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My First VTuber Con: OshiUplink

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Ever since 2020 and the rapid rise of VTubers in the US, they have become an increasing presence in North American nerd conventions. And out of this interest has emerged cons fully dedicated to VTubers, notably Offkai Expo in California. Just like with anime and manga, the west coast is well positioned to get guests and attendees from different parts of the world (especially Japan), but it can be a real travel commitment for lots of people, including myself. 

As if to answer that demand, OshiUplink has appeared. It’s not only Canada’s first VTuber convention, but also a more convenient event for those closer to the east coast. 

OshiUplink took place from May 2 to May 3 at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre, only a few minutes away by car or public transportation from Pearson Airport. As per its name, it was a hotel with a bit of venue space that could be used for panels, meet and greets, small concerts, and so on. Although it lacked the official heavy-hitting presence of hololive, Oshi Uplink included VTubers ranging from small and new to established major names—notably Dokibird, Densetsu.exe, and Ironmouse. In fact, the announcement of Doki as its first featured guest (along with the con’s location) is what convinced me to attend in the first place. 

The Meet & Greet Experience

Over these past few years, I’ve become a fan of not just bigger names but also many less notable VTubers, so the fact that OshiUplink provided an opportunity to see those more obscure talents was a real boon. I’m the type who doesn’t go all-in on specific characters or entertainers in any of my fandoms (Ogiue Chika is the closest), so the sheer variety appealed to me. One distinction the convention made is between “featured guests who have official events done as part of the con schedule” and “unofficial guests who have a presence through vendors and exhibitors.” The former got to use the Conference Centre rooms, while the latter had to be set up in the exhibit hall or other means, such as an iPad being literally carried around. The official guests also had Meet & Greets that were first come, first serve ticketed events (the prices for which varied according to individual VTubers and what I presume to be their or their management’s choice). This was in contrast to the unofficial guests, where one had to just line up and wait to talk to them, or flag them down if they were part of a more mobile operation.

All solutions for how to handle guests meeting fans have their strengths and weaknesses, and I like that OshiUplink ended up with different approaches because of that official guest vs. unofficial divide. My only complaint is that having the official guest tickets on a separate website from the OshiUplink registration site got confusing: I ended up managing to get a Dokibird Meet & Greet, but only because I had purchased the more expensive Founders Pass, messed up trying to get the Dokibird one during the early sale, then got a second chance during the general sale. Neither of the systems were a lottery either, which one can argue is a fairer method.

In the end, I talked to a number of VTubers: Dokibird, REM Kanashibari, Poma Pom, and Paige Terner from V4Mirai, Roca Rourin and Akugaki Koa from ChromaShift, Eva Ananova, Izumi Teeny, PillowDear, Chroniko, and Nene Amano. And all of it was relatively painless, official ticket shenanigans aside. 

Musical Performances 

I also attended four concerts over the weekend, none of which were full 3D and only some of which were truly live, but were still fun regardless.

ChromaShift held a relay called Aurora Harmonies, the highlight of which had to be Roca’s cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” As the first big morning event of Sunday, I have to wonder if at least a few people were introduced to her incredible voice. Another performance that sicks out to me was Lalabell Lullaby’s “My Heart Will Go On” (Celine Dion being a fitting choice for the first VTuber con in Canada).

The full Densetsu.exe roster—Victoria Roman, Phoebe Chan, and Mint Fantôme—went with a series of duets and full group performances. My favorites were their cover of “Magia” from Madoka Magica, Vicky and Phoebe’s “Lion” from Macross Frontier, and their original song “Densetsu MVPs,” which does a nice job of showing off their respective singing styles. 

The Hyper Link concert was an eclectic mix of VTubers: the aforementioned Nene Amano and Eva Ananova (whom I only learned about the day of!), but also Kirispica, Kiichan, Penny Puffball, Yukinoshita Peo, and rachie. I had varying degrees of familiarity with all of them and their singing, making for a nice variety. Highlights for me were Spica’s city pop medley accompanied by her own piano playing, Nene’s Nico Nico Douga Medley (and yes, I did recognize a lot of the songs), as well as rachie’s English Vocaloid covers, notably “Monitoring.”

