Every day is Halloween for Virtual YouTubers or "VTubers" -- the new generation of wildly popular online entertainers whose voices and actions are represented in real time by colourful and expressive anime characters. Now, a Google researcher has released a deep neural network model that makes animating a VTube persona a little easier. Using motion capture systems to transfer human movements to cartoon characters in real-time is a process that can be traced back to the 90s. The approach however was not popularized, and the term "Virtual YouTuber" did not enter our vocabulary until the virtual character "Kizuna AI" debuted in 2016. Kizuna is a cute young girl with wide eyes and a pink butterfly bow perched atop her long flowing hair -- any otaku's dream.

Every day is Halloween for Virtual YouTubers or "VTubers" -- the new generation of wildly popular online entertainers whose voices and actions are represented in real time by colourful and expressive anime characters. Now, a Google researcher has released a deep neural network model that makes animating a VTube persona a little easier. Using motion capture systems to transfer human movements to cartoon characters in real-time is a process that can be traced back to the 90s. The approach however was not popularized, and the term "Virtual YouTuber" did not enter our vocabulary until the virtual character "Kizuna AI" debuted in 2016. Kizuna is a cute young girl with wide eyes and a pink butterfly bow perched atop her long flowing hair -- any otaku's dream.

YouTube erected a platform where commoners could climb the ladder to stardom. Now, the video-sharing giant is seeing another wave of new talent diving into a glittering entertainment scene. These entertainers are called "virtual YouTubers," or "VTubers," and are represented by digital avatars that look like anime characters. Almost exclusively a Japanese phenomenon, at least so far, these virtual talents have proliferated rapidly over the past several months and people in the industry, together with observers, predict the movement will only accelerate. Following are some questions and answers about virtual YouTubers.