It seems like everyone and their dog is getting in on the VTuber trend as of late, but now we have a new challenger: Yuguri from Zombieland Saga, who is serving up drinks and listening to her customers’ woes as a VTuber in real-time.
This setting comes from the sequel series Zombieland Saga Revenge, where the idols of Franchouchou are forced to take up part-time jobs to pay back their debts after a disastrous live concert. Hoshikawa Lily has a job delivering milk, Ai Mizuno works in a squid factory, and Yuguri uses her past life as a courtesan to charm sad salarymen in a hostess bar… Now, you too can replicate that experience thanks to the magic of VTubers!
Streamed last Saturday, ‘Yuguri in Snack Chinatsu’ is termed ‘the first night’ of what should be regular VTuber activities for the character. Coming in at just over one hour long, it consists of several parts: first, you are greeted by Yuguri and shown to a seat at the bar. Then, Yuguri asks questions of the viewer, such as how old they are. A game of shirotori precedes a brief karaoke session, which was arguably the highlight of Yuguri’s VTuber debut.
The cynic in me would like to say that there’s no way that Rika Kinugawa would actually be able to perform live for one hour as a VTuber, but there probably was a script decided beforehand. The voice performance definitely sounds like her, and there’s some interaction with the chat, so she’s definitely there. One has to wonder whether CyGames can convince some of the other voice actors to make VTuber debuts…
In general, virtual YouTubers can be seen as the pinnacle of both idol and otaku culture as they transcend the barriers of traditional media, creating an entirely ‘real’ virtual character and making for a much more engaging experience. Yuguri’s debut as a VTuber is no exception to that: it really does feel like you’re there in the bar with her!
Based on this, it wouldn’t be surprising if more companies were to use VTubers for additional content in the future. You can follow more of Yuguri’s activities via the official CyGames channel.