I only caught a portion of the OshiUplink Sunday Music Relay due to scheduling conflicts. I saw Yumemi (who was actually there in the flesh and also had merch at the official OshiUplink booth), Lazuli (whom I’d never seen), and Juna Unagi (whom I was introduced to at Fantôme Thief’s Revenge in 2024). I’m glad I got to see at least the tail end.

And while I didn’t get to see it live, I checked out the VOD of the Undercover Encore concert by the VTuber group Vivaria. There were a lot of group songs, and not just Vivaria members, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear “Live and Let Die.” 

A crowd of wotagei lightstick performers were in the audience for each concert I attended live, and presumably all the others as well. I found their participation to range from entertaining to overwhelming. I can appreciate the hard work they put in or the dedication needed to make this all happen, but I also think they can sometimes draw too much attention away from the main show, depending on the circumstances. 

Panels

The majority of my time was not spent at panels, but I did attend a few. 

The group Beastiez did a playthrough of Oregon Trail, which I enjoyed a lot as a kid. They were hilarious, especially when riffing off the various mishaps and bowel-wrecking diseases that afflicted their characters. My only complaint is that they didn’t do the rafting section at the end, which I consider the highlight of the game. It was like seeing someone skip an awesome final boss, though they were technically going overtime, so it may have been a way to quickly wrap things up.

I also watched Dokibird 1v1 her fans in Apex Legends. The way she bantered with fans while gunning them down was classic Doki and a combination of charmingly abrasive trolling plus nervous energy. Her panel was as advertised, and it certainly did not disappoint

By the time I got to the Ironmouse Panel, it was a Q&A, and I could see just how much her fans adore her. Incidentally, I’m the one who shouted “Rhea Ripley!” when she was trying to figure out who’s her second favorite wrestler.

Then there was a group discussion by literal mom VTubers and what it’s like to have children while in this field. In a space where extreme fans can get scarily parasocial and get angry over the very notion that a girl might have a male significant other or even sexual experience, seeing them casually discuss topics like pregnancy, relationships with their children, and even bad exes was refreshing. 

Comparing to Anime Cons

The vast majority of my general convention experiences have involved anime cons, and unsurprisingly, a VTuber one shares a lot of similarities. In fact, OshiUplink actually reminded me more of anime cons from 15 to 20 years ago than what I see today, regardless of size. I think it’s because VTubing occupies a niche space in a way anime used to, and a lot of the interactions between attendees seems to be centered on trying to convey either one’s passion for their chosen subject or to find like-minded fans who understand what makes VTubers special. This has both upsides and downsides, the former of which is a kind of casual atmosphere and the latter is potential for awkward intrusiveness. It can be a double-edged sword for me, personally.

And while there’s a lot in common with anime cons, one major difference to me derives from the inherent differences between storytelling forms such as anime and manga and the way “creator” and “product” are often one and the same with VTubers. An anime con might have some attendees who adore an anime for its characters and world, others who love the artists and voice actors, and so on, and these different groups of fans can be distinct. With VTubers, however, all that divide is blurred to the point of non-existence. It’s kind of like if the author of Frieren was actually Frieren, and you got to talk to her through a screen. It makes the question of whether to attend panels (to learn or to see a presentation) or have direct meetings (so you can talk 1-on-1 and have that more personal experience) both easier and harder. 

Because of the greater connection to streaming, I was worried prior to attending that the vibes of the con would be unfavorable to me. Fandom culture has become one where many people are trying to figure out how to leverage attention for more attention, possibly in order to parlay that into a career. While I don’t begrudge people for trying to figure out how to make life work for them, I’ve heard less than stellar things about events like TwitchCon—particularly the way it can be less of a celebration and more of a networking and clout-chasing gauntlet. I feared that I would see this on a smaller scale. Fortunately, I didn’t really get that sense from OshiUplink, or at least not on a clearly obnoxious scale. I might just be so out-of-the-loop that I wouldn’t be involved in those circles where it happens. 

Miscellaneous

Similar to many hotels of its kind, being near the airport means being a good distance from the more popular and populous areas. I spent the Friday before the convention traveling to downtown Toronto and enjoying the food, namely getting some Jamaican food at Allwyn’s (beef patty with slaw in coco bread, along with some curry goat on rice) and having a side-by-side peameal bacon sandwich comparison between Carousel Bakery and Paddington’s at St. Lawrence Market. Personally, I ended up liking Carousel’s more because it was more tender and easier to eat.

