My Childhood Friend, a Vtuber, Treated Me Like Trash—I’m Never Producing For Her Again
Just as I was stunned by Mizuta-san’s outrageous reason for becoming a VTuber, the bell signaling the end of lunch break rang.
“Anyway, Mizuta-san, it might be a bit of a stretch to call this ‘homework,’ but could you please come prepared as if you were going to do a self-introduction stream?”
“P-prepare…?”
“Yes. Just write down everything you can think of about yourself. It’s fine to include things like your favorite foods.”
“Y-yes… Well, besides OpEx, what else should I do…?”
“Well, other games are fine, or even singing. Personality quizzes or drawing are also worth trying.”
Mizuta nodded vigorously as she quickly typed notes into her smartphone.
Well, her motivation might be a bit questionable, but her passion is genuine.
Besides, these days, more and more people are trying their hand at becoming VTubers regardless of their motives.
“I’m just guessing, but Mizuta-san, you’re not really the type to watch other VTubers’ streams, are you?”
“Ugh… Y-yes… I know that’s not a good thing, but…”
“I’m not saying you should only watch VTuber streams. In fact, you can often get inspiration and ideas from other media. Still, it’s better to see for yourself how the VTuber scene is evolving right now.”
“Yes, I know…”
That should be enough for now.
What really matters is what you find interesting as a viewer. First, you need to figure that out for yourself.
If you don’t understand that, no matter how many words I pile on, nothing will change at the core.
“B-by the way, Komachi-san, do you have any VTuber recommendations?”
“Hmm…”
In the past, I would have recommended Teruko—Yue—without hesitation.
But I can’t do that anymore.
I mentioned the names of the two major Japanese companies that have expanded overseas.
“I’ve heard of those two, too…!”
“Yes, you should definitely check out how the big players are doing it.”
Of course, both are massive corporations.
Their listener bases are on a completely different scale, so it’s hard to just copy them exactly.
But they’re perfect for learning what makes a successful stream.
Mizuta clenched her fist slightly and said with determination:
“I’m going to complete every single piece of homework Komachi-san gave me…!”
◇◇
After school.
Yue Aizawa was heading toward the shoe lockers while staring intently at her smartphone screen.
(Why has my channel’s growth slowed down even more…?)
After parting ways with Tsubasa, Yue officially brought on that male VTuber—Souji—as her producer.
His cut was 40 percent, a fourfold increase from what it had been with Tsubasa.
Yue faithfully implemented all of Souji’s suggestions, just as he had instructed.
He had pointed out that both the scope of her activities as Teruko and her target audience were too narrow.
(But the direction can’t possibly be wrong.)
Yue possessed both a pure, delicate voice and extraordinary singing ability.
Tsubasa recognized this potential and launched the “Showa-era idol” concept.
Coincidentally, the world was in the midst of an unprecedented retro boom.
Teruko’s cover songs went viral not only domestically but also overseas.
(I can’t keep relying on a fluke forever.)
Souji had also pointed that out.
Ultimately, he argued, there were limits to relying on a fleeting trend.
So Yue drew a clear line between herself and Tsubasa’s approach and began rolling out new initiatives one after another.
One of those was the revealing new outfit he had been recommending to her even before they signed a production contract.
(It’s only natural that some people will leave if you change your direction even slightly. It can’t be helped, yeah.)
On Teruko’s channel, female listeners made up about 40 percent of the audience, sometimes reaching as high as 50 percent.
However, Yue commissioned an illustrator recommended by Soushi and unveiled the new, revealing outfit.
She also completely revamped the song setlist—which had previously focused on Showa-era tracks—and significantly increased the proportion of game streams, particularly for OPEX.
As a result, female listeners began leaving at a rapid pace.
(For every listener who leaves, new male listeners should come in to replace them.)
There’s no way Soushi could be wrong.
At the very least, he should be better than Tsubasa.
As she kept telling herself this, walking while staring at her smartphone—
Thump.
Her shoulder bumped lightly against someone she passed.
Yue immediately said, “Oh, I’m sorry,” and bowed her head slightly.
“Well, well, isn’t this Yue-chan?”
“Huh? Oh, Club President?”
“It feels like it’s been a while, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, heh… Yeah, I guess so.”
The voice belonged to the president of the Paranormal Research Club—a club Yue was technically a member of, albeit only on paper, at Tsubasa’s suggestion.
As always, the president’s chest was huge.
Tsubasa must have chosen the Visual Perception Research Club out of all the clubs precisely because of those breasts.
Yue had always thought so.
“I heard, Yue-chan, that you broke up with Komachi-kun?”
“Well, yeah, I guess so. Just thinking about how I was with such a creepy otaku all this time gives me goosebumps.”
“Hmm… I thought you liked Komachi-kun too, Yue-chan, but it seems I was completely wrong.”
“Huh? That’s not true at all. We were just childhood friends.”
The reason she’d kept Tsubasa by her side all this time was because she’d always believed he was a harmless guy.
She’d never seen him as a romantic prospect at all.
Yet, upon learning that he’d been looking at her that way, Yue felt as if she’d been betrayed.
“I see. Well, if that’s how Yue-chan really feels, then in a way, maybe it was all meant to be.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You two might think you’re hiding it well, but I’d already noticed. About your Teruko-chan. Your voices are way too similar, and it was obvious you were trying to hide it~”
“……!”
Yue furrowed her brow and clenched the handle of her bag tightly.
Then the club president shook her head and continued.
“Now, now, I’m not planning to go around telling everyone. It’s just—how should I put it? Yeah, it feels like I’m watching one of those ‘exile’ stories from online novels, you know?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. And if you spill the beans, I’ll sue you.”
“Oh my, that’s scary. I definitely won’t. I swear on Grandpa’s name.”
“And besides, she’s my Teruko. Don’t get the wrong idea there, okay?”
The club president snorted softly.
“Anyway, Yue-chan, there are plenty of things in this world that can’t be undone. Especially when it comes to relationships.”
Her irritation grew at the way she spoke, as if to imply that cutting off her wings had been a mistake.
She doesn’t know anything, yet she’s going around saying whatever she wants.
That guy was just lucky—there’s no way he has any value as a producer.
That’s right—just as Souji said, he was just a novice who mistakenly thought it was his own achievement and got carried away.
Chairman waved her hand slightly and started walking toward the shoe rack.
“Just make sure you don’t end up regretting this, okay~”