V-comedy – the performance of jokes by virtual live streamers

This article analyses how VTubers (virtual YouTubers) employ their physical and virtual components to perform a novel form of humour we term v-comedy. Through a performance analysis of three live streams – a scripted talent show-esque segment, another from a gameplay collaboration, and another from a karaoke live stream – we argue that VTubers use comedy to play with their identities, manipulating the visibility of their human performers to engage their audiences. We forward three means by which VTubers do v-comedy: actions expressed through their avatars that are not physically possible, references to knowledge possessed by the performer but not the virtual character, and exposing the mediating technologies enabling their avatar’s existence. As a novel inquiry into the intersection between humour and VTuber research, our article opens the way for future research into how VTubers manipulate virtual as a form of creative expression.