Doing all that required grabbing the hotel shuttle bus to Pearson Airport, then catching the UP Express train to Union Station. The trip was actually quite convenient, all things considered, and only took about an hour each way total, but that’s not time I wanted to use during OshiUplink itself, especially because the hotel shuttle only ran every 30 minutes. Fortunately, the food options around the hotel were not the worst, and many were within 10 to 15 minutes of walking. I got to try Harvey’s, a Canadian fast food chain that serves burgers, fries, and poutine. I got a buffalo chicken poutine and a Skor shake, though I wouldn’t recommend the latter: The toffee would either get stuck in the straw and make it a challenge to drink or end up at the bottom needing to be scooped out. 

The hotel itself also helpfully provided some fairly quick food options. They were of course overpriced, but not as bad as I thought. I tried the in-restaurant hotel breakfast (another peameal bacon sandwich!), as well as the to-go Indian butter chicken, and both were very solid. 

The artist alley was a little more crowded than I liked, but I did end up buying some official merch, as well as a Dooby3D sticker.

Final Thoughts

As I was winding down Sunday evening, it occurred to me that as far as I could tell, OshiUplink ended up running incredibly smoothly—especially for a first-year convention. I suspect the staff and perhaps even the volunteers had significant experience with events like this, and I give my highest compliments to them; things can go very wrong, very easily. Perhaps it was because the fan base skews older, but the way the concert audiences would actually listen to the reminders to not run into the main events room made it feel like everyone was on the same side. 

I don’t know if there are plans to bring in those heavy-hitting companies. If they do, they might need a larger space or an attendance cap at this Sheraton. I’ve also read some complaints that at least one of the panel rooms were extremely small (around a 40-person capacity), which meant certain events, especially concerts, filled up fast. But even if a bigger venue isn’t in the cards, OshiUplink seems to be in a pretty good situation. I personally got to meet a lot of VTubers I’m a fan of, learn about ones I was largely unfamiliar with, and feel a combination of forward-facing optimism and a sense of nostalgia for times gone by.

Will I attend next year? It’s uncertain, as I might end up prioritizing other places for travel, just because May is turning into a really stacked month for cool things to do. But even if I myself don’t go, I really do hope OshiUplink comes back for the benefit of the fans, the creators, and the VTubers.

Snake? Snaaaake!!!: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for January 2025

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It’s customary to see the New Year as a fresh start, and an opportunity to say farewell to the previous year. I don’t expect 2025 to be an especially fantastic year, but I do know we have a lot of anime to look forward to. Witch Hat Atelier! Wandance! And more! At the very least, I hope that we can find comfort in art created by artists.

Thanks to my supporters on Patreon. I appreciate that you’ve stuck with me, and hope you’ll be safe in 2025 and on. And remember: Don’t subscribe on iOS if you can help it!

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from December

Rawhide Kobayashi’s Favorite Anime: Delusional Monthly Magazine

I had to write about the fact that this anime even exists.

A Fine Roast: Fantôme Thief’s Revenge

I decided against all common sense to attend this concert, and it was totally worth it.

Best Anime Characters of 2024

Who are your picks?

Kio Shimoku

One last Kio twitter summary for 2024.

Closing

I don’t exactly have any big plans for Ogiue Maniax in 2025, but perhaps if I write about my lack of ideas, something fun will manifest. I really should get back around to doing a Gattai Girls series…

A Fine Roast: Fantôme Thief’s Revenge

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If there was ever any sign that I’ve become a serious fan of VTubers, it would have to be the fact that I went to the Fantôme Thief’s Revenge concert in Atlanta, Georgia.

When this joint event between Dokibird and Mint Fantôme was first announced, I felt conflicted about whether to even go. On the one hand, I had decided to support Doki in ways I hadn’t back when she was Selen Tatsuki. Mint, for her part, is a charismatic performer whose friendship with Doki goes back to their previous incarnations in VTubing. On the other hand, this was pretty bad timing, being right before the holidays. Moreover, the concerts I had attended previously were either attached or adjacent to other things I was already doing, like conventions. Anime Weekend Atlanta was the same weekend, but I simply couldn’t stay too long.

