We all remember the V-tuber Concert incident over the summer that broke the internet with memes and controversy alike. With the crazy prices and seemingly minimal return, TikTok and other social media platforms were outraged. Why would anyone be that excited for pixels on a screen? Why would anyone pay $300+ (USD) to attend this event when streaming it online would literally be the exact same experience? All of these questions and more were being asked by the internet. This began the unimaginable wave of hate directed towards the concert attendees and mainly, the person performing at this concert.

            But first, let’s define what a “V-Tuber” is and the history of this illustrious group. The term “V-Tuber” actually is a shortened name for “Virtual YouTubers”. Hence the “V” and “Tuber” parts. Though the name originated on the YouTube platform, the community has expanded to various other streaming sites. The reason behind the use of the term “virtual” is that these content creators don’t use their actual image or even likenesses in some cases. They use avatars that track and replicate their motions and movements. It essentially is the same thing that actors/actresses use in movies. They wear an outfit with motion capture technology which then has an animation basically put on top of it to mimic similar or the exact same movements.

            The trend began in 2011 with Japanese YouTube vlogger Ami Yamato. She uploaded her first video on June 13^th, 2011. It was infamously titled “First Vlog. Trying this out…”. While it is only a one-minute and fifty-nine-second video, it acted as the first domino that started the large V-Tubers community today. If you’d like to watch her videos on YouTube, click the link here.

  Though Ami Yamato created the foundation for V-Tubers today, it would be nowhere near as popular if it weren’t for V-Tuber Kizuna Ai. But here’s the thing, this internet celebrity is a special case when compared to most V-Tubers today. Kizuna Ai is, unsurprisingly, generated by AI technology. Make no mistake though, her voice and music are very real. She was being voiced by voice actress Nozomi Kasuga (春日望) until recently, Kizuna is now allegedly being voiced by other voice actresses. If you’d like to see an example of her on YouTube, click the link here.

            The V-Tuber community has grown exponentially in its short lifetime. As of August this year, there are 49,500 active V-Tubers. And in terms of content, the V-Tuber community has extended to even the most niche activities. There are vloggers, gamers, artists, ASMRtists, chefs, adult-centered, teachers, anime-centered, manga-centered, and musicians. And the community as a whole is still expanding to this day. People often forget how truly young this community is in online terms. It still has a lot of development and growth it needs and will go through in the coming years.

            Now, back to the whole point of this article; the V-Tuber concert and the flood of hate focused on the performing artist. This person is the viral Thai V-Tuber Dacapo. But who is he? And why would people go to a concert solely to see him, even though it isn’t *really* him?

    Dacapo is the most well-liked member of the popular Thai boy group “Orion,” which entirely consists of other V-Tubers as well. He debuted on March 25^th, 2023, and has been consistently releasing covers since then. He’s been putting out music and song covers on his YouTube channel since his debut in March, though his channel has existed since late January of this year. Having said that, Dacapo is based in Thailand and presumably speaks Thai, but he also sings in a variety of languages, primarily English and Japanese.

           So, what really happened? Between June 30^th to July 2^nd of this year, there was a festival called the “Cosplay Arts Festival” which was held at the Thailand Cultural Centre in Thailand. Admission to the festival as a whole was 300฿ (Baht) which is roughly equivalent to $9 (USD). There were various performers at the festival, a majority being V-Tubers. Dacapo was one of these performers and on the second day of the festival (July 1^st), he held a concert and covered the popular song “Shinunoga E-Wa” (死ぬのがいいわ) by Fujii Kaze (藤井風).

            This concert was clipped by various people and was put on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, etc. Specifically, one moment went extra viral and is the primary root cause of the unrest online. Dacapo’s avatar has bangs that cover his eyes. During the peak of the song, his bangs are adjusted to reveal his eyes. This moment caused the people attending the concert to scream loudly in excitement. This was clipped and posted online which caused a lot of dismay as people felt that the concert attendees were being cringe.

             The online distress also birthed a lot of misinformation about the event as a whole. One of the most popular pieces was that concert attendees had to pay $300+ (USD). This is blatantly untrue as the concert itself was entirely free, and entrance to the festival as a whole was only 300฿ (Baht)/$9 (USD), clearly nowhere near the ridiculous $300 (USD) fee. This lie added fuel to the fire of online backlash and caused even more people to be upset about it.

                  A major part of the wave of hate online was the parodies being posted left and right, specifically on TikTok. One of the most popular series of parodies was by TikTok creator J Darwin, (click on his name to look at his TikTok profile). He posted different variations of his parodies, and you can watch my top three favorites here, here, and here.

The trend also garnered attention from verified/well-known brands such as Toys “R” Us Canada, and Just Dance. Both brands made their own parodies of the concert, creating more attention for those who weren’t aware of the situation prior. You can watch those parodies respectively hereand here.

                  All jokes and parodies aside, people should be mindful about the things they say online. Dacapo did not deserve the insurmountable wave of hate that he received, and people should not have spread misinformation about the situation. Luckily after some time, the truth came out and other V-Tubers/influencers came to support Dacapo, as well as the V-Tuber community as a whole. Remember always to research before making any rash decisions or saying anything that could be perceived as negative or harmful.