Episode 7 – VTuber Legend: How I went viral after forgetting to turn off my stream

With her established fun factor and several cute new kouhai to take care of, Awa just keeps working on the collaboration in this episode of VTuber Legend. First up this week is everyone's favorite babe Kaeru. The introduction to this hangout session is probably the most interesting part of it, as the anime once again uses its visual trick to obfuscate things a little at first – Awa and Kaeru don't initially realize who the other is until they reveal themselves to each other through some context clues and voice recognition. I don't know if this is how it usually goes when VTubers meet in real life, but it feels as if it would make sense in context, especially since Kaeru's condition when Awa first finds her doesn't lend itself to a formal introduction.

When Awa meets Kaeru, the story reveals some details about the big baby. She has apparently always preferred to work as a self-directed creator and has previously tried to make it as a manga artist. Kaeru is simply not cut out for a life of more formal employment and reacts with intense dislike and discomfort to anything that even resembles a job interview. It's a miracle she's made it this far. She's also battling her age and how it affects her career opportunities. If only she knew that the age of 30 was in demand. Kaeru could clearly use some real help with her problems. Still, therapy is expensive compared to baby roleplaying online for strangers who actually make Money.

Everything about Kaeru's story and personality is relatable to some degree. Who among us hasn't seen the carefree creative facade of streamers and VTubers and, without knowing how much work actually goes into it, wished we could make a living messing around and playing games? Kaeru's embodiment of these desires and ideas is captivating and interesting in theory but the actual exposition in this section of the episode is a little bland. The interaction between her and Awa is a rehash of the usual prompt-based chat session—and despite the “Ultra-Mami” nickname Kaeru supposedly bestows on Awa, the duo's chemistry doesn't seem to be quite on the same level as in previous routines.

It's fine, it's not annoying or obnoxious or anything. But the skits they landed on in their discussion didn't make me laugh much, a lot of it felt like a rehash of previous scenes. It's hard to make the baby game work with Kaeru when the show just did one of the most outlandish versions of it with Shion in the previous episode. That's Kaeru's whole gimmick and someone else has already done it better than her! Maybe that could reinforce her crucial inferiority complex, but it's nothing VTuber Legend really lingers. It's nice, as always, to see Awa help a junior, and there's a really sweet bonding moment between the two at the end, but this one was longer and slower than it needed to be to get there.

The second half of the episode picks up the theme again, with an amusement park date with Awa and Chami. The setup is nicely standalone, as they're gathering material for a stream, but it's not set up as a live online discussion. Instead, it's just a joy to watch them hanging out in this real-life setting and doing the expected antics. They ride roller coasters and spin teacups so fast that Chami nearly pees her pants. You know, normal stuff. It works to just see Awa on a date with one of her many friends—and the face-making in this part alone ups the humor factor.

There's a bit of reflection in this part as well. Chami's crippling social anxiety makes her use this outing as an attempt to become more normal. “Normal” can be a very fluid term both in real life and in this fictional portrayal of online women in anime avatars. Different people define “normal” differently, and it's up to them if they even strive to achieve it. In Chami's case, she mostly wants to be out in public without peeing herself, as her lack of normality in the social sphere has been shown to have affected her relationships. Granted, it's not like Awa is the best co-pilot at navigating things normally, but she tries. As in all things, Awa at least helps her co-stars have fun.

This was a rather quiet episode of VTuber Legend than most. The second half showed how that can work, but the first part makes it clear that the series needs a bit more action to really shine. I think a character like Kaeru, like everyone else in this series with their various gimmicks, would work better if she was put in a more active situation or perhaps grouped with more co-streamers other than Awa. That potential for further escalation is, I suppose, what the rest of the series is there for.

Evaluation:

VTuber legend: How I went viral after forgetting to turn off my stream is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Chris actually tried streaming himself for a while. It went about as well as you could expect. Since then he has settled into words, which you can see more of on his blog while you read his Þjórsárden for all thoughtless contributions influenced by Strong-Zero.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.