Iwanami Shoten's "VTuber Studies" to be released on August 28! Chapter 4, "Everything Becomes V," written by Nemu

It has been decided that the comprehensive academic book on VTubers, "VTuber Studies," will be released by Iwanami Shoten on August 28. "VTubers (Virtual YouTubers)" are entities at the intersection of cultural, social, and industrial trial-and-error accumulations that the "Internet" and "content" have continuously spun together. This book is an attempt to place such VTubers on the table of comprehensive "academic study" with an eye toward their further development in the future.

<Overview>
・Title: "VTuber Studies"
・Publication Date: Released August 28, 2024
・Format/Page Count: A5 size, 352 pages
・Electronic version also released simultaneously
・Price: 3,400 yen + tax
・Publisher: Iwanami Shoten

<Table of Contents>
● Part I: "Introduction to VTubers"
Explains VTubers from various perspectives, including their origins, historical development, and business characteristics. A VTuber theory that is also accessible to beginners. 4 chapters in total.
・Chapter 1: "History of VTubers" (Minoru Hirota)
・Chapter 2: "Business Models and Social Expansion of VTuber Companies" (Kei Yoshikawa)
・Chapter 3: "Thinking about the Entertainment Value of VTubers" (Niji Kusano)
・Chapter 4: "Everything Becomes V: How the VTuber Phenomenon Unleashes the Human Soul" (Virtual Girl Nem)

● Part II: "Research Edition"
Researchers from various fields interpret VTubers from their respective professional perspectives. Questions about modern society from sociology, anthropology, gender, representational culture, etc. 4 chapters in total.
・Chapter 5: "Introduction to VTuber Studies" (Ken Okamoto)
・Chapter 6: "Representational Cultural Studies of Meta-VTuber Content" (Marie Sekine)
・Chapter 7: "Capturing the Voices of Stakeholders" (Liudmila Bredikhina)
・Chapter 8: "Overlapping Avatars" (Soma Ikeyama)

● Part III: "Theory Edition"
What kind of existence is a VTuber? Results of academic analysis by authors specializing in philosophy. 5 chapters in total.
・Chapter 9: "What Kind of Existence is a 'VTuber'?" (Hiroki Yamano)
・Chapter 10: "VTubers as Real Streamers" (Taiga Shinozaki)
・Chapter 11: "VTubers as Personas" (Yutaka Toyama)
・Chapter 12: "VTubers as Fictional Characters" (Daiki Matsumoto)
・Chapter 13: "VTubers as 'Body' and 'Soul'" (Hiroyuki Honma)

● Columns
・Column 1: Interview with Takeshi Osaka, Representative Director of Activ8 Inc.
・Column 2: Interview with Motoaki Tanigo, CEO of Cover Corp.
・Column 3: Interview with Keito Noguchi, Representative Director of Brave group
・Column 4: Interview with author Kazuho Nurita
・Column 5: "Exploring 'I'll just keep being teetee forever'" (Soki Uno)
・Column 6: "VTuber Collaboration Event Research Report" (Mirai Funatomi)
・Column 7: "Library Utilization of VTubers" (Akio Takakura)

*Book cover and details are subject to adjustment and may differ from the final publication.

<Editors>
The three individuals who initiated this book served as editors, overseeing the overall structure and selecting the contributors and interviewees.

● Takeshi Okamoto
(Takeshi Okamoto; Chapters 0 & 5, Columns 1, 2, & 4, Afterword)
Born in Nara Prefecture in 1983. Professor at the Faculty of Applied Sociology / Institute of Informatics, Kindai University. He is also the person behind the VTuber 'Zombie-sensei.' Completed the Doctoral Program in Tourism Creation at the Hokkaido University Graduate School of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies in March 2012. Ph.D. in Tourism Studies. Author of 'Zombie Studies' (2017, Jinbun Shoin), 'Tourism Sociology of Anime Pilgrimage' (2018, Houritsu Bunka Sha), and others.
・X: https://twitter.com/animemitarou
・researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/t-okamoto

● Hiroki Yamano
(Hiroki Yamano; Chapter 9, Columns 1 & 2)
Enrolled in the Doctoral Program at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo. Graduated from the Department of History, Faculty of Letters, Sophia University in 2017. Completed the Master's Program at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo in 2019. Master of Philosophy. In addition to his research on Paul Ricoeur, he is taking on the challenge of establishing a new academic field called 'VTuber Philosophy.' Author of 'Self-Study Thinking Methods' (2022, Kodansha) and 'VTuber Philosophy' (2024, Shunju-sha).
・X: https://twitter.com/Ricoeur1913
・researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/HirokiYamano

