vtubers and why "it’s not silly to be an anime girl on the internet"

kill switch

Kaleidoscope

Technology, Science, Tech News, News

4.7 • 635 Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

VTubers, or Virtual Youtubers, are growing at a rapid rate in the United States. Just last month, 1200+ fans paid up to $180 each to attend Fantastic Reality, a live VTuber mini-festival in a packed theatre in Los Angeles. But what exactly is VTubing? Can you ever truly build a connection with someone you don’t actually see? Dexter talks to Kou Mariya, a 6,669-year-old blonde vampire anime girl and one of the headliners of Fantastic Reality. She explains what attracts people to VTubing and the practicalities of portraying a virtual character. Plus, as one of the producers of Fantastic Reality and a co-founder of Emerging Technology Company, Spencer Burnham joins the show to walk us through the music culture side of VTubing.

Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

Read + Watch:

Dexter’s article in WIRED, Anime Girl VTubers Are Selling Out Concerts, but Are They ‘Real’? Depends on Who You Ask: https://www.wired.com/story/anime-girl-vtubers-are-selling-out-concerts-but-are-they-real-depends-on-who-you-ask/

Fantastic Reality Website: https://www.fantasticreality.live/

Kou Mariya’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Kou_Mariya/videos

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:04.5	Adventure should never come with a pause button.
0:07.1	Remember Movie Pass?
0:08.4	All the movies you wanted for just nine bucks?
0:11.1	I'm Bridget Todd, host of There Are No Girls on the Internet.
0:13.9	And this season, I'm digging into the tech stories we weren't told.
0:17.4	Starting with Stacey Spikes, the black founder of movie pass who got pushed out of the company
0:21.6	he built.
0:22.8	Everybody's trying to knock you down and it's not going to work and no one's going to like it.
0:27.3	And then boom, it's everywhere.
0:29.3	And that was that moment.
0:30.7	Listen if there are no girls on the internet on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
0:47.6	No. or wherever you get your podcast. Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria! Maria! All right, I want to tell you about this wild concert I went to.
1:01.0	So, picture it.
1:03.0	You're in the middle of a sold-out concert at the Vermont Theatre in Hollywood.
1:07.0	This place holds about 1,200 people, give a take, but it is packed with fans.
1:13.1	Everyone's waving their glowsticks in unison, and they even set their glow sticks all to be
1:18.0	the same exact color. It's this deep red color because that's the artist's themed color.
1:39.2	That voice you just heard is Maria, and everyone is here to watch her sing.
1:41.3	She's not the only artist here.
1:45.2	On the stage, there's also a guitarist and a bass player. There's a drummer.
1:46.1	And behind them, there's this massive screen that takes up the entire back of the stage.
	...

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