapon that others didn't have? You could say that the physical strength I built up from doing manual labor to donate to Miyo had been "inherited" by Choi Minseo.
A supreme VTuber who possessed a perfect voice and singing ability as a baseline, combined with flawless gaming physicals. On top of that, a 0% chance of ever getting a boyfriend.
"Good."
The minimum preparation to become a VTuber, complete. All that was left was to pass an audition.
'I want to enter a big company from the start, but realistically it's difficult. And big companies have their own disadvantages.'
If the company is too big, the interference is that much worse, and since senior generations have already established themselves, there's a high chance of falling into their shadow or becoming their maid. Above all, there's no guarantee that the fans of the senior generations will be favorable to the juniors. To receive the trickle-down effect from successful seniors, it requires immense effort and hardship. Bullying or internal strife between seniors and juniors, the creation of toxic comparison wars between agency VTubers, malicious individual fans, and endless comparisons would loom over like a heavy curse.
'I'd rather be a first-generation member.'
Better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon. Yes, even if I couldn't immediately become a world-class VTuber Emperor with 300,000 concurrent viewers, as someone dreaming of becoming the best VTuber in the country, I couldn't settle for being a tail.
'And I'd prefer the CEO to be a woman if possible.'
If it's a male CEO, there's a chance he might hit on the agency's VTubers. Some guys start agencies not for the money, but to get into relationships with VTubers, hosting drinking parties with them or seeking thrills behind the fans' backs. Literally, there are crazy Yuksu who start companies just to make highly popular, admired VTubers their girlfriends. So, it's much better to have a female CEO of the same gender. It's best to minimize any chance of a male voice being heard on a VTuber's stream.
"I want to find a company that meets all these conditions and allows me to spread my wings."
While reading through dozens of audition announcements, I finally found a company that perfectly matched my preferences.
[Streamer Dankaeng's New VTuber Idol Group 'Starlight' Private Audition Notice!]
"Starlight."
A "VTuber Idol" group created by Dankaeng, a fairly well-known streamer with 700,000 subscribers. The moment I saw it, I got a feeling. This is it. This is where I belong.
'The CEO, Dankaeng. She's a female streamer who used to pull in an average of 5,000 viewers back in the day.'
An established broadcaster and a first-generation VTuber. She had a decent network and seemed to have the know-how. Let's dig a bit deeper. Dankaeng's past came up.
'She blew half a billion won in a failed business venture?'
After digging through various sites to uncover Dankaeng's past, it turned out she had already dipped her toes into the VTuber business once before and completely ruined it.
'She aimed for the global market but got crushed by the giants.'
Even in this world, Japan, the birthplace of VTubing, was an insurmountable "wall." It seemed Dankaeng had challenged that wall only to be utterly broken. Having ruined her business, Dankaeng lived like a wreck, losing most of her active viewers, and her YouTube channel was now filled with ghost subscribers.
'This means this is her last chance.'
Since she poured all her remaining assets into Starlight, she must be incredibly desperate. Moreover, she has experienced the taste of the original market and has active experience as a VTuber herself, meaning she is genuinely passionate about the medium. Above all, I like that they are branding themselves as an "idol group" rather than just a simple VTuber group. There is a clear distinction between a regular VTuber and a VTuber idol. A standard VTuber is virtually no different from a regular creator or streamer, except for using an avatar. The moment they drop their RP (Roleplay), they become indistinguishable from any other internet broadcaster. Aside from using a 2D model, they have no unique characteristics. But idols are different.
'Because being an idol is an RP in itself.'
What is the most important thing for a VTuber? It's how well they can maintain and utilize their RP.
'RP is the setting, character, or narrative of the avatar I will use.'
This can be used as a shield. For example, if your RP is a four-year-old cat, even if you make a slip of the tongue or act a bit foolish, people will smoothly let it slide, thinking, "What does a four-year-old cat know? Just let it go~" Being able to overlay an idol RP on top of that is incredibly advantageous. Why? Because as an idol, the company becomes an "agency," and my fans become "idol fans" rather than just standard VTuber viewers, which is beneficial in many ways. Rather than dedicating one's life to a faceless, nameless woman behind a 2D model, it's much more thrilling to bet your life on an idol striving to become a star. I know this better than anyone. After all, Miyo was a VTuber idol too.
'Miyo.'
My experience of dedicating the past two years to Miyo was telling me: apply here. Start your dream of becoming a "VTuber Idol" in Starlight, a rookie group born out of desperation. Even though things ended terribly, I still wanted to help Miyo...
'No. Forget Miyo. I decided to forget her. Miyo is no longer my favorite. From now on, my favorite is me. I will become my own favorite.'
