Summary of Research Findings

Virtual YouTubers (hereafter referred to as VTuber) use animated 2D or 3D avatar to post videos as entertainment on video platforms (such as YouTube) are in the spotlight. Against this background, we have conducted an online survey in November 2023 to 32,918 men and women nationwide at the ages between 15 and 44. Out of this audience, 1,104 people (555 men and 549 women) responded as “being interested in VTubers”. We have categorized these 1,104 men and women as “VTuber fans”.

The appearance rate of "VTuber fans" have been tabulated by sex and age group. The appearance rate of “VTuber fans” in men is higher than in women. It was highest in men in the age group of 15-19 at 9.2%, followed by 20-24 (9.0%), 35-39 (7.8%), and t 25-29 (7.2%). Meanwhile, as women age, their appearance rate tends to decrease; the highest rate of female “VTuber fans” is the age group of 15-19 at 5.9%, followed by 20-24 (4.8%) and 25-29 (3.5%).

From this finding, we believe that “VTuber fans” consists chiefly of men in the ages between 15 and 39 and women in the ages between 15 and 29.

Noteworthy Topics

Favorite (“Oshi”) VTuber Management Agencies/Projects Differ by “VTuber Fan” Attributes

In the online questionnaire, we asked the “VTuber fans” about their favorite (“oshi”) of VTuber management agencies/projects (multiple answers).

The most chosen management agencies were “Nijisanji” and “Hololive”, both among male and female fans. However, in detail, there was a clear distinction in preference by sex: Women liked “Nijisanji” more than men by approximately 30 points, while men liked “Hololive” more than women by more than 30 points.

The reason for the difference is assumingly due to the fact that while “Hololive” barely feature male VTuber except for some VTuber groups, and the majority are female VTubers that are favored by male fans, “Nijisanji” features as many male VTubers as female VTubers.

The tendencies differ also for “VSPO!”, “Aogiri High School” and “Neo-Porte”, the VTuber management agencies/projects that were chosen next to “Nijisanji” and “Hololive”.

VTuber management agencies that mainly feature female VTubers are favored by male VTuber fans more than female fans. “VSPO!” and “Aogiri High School” falls under this category, as the former has many female VTubers that play eSports such as first-person shooting game (FPS)*, a type of game that is said to be favored mostly by men, and latter is female VTuber-only agency.

Meanwhile, for “Neo-Porte”, the agency that has strength in FPS yet managing both male and female VTubers, male and female fans were evenly populated.

From these findings, it is speculated that fan segments vary by wide range of factors, including the sex of VTuber and contents.

In addition, whilst the premium market segment of “VTuber Fans” was found in men between ages 15 and 39 and women between ages 15 and 29, as stated earlier, some management agencies/projects like “.LIVE” are chosen by fans in the age group between 20s and 40s more than by fans in the ages between 15 and 19 (response rate of fans in the ages between 15 and 19 was at 3.2%, while the rate for all age groups as at 8.4%). The preference (“oshi”) of VTuber management agencies/projects differ by viewer attributes.

*A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game centered on shooting seen from a first-person perspective. It is characterized by highly immersive experience, where the player can experience actions in the game directly through the eyes of the character.

Research Outline