The Kizuna no Allele anime premiered earlier this month and there are already three episodes out. The anime, seemingly an ode to the “queen” of VTubers Kizuna Ai, was pretty much highly anticipated especially by those from the VTubing community. Moreover, the anime is animated by WIT Studio and Signal.MD, expectations were running high in terms of what storytelling this first “proper” VTuber anime would bring to the table.
However, as each minute of the first episodes passed by, it became painfully obvious that the storyline was as bland as the tepid water. Nothing in the anime truly stands out: the animation, music, and sadly even the characters themselves feel average while it could work for people who truly find VTubers fascinating so far it has been pretty disappointing. Not even Kizuna Ai’s name in the title can save it.
VTubing Has Come a Long Way, But This Show Hasn’t
While the concept of performance-focused VTubing has been an integral part of the industry, it’s no longer the main thing. With thousands of VTubers globally, content revolving around them has been growing more diverse by the day. From gaming, and ASMR, to educational content; these are just some of the diverse ways the medium has been used nowadays.
And as someone who keeps a close eye on the latest VTuber trends, it’s very disappointing to see that Kizuna no Allele is seemingly stuck in this primitive idea that VTubers are still rooted in idol culture. VTubing nowadays has ascended from its Japanese roots and become a global phenomenon, with its own interpretation of what the content should look like.
For context, Kizuna no Allele follows the story of Miracle, an aspiring student of the ADEN Academy aiming to follow the steps of Kizuna Ai as a VTuber. Interestingly, the timeline of the story is set five years after Ai’s disappearance, a possible reference to her ongoing hiatus.
You would think that ADEN Academy, a supposed academy training aspiring talents to become VTubers themselves, would know the diversity of VTubing itself. Sure, they covered the fundamentals such as matching the model with the persona or how to build skills over time, but right off the bat, there is no interest in covering other trends that the VTubing has seen over the past few years, let alone feature the various content these talents can do.
How Kizuna no Allele Managed to Fall Out of Touch With VTubers
One of the key reasons why I decided to write this review in the first place is how seemingly detached this series is to the majority of the VTubing scene, at least to some extent. Most notably, during the ending section of the episode, the anime discussed the controversial topic of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). By itself, this is not problematic, but saying that this technology is secure and will serve as a new way for digital art to flourish is, considering everything that has been happening in the art community over the past few years.
Not surprisingly, the VTubing community, especially from those outside Japan, have criticized the series, saying the title seems to shill out Kizuna Ai’s ongoing NFT project, which was announced along with her hiatus news.
The reason why Kizuna no Allele is detached from VTubing reality is also that it never really showed the struggles of the large majority of indie VTubers. One could look at the show’s premise and think that VTubing is for those who have the resources and the privilege to be able to execute their VTuber journey. In reality, the industry is full of self-made talents who barely have the resources to even start a streaming career, relying on free resources, and worrying about the metrics of their channels over time.
Kizuna no Allele has more episodes left, meaning one can only hope they can actually put the spotlight on the other sides of VTubing, which include both content and struggles for creators. As disappointing as the first few episodes were, I couldn’t help but gush over the concept and 3D models that each character uses.
But for now, let’s hope that Kizuna no Allele doesn’t totally flop: judging from the near-bottom rankings at our Anime Corner polls it is not looking good. The content is a bit niche, so it’s proper to give it time. However, if it does not improve, perhaps it’s time for you to get back to watching Hololive’s Holo no Graffiti, whose non-sequitur episodes have more substance that this current title.
Images via Official Website
©KA/Kizuna no Allele PJ ©Kizuna no Allele Partners