Let's pull myself together and read the audition announcement. I don't have time to indulge in idle thoughts about Miyo. This is a second chance given to me, someone who once dedicated his life to a nameless, faceless woman. A golden opportunity to completely transform the life of a woman named Choi Minseo. I don't want to miss this heaven-sent opportunity.
'Starlight's private audition consists of three rounds in total.'
Starlight's private audition proceeded in the order of document screening, social media check, and interview. For the document screening, I had to submit personal information, personal views on VTubing, goals and determination if I were to active as a Starlight idol, and finally, a recording file of a designated test song.
"Personal information filled out without a hitch. My personal views on VTubing are practically at the level of a thesis. My future goal is to become the best VTuber in the country. Good. Let's state my ambitions proudly."
I didn't bother writing about how kind I was, how well I would listen, or how pretty I wanted to look in my self-introduction. Being kind? Does being kind make you the VTuber Emperor? No. Having a good character is a given for a VTuber. It's a basic requirement. Do you think becoming an angel for shut-in otaku is an easy task? A VTuber is someone who endures all that disgust and contradiction, truly loving and embracing them. An angel or a saint of the internet. Having a good heart is the minimum condition and basic requirement for a VTuber. A toxic woman has no hope as a VTuber. And if you try to show off by saying, "I have a kind personality~" you're already not a good person at that point. It's tacky. The content of a self-introduction shouldn't just be a blind plea to be picked because you're nice.
"What I truly need to express is enough charm to make them want to pick me based on documents alone. Talent, star quality, and my value as a person."
I wrote down my strengths and charms. What I appealed to the most was, without a doubt, my singing ability and physical capability. Objectively speaking, the current me possessed a vocal volume and tone worthy of being called the King of Singers in the VTuber world. In my original world, before entering Choi Minseo's body, these two alone would have been enough to dominate the domestic VTuber market, but in this "Great VTuber World," physical ability was also necessary.
'The documents are perfect. The song recording went beautifully too.'
The test song designated by Dankaeng was "The Ground's Irresistible Force." A song by a Japanese band was the test song for the document screening.
'It's a song I listened to and sang along with often even before entering this body.' Thanks to that, I was able to sing it without much difficulty. Above all, Choi Minseo's vocal cords were no joke.
'Because she possessed all three of the most important elements for a VTuber dreaming of becoming the King of Singers.' The aforementioned overwhelming "vocal volume" that felt like it would burst through your chest. The "tone" that purified the ears of anyone listening. And finally, "vocal cords" that would never wear out no matter how many songs I sang.
'The thing VTubers get frustrated by the most is vocal nodules. Highly durable, steel vocal cords are an object of envy.'
There are VTubers who belt out with massive volume, but their tone is unpleasant to listen to. There are VTubers with beautiful tones, but their volume is so lacking that live performances are difficult. There are also VTubers with great volume and tone, but weak vocal cords, preventing them from singing often. However, my volume could pierce the ceiling, my tone was a cheat code, and my vocal cords were incredibly sturdy.
'Choi Minseo's throat was no ordinary throat.' It was so sturdy that vocal nodules seemed like an impossibility. This, too, must be a miraculous result of my original physical abilities merging with Choi Minseo's. Alright, let's do this. I don't think I'll fail the document screening. This is a guaranteed pass.
Three days had passed since I sent my documents to Starlight. They said they would contact me by today if I passed the document screening, so why hadn't I heard anything?
'No way. Did I get instantly rejected?'
They said they didn't look at college or grades. My voice, singing ability, and physicals are definitely a winning combination. Don't tell me... do I have no talent for VTubing?
'No. That can't be. Honestly, even by objective standards, Choi Minseo is far more talented than Miyo.'
Even Miyo, who "used to be" the best VTuber of my life, would have to take a back seat compared to the talent this girl Choi Minseo possessed. Let's wait a bit longer. They will definitely contact me. Unless that woman Dankaeng is blind, she has no choice but to choose me.
'Then again... maybe she is blind. She is a woman who blew half a billion won and failed her business, after all...'
Despair. Frustration. The gloom of being broken before even starting. Just as I was contemplating whether I should look for another company, my phone buzzed.
-Ring~
"Nice!!!"
I passed the document screening. Yes! I did it!!!
'No, don't get too excited, Choi Minseo.' This is just the beginning. The real deal starts now.
'I will become the best VTuber. No matter what.' Since I've started, I have to see it through to the end. I don't know where my end will be, but I will do my best and aim for the absolute strongest. Let's only think about that. Because dreaming of being the best is what a VTuber does.