But between the lack of an official streaming option and the reveal that one of the special guests was none other than Dooby (another big name who made the decision to go independent), I made my decision to go. I had a focused mission: Fly to Atlanta, go see Doki and Mint, sleep, go home. (Also, eat some fried chicken and Bojangles.) I never thought I’d do something like this, but here I am, and it was totally worthwhile.

Entering the Venue

Upon first arriving in the area of the concert, I saw a large line outside that gave me a bit of deja vu from Breaking Dimensions. While waiting in line is never fun, I did enjoy seeing all the eager fans. There were the Doki and Mint supporters, of course, and Dooby’s reputation precedes her, but I even saw some who were clearly there for the other guests—PiaPiUFO, Phoebe, and Juna Unagi.

After finally getting into the concert site, the Tabernacle, I was faced with a second line—this time for merch. Unfortunately, the penlights sold out before I could make it to the front, but I bought a few other things instead, including a holographic ticket that isn’t going to be sold online. Also, I thought there was a chance I might not get my hands on a concert penlight, so I brought a backup with me, just in case. From there, I made my way up to the balcony. To my surprise, a good number of seats were available despite the fact that the tickets for them were unreserved, so I got to have an amazing and unobstructed view. After a half-hour delay (due to the sheer number of people trying to buy merch), things kicked off with the opening acts.

The Opening Acts

I had little prior experience with PiaPi, Juna, or Phoebe. At the very most, I’d seen Phoebe on guest lists at conventions here and there. Knowing the lineup, I actually spent a bit of time in the days prior and on the plane getting to know their music. While I got the sense that they were all decent performers, I wasn’t prepared for how much more impressive they were at the concert. PiaPi did a great job building up hype and using her 2D model to its fullest, and she just sounded great. I’m glad I finally got to hear Phoebe in action, who was solid all around, and I enjoyed her cover of “Snow Halation.” Juna’s sultry voice and presentation worked well, though I’m not quite the audience for a parody song that describes gay sex and waterworks in extremely fine detail. 

Each of them sang three or four songs, and were almost half the entire concert. I think Doki and Mint granting so much time to the other VTubers is very representative of them and their desire to create events that celebrate others. PiaPi has the smallest following out of all of them, and she’s seeing a significant bump in subscribers. While waiting in line before the concert, I happened to spot two PiaPi supporters (known as Pickles) dressed in themed happi.

It was then time for the main acts, and the screen transitioned to Dokibird—except she wasn’t singing or dancing, but was instead indulging in her latest gaming obsession: Marvel Rivals. The audience spent seven minutes watching her play as Luna Snow while Mint was telling her to wrap it up. If there’s anything that a more corporate VTuber event wouldn’t be able to do, it’s probably silliness like this.

The Main Attraction

Finally, on a stage decorated with their fan mascots waving penlights, Doki and Mint warped in, fully 3D and amidst raucous applause. I can’t say enough about how beautiful their models were. It was as if the original 2D designs had been brought to life, and to make them look that good both when still and in motion was no easy feat. Mint’s concert model wasn’t her official one, but the quality was still very nice. Dokibird’s is her official one, and she even hired for it a highly regarded artist in KarakuriPower (who’s done work for hololive). 

I didn’t recognize a lot of the songs, and I even thought their first act was an original number when it was actually a cover with the words “Doki” and “Mint” swapped in. Regardless, I enjoyed the sheer variety of musical choices. Doki acknowledges that she’s nowhere near as good a singer or dancer as Mint, and so her individual performances tended towards meme picks, like  “Xue Mao Jiao”, the Doraemon opening, and the Five Nights at Freddy’s theme. Even if she admitted to flubbing some choreography, I think she succeeded in bringing the fans along for the ride. Hopefully next time, she can do a Cantonese song too.

Mint loves idols and idol culture with all her heart, so she tended in that direction. Her performance of “New Romantic Sailors” was a personal highlight. Not only is it one of the best Love Live! Songs, period, but I actually got to see it performed live at Anime NYC a few years ago. While she delivered in spades on the “Minto-chan Laser Beeeaaaam!” (playing off “Riko-chan Laser Beam” from the original performer), I also appreciated seeing her substituting her name for all three Guilty Kiss singers in the lead-up to the yell. However, in between the idol stuff, she threw in a cover of “Break Stuff’ by nu metal band Limp Bizkit, which has become an anthem of sorts for Mint. The ghost maid is such a solid entertainer.

The Ultimate Callback

One of the biggest moments of Fantôme Thief’s Revenge snuck up on the entire audience. A duet began with Mint sitting at a table with a cup in hand. Doki walked over, also holding a cup, and then she sang the words that brought some of the loudest cheers of the evening: “Someday, we’ll have our last conversation…and drink our last cup of coffee.” 

The significance of lilypichu’s “Last Cup of Coffee” to Doki and her fanbase cannot be understated. For her original supporters in her earliest days of VTubing, this was like Doki’s gift to them shortly before her original graduation. For those who discovered her as Selen, her cover music video was supposed to be her Christmas present to us, but its removal is what started the chain of events that led to her tumultuous firing and subsequent revival as Dokibid. And now here she was, almost a year later, singing it once again, as if to show that she dictates what the song means to her and her fans.

Much of Dokibird’s return since February has seen her reclaim aspects of her identity, such as her fan name (Dragoons), her appearance (a design by the same artist used for Selen), and her subscriber count (800,000+). This song was one of the last pieces of the puzzle. In later streams, Doki and Mint revealed that the decision to have this in the concert was Mint’s idea, and that it was to make “Last Cup of Coffee” a happy memory for the Dragoons. 

Dooby and a New Age of VTubing?

What actually brought the loudest yells of the concert was the awaited appearance of the final guest.

As the stage screen transitioned to a red curtain backdrop, “Sugar Song and Bitter Step,” the ending theme to the anime Blood Blockade Battlefront, began. Mimicking the ending video, Doki appeared in a spotlight, followed seconds later by Mintl. This left an open spot in the middle, where a little train car suddenly appeared, signaling a warp-in by Dooby in all her train-conducting Jerboa glory. The audience erupted and I did my best to add to the excitement. This song was also a popular karaoke choice for Dooby in her previous identity, so it felt extra special to her fans who have been supporting her these past five years. Seeing them all dance and kick and just have a good time is one of my fondest memories from this concert.

I think the crowd reaction wasn’t simply because Dooby is a beloved Vtuber. Just as important was how these were three of the biggest names in English VTubing, now all working as indies. It was as if a new era had arrived.

Bringing It Home

The “final” song of the evening was emblematic of the general irreverence of the concert as a whole: “I Just Had Sex” by The Lonely Island. PiaPi, Phoebe, and Juna all joined in, still using their 2D models. The comedic nature of the song had the whole audience bopping along, and I think the fact that Doki and Mint brought the opening guests in for this performance once again speaks to their general interest in using their platform to bring attention to lesser known talents. It was an attitude that benefited their previous company, and it’s heartwarming to see them follow through on their desire to help others out. The encore was “shake it!” by Vocaloid composer emon. I didn’t know it myself, but in hindsight, having it end with a Hatsune Miku song is about as appropriate as it gets for a VTuber concert.

Closing Thoughts

While there was no official stream of Fantôme Thief’s Revenge, the two made it okay to record the concert. Later, I learned that there was a handcam stream on Twitter that had over 50,000 concurrent viewers. Days later, a full version was also uploaded to Youtube:

So why did I write all this up despite it being freely accessible to everyone? Because I think it’s important to still have these memories put into words for posterity. Also, I think there are some things that don’t easily come across even with a video, 

In terms of criticisms, I don’t have many. I wish I could have gotten a penlight. Some of the reserved seating (which I wasn’t a part of) forced that part of the audience to view things at an awkward angle because of the screen. Not only was the timing of the concert inconvenient because it was so close to the holidays, but it also overlapped The VTuber Awards which had a halftime performance), as well as hololive EN’s musical, “The Broken Promise.” 

I’m happy I ended up going to “Fantôme Thief’s Revenge.” It was both Dokibird and Mint’s first true 3D concert as their current selves using their updated designs, and I cherish the fact that I could be part of it. Getting to see Dooby make her concert debut was also a treat, as was being better introduced to Piapi UFO, Phoebe, and Juna Unagi. It was an experience that rewarded my fandoms and helped me discover new possibilities. And while I hardly talked to any other fans, I could at least appreciate their mutual enthusiasm and energy. 

Merry Christmas!