NHK's "Deepest Japan Research" follows "Baminiku" researcher Mila! Featuring Noracat, Amachi Jonko, and Virtual Bishoujo Nem

On April 14, 2024, a documentary following Swiss anthropologist Mila was broadcast on the new NHK program "Deepest Japan Research: Through the Eyes of a Foreign Doctor."

Mila is a co-researcher of mine, Virtual Bishoujo Nem, and she has been actively involved in research, winning academic awards for her thesis focusing on the "Baminiku" (virtual bishoujo incarnation) culture—where people transform into beautiful girl avatars using the power of VTubers and the metaverse—and presenting at international UN conferences. The program followed Mila as she visited Japan for fieldwork. She visited the homes of, attended events with, and interviewed "Baminiku" VTubers Noracat, Amachi Jonko, and Virtual Bishoujo Nem (myself), delving into the psychology of people who become beautiful girls. Currently, NHK is also airing the drama "VR Ojisan no Hatsukoi," and attention toward "Baminiku" culture is rising once again.

In this article, I will introduce the highlights of the program and everyone's impressions.

※The program is available to watch on NHK Plus until 4/21, and on NHK On Demand until 4/28. Please take a look.
※On 4/20, we streamed an "unofficial after-talk" with the four performers.
※4/17 update: The news article introducing the program reached #1 in the "Anime and Games" category on Hatena Bookmark!
※6/2 update: Due to the overwhelming response, it was rebroadcast on 6/2 [Sun] at 17:30.

New NHK Program "Deepest Japan Research: Through the Eyes of a Foreign Doctor"

The new NHK program "Deepest Japan Research: Through the Eyes of a Foreign Doctor" focuses on Japanese culture that attracts global attention, from subculture to food. It is a documentary program that explores the charms of Japan that even we Japanese people may not notice, by following the fieldwork of researchers who are more knowledgeable about specific fields in Japan than the Japanese themselves, even while living abroad.

The first episode, broadcast on April 14, 2024, followed the fieldwork in Japan of Swiss anthropologist Mila, who researches "Baminiku." The narration is provided by actor Kenjiro Tsuda.

※Source: Deepest Japan Research: Through the Eyes of a Foreign Doctor - NHK
※Note: As the title "Deepest Japan Research" suggests, this program introduces foreign researchers who focus on deep Japanese culture. "Baminiku" is just one of many diverse cultures in the VTuber and metaverse world, and neither Mila nor the program intends to claim that it is the entirety of the culture.

"Baminiku" Researcher Mila

Ludmila Bredikhina (known as Mila) is an anthropologist currently enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Malta. Through ethnography (a research method in folklore and cultural anthropology that uses fieldwork to observe the lives of subjects), she studies male "kawaii" and virtual gender expression. In 2022, she received the "Prix Genre," an academic award in the field of gender from the University of Geneva, for her master's thesis on Baminiku and traditional Japanese theater. The thesis was translated and published in the Japanese magazine "Gendai Shiso (Seidosha)."

To investigate the impact of VTubers and the metaverse on humanity, she has been working since 2020 as part of the research unit "Nem x Mila" with Japanese VTuber and author Virtual Bishoujo Nem, regularly publishing reports such as the "Social VR Lifestyle Survey". These are also cited as reference materials by various government ministries, including the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

In October 2023, Nem x Mila gave a lecture at the United Nations international conference "Internet Governance Forum Kyoto 2023 (IGF Kyoto 2023)". She is also listed as a contributor to the comprehensive academic book on VTubers, "VTuber Studies (Tentative)," scheduled to be published by Iwanami Shoten in July.

1. Mila investigates the latest metaverse experience facility

In this program, we follow Mila, who is visiting Tokyo for her sixth research trip to Japan. The purpose this time is to attempt direct interviews with Baminiku VTubers. When walking through the city, what catches the eye are, of course, the beautiful girl characters. While this is a natural sight for us, Mila points out that they are an essential part of Japanese culture. For Mila, collecting anime and manga is also a legitimate "research activity."

At the metaverse experience facility "Suguverse" in Shinjuku, she investigated the metaverse using the latest VR equipment. She pointed out the advantages of the metaverse, such as being able to experience fireworks up close and engage in various activities that are impossible in reality.

2. Amachi Jonko: Voice and motion technology that creates beautiful girls

Known for her technique of producing cute, beautiful girl voices using her own virtuoso skills without the use of machinery, VTuber "Amachi Jonko" was visited at home by Mira, who interviewed the "person behind the character," "Jon-aniki." Jon-aniki demonstrated the behind-the-scenes of his honed technique, which involves manipulating the "pitch" and "timbre" of his voice as freely as a musical instrument to create the voice of a realistic, beautiful girl. Furthermore, regarding motion actors used to express cute movements, he spoke about the importance of being conscious of the gaze of others and conveying emotions to the character.

*Reference: Amachi Jonko (VTuber)

3. Noracat: An existence born from the wishes of fans

Next, Mira interviewed "Noraneko-P," the producer of the popular VTuber "Noracat." Noraneko-P explained that the character was born from the fans' wishes for her "to be that way." Noraneko-P feels like Noracat is his daughter, and he said that by wishing for her happiness, his personal connections have expanded and his life has become richer.

*Reference: Noracat (VTuber)

4. Mira participates in a real-world event for a bishoujo-transformed VTuber

Hearing that her friend, the bishoujo-transformed VTuber 'Virtual Bishoujo Nem', would be holding a one-day manager event at the cafe & bar 'Function' in Shinjuku, Mira participated in the real-world event as one of her fans. Mira proposed that she and Nem meet in person in the real world to have a thorough conversation.

Virtual Bishoujo Nem's original song 'Metaverse Day''Phantom Sense' and her book 'Metaverse Evolution Theory (Gijutsu-Hyohron Co., Ltd.)' which discusses the revolutionary nature of the metaverse, were also introduced.

*Reference: Virtual Bishoujo Nem (VTuber, Author)

5. Virtual Bishoujo Nem: Releasing the essence of humanity through 'kawaii'

Virtual Bishoujo Nem is a VTuber and author who spends her private time as a virtual bishoujo and publishes specialized books on the metaverse. Mira held a real-world interview with the person behind the character. Nem spoke about the embarrassment and guilt she felt when she first became a bishoujo, and the potential of the bishoujo form to allow for free self-expression, liberated from constraints. For Nem, a 'bishoujo' is an existence that embodies the concept of 'kawaii,' and she suggested that if you strip away the entanglements of reality, the 'kawaii' that is the true essence of many people's souls lies dormant, and that through 'kawaii,' we might be able to create a society where we can acknowledge each other's true essences.

Conclusion: Mira, the possibility of human liberation through the acquisition of "kawaii"

As a conclusion drawn from this fieldwork, Mira discussed the potential of "kawaii," which was born from Japanese culture, suggesting that men might be liberated from social stress and the responsibilities of masculinity by becoming beautiful girls and acquiring "kawaii." However, she also stated that she wants to continue her research by listening to the voices of many people without being bound by that conclusion in the future.

The narrator is actor Kenjiro Tsuda

Comments from the performers

Everyone's comments

Available on-demand until 4/28

The program can be viewed online on NHK Plus until April 21 and on NHK On Demand until April 28.

・NHK Plus (until April 21, free for subscribers): Deepest Japan Research - Through the Eyes of a Foreign Doctor

・NHK On Demand (until April 28, paid): Deepest Japan Research - Through the Eyes of a Foreign Doctor

4/20 "Unofficial After-talk" streaming confirmed

It has been decided that an "after-talk" stream featuring the four performers will be held on YouTube on April 20. Although the broadcast was edited down because it was a 30-minute program, each person spoke for about 2 to 3 hours during the actual interview recording. The four of them, who still have more to say, plan to talk without time limits about their thoughts on "Babiniku" that couldn't fit into the program. *This is an unofficial project unrelated to NHK.

Bonus: 4 years since "Nehorin Pahorin." The history of NHK and "Babiniku"

Looking back 4 years ago, the "Babiniku Ojisan" special featured on "Nehorin Pahorin" broadcast on NHK on January 8, 2020 brought significant attention to the worlds of VR and Babiniku, which were not yet common at the time. Virtual Bishoujo Nem also appeared here, and the phrase "Bishoujo is Karesansui (dry landscape garden)," which views Babiniku as a Japanese culture of "mitate" (representation), became a hot topic.

Starting April 1, 2024, NHK began broadcasting the drama "VR Ojisan no Hatsukoi" (VR Middle-Aged Man's First Love) based on the manga of the same name by Tomoko Boryoku. It is a human drama depicting the first love of a middle-aged salaryman who takes on the form of a beautiful girl in a virtual world. While this is a fictional story, combined with this documentary following Mira, it can be said that attention toward the "Babiniku" culture is rising once again, both in fiction and non-fiction.

April 17 update: Ranked #1 in the "Anime and Games" category on Hatena Bookmark!

Media Coverage History

Den Fami Nico Gamer / Yahoo! News / Nico Nico News

Famitsu

KAI-YOU / Yahoo! News

Meta-Culture Frontier

Virtual Life Magazine

GAMEMO

VTuber Labo.

VTuber Post

Metaverse News

Rensai.jp

@_Nat Zone (Blog)

Blog by Nat Sakimura, Chairman of the OpenID Foundation.

Azuki (note)

Kanna | Leader of the Okashi Exploration Team (note)

Yamamomo Study Journal

Hideo Toyama's Blog

VNOS Inc. (Press Release)

English Version Article