I am really the least suitable person to be writing this one of all our staff, because I really am anything but a vtuber expert. But I wrote all the write-ups, so this is my duty. Besides, when has a lack of expertise stopped a vtuber from doing something? I’m joking I’m joking please don’t get mad
The Winner
Pikamee Amano
Pikamee really is the Little Vtuber that could. She’s full of heart, talent, and a very natural charisma, despite not being part of one of the huge vtuber groups like Hololive. Her animation rig is on the simple side, as is her model. But her astonishing pitch-perfect bilingualism combines with a personality that comes across as a person who’s naturally funny without trying to force it.
Kyrie put it best when talking about her singing: it feels like one of your friends doing karaoke, not an idol singer. Pikamee feels like a friend of yours. Not in that you have illusions of closeness, in that she pulls off a friendly charm without trying to dazzle you.
The Runners-Up
Amelia Watson
Amelia Watson has the amazing talent of being… good at basically every part of being a vtuber. She’s personable, her voice is calming, she’s funny, she picks good things to stream and she sees her playthroughs through rather than dropping things all the time. She even watches movies sometimes, giving you that vibe of a person you just hang out with. I don’t know if she’s the best in any one category, but she’s very skilled at all of them.
Ina’nis Ninomae
Sometimes you just wanna chill out with a stream. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve put on Dota streams and taken a nap with them on. It’s that kind of Good Vibes that Ina brings to the table. She is funny, like most vtubers, but she’s softspoken too. She brings a gentle passion that helps you wind down as opposed to the eccentric hijinks of her contemporaries. Plus she’s an octopus and that’s pretty cool.
Korone Inugami
The Highlight Goddess herself. I admit I have the most experience with Korone, personally, and it’s no wonder: she’s incredibly popular. She’s got a great sense of humor, and while you certainly don’t get the impression that she’s acting “naturally,” that’s not why you go to Korone. You go to her to watch someone turn it up to eleven, and you sure do get that. As Allen pointed out, none of us are likely to sit down and watch a full Korone stream, but the number of Korone quotes that bounce around our friend group says a lot.
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I don’t get the feeling vtubers are going away any time soon. Certainly, the lockdown and pandemic gave them a big headstart, but having anime friends streaming games to you is just gonna be a thing going forward. I hope you’ll stick around for the next two categories of Day Four, and if you haven’t, please check out the discussion of this award over on the Scanline Talks podcast feed.
A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!
