When in the year 2000 Gorillaz released their first music video, ‘Tomorrow comes today,’ there were only questions: What would their concerts be like? Who was hiding behind the avatars? Can it be considered a music group if we only see animated characters? More than twenty years have passed, and with VTubers, all those doubts seem like a distant past. Now, for an entire generation, it’s perfectly normal for singers to not have a face. No, seriously, literally.
Paying to see the eyes of a drawing
For many of us, this may seem like something from another world, but the truth is that it’s the most immediate present: VTubers are content creators who hide behind an avatar, usually in the form of an anime character that moves in real-time with them. It’s not a niche thing: by 2020, there were already around 10,000 VTubers, and the number has been increasing.
One of them is Dacapo, a Thai VTuber who is also a singer, and his videos easily surpass 200,000 views on YouTube. The key to this character is that his hair always covers his eyes, emo-style. Or should I say, it used to: in his latest concert, everything changed, and the artist made a good amount of money from the big surprise at the end. Are you ready for the shock? He would move his hair aside for a few seconds so that his fans could see his face. Not him, though: the avatar. Let’s make that clear.
The big event took place at the Cosplay Arts Festival in Thailand, during a free concert for the attendees. However, many claim that it cost $300 for those who wanted to attend exclusively to see it. $300 for a few songs and the moment of the grand revelation while he was singing a version of ‘E-Wa’. Dacapo moved from side to side, revealing his eyes to the screams of his fans, who seemed oblivious to the fact that, well, he’s a drawing.
If this seems ridiculous to you, you’re not alone. The movement of Dacapo’s hair has sparked a new trend on TikTok, demonstrating that paying money for this is absurd. Of course, it’s a case of failed intergenerational communication, filled with the phrase “You would never understand, boomer.” But it’s inevitable that if you reach a certain age, you watch the performance and think, “Are they really screaming to see the eyes of a doll?” Oh, my friends. Time catches up with all of us… except VTubers.
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