● Kei Yoshikawa
(Kei Yoshikawa; Chapter 2, Column 3)
Interviewer / Writer / Cultural Journalist. After working as a lecturer at the Tokyo Chinese School and at Dwango, he served as a reporter and editor for HuffPost Japan, BuzzFeed Japan, and Business Insider Japan. Currently working as a freelancer, contributing to magazines and web media. He covers entertainment and business from all times and places, including VTubers. His areas of interest are culture, history, and business.
・X: https://twitter.com/dong_po_rou

<Chapter Contributors>
● Minoru Hirota
(Minoru Hirota; Chapter 1)
Representative Director of PANORA. After working as a magazine editor and web media reporter at ASCII and ASCII Media Works (now KADOKAWA), he became independent. While specializing in covering Apple, Nico Nico Douga, and Hatsune Miku, he encountered the recent VR movement and began reporting on it. Feeling the need for specialized media, he launched 'PANORA' and has been active as a VR evangelist.
・X: https://twitter.com/kawauso3

● Kou Kusano
(Kou Kusano; Chapter 3)
Born in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. A writer, interviewer, and columnist who contributes to various media such as 'Real Sound,' 'SPICE,' 'KAI-YOU,' and 'Rolling Stone Japan,' focusing on music, anime, and VTubers. Also active as a playlist selector for the music playlist media 'Pluto'.
・X: https://twitter.com/kkkkssssnnnn

● Virtual Bishoujo Nemu
(Virtual Bishoujo Nemu; Chapter 4)
A metaverse native and metaverse culture evangelist. A self-proclaimed world's oldest individual VTuber who has been active as a beautiful girl idol since 2017 under the theme of 'becoming the self you want to be in virtual reality.' Author of 'Virtual Bishoujo Singularity' (2019, NextPublishing Authors Press) and 'Metaverse Evolution Theory' (2022, Impress R&D).
・X: https://twitter.com/nemchan_nel
・researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/nemchan_nel

● Marie Sekine
(Marie Sekine; Chapter 6)
Serves as a part-time lecturer at Waseda University and others. Withdrew from the Doctoral Program at the Graduate School of Humanities, Gakushuin University in 2020 after completing the required coursework. Master of Representation and Culture Studies. Specializes in Representation and Culture Studies. Co-author of 'Post-Information Media Theory' (Nakanishiya Shuppan, 2018), 'Shaking Cultural Studies' (2024, Hokuju Shuppan), and others.
・X: https://twitter.com/mariekr430
・researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/marie_sekine

● Liudmila Bredikhina
(Chapter 7)
Enrolled in the Doctoral Program at South East Technological University. Through ethnographic methods, she researches male 'kawaii' and virtual gender expression. In 2022, she received the 'Prix Genre' academic award in the field of gender from the University of Geneva for her master's thesis on 'babiniku' (virtual girl incarnation) and traditional Japanese theater.
・X: https://twitter.com/BredikhinaL

● Soma Ikeyama
(Soma Ikeyama; Chapter 8)
Born in 1994, currently residing in Nachikatsuura Town, Wakayama Prefecture. Completed the Master's Program at the Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University in 2022 (Master of Human Sciences / Anthropology). While working as a company employee, he is enrolled as a technical staff member at the Faculty of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University, and as a visiting researcher at the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University. He conducts anthropological research focusing on the relationship between digital artifacts and humans, primarily targeting VRChat.
・researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/sativus_sataivus
※ Avatar: ©suzuki2n

● Taiga Shinozaki
(Taiga Shinozaki; Chapter 10)
Enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Philosophy and Ethics at the Graduate School of Letters, Keio University. Completed the Master's Program in Philosophy and Ethics at the Graduate School of Letters, Keio University in 2023. Master of Philosophy. While working on the metaphysics of consciousness and value theory using analytical philosophy methods, he also attempts pop culture research applying modern metaphysics.
・X: https://twitter.com/taiga_shinozaki
・researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/shinozakitaiga

● Yutaka Tomiyama
(Yutaka Tomiyama; Chapter 11)
Associate Professor at the Center for Education, Faculty of Information and Transformation Science, Chiba Institute of Technology. Completed the Doctoral Program in Philosophy, Department of Basic Cultural Studies, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo in 2016. Ph.D. in Literature. Specializes in Husserlian phenomenology. Author of 'Husserl: Philosophy of Intentionality' (Seidosha, 2023), 'Word Map: Modern Phenomenology - An Introduction to Philosophy Starting from Experience' (co-author, 2017, Shinyosha), and others.
・researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/YutakaTomiyama

● Hiroki Matsumoto
(Hiroki Matsumoto; Chapter 12)
Withdrew from the Doctoral Program at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo after completing the required coursework. Serves as a part-time lecturer at Tokyo Woman's Christian University and Chiba University. Relying on philosophy and aesthetics, he researches the nature of visual fiction and the ontology of artworks. He also pursues the possibility of extending aesthetic theory to various fields such as sports and modern pop culture. Co-author of 'Philosophy of Fiction: Chiasmus of Poetic Fiction Theory and Multiple World Theory' (2022, Getsuyosha).
・researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/hirokimatsumoto

● Hiroyuki Homma
(Hiroyuki Homma; Chapter 13)
Enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Philosophy, Department of Basic Cultural Studies, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo. Serves as a part-time lecturer at J. F. Oberlin University. Completed the Master's Program in Philosophy, Department of Basic Cultural Studies, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology at the same university in 2017. Master of Literature. He is engaged in research focusing on the thought of John Duns Scotus in late 13th-century late scholastic philosophy. Co-author of 'World Philosophy History 4: Middle Ages II - Awakening of the Individual' (2020, Chikuma Shobo).
・X: https://twitter.com/spt__dormi
・researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/h-homma

<Interviewees>
● Takeshi Osaka
(Takeshi Osaka)
Founder / CEO of Activ8 Inc. Born in 1986. After graduating from university, he experienced the launch of the Japanese office of a foreign digital art studio and founded Activ8 in 2016. At the company, he aims to be a next-generation entertainment company evaluated worldwide for Japanese-born x technology, conducting xR entertainment business and planning/producing virtual artists. Currently serving as Representative Director of Activ8.

● Motoaki Tanigo
(Motoaki Tanigo)
Representative Director and CEO of Cover Corp. After graduating from the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University, he was in charge of producing games in partnership with Sanrio Co., Ltd. at Imagineer Co., Ltd., and then oversaw the business of operating mobile official sites in partnership with TV stations and publishers. After launching the EC business at Istyle Inc., which operates the cosmetics review site @cosme, and participating in the founding of the mobile advertising company Interspire Inc. (now United), he founded Sanzero Minutes Inc., developed an O2O business centered on Japan's first GPS-enabled smartphone app '30min.', and sold it to IID, Inc.
・X: https://x.com/tanigox

● Keito Noguchi
(Keito Noguchi)
Representative Director of Brave group Corp. Founded Vapes Inc. while still a student in 2011. In 2016, he M&A'd the company to Benesse Holdings, Inc., and after angel investing in and co-founding over 50 startups, he became Representative Director of Brave group Corp. in 2020 (current position).
・X: https://x.com/keito_noguchi

● Ippo Nuruta
(Ippo Nuruta)
Writer. Won the 'Gold Prize' in the Theme Category of the Jump Novel Rookie Award 2020 for the short story 'Waiting for Ami Suzunami.' The work was adapted into a manga on Shonen Jump+ and simultaneously published as a full-length novel. He also writes scripts related to VTubers, such as Nijisanji's virtual reading play 'If This Goes Viral, I Don't Mind Dying' and Hololive's English conversation textbook 'HoloListening: Learning English in a Mysterious World with Hololive English -Myth-!'
・X: https://twitter.com/nulltypo

<Column Contributors>
● Satsuki Uno
(Satsuki Uno; Column 5)
Enrolled in the Department of Humanities, Faculty of Letters, Osaka University. Representative of the Osaka University Sentimental Masochism Research Society.

● Miku Funatomi
(Miku Funatomi; Column 6)
Enrolled in the Faculty of Applied Sociology, Kindai University. Member of the Takeshi Okamoto Seminar.

● Akihiro Takakura
(Akihiro Takakura; Column 7)
Librarian certified by the Japan Library Association. Works at Maruzen-Yushodo Kindai University Biblio Theater.