© 七斗七・塩かずのこ／KADOKAWA／ 「ぶいでん」製作委員会
If VTuber Legend continues to use collaborative sketches as the main driving force of its content, it could also gather a whole bunch of gang members at once to escalate things. This week's episode opens with everyone's mom Shion hosting the “L-1 Grand Prix,” proving that sketch comedy can be competitive and a contact sport—albeit in a virtual, live-streamed setting. With the anime's recreation of these events, it's easy to forget that the characters are just shaking their Live2D models on screen while telling crazy sex jokes. But that's part of the appeal of seeing fictionalized VTubing as an art form.
The pairing of characters in this comedy competition seems to have been arranged by chemistry. Naturally, the Awa duo involved will be the ones to get the most attention (as well as the eventual winning team). The entire sequence almost immediately segues into the performers praising lewd and sexual acts. It comes with the territory, but it’s still impossible to overstate how deeply into the overtly sexualized otaku gooner subculture that VTuber Legend’s writing is at this point. Sei and Awa have the chemistry and voice acting to make it work, but it still hits more notes than it needs to when every other line that comes out of their mouths alludes to a not-so-appropriate fetish.
The other teams weren't as interesting to watch Awa and Sei fight, probably because the supporting cast was still largely defined by their One Jokes. Alice barely even got it, referring to her crushing Awa before the segment started and having to be derailed by Hikari's sleepiness. Kaeru went straight for the “I'm a baby” part but got a funny turn when she flipped the questionnaire back to Nekoma. It made the “reversal” of their team names make more sense. But overall, I agree that Awa and Sei deserved the award.
The flip side of this episode is just Awa dragging Eirai into playing Ao Oni to serve a punishment she suffered in the previous broadcast. Of course, horror games are a classic streamer pastime, and Eirai's inability to deal with them gives Awa an effective way to annoy her. It's more pleasant than Awa's opening propositions about Eirai, anyway. I know this cameo is a play on the VTuber's interactions, but Awa's constant attempts to lure Eirai in are closer to harassment than I'd like. Between all that and the surrounding subtext in her sketch with Sei, it also makes me think that maybe Awa needs to take a break. The set-up of this segment builds until a final reveal that takes the place of a scare: Eirai loses it and breaks character to give way to a snarky, mob-style rant. It's funny on the surface, and you know MAO is killing it as she swings between the extremes of her vocals, which ties into VTuber Legend's broader ideas about the medium and the performers within it.
I’m often struck by how well this series keeps things conceptually focused, even when its moment-to-moment material can feel like concentrated chaos. Awa is looking to mentor the next generation of VTubers, and here she’s orchestrated a set-up for Eirai to take a slide that reveals a weird side to her that fans might see as her true appeal. Sticking to your schtick and personality is important to establishing your brand as a VTuber. But it’s the cracks beneath the mask, showing your true self, embracing the indescribable humanity of streaming that makes it so endearing. I mean, I say “unscripted” even though in this case it’s pre-written, fictional material, but my point is that it makes the case.
The combination of characters and concepts in this segment makes it different from anything VTuber Legend has done before and it carries it extremely well. There's a moment where they capture Awa giggling at what's going to happen in the game before Eirai freaks out, which if you've ever had something similar happen while watching a friend play a game like this then you know this perfectly captures that experience. It effectively showcases the fundamental appeal of streaming while also breaking down some of the idiosyncrasies that drive people to stream, which is exactly what a series like this should do.
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VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral After Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Chris actually tried his hand at streaming himself for a bit. It went about as well as you might expect. He's since given up on the language. You can read more about it on his blog while you're at it. Twitter for any posts affected by Strong-Zero is not recommended.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more companies mentioned in this article are members of the Kadokawa